Intercontinental Trainspotting

Via Instapundit:

WHOEVER’S PROGRAMMING HIS TELEPROMPTER MUST BE A GOP MOLE: L.A. Times: New gaffe: Obama hails America’s historic building of ‘the Intercontinental Railroad’.

Let's include a partial quote from Andrew Malcolm at the link:

“A railroad between continents? A railroad from, say, New York City all the way across the Atlantic to France? Now, THAT would be a bridge!"

Indeed. But this was no one-time slip up.

A trip down memory lane based solely on searching whitehouse.gov...

February 10, 2009:
We always had the best infrastructure. We were always willing to invest in the future. You know, somebody -- Governor Crist mentioned Abraham Lincoln. In the middle of the Civil War, in the midst of all this danger and peril, what did he do? He helped move the Intercontinental Railroad. He helped to start land grant colleges. He understood that even when you're in the middle of crisis you've got to keep your eye on the future. (Applause.)

January 22, 2010:
When we passed the Recovery Act, these aren't all a bunch of government jobs. These are jobs that private contractors contract with the state or the city or the county to build roads and highways, the same way that we built the Interstate Highway System and the Intercontinental Railroad System.

May 1, 2010:
It was the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, who said the role of government is to do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. He would go on to begin that first intercontinental railroad and set up the first land-grant colleges.

March 4, 2011:
I mean, think about it. My favorite Republican, Abraham Lincoln -- happens to be from my home state, but he was a pretty good President, last I checked. (Applause.) He was a guy who invested in the interstate -- in the intercontinental railroad, and in land grant colleges, and in the National Academy of Sciences -- in the middle of the Civil War.

September 22, 2011:
We used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in America. We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad, the Interstate Highway System. We built the Hoover Dam. We built the Grand Central Station. So how can we now sit back and let China build the best railroads?

I like the theory of a GOP mole. I want to believe the theory of a GOP mole. However, simple ignorance seems sufficient as an explanation for the oft-repeated and never corrected gaffes.

"Pass This Bill" Is A Bill Of Goods

You may want to sit down for this, because it may come as a shock. President Obama did not take my advice on his Jobs³ speech last night to a joint session of Congress.

I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am.

Instead, Obama went green. That is, he recycled almost the entire speech from stuff he's said before.

The main thrust of the speech? "Pass this bill!"

First we must ask, what bill? The idea that there is a bill waiting on Congress to pass that Obama and the White House have crafted is as imaginary as the 3.5 million jobs the first stimulus created or saved. As imaginary as the strawmen Obama builds and burns in every speech he gives.

Second, just as the speech itself is recycled, so too is the demand to "pass this bill". Obama did the same thing with the first stimulus bill -- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Back then we saw headlines like this:

Obama demands 'immediate' action on stimulus

So after such strident demands back then, how did things shake out once ARRA was passed? I'm glad you asked.

ARRA made it out of Congress on Feb 13, the same night Obama and the First Lady hosted a concert honoring Stevie Wonder at the White House and one day before Obama and the First Lady had a wonderful Valentine's Day dinner in Chicago. It was four days before Obama signed the act into law.

That's how important it was to pass that bill now! Concerts and dates took precedence over actually signing the bill into law.

We can be assured that the disconnect between his words and reality are every bit as true now when it comes to passing this (heretofore non-existent) bill as it was in 2009.

The Joint Session of Congress Speech Obama Should Give

Obama gives his After Labor Day Special Pivot to Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Speech tonight in front of a joint session of Congress. It took a little wrangling between the White House and Speaker of the House Boehner's office to agree to a date. Obama originally preferred to speak last night, during the Republican presidential debate, but was suaded by the fact that he was powerless to make that happen to move it to tonight.

Of course, tonight is also opening night for the NFL, so Obama made the lead from behind decision to move his speech to 7pm Eastern so as only to interfere with the pre-game festivities and not the game itself.

One might say that Obama kinda stepped in it with the whole scheduling thing.

If I were advising the president, here's the speech I would suggest he give. It's 25 seconds from beginning to end -- only 6 seconds if you exclude the formalities of the intro and ending. It never once uses the words "I" or "me", it never once tries to blame Bush (or Congress or DC or natural disasters or some vague, anonymous "they") for the problems he has created, it uses no meaningless platitudes nor offers grand but vacuous promises. In other words, it's unlike any speech Obama has ever given.

I think if Obama gave this speech, he would go up at least 5 points in the polls.

