LOL Political Headline of the Day

From Ace of Spades Hdq:

Oh Dear Lord: "The View" Looking To Host a Republican Debate

Give me strength. Any candidate who agrees to that debate should just go ahead and quit the race. They're toast.

Marriage By The Numbers

When I heard the Kim Kardashian was filing for divorce just 72 days after her $10 million dollar wedding, I posted this on Twitter:

Based on many examples I'd say there's an inverse relationship between the cost of a wedding and the chances of marital success.

I did some math. Kim's $10 million 72-day wedding cost her $138,888.89 per day. Our wedding cost $7,000 and so far has lasted 8,976 days at a cost of $.78 per day.

The difference is mine is worth $139K per day. Hers about $.78.

Is 7 Billion Humans Really Too Many?

Supposedly the world's population just hit the 7 billion mark and the "population bomb" crowd is wringing their hands.  That's a lot of people, but is it too many?  We've heard that refrain before and yet we still keep feeding all those folks somehow.

In reality, most areas where population is a problem and people can't get the food and medical care they need, it's not because of the numbers of people but because of the dysfunctional and corrupt governments that have led those countries for decades.  The nation's wealth has been skimmed off leaving only crumbs for the masses.  The result is a complete mess that can't survive without massive help from outside (kind of like #OccupyWallStreet).

Most of the rest of the world is doing just fine, thank you, and probably providing the additional bounty needed to feed those people.

So, how many is 7 billion in a historical context?  According to a report I heard today, 6.5% of all people who ever lived on earth live today.  I was kind of surprised the percentage was that high.

And what about the land area needed to hold all those people?  Are we running out of Mother Gaia upon which people can live?  Not really.  If you were to take all 7 billion and put them in one huge city with the population density of Manhattan, the city would cover an area approximately the size of Texas.  Every other part of the earth's landmass would be vacant of human population.

Granted, Manhattanites can be pretty dense, but still it seems there's plenty of land to go around.

And isn't it nice that thanks to medical advances and the lack of huge wars people can live longer these days than they used to?  Having a larger population is a sign of progress, not a reason to panic.

By the way, for those who insist on worrying, we're supposed to hit the 8 billion mark in about 12 years.

A Very Halloween-Like Emergency Call

This seems like a very Halloween-appropriate emergency.  I just heard a call on the Orange County Fire Authority radio for a traffic accident - truck into a ditch.  Upon arrival the engine company found that the two people in the truck had self-extricated from the vehicle but one guy had a severed finger.  He wasn't injured in the accident but sustained the injury prior to the crash which occurred as they were driving to the hospital.

Keep an eye out for zombies.

Depressing Halloween Statistic of the Day

Just heard this on the radio - this year Americans will spend $310,000,000 on Halloween costumes...for their pets.

If Obama is looking for something to tax, let's start there.

Halloween Photo of the Day

Santa Ana, CA, Halloween 1964:

Yes, that's me on the left. The Beatles were big that year so I and my friend Kirk went out as rock stars.

And a bonus, from 1967:

Funny thing is I still have an interest in the Civil War all these years later (I was a Union soldier in case it's not obvious).

By the way, the hippie/rock star thing doesn't fall far from the tree. In 1999 my kids followed in their dad's footsteps (the little one is my niece):

Political Video of the Day

On a day when a lot of things could have one very bad for Herman Cain (in the wake of the Politico story from last night), Cain appears at the National Press Club and offers a testimony in song - He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Needs:



James Pethokoukis describes the event this way:

Sexual harassment scandal? That’s so two hours ago. Republican presidential contender Herman Cain gave a bravura performance at the National Press Club this afternoon where he explained his 9-9-9 plan, dismissed those Politico allegations … and sang a gospel hymn.

In addition to being melodious, Cain was funny and thoroughly at ease in front of a packed room of media. This was a high stakes moment for Team Cain, and their candidate seemed to thrive on it. Is he still fuzzy on policy details, including those of his signature tax plan? Pretty much. But that may not matter to Republican voters who see Cain as an authentically conservative, inspirational figure with a record of private sector achievement.

And singing gospel right in the belly of the Washington beast in front of the hated MSM? For many conservatives, it doesn’t get much better than that. Many political pros don’t take Cain’s polling performance seriously and believe Mitt Romney a virtual lock at this point. But something weird is happening in the GOP race. Cain has caught fire with a post-modern political campaign built on powerful personality, viral videos and a big, bold idea.

Jay Nordlinger Offers a Defense of Romney

I'm not a fan of Mitt Romney. I don't particularly trust him or think his conservatism is grounded in anything even remotely approaching a core belief. However, to be fair, Jay Nordlinger thinks differently and his opinion in such things is valuable:

If you’re a conservative, perhaps you’ve had this same experience: In the past few weeks, several people have said to me, “Have you made your peace with Romney? Have you accepted him as the nominee? Are you resigned to him?” My answer is: I actually look forward to his nomination. And to his candidacy in the general. And to his presidency.

I think he’ll be quite good, if he gets a chance.

Obviously, there is a big sincerity question about Romney: Does he mean what he says? Does he intend to do what he pledges? I think so, yes. All candidates tell people what they think they want to hear, to some degree. Frankly, I imagine most people are guilty of this, whether they’re in politics or not.

But I think Romney is sufficiently firm. I also think he would be much more conservative as president than he was in Massachusetts. Think how free Bill Clinton was, once he left the Arkansas electorate behind! He could unleash his inner McGovern, so to speak. (Both Bill and Hillary Clinton — or whatever she was calling herself in those days — were lieutenants in the McGovern campaign.)

Read the rest of it here. This certainly isn't going to make me a Romney believer, but it's a valuable insight from a professional political observer.

Mad Michelle

It's been obvious for some time that Michelle Obama is not a happy person.  She hitched her wagon to the "light bringer" only to find that he's more of a dim bulb.  The wild adulation of 2008 has turned into a president who has to beg for support from people who are supposed to be his base.

