Happy ending: State funeral for late NDP leader Jack Layton cost $368,326.
h/t Manny
The Emery Effect
Teens who smoke marijuana regularly may suffer long-term damage to their brains, new research suggests.
Anarchists at the Gates
Here’s an example of one of the protesters that Nancy Pelosi is so fond of:
Hey, Rubes!
America’s Dysfunctional Marriage
One & a half centuries ago, America fought a bloody civil war between the North and the South over slavery. In recent years it has become clear that America is ripping apart at the seams because of a new divide: this one between the Left and the Right.
A crystal clear example of this surfaced Monday morning when author Chuck Thompson was a guest on Dennis Miller’s radio show. Though Thompson came onto the show to talk about his thesis, that the South should separate from the North anew, Miller would not let him gloss over the many disagreements between the Left and the Right over basic facts. The entire interview is about 18 minutes long and well worth a listen.
Some might argue that Chuck Thompson is a brilliant voice on the Left. Others believe that he’s just a highly prejudiced individual who doesn’t like Southerners.
The Children Are Our Future
And that’s why the gonorrhea super bug may be our last, best hope.
Dennis Miller Flattens an Obama Devotee
Since Paul Ryan’s appointment as the Republican VP candidate, Leftists in the Democrat Party and the Media Party have been singing a never-ending chorus of what a dumb decision it was and how terrible a candidate Ryan is.
The truth though may be an entirely different matter. After witnessing Joe Biden’s peculiar behaviour of late, Leftists throughout America are likely getting increasingly frightened with each passing day that their free lunch may soon be coming to an abrupt end.
Though one example doesn’t prove anything, it is still interesting nonetheless. On yesterday’s Dennis Miller Radio Show a seminar caller, implying that he was a GOP supporter, couldn’t make it past Miller’s B.S. detector. Here’s the call.
Incidentally, this is the O’Reilly segment that the caller was referring to.
When Did Leftists Become Experts on ‘Jesus’?
Leftism is a religion unto itself. While a person might casually identify themselves as a “Leftist Christian” or a “Leftist Jew”, if the values of Leftism constantly overrule the tenets of the religious denomination, then is the person truly any longer a Christian or Jew respectively?
It’s thus always amusing to see a person on the Left tell the rest of us how Jesus would view a modern situation. Such is the case with Time magazine’s Erika Christakis, with her latest column entitled “Is Paul Ryan’s Budget ‘Un-Christian’?” :
As near as we can tell, Jesus would advocate a tax rate somewhere between 50% (in the vein of “If you have two coats, give one to the man who has none”) and 100% (if you want to get into heaven, be poor). Mostly, he suggested giving all your money up for the benefit of others. And Jesus made no distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor; his love and generosity applied to all.
Some beg to differ with Ms. Christakis.
The Leftist Mindset on Display
Here’s a little laughter for your Sunday morning:
The Sad Fate of Smokers in 2012
This photo was taken last weekend at the Oregon International Airshow in Metro Portland:
First smokers were confined to one area of an establishment. Then they were asked to smoke just outside. Then they were told to smoke down the street. Now they’re corralled into little pens for all to see. Bad, bad smokers.
This is a prime example of the slippery slope of any issue that the Left grabs hold of and people don’t push back on. Any wonder why the NRA won’t compromise on even the smallest issue?
American Teachers Are Now Racists?
The Obama administration has pinpointed a new hotbed of racism:
President Johnson was calling on Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act in order to end the South’s century-long obstruction of black suffrage. What was the pervasive racial injustice that led Duncan to present himself as a modern-day Johnson? Black elementary and high school students are disciplined at a higher rate than whites are. To Duncan, that disparity can mean only one thing: schools are discriminating.
And so the Departments of Education and Justice have launched a campaign against disproportionate minority discipline rates, which show up in virtually every school district with significant numbers of black and Hispanic students. The possibility that students’ behavior, not educators’ racism, drives those rates lies outside the Obama administration’s conceptual universe. But the country will pay a high price for the feds’ blindness, as the cascade of red tape and lawsuits emanating from Washington will depress student achievement and enrich advocates and attorneys for years to come.
Now that teachers are, themselves, being called racist, one wonders if their support for the Democrat Party will change in the voting booth?
Socialist Math
France’s new socialist dream president, François Hollande, would like everyone to pay a 75% tax on any portion of their income above one million euros. What could possibly go wrong with this “genius” plan?
There’s an interesting quotation in the article:
“French people have an uncomfortable relationship with money,” Mr. Grandil said. “Here, someone who is a self-made man, creating jobs and ending up as a millionaire, is viewed with suspicion. This is big cultural difference between France and the United States.”