Old and Busted: End Tax Breaks For Corporate Jet Owners New Hotness: Extend Tax Breaks For Corporate Jet Owners

It seems like it was just yesterday that Obama was decrying "tax breaks for corporate jet owners". It wasn't. It was the end of June.

But it was just yesterday that news leaked about what would be in Obama's prime time Thursday pivot speech to jobs, jobs, jobs (h/t Ace).

You know what's reported to be part of his plan?

Extending the tax break for corporate jet owners:

Obama also is expected to continue for one year a tax break for businesses that allows them to deduct the full value of new equipment. The president and Congress negotiated that provision into law for 2011 last December.

Here's a reminder of Obama's old and busted view on "tax breaks for corporate jet owners":

Now that's Change Pivot You Can Believe In!

Obama Takes Charge

President Obama cut his vacation short by a day because of Hurricane Irene.

The article by AFP gave us this headline:

Obama takes charge at hurricane command center

Here's a photo of his appearance:

President Obama takes charge at the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) set up at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) headquarters in Washington. To lead the discussion, President Obama asked if Irene was a Category Fore.

On This Date In 2007

Today a powerful and dangerous Hurricane Irene is making its way up the Atlantic coast.

Four years ago today, interestingly enough, then-Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama was in New Orleans castigating President Bush from the pulpit for the way the government had responded to Hurricane Katrina two years prior.

August 26, 2007:

Obama began his visit to New Orleans, his fourth since the storm, at a service at First Emanuel Baptist Church on Carondelet Street. The crowd warmed to him as he alluded the Sermon on the Mount, with its admonition to Christians to build on a rock of faith in order to withstand life's storms.

Obama said the federal government needs to rebuild New Orleans on a new foundation [...]

He said Hurricane Katrina exposed the Bush administration's failure to focus on domestic problems as it pursued an expensive war in Iraq. He said the storm was a call to correct historical social inequity.

"For all our wealth and power, something was not right in America," he said. "Our foundation was not built on a rock."

It is easy to criticize when someone else is in charge - easy to say that you would be better than that person if you were in charge. Obama took that easy route four years ago.

I truly hope Obama has it easier now than President Bush did during Katrina, and that Irene weakens or changes course such that it does much less damage than many are currently predicting. I hope no one is in any position to use Obama's response to Irene in as politically motivated a way against him as he did against Presdident Bush.

Obama: "You Know What, We Really Screwed Up"

Not every word that comes out of President Obama's mouth is a lie:

Obama's New Clothes

Obama delivers statement on the S&P downgrade:

The Emperor realized that the people were right but could not admit to that. He though it better to continue the procession under the illusion that anyone who couldn't see his clothes was either stupid or incompetent. And he stood stiffly behind his podium, while in front of him and behind the cameras a page held steady his teleprompter.

Grouper? I Hardly Even Know Her

Today's delicacy -- fried grouper (from the same fishing trip that produced the amberjack tacos). Plus a fried jalapeno from the garden.

It really doesn't get any better than that.

Obama Has A Plan And It Mostly Involves Others Getting Down In The Ditch

Instapundit:

ROGER SIMON: THE MAN WITHOUT A PLAN:

President Obama’s been taking a lot of flak lately for not having a plan. First it was about Libya, but now — even more importantly because, as we know, all politics is local (until it’s not) — about the budget.

The latest White House porte-parole Jay Carney has consequently been taking all kinds of in-coming himself about “where’s the President’s budget plan,” “why doesn’t he have a plan,” etc.

Not having a plan? The reason Obama is left as a spectator as Boehner and Congress gets down in the mud and ...well... dig this thing out of the ditch?

Because this is his plan:

Slurp.

Widespread Panic Gets Spread Wide By Someone

Prof. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

John Podhoretz notes that Obama is trying to talk the markets into a panic
as part of Obama’s political strategy (emphasis mine):

An enraged Barack Obama just took to the nation’s airwaves to announce his effort to strike a deal with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has fallen apart. Perhaps for the first time in American history, this president is literally using this press conference to create a financial panic over the weekend about the opening of the markets on Monday. He is warning of disaster on Monday. Clearly, he wants to use this as leverage to frighten the GOP into passing the plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which will push the debt ceiling problem into 2013, but it’s still an entirely new and astonishingly reckless gambit.

I agree with the analysis with one big exception, the use of the terms “first time” and “entirely new.”

Jacobson then recounts Obama's efforts during the stimulus discussions in early 2009, and his reaction at the time.

Let me recount 2008 -- and while it is certainly not a president doing so, but rather Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer -- Democrats have before used talking the markets into a panic as part of their political strategy.