This has not made Michelle a happy camper:

Michelle’s back, and she’s madder than ever. She was already pretty angry, seemingly unhappy with just about everything. As her husband wrapped up the Democratic nomination in 2008, she let fly her real feelings: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.” A few months into her job as first lady, her French counterpart asked how she liked the gig: “Don’t ask!” she reportedly spat. “It’s hell. I can’t stand it!”

She even seems to be mad at her silver-tongued husband. When the two were to set off on a luxurious 10-day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, she left early - four hours early - and flew up alone. And those private vacations. She’s traveled to some of the world’s most plush resorts, taking 42 days off in the past year - that’d be eight weeks of vacay time if she held down a normal job.

Now, she is ready to spew her bilious disgust with America on the campaign trail. A dignified, transcendent first lady? No chance. Michelle is going to break with a hundred years of tradition and play the role of attack dog, heaping derision on her husband’s political opponents like no other first lady before her.

We need to help this poor woman by removing the responsibility that so heavily rests on her unnaturally broad shoulders. Let's elect someone else so she can have the permanent vacation she so richly deserves.

Obama Foolishly Embraces #OccupyWallStreet Protests

You've got to be really desperate...or hopelessly leftist...to believe that embracing the #Occupy protests will somehow help you get re-elected president (from Daily Caller):

Obama [heart symbol] Occupiers -- Fistfights inZuccotti Park. Rioting at Occupy Denver. Public masturbation at Occupy Madison. The Occupiers have really been covering themselves in glory (among other things), and their efforts have not gone unnoticed in the highest offices of power. TheDC's Paul Conner reports on the Occupy movement's biggest fan: "President Barack Obama and Occupy Wall Street are speaking the same language. In his weekly address to the nation, Obama cited an economic report showing that the middle class has lost ground to 'the top one percent.' 'The average income for the top one percent of Americans has risen almost seven times faster than the income of the average middle class family,' he said. 'And this has happened during a period where the cost of everything from health care to college has skyrocketed.' Obama explained that Americans should not spite the wealthy, but that prosperity should be available to all classes." That's right, don't spite the wealthy. Leave that to Obama. The executive branch's equine excrement continued: "Now, in this country, we don't begrudge anyone wealth or success — we encourage it. We celebrate it. But America is better off when everyone has had the chance to get ahead — not just those at the top of the income scale. The more Americans who prosper, the more America prospers." Yes, Mr. President, that theory's been working really well so far. It used to be that when Obama said stuff like this, the media covered for him by... oh, let's say, going nuclear against an unlicensed plumber in Ohio who had a tax lien and went by his middle name. A mere three years later, Obama is saying it in his weekly address, emboldened by a bunch of filthy, violent, publicly masturbating freaks. Joe the Plumber = BAD; Joe the Rioter = GOOD. For the sake of the nation, let's hope Obama embraces these grimy, ignorant children for the next 54 weeks.

Keep it up, Barry, because the 53% that pay the income taxes aren't going to be impressed and that's more than enough to vote you out.

Social Security is Now a Giant Sucking Hole

And when the Washington Post dared to mention that fact the left went nuts.  Jim Geraghty has more from Morning Jolt:

An Insecure, Liberal Reaction to Hard Social Security Facts

Much of the blogosphere is abuzz over Sunday's cover piece in the Washington Post, which offered some scary thoughts worthy of this Halloween season:

Last year, as a debate over the runaway national debt gathered steam in Washington, Social Security passed a treacherous milestone. It went "cash negative."


For most of its 75-year history, the program had paid its own way through a dedicated stream of payroll taxes, even generating huge surpluses for the past two decades. But in 2010, under the strain of a recession that caused tax revenue to plummet, the cost of benefits outstripped tax collections for the first time since the early 1980s.


Now, Social Security is sucking money out of the Treasury. This year, it will add a projected $46 billion to the nation's budget problems, according to projections by system trustees. Replacing cash lost to a one-year payroll tax holiday will require an additional $105 billion. If the payroll tax break is expanded next year, as President Obama has proposed, Social Security will need an extra $267 billion to pay promised benefits.

Paul Krugman and the rest of the lefty blogosphere are irate that the Postdared to write this: "The WaPo makes a big deal of the fact that Social Security is currently taking in less in payroll taxes than it's paying out in benefits. Yet this means nothing, except as a favorite point used to create confusion by those who want to kill the program."

Wait, why? Even if one can argue that the presence of government bonds mitigates the problem, where do our friends on the left think that the money from those government bonds comes from? The federal government. This is like insisting that we don't have to worry about the lack of money from our left pants pocket because we can always get some more money from our right pants pocket. Except that the source of the money is the same.

As I read it, the lefties insist that the Social Security system isn't really cash-negative because the government really, really, really promises to pay the money needed to keep it going.

Walter Russell Mead summarizes:

The payroll taxes coming in are not enough to cover the pension payments going out.

Ah, you say sagely, but that is not a problem. The Social Security trust fund has been carefully putting money aside for decades. Now we will simply draw from the savings account to cover the extra costs.

Not exactly. The government has been spending the money that came in as Social Security payroll taxes for years. It has "invested" the payroll tax revenues in Treasury bonds: that it, the government has been 'saving' money by investing in IOUs to itself.

Now that the program is cash negative, annual social security payments result in a net flow of cash out of the government every year.

If you're my age you're probably not going to see much effect from all this because any reforms that are likely to be enacted probably won't change my benefits (when I can start collecting them). However, younger Americans can pretty much count on the fact that their benefits will be a shadow of what current retireds are collecting.

Halloween Cartoon of the Day

A favorite blast from the past:

And a bonus:

Political Cartoon of the Day

This seems appropriate as Obama prepares to sign yet another executive order for a program that has yet to be announced:

#OccupyWallStreet Feel Good Headline of the Day

From CBS New York:

Snowstorm, Cold Makes Life In Zuccotti Park Difficult For OWS Protesters
Cold, Drenched OWS Members Ask Homeless For Winter Weather Survival Tips

There's one sure-fire piece of advice the homeless can't give them: Go home.

On Halloween Eve Herman Cain's Skeleton Comes Out of the Closet

From Politico:

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.

The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints.

POLITICO has confirmed the identities of the two female restaurant association employees who complained about Cain but, for privacy concerns, is not publishing their names.

I'm trying to remember when such deference was given to any woman who accused Bill Clinton...or any other Democrat...of such misbehavior? Seems to me the press did their best to discredit those women rather than protect them.

Clearly this won't help his campaign regardless of the validity of the accusation, but in the long run it probably won't matter because Cain was unlikely to win the nomination anyway. However, I would be very interested to know how this information got out and especially which campaign leaked it.

UPDATE:  Cain's spokesman issued this statement:

Inside the Beltway media attacks Cain

Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain.

Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.

Since Washington establishment critics haven't had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain's ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.

Sadly, we’ve seen this movie played out before – a prominent Conservative targeted by liberals simply because they disagree with his politics.

Mr. Cain -- and all Americans, deserve better.

No Sun

Left home where it was 80+ under bright sun and drove 15 miles to Laguna Beach to enjoy the view. It's 64 and foggy in Laguna. No view.

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#OccupyLA Cracks Up

From The Awl:

Around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, the 300 people who have been occupying the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall for the past three weeks split themselves into two hostile camps.

Occupy LA’s decision-making body, the General Assembly, has been responsible for conducting the encampment’s business. As in most other cities, the participating members handle everything from ensuring the nightly meeting take place to doing financial research on Los Angeles-based bankers to cleaning up the trash. But on Wednesday, a large group of dissenters decided to occupy the General Assembly’s usual outdoor meeting space and assert themselves as the new regime. One man, standing at the center of the swirling and increasingly unruly crowd, yelled into a megaphone, “You don’t represent us anymore! We’re taking over! We’re the People’s Forum!” Rumblings of dissent and palpable animosity had been mounting in the camp throughout the afternoon. Informal meetings were held around the clock to hotly debate an issue that had factionalized the camp: weed.

There are two things that strike you when you come upon the Occupy LA encampment. The first is the sheer density of the tents: not a single thatch of grass pokes through; the lawn is bursting with tents and spray painted signs that carry slogans about everything from 99 percent to Wall Street criminals to 9/11 conspiracy theories. The place is packed. The second thing you’re likely to notice is the undeniable thick scent of weed smoke in the air. This is a curious aroma, given that the encampment is lodged between the California state courthouse, the offices of the City Council and LAPD headquarters.

Read the rest for a case study in a dysfunctional society. And how are these cities going to justify charging fees for protest permits - or even family reunion gatherings - when they've done nothing to rein in the anarchists and societal misfits that make up these #Occupy gatherings? Every group that has paid a permit fee to the City of Los Angeles should sue to recover those fees.

Our political and law enforcement leadership in Los Angeles, not to mention Oakland, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York and Washington D.C. ... just to name a few...are complete wimps.

Political Video of the Day

Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday calls Mitt Romney out:

Romney's been running for president since at least 2007. If he's not ready to sit down with Chris Wallace, he's not ready to be president.

Political Quote of the Day

From Bob Woodward, all Obama cares about now is winning the election (h/t Newsbusters):

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Welcome back. Bob, tell me something I don't know.

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: That the White House has a secret plan to win the election, and it's complex and it's secret, but, look. Barack Obama wants to win so badly as I understand it, everything in the White House is driven by the election, and that level of commitment will take them to a point where he is going to show some leg in a way that people are going to say, “Wow, he really wants the job,” and this emotional connection could take place.

MATTHEWS: Wow! I am impressed by that.

Matthews is such a tool. Must have got another tingle up his leg.

Of course America will understand that Obama really wants the job.  I think we all understand that.  However, we also understand that he's incapable of doing the job.  I can think of a lot of jobs I'd really like, but I don't have the skill set or experience to do them.  Desire is not enough.  But in liberal land it's your feelings that are important, not what you actually do.

Gun Control Feel Good Story of the Day

From Say Anything:

In Minnesota, a man carrying a legally-permitted concealed weapon came upon a robbery-in-progress at a grocery store. The robbers had pistol-whipped an elderly woman and were fleeing the scene, and the armed “Good Samaritan” gave chase. When one of the robbers turned his gun on him, the “Good Samaritan” shot him.

But there was some question over whether or not this concealed weapon holder would be charged for a crime in his own right. As it turns out, the local prosecutor not only refused to charge the “Good Samaritan” but he actually commended him for his service to the community, only cautioning that authorities would prefer citizens not pursue criminals themselves.

Read the rest of the piece. It seems the local media has done its best to make the robber into a victim while vilifying the good citizen.  Our values are really screwed up.

"Self-Reliance" Has Become a Pejorative

Mark Steyn comments:

Only last week, ABC News reported:

At a million-dollar San Francisco fundraiser today, President Obama warned his recession-battered supporters that if he loses the 2012 election it could herald a new, painful era of self-reliance in America.

Oh, no! The horror!

“Self-reliance” is now a pejorative? Nice to have that clarified. And San Francisco, a city that registers more dogs than it has kids enrolled in its schools and in which adults are perforce the children they never bothered having, seems as good a place as any to make it official. In less enlightened times, “self-reliance” was the great animating principle of the American experiment. By the standards of the day, George III was one of the most benign, caring rulers on earth: You were his mewling charges, and he was the regal babysitter. Then a bunch of settlers in small towns clinging to wilderness and thousands of miles from His Majesty the Nanny decided they didn’t need him and they could stand on their own. What’s the word for that? Oh, yeah: self-reliance.

Is it too late for a Self-Reliance Awareness Day? No, there’s no ribbons. Make your own damn ribbon. If that’s too much to hope for, how about a Multi-Trillion-Dollar Debt Awareness Day? The ribbon starts out black but turns deeper and deeper red. How about a We’ve Spent All the Money Including the Money for an Awareness-Raising Ribbon Day? An Impending Societal Collapse Awareness Day?

Read the whole piece. There's some great stuff on the "Adult Baby" syndrome.

Rick Perry Has a Good Morning

After being too easily sidetracked by stupid things like birther questions, Rick Perry had a good interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News that, if this kind of performance continues, should help get his campaign back on track. From Beltway Confidential:

These days, no news is good news for Texas Gov. Rick Perry. In the first two months of his presidential campaign, Perry's media appearances have been associated with blunders, a big reason why he quickly tumbled from frontrunner status to the back of the pack in polls. But in an extended interview with Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace this morning in Austin, Perry was able to stay completely on message and was unrattled by critical questions about his campaign and policy proposals.

“I’ve laid out a plan, and I’ve got the record and courage to put that in place,” Perry told Wallace, getting at the heart of the case for his candidacy. The clear message was that his new tax and spending plan was superior to Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan while his record as a conservative governor in Texas and willingness to stick to his principles makes him a better choice than Mitt Romney.

“I have been a consistent conservative," Perry said. "I have always been in favor of the Second Amendment, protecting the Second Amendment, I’ve always been pro-life. I’ve always been a fiscal conservative. And Mitt’s been on both sides of those issues. He’s been for a ban on guns in Massachusetts. He’s been for pro-abortion. He’s been for supporting gay rights and now, he’s on the other side of those issues.”

When Perry released his plan this week, one question was whether he'd be able to defend it in interviews and debates. At least this morning, he was able to deflect Wallace's challenges to it, at least in a way that would reassure conservative primary voters.

Perry still has one big advantage with primary voters: He's not Mitt Romney. If he can consistently show this kind of competence on the issues and solid explanations for his plans, he'll certainly win the "Not Mitt Romney" vote and will begin chipping away at the lead.

Global Warming Wreaks Havoc In the Northeast

While we were enjoying a sunny 85 degree Saturday in California, global warming was wreaking havoc on a large swath of the Northeast:

Millions of people from Maine to Maryland were without power as an unseasonably early storm dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow.

The snow was due to stop falling in New England late Sunday, but it could be days before many of the more than 3 million without electricity see it restored, officials warned.

At least three deaths were blamed on the weather, and states of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.

The storm worsened as it moved north, and communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Snowfall totals topped 27 inches in Plainfield, and nearby Windsor had gotten 26 inches by early Sunday.

That's not frost on your pumpkin, it's 27 inches of snow. I'm sure you'll be able to find it again in the Spring.  Have a nice winter, folks.

This is Why You Don't Negotiate With Terrorists

When Israel gave up over 1,000 Palestinian terrorist prisoners for one Israeli soldier I predicted the deal would come back to haunt them:

A Saudi royal offered a $900,000 reward to anyone who captures an Israeli soldier, on Saturday. Prince Khaled bin Talal, the brother of business tycoon Walid bin Talal, told the Saudi-based broadcaster Al Daleel that the captive would then be released in exchange for Arabs held in Israeli prisons.

Khaled's offer comes days after the prominent Saudi cleric, Awad al-Qarni, put $100,000 on the head of every Israeli soldier.

It's going to be open season on Israeli soldiers.

Halloween Video of the Day

Although Halloween is tomorrow, I thought I'd run this video today because the star of the show is celebrating her birthday today.  She was just 2 when I shot this, but turns 23 today.  Happy Birthday Emily!



And here she is today with her little brother. He wasn't around yet when that video was shot:

#OccupyWallStreet Graphic of the Day

From my music education teacher daughter:

Are the Homeless Taking Over the #OccupyWallStreet Movement?

It's getting cold in many parts of the Northeast where the #Occupy movement has been the strongest, and as Byron York attests it may be that the homeless are replacing the starry-eyed youth who originally made up the movement:

I had to be up early this morning to appear on Fox & Friends. I was finished by 6:30, so I decided to stop by the Occupy DC encampment at McPherson Square in downtown Washington. Conditions were miserable; 40 degrees, dark, windy, muddy, steady rain. The weather, predicted to deteriorate even more later, was enough to test the resolve of the most dedicated anti-capitalist.

The small park is filled with tents. At times there have seemed more tents than protesters, and indeed, a friend who has kept a close eye on Occupy DC suggested to me that many of the tents — which convey the impression of a substantial, permanent protest — are actually unoccupied. That’s hard to prove, short of barging into randomly-selected tents. But even among the tents that are in use — and I saw a total of four early-risers in the park Saturday morning — there is the question of how many Occupy DC protesters are actually homeless people who have come to McPherson Square for shelter, a hot meal, and companionship. . . . On Saturday morning, I met a man who said he was an artist and told me that “the world’s f—ed up” in large part because “Bush took all the money and gave it to the Chinese to pay for the war.” After a while, he told me that he normally lived at a couple of “squats” in other parts of town but that he had met some people from Code Pink who told him they had a tent in McPherson Square. So he came to the park. He’s certainly not alone — there are plenty of other homeless there, he told me — but it’s hard to say how many homeless are part of the permanent Occupy DC contingent.

I'm very familiar with McPherson Square. In 2005 my family stayed at a hotel just a couple blocks north of there and we'd walk down to the square each day to get on the Metro, or continue past the square to the White House. It was a nice little park but did have what appeared to be a homeless contingent hanging out there.

Global Warming Headlines of the Day

From Drudge:

SNOW FOR ALL SOULS...

Earliest New York City snow since Civil War?

Powerful Storm Could Impact 60 Million People...

CT braces for up to foot...

Wall Streeters Bundle Up for Cold Weather...

Al Gore, call your office.

#OccupyWallStreet Cartoon of the Day

From Facebook:

By the way, at last count the arrests at #Occupy rallies were somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000. The arrests and incidents of violence at Tea Party rallies continue to be zero.

And then there are these headlines:

Millionaire Michael Moore visits protest...

Fights erupt between Occupy protesters...

'Occupy Madison' loses permit due to public masturbation...

Woman charged with pimping teen recruited at 'Occupy New Hampshire'...

Catalina Island

Here's some photos from Friday's Catalina Trip:

Crossing the Channel

We've departed Avalon and are heading back across the Catalina Channel.

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The Casino

The Casino in Avalon, now a museum and movie theater.

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Avalon Harbor

Easy channel crossing to Avalon Harbor. Spotted one humpback whale about a mile offshore from Newport.

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Headin' Out

Leaving Newport Harbor.

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Where's the Rest of the Boat=?UTF-8?B?Pw==?=

Should I tell the captain there's a big hole in the boat?

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26 Miles Across the Sea...

Going to be remote blogging today from Los Angeles County's island getaway and gang crime haven of Catalina Island. A few months ago I bought a couple of half price tickets for the Catalina Flyer out of Newport Beach from Groupon and we finally found time to use them.

I've been over there a few times. The first was back in 1973 on a family vacation, riding the S.S. Catalina, the Great White Steamer out of Los Angeles. That ship ran the L.A. to Avalon route from 1924-1975, with pauses during WWII to act as a troop carrier.

I found this photo from the trip of my mom, sister and I in Avalon:

We rented a "car" for that trip, which on Avalon usually consists of a golf cart.  This was our ride:

In 1980 I decided to take a day off and go to the island by myself.  Great idea and I thought it would be okay to sit on the upper outside deck of the boat.  Big mistake.  By the time I got to Avalon I was already feeling the effects of what would probably be the worst sunburn I ever got.  My legs were roasted.  I spent much of the day looking for shady places to stay out of the sun, and when it came time to go home you could see nothing but whitecaps across the Catalina Channel.  The winds and seas had come up and the ride home took much longer because they had to slow down due to the big swells.  I was never so glad to end a trip in my life as I was that day.

For my wife's birthday in 1989 we went over to the island with a couple of friends.  We rented a golf cart to drive around the island and we stopped at a scenic point above the city to take this shot:

My wife had spent the entire trip over and the first two hours we were there seasick as a dog. Our daughter was only nine months old, and the nervousness about leaving her for the day combined with taking Dramamine on an empty stomach made for a very queasy passage. She finally got better as the day went on and had no trouble on the trip home.

That same picture spot was chosen when in 2001 that baby girl turned 13 and we took her, her brother and a friend over to the island for her birthday.

One of my more memorable trips was in 1999 when I was asked to go over to do the field work on a Christian camp that wanted an insurance quote.  I left Long Beach on a 6am ferry and arrived at the dock in Avalon about 7:15 where I was told the camp guy would pick me up.  What I didn't know until I got off the boat was he was picking me up in a little Boston Whaler because the only way to get to the camp was by water.  It was February and pretty cold out, and here I was zipping around the island about 30 mph in this open-air boat.  It took about 20 minutes to get to the camp.

Fortunately the day warmed up and I was finished with everything by around noon and we zipped back to Avalon.  I had one more appointment with a church in Avalon and the business administrator was waiting for me at the dock in his golf cart.  He lived there and didn't own a regular car (it's very expensive to bring a car to Avalon and there are restrictions on the number of cars that can be on the island).  It was a fun experience.

Probably the most fun I ever had on Catalina Island though were trips in which I didn't take a boat - I flew myself over there.  During 1978-1980 I made three trips that I can remember, the first one in which I met my parents over there and took my dad up in the plane for a circle around the island.  Unfortunately I can't find any photos from those trips.

However, for the first time flyer into Catalina's Airport-in-the-Sky, for a couple of bucks you could get an official certificate attesting to your oceanic navigation skills.  Here's mine:

That was only a couple of weeks after I got my license. They had great buffalo burgers at the airport cafe, but you had to pay a lot of attention to your landing if you wanted to enjoy one. The runway is cut out of the top of a hill and has an east-to-west uphill grade. On landing the runway seemed to rush up at you, and on take-off the plane seemed to take forever to get up to speed. Once you crossed the threshold at the west end of the runway the ground dropped away in sheer cliff. It kept you on your toes.

I'll be posting from time-to-time during the day as I travel to and from Avalon.  Looks like the weather will be perfect for the crossing and the day in town.

Music Cartoon of the Day

As someone who has spent a fair amount of time in recording studios, I can relate:

#OccupyWallStreet Cartoon of the Day

From Facebook:

Perry May Skip Some Debates

Probably a good idea given that his debate performances have been shaky at best:

After a series of poor debate performances in the early months of his presidential campaign, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is backing off the upcoming GOP debate schedule, committing to just one of the next three events between now and Nov. 15.

Perry has struggled in the five debates he has attended since he joined the race in mid-August. At one, he fumbled an attempt to cast rival Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper. At another, bickering between Romney and Perry drew criticism that the candidates were acting juvenile.

Perry hinted at his frustration with the debates earlier this week when he told Fox News that participating in them was a “mistake.”

“These debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates,” Perry said. “…All they’re interested in is stirring it up between the candidates.”

Although this is probably a good idea, Perry will become the subject of the first debate he misses and everything will be directed towards making him look weak.

