Praise to Arizona for tough illegal immigration law.

The reaction has been telling as illegal supporters are outraged one state has decided to enforce laws. Phoenix, Arizona already is known as the kidnapping capital of world as drug cartels and illegals have made the state less safe with hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars being used up by people given this article thinking they have a God given right to be in America.

Brewer signed the bill in a state auditorium about a mile from the Capitol complex where some 2,000 demonstrators booed when county Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox announced that "the governor did not listen to our prayers."

"It's going to change our lives," said Emilio Almodovar, a 13-year-old American citizen from Phoenix. "We can't walk to school any more. We can't be in the streets anymore without the pigs thinking we're illegal immigrants."


The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said it plans a legal challenge to the law, arguing it "launches Arizona into a spiral of pervasive fear, community distrust, increased crime and costly litigation, with nationwide repercussions."

William Sanchez, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders Legal Defense Fund, said his group is preparing a federal lawsuit against Arizona to stop the law from being applied. The group represents 30,000 Evangelical churches nationwide, including 300 Latino pastors in Arizona.

"Millions of Latinos around the country are shocked," Sanchez said.

Mexico has warned the proposal could affect cross-border relations. On Thursday, Mexico's Senate unanimously passed a resolution urging Brewer to veto the law.

"Police in Arizona already treat migrants worse than animals," said Francisco Loureiro, an activist who runs a migrant shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico. "There is already a hunt for migrants, and now it will be open season under the cover of a law."

Guatemalan Vice President Rafael Estrada said the law "is a step back for those migrants who have fought" for their rights. Guatemala's Foreign Relations Department decried the measure in a statement saying "it threatens basic notions of justice."

Anyone want to explain why other countries feel they have the right to tell America how to run it borders?

A lie? Dems lack votes for illegal amnesty immigration reform.

They said this about health care reform and then months later we got Obamacare. I think they do have the votes but they need cover from one or two idiot Republicans. They have Lindsey Graham already.

The push for immigration reform may be on the front burner for congressional Democrats, but sources say that ultimately, they believe the issue is unlikely to have enough votes to pass.

Democrats say the goal is to try to take it up in the Senate before discussing the Supreme Court nomination this summer and spend the rest of the session before the midterm election on the politically potent issue of jobs.

One big reason for the immigration reform push, sources say, is that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in a brutal battle to win re-election in Nevada, where a quarter of the population is Hispanic and he has promised to try.

More broadly, Democrats admit, they know that Latinos who voted in big numbers for President Obama are angry that Democratic leaders have not kept a promise to deal with immigration reform.

People - General Motors did not pay back any loans

Honestly, how dumb are people to not stop and think how screwy a bankrupt company could pay back a loan so fast without some Obama admin deception in play?

"....As it turns out, the Obama administration put $13.4 billion of the aid money as "working capital" in an escrow account when the company was in bankruptcy. The company is using this escrow money--government money--to pay back the government loan.
GM claims that the fact that it is even using the escrow money to pay back the loan instead of using it all to shore itself up shows that it is on the road to recovery. That actually would be a positive development--although hardly one worth hyping in ads and columns--if it were not for a further plot twist.

Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, points out that the company has applied to the Department of Energy for $10 billion in low (5%) interest loan to retool its plants to meet the government's tougher new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. However, giving GM more taxpayer money on top of the existing bailout would have been a political disaster for the Obama administration and a PR debacle for the company. Paying back the small bailout loan makes the new--and bigger--DOE loan much more feasible.

In short, GM is using government money to pay back government money to get more government money. And at a 2% lower interest rate at that. This is a nifty scheme to refinance GM's government debt--not pay it back!

GM boasts that, because it is doing so well, it is paying the $6.7 billion five years ahead of schedule since it was not due until 2015. So will there be an accelerated payback of the rest of the $49.6 billion investment? No. That goal has been pushed back, as it turns out.

