Day after the election

Congratulations to all who voted to start the long, difficult process of returning the U.S. to sanity and stability. Picking up 50-plus seats in congress sends a huge message.

Of course I don't expect the MSM to report it this way. Instead the stories will likely be about the *failure* of the Republicans to take control of the Senate as well. Can't have Americans thinking that conservatives actually accomplished anything, eh?

You can also expect to read endless articles claiming that the "real" message of this election is that voters are tired of the political sniping and want "bipartisanship."

I'm pretty sure that is *not* the message the majority of voters sent, but it's understandable that liberals and Dems would try that spin.

We can also expect to read a flood of stories moaning about "obstructionism" by the GOP. And Dems in congress will undoubtedly resume their standard practice of attaching ultra-liberal provisions to "must-pass" bills and daring Republicans to defeat the bill.

So...huge win, but the fight is just beginning. There will be some battles lost along the way, but we have to encourage our reps to hang tough.

The trouble with our self-styled "elites"

Megan McArdle writes about economics and policy, and seems to have a pretty good handle on things. Here are some of her more recent observations:

So-called experts in public policy talk a good game, but in the end are no experts at all. They build castles of words, and call it knowledge.

[This happens mainly because] in a world where your primary output is words, it is easy to imagine a smoothly operating process based [solely] on really smart rule-making.

In essence, elites are always missing one vital piece of information: what it is like to be someone who is not in the elite.

It is easy for [the elites] to recommend free trade, carbon taxes, and so forth; most of them live in cities where they don't have to drive much, and/or have incomes that make the price of gas a trivial concern.

I'd like to think this type of analysis is gaining traction all around the country. Unfortunately I think the only people who agree with the author are conservatives.

What if there's proven, massive vote fraud Nov 2nd?

As we reach one week before the election, I'm starting to see blog posts cautioning conservatives to watch your local polling place for suggestions of vote fraud. Some suggest using cell-phone cameras to document obvious violations.

Which led me to think: Why bother documenting election fraud?

Seriously. We have a preznit who, when challenged on his eligibility to hold that office, refused to let an impartial panel view and authenticate his birth certificate--and the nation's judges simply yawned. It would appear that the judiciary doesn't believe the laws should be enforced if doing so would aggravate certain groups.

Same deal with election fraud: You could have hours of video documenting the fraud in detail, with absentee ballots allegedly submitted by Joe Smith, along with Joe's affidavid swearing that he voted in person, but do you think the courts would take any action?

You could literally have dozens of boxes of ballots being "found" in car trunks weeks after an election went to the GOP candidate by a razor-thin margin--and voila!: the newly discovered ballots are just barely enough to swing the election to the Dem. And the courts yawn.

Both these things actually happened--not in some lawless third-world hole but right here in the good ol' US of A--and the courts said the legal equivalent of "We couldn't care less."

The Dems and "progressives" have elevated election fraud to a routine, yet the courts appear generally uninterested. Why would anyone think things would be different this year?

Hakuna Matata, citizen. Just smile and be happy.

12,000 bogus voter registrations submitted by SEIU offshoot--MSM yawns

The Denver Post reports that 6,000 bogus voter registrations were recently submitted in Colorado. The apparently-fraudulent registrations were submitted by a group formed by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members, called "Mi Familia Vota."

By amazing coincidence, the same group seems to have turned in another 6,000 bogus voter registration cards in the neighboring state of Arizona.

In Colorado, the state didn't issue registration cards on the 6,000 submissions because a state law established a clever system to catch attempted fraud: The state sends a non-forwardable card to the address of the person who supposedly registered, and will only proceed with registration if the recipient verifies the act and returns the card to the state within 20 days.

Not surprisingly, several groups immediately filed suit asking the courts to force the state to register all the "people" who supposedly tried to register but were rejected.

One of these groups--you'll be SO surprised--was the Service Employees International Union.

Let's see here....thuggish, corrupt union known for getting violent with opponents--check. Attempted voter registration fraud in two states, totalling 12,000 bogus submissions--check. Using our legal system to try to ram the fraudulent registrations through--check.

But don't worry: We got Eric Holder and the world's finest Keystone Kops (a.k.a. the Department of Injustice) watching closely to ensure that the upcoming election is oh-so-fair and honest.

