LSM At It Again ::: Venezuelan hunger striker dies after Chavez protest

Ahhh... the good ol' AFP.

A Venezuelan farmer who held a months-long hunger strike to protest President Hugo Chavez's policies of land nationalization has died at a military hospital, his relatives said.

"Today, August 30, 2001, the exhausted body of husband and father Franklin Brito stopped breathing," his family said in a statement released to Venezuelan media, calling his death a "symbol" for the Venezuelan people in their struggle for "freedom."

I love that. They put "freedom" in quotes, which, to me, seems to say, "whatever that is".

Venezuelan hunger striker dies after Chavez protest

An Incredibly Hateful Man :: Ground Zero Mosque Supporter Curses Out Holocaust Survivor

This is a pretty amazing video, even though it's quite sad.

YouTube - NTEB: Ground Zero Mosque Supporter Curses Out Holocaust Survivor

Hilarious! ::: Crapa$$ Stimulus Cost More Than Entire Iraq War!

It's just the craziest thing I've read all week... and it's been a crazy week.

Little-known fact: Obama's failed stimulus program cost more than the Iraq war

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/23/10 11:32 AM EDT

Expect to hear a lot about how much the Iraq war cost in the days ahead from Democrats worried about voter wrath against their unprecedented spending excesses.

The meme is simple: The economy is in a shambles because of Bush's economic policies and his war in Iraq. As American Thinker's Randall Hoven points out, that's the message being peddled by lefties as diverse as former Clinton political strategist James Carville, economist Joseph Stiglitz, and The Nation's Washington editor, Christopher Hayes.

The key point in the mantra is an alleged $3 trillion cost for the war. Well, it was expensive to be sure, in both blood and treasure, but, as Hoven notes, the CBO puts the total cost at $709 billion. To put that figure in the proper context of overall spending since the war began in 2003, Hoven provides this handy CBO chart showing the portion of the annual deficit attributable to the conflict:

But there is much more to be said of this data and Hoven does an admirable job of summarizing the highlights of such an analysis:

* Obama's stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War -- more than $100 billion (15%) more.

* Just the first two years of Obama's stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.

* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.

* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.

* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.

* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).

* During Bush's Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)

Just some handy facts to recall during coming weeks as Obama and his congressional Democratic buddies get more desperate to put the blame for their spending policies on Bush and the war in Iