HnC Vault: Moore or Less

Readers- Just a reminder that I'm now posting "golden oldies" on weekends, along with a brief word of current commentary from today's perspective. -Stilt



9/13/2009 - To the surprise of precisely no one, liberal darling Michael Moore has declared that his new documentary proves capitalism is "evil" and "you have to eliminate it." The movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story" is debuting in Venice, so that Mr. Moore's handlers will have access to enough water to frequently moisten his vast, wrinkly hide.

Update 3/5/11 - Michael Moore has just re-emerged from his watery seclusion to announce that Wisconsin isn't broke, and Washington isn't broke. There's PLENTY of money in rich people's pockets (and homes, and investments) but "We’ve allowed them to take that. That’s not theirs, that’s a national resource, that’s ours."

In other words, if you've earned money, saved money, created a business, invested in business, or otherwise made any money...Michael Moore says you're a thief who has stolen from the common people. But where would Michael Moore get the ridiculous idea that anyone is entitled to the money in other people's pockets? We think it came from his lifetime of stealing the food off of other people's plates.
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Playing Chicken

In a game of "chicken," two vehicles head straight at each other...the goal being to see who will chicken out first and turn to avoid a collision. However, this is a very risky game to play when your opponent has no intention of turning away... and is driving a steamroller.

Which is exactly what Wisconsin's runaway Democrats are finding out. The Wisconsin State Senate, eager to get back to the long-delayed work of the voters, has approved a resolution saying that the runaway state Senators can be held guilty of "contempt of the Senate" and "disorderly conduct."

Which means they can be picked up by law enforcement, "held against their will, chained, and brought back to the Senate chambers to vote" on Governor Walker's budget balancing bill.

Of course, they don't have to vote at all...all they need to do is be "present," much like a certain former state senator from Illinois who remains, to this day, rather commitment-phobic.

Frankly, we're hoping that the Democrats don't do anything mature and respectable like returning to their duties voluntarily. After they've cause so much trouble, we think it's only fair that we get to see them dragged into the Senate chambers wearing chains and handcuffs, while kicking and screaming.

Ideally while the Senate Republicans sing the "Bad Boys" theme from COPS.

"While you were gone, we put in new seats for you."
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Send in the Clones

Years ago, the brilliant comedy troupe Firesign Theater postulated the existence of a government office called "The Department of Redundancy Department." Which would be a really funny joke if it wasn't costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

So says a new report from the Government Accountability Office, which has discovered (surprise!) that our bloated bureaucracy has so many duplicate and overlapping programs and supervisory agencies that taxpayers are paying many times over to do a single job...and that the multiple agencies not only make things more expensive, but more confusing and less effective.

There are so many duplicate agencies, and so little oversight, that no one even knows which agencies are accomplishing anything. For instance, there are 47 different job training programs, but only five have been evaluated for effectiveness since 2004. There are 18 food assistance programs, but 11 of them have virtually no documentation of effectiveness. Need help getting transportation for the handicapped? No problem...as long as you can figure out which of 79 agencies to call.

Teacher effectiveness programs? There are 80 of them...and as nearly as we can tell, none of them are working. And there are 100 different funding programs for highways and rail, which is why you now need a GPS just to find your way through the maze of offices.

Although most Republicans and Democrats agree that the GAO report gives a good map of potential budget cuts, the Whitehouse is a bit less enthusiastic.

In reaction to the news that hundreds of billions in savings are available, Presidential Spokesman Jay Carney cautioned "The question is where do you cut in a way that doesn’t harm the economy, doesn’t throw it in reverse, doesn’t reduce job growth, job creation, and it protects the investments that are so key to longer-term economic growth in this country."

Which seems to indicate that Mr. Obama believes such overspending and redundancy are actually good for the economy, and should be repeated as necessary. And repeated and repeated and...
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Ships Happen

At long last, American warships are heading toward Libya following a strongly worded statement that, if necessary, military action would be taken to protect the Libyan people.

Of course, that statement didn't come from Barack Hussein Obama...it came from UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and we assume that the U.S. is subsequently sending ships either out of embarrassment at being shown up by the British, or to position our forces to strike against the English over the whole "no invitation to the royal wedding" thing.

After all, Barack Obama has still not called out Muammar Gaddafi by name in a public forum, although his office did send out a press release claiming that he'd trash talked the Libyan dictator while having a private phone chat with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and is considering "de-friending" him on Facebook.

But surely the repositioning of American ships in the region is indicative of the alleged president's alleged resolve - right?

Maybe yes, maybe no. After all, Mr. Obama has been saying that the United States needs to follow the UN's leadership and wisdom in this matter. But the UN recently added Libya to their "Human Rights Council" and, until recently, was preparing to issue a report heaping praise on Libya for their dedication to human rights.

So will Obama end up following Cameron, or following the UN? Either way, with all of the ships in our Navy, we're still lacking the most important one. Leadership.
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Funds and Games

In a cheap and obvious ploy to buy popularity and calm dissenting voices, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has announced that he is giving away money.

Families will be receiving 500 dinars apiece, which is equal to about $450 US dollars...and equivalent to about two months' salary. Which just goes to show how much the average Libyan worker needs stronger, Wisconsin-style union representation. And the occasional phony doctor's note to skip work.

We assume that alleged president Barack Hussein Obama will find this move tacky and abhorrent, even though he basically did the same thing when he passed out $600 checks of "stimulus" money to American voters. And when, just before last November's elections (what a wild coincidence!), he announced $250 checks for senior citizens for no particular reason other than finding old people "cuddly." The fact that the seniors were pissed off Obamacare was cutting $500 billion from Medicare had nothing to do with it.

In fact, it seems that virtually all of Barack Obama's favorite programs involve giving away money (often in the form of services) in return for votes, either from the citizenry, or in the corrupt halls of Washington DC.

But all of that being said, Hope n' Change wants to make very, very clear that we're not equating Muammar Gaddafi and Barack Obama. After all, Gaddafi at least looks good in a uniform...but as far as we know, Mr. Obama has never worn one in his life.
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Diss Me, Kate

Actually, Muammar Gaddafi wasn't on the final list of invitations for the royal wedding of England's Prince William and Kate Middleton...but even so, we're guessing that he came closer to making the cutoff than America's "new Camelot" couple, Barack and Michelle Obama.

In the interest of civility, some sources have suggested that they weren't invited simply because England couldn't afford the cost of the additional security which would be needed to keep Michelle from eating all the jumbo shrimp at the wedding reception. But we think there's more to it than that.

After all, Barack Obama has gone out of his way to offend the British every chance he gets. When beginning his presidency, he removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and sent it back to England. The bust had been given in the aftermath of 9/11, to remind Americans to be strong and know they had allies standing with them in troubled times. Ouch.

Mr. Obama also gifted the Prime Minister of England with a cheap collection of American movies on DVD which wouldn't play on British DVD players. He then topped himself by giving the Queen of England an iPod which was already filled with Obama's speeches and video of his inauguration. Double ouch.

Of course, the alleged First Family won't be lacking for social events even if they don't get to attend the wedding. They might throw another "Motown Night" to show that the president is working tirelessly on the growing chaos in the Mideast, or perhaps stage another Ramadan feast at which Mr. Obama can announce his support for new Islamic building projects at Ground Zero.

Or maybe they'll just spend a quiet evening at home watching the movies which were returned from England. Muammar Gaddafi can bring the popcorn.

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It's the thought that counts.
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HnC Vault: Deafening Silence

Readers- Having perhaps underestimated my OCD and need to post daily, I'm going to try posting cartoons from the "Hope n' Change Vault" on weekends, selecting cartoons that are in some way relevant to today's news and adding a quick bit of perspective from the present. Let me know what you think!

Deafening Silence - Sept 7, 2009



The Lockerbie bomber blew Pan Am flight 103 out of the sky, killing 270 innocent people including 189 US citizens - the most deadly attack on Americans prior to 9/11. Now, after serving a prison term of less than two weeks per victim, the U.K. has released the bomber to a hero's welcome in Libya...in return for a better deal on oil.

Now, we've learned that president Obama was kept fully informed of the exchange before it happened, and did nothing to stop it.

This president has made it clear that, in his mind, there is no war on terror...and that no terrorist should be made to feel fear or lasting discomfort.

He didn't specifically say that terrorists should enjoy hero's welcomes and parades. But he has made it possible.

A shattered aircraft...a smoldering crater...and a terrorist's welcome into the new world of Hope and Change

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Feb 26, 2011 Update: The Lockerbie bomber is still alive, we now know that Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered the bombing, that Gaddafi has since praised Obama as being good news for the Muslim world and, even with Gaddafi having protestors by the hundreds murdered in the streets of Libya, Barack Hussein Obama has not used the dictator's name when assigning blame for the violence.

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