Really.

"You stupid Republicans can't defund NPR!"

National Public Radio has always been ridiculously far-left in its content. While they occasionally run stories on interesting subjects, they never seem to be able to avoid the snooty, chiding left-liberal comment somewhere along the line.

Now NPR has fired one of their (normally far left) contract analysts for a statement he made on the Fox News network.

The guy lives in D.C.--home to lots of Muslims--and had the audacity to say that when he flew on the airlines, seeing passengers in "Muslim garb" made him nervous.

Get outta here! Why on earth would Muslims on airplanes make someone nervous?

(What? Really?! Three thousand killed?? Wow, I had no idea....)

So Juan Williams was fired for saying something quite benign, that comports with a factual event. (Well, factual unless you're one of the reported 30 percent of Americans who believe 9/11 was a government operation instead of an act by Muslim fanatics.)

This is just another example of how "political correctness"--as determined, of course, by liberal "elites"--is enforced, and incorrect speech is punished by the Left.

All of which is preamble to the point of this post: A couple of GOP congresscritters have said they want to stop all government funding for NPR.

I'm totally in favor of this. Problem is, NPR and all its sister leftist outlets have LOTS of friends and defenders, who will fight hard to keep your cash coming in, year after year.

Some on the left are even running smug pieces saying "the Repubs have tried this every year and it never works, because they can never get enough Republicans to support pulling the funding." So there. Neener neener neener.

Wow. Gotta admire that kind of audacity.

Facing what seems to be shaping up as near-record losses in the midterm elections in ten days, the Left is doubling down, laughing at us poor dumb taxpaying Republicans: "You stupid retards keep trying to cut off govt funding of our captive liberal propaganda network, but you never can manage the votes. What morons! We shall carry on as usual, denigrating all things religious, conservative, patriotic, military and so on, and keep telling your kids how bad all those things are."

Here's the link. Warning, it'll probably raise your blood pressure.

To have a future, we have to believe a good one exists.

Blogs are an endless source of surprises: sometimes one finds a real gem amid the gravel. The author at this link comments on how so many Americans seem to have lost a sense that doing things--whether raising children or building factories or bridges--is worth doing.

Blogger Richard Fernandez notes that our self-proclaimed "elites" seem to be united in their view that America is in decline. Further, these "elites" believe this is because of some alleged sin the nation committed at some point in our past. He notes that all through history, many philosophers have struggled with the same question for their own societies. And if one doesn't find an answer, it becomes very hard to keep getting up in the morning.

Fernandez disagrees with this position, and the debate is stimulating. A sample:

[Elites enjoy the idea] that for many in the West, the future has ceased to exist. It is no longer worth saving for, planning against or dreaming of. All that we have is an addiction to instant gratification. Yet despite the fact that experiences are intensified into the present with all the compression of a car crash, the resulting moments become far from satisfying.... We rush and once we get to where we were hurrying, can hardly wait to leave it. Life becomes and endless series of novelties, each palliated by the next. We entertain ourselves to forget our last entertainments.

This probably seems unreal to most of us in flyover country, because we still seem to be firmly anchored in religious beliefs and the fundamental goodness of this country. But apparently many of those living in headier places lack the moral grounding most flyover residents have.

Anyway, I promise that the essay won't down you out--the author is a strong believer in God, goodness and the value of ethics. I thought it was a most impressive piece.

Barney Frank and the mortgage meltdown

Barney Frank blocked investigations into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a time when he was living with his gay lover (1987 to 1998)-- who just happened to be a senior executive at Fannie Mae.

If a Republican had done that, there would have been a congressional investigation followed by prison terms. But for Democrats, the MFM will merrily ignore all transgressions.

Okay, that's all "old news", right?

But the new twist is that Frank--facing a strong election challenge for his House seat--is now claiming that he resisted investigations into Fannie and Freddie because...he feared that the eeevil Wepubwicans were gonna'...um...pass some meaningful reforms on those two agencies that might have avoided another ten years of disastrous lending to unqualified borrowers.

You really should read the link to get a full dose of what an outrageous liar this guy is.

He really should be in prison. Instead he's still in the House and will likely be re-elected.

Imbecilic Massachusetts voters...