Truffle Oil, Tunafish, and Obama

Instapundit links to one of his favorite blogs, Al Dente (Where "Serious gastronomy meets culinary calamity"), discussing the angst of being duped by the marketing of truffle oil and allegedly Italian tunafish.

In his summary the question is asked: "Have you been duped by product labeling lately? I'd love to hear about it."

I guess my only response to this would be:

Sure, its not food, but if Obama can worm his way into every aspect of my life (America's Most Wanted, College Basketball, NFL) I can at least use it as a vehicle to comment on his duping America via product labeling.....

Somebody call the Federal Trade Commission.

Democrats are getting what they asked for

I believe that this is one of the best summations of why we find ourselves where we are, and why the honeymoon is obviously over.

"The Democrats are getting what they asked for.....They had on their hands an inexperienced, recently minted US Senator from Illinois....Never mind, they thought, Obama's long-standing connections with William Ayers, the unrepentant mastermind of a domestic terrorist bombing campaign in the 1970s. Never mind Obama's close association with the racist demagogue Jeremiah Wright. Never mind his lack of executive experience, his unfamiliarity with the private sector, and his ignorance of the ways of Washington. With the help of the pliable press, he could be sold -- and Americans would congratulate themselves on their lack of racial prejudice if they voted for him."

Those words come from Paul Rahe via Powerline Blog.

Hillsdale College Professor Rahe's insights into our new 'Soft Despotism' can be found in last week's edition of 'Uncommon Knowledge' interview videos by Peter Robinson of the Hoover Institute. Chapter 1 of 5 can be found here.

A final thought from Rahe: "Now comes the reckoning. For Barack Obama seems to be a one-trick pony."

Yes indeed. We do get what we vote for....

Obama Voter Feels Punk'd

#hhrs #tcot



Hat Tip - Club for Growth

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

#tcot #hhrs
I would like to propose a new poll question for Rasmussen, or anyone else who might want to ask it...

"Q - (2008 Voters Only) If the 2008 Presidential Election was held today, who would you vote for? Obama, McCain, Third Party, Not Vote?"

I think it would definitely be interesting to see the results, especially correlated to a preliminary question on who they had actually voted for in 2008. I would like to see how many "Moderates" might cross over from Obama, and how many people would have chosen not to vote at all....knowing what they know now.

Oregon's Bad News Day

Geez...consumers in Oregon are having a bad news day today...

First suckers collectors get fleeced, and then soon they won't be able to drown their sorrows without paying through the nose...

Personally, I would have to drink a whole lot of the second product in order to be buying the first....

"Yes We Can" Move On....

I am not sure I have seen so many people succumb to peer pressure so thoroughly in an attempt to be as cool as the new 'in' crowd since I was in High School. Granted that was long ago, when cool meant trying to look like Don Johnson wearing pastels and no socks...

Back in this century, in an effort to leech off of the 'uber-cool' status of our incoming celebrity-in-chief, everyone is getting on the band-wagon and appropriating the divine slogans of The One.

Today Evan Coyne Maloney points out how Pepsi is rolling out some legalized trademark infringement, and doesn't mind if anyone notices the blatant similarities to some other recent advertising.


(Photo: Evan Coyne Maloney)

Hmmm....seems familiar....

Well, Pepsi ain't the only offenders. The People's Choice Awards, and event marketed as uber-cool in its own right, are looking to steal a little of the magic as well.

Their current advertisement with Queen Latifah has the following dialog:

"When the people vote, Change happens. And this January, history will be made right before our eyes."

Hmmm....I wonder what they could be referring to???

Wait, before you shout out an answer, Queen Latifah says:

"You know I am talking about the People's Choice Awards, don't you?"

Ha-ha, ROTFL...

Of course, the ad ends with this smug reassurance...

"Can we pick the winners? Yes. We. Can."

Wonderful. I can't wait to see what slobbering tributes get rolled out at this event...

Well, it it not like I was going to watch this or any other celeberity self-congratulatory love-fest anyhow.

Now, I may need to move fast, as I notice that yeswecanmoveon.org has yet to be appropriated....

Messiah of the Year??

Let me start out by saying, that I have not seen or heard anything concerning who might be Time Magazine's "Person of the Year".

However I think I might have a good idea. Not because the press coverage has been so fawning that it has bordered on idolatry, but by this other sign I saw today. Two signs actually...

One on each door of the entrance at Barnes & Noble (where I was stopping for a last minute gift), which read "Due to high demand, we are limiting sales of Time Magazine's 'Man of the Year' issue to two copies per person."

Now who else would have such a devoted flock such that liberal book store workers would see the need to impose rationing such that everyone might have a chance to get a copy (or two!) to save for historical purposes?

This really is a head scratcher....