In order to recover that investment, the government has to sell its equity. It plans to do that only when GM becomes a publicly traded company once again. GM was hoping to turn a profit by the end of 2010 and float an initial public offering this winter. However, GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell, when queried about that timeline a few days ago, demurred. The offering will be made, he said, "when the markets and the company are ready."

(Take that, taxpayers!)"

Erk.. Greece's deficit larger than thought, more spending cuts on the way.

Not good for the world markets or the EU. Greece is a mess.

Greece’s attempts to get its economy back on its feet and to regain investor trust suffered another setback Thursday as the European Union increased its estimate of the country’s 2009 budget deficit.

The new estimate means the austerity measures being negotiated with the International Monetary Fund and euro zone countries might be deeper and last longer than previously expected.

In addition, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its assessment of Greek debt and suggested that more cuts might be on the way.

Adding to the country’s woes, Greek civil servants went on strike to protest the austerity measures and thousands of demonstrators gathered in Athens to express their dissatisfaction.

“It looks like a terrible situation just got worse,” Nick Kounis, an economist at Fortis Bank, wrote in a research note.

Eurostat, the European statistics agency, raised its estimate of the country’s budget deficit for last year to 13.6 percent of gross domestic product, above the Greek government’s recent estimate of 12.9 percent. The ratio of debt to G.D.P. stood at 115.1 percent, compared with the government’s estimate of 113.4 percent.

Eurostat also expressed “a reservation on the quality of the data reported by Greece” because of “uncertainties on the surplus of social security funds for 2009, on the classification of some public entities and on the recording of off-market swaps.”

That suggested that the agency could increase its estimates even higher — by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage point for the deficit, and by five to seven percentage points for debt-to-G.D.P. measure.

Separately, Moody’s cut its rating for Greece to A3 from A2 and placed the country on review for further downgrades in view of the “significant risk that debt may only stabilize at a higher and more costly level than previously estimated.” The lower rating still remains an investment grade.

(AP) Obamacare health reform will drive costs up.. way up

You would have to be really stupid to think that a new entitlement program without any serious law to cut costs and spending wouldn't go up. Now America is stuck with a program that will demand more taxes to fund it.

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government economic forecasters concluded Thursday in a sobering assessment of the sweeping legislation.

A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department said the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls.

But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, however, since the report also warned that Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, forcing lawmakers to roll them back.

The mixed verdict for Obama's signature issue is the first comprehensive look by neutral experts.

In particular, the warnings about Medicare could become a major political liability for Democratic lawmakers in the midterm elections. The report projected that Medicare cuts could drive about 15 percent of hospitals and other institutional providers into the red, "possibly jeopardizing access" to care for seniors.

Obama may have lied about conversation with Blagojevich

Blagojevich knows where the skeletons are hidden and determined to bring them out to save his hide.

6. Obama had a secret phone call with Blagojevich
Redacted portion: President-elect Obama also spoke to Governor Blagojevich on December 1, 2008 in Philadelphia. On Harris Cell Phone Call # 139, John Harris and Governor’s legal counsel discuss a conversation Blagojevich had with President-elect Obama. The government claims a conspiracy existed from October 22, 2008 continuing through December 9, 2008.6 That conversation is relevant to the defense of the government’s theory of an ongoing conspiracy. Only Rod Blagojevich and President Obama can testify to the contents of that conversation. The defense is allowed to present evidence that corroborates the defendant’s testimony.

Jon Stewart thinks "Obamacare" is a derogatory term

The next step is for Stewart to call the term Obamacare a racist term. Now watch the rest of MSNBC lineup take up the cause for Stewart now that he has laid out this bizzare stretch of logic.

Comedy central censoring of South Park is sign of the times.

Not just in American but the world over where censoring as to not offend Muslims has been rising because everyone is afraid some Muslim will blow them up. Freedom of speech and expression cannot be negotiated away just because you are afraid of someone.

On Thursday morning, a spokesman for Comedy Central confirmed that the network had added more bleeps to the episode than were in the cut delivered by South Park Studios, and that it was not giving permission for the episode to run on the studio’s Web site.

On Thursday afternoon, Trey Parker and Matt Stone released the following statement:

In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it.

