DBKP - Worldwide Leader in Weird

Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama: The Third Month

2012-01-23T07:54:00.005-05:00

The Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama is nearing its third month in print.

The Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama was released on October 25, 2011 by Threshold Editions, a division of Simon & Schuster, and explores the many aspects of the President's life that remain unreported--or under-reported--by the the American Corporate Media.

Written by Mondo Frazier, Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama is packed full of facts that most likely won't make the president's next autobiography.

The book is available in both hardcover and e-book at hundreds of locations worldwide, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, iTunes and better bookstores across the USA.

More information:
* Secret Lives
* Who is Barack Obama?
* Revealing Obama’s Secret Agenda
* EXPOSED! OBAMA's SECRET LIFE
* Book Review: The Secret Life Of Barack Hussein Obama by Mondo Frazier
* THE SECRET LIFE OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA ☭
* Book Review: "The Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama" by Mondo Frazier

Frazier writes daily at DBKP - Death By 1000 Papercuts.

Today at DBKP: February 13, 2011

2011-02-13T11:01:00.001-05:00

February 13, 2011
TODAY @ DBKP
http://deathby1000papercuts.com

* Day by Day: Put it in Reverse

* Today in Weird History: February 13, 2011

* Hope N Change: Crowd Control

* Ron Paul Takes CPAC Straw Poll for Second Year

* Elizabeth Taylor: She’s in God’s Hands

* DC Lobbyist Car Fire Death Still A Mystery After Medical Examiner Report

* Madness in the UK: Villagers Incensed Over Police Order to Remove Metal Mesh From Shed Windows

* Tom Cruise, Scientology: The Bad PR of Slave Labor Investigations

* Obama Nation: Listen to Your Betters

* Dan’s Daily Cartoons: Hungry Creative Dog

* Diversity Lane: Smoke Gets in Your Brain

* Senator Medler: Twilite Zone

* Electric Drag Racing with John Wayland and White Zombie

* Guns and Weed Movie Trailer: Video

* Obama’s Egypt Policy and Mubarak: Gone in 60 Seconds

by Mondo Frazier
image: dbkp file

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Johnny Optimism: Blood Drive

2011-01-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

[Published at DBKP: Johnny Optimism: Blood Drive]

[Click image to enlarge]

January 6, 2011
Blood Drive
Click the link for more info on Johnny Optimism and Johnny's world.

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John Boehner Elected Speaker of the House: Suggestion Time

2011-01-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

[Originally published at DBKP: John Boehner Takes Speaker’s Gavel: A Lot to Stake]

What Boehner could have accomplished with that big gavel and little imagination...

[Click image to enlarge; click again to super-size it]

Boehner should have finished her off.

We are so screwed...

MORE:
* Boehner Elected Speaker as 112th Congress Is Sworn In; Some Democrats Protest Pelosi
* Video: The Speaker speaks

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (42 B.C.)

by Jamie
image: Jamie

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Hope N Change: Hammer Time

2011-01-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

[Originally published at DBKP: Hope N Change: Hammer Time]

[Click image to enlarge]

January 6, 2010
Hammer Time
Click the link for the complete back story to the 'toon.

Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi passed the gavel of Speaker of the House to Republican John Boehner, who deserves a medal for "courageous restraint" in not using the opportunity to whack Ms. Pelosi on the noggin like a carnival test-of-strength game ("The bell rings! Give that man a cigar!")

Ms. Pelosi, who claims to be a champion of the little people, had just returned from a Hawaiian vacation in which she stayed in a $10,000 per night suite... presumably because Motel 6 had no vacancies.

The House Democrats voted...

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Johnny Optimism: Squeaky

2011-01-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

Originally posted at DBKP - Death By 1000 Papercuts

[Click image to enlarge]

January 4, 2011
Squeaky
Click the link for the complete back story to the 'toon.

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Hope N Change: Signs of the Times

2011-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

[Click image to enlarge]

January 4, 2011
Signs of the Times
Cllick the link for the complete back story to the 'toon.

As we enter 2011, it's a bit distressing that the news reads like a checklist for the Apocalypse. Thousands of birds have fallen out of the skies over Arkansas... a 20-mile stretch of river is covered with dead fish...poisonous serpents are filling the streets and homes of people in Australia owing to unprecedented flooding... and in New York, thousands of people have turned to salt.

Okay, actually they've turned to using salt to clear snow from sidewalks and streets, because the city's overpaid union members don't feel like cleaning it up. Still, it's scary...

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DBKP Sunday Funnies: June 13, 2010

2010-06-06T14:41:00.014-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP:
* Hope N Change: Details Details
* Day by Day: Foreign Exchange

Angie:
Dressed to Kill

Hope N Change:
Details Details

Day by Day:
Foreign Exchange

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DBKP Sunday Funnies

2010-06-05T12:48:00.010-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP:
* Comic Books We’d Like to See: I Am Bee Pee, Jugears
* Obama Nation: BO + BC = BS
* Hope N Change: Eyewitness Jews
* Day by Day: Killers

DBKP Saturday Funnies

2010-06-03T14:02:00.014-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP:
* ">Useful Idiots: Oil and Water
* Angie: Immigration Way Out of Line
* Hope N Change: Dung Beatle
* Day by Day: Pack Behavior

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Democrat Governors 2010 Strategy: GOP, Tea Party is Scaring Us!

2010-05-31T15:15:00.025-04:00

First published at DBKP: 2010 Democrat Governors Strategy: The GOP is Scaring Us, Make Them Stop

Nathan Daschle is sending out emails, sounding the alarm for DemocratGovernors.org. . What's got Nathan so spooked? A 82-second video called "Remember November." Let's take a look at Nate's trembling missive.

"Hey Nathan! Booo! Got ya...."

AS ALWAYS, FEAR IS AN OPTION

FEAR STALKS THE DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS OF AMERICA

If readers smell something funny, it might just be the scent of pure terror.

That's according to Nathan Daschle, from the Democratic Governors.org. According to Nate's email, he's quaking with fear-or is it rage? Hard to remember which week this is.

So let's go to the email.

from: Nathan Daschle, DemocraticGovernors.org
date: Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 12:23 PM
subject: [VIDEO] Coming This Fall

Dear Xxxxxx,

You heard from me recently about the new fear-centric marketing campaign by the Republican Governors Association. It's called 'Remember November,' and is based on the story of Guy Fawkes, the 17th-century English terrorist who tried to blow up Parliament.

Well, the DGA is responding to these sick tactics. But instead of using images of violence to incite fear, we went in a slightly different direction.

Click here to find out how we turned the RGA's ridiculous tactic on its head!

Watch the DGA's "Coming This Fall" video!

The future of our country should be driven by the vigor of America's great debate, not seditious flame-throwing rhetoric. Utter nonsense like 'Remember November' might be good for firing up the angry fringe, but it does absolutely nothing to move our country forward.

So please, check out our new video today -- and then forward it to 5 friends!

We need your help to show people that these dangerous antics by the GOP won't work. Show them we will hold them accountable and respond in a way that brings them right back to reality.

Thanks for all you've done, and all you continue to do, for the Democratic Governors Association.

-Nathan

Nathan Daschle
Executive Director
Democratic Governors Association

P.S. Social networks are a great way to spread around videos like this one, so after you view it, be sure to share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

What's the "sick tactics" video that has Nathan all riled up?

Let's take a quick look.

Readers may decide: was Nathan right to label this video "fear-centric marketing?"

I mean, if you're a Democrat Congressman or Senator and you're watching this, you probably do feel a little fear; after all, most of those in Congress have done little else their entire lives but belong to the political class.

Okay, Nathan, you might have a point there.

Is the video "great debate" or "seditious flame-throwing rhetoric?"

("Seditious," by the way, is the new buzzword; sorta like "racist" was last year and "Nazi" was during the Bush administration.

It's supposed that the GOP can be thankful that Nathan didn't call Remember September "a racist piece of seditious Nazi propaganda."

Suggestion for Daschle: if you really want to scare people, try this next time.

by Mondo Frazier
image: DBKP file

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Investing: The Power of the Stock Return Predictor

2010-05-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Investing--The New Rules: Harness the Power of The Stock Return Predictor

The Stock Return Predictor is one of the most powerful online tools for investing today. Find out why.

The Stock-Return Predictor tells you the price of stocks at a given time.

You wouldn’t give a thought to buying a car or a movie ticket or a chocolate bar without first knowing the price you were being asked to pay. The same should go with your purchases of stocks. My view (I am biased, to be sure) is that this calculator is the most powerful investor’s tool available on the internet today.

All buying decisions are made through a two-step process. Say that you were planning to buy a car. Your first step would be to determine which model was the right one for you. You might spend a good bit of time researching different possibilities before deciding that Car X is the one for you. But at that point the job is still only half done.

