Nancy Pelosi, Wicked Witch of the West

Hey Harry, Who's Your Son's Daddy?

Brian Sandoval is bruising Rory Reid in the Nevada gubernatorial race. More about this Hispanic Republican, as mythical a creature as the unicorn according to Harry Reid, here.

Alveda King Throws a Spanner into the Left's Spin - updated

Alveda King, politician, activist and Martin Luther King's niece, has joined Glenn Beck at today's rally. I'm waiting for Sharpton and Co.'s pirouettes around that inconvenient fact. I will post the left's reactions as I find them.




Update: It's a matter of honor, states Ms. King. She explains why she will be speaking at the event here.

Americans are hungry to reclaim the symbols of our liberty, hard won by an unlikely group of outnumbered, outgunned, underfunded patriots determined not to live in servitude to the British Empire. If we want to sing the national anthem at a memorial to the man who led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free, we should be able to send our voices soaring to the heavens.

Glenn Beck’s “Rally to Restore Honor” this Saturday will give us that chance, and that’s why I feel it’s important for me to be there.

...

Though critics see it as partisan, Beck’s rally is not a political event, per se. Instead, it is designed to be a refreshing exercise of freedom of speech.

The rally will be a celebration of who we are as a nation and a chance to stop for a moment, reflect, reorganize, and re-energize. It’s a chance to think about character; both our character as a nation and our character as individuals.

Style Fridays: Murano Chandeliers

Whimsical, ornate, decadent, yet stunningly beautiful in modern rooms, Murano glass chandeliers are one of my vicarious pleasures.

Happy weekend!

Style Fridays: American Color Slides and Photographs from the Thirties and Forties

Homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940.

Going to town, Greene County, Georgia, May 1941.


M-4 tank crews, Fort Knox, Kentucky, June 1942.

Woman working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, February 1943.

These superb photographs from the Libray of Congress, which chronicle the effects of the Depression and World War II on rural America, were included in a 2006 exhibit called Bound for Glory: America in Color. For more images from this collection, click here.

Happy weekend!

Harry Reid, Racist

According to Harry Reid, Hispanics cannot possibly be Republicans. Really now? Try telling that to the future senator from the great state of Florida, Marco Rubio and Florida congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart; the future governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez; Brian Sandoval, who is manhandling your son Rory "Please-Don't Print-My-Last-Name" in the Nevada gubernatorial race; the individuals on this list of Hispanic Republicans; the Cuban-American community; me, etc.... For a party that claims to champion a post-racial America, the Democratic leadership sure likes to stereotype people and, what's worse, deny them the right to come to their own conclusions according to their personal criteria and interests. Well done, Harry.

Style Fridays: Color Photographs from Imperial Russia

This just blew me away.

Russian chemist and photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii travelled throughout Russia from 1909-1912 and again in 1915 photographing the life and environment of the Russian people using then-nascent color imaging technology. The result is breathtaking.

To view more photos from the Prokudin-Gorskii collection, click here.

Next Friday: early American color photography.

Happy weekend!

The View from Great Britain

Niles Gardiner, one of the most astute foreign observers of American politics in the business, describes in today's Telegraph the ten reasons behind the meltdown of the Obama presidency and concludes the following:

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.

iPods and Circuses

According to an article published in the LA Times, the stimulus is funding job-creating, shovel-ready projects such as purchasing 1,600 iPods for Utah high school students at a cost of $1 million and providing Blackberries to low-income smokers in Washington, DC who are trying to kick the habit, paid for by a $498,000 grant. The findings are set forth in a report by Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain in which they catalogue frivolous and wasteful stimulus spending. While the sums in question are paltry in light of the $862 billion authorized under the bill, the fact that stimulus funds are being used to buy pimped-up cell phones and other electronic toys for current and future voters raises several disturbing questions.

First, a look at the programs themselves. The iPods were loaded with educational applications such as bird call guides. Students are required to meet certain academic benchmarks in order to keep the devices. As for the DC smokers, the Blackberries will enable the recipients to call a hotline and access software to help them overcome their addiction.

These are laudable goals, to be sure. However, I would posit that this is also old-fashioned, demagogic, third-world vote-buying. This White House is handing out goodies in the hope that the Democratic party will get votes in return. The assumption is not unreasonable. There are people, many in fact, who will harbor feelings of gratitude towards an organization that gives them cool gadgets that confer a certain status above that of their peers, as would be the case with high school students and low-income individuals. These persons will have an incentive to support that generous group with the hope that they will get even more free stuff in the future.

The difference between this vote-buying scheme and run-of-the-mill pork barrel spending lies in the stated intent of the Administration in pushing the stimulus bill. We were regaled here, here, here and here, for example, with stories of all the many shovel-ready infrastructure projects that were simply waiting for some federal dollars to break ground. The American people were told that these programs would create much-needed jobs. The resulting increase in the federal deficit was to be offset by the reduction in unemployment.

As for the two programs described in the LA Times article, the one in Utah resulted in no additional jobs while the DC program did create two positions. Had these programs funded a significant number of jobs, the Democrats would have rightfully earned the support of the beneficiaries and the rest of the American people. It seems however that the programs are mere handouts intended to purchase the loyalty of an electoral block.