CAIR cheers Army disinviting Franklin Graham to Prayer Service.

All this does is invite close scrutiny of other speakers so that door is now open.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded the Pentagon's decision to disinvite a scheduled speaker, controversial Christian evangelist Franklin Graham, who has called Islam a "very evil and wicked religion" and this morning said Muslims are "enslaved by Islam."

SEE: Graham: Army Disinvites Him to Pentagon Prayer Day

http://tinyurl.com/grahandisinvited

CAIR had earlier today called for such a move on the part of military officials. Graham was scheduled to speak May 6 – the National Day of Prayer - at the Pentagon.

"We applaud this decision as a victory for common sense and good judgment," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Promoting one's own religious beliefs is something to be defended and encouraged, but other faiths should not be attacked or misrepresented in the process."

In an interview today about the controversy on Fox News, Graham refused to revise his past comments that Islam is evil and claimed that Muslims are "enslaved by Islam."

Obama signals VAT tax option on the table.

Volcker started the train a couple of weeks ago and now Obama gives the green light to push it. A VAT on top of every other tax people and businesses have to pay would sink the economy. Too much expense at every level means the expenses would be paid for by the those up the manufacturing line which means who pays the most at the end? The consumer.

President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that a new value-added tax on Americans is still on the table, seeming to show more openness to the idea than his aides have expressed in recent days.

Before deciding what revenue options are best for dealing with the deficit and the economy, Obama said in an interview with CNBC, "I want to get a better picture of what our options are."

After Obama adviser Paul Volcker recently raised the prospect of a value-added tax, or VAT, the Senate voted 85-13 last week for a nonbinding "sense of the Senate" resolution that calls the such a tax "a massive tax increase that will cripple families on fixed income and only further push back America's economic recovery."

For days, White House spokesmen have said the president has not proposed and is not considering a VAT.

"I think I directly answered this the other day by saying that it wasn't something that the president had under consideration," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters shortly before Obama spoke with CNBC.

After the interview, White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki said nothing has changed and the White House is "not considering" a VAT.

Want Porn? Buy an Android Phone is ad ready material.

Steven Jobs dislike for Android is well know but this answer about the way the App Store is controlled by Apple is funny.

When questioned about Apple’s role as moral police in the App Store, Jobs responds that “we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone.” Better, is what he said next: “Folks who want porn can buy and [sic] Android phone."

Full exchange at the link, but that answer should be one of the unofficial slogans for Android even though it is an exaggeration. What is Jobs going to do when the front camera iPhone comes out and it quickly becomes amateur porn mania?

Obama push for immigration amnesty starts in a month.

Obama gets an immigration bill, illegals especially in the Latino community and their supporters will hail him as a saint who pushed for amnesty and votes for life. He doesn't get a bill, he blames the Republicans and Conservatives to stoke up votes for the fall.

The effort to pass comprehensive immigration legislation gained some traction Tuesday, as congressional leaders discussed a path to passing the bill this year and President Barack Obama wooed Republican Sen. Scott Brown to support it.

Conventional wisdom has been that the issue is too volatile for action in an election year, and that other matters would take priority. But immigration advocacy groups have been pressing hard for action.

At a Capitol Hill meeting Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he was committed to bringing the legislation to the floor this year, according to one Democratic leadership aide. The aide said that Ms. Pelosi committed to bringing the bill to the floor if it passed the Senate.

A second leadership aide familiar with the meeting said Ms. Pelosi spoke about the importance of the legislation and agreed to try to advance the measure.

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D, N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.) have released a blueprint for legislation that includes a path to citizenship for those here illegally. The blueprint also calls for a guest worker program and for controls aimed at stopping the flow of future illegal immigrants.

But Mr. Graham has said he doesn't want to introduce it without at least one more Republican co-sponsor. At an Oval Office meeting last month, Mr. Obama promised to help find another.

White House watchdog demands home loan writedowns.

All the people who are paying their bills on time. Suckers.

Late last month, the White House announced a significant expansion to its efforts to help homeowners by providing subsidies for lenders who write down principal for so-called "underwater" borrowers. Those programs are voluntary.

"Treasury should consider changes to better maximize its effectiveness," said Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP.

Barofsky said the voluntary nature of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) principal reduction plan sets up situations where some borrowers benefit, while others who may be just as deserving, do not.

"Giving (mortgage) servicers the discretion to implement principal reduction introduces a questionable inconsistency into the HAMP program and stands in stark contrast to the mandatory nature of the other significant mortgage modification triggers," Barofsky wrote.

The report also urged the administration to consider extending the amount of time unemployed homeowners are forgiven from making mortgage payments as the maximum six months now allowed may not be long enough.

Google looks to buy ITA Software, challenge Microsoft on travel.

Google makes a travel site where I can put in city to travel too and it searches for the lowest price automatically over months, it would be a win. An automated version of airfarewatchdog.

England the least patriotic nation in Europe.

Years of being bullied by the politically correct police that being English is wrong will do that to a society.

The English rate themselves the least patriotic nation in Europe, a poll suggests.

Almost half said their country had lost its identity in the face of European interference and political correctness.

The findings were published in advance of St George’s Day which, as two thirds of those polled did not know, is on April 23 – this Friday.

They showed that on average, English people rate their patriotism at slightly below six on a scale out of ten, behind the Scots, Welsh and Irish and far in the wake of the Dutch, the most patriotic people on the continent.

Only one in ten would happily fly the cross of St George to celebrate the national saint’s day.

Double that number said they thought they would be told by authorities to remove it if they flew it from their house.

This was once a country that stood up to the Germans and had an empire that spanned the globe. Now they are too afraid to fly their own flag.

Radical Islamists go after South Park Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone

CNN seems to be the only major site covering this threat though I know over the weekend JawaReport was the first site I saw to point out the threats against Parker and Stone.

The radical Islamic Web site Revolutionmuslim.com is going after the creators of the TV cartoon series "South Park" after an episode last week included an image of the Prophet Mohammed in disguise.

Revolutionmuslim.com, based in New York, was the subject of a CNN investigation last year for its radical rhetoric supporting “jihad” against the West and praising al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Its organizers insist they act within the law and seek to protect Islam.

On Sunday, Revolutionmuslim.com posted an entry that included a warning to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone that they risk violent retribution – after the 200th episode last week included a satirical discussion about whether an image of the prophet could be shown. In the end, he is portrayed disguised in a bear suit.

YouTube: Watch Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk about the decision

The posting on Revolutionmuslim. com says: “We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.”

Theo van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered by an Islamic extremist in 2004 after making a short documentary on violence against women in some Islamic societies. The posting on Revolutionmuslim.com features a graphic photograph of Van Gogh with his throat cut and a dagger in his chest.

T.J. Simers interviews Ryan Leaf.

From an NFL standpoint Ryan Leaf is the gold standard of NFL busts though JaMarcus Russell is gaining steam towards surpassing him. But from a personal standpoint Leaf's life was a wreck but seems to be turning it around.

AP - Nearly 80% of Americans do not trust the government.

Clearly all these people are domestic terrorists in the making according to the Chris Matthews and Joe Klein.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they can't and they have little faith that the massive federal bureaucracy can solve the nation's ills, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center that shows public confidence in the federal government at one of the lowest points in a half-century.

The poll released Sunday illustrates the ominous situation facing President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party as they struggle to maintain their comfortable congressional majorities in this fall's elections. Midterm prospects are typically tough for the party in power. Add a toxic environment like this and lots of incumbent Democrats could be out of work.

The survey found that just 22 percent of those questioned say they can trust Washington almost always or most of the time and just 19 percent say they are basically content with it. Nearly half say the government negatively effects their daily lives, a sentiment that's grown over the past dozen years.

This anti-government feeling has driven the tea party movement, reflected in fierce protests this past week.

Mexican pour into America fleeing drug violence.