Say that you look up Car X in Consumer Reports and learn that the fair price for the car is $20,000. Then you go to a dealer who offers to sell you one for $18,000. You are probably going to sign the papers quick before he changes his mind. You can confidently make that deal because you know this is the car for you and you know that you are getting a more-than-fair deal.

Now say that the dealer demands $25,000 for the car. You are probably going to walk away. It’s not that the car is not right for you. It’s that the price is too high. When you determined that this car offered a strong value proposition for you, that determination assumed that you would be buying it at a reasonable price. There is no car that does not become a poor choice when priced too high.

So it is with stocks. We explored last week why index funds represent the best choice for the typical middle-class investor. When you buy an index fund, you are buying a share of the productivity of an economy that for 140 years now has generated enough profits to finance a long-term average return of 6.5 percent real. That’s plenty good enough for those of us looking for a no-muss/no-fuss investing approach.

But you cannot realistically expect to see that 6.5 percent return if you pay a price well in excess of fair value.

Say that you pay two times fair value for your index funds (that you buy them at a time when valuation levels are double what they should be). In that event, half of your money is going to buy an asset that will indeed generate a long-term return of something in the neighborhood of 6.5 percent real. But the other half of your money is going to purchase cotton-candy nothingness, stuff that is going to be blown away in the wind as prices work their way back to fair value. Spending half of your money on cotton-candy nothingness is not the way to finance an early retirement or even a reasonably comfortable age-65 retirement. Investors who care about getting value for their money need to do better.

Please plug the number “8” into The Stock-Return Predictor and push the “Calculate” button. That is the P/E10 value (“PE10” is our valuation metric; I’ll explain why it is the best valuation metric in a later column) that applied in 1982, when stocks were priced insanely low. The calculator tells you that the most likely 10-year annualized return starting from that valuation level is nearly 15 percent real. That’s an amazing return. Check with any friends who bought stocks in 1982 and they will confirm for you that the calculator got it right; investors who bought stocks in 1982 really did obtain big rewards for doing so over the next 10 years.

Now enter the number “44” into the Predictor. That’s the P/E10 value that applied in January 2000, when stocks were priced higher than they have ever before in history been priced. The calculator reveals the most likely 10-year annualized return as a negative 1 percent real. Again, checking with friends who bought stocks at those prices will show that the calculator is doing something important. The 2000s have come to be known among U.S. stock investors as “the lost decade.” Stocks were not the best choice for the long run for that 10-year stretch. They were the worst choice (money market accounts did better).

Why? Because stocks were so overpriced that two-thirds of the money that people put into stocks in January 2000 was going not to buy an asset class paying a 6.5 percent real return but to buy cotton-candy nothingness. Putting that much of your money into cotton-candy futures is going to go a long way toward setting back your financial freedom dreams every time.

It’s simple, isn’t it? You pay attention to price when buying everything else you buy. You need to begin paying attention to price when buying stocks too. Regardless of what The Stock-Selling Industry tells you is best. The “experts” in The Stock-Selling Industry are telling you what is best for them. You need to start tuning out their marketing slogans with the aim of doing what is best for you.

Next week’s column will explain where the numbers that pop up in The Stock-Return Predictor come from and how you can be sure that the calculator really works.

Every Monday at DBKP:
* Investing–The New Rules: Get the Odds on Your Side
* Stock Investing: Much of Today’s Understanding is Primitive

by Rob Bennett
images: Passionate Savings

Rob Bennett recently authored a Google Knol arguing that “The Bull Market Caused the Economic Crisis.” His bio is here.

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Updated WWI and WWII Posters Updated for The Age of Obama

2010-05-13T02:43:00.030-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Updated World War I and II Poster Art: Obama’s War on Capitalism

The federal government's gobbling up banks, car companies, insurance companies, housing: it's a war out there. Here's some World War I and II posters--as well as some classic editorial cartoons--updated for 2010.

WW I & II POSTERS UPDATED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE FOR 2010

From RidesAPaleHorse:

Been doing a lot of thinking lately about our national situation. As you know, I'm a big fan of wartime poster art and have a pretty extensive collection.

We're in nothing short of a war on our way of life as I see it. So I did a few posters, some from as far back as WWI--and before. Also did a few WWII issues as well.

Click images to enlarge.

NOTE: Some vintage editorial cartoon updates are also included. Mouse over image for poster names.

NOTE: Posters may be used with credit to RidesAPaleHorse and link back to this post. The headline may read 'Obama's War on Capitalism', but RAPH's correct: it's more like a 'War on Our Way of Life.'

ALSO: Some more DBKP Pixelaneous Photo Essays. The collection does need updating! It only contains links to the first 58 or so...

by RidesAPaleHorse
images: RAPH
notes: Mondo

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2010-05-11T07:00:00.002-04:00

Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low;
Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985-2009

Newspapers: Economics, 1985-2009

Funniest Beer Commercial of the Year

2010-05-11T00:09:00.005-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Funniest Beer Commercial We’ve Seen All Year

We thought Dos Equis had the funniest beer commercials on TV. But this one beats them out. Our pick for Funniest Beer Commercial We've Seen All Year.

OUR PICK

posted by Mondo
h/t: Scott & Vicki
image: nostalgia Rush

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Investing--The New Rules: Beat the Odds

2010-05-08T16:47:00.009-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: The New Rules: Get the Odds on Your Side

You want the odds on your side.

If you follow a Buy-and-Hold strategy, you are the gambler. Do gamblers sometimes win? They do indeed. And Buy-and-Hold generated great returns in the late 1990s.

But you don’t want to be the gambler, you want to be the house. Is there a way for the stock investor to get the odds on his side? Is there a way to be sure that you won’t occasionally win some but then give most of the winnings back later on, to insure that over the long run you will almost certainly end up a winner?

There is.

Actually, there are two ways to do this.

The first way is the Warren Buffett way. Buffett studies the companies he invests in for a long time before putting money on the table. He passes up all possibilities until he finds one that puts the odds strongly in his favor. Then he patiently waits for the probabilities to assert themselves.

He doesn’t win every bet any more than the house in a casino wins every bet. But he never sweats it. Like the house, Buffett knows in advance that the odds are on his side. His long-term edge gives him the feeling of confidence that makes investing fun.

There’s only one problem with the Buffett approach. It’s hard. It takes a lot of work. Most of us don’t have the time or skill or energy to pull it off. We are better off not trying.

Fortunately for us lazybones types, there is a second way that works almost as well. The reason why the Buffett approach is so much work is that there are a hundred factors that can determine whether a company is successful for not. If you miss one factor and it turns out to be important, there goes your hope of being the house and not the gambler. We lazybones types need an approach to getting the odds on our side that only requires us to check out a single factor and then permits us to roll over and go back to sleep.

We’ve got it!

It’s called indexing. When you buy an index fund, you are buying a share of the productivity of the entire U.S. economy. You don’t need to bother figuring out whether a company has good management or a competitive edge or is sufficiently capitalized or any of that other boring junk. It’s always going to be the case that some of the companies in the U.S. economy are going to have good management and that some are not, that some are going to have a competitive edge and that some are not, that some are going to be well capitalized and that some are not. Buy indexes and you get a mix of all of them. You won’t do as well as if you put in the effort to separate the sheep from the goats. But you’ll do pretty darn well all the same.

How well? The U.S. economy has been sufficiently productive to generate an average long-term return for stock investors of 6.5 percent real for 140 years now. That’s what you can expect if you become a follower of the lazy Buffett approach to investing.

Now -- I need to make a very, very, very important point. Indexing is the answer for the typical middle-class investor. But John Bogle and the other Buy-and-Holders have given indexing a bad name with the tireless promotion of their misleading marketing slogans.

I advocate a reformed Bogle approach called “Valuation-Informed Indexing.” This approach incorporates the critically important lessons we have learned from the academic research of the past 30 years. It is not an indexing approach that will eventually leave you busted, as Bogle’s will. It is an indexing approach that works in the real world.

To understand why valuations are so important, you need to take a moment and consider why it is that Buffett’s approach works so well. Buffett finds a strong value proposition to invest in and then sticks to the decision long enough for it to pay off. Bogle almost does the same. Bogle advocates sticking with your decisions, he recommends long-term investing just as Buffett does. But Bogle leaves out a critically important step in the process of getting the odds on your side. His strategy includes no feature insuring that you are investing in a strong value proposition.

That can never work. Not in the long term.

So --

What makes for a strong value proposition with indexes?

If you can manage to tune out all the junk that the investing “experts” have been putting in your head for 30 years now, you probably can guess. Buying a share of U.S. productivity is much like buying anything else. You have lots of experience buying stuff. What is the one thing that you are certain always to look at to insure that you do not get ripped off when buying carrots or comic books or sweaters or printers?

Price!