That last sentence may have been true 20 or more years ago but is it really valid any longer? Thanks to the Occupy Movement and the never-ending class warfare tactics of the Democrat Party and their allies in the MSM, it seems that half of the American people also view successful people with suspicion, derision, and envy. While this remains true, the idea that compromise can be found between the Left and the Right is pure nonsense.
Lee Doren has published a video on the issue.
Chicken Offsets
First there were carbon offsets. Now the latest in Guilt Removal Devices for Gullible Leftists has become available: Ted Frank’s Chicken Offsets
Thomas Friedman Must Be Ecstatic
Hong Kong parents are trying to fight the Chinese government’s plan to brainwash their children. But it’ll be “progressive”, so no need to worry about anything.
Audio discussion here
One can only wonder how this news is being received at Tom Friedman’s house.
He Who Clucks Last . . .
Looks like the huge boycott by GLAAD and other members of the Institutional Left was a huge flop.
Interactive map with Photos
Update: The actions of a rude, anger-filled Leftist . . . who just got himself fired.
Vote Cancelers on Display
Prior to an election in Canada, have you ever tried to have a conversation about the issues with a Left-leaning friend or family member and realized, in most cases, that they appeared to know next to nothing beyond the headlines? Frustration often results when you realize that their vote cancels out yours.
With less than 100 days before the U.S. presidential election, here’s a snapshot of some of the vote cancelers who will be voting for Barack Obama:
Alaysha Claiborne, 18 – “Young people are more liberal and more accepting. His personal story is very diverse, and my generation, we pride ourselves on our diversity.”
William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution – “It’s a fear of change and an unfamiliar change in a bad economy. Young people are interested in the future. They’re not afraid of change.”
Hannah Miller, 21 – “For me, it’s the women’s rights issue and issues like education which are most important to me. I really want to have a say in what the future is going to be.”
Hesham Abdelhamed, 23 – “The biggest thing for me — it’s not so political, it’s more of an interest in his leadership. Everybody loves him. The older generation may be more skeptical, more careful about their decisions.”
Irene Langley, 66, a lifelong Democrat – “The country is changing so fast, and I just think people may be afraid of change. The older people cling to their older ideas, and they won’t let them go.”
Update: Dennis Prager has a few thoughts for younger votes – well worth a read! h/t Gord Tulk
The Selective Deafness of the Left
This morning, comedian Jon Lovitz guest hosted Dennis Miller’s radio show. Lovitz, who very openly admits his Leftist underpinnings and that he proudly voted for Barack Obama in 2008, nevertheless got into some trouble recently.
The first caller today asked Lovitz why comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, which he’s an alumni of, don’t ever criticize Obama. Here’s the explanation that Lovitz gave:
I don’t think they’re purposely not making jokes about Obama, at all. I think the problem is, he’s hard to make fun of because he’s very smart, he’s very well educated, he speaks well, he doesn’t make mistakes, he’s not a klutz, he’s a nice looking man, he has a nice family. I mean, he’s hard to make fun of so it’s hard to think of jokes. George Bush, when he was President, he would misspeak all the time. Every year there was a new book out about the things he said. So he wasn’t that hard to make jokes about because of that. But with Obama … the first time he did something I put it on Twitter … he kept going on about the taxes, that the wealthy aren’t paying their fair share. And my whole argument was that most people in that tax bracket are paying their fair share and if you want them to pay more, why don’t you just say, ‘You’re paying a tremendous amount of taxes but we need your help. Could you pay a bit more to help the country?’ And most people would say ‘Okay, sure’. But when you phrase it as ‘you’re not paying your fair share’ and I just felt he was throwing a whole segment of the population under the bus. And I voted for him. I believed in him.
If that’s the first time that Jon Lovitz has heard Barack Obama make a gaffe then he clearly has had cotton balls in his ears and blinders over his eyes.
But Glenn Beck Is The Crazy One
Toronto Politicians: Deny, Ignore, Delay
Whenever a problem arises in Canada, an age-old trick to avoid doing anything is to just mouth the words “We don’t need American style solutions” to any & all proposed solutions. All discussion then comes to a screeching halt.
This technique has most frequently been used whenever the topic of Improving Canada’s Healthcare arises but now it’s being used to keep the Guardian Angels out of Toronto. Curtis Sliwa discusses the issue with Roy Green (@ 30:30 in the podcast).
Congressman Mike Kelly vs. Obama’s Job Killing Regulations
Mike Kelly, a former car dealer from Pennsylvania, decided to come to Washington, DC to fight the insanity that is bloated big government. Here’s a speech he gave the other day: