Quick Takes, October 5, 2011

ITEM: They WHAT?! The Holder Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Continental Oil and six other oil companies hard at work in North Dakota. Their vile crime? Killing 28 birds which were not endangered species. Harold Hamm, owner of Continental thinks the Obamites are harassing oil producers. I think he's right. Go here to read the entire story (much more than just birds), which will make you, hopping, screaming mad. These people really are trying to harm America. What other explanation is possible?

ITEM: When You Look In The Dictionary Under "Class," You Find Her Picture. My co-blogger, Brigid, recently teamed up with another stunning woman to take a friend suffering from cancer to the Indianapolis Symphony. If you want to see what class and kindness are all about, visit her blog here and here.

ITEM: Even Hollywood Couldn't Come Up With This One: A star soccer player is made a kicker on the high school football team and kicks a personal record 31 yard field goal that wins the game. The hometown crowd goes wild! On top of that, they're crowned homecoming royalty at halftime. What's the catch? She's a girl. Is that cool or what? Drop by Fox news for the story. It will put a smile on your face.

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Media Manufactured News Division: By now, most people have heard that Texas Governor Rick Perry is a racist. The evidence is, according to the Lamestream Media, damning. It appears that around two decades ago, he and his father leased some land for hunting and somewhere on that land, carved into a flat rock, was the place name that had the prefix "nigger." Some people who hunted on the land with the Perrys apparently saw it. Perry's father not only painted over the rock, he lay it face down on the ground. I don't know about you, but I'm shocked, shocked(!) that the media would pull a stunt like this, particularly against a Republican. Interestingly, a great many Texans of the black persuasion are coming to Perry's defense. Go here for the story. This sounds suspiciously like Democrat and Media desperation, doesn't it? Discuss.

ITEM: Pigs Are Rocketing Into Space and Hell Has Frozen Over! Yes, gentle readers, Barack Obama has admitted that Americans are not better off than they were four years ago! Go here for a story about something you never imagined you might see. What's his angle for this particular con?

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Lying, Sleazy Politician Division: Here's the quote:

“'No I don’t,' the president said when asked directly if he regretted the $535 billion federal loan guarantee in 2009. 'Because if you look at the overall portfolio of loan guarantees that had been provided, overall it’s doing well. And what we always understood is that not every single business is going to succeed in clean energy.'…
'[The loan] went through the regular review process and people felt like this was a good bet,' he added."

Mr. Obama is speaking of the spectacularly failed solar panel maker, Solyndra. The twist is that virtually every day, new evidence surfaces to indicate that Mr. Obama was directly told—many times by many people—that Solyndra was milliseconds from bankruptcy and he approved the loan guarantee anyway. I'm shocked, shocked(!) to learn that Mr. Obama would do such a thing and would lie about it! Shocked! Hey, he's the President! Who you gonna believe? Him or your own lyin' eyes and ears?

But wait, there's more! That's right ladies and gentlemen, not only can you throw half a billion down the toilet, you can up the ante with another half billion, but hurry before the company goes bankrupt before they can cash the second check! Call now and we'll double our offer! Head to Powerline if you really feel the need to be angry today.

ITEM: Department of Blazing Irony: After the Supreme Court vacated gun control laws in DC and Chicago, politicians and the usual gun control weenies predicted mass slaughter and blood running in the streets. In both cities, precisely the opposite happened. Fox News is virtually the only news outlet covering the story. In all of my years in police work, it was absolutely clear that criminals feared armed citizens far more than they feared the police and would go far out of their way to avoid them. But of course I know this because I was open to common sense and reality. Neither has anything to do with the gun control agenda. Discuss.

ITEM: How Is Barack Obama Bad For Business? Let Me Count The Ways. A bad paraphrase of Shakespeare, but Rick Moran writes an interesting article on a former Obama supporter whose financial self-interest has apparently induced a formerly unnoticed degree of rationality. Drop by the American Thinker to read the brief but informative article.

ITEM: She's Getting Away With Murder! So goes the thinking of some in the Amanda Knox case in Italy. If you'd like to read a brief but definitive article on the reality of this case, John Hinderaker at PowerLine is your man. For the record, I agree entirely with his conclusions. Be glad that Knox is free and once again on American soil.

ITEM: While Fools And Charlatans Demonize Business and Businessmen, men and women immeasurably their betters change the world. Steve Jobs, the co-founder and CEO of Apple Computer, who died Wednesday was just such a man. Jobs' contributions to humankind are real and indisputable and will be remembered and lauded long after the political twits that denigrated those like him and tried to cripple their companies will have faded into well-deserved obscurity. Godspeed Steve. Requiescat in pacem.

ITEM: Preaching To The Choir: I suspect that most people reading this have been enjoying Chris Muir's Day By Day for quite awhile. If not, you owe it to yourself to visit daily. It's one of the smartest, most entertaining toons in the business. My day is certainly not complete without it. Do yourself a favor. Don't you deserve it?

ITEM: Whoda Thunk It? Who could have imagined that the Obama Administration would set its sights on destroying the domestic guitar industry? With its recent raid on Gibson, it is doing just that. Of course, for Marxists, it's all about control and power. The lives of individuals mean nothing and businesses fare no better. Their value lies only in their utility to the state. Go here for a Fox New article about how Mr. Obama is spreading out to destroy portions of American productivity unimaginable only months ago.

ITEM: Louis Renault Award: Spitting On The Rule Of Law Division. Rep. Paul Gosar (R. AZ) is less than thrilled with the Obama Administration, saying that is is "showing an intentional, wanton disregard for the law," relating to Gunwalker. I'm shocked, shocked (!) that anyone could think that the most transparent and ethical administration in history would even think of violating any law! Cough! Choke! Gag! Whew! Even I can't take that much sarcasm! Go here for the story.

ITEM: Superior Temperament Department: Oh yeah, the Obamites are supposed to be the epitome of cool, unless, of course, they think you're not praising them sufficiently. See what happens when a reporter dare question them. It's not pretty.

ITEM: Media Integrity Department: In a related story, it now appears that CBS is pulling an Obama—probably for Obama—and putting Sharyl Attkisson, its reporter working on Gunwalker, under wraps. Hard to be believe, isn't it? Nah. I don't think so either. Here's the story. Haven’t these people learned anything from Rathergate?

ITEM: Hating "Firefly" is Un-American! Well, I think so anyway. So does FIRE. Go here to see lefty academics getting what's coming to them. Heh-heh.

ITEM: So How's That HopenChange Workin' Out For Ya? In the greenie world, not so well. For an investment of a mere $200 million of our money, the Obama Administration has managed to reduce the workforce at one green company by 100 to 150 employees. Oh dear. Now they're not creating a miniscule number of jobs at millions each, they're actually spending millions each to lose jobs! That's what Progressivism is all about: Progress!

ITEM: What Would It Be Like to be deaf for 29 years, and suddenly, to hear? Visit this moving video to find out. If you don't feel joy at this one, you do not—as Rick Perry said—have a heart.

And with that heart-warming story, I must bid you a fond farewell for now and encourage you, once again, to stop by for another edition of Quick Takes next week!