Indexes can be wonderful, just like all the other things you can buy with money in this Consumer Wonderland of ours. But they are obviously not wonderful at any possible price! Buy indexes at a good price and you are the house. Buy indexes at a bad price and you are arguably something even worse than a gambler -- you are a sap.

Buy indexes at a poor enough price and it’s not just that the long-term odds are not with you, it’s that the long-term odds are against you. Buy indexes at a poor enough price and it’s pretty much a lock that you are going to get a worse return from stocks than you could get from money markets. Yuck! Not good.

Investing could be so simple. The only thing that complicates it is that The Stock-Selling Industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing expenses trying to persuade you not to take price into consideration. Why would people who make a living from selling stocks want us all to think that we should put our money into stocks regardless of the price at which they are selling? This is a hard one! I might have to think this one over for a few years and get back to you!

I want to free you from the power of the expert stock salesman. I want to teach you how to invest in indexes effectively. I want to teach you to become the house and not the gambler by learning how to distinguish index fund purchases that represent strong long-term value propositions from index fund purchases that represent poor long-term value propositions. I’ll present you next week with a tool that will tell you in five minutes all that you need to know to know whether stocks are going to pay off for you or not.

by Rob Bennett
images:
* Casino Review Bank
* DBKP file

Rob Bennett recently authored a Google Knol arguing that “The Bull Market Caused the Economic Crisis.” His bio is here.

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Useful Idiots: Selective Outrage!

2010-05-08T02:29:00.004-04:00

The Lamestream Media, Dinosaur Media, Legacy Media, MSM, Moron Media, MFM: whatever you call it, they're mostly Useful Idiots.

Originally posted at DBKP: Useful Idiots: Selective Outrage

[Click images to enlarge; click a 2nd time for larger]

Useful Idiots by James Hudnall and Val Mayerik.

A bit about the creators (taken from their bios at Big Journalism):

James Hudnall is a professional writer and internet developer.

He describes his political philosophy as "para-realism."

James has been blogging since 2002 and has written professionally since 1986. His graphic novels have been translated into seven languages. In addition to Useful Idiots, James produces the strip Obama Nation with cartoonist Batton Lash every Sunday at Big Hollywood.

Hudnall is also a U.S. Air Force Veteran. He currently lives in San Diego, California.

Be sure to check out his blog at thehud.com.

Val was born in Youngstown, Ohio in the 1950s. He started drawing for Marvel Comics in 1972. Some of his more well known works were Howard the Duck and The Savage Sword of Conan. He broke into the comics business with the help of artist Dan Adkins. He also worked at Neal Adam's Continuity Studios.

In the 1990s he moved from comics to computer gaming design and commercial art where he works for an impressive list of clients. Val is also a painter of western art. You can view his work at valmayerik.com.

Check out thehud.com, valmayerk.com and Big Journalism for more. As always, if readers like what they see, don't be hesitant to let them know.

by Mondo
image: Selective Outrage

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In Case You Missed it: May 4, 2010

2010-05-03T23:48:00.004-04:00

Here's a quick look at some stories we wanted to cover in greater depth, but ran out of time. At least they get a quick mention and now we're almost caught up. A two-fer!

Everybody's busy these days--even hobos and Hollywood celebrities.

Here's some stories DBKP was going to comment on, but didn't--because we were too busy!

Just in case you missed them.

The Best Quotes From Saul Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals.”

John Hawkins, Right Wing News, read Rules for Radicals and distilled a bunch of good quotes from the book. Very good reading for those without the time to do the Full Alinsky.

Alinsky deeply impressed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has been nothing if not our community-organizer-in-chief. Both took the book and its lessons to heart.

The tenth rule of the ethics of rules and means is that you do what you can with what you have and clothe it in moral arguments. ...the essence of Lenin's speeches during this period was "They have the guns and therefore we are for peace and for reformation through the ballot. When we have the guns then it will be through the bullet." And it was. -- P.36-37

However, on foreign policy, it is wished that both Hillary and Obama had substituted the quote below for their fabled "smart power."

The most unethical of all means is the non-use of any means. It is this species of man who so vehemently and militantly participated in that clasically idealistic debate at the old League of Nations on the ethical differences between defensive and offensive weapons. Their fears of action drive them to refuge in an ethics so divorced for the politics of life that it can apply only to angels, not men. -- P.26
I Own the World has a two-fer:

First, they publish some contact info to let Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer know that she should keep up the good work. Support Jan Brewer

Buycott Arizona lists businesses based in Arizona so you can counter various and sundry liberal boycotts.
American Spectator exposes the worms in the Obama administration apple and their eating out of the First Amendment through onerous regulations and sly additions to legislation: Shutting Down Free Speech.

First is the Federal Communication Commission's National Broadband Plan. There is an overabundance of big government programs contained in the plan for Americans to dislike. These range from having taxpayers fund broadband as a universal service to developing a process by which outside entities -- including the government -- can monitor how Americans use energy at home, just to name a few.

The NBP also proposes the FCC recapture nearly half of the radio spectrum used by today's 1,600 broadcast TV stations -- involuntarily, if need be -- and designate it for broadband services. The FCC identifies the swath of spectrum that is ideal for the latest wireless services as that which falls between 225 MHz and 3.7 GHz.

TV broadcasters occupy only five per cent of that spectrum with other actors -- including the government -- sitting on much larger chunks of spectrum, some of which lies fallow. Even Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, whose company would likely be the single biggest beneficiary of the National Broadband Plan, found the FCC's "looming spectrum shortage" claims to not be credible.

You'd think the Left would mobilize to protect Free Speech. But they won't because they are making the rules attempting to muzzle opponents and they envision they will be in charge of allocating who gets to publish on the Internet.
The Barack Obama-Vera Baker Presidential Cheating Scandal: Did the president cheat in 2004? Is the affair on-going? Who is Vera Baker? DBKP has the low-down on the scandal broken by the National Enquirer a few days ago.
* Vera Baker, Obama: 2008 Illegal Foreign Contributions Connection?
* Obama, Vera Baker Affair Rumors: Baker Returned to D.C. Nine Days after Obama Inauguration
* Obama, Vera Baker: Enquirer Stands by Presidential Cheating Story
* Vera Baker, Obama: Enquirer Revises Obama Cheating Story
* Vera Baker: Who is Vera Baker?
* Obama, Vera Baker: Enquirer Uncorks Presidential Cheating Scandal
News Not Fit To Print. A short piece that's well worth reading that perfectly illustrates one reason the American media is not just biased, but corrupt. As if you needed another piece of evidence, but the story is good.
Sarah Palin Is on a Roll. Crazy like a fox. The Left is terrified of this woman. As Don Surber says of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, "She's living rent-free inside his head." (I believe Surber said he was paraphrasing Limbaugh.)
Joe “dumb as” Dirt. HA! Funny picture of the Day.
"Everybody Draw a POSITIVE Mohammed" Day. The People's Cube demonstrates it's not as hard as one might think.
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day? . Maksim says, "Why wait until May 20? Let's get this party started!" And so he does!
2011: The Obama Coup Fails. The online game continues to grow and grow and.... Go to the site and cast a vote for DBKP on their top 40 most popular sites. Help us get back into the Top Ten! (Voting is near the bottom of the page, btw.)
Interesting Beck piece: Glenn Beck – “How’s Your Security?”
Ooops! Obama's real thoughts are popping up everywhere these days: President Obama: GOP Opposition to Stimulus 'Helped to Create the Tea-Baggers'
For more headlines, check out these Right Bias offerings. Updated frequently for those on-the-go-go.
Finally, a little TV time: DBKP's LBG had her revealing article on the Real Housewives of NJ tweeted by two of the people appearing on the show: Danielle Staub, The Naked Truth: An Illegitimate Sicilian Mob Princess Fathered by a Murdered Priest?

That's it and dang!--we're caught up almost!

by Mondo Frazier
image: DBKP file

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Stock Investing: Much of Today's Understanding is Primitive

2010-05-03T20:54:00.005-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Stock Investing: Much of Today’s Understanding is Primitive

I Know More About Investing Than John Bogle

-- And You Can Too!

It’s not that I’m picking on Vanguard Founder John Bogle. Bogle is a hero of mine. The point that I want to make is that none of the investing experts know as much as they are portrayed to know about stock investing. Today’s understanding of how stock investing works is primitive. This reality gives you an opportunity to shoot ahead of the experts if you are willing to question a few of the most popular beliefs that we have discovered in recent years are built on sand.

It’s not just me who says that our knowledge today is primitive. Rob Arnott is the former editor of the Financial Analysts Journal, the most prestigious journal in the field. He says that today’s conventional investing wisdom is rooted in “myth and urban legend.” Anatole Kaletsky wrote in The Times that the economic theories on which today’s conventional investing wisdom is based are “on the brink of a paradigm shift." We are where astronomy was when Copernicus realized that the earth revolves around the sun. The academic economics of the past 20 years is comparable to pre-Copernican astronomy, with its mysterious heavenly cogs, epicycles and wheels within wheels or maybe even astrology, with its faith in star signs.”