Thursday, June 26, 2008:

Schumer, a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, who used his position of authority to communicate to the OTS and the FDIC that he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers," and that IndyMac "could face a failure if prescriptive measures are not taken quickly."

Everything might have been fine had Schumer stopped there, but Schumer (being Schumer) took the additional step of releasing the letter to the press.

Friday, July 11, 2008:

IndyMac Regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac’s viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.”

Wednesday, October 1, 2008:

Senator Reid: "a major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows -- that's on the verge of going bankrupt,"

Thursday, October 2, 2008:

But with investors already on high alert after the Federal Reserve's rescue of insurance titan American International Group Inc. on Sept. 16, and with the credit crunch still making funding difficult for even the largest U.S. financial companies, Reid's comments were the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a grease fire. MetLife plunged $7.19, or 15%, to $40.96; Hartford dived $12.20, or 32%, to $25.91; and Prudential slid $7.15, or 11%, to $57.65.

Oh Deer

My last post was amberjack tacos. Tonight's menu? Venison backstrap.

Simple recipe. Simply delicious.

Cut backstrap into 1 inch thick medallions and marinade in beer for four hours.

Ok, sure, add some extra virgin olive oil, a little soy sauce, a few cloves of roughly chopped garlic and a ton of pepper of the black, white and red variety.

Heat the grill until it's pegged.

Slowly place each of the six medallions on the grill. Slowly.

By the time you have ...slowly... placed each medallion on the grill, it is time to turn them -- again, slowly -- one at a time. Once each has been turned, you have enough time to take the bowl in which they were marinading to the kitchen for a quick rinse. But that's it. A quick rinse and get back quickly to take the medallions off the grill. We're going for a sear on the outside and not much more*.

Take the medallions off the grill and put them on the plate. Top each one with a slice of goat cheese and let rest for as long as your itchy fork hand can take it.

Place plate next to laptop on the table out on the deck for continuous blogging.

E a t.

Please don't ask if I ate all six medallions in one sitting.

-------------------------
*Please understand I have a constitution that tolerates food cooked rare/raw to a greater extent than most. I am describing how I cooked my meal, not prescribing how someone else should cook his. I would strongly recommend anyone else letting the medallions cook for several minutes more per side than I describe here.

Give a man a fish . . . teach a man to fish

Let's update the old proverb for today.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat today. Teach a man to fish -- and take him fishing -- and he'll still be eating fish in July."

There are few things in life better than eating fish you caught yourself. I made some amberjack tacos today:

We caught this fish and many, many others during our spring break trip in April to celebrate my wife's parents' 50th anniversary. Good times, good times.

Still paying dividends.

By the way, forget my pic above, if you're interested in real chef-ery, please visit my sister in law's blog TheChefinMyHead.

And specific ChefinMyHead post from spring break HERE. One of the amberjacks in those photos was in my tacos and is now in my belly. Probably the one with the biggest smile.

Obama's Political Rhetoric Rings the Doorbell, Gets Let In

Via Jim Geraghty, Obama exhorts others to "leave our political rhetoric at the door" one day, says Republicans are holding a gun to the head of the American people the next.

Here it is:

Michelle Obama Channels Her Inner CheChe

Reading Clarice's Pieces this morning over at American Thinker reminded me of a comment MayBee had left at Just One Minute.

First, let's take a look at the story MayBee was commenting on:

First lady Michelle Obama gave a fascinating insight into just how heavily the weight of office rests on her husband's shoulders and how the job of president has taken it's toll.

Speaking at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee in Massachusetts she told of his total dedication to the job and told how she worries about the increasing number of lines on his face.

She said: 'I see the worry creasing his face. I hear the passion and determination in his voice.

''You won’t believe what these folks are going through;' he told me that last night.

''Michelle, it is not right. We’ve got to fix this. We have to do more,'

'Barack always reminds me that we are playing a long game,

'He reminds me, as I said to you, too, that change is slow.

'He reminds me that change doesn’t happen all at once, but that if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there, because the truth is we always have in this country. We always have.'

Heavy stuff. MayBee went on to write in response:

It's also pretty funny to picture them, actually sitting on a sofa in the WH residence, her in a designer dress with her Jimmy Choos kicked off in the corner, him with his WH brewed honey ale, reading the 10 letters for the day and saying, 'Michelle, it just isn't right, what people are going through.' 'Why, what do you mean Barack?' 'We have to fix it. I am tired, but I can't rest until this is fixed!'