In a piece that is clearly written to invoke nothing else but compassion and sympathy for their liberal readers. Anyone else is reading thinking that is horrific but now we have more illegal immigrants plus the spreading of Mexico's drug violence into America cities and our schools.

Fleeing Drug Violence, Mexicans Pour Into U.S.
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
....The story of Fort Hancock, 57 miles southeast of El Paso on the Rio Grande, is echoed along the Texas border with Mexico, from Brownsville to El Paso. As the violence among drug gangs continues to spiral out of control in Mexico, more Mexican citizens are seeking refuge in the United States.

The influx of people fleeing the violence, some of whom were involved in drug dealing in Mexico, has disrupted Fort Hancock’s peaceful rhythms. These days, there are more police cars prowling the dusty streets, and fear runs high among residents.

About 2,000 people live here, in ramshackle trailer homes, weather-battered recreational vehicles and well-kept brick houses. The water tower boasts of the high school’s six-man football team having won the state championship five times between 1986 and 1991.

A few children among the refugees belong to families involved in the drug trade, and rival gang members have threatened them, bringing the specter of gangland killings to the high school, law enforcement and school officials say.

“Some of the families who are fleeing from Mexico are doing it because they were somehow participating in these acts,” said Jose G. Franco, the school superintendent, “and if you want to get at somebody, you get at their children.”

The Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Department and the state police are keeping a close eye on unknown vehicles parked near the schools. The school district has for the first time hired a law enforcement officer to patrol its three campuses and has installed security cameras. Spectators are now barred from football and basketball practices.

Every means necessary to come over the border.

Not everyone coming from El Porvenir is seeking asylum. Many Mexicans in towns along the river have special border-crossing cards, which let them cross for up to 30 days to do business and shop near the border. But some have used the visas to relocate their families temporarily to Fort Hancock and other small towns on the Texas side.

Those who have temporary tourist visas or who can obtain business visas because they have enough money to start businesses in the United States are also moving their families across the border. (Cities like El Paso and San Antonio have had real estate booms and a flourishing of small businesses and Mexican restaurants as a result.)

Other Mexicans who were once happy living in Mexico are taking advantage of whatever means they have to obtain a visa and get out. Some were born in a hospital on the United States side and are American citizens, for instance, or have married citizens but have never applied for residency.

In El Paso alone, the police estimate that at least 30,000 Mexicans have moved across the border in the past two years because of the violence in Juárez and the river towns to the southeast. So many people have left El Porvenir and nearby Guadalupe Bravos that the two resemble ghost towns, former residents say.

But we won't secure the border and pour more resources that are necessary to make sure this violence coming north and even more refugees come over into areas that clearly cannot handle the influx. Terrific.

New Yorkers brace for Doorman strike.. Yeah a Doorman strike.

The thought of actually opening a door, getting a cab or taking out the trash themselves is scary. This could be the first union strike I am for because the idea of a doorman in this day and age is ridiculous but if people are stupid enough to pay for it, more power to them.

It has been nearly two decades since New Yorkers faced their last doorman strike, but as the deadline for a new contract for building workers approached, the questions being posed throughout the city remained largely unchanged on Sunday.

Who will safeguard my apartment as I sleep? Greet my children when they come home from school? Accept deliveries? Clean the hallways? Sort the mail? Operate the elevator? And who, for goodness sake, will let the cleaning lady in?

Residents, co-op boards and building management companies have been busy planning for the sudden complications that could come at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday with the possible departure of the building workers who, among many other things, hold open the city’s doors.

The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations has distributed a preparedness manual with recommendations for keeping buildings in operation in case of a strike. “A strike is not pleasant, nor should it be taken lightly,” according to the 45-page document. “During a period of work stoppage, pressures and problems develop which make building management very difficult.”

Throughout the city, security guards have already been alerted to arrive at buildings an hour before the negotiating deadline so they can take over for the first overnight shift in the event of a walkout. Many buildings would then adopt a more restrictive policy, with residents being required to use building keys, display identification to the security guards and pick up visitors or deliveries themselves. Some buildings are planning to take service elevators, storage rooms and garages out of operation if there is a strike.