So you don’t need to take “experts” like John Bogle too seriously. Bogle is a smart fellow. I have learned many important things from reading his work. But when he says something that does not add up, I remind myself that the conventional investing wisdom that he espouses is rooted in myth and urban legend and I think the issue through for myself until I come to an understanding in which I am able to feel greater confidence.

The thing that I don’t get about Bogle’s advice is why he says that there is no need for investors to lower their stock allocations when stock prices go to insanely dangerous levels. Bogle acknowledges that stock prices always revert to the mean; he calls this an “Iron Law” of stock investing. The market was priced at three times fair value in January 2000. That translates into $12 trillion of overvaluation, $12 trillion of money that investors were thinking could be used to finance their retirements that was fated to go “poof!” sometime over the following 10 or 15 years. Shouldn’t we have all been expecting a stock crash as the Iron Law forced prices back to fair value? It sure seems so to me.

I’ve studied the history of the Buy-and-Hold concept to try to figure out what is going on with the strange advice that we have been hearing from most of the experts for the past 30 years. It turns out that there was a time when the academic research really did support the Buy-and-Hold idea. There was a time when the research seemed to indicate that stocks are always priced properly, that insane levels of overvaluation are an impossibility. If that were so, staying at the same stock allocation at all times really would make sense.

But Yale Professor Robert Shiller (author of Irrational Exuberance) did research in 1981 poking holes in the idea that stocks are always priced right. If Shiller’s findings hold up (and there is now 30 years of follow-up research backing him up), staying at the same stock allocation at all times is a terrible idea. If Shiller is right, Bogle is wrong. If valuations affect long-term returns, the risk of investing in stocks is greater at times of high prices. If Shiller is right, the investor seeking to “Stay the Course” (a favorite Bogle admonition) needs to change his allocation in response to big price swings, not always keep it the same.

Why haven’t the experts been telling us this? Buy-and-Hold became extremely popular during the huge bull market. Advocating Buy-and-Hold made a lot of people millionaires. I have a funny feeling that the primary expertise of many of the “experts” in the The Stock-Selling Industry is in marketing. Buy-and-Hold teaches that we should all always be putting most of our money into stocks. Wouldn’t every industry like to be able to persuade the public that its product is a good deal at any possible price? The Stock-Selling Industry actually got away with this far-fetched (and self-serving!) claim during the Buy-and-Hold Era.

Are you depressed? Please don’t be. What I am saying is encouraging news if you look at it from the right angle.

I am saying that the conventional investing wisdom is dubious stuff. That’s bad. But you know what? There is no law that says that we need to follow the conventional wisdom. What if we stopped?

If the conventional wisdom is as bad as I am arguing it is, there are wonderful opportunities available to all of us to invest far more effectively just by taking a little time to learn what the academic research really does say rather than going by what the expert salesmen say that it says. If valuations affect long-term returns, as the research has been showing for 30 years now, we can all easily obtain far higher returns at far less risk. How? All we need to do is to lower our stock allocations when stocks are priced to provide poor long-term returns and increase our stock allocations when stocks are priced to provide super long-term returns.

If Shiller is right, stock returns are predictable. To the extent that stock returns are predictable, stocks are not risky. You can get the great returns available to those who invest in stocks without having to expose your retirement money to much risk of loss. All you have to do is to be willing to adopt a more skeptical attitude to the claims of John Bogle and the other expert salesmen.

More to come!

by Rob Bennett
images:
* Primitive Thinkers
* Canuck Jihad

Rob Bennett recently posted a Google Knol arguing that “The Bull Market Caused the Economic Crisis.” His bio is here.

Back to DBKP Front Page.

Charlie Crist: Crist Leads his own Party of One

2010-05-01T21:55:00.001-04:00

Charlie Crist: Party of One™

Ed Morrissey has a few thoughts on the sad state of affairs that opportunistic fame-chaser, Gov. Charlie Crist, finds himself in. The situation is totally of Crist's doing and demonstrates why principles are important things--even more so than technocratic understanding or extreme wonkishness to someone who aspires to leadership.

From Crist: I could vote for a Democrat as Senate Majority Leader:

Many have questioned Crist’s sense in abandoning his party for a one-shot run at the US Senate, and this will only deepen the conviction that Crist has completely taken leave of his senses. Does he really believe that in 2010 the electorate wants to endorse current Democratic leadership in Congress? How many independents does he think he’ll win by assuring them that he’ll vote to maintain the status quo if he goes to Washington?

Crist has become a Party of One, trying to join a Caucus of One. That’s likely to be a great description of the rest of his political career.

"Float like a butterfly, waffle like I.H.O.P."

"I could vote for a Democrat as Senate Majority Leader."

That all the soundbite you need if you're Marco Rubio and looking for way to portray Charlie as the anti-Crist. Crist will be one of those politicians who was successful, not because he did a good job, but because he was in the right place at the right time.

He's now demonstrated his competence by forcing himself into the wrong place at the wrong time and saying the wrong things to give the right impression.

The U.S. Army's advertising handle for a time--it still might be--was "An Army of One." Flip-flopping Charlie Crist already has a great slogan ready to roll:

Charlie Crist: Party of One™

Be all you can be, Charlie!

by Mondo Frazier
image: http://img.metblogs.com/orlando/files/2008/07/72dpicristwin001.jpg

Vera Baker: Enquirer Website Revises, Updates Obama Cheating Scandal

2010-05-01T01:42:00.002-04:00

NEW ENQUIRER WEB STORY HAS BIG CHANGES

UPDATES at end of story

NEW ENQUIRER WEB STORY HAS BIG CHANGES

The National Enquirer has revised and extremely shortened their Obama Presidential Cheating Story. The old link is no longer working and a new link to a shorter story is now in place.

The new Enquirer web story is basically the same with less details than the old one.

Both the old and the new articles match up during the first several paragraphs.

UPDATED: Reports out of Washington, DC: PRESIDENT OBAMA has been caught in a shocking cheating scandal after being caught in a Washington, DC Hotel
with a former campaign aide.

A confidential investigation has learned that Obama first became close to gorgeous 35 year-old VERA BAKER in 2004 when she worked tirelessly to get him elected to the US Senate, raising millions in campaign contributions.

While Baker has insisted in the past that "nothing happened" between them, reports reveal that top anti-Obama operatives are offering more than $1 million to witnesses to reveal what they know about the alleged

What's extensively revised is the latter half of the story. Where there were once details--mostly of the alleged rendezvous-- now there are none.

Among those being offered money is a limo driver who says in 2004 that he took Vera to a secret hotel rendezvous in where Obama was staying.

An ENQUIRER reporter has confirmed the limo's driver account of the secret 2004 rendezvous.

The "DEVELOPING STORY" tag is still on the story, but the part of the "Enquirer Exclusive" about the independent collaboration of the story by a DC source" is missing.

ALSO at DBKP:
* Vera Baker: Who is Vera Baker?
* Obama, Vera Baker: Enquirer Uncorks Presidential Cheating Scandal

We reported previously that the story was scheduled for an update in the next 72 hours and we were right--just not in the direction it has taken. However, the salient points of the story remain, only the details have disappeared.

What does this mean? One possibility: that the Enquirer wanted to let sister publication, The Globe, have a moment in the sun before taking over the story. The Enquirer has done work on this story and its the Enquirer which has the investigative resources.

What does this mean? Nothing, everything? Let the speculation begin.

There is somewhat of a precedent: During the first hours after the Enquirer released many details of the Edwards' scandal, the Enquirer's website went down and the page with the Love Child info on was inaccessible.

Readers spent 3-4 hours wondering what the heck was going on and wild rumors flew. Some of the speculations:
* Edwards had sued the Enquirer and forced the story down;
* The story was a Clinton dirty trick and after people had seen the post, it had accomplished its mission of damaging Edwards.
* The story was a fabrication and the Enquirer had taken it down before Edwards was able to sue him.

Actually, the Enquirer's website had experienced a spike in traffic. The next morning everything was fine, the story was up--unchanged--and the Mainstream Media pretended they didn't know anything about i and couldn't ask Edwards any questions.

There's more to this, check back for updates.

by Mondo Frazier
image: UK Telegraph

Day by Day: Wild Card

2010-05-01T01:24:00.002-04:00

[Click image to enlarge]

May 1, 2010
Wild Card
by Chris Muir
Check out the complete DbD archives.

Vera Baker, Obama: Presidential Cheating Scandal in National Enquirer

2010-04-30T16:45:00.005-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Obama, Vera Baker: Enquirer Uncorks Presidential Cheating Scandal
Check DBKP for updates on this "developing story."

FINALLY!