UPDATE:

OK, so I couldn't stand to wait, and slipped over to the Time website.


Now, I do have a couple of questions...

1) Who is this guy? Seriously, where is the name? I guess Time can't imagine that *no one* would not know who this grand figure might be. The only reason I ask is that every other Man/Person/Thing of the Year has been identified with a label. Even president's Bush and Clinton, whom presumably everybody knew. Perhaps this mans transcends a name. He just is "The One".

2) Are they trying to say he is transparent, or that we can see right through him? Just curious....

The Greatest Country on Earth

Alas, the election is over. Congratulations to Barrack Obama.

While his election is disappointing based on my personal political philosophy, I believe that it is a demonstration on many levels as to why the United States of America is the greatest country on the face of the earth. He was not my candidate by a long shot, and I will not agree with him on probably 95% of issues, but he will be my President. Because I am an American, thick or thin.

And because the liberties of America allow me to do so, I look forward to Nov 2012 when we can hopefully elect a Conservative president to right the many things that I think President Obama will do wrong.

Thus, when I get home shortly from my posting here in Afghanistan, I have 3 books that I intend to read before Inauguration Day to put me in the right frame of mind to fight for conservative reform in a country that will be politically dominated by liberal rule.

1) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: Who is John Galt? I don't know, but I am going to find out....and hope that the next four years don't follow this plot.

2) Real Change - From the World that Fails To the World That Works by Newt Gingrich: what would sensible conservative reform look like. I have always been drawn in recent years to Newt Gingrich's common sense words on producing changes from the 'right' perspective.

3) Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream by Ross Douthat & Reihan Salam: While the GOP may have proven itself moribund, it is the only viable political vehicle for conservative reform. How might we set it right? I will start with this tome

God bless and good reading.....

Military Voter Suppression

Instapundit points out a very interesting blurb in the Atlantic, which says that some military voters are going to take it in the shorts....again:

Fairfax general registrar Rokey Suleman said Thursday that he has had to reject some of the ballots because of a Virginia law passed in 2002. That law -- then called Senate Bill 113, sponsored by then state Sen. Bill Bolling -- requires that when an overseas citizen wants to request an absentee ballot and cast a vote with the same paperwork, it requires not only a witness signature but also the current address of the witness.

So let me get this straight. In some states you can be dead or even non-existant, and you don't need a legitimate address in order to vote. But in Virginia if you are stationed overseas with the military you might actually need *TWO* legitimate addresses??

What a crock.

I sent in my ballot to Texas a few weeks ago. Easy as pie....

The Coming Nanny State

Michael Ramirez's prognostication:

Choking on Hope & Change

Apparently the Obamacons have a new 'sign' in order to express their unifying experience in the church of Hope & Change.

When I saw it, I immediately thought of something very different.

This is the campaign poster I envision....



This is not the hope and change *I* have been waiting for....

Elitism on Parade: Ignorance Edition

Over at Townhall.com, Amanda Carpenter points us to another new and devastating elitist insult from Barack Obama:

Barack Obama called Republicans "ignorant" for making fun of him because he encouraged Americans to properly inflate their tires to conserve gasoline. “It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant!” Obama told an audience in Berea, Ohio on Tuesday.

Whoa nelly! Them's fightin' words… Seriously, maybe the pressure has gotten to Obama, but he certainly seems to have lowered the discourse a notch. Calling someone "ignorant" is not something casually thrown about in civil conversation. Probably because it is normally, and rightly, considered an insult. Is his new message is "Vote Democrat, or Vote Ignorant"?

So while McCain is a racist for calling Obama a "Celeb", I am sure that Obama will be considered 'brutally honest' for calling McCain, and by extension the right side of the political spectrum, "ignorant". Seems like a strange way to heal a divided nation.

Ultimately this is a grand case of the pot calling the kettle….errrr….anyhow…. This label of 'ignorant' comes from a man who's very own energy plan called for a major reduction in electricity consumption, AND an increase in cars the you can plug into an electrical socket and recharge. Does he even notice the conflicting goals here, or did they just quickly poll the interns for good energy ideas, and stick the list in a brochure without proof-reading it?

It seems to me that this could well be another "clinging to guns and religion" moment. He has just handed the GOP a great sound bite to hound him with until November. McCain should flood Ohio, PA and other flyover states with ads using the message: "John McCain and 75% of America are calling for more drilling here in America to lower oil prices. Barack Obama wants you to inflate your tires. And if you don't agree with him, he says you must be ignorant. [CLIP] So much for the message of hope and change…"

I guess we should re-write that now famous line to read "Clinging to their guns, religion, and gasoline..."

An Ignorant Wind Blows

Glenn Reynolds links to an interview with T. Boone Pickens in the New York Times, allegedly concerning his new wind power project.

Only the first quarter of the interview by Deborah Solomon covers actual substantive wind issues, before it devolves into politics and personal minutia. The most fascinating part of the interview has to be this exchange concerning Pickens involvement in the 2004 election:

You helped re-elect Bush in ’04 when you gave $3 million to the Swift Boat campaign to discredit John Kerry’s Vietnam service. Do you regret your involvement?
-Why would I?

Because it’s such an ugly chapter in American political history.
-Oh, I see. Well, it was true. Everything that went into those ads was the truth.

Really? I thought it was all invented.
-I never did anything dishonest.

[…]

If not the Swift Boats, what do you regret?

You get the drift….

I find it jaw-droppingly honest to have a journalist (or perhaps Ms. Solomon is an aspiring HS student who's journalism class interview project accidentally ended up in the NYT) admit their bias, or their ignorance, by saying "Really? I thought it was all invented" about the Swift Boat allegations. You certainly couldn't tell by their reporting.....not.

It shows the thought process and lack of intellectual/journalist curiosity that would dismiss such things out of hand as political sabotage. No wonder the use the phrase "Swift Boating" in such a derogatory fashion….

My only question is, if this is something that is considered an "ugly chapter" worthy of obvious regret, I wonder how Ms. Solomon and the NYT feel about Rathergate and evidence that was clearly "invented"?

I suppose it is better not to ask....

What we really meant was....

Allahpundit has an excellent takedown of Dem angst over McCain getting verbally pugilistic with their messiah candidate. Read it here.

The best bit that comes out of it is the new Dem line that Iraq can't be lost, so why are we staying?

Interesting....
Not too long ago, according to Democrats, we needed to get out of Iraq, because Iraq couldn't be won.

Now, according to Democrats, we need to get out of Iraq, because Iraq can't be lost.

Unfortunately both arguments simply demonstrate the Dems lack of understanding of reality.

You see, not too long ago, we needed to stay in Iraq, because Iraq could be won.

Now we need to stay in Iraq because Iraq can be lost.

It is their simple misunderstanding of this reality that bothers me. For a good simulation of how the Dems line of reasoning would have affected events, please also read Bob Owens great piece: The Iraq We'd Have If We'd Heeded Obama

Also read Blackfive's comments on Obama's surge contortions here.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Recession

In a segment on Friday (the same I had previously mentioned with Larry Kudlow), Hugh Hewitt reports on Obama's lame attempt to win at the game of Taboo by guessing "Where do gays shop?"

Obama guessed Abercrombie & Fitch, for which he got much abuse.

But the question that I have is.....if we are in a recession, the economy is in trouble, and most Americans can't afford to make ends meet (according to the Obamas), then who has the money to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch?? Or the Gap, or Banana Republic, or Diesel? These places aren't the Goodwill, they are pretty pricey.

So I think that this question in the game of Taboo actually reveals Obama's entire schpeel on the economy to be bogus. If Obama actually believed that this country is in real economic trouble, shouldn't he have answered "They must be shopping at Wal-Mart, since no one can afford to shop at the mall right now". But he didn't, probably because people *can* afford to shop at the mall right now. I went to a large upscale mall twice this weekend, and the place was packed.

If people were really hurting, wouldn't they use their precious gasoline to drive to the discount stores instead?

Capital Gains and the Obama Effect

On Thursday, Hugh Hewitt played some clips of Barrack Obama, including one about his desire to raise the Capital Gains tax (At ~31:00). Obama tried to brush it aside as a "phony argument" by saying that it wouldn't affect regular folks, since their 401ks aren't subject to the Capital Gains tax upon withdrawal, and that only the wealthy who own stock will be affected, and besides they "can afford to pay a little bit more".

This whole argument shows great ignorance about the reality of how the market works, and follows the normal liberal economic delusions.

First, not just the wealthy own stocks in this country Mr. Obama. I am hardly wealthy, but I own stock outside of my retirement vehicles.

Second, those regular folk who have IRAs and 401ks *will* be affected by this tax hike. Not by paying the taxes, but by suffering the market losses that will occur when this plan is passed. Not to mention the wider effect on the overall economy.

What do you think is going to happen between the time legislation is introduced and it would receive the signature of the President (no matter whom)? The market is going to drop. Individuals, corporations, investment houses, etc are all going to lock in gains that they have on their stock positions at the lower tax rate. This will have the overall effect of causing the market to go down.

In fact, yesterday on Hugh's show Larry Kudlow said this had already happened. The days following what appeared to be Obama's sewing up of the Democratic nomination, the markets were chattering about his tax plans, and the market dropped. Listen here (~10:25).