I honestly can't cheer for the residents based on these examples.

Many buildings have also posted sign-up sheets for residents to volunteer to watch the front doors, clean hallways and take out garbage, though the forms in the lobbies of a handful of Upper East Side buildings remained mostly blank on Sunday afternoon

Arriving on Park Avenue on Sunday, Robert Neis, a marketing executive, immediately asked his doorman for assistance with the luggage from a family getaway to Shelter Island, N.Y. “It would be a bummer if they strike,” said Mr. Neis. “It’s a lot nicer when they help with the work.”

Harold Gerber, who runs a real estate business and has lived in his co-op on East 75th Street for more than two decades, said he was already worried about security, and grumbled at the prospect of hauling his own trash. “It will affect us tremendously,” he said.

Joe Klein: Speaking against Obama is Close To Being Seditious.

The more people speak out against Obama, the more the rhetoric on the left reaches hysterical levels of incoherence, fantasy and stupidity.

This morning on the Chris Matthews Show, Klein reiterated what former President Bill Clinton also noted this morning (and what others have pointed out in the past), namely that anti-government movements are nothing new on the American political landscape and tend to appear when the economy is struggling. What is different this time, however, according to Klein, is the presence of Fox News, “which allows its commentators like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck to rouse the Tea Party”, and a GOP that is lacking in a “responsible, moderate” leadership. Fighting words.

Meanwhile, Norah O’Donnell thinks that Sarah Palin is “stoking” the “seething anger” that is out there. At which point Klein read out the definition of seditious (from a napkin) as being “conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of the state.” Said Klein: “A lot of these statements, especially the ones coming from Glenn Beck, and to a certain extent Sarah Palin, are right up close to being seditious.” John Heilemann thinks Rush Limbaugh should be included in that seditious mix. Video below.

The whiny platitude of white liberal guilt hating on those who pay too much taxes.

Whiny white liberal guilt alert from Michael Tomasky and Yglesias outraged that someone who is getting taxed out of his ass would question it. A WSJ op-ed from a Mike Donahue asks why the hell am I paying so much damn tax and you still want more blood from the stone.

I'm in the 32% federal and 10% state income tax brackets. I pay a 1.2% property tax on very expensive California real estate. I am subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax. I am self-employed and subject to a 15% payroll tax on the first $100,000 in income and an 8.75% state sales tax. If I have a gain from investing, I pay a minimum of 15% federal and 10% state tax but can only write off $3,000 per year if I lose.

And now the government wants me to pay more?

As a child I mowed lawns, shoveled snow, had a paper route, sold sandwiches at school, and cut up dead trees and split them for firewood to sell during spring break. I have worked every summer since I turned 14. I took out student loans for college and worked 35 hours a week, at night, to pay for the rest...

...Why then does the government feel so entitled to take my money and give it to others? Why should I have to carry so many people on my back? Call me cruel. I don't care. I give to whom I choose—but since so much is confiscated (and wasted in the process) I have little left I wish to give...

...Life is hard. You learn when you fail and you make changes when things hurt. Why then is the liberal agenda trying to make sure nobody feels any pain? And why does the government feel so entitled to steal from many in order to give it to others.

This is just pure selfishness via Tomasky.

The narcissism of these people astonishes me, and I'm sorry to say it, but this selfishness is in fact a central part of the conservative world view. I got mine. Why can't everybody be like me? The completely inability to step outside one's own skin and see the world through other eyes is mind-bending.

Obviously, there are people who work hard, and there are people who don't. But that's one of many factors, as Matt's vignette suggests, that enable people to become high earners. Loads of people work awfully hard for $40,000. Maybe Donahue should trade places with them for a few days if he doesn't think so.

I also like the way he doesn't specify either what he makes or what precise confiscatory governmental grab he's referring to. Since the only things on the table right now are aimed at households above $250,000, I'm guessing he falls in that category but doesn't want to come out and admit it, at which point a percentage of his sympathy vote, even among Journal readers, would deplete.