While it is disappointing to think that there are voters who will be swayed by an iPod or a Blackberry, the Administration’s cynical view of human nature is probably correct.

The Illustrated Guide to Obamacare

So they passed the bill and now we're starting to find out what's in it. A picture, in ths case a flowchart developed by the members and staff of the Joint Economic Committee, is worth over 1990 pages of statutes plus countless volumes of forthcoming Health and Human Services regulations. According to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX, the chart reveals:

• $569 billion in higher taxes;
• $529 billion in cuts to Medicare;
• swelling of the ranks of Medicaid by 16 million;
• 17 major insurance mandates; and
• the creation of two new bureaucracies with powers to impose future rationing: the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Independent Payments Advisory Board.

In addition, Rep. Brady states that the chart shows only "about one-third of the complexity of the final bill. It's actually worse than this."

I'm going to take a few days to go over this chart. If you decide to study it as well, please let me know what you find and how much it's going to cost the American taxpayer.

Style Fridays: Marveously Missoni

Michael from Bound by String transforms an ordinary steel bench into this fabulous showstopper by reupholstering it with Missoni fabric. Love is!!! Way to go Michael!

What do you think? What piece of furniture would you remake in Missoni?

Happy weekend!

Hillary Clinton Was Right

Roll of Shame -- update

The count now stands at 107. Thank you, American Thinker.

Style Fridays: Flats!

Move over Reva! These Jimmy Choo flats are perfect for a fanatical walker with bad ankles like myself. That leopard print, a brown or black bag, jeans, a white shirt, pearl earrings and a funky scarf. Sunday brunch, here I come! Ladies, how would you wear these shoes?

The Roll of Shame

Thanks to the American Thinker, here are the names of 65 of the members of the Journolist. Don't expect any surprises. For instance, who would ever think that Paul Krugman would be on the list?

The Administration Thinks We’re Stupid

According to briefs filed by the Justice Department, the Administration is defending the insurance mandate provisions of Obamacare from constitutional challenge by arguing that the mandate is lawful under Congress’ "power to lay and collect taxes." Let’s put this is plain English: the mandate provisions are a tax and the Constitution allows Congress to tax you.

You may recall that President Obama denied vehemently during the run-up to the bill’s passage that the mandate was in fact a tax. We heard this argument during all of 2009 and you probably do not need to be reminded of it, but please do watch this video.

Conservatives were saying all along that the mandate is a tax. We are saddened but not surprised by the Administration’s position. However, I am waiting for a reaction from Democrats to the fact that this Administration and the Democrats in Congress treat the American people as if we were stupid. For there is no other way to describe it. President Obama lied, Pelosi and Company lied and they could not even be bothered to get their story straight at a time when a long-forgotten interview can be retrieved on YouTube in a matter of seconds.

The Administration’s legislative strategy is premised on the notion that the American people have no long-term memory or capacity to compare and contrast statements uttered on separate occasions. They can use whatever talking points they believe are necessary to promote legislation regardless of the possibility that they may be required to contradict themselves in the future. They are telling you what they think you want to hear.

If the Administration and the Congressional leadership lied so readily about the tax provisions in Obamacare, why should you think that this is the first – or last – time they have been less than forthright with you? What else are they lying about now? Why should we trust anything coming out of this White House or the Democrats on Capitol Hill?

I ask Democrats if they are willing to relinquish their self-respect to further this Administration’s agenda. Even if they agree with Obama’s policies, do they accept the notion that government should be free to lie to its constituents without any fear of repercussions?

These are the politics of contempt. The Administration has displayed an appalling lack of respect for the American voter. They have trammeled over the principle of government by the people for the people when, in fact, we do not work for Washington; Washington works for us. (I realize that you might feel otherwise around April 15th.) The truth is that the Administration and the Democratic caucus are comprised of individuals whose salaries are being paid by the very people they are willing to deceive.

How would you react if one of your employees lied to you in such an egregious manner? I suspect that you would do everything in your power to fire that person. At the very least, you would be skeptical of anything that staffmember tells you in the future. How could you trust him or her?

Congress’ performance review is coming up on November 2nd. Will you let the lies go unpunished?

The Viennese Café

Whenever traffic snarls devour my day, whenever bureaucrats are at the peak of their obstructionist game, I long to be here. Grosser Schwarzer, please.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog. I’m delighted that you’re here. I hope we make this into a space where we can talk, share, argue vehemently and passionately and abuse the cap lock key until our fingers are hoarse. For what I value the most with regards to discourse among thinking individuals – and what I hope to encourage on this blog – is intellectual honesty. I don’t do politically correct. Facts will be allowed to speak for themselves here.

I’m planning to focus on three main topics. Foremost, American politics and economics. Second, cafés. The nexus? There are few things I enjoy more than sitting over a cup of coffee with a friend while we jot down the solutions to all the world’s problems on the paper napkin. Wait, there is something I enjoy more – sipping my coffee and glancing out the window of the café or the terrace to watch the world go by. That brings me to my third topic – style. On Fridays I will feature a post about fashion, art, interiors or architecture, some eye candy to start the weekend.

There will be the occasional book review. I’m a bookworm and I love to share my finds.

So please pour yourself some of whatever makes you happy, pull up a chair and join the discussion.