Last Call

The Super Committee has super-imploded, as expected by well, everyone.  The blame game begins.

Obama said Republicans in Congress rejected what he called a balanced approach to deficit reduction that included tax increases on the wealthy.

"Despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there are still to many Republicans in Congress that have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington," Obama told reporters after the super committee announced its failure.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Democrats "were prepared to strike a grand bargain that would make painful cuts while asking millionaires to pay their fair share, and we put our willingness on paper," but Republicans "never came close to meeting us halfway."

His GOP counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, argued that an agreement "proved impossible not because Republicans were unwilling to compromise, but because Democrats would not accept any proposal that did not expand the size and scope of government or punish job creators."

Republican presidential contenders complained that Obama had failed to display necessary leadership to forge an agreement, an accusation rejected by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

"Congress assigned itself a job; assigned 12 of its own members a task -- a task that wasn't really that difficult to achieve if there was a willingness to compromise," Carney said of the so-called super committee created under the debt ceiling agreement earlier this year. He added: "Congress needs to meet its responsibilities."

Mitch is a funny guy.  But not as much as Congress itself is.  Nobody expected the Super Committee to do anything, but that wasn't the point.  The point was the President maneuvering the Republicans into a no-win position, and that's exactly what he has done.  The Republicans will do anything to delay the inevitable, but they're locked into each counter-move from here, forced to react, not act.

Now the fun really begins.

Iran, So Far Away, Part 2

Looks like another round of Iranian sanctions is in the works, this time targeting the country's oil and gas industry.

The Obama administration plans to impose fresh sanctions against Iran on Monday, diplomatic sources familiar with the plan told CNN.


U.S. sanctions already prohibit American companies from doing business with Iran.

The goal of the new measures is to bar foreign companies from doing business with Iran's petrochemical industry by threatening to ban them from U.S. markets, the sources said.

The sources did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak on record before officials roll out the sanctions.

The measures, which the sources said are expected to be announced early Monday, build on existing sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry.

That's moderately hardball stuff there, off the top of my head I recall that Russia does oil business with Iran, as does China. Cutting Chinese and Russian oil companies out of the US market for doing business with Iran may have a whole lot of unintended consequences, but we'll see if this is the actual plan, or what kind of loopholes are in the sanctions.  One would think foreign companies that do business with Iran would be persona non grata around here anyway, so it's entirely possible that nothing will actually change.

We'll see what the reaction of European/Asian/African countries are.

The Hillary Wedge, Again

And whenever President Obama is making headway with his numbers clearly improving, enter our dear old friends Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen with an op-ed in the WSJ screaming that OBAMA IS DOOMED and that only Hillary can save the Dems.

One year ago in these pages, we warned that if President Obama continued down his overly partisan road, the nation would be "guaranteed two years of political gridlock at a time when we can ill afford it." The result has been exactly as we predicted: stalemate in Washington, fights over the debt ceiling, an inability to tackle the debt and deficit, and paralysis exacerbating market turmoil and economic decline.

If President Obama were to withdraw, he would put great pressure on the Republicans to come to the table and negotiate—especially if the president singularly focused in the way we have suggested on the economy, job creation, and debt and deficit reduction. By taking himself out of the campaign, he would change the dynamic from who is more to blame—George W. Bush or Barack Obama?—to a more constructive dialogue about our nation's future.

Even though Mrs. Clinton has expressed no interest in running, and we have no information to suggest that she is running any sort of stealth campaign, it is clear that she commands majority support throughout the country. A CNN/ORC poll released in late September had Mrs. Clinton's approval rating at an all-time high of 69%—even better than when she was the nation's first lady. Meanwhile, a Time Magazine poll shows that Mrs. Clinton is favored over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 17 points (55%-38%), and Texas Gov. Rick Perry by 26 points (58%-32%).

But this is about more than electoral politics. Not only is Mrs. Clinton better positioned to win in 2012 than Mr. Obama, but she is better positioned to govern if she does. Given her strong public support, she has the ability to step above partisan politics, reach out to Republicans, change the dialogue, and break the gridlock in Washington. 

Yes, because Republicans love Hillary Clinton and would totally work with her if just the awful black man does the honorable thing and refuse to run for a second term.  Bonus Verbatim Stupid:

Put simply, it seems that the White House has concluded that if the president cannot run on his record, he will need to wage the most negative campaign in history to stand any chance.

Right. You know, unlike the GOP in 2008.  That was a campaign of rainbows and unicorn farts.

If you honestly think that the best thing to do right now is for President Obama to give up, hand everything over to Hillary Clinton, and that by doing so, this will magically make the Republican Party totally come back to the table for awesome bi-partisan compromise, then I have a lovely royal friend in Nigeria who needs your money in order to get his treasury funds out of the country.  Just cut me a check now along with your credit card number and your SSN.  It'll be great.