In the 33% bracket, he would seem to live in a household between $209,251 and $373,650.

I am lucky to be a fairly high earner. I wrote a check to the IRS this week, and I wrote it happily. Taxes pay for my security, and they clean the air and clean the rivers and invest in innovation and -- yes -- they help people who could use a hand up who were born into less fortunate circumstances than I was (in historical terms, being born white and male to a semi-upper-middle-class family in the United States of America in 1960 is about as lucky as an aborning human soul can get). And they pay for a hundred other things that I could not do, services I could not perform, by myself. It's really a bargain when you think about it, if you can think beyond your own selfish wants and needs for five seconds.

Here is the white liberal guilt on display for all to mock. Liberals cannot fathom people who are working hard to make something of themselves as they push themselves up the income ladder why they are being used like whores while the government plays the pimp taking their earnings.

The guy is a "Henry" (high earners, not rich yet) and points out that social mobility depends on making a living and earning more money. You can't move up if the government and welfare supporters like Tomasky demand you put more and more anchors around your waist as you climb up.

The issue is not walking in other people's boots or those who make $40,000 work hard but the systematic demonizing and taking from those who are moving up or moved up the income ladder.

The fact is we have gotten to the point where 47% of the people in the country don't pay Federal Income Tax. Taxes for everyone is adding up and they cannot see where its going beyond the obvious services(Police/Fire). More policies that take from those who produce in this country to give to those deemed victims create a bigger pool of parasites.

For liberals that is great. No liberal party is in or stays in power without getting people hooked on government handouts and demonizing who they feel have earned too much. That is why liberals always change the subject by saying how mean and selfish you people are to others "less fortunate."

This is where the race or class card comes out because the more people who feel less guilty about their hard work has earned them their money, the more people who will start to question policies that simply do not work.

Go watch Spartacus Blood and Sand Finale.

That finale gave me a grin from ear to ear on how everything came together in one episode. If you haven't watched the series, its the only one this year that should get a "awful to F'ing Awesome" in one season award. The first 3 are not good but from that point on to the end it just got better and better.

NYTIMES - Obama has zero plans beyond diplomacy on Iran.

This is a cheerful comfort on a Saturday night but another indication of the Obama's ego getting in the way of effective policy.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned in a secret three-page memorandum to top White House officials that the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran’s steady progress toward nuclear capability, according to government officials familiar with the document.

Several officials said the highly classified analysis, written in January to President Obama’s national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, came in the midst of an intensifying effort inside the Pentagon, the White House and the intelligence agencies to develop new options for Mr. Obama. They include a set of military alternatives, still under development, to be considered should diplomacy and sanctions fail to force Iran to change course.

Officials familiar with the memo’s contents would describe only portions dealing with strategy and policy, and not sections that apparently dealt with secret operations against Iran, or how to deal with Persian Gulf allies.

One senior official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the memo, described the document as “a wake-up call.” But White House officials dispute that view, insisting that for 15 months they had been conducting detailed planning for many possible outcomes regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

In an interview on Friday, General Jones declined to speak about the memorandum. But he said: “On Iran, we are doing what we said we were going to do. The fact that we don’t announce publicly our entire strategy for the world to see doesn’t mean we don’t have a strategy that anticipates the full range of contingencies — we do.”

But in his memo, Mr. Gates wrote of a variety of concerns, including the absence of an effective strategy should Iran choose the course that many government and outside analysts consider likely: Iran could assemble all the major parts it needs for a nuclear weapon — fuel, designs and detonators — but stop just short of assembling a fully operational weapon.

.....Mr. Gates’s memo appears to reflect concerns in the Pentagon and the military that the White House did not have a well prepared series of alternatives in place in case all the diplomatic steps finally failed. Separately, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote a “chairman’s guidance” to his staff in December conveying a sense of urgency about contingency planning. He cautioned that a military attack would have “limited results,” but he did not convey any warnings about policy shortcomings.

“Should the president call for military options, we must have them ready,” the admiral wrote.