The National Enquirer has been working to confirm details of a presidential cheating scandal involving Barack Obama and former aide, Vera Baker. The Enquirer tried mightily in 2008 to confirm the whispers of the affair but couldn't get anyone who could confirm the story to talk.

At last, someone did--in 2010.

From OBAMA CHEATING SCANDAL:

PRESIDENT OBAMA has been caught in a shocking cheating scandal after being caught in a Washington, DC Hotel with a former campaign aide, sources say.

And now, a hush-hush security video that shows everything could topple both Obama's presidency and marriage to Michelle!

A confidential investigation has learned that Obama first became close to gorgeous 35 year-old VERA BAKER in 2004 when she worked tirelessly to get him elected to the US Senate, raising millions in campaign contributions.

Vera Baker rumors surfaced briefly in 2008 on the Internet, mostly on a few conservative blogs, but were dismissed because of a lack of evidence.

The Enquirer heard those same whispers--but couldn't confirm them through other sources.

According to a source close to the Enquirer investigation, there were five people who could confirm the overnight hotel stay between Obama and Baker--but none of them would talk. Baker reportedly then left the country.

MORE:

While Baker has insisted in the past that "nothing happened" between them, the ENQUIRER has learned that top anti-Obama operatives are offering more than $1 million to witnesses to reveal what they know about the alleged hush-hush affair.

Among those being offered money is a limo driver who says that he took Vera to a secret hotel rendezvous where the President was staying.

On the condition of anonymity, the limo driver said he took Baker "from a friend's home in the DC area to the Hotel George where I learned later that Obama would be spending the night."

The driver recalled that he "waited in the lobby while she went to change her outfit.

"But to the best of knowledge she did not have a room at the hotel and she was not staying there so I thought that it was a bit odd."

The driver said he then picked up Obama at the airport and drove both he and Baker to various locations while he was campaigning for funds. Vera accompanied him to each meeting.

"About 10:30 PM, I drove them to the hotel and they went in together!"

"My services for the evening were done - and there was no indication she was going to leave the hotel that night."

While it's still too early to tell if this turns into a Pulitzer moment for the best-selling supermarket tabloid, it's a good start if true.

It's the fruits of another multi-year Enquirer investigation, ala John Edwards, which has been on-going since at least 2008.

A top DC source told The ENQUIRER exclusively that the driver's account had been independently corroborated by investigators who believe the couple spent the night together at the hotel.

The ENQUIRER has also learned that on-site hotel surveillance video camera footage could provide indisputable evidence.

"Investigators are attempting to obtain a tape from the hotel (that) shows Vera and Barack together," the DC insider confided.

"If the tape surfaces, it will explode the scandal."

What will Robert Gibbs say?

Will any MSM reporters ask him? Or will they clam up as they did during the Edwards Scandal when NOT ONE reporter asked Edwards about Rielle Hunter for a ten-month period.

Time will tell.

by Mondo Frazier
image: DBKP file

Incumbency Fever: Treatment Now Available for Gonnarhea Lectim

2010-04-30T11:16:00.004-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: New Disease Alert: Gonorrhea Lectim Treatment Available

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease.

The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. ("Gonna re-elect 'em") and is a terrible obamination.

The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving
ingestion of the media/administration drug “Ignoritol”TM which leads to rectal/cranial inversion
and irrational behavior such as agreement with "social justice", "spreading the wealth",
"alternative energy", "tax the rich", "violent Tea Parties" and "Fox News Propaganda".

Many victims contracted it in 2008...but now, most people,
after having been infected for the past 1-2 years,
are starting to realize how destructive this sickness is.
Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured however with a new drug
just coming on the market called VoteemoutTM.

Taking the first doses of voteemoutTM in 2010 and continuing doses through 2012,
along with cessation of the use of “Ignoritol”TM indicates reduced rectal/cranial inversion
and gradually decreases the effects of Gonorrhea Lectim
but can cause severe withdrawal symptoms in those individuals also infected with
long term liberalstatistosis and Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Side effects may include but are not necessarily limited to:
Increased patriotism
Sudden ability to see issues clearly
Irresistable urge to join Tea Party rallies
Auditory discomfort when hearing liberal/statist talking points
or current presidential speeches/statements
Temporary blindness and/or involuntary eye movement away from images of:
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid
Barack HUSSEIN Obama
Susan Estrich
Robert Gibbs
Alan Colmes
Bob Beckel
Members of Congress
Members of the Senate
(may also induce nausea and vomiting but can be avoided by limiting exposure)

QUIT BEING A VICTIM!!
GET VOTEEMOUTtm
AT YOUR LOCAL DRUGGIST
NOW!!!

by RidesAPaleHorse
images: RAPH

Rielle Hunter, Oprah Interview: That's My Story and I'm Sticking to It

2010-04-29T21:34:00.004-04:00

Rielle Hunter showed up on Oprah to collect another 60 --48 with commercials removed--minutes of fame. The interview, as with all Hunter utterances, was amusing. Viewers tuning in to learn something new were disappointed however.

[ABOVE: "Now that we're comfy.."]

RIELLE HUNTER on OPRAH:
NOTHING NEW

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

Rielle Hunter's Mistress Media Rehabilitation Tour booked a daytime TV powerhouse: Oprah. Oprah booked a solid sweeps week draw. So, both of the heavies involved got what they wanted.

However, viewers tuning in to Oprah in hopes of learning anything new when the TV talk diva interviewed John Edwards Scandal mama were sorely disappointed.

Originally posted at DBKP: Rielle Hunter on Oprah: Something Old, Nothing New

Oprah asked many questions and Rielle Hunter stuck to her same familiar script ("I'm not a home-wrecker. I didn't cause the Edwards' marriage to break up").

At times, Oprah acted incredulous at the answers she got from the former mistress, but didn't dig deeper--although several times Ms. Winfrey reacted to Hunter with skepticism.

Rielle Hunter, John Edwards, Andrew Young, Elizabeth Edwards, Fred Baron, Frances Quinn Hunter and a cast of thousands!
Over 200 DBKP articles and videos on the John Edwards Love Child Scandal from December 2007: John Edwards Love Child Scandal DBKP Library of Stories

"Are you telling me that...?" and repeating the question again, the second time in disbelief. That was about the extent of the "grilling" that some reports characterized the face-to-face. The Washington Post, in particular, called the interview a "grilling."

Of course, compared to the questions the paper of Woodward and Bernstein asked while the affair--and Edwards' campaign--was active (zero), the Oprah sweeps week episode probably did seem like a turn under a bright police light. The writer, Lisa de Moraes, does get major style points for labeling Hunter "the Queen of Denial" and "High Priestess of Having It Both Ways."

Lisa de Moraes did record one of the best Hunter Howlers of the day.

Rielle insisted she did think about Edwards's wife and his three children while conducting her affair with Edwards.

"I mean, it was very hard -- very, very hard," Rielle said, in re herself.

After Rielle had explained to Oprah about a gajillion times that she was a person who was deeply committed to the truth and being authentic, Oprah was finally driven to ask: "So you are a person who is on a spiritual path. You've mentioned truth here several times. What part of you could make that okay, then, to be with this married man with children?"

"Because he was available," Rielle said simply.

Hunter has previously displayed a singular talent for disassembling and mendacity, so this nugget of truth stood out. "Because he was available."

The girl's should take up stand-up.

Oprah's menu most of the day, however, consisted mainly of grilled creampuffs.

Oprah shrewdly scheduled the interview for sweeps week: interest in the mistress and all things John Edwards Scandal is still high: Google processes over 250 milllion search queries a day and the term "Rielle Hunter, Oprah" bounced around all day in the top 10 search results according to the search giant.

So what exactly did Oprah ask? Nothing that hasn't been asked before, but let's take a look.

["According to my script, it wasn't my fault..."]

THE QUESTIONS

As we said, it was mostly 'same old, same old' but for those readers new to the story, we'll hit the high spots anyway.

OPRAH--on why Reille Hunter agreed to the cover-up involving former Edwards aide Andrew Young claiming he was the father of her baby: "Why did you, Miss Spirituality in Alignment With the Truth . . . go along with it?"

Hunter then trotted out her GQ line which used Frances Quinn as a human shield, saying she did not want her then-unborn daughter growing up blaming herself for Edwards dropping out of the race.

Oprah passed on the chance to then ask Hunter how she's supported herself during the last four years--the amount of time the former mistress has been on the Edwards/Baron/Mellon dole.

ALSO at DBKP: Rielle Hunter on Oprah
* Rielle Hunter on Oprah: The Latest Spin, Media Coaches and Creampuffs
* Rielle Hunter on Oprah: The GQ Photos, Video of Photo Shoot
* Rielle Hunter on Oprah: The “Truth” According to Rielle Hunter
* Rielle Hunter on Oprah: It’s Elizabeth Edwards’ Fault I’m John Edwards’ Mistress
* Rielle Hunter Comments: Mistress Image Rehab Tour Not Doing Well
* Oprah: Rielle Hunter Mistress Rehab Media Tour to Appear on Oprah
* Rating the Pay-Off’s for Tiger Woods, Jesse James, and John Edwards’ Mistresses
* Rielle Hunter GQ Interview: The Many Versions of the Rielle Truth

Hunter insisted several times that she was "committed to the truth." Presumably, this included the times she made statements--one through a Fred Baron-arranged lawyer--that she was not involved with Edwards, that anyone who suggested that was a liar and that her conduct, while working for the Edwards' campaign was completely "professional."

Which begs the question, did her "professional" conduct involve the on-going affair with Edwards, or her claim that she fathered a child with the very-married Andrew Young? Which was it? Oprah missed a chance for clarification.

Oprah never asked about Hunter's previous statements of 2007-2008, which were as phony as the ones Edwards made on the subject. This might have been a good line of questioning when Hunter was discussing why John Edwards repeatedly lied: to Elizabeth, the nation, his staff. Rielle would have viewers believe she was a spectator during that entire time.

["After Elizabeth found out, Johnny and I LOLed--sorta."]

When Oprah asked Rielle whether she slept with Edwards hours after first meeting him, she feigned coyness--"Fade to black"--but it was much too late: she'd already informed GQ readers that they met in his room, then slept with him that night. She also left out the GQ charade about Edwards calling her back on her cell phone because the hotel had 'caller ID'--which upon checking it was discovered the Regency rooms never have had that service.

Is this projecting?

Sorry.

Hunter pleaded GUILTY to the "power of love overcoming her judgment" when asked about Edwards' wife and kids. She also said that "he was available" and that "their (the Edwards) marriage was in trouble."

Okay then. If Hunter hasn't considered playing the part of the mistress in a possible movie about the Scandal, she's not the opportunist many have given her credit for. No amount of thespian training can match the complete lack of irony she musters when saying these things.

There was the usual psycho-babble about "truth" and "living a life of integrity" and "being authentic"--this used to describe the months when Hunter flew around the country, meeting secretly with Edwards on the campaign trail, where she was stashed in a hotel room under a fake name. It was also about this same time period that Rielle Hunter, who burns to stand up for the truth, took the name Jaya James as another ruse to fool anyone who was trying to get to another, non-Rielle version of the truth.

In the end, Oprah did the best she could with what she had to work with; which is to say, Hunter herself.

Score one for Hunter's media coaches--whoever they may be--she avoided repeating most of her worst GQ moments. But in the end, Oprah sounded unconvinced about most of what Hunter was selling. It was clear that Oprah was giving the former Lisa Jo Druck a big benefit of the doubt.

Which most anyone else who's followed the scandal finds hard to do.

Regardless of how many TV shows Rielle Hunter appears on in an attempt to portray herself as something she's not.

When asked what Johnny thought of her GQ piece, Hunter stated that Edwards had asked her, "Where was your pants? What happened to your pants?"

If only Edwards had asked that question back in 2007, he might be Attorney General today.

by Mondo Frazier
images: DBKP file

Alan Mollohan: Perpetual Money Machine Cranks out Donations

2010-04-29T08:43:00.005-04:00

WHAT'S IN HIS WALLET?

West Virginia Watchdog has been keeping an eye on that incorrigible rogue, Rep. Alan Mollahan ($-WV).

The Incredible Mollohan Money Machine keeps on pumping out good stuff to all those in the loop: donations for Mollohan, federal earmarked millions for those in the loop and sweetheart deals for all.

It's springtime and roads in WV are full of potholes--but the Mollohan Money Machine chugs along.

Originally posted at DBKP: Alan Mollohan: Incredible Perpetual Money Machine Fills Campaign Coffers

FROM Mollohan Business Allies Continue Donations:

Campaign donations from business allies of 1st District Rep Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) continue despite the controversy the cycle of earmarks and donations have raised over the years.

The big donors to Mollohan last quarter, which ended on March 31, 2010, were those he has steered earmarks to or leased office space to at the Alan B. Mollohan Innovation Center in Fairmont, W.Va. This includes $19,200 from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hytner and Mr. and Mrs. James Cava with Information Manufacturing Corp. For the entire 2009 year the Hytner’s donated a total of $16,900.

IMC received over $84 million in Mollohan-directed earmarks between 2000 and 2008. The contracts were for work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose budget Mollohan controls. IMC has received over $300 million in federal contracts between 2000 and
2009. Mollohan also received $4,800 from the National Interest Security Company, which bought IMC in 2007.

Northrop Grumman, which maintains offices at Mollohan Innovation Center, donated $10,000 to Mollohan. The company received nearly $151 Billion in federal contracts between 2000 and 2009.

SWEET!

[ABOVE: Mollohan's beachfront home is a sweet deal. Just part of the perks]

For more on the curious circumstances surrounding Mollohan's property purchases--as a partner with the same people who got millions of earmarked money; What a coincidence!--see:

* Alan Mollohan: Corruption, Cronies and Crocks of Earmarks in WV
* Monday Money Mollohan Report: Alan Mollohan Weekly News

Mollohan's campaign coffers may be filling up with crony-itized donations and the Justice Dept might have dropped its four-year-long probe into Mollohan's money machine, but the Congressman still is rated one of Washington's Most Corrupt--for the fifth year running!

Mollohan was cleared of any wrongdoing by the U.S. Justice Department, while details of the investigation have not been made clear. Ethics questions brought to light by the National Legal and Policy Center focused on Mollohan’s rapid rise to wealth, as well as the earmarks he steered towards five non-profits agencies in West Virginia he helped form and who are ran by former staffers and business partners. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Mollohan as one of the 15 most corrupt politicians in Congress.

Check it out: CREW's 15 MOST CORRUPT.

Meanwhile, the questions surrounding the "Overnight Millionaire"--as the 22nd-richest member of Congress is known--have taken their toll. Mollohan is now being challenged in the 1st District Democrat primary and a host of Republican challengers have also come forward.

Historically, Mollohan has gone into elections unopposed.

Are WV-1 consituents finally ready to throw some sand in its gears?

by Mondo Frazier
image: DBKP file

Nanny State: Shut Up and Take your Medicine

2010-04-29T07:54:00.003-04:00

It's Good for You
Nancy Morgan
RightBias.com
April 28, 2010

Since I've been otherwise occupied making a living, it's reassuring to know that my government is looking out for me. In just the last month, our tireless public servants have proposed numerous measures that will make my life better and more worry free.

No longer will I have to worry about drug addicts being able to rig a urine test. The Senate is set to vote on a measure that would make it illegal to sell fake urine for the purpose of falsifying a drug test. Whew.

While they're at it, Congress is also working on banning smokeless tobacco in Major League Baseball. Not only that, but Obama just signed legislation that bans the Post Office from shipping cigarettes, and the CDC is preparing to launch a co-ordinated 50-state anti-smoking campaign. This is just in case you didn't know that smoking may contribute to lung cancer.

Meanwhile, the bureaucrats at the Food and Drug Administration are planning an unprecedented effort to reduce the salt in my diet. Of course, this is for my own good. The FDA is also developing a new regulation that would require food manufacturers to display the nutritional content of food on the front of packages. Finally!

Going a step further, a county supervisor in California has proposed a ban on the inclusion of toys in restaurant meals that contain high amounts of sugar, salt or certain fats. Whoa. Now my kids are protected too - for their own good.

The new fuel mandates Obama recently instituted will keep the earth from melting. Who knew? I figure the additional $1,100 cost they add to every new car is a small price to pay. And in a further effort to save the earth, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference to announce that the new "green" light fixtures in the House cafeteria will recoup their $140,000 cost in only 10 years. You won't find any waste of tax dollars on her watch. You betcha.

Speaking of going green, our eco-conscious legislators are also considering enacting the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act. For only $32.9 billion bucks, this act will create a "healthier, safer and more energy-efficient teaching environment by requiring schools to use green materials." This is a small price to pay to save the earth and educate future generations, right?

Our government has been working overtime on our behalf. In just the last month it has cracked down on profiling Muslim terrorists, made it easier for gays to sue their employers and threatened to sue Arizona for requiring citizens to actually prove they are U.S., citizens.

I figure the $670 billion in gross tax increases since January of 2009 are well worth the price for the excellent work being done on my behalf. Hey, that's only $2,100 dollars for every man, woman and child. And Obama assures me that rich fat cats will be paying the freight for all these new safety measures that will benefit us all. How cool is that?

With Obama in charge, I no longer have to worry about terrorists attacking us. And if Obama is OK with rogue state Iran having the ability to make nuclear bombs, then its OK with me, too. After all, he's the expert. And after seeing him on American Idol, I'm reassured that our president will be able to charm all our enemies into laying down their arms and joining Obama in his quest for world peace. Kumbaya.

Just knowing that the government is looking out for me makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Even though 80% of Americans say they can't trust Washington and have little faith that the massive federal bureaucracy can solve America's problems, I know they're wrong. Just look at what the government has done for us lately.

by Nancy Morgan
image: Right Bias

Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com
She lives in South Carolina

Author Bio

Article may be reprinted, with attribution

Dealing with Illegal Immigration: Dream the Impossible Dream

2010-04-29T07:25:00.012-04:00

Originally posted at DBKP: Illegal Immigration: Anything is Possible With Political Will with updates.

Well, well, well........

"Deportation of all the illegals is impossible". Or is it?

We hear all the time about how it is "impossible to deport all the illegals in this country". Impossible? Really? I guess it is impossible if no one even tries. Seems like no one even wants to try. If there's no effort to do it then yes, I guess it is impossible. However, here's a novel idea....

How about making the effort? Traffic stops could probably yield a large number and how about those that are actually arrested committing crimes or any number of other instances where law enforcement comes into contact with illegals? And how about at all the protests? I'm sure the illegal alien community is quite well represented.

Arizona immigrant law energizes Hispanics, Democrats

Which brings me to:

So the illegals are going to protest all over the country on Mayday? Seems like that would be a good time to round a few of 'em up since there will be plenty of them all in one place. And don't start throwing the "racist" crap around. It's about ILLEGAL aliens. ILLEGAL. You know, the ones that come across the border in defiance of the LAW.

We have been presented with "impossible" tasks in the past but somehow we managed to overcome the obstacles that eventually made the impossible (gasp)......possible!!

Remember this?

It'a a Saturn V rocket. Used to carry

This. This is the Apollo 11 capsule. You know, the one
that took us....................

Here!!

But that was impossible........right? Yeah......right.

So don't tell me that this

Or this.

To keep these guys

Or these guys

From being here........ILLEGALLY......is impossible when we went

Here

On a prototype.

This is the United States of America. NOTHING is impossible if
you have the will and guts to do it.

by RidesAPaleHorse
images provided by: RAPH

Socialism's Dreadful Equation Grinding Down Citizens

2010-04-25T01:12:00.001-04:00

Money, power and value are all components of an equation that gets royally screwed up in the hands of a socialist government.

"SOCIAL JUSTICE" IS THE CLUB USED TO BEAT DOWN THOSE WHO OPPOSE SOCIALISM'S DREADFUL EQUATION

Originally posted at DBKP: Grinding Down the Masses with the Dreadful Equation of Socialism

Doctor Zero investigates the relationship between money, value and power--and how that equation is different in capitalist and socialist countries.

From The Dreadful Equation:

In a constitutional republic, our elected government is meant to be the exclusive concentration of legitimate power. By definition, the amount of power exercised by the government increases as it grows larger. Power is compulsion – fines, subsidies, regulations, and imprisonment. More power means less freedom. Reduced freedom means less value. As money is drained away from free citizens, their ability to cooperate voluntarily is reduced… and only voluntary cooperation produces genuine value.

This is the dreadful equation of socialism. Money can be used to create value, or it can fuel the exercise of power, but not both. You can see this happening around you, right now. It has happened everywhere in the world, every time central planning has been tried. It would happen even if politicians were the selfless, compassionate, disciplined civil servants they claim to be. The fantastic corruption typical of socialist states, most definitely including our current Administration, serves to weaken the rate of exchange between value and power. The high-performance fiber optic communication lines of free-market capitalism have been torn out, and converted into feeding tubes for our bloated central government. Every dollar you pay the government in taxes and regulatory costs is another moment of your time that cannot be invested in willing cooperation with others.

Dreadful to be sure.

But surprisingly dreadful to those who choose to ignore the history behind the equation.

To some, it is much more important to have a country of where's everyone is equally poor--with the exception of the elites at the top--instead of letting hard work, knowledge and, yes sometimes, luck, determine the outcomes.

In that former category, readers may firmly place our current president and his regime's henchmen.

by Mondo FRazier
image

Comparing South Park Censorship to Piss Christ Sloppy or Dishonest

2010-04-25T00:52:00.004-04:00

Ann Althouse compares Comedy Central's censorship--which was real--to an imaginary event of the 1980s: the imagined censorship of Andres Serrano's Piss Christ. Here's a tip for the prof: when making a comparison, it helps if some similarities between the events exist.

I THINK SHE'S MAKING A POINT FOR CIVILITY

Ann Althouse compares the real Comedy Central censorship of South Park's Mohammed in a bear costume with the imaginary censorship of Andres Serrano's Piss Christ in the '80s.

Here's a tip for the prof: when making a comparison, it helps if some similarities between the events exist.

Originally posted at DBKP: Bogus Comparison: South Park and Piss Christ

From "Everybody draw Mohammed Day" not a good idea:

I don't like the in-your-face message that we don't care about what other people hold sacred. Back in the days of the "Piss Christ" controversy, I wouldn't have supported an "Everybody Dunk a Crucifix in a Jar of Urine Day" to protest censorship. Dunking a crucifix in a jar of urine is something I have a perfect right to do, but it would gratuitously hurt many Christian bystanders to the controversy. I think opposing violence (and censorship) can be done in much better ways.

Althouse must have a different history book than any in common use. Back in the 'Piss Christ' controversy days, the controversy was that there was no censorship and it was "arty" and "edgy" to trample on commonly-held religious beliefs.

But, there was no censorship. Displeasure was expressed, but Piss Christ rolled on, as did Andres Serrano.

If Serrano had wanted to really show his bona fides as an edgy artist, he'd have dunked a Koran in a jar of urine.

Of course, then Althouse would likely now be talking not of the "Piss Christ" controversy, but of the Piss Christ beheading.

by Mondo FRazier

Bill Clinton Tries to Spin his Record on Terror While Slamming Tea Party Protests

2010-04-19T10:26:00.003-04:00

Clinton’s remarks are serving the salutary purpose of reminding people who and what he really was, and dispelling the glow of nostalgia for his presidency that even some conservatives and libertarians were beginning to feel.
--Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit

THE RETURN OF BUBBA: BILL CLINTON REMINDS AMERICA OF HIS (NON-)RECORD ON TERROR

Is there any remark that former president, Bill Clinton makes that isn't self-serving and partisan in nature? Maybe concerning Haiti, but even that's a stretch.

Read entire article at DBKP: Bill Clinton Reminds America of Oklahoma City, His Record and Terror

I'm not the only one to notice: “Former President Bill Clinton is back to practicing one of his core competencies: exploiting the 1995 mass murders in Oklahoma City for political advantage in order to suppress criticism of himself and his political allies."

His latest spew is trying to connect non-existent dots between the Tea Party protesters--who are voicing their opinions peaceably--and Timothy McVeigh's 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Vile.

Clinton spins a bit of history about his administration's record--or non-record--on terror.

In the wake of the bombing, Oklahoma City prompted Congress to approve most of the proposals I submitted to develop a stronger and more systematic approach to defending our nation and its citizens against terrorism, an effort that continues today, as we saw with President Obama’s impressive international summit meeting last week to secure all sources of nuclear material that can be made into bombs.

Bill Clinton would only have responded to terror if he had thought that there were votes to be had. Since he couldn't figure out anything beyond making comparisons between genuine terrorists and those who disagreed with his policies, he was a complete failure (See US Cole, embassy bombings, World Trade Center I, etc.).

But Clinton trots out his "if you're not for us, you're a terrorist" meme for Barack Obama and this president's opponents--reminding us that Clinton's faults didn't just stop at Chinese fundraisers, a talent for lying under oath and the cigar preferences of young interns.

Finally, we should never forget what drove the bombers, and how they justified their actions to themselves. They took to the ultimate extreme an idea advocated in the months and years before the bombing by an increasingly vocal minority: the belief that the greatest threat to American freedom is our government, and that public servants do not protect our freedoms, but abuse them. On that April 19, the second anniversary of the assault of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, deeply alienated and disconnected Americans decided murder was a blow for liberty.

Glenn Reynolds points out the silver lining in the cloud of smug smog that emanated from Clinton:

Clinton’s remarks are serving the salutary purpose of reminding people who and what he really was, and dispelling the glow of nostalgia for his presidency that even some conservatives and libertarians were beginning to feel.

Count me in as one who was so disgusted with Obama I forgot the over-arching corruption of the Clinton years. My mantra was: at least Clinton didn't try to damage national defense. But he did: it was Bill Clinton who discovered the "peace dividend" that he could spend on buying more votes.

Time heals all wounds.

Reason gives Clinton a one-two punch.

Radley Balko gives Clinton a dose of awesome and most-deserved HELL for his self-serving comparisons.

The really mendacious thing about the crap Clinton spews at about this time every year is that unlike the tortured nexus he tries to build between government critics and Timothy McVeigh, his responsibility for the charred bodies at Waco is pretty damned easy to chart. He gets to gloss over all of that now.