The best part is at the end, where they blame 100% of the partisan divide on the black guy and demand that he not only step aside but be made the step aside by Pelosi and Reid, and that Hillary be made to run.  Or else...well, umm...well Doug and Pat aren't sure, but it may involve Obama not being President anymore.

And if this entire article doesn't drip with absolute burning hatred for the President, the implied condescension that not only is he completely incompetent, but that any of his supporters must have their judgment thoroughly questioned as Democrats as well, as if any thinking Democrat, any real Democrat, would instantly agree with their logic as tautology of the most pristine credibility, the assumption of privilege here that President Obama should listen to his moral superiors and exit the election as the "right" thing to do is staggering.

How dare, they say, should the President dare run for re-election when the country is suffering when his very existence offends the authors to the point where the only chance the Democratic party has, they believe, is political suicide.  The suggestion that Hillary Clinton will step above partisan politics where Barack Obama is incapable of doing so means that either Caddell and Shoen have frightfully short memories...or that they believe you do.

Imagine, two professional conservative "Democrat" pollsters demanding that the entire Democratic party drop everything to validate their confirmation bias, pleading their case in Rupert Murdoch's outlet of choice for "gravitas".

They've been running this game of three-card monte for a year now.  I'm sure they have our best interests at heart, considering we're just brain-dead anyway.

Meet Diego

Also known as Fatbot (if you don't get it, watch more Futurama), this is my beloved Diego.  He has met Zandar, and approved of his existence.  Also pictured is his teddy bear, Raul.

Diego does not play well with others.  Mistakes were made, Raul was naughty.  Now back away slowly and let him get back to his day.

Where's My Bottle, B$@%#!

Huffington Post ran this short and sweet article, and I had to share.

A talking baby doll available at Toys "R" Us is upsetting some parents, who claim it has a potty mouth.

Some customers are calling for the "You & Me Interactive Play & Giggle Triplet Dolls" to be pulled from shelves because they say one of the dolls can be heard uttering, "You crazy bitch."

"I did hear that. I wouldn't want that for my child. Definitely not," Denise Altschule told FOX23 in Tulsa, Okla.

Another mother told WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., that she feared her son could pick up the curse word from the doll. "I don't want him repeating what's on there," she said.

The dolls, which are intended for children 2 and up, are being sold exclusively at Toys "R" Us stores. A Toys "R" spokeswoman told FOX23 that the retail store has not received widespread complaints and said the offending phrase is just baby talk.

Watch the video and decide for yourself.

It took some work.  But yeah right, like kids would learn the B word from a doll, but NOT from every mainstream television show, traffic rant, etc.   It's one of those words that is common enough a talk about "don't say this word" is mandatory, and why it's a bad word.  The doll thing is amusing to me, but then so is acting like snowflake's ears will not be exposed sooner or later.

Orly? Ya Rly! In New Hampshire

She's baaaaaack.

The birther wars continue. Orly Taitz, birther queen of California, personally filed a complaint in New Hampshire on Saturday that challenged President Obama’s U.S. citizenship and argued for his removal from the state’s ballot, reports the Concord Monitor.

New Hampshire’s electoral governing body, the Ballot Law Commission, turned down the complaint in a public hearing via 5-0 vote. It got pretty ugly shortly thereafter.

“Traitors!” screamed the members of the attending public. “Treason!”

“You have no decency! You have no honesty! You’re committing treason!”

The group of birthers, which included several New Hampshire state representatives, erupted after the decision, shouting at the commission attorneys as they tried to exit the hearing room. Another state representative apparently suggested committee members should cover their face with a mask if they ever found themselves in his district.

Considering the chair of the committee is a Republican, it tells you something that Taitz lost a unanimous vote on her idiocy.  Even Republicans it seems are tired of her racist birther stupidity.

I honestly believe she needs to seek help.

Drive Fast, Turn...On The First Lady

So Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden went to Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup finale race in Miami to honor our men and women in uniform.  The reception the First Lady got?  Exactly what you'd expect from NASCAR fans, apparently.



I'll tell you what, nothing shows class and distinction like booing the First Lady of the United States because you disagree politically with her husband. Way to go, guys.

As I've said again and again:  Not all Obama Derangement Syndrome is directed at one Barack Obama.

StupidiNews!

• NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced the NYPD arrest of a terror suspect caught before he could allegedly detonate a pipe bomb.
• Reports put some ten dead and hundreds wounded in a bloody crackdown Sunday in Cairo's Tahrir Square by Egypt's military government.
• Syrian rebels are claiming responsibility for a rocket propelled grenade attack on the Damascus offices of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ruling party.
• New Zealanders head to the polls this week in what is expected to be re-election for Prime Minister John Key's National Party.
• Patents filed by Apple suggest that the company is working on an "airbag" anti-shock system for electronic devices that are dropped.