Anyone remember Che Che? At the time, John Podhoretz called CheChe's writing "The Greatest Kos Posting Ever!" and concluded: "To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the grief of Little CheChe."

Well. CheChe turned out to be the work of a parodist. But a parody perfectly executed.

Let's reprise CheChe's work in the form of Michelle speaking, building upon the scene MayBee gave us. Off we go!

I don't think I've ever seen such a look of misery and dejection on the face of Barack as I just did a moment ago.

He sat down with me on the sofa and (as calmly as he could) tried to explain to me why the Republicans want to starve little children and take Social Security away from the elderly in order to give coporoate jet owners wads of cash. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it became increasingly difficult - the rage and feelings of helplessnes were just too much. I could tell something was wrong. I found myself at such a loss for words - nothing made any sense; nothing makes sense anymore. I finally had to admit, "Barry, I just don't know - I don't know what's going on in this country anymore..."

When he finished my lower lip started to tremble and my eyes began to fill with tears, "Michelle" he said, "why are the Republicans doing this to the country?" Well, that was it for me: I finally fell apart. I just fell into his arms and we both began sobbing for several minutes.

He had to comfort me and get me back on my feet. Sometimes I just think it’s too much, but seeing the strength in Barack's voice helped me to get through.

To paraphrase Podhoretz paraphrasing Wilde: It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.

Obama Targets Corporate Jets

At his press conference on June 29, 2011, Obama went after corporate jets and corporate jet owners. Six times. Obama says that they needed to pay more in taxes.

Don't get him wrong though -- Obama thinks having his own plane is . . . awesome.

It's not that he wants to "punish your success."

He just needs more of your money to operate his plane.

MORE: Whaddya know, Obama continues the corporate jet fetish in his weekly address this morning (h/t Don Surber):

See full weekly address here

Obama's Promise of Change Has Been Painful

Hey that's Obama's characterization of "change" in the Obama era, not mine.

With a hat tip to Jim Geraghty, on a visit to Cree Inc. in Durham, NC -- Obama summed up what Change has meant since he was elected president.

I made this video to put that summation in context.

MORE: Here's an old photoshop I did that fits in rather well here.

TheVIMH Blogging Command Center

Relax.

The martini is necessary. The reading glasses, optional.

Grading Palin Vs The Media

So the media went nuts over the release of Sarah Palin's emails from her time as Governor of Alaska.  As an example, here's a headline from the New York Daily News (via JammieWearingFool):

Sarah Palin writes at an eighth-grade level in recently released emails, say writing analysts

I wonder if anyone has put a grade level on Anthony Weiner's tweets?

Now to be fair, the article -- unlike the headline -- is fairly balanced.  In it we find this:

It turns out Palin's writing skills are still better than most educated Americans. Global Language Monitor gave Palin's emails a score of 8.2, which actually exceeds that of most chief executives.

So as chief executive of the state of Alaska, her emails scored higher than most other chief executives.

Also the name "Global Language Monitor" rang a bell.  Remember the 2008 VP debate?

(CNN) -- An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night's debate between the vice presidential candidates. ...

Grade level: Biden, 7.8; Palin, 9.5

Ah, those were the days.

But wait!  There's more!  I left off the parenthetical that followed that last part.

Because it's the kicker:

(Newspapers are typically written to a sixth-grade reading level.)

Sarah Palin writes her emails two grades higher than journalists write their articles. 

The (Not So) Popular Mechanic In Chief

Instapundit is nothing if not helpful with this: 

SIX DRIVING TIPS to save gas this summer. At these prices, you’ll need to!

Good ideas from Popular Mechanics.  And, hey, check it out:

Monitor Tire PressureKeep your tires properly inflated, because low pressure increases rolling resistance. Few drivers check and adjust their tire pressure often, but it's a good idea to do it once a week. 

They say to keep your tires inflated . . . just like Obama!

Of course, Obama was talking just as much about reducing our overall dependence on foreign oil and getting to a fossil fuel free world as he was about personal savings.

Speaking of reducing fossil fuel use, one tip is this: 

Avoid Ethanol When Possible
Gasoline that has been cut with 10 or 15 percent ethanol, called E10 or E15, is an mpg killer. Why? Gasoline stores more energy than ethanol (119,000 Btu per gallon vs 80,000). So it takes more ethanol than gasoline to go the same distance.

Obama wants to cost us more money at the pump by pushing alternative fuel?  The deuce, you say!

Speaking of costing you more money -- I notice that Popular Mechanics didn't mention trading in your 8 mpg clunker in favor of a hybrid as an idea to save money.

Huh, I wonder why?