I can certainly understand why Republicans should want to skip debates moderated by lefty media outlets that seem determined to generate quotes designed to help Democrats. When they get questions about creationism, abortion, Obama's birth certificate, and other nonsense it's clear the media's only interest in their answers is to what extent those answers will be helpful to Obama.

Unfortunately, this probably won't help Perry in the eyes of the voters.

Jesus Ween? Really?

Silly:

Break out your Bibles, Halloween’s coming.

That’s the message from a Calgary pastor, promoting an initiative called Jesus Ween that aims to turn standard Oct. 31 activities on their head.

“I don’t believe Halloween represents anything close to God or close to Christianity,” says Paul Ade, who has been doling out Bibles instead of sugary treats since 2002.

Now, the 40-year-old wants others to follow suit and has made contact through letters and phone calls to approximately 3,200 North American churches.

“I would say we have received about 70 per cent support,” Ade said.

Participants are also encouraged to ditch the skimpy nurse and pirate outfits and instead wear white clothing to symbolize righteousness.

A lot of churches have co-opted Halloween to create an outreach event for the community, but they don't get silly and self-righteous about it.

For nine years I sang at a "Pumpkin Patch" event at a church in Bellflower that usually drew over 1,000 people from the surrounding neighborhood. There were all kinds of games for kids in which they won candy just for playing, there were free family photos taken by church members, music by my quartet, and puppet show Bible stories for anyone that wanted to watch them. It was all a lot of fun and helped the church be a good neighbor.

#OccupyWallStreet Paleface Campout

For a group that claims to represent 99% of America, it's a pretty pasty looking crowd (from Daily Caller):

Occu-pale -- That blinding light you see from Occupy D.C. isn't from the accumulated brainpower. It's from the accumulated lack of melanin. TheDC's Mia Watkins reports: "The Occupy D.C. protesters crowding McPherson Square say they represent the '99 percent of Americans' who aren't the most wealthy. But their racial composition isn't a mirror of the 99 percent of Americans they claim to represent. A majority of the protesters in the nation's capital are white, a fact that both black and white activists have noted. Tate Jawdat, a white woman who has been 'occupying' the square for a little more than a week, said she doesn't see enough color in the crowd. 'The occupation is very white and the committees are largely run by white men,' she told The Daily Caller. 'Not a lot is going to change if the committees are run by white men.'" Or otherwise. But at least you get to go camping! Remember: The racial composition of any given group is an important issue only when that group opposes the left.

Remember how the media focused on bogus claims of racism coming from Tea Party rallies and the fact the rallies were predominantly white? Funny how those concerns have now disappeared with this bunch.

Of course, it may be that the #Occupy crowd doesn't even look as white as they actually are due to a lack of bathing.

Music Chart of the Day

My Music Ed graduate daughter posted this - the audience chart for Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony (larger version here):

Economic Quote of the Day

From Jim Geraghty:

Why is there so much demand among young people for taxpayers to forgive their student loans, but so little demand for universities to lower tuition?

Exactly. Many of the private and most prestigious schools who charge just ridiculous amounts for tuition have endowments valued in the BILLIONS of dollars. Is the goal just to accumulate those funds at the expense of students? Here are some examples (2009 figures): Harvard $25.7 billion, Yale $16.3 billion, and Stanford $12.6 billion.

 And yet they'll still charge you $40-$50 thousand a year for your unmarketable interpretive dance degree.

Air Farce One

From the always great Michael Ramirez (larger version here):

Evolution Cartoon of the Day

Seen on Facebook:

L.A. May Be The Next to Clean Out the #Occupy Parasites

About time:

“I respect the protesters’ right to peacefully assemble and express their views,” Villaraigosa said. “City officials have been in a continuous and open dialogue with the organizers of Occupy L.A. However, the protesters must respect city laws and regulations, and while they have been allowed to camp on City Hall lawns, that cannot continue indefinitely.”…

In an interview Wednesday, the mayor said county health inspectors recently visited the encampment and expressed concerns over the cleanliness of the camp. In addition, the demonstration is hurting the city’s lawn and trees…

Meanwhile, about a dozen protesters showed up at Wednesday’s City Council meeting to ask lawmakers to allow them to stay. Protester Alex Everett, 26, said he came because he was alarmed by Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s comments to KABC that it was time for protesters “to move on.”

Everett, who moved out of his house and into a tent outside of City Hall two weeks ago, said he thinks many protesters would not leave without a fight. He said if police move in to clear out the protest, like Oakland police did Tuesday, “it will be violent.”

It's times like this that I really miss Chief Gates. These idiots would have been run out of there long ago...at least the ones that made it out of the hospital.

Train Versus Pedestrian Near the Fullerton Amtrak Station

I'm hearing Fullerton Fire being dispatched on an Amtrak versus pedestrian accident in or near the Fullerton Amtrak station.  Police and fire are looking for the victim.

UPDATE:  Sounds like the incident actually occurred near the Buena Park Metrolink station which is just past the Fullerton airport.  OCFA is handling.

UPDATE 2:  From the OC Register:

One person was killed after being struck by a train in Buena Park on Wednesday night, authorities said.

Crews just before 9 p.m. responded to reports of someone being struck by a Metrolink train on the tracks near Lakeknoll Drive and Dale Street, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone said.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, Stone said. Authorities haven't determined the victim's gender.

Weekly KHND Interview Podcast

Here's the podcast from this week's KHND Radio interview.

Atheists Blast Christianity With Bogus Thomas Jefferson Quote

Not only do they not believe in God, they don't believe in Google either because they could have checked this out:

A group of atheists called Backyard Skeptics is planning to unveil a billboard at 1545 Newport Blvd., Wednesday afternoon with a quote from Thomas Jefferson bashing Christianity.

The quote reads, "I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature. It is founded on fables and mythology."

There's one problem: There's no evidence Jefferson ever said it. The Jefferson Library Collection at Monticello lists it on a page of spurious Jefferson quotes.

Bruce Gleason, whose group paid for this and other recent atheism billboards that have gone up in O.C. in recent months, said Wednesday he wasn't sure about the origin of the quote.

He agreed that Monticello was an authoritative source.

"You're absolutely right," he said. "I should have done the research before I put my billboard up."

If you're looking for fables and mythology, try atheism.

Orca-Americans File Suit Against Sea World for Slavery

Oh brother:

A federal court is being asked to grant constitutional rights to five killer whales who perform at marine parks — an unprecedented and perhaps quixotic legal action that is nonetheless likely to stoke an ongoing, intense debate at America’s law schools over expansion of animal rights.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is accusing the SeaWorld parks of keeping five star-performer whales in conditions that violate the 13th Amendment ban on slavery. SeaWorld depicted the suit as baseless.

Here's a suggestion: Slavery or sushi, your choice, Shamu.

You know what's coming next. They'll be asking for reparations.

I guess the dolphins weren't allowed to join the lawsuit because they're not black.

Media Bias Cartoon of the Day

From Big Government:

I Am the 53%, Not the 99% #iamthe53

The losers of the various #Occupy protests don't represent me:

Occupy Wall Street protesters might say they represent 99% of the nation, but there's a growing number of Americans who are making it clear they are not part of the dissident crowd.

They call themselves the 53%...as in the 53% of Americans who pay federal income taxes. And they are making their voices heard on Tumblr blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages devoted to stories of personal responsibility and work ethic.

The number originates in the estimate that roughly 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The 53 percenters stress the fact that they are paying the taxes that support the government assistance the protesters say they want.

Kevin Eder was among the first to galvanize those who wanted to differentiate themselves from the thousands of people rallying across the nation to raise awareness of the growing economic gap between the rich and everyone else.

In early October, Eder created the Twitter hashtag #iamthe53, which has since been posted in hundreds of tweets as the backlash to Occupy Wall Street mounts.

"I would never identify myself with those occupying Wall Street," said Eder, 26, a business analyst in Washington D.C. "The frustration was born out of people claiming to speak for me who don't."

It's the height of arrogance for the #occupy crowd to assume they represent 99% of anything, except perhaps losers who haven't bathed in days.

Political Cartoon of the Day

Seen on Facebook:

Angry Patron Confuses Taco Bell With Burger King

An angry customer makes a run for the border:

Georgia police are hunting for the aggrieved Taco Bell customer who threw a Molotov cocktail at the restaurant’s drive-thru window after phoning in a complaint that there was not enough meat in the chalupas he had purchased.

He apparently forgot that if you want to "have it your way", you've got to go to Burger King.

Support for Banning Handguns Drops to Record Low

Looks like people realize that gun control legislation does nothing to protect the good people and only empowers the criminals:

A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.

According to the same poll 43% of people believe gun control laws should be made even less strict than they are today. Put me in that crowd.

The cities with the toughest gun control laws also happen to be the cities with the highest rates of gun crime. Imagine that. Meanwhile, in state after state which has made concealed carry more available the violent gun crime rate has dropped. More guns = less crime. Too bad the liberals just aren't teachable on this issue.

#OccupyWallStreet Cartoon of the Day

From Arthur Zey:

Is Mormanism a Cult? Is It Christian?

I can't say I have a learned opinion on the subject, but one evangelical scholar, Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary, has spent some time on the subject and offers a piece in the CNN Belief Blog worth reading. Should Mitt Romney become the nominee I guarantee you this subject will be investigated to death by the mainstream media which has been quiet on the issue thus far. I don't think they want to cripple Romney's campaign...yet.

Santa Ana Wind Season Arrives in So Cal

It's that time of the year when the hot dry Santa Ana winds come sweeping through the mountain passes and across a pretty parched Southland:

Strong Santa Ana winds and low humidity are heading to parts of Southern California this afternoon, creating prime conditions for a brush fire.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning to alert local fire agencies.

Early this morning, a cold front passed through the region bringing northerly winds and clearing out the thick marine layer. As this weather system speeds off to the east, a ridge of high pressure is quickly filling into the Great Basin. Winds will build throughout the day and they will shift to the northeast by this evening.

WIND ADVISORIES will be in effect for the mountains from early afternoon through tomorrow. This evening, winds could gust to 50 MPH in the high country. This evening WIND ADVISORIES will go into effect for the valleys of Los Angels and Ventura Counties through tomorrow morning.

This evening a RED FLAG WARNING is also going into effect for the mountains and adjacent valleys through Friday. The combination of extreme dryness and strong winds will enhance the fire danger across much of Southern California.

Through the end of the week, temperatures are going up.

This one won't be as strong as some we've seen, but with everything as dry as it is, it won't take much to get a wind-whipped fire going. Some of the worst fires we've had in Southern California have come in October during Santa Ana wind events.

Obama: Poor Me

Obama went looking for a little sympathy among the San Francisco lefties (from Daily Caller):

Obama calls for another song from the world's smallest violin -- You know who's really got it tough these days? You guessed it! TheDC's Nicholas Ballasy reports on the latest stop in Barry's Traveling Pity Party: "President Barack Obama told an audience in San Francisco Tuesday that the famous 'hope' poster, popular during his 2008 campaign for president, is 'kind of faded' and that it's 'not as trendy to be an Obama supporter' today as it was during his first run for the White House. 'We've made a lot of change, but we've got a lot more work to do,' he told an audience during a campaign event at the W Hotel in San Francisco, California. 'And I know that I'm now a little grayer. You know, and it's not as trendy to be an Obama supporter as it was back in 2008.' Obama went on to say he was no longer the 'new thing' and admitted that he had made some mistakes... Obama's remarks are similar to comments he made during an interview with ABC News on October 3, calling himself the 'underdog' in the next election and conceding that Americans are not 'better off' today than they were four years ago." If he wasn't brazenly abusing his power and ruining everything he touches, this display would be almost pitiful. Obama 2012: I Got Nowhere Else to Go!

Obama has a history of saying silly things in San Francisco. You may remember this gem from 2008:

"And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said.

San Francisco has a way of bringing out the stupid in people.

#OccupyOakland Devolves Into #RiotOakland

It's funny that one of the cities considered most "tolerant" of the wacky left is having the most violence between protesters and cops:

Dozens of police in riot gear and hundreds of protesters in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse in downtown Oakland on Tuesday, with authorities using tear gas to respond to demonstrators’ repeated agitations.

The latest such skirmish came around 9:30 PDT as some protesters began throwing rocks among a crowd that had reconvened in front of City Hall, where a haze of chemical smoke still hung in the air following a similar clash about an hour earlier only blocks away.

Authorities have denied reports that they used flash bang canisters to help break up the crowds, saying the loud noises came from large firecrackers thrown at police by protesters.

City Hall has been the site of conflict throughout the day. Authorities used a pre-dawn raid to dismantle an Occupy Wall Street encampment that had taken over a plaza outside the government headquarters for more than two weeks.

Police removed about 170 demonstrators who had been staying in the area overnight after repeatedly being warned that such a camp was illegal and they faced arrest by remaining. City officials said 97 people were arrested in the morning raid.

Every time some protester is interviewed their ignorance of the Constitution becomes more obvious. Last night I saw some hippie chick who insisted the First Amendment gives her the right to protest "anywhere, any time". Uh, no it doesn't. Why don't you go to the White House and demand to protest in the Oval Office and see how far your First Amendment will take you?

The right to protest and assemble is still subject to other local laws, such as ordinances against camping on city property. It's becoming a tough lesson for the losers.

Paul Ryan Blasts Obama's Class Warfare Campaign

Rep. Paul Ryan is set to speak today at the Heritage Foundation, and excerpts from the speech are pretty tough on Obama (h/t The American):

1. “Instead of working together where we agree, the president has opted for divisive rhetoric and the broken politics of the past. He is going from town to town, impugning the motives of Republicans, setting up straw men and scapegoats, and engaging in intellectually lazy arguments as he tries to build support for punitive tax hikes on job creators.

2. ”The House-passed budget was full of proposals to get rid of corporate welfare and crony capitalism. Why are tax dollars being wasted on bankrupt, politically connected solar energy firms? Why is Washington wasting your money on entrenched agribusiness? Why have we extended an endless supply of taxpayer credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, instead of demanding that their government guarantee be wound down and their taxpayer subsidies ended? … Rather than raising taxes and making it more difficult for Americans to become wealthy, let’s lower the amount of government spending the wealthy now receive … The politics of division have always struck me as odd: the eagerness to take more, combined with the refusal to subsidize less.

3. “Instead of appealing to the hope and optimism that were hallmarks of his first campaign, he has launched his second campaign by preying on the emotions of fear, envy, and resentment. This has the potential to be just as damaging as his misguided policies. Sowing social unrest and class resentment makes America weaker, not stronger. Pitting one group against another only distracts us from the true sources of inequity in this country—corporate welfare that enriches the powerful, and empty promises that betray the powerless.

4. “Instead of policies that make it harder for Americans to rise, let’s lower the hurdles to upward mobility. That’s what the American Idea is all about. In the midst of all the joys and sorrows of our everyday lives, I think we sometimes forget why America was considered such an exceptional nation at its Founding, and why it remains so. To me, the results of the Founders’ exceptional vision can be summed up in a single sentence: Throughout human history, the American Idea has done more to help the poor than any other economic system ever designed.

5. “Americans, guided by our ideals, have sacrificed everything to combat tyranny and brutal dictators; we’ve expanded opportunity, opened markets, and inspired others to resist oppression; we’ve exported innovation and imagination; and we’ve welcomed immigrants seeking a fresh start. Here in America—unlike most places on earth—all citizens have the right to rise.”

That, my friends, is a conservative red-meat speech. Good stuff. Ryan has been after Obama since that famous confrontation when Obama called in the House Republicans and proceeded to lecture them. Ryan gave back as good as he got.

Political Cartoon of the Day

In keeping with the season, from Facebook:

#OccupyWallStreet Cartoon of the Day

From William Warren (h/t NetRightDaily.com):

http://netrightdaily.com/2011/10/occupy-obamas-pocket/

Joe "Short Bus" Biden Wants a Reporter Punished For Asking Him a Tough Question

Poor Joe. When Jason Mattera asked Biden a tough question, Biden immediately got defensive and now is trying to find a way to punish the intrepid reporter (from Dave Wiegel):

After that confrontation, Biden stopped making the crime/cuts comparison. Today, The Hillreports that Biden wants to know how Mattera got to him in the first place, and his office "has also contacted the standing committee of correspondents, which oversees the gallery, regarding whether Mattera broke the rules by ambushing him."

The case is thin. Mattera was not as up-front as he's been in other videos. As you can clearly see, he gets close to the VP not by asking a question and saying where he's from, but by getting into a photo-op. "Mr. Vice President," he says. "Picture?" Once Mattera's got Biden he starts asking him a well-formulated question: "Do you regret using a rape reference to describe Republican opposition to the jobs bill?" Biden's "don't screw around" comment, which led the stories about this, might be a reference to the tactic. And yeah, the tactic is unfair. Most reporters are anonymous enough that, if they felt like it, they could sidle up to a politician in congressional offices, they could ask them questions without announcing that they were with the press. The answers they'd get might be different than the ones they get after they announce themselves as reporters.*

There's more at the link. The video of the Biden confrontation went viral and the Veep doesn't come out looking too good. It's also at the link.

By the way, the defense of Mattera above was written by another reporter, and that's gotta hurt Biden even more.