The thing is, Mr. Former President, if I may address you directly, is there are far too may public servants who, as you put it, “do not protect our freedoms, but abuse them.” I document them every day on this site. And so despite your admonition, I will continue to criticize them for it. And when, for example, they out and out murder innocent people in the name of a senseless, wasteful, and fundamentally illiberal policy (a policy, incidentally, that you enthusiastically support, despite your admission that you yourself have broken the country’s drug laws), I’ll go ahead and, to borrow your word, demonize them for it.

And you know what? I won’t feel the slightest tinge of guilt about doing so. Nor will I feel the least bit of responsibility for acts of anti-government violence, past or future, even when they’re committed in the name of one or more ideas I might otherwise endorse.

Because fundamentally and categorically, I repudiate the use of force and violence to impose my beliefs, political philosophy, or policy preferences on other people. Until you can say the same thing, Mr. Former President (and we both know you can’t), you can spare me your goddamned lecture.

Balko's fellow Reason writer, Jacob Sullum joins in the Clinton rebuttal.

If our government is not the greatest threat to our freedom, what is? Recognizing that reality is not tantamount to believing that all government employees abuse our rights (though many of them do). Nor is it a justification for murder. Our founders constructed a system of government that was strictly limited, based on an understanding of power's corrupting influence. If it is irrational to fear overweening government, and if that fear predictably leads to violence, the Framers were loony rabble-rousers.

Note that Clinton does not have the guts to say outright that people who criticize the government too harshly have blood on their hands. Instead he strongly suggests it, then retreats to the position that criticism is OK, though violence isn't, as if anyone were suggesting otherwise. Still, he wants to draw a line between "criticizing a policy or a politician," which is "part of the lifeblood of democracy," and "demonizing the government that guarantees our freedoms and the public servants who enforce our laws," which encourages mass homicide. But since he offers no examples of either, it's hard to know what sort of speech he considers beyond the pale. For example, if I call Clinton a state-worshiping crybaby who equates opposition with sedition, is that legitimate criticism or demonization?

Bill Clinton, so concerned about his legacy, would be better off slinking away into the sunset and keeping his mouth shut about his obvious blind spot he had about terrorism.

He didn't and won't.

Those annual reminders on April 19 are the most vital service Clinton has rendered his country--both in or out of office.

by Mondo Frazier
image: cox & Forkum

Tea Party Racism: Liberals Have Race-based Faith

2010-04-14T17:50:00.007-04:00

PROGRESSIVE QUOTE OF THE DAY

Didn't hear it. Didn't see it. Didn't film it.

But he believes it.

Originally posted at DBKP: Tea Party Racism: Progressive Equivalent to Faith Healing, Seances

From The Great Tea-Bait:

[Liberal Lee, of Think Progress] Fang told the AP he was standing "pretty far away" across Independence Avenue from the Cannon building when he saw the crowd erupt, so he hurried over. Fang did not hear the epithet, but he said he believes it was used. "The hatred was palpable," he said.

Because Progressives have this sixth sense when it comes to racism, doncha know?

It's kinda like how a seance works. Like-minded people gather, they join hands and whether or not anything happens, at least one of them believes something is happening. Which is "proof" enough for everyone else present.

Lee Fang "believes" there was someone said something racist; though he was there to document that very thing, he has no evidence.

I BELIEVE!

...and the Progressives turn down their noses at faith healers?

Call it the Power of Positive Racism."

by Mondo Frazier
image: DBKP file

Westboro Baptist Stops in Wheeling, Protests Dead Miners

2010-04-10T21:57:00.017-04:00

Six Members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church stopped in Wheeling, WV and made the rounds to many of the city’s Catholic churches. They said God hated American soldiers, dead coal miners, Catholics, WV, fags, Jews and assorted others. But everything and everyone "God" hated told the crowds more about WBC than the Almighty's preferences.

Click images to enlarge.

Members of the congregation from the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka KS, stopped in Wheeling, WV and made the rounds to many of the city's Catholic churches. Setting up outside of St. Michaels first, the group then moved to St. Alphonsus and Cathedral of St. Joseph, before winding up with a scheduled appearance outside of Wheeling Jesuit University.

The six Westboro-ians--three adults and three children--displayed their special brand of Christianity by signs, singing and shouting. American soliders, Jews, Catholics, the Pope, fags, Barack Obama, coal miners, even West Virginia itself: all were subjects of colorful signs waved by the protesters.

Escorted by a strong police presence--at least seven officers and one rumored FBI agent--the church members alighted from a couple of dark Chevy Tahoes. At least one of the vehicles had Ohio license plates.

Westboro Baptist's website [GodHatesFags.com] states that the group has participated in 43,085 peaceful demonstrations to date.

Just who were the out-of-towners? From Westboro Baptist Church:

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an Independent Baptist church and hate group known for its hatred of homosexuals. It is headed by Fred Phelps and located in Topeka, Kansas, United States. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of Sunday, November 27, 1955.

The WBC is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations. The church describes itself as following Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles, though mainstream Primitive Baptists reject the WBC and Phelps.

The group is best known for its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecration of the American flag.

About 300 counter-protesters showed up at the Cathedral of St. Joseph appearance. According to onlookers and police, a crowd of approximately 1000 showed up at St. Michael's earlier in the day, with about half that many following the Westboro bunch to St. Alphonsus.

The crowd got into the spirit of things by alternately chanting "USA! USA! USA!" and "Go Home!" The counter-protesters also came equipped with signs, most which were much less dramatic than the ones from Kansas.

The crowd was composed primarily of people from Wheeling, a group of Young Life members, and folks from the surrounding communities. Moundsville, New Martinsville and Benwood were all represented. Several people were from neighboring towns from across the river in Ohio.

Continue reading at DBKP: Westboro Baptist: Coal Miners in Hell, God Hates WV

Wesboro Baptist Church Protests at Wheeling Catholic Churches

MORE PIX at DBKP FLASH Headline News.

More on the protests from the Wheeling News Register & Intelligencer: Anger Erupts: Westboro Not Welcomed

NOTE: The NR-Intelligencer reporter estimated the crowd size at St. Michaels as much smaller than we were told.

by Mondo Frazier
IMAGES:
All photographs Copyright 2010 © DBKP
http://deathby1000papercuts.com ©

HATE REPUDIATES HATE

FIRST SEEN AT The Daily Wh.at:

You’re Doing It Right of the Day: You know how I know you’re the most hateful organization on the planet? The Ku Klux Klan repudiated you on their official website.

Barack Hussein Obama: Rock Star

2010-04-10T00:38:00.001-04:00

THE PRESIDENCY AS A PUBLICITY TOUR

Hillary famously conducted a 'listening tour'; Obama's been on a 38-month, non-stop 'Listen to me Tour.'

Unemployment is up--always 'unexpectedly'--consumer confidence is down and we're running out of allies to bash: just another day in the 48-month stretch known as the Obama presidency.

Rarely does a day pass that this president doesn't further the campaign that began in February 2007: The BHO 24/7 ME Tour. American Idol, March Madness, David Letterman: Obama's signature piece might not be ObamaCare--that will be long gone by 2013--it will be his No TV Show Left Behind.

The more Americans see of the preening whine-meister in the Oval Office, the lower his approval ratings go. The country is growing restive under the thumb of Barack Hussein Jagger and his band of Democrat cronies.

Originally posted at DBKP: Barack Obama: President Rock Star

While Obama and crew never miss a chance to savage "the fat cats" on TV, it's all kibbles and bits behind the scenes as Democrats attract huge amounts of special interest money.

Barack Obama recreates the Jimmy Carter years: America's enemies are laughing, her friends are nervous. And the world respects this president every bit as much as they respected Carter. Instead of handing out government cheese, this president hands out weatherstripping.

The CIA is a punching bag: under our Rolling Stone president, Eric Holder and the Justice Dept. are the perpetrators; under Carter, the dirty work was outsourced to the Senate's Church Committee. But the results are the same: America is less safe, though it will take months before that becomes apparent to the apolitical.

Instead of Iran taking American embassy personnel hostages--as they did under Carter--32 years later, they'll be going nuclear. With Obama, as with Carter, there will be no retaliation.

Who's scared of a rock star?

The only ones even paying attention to our rock star president are roadies and toadies.

That is why countries on the edge of the civilizational clash between the West and its enemies are choosing the strong horse over the rock star: Lebanon kisses up with Syria; Kyrgyzstan with Russia; and everyone within missile distance of Tehran is rushing to either acquire their own deterrents or making nice with Ahmadinejad.

How strange that the words to remember to help get through the remainder of this president's administration are "Don't give up hope."

Only 32 more months of Mick Obama to go.

by Mondo Frazier
images:
* freakingnews.com
* http://nydailynews.com
* Freaking News