Now I am a big believer in the markets, and know that even if this were to happen, they would come back over the long term. But if Obama wants 'middle class people' to prosper, then he should not mess with the Capital Gains tax. It will hurt the market and people's portfolios in the short to mid-term, and discount all future earnings for the long term.

If he really wants to raise more tax money, then perhaps he should consider lowering the Capital Gains rate....



Please Barack, leave well enough alone....

Heinz 57

Wow! I thought I had been to a lot of states....




H/T: Instapundit

UPDATE: I have been giving this some thought. Obama has been to 57 states, not including Alaska & Hawaii. That makes for a total of 59 states.

To me it is obvious that this is the DNC's master plan to ensure Obama can win the Electoral College. Now they just need to find 9 new left leaning states, especially ones that take away Electoral votes from normally red states. So under the super-secret DNC plan, Miami, Denver, St Louis, Houston, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Cleveland, Philadephia, and Puerto Rico will become 'states', and be given the requisite number of electors based on the population taken away from their former state. Genius! It is too bad that Obama had to go and lose his bearings and reveal the whole plan!

(Looks like the esteemed Dean Barnett had a similar take)

Iraq - A Bigger Distraction Than We Thought?

For quite a while now, whenever things go well in Iraq, the Democratic party-line response has been "Yeah, but it is distracting us from the War on Terror!"

Little did we know it is actually worse. Much worse.

According to Barrack Obama:

"...the way the war in Iraq has been handled has kept the United States from focusing on key issues like energy policy, global warming and the economy..."

Holy Cow! I had no idea.....

Now far be it for a politician, especially one running for President, to hyperbolize to score a point, but personally I am pretty sure Obama has it backwards.

You see, no matter where you turn nowadays you cannot avoid being smacked in the face with dire global warming news, or its major symptom....'Go Green' bandwagon-itis. Cars & SUVs, product advertisements, TV shows, network PSAs, State Governments, Oil Companies.... Everyone is now officially on-board with the peer pressure to 'Go Green'. Green is the new Black.

So for Obama to imply that Iraq has somehow distracted the nation (even the government) from the topic of Global Warming (or any of his other listed subjects) is pure poppycock. I would probably venture a guess that the subject of the economy garners more media splash than Iraq as well. So much for distraction.

I would offer that perhaps the growth of the Green fad (which has now officially reached Atkins Diet proportions) has distracted the nation (or the media that feeds the nation and its obsessions) from the war in Iraq.

Why run stories on positive developments from Iraq when you could hypothetically run a story about a third grade class writing letters to the President on how they will remember to turn out all their lights to save energy and save the planet (I remember being forced to write just such a letter to one President James Carter when I was that age, as we had some previous energy folderol going on back then), or how evil oil companies are making record profits.

Needless to say, Iraq is not distracting from Global Warming, nor is it distracting from any of those other topics. America was already distracted.

In the words of a sage, but anonymous, Marine:

"America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall."

Double Secret iPod Tax

From Instapundit:

"MORE ON TENNESSEE'S IPOD TAX, which seems to have encountered some awkwardness. "It looks like the Bredesen administration has been illegally collecting sales tax on music downloads since Jan. 1, 2008, and that Farr is now pushing 'technical correction' legislation to amend the tax code in order to make legal the tax they're already collecting." If this turns out to be the case, it's a bit of an embarrassment."

This is more than just an embarrassment. Bredesen can probably kiss goodbye any chance at being Obama's VP.

Do you think those legions of current iPod-owning Obama supporters in the 18-25 year old range will sit still if Obama were to select someone who oversaw a secret, illegal tax on music downloads?!?

Imagine if George McGovern had selected a running mate who had secretly been taxing marijuana sales in his state (y'know, instead of someone who had received electroshock therapy), the kids would have rioted!

Fun with Polls - Round 2

A few days ago I posted about some of the internal absurdities of an Ipsos/AP poll that had Hillary 9 points ahead of McCain.

I also saw a similar CBS poll that I did not have time to comment on.

Fortunately, David Freddoso over at National Review wrote a pretty good take-down of this poll in The Corner today. While I was concentrating on the various small points that I think added up to a skewing of the data, Freddoso focused on the ever important sample.

"This poll was conducted among a random sample of 671 adults nationwide." Very funny! Not likely voters, not even registered voters, but adults. This is the same flaw that was present in the recent ABC poll that showed Hillary 9 points ahead. I do not understand why such polls are even conducted — even if it is cheaper, it is still a waste of money.....There is no point in criticizing a poll for its results, but methodology is fair game. Even the use of "registered voters" instead of "likely voters" is highly suspect and tends to produce bad results.

This is of course the common sense analysis, that most in the media never seem to do.

I hope that Freddoso and others will make this poll analysis a regular feature of their election coverage. I will try my best, but soon my happy ass will be in a war zone, and my attention span will not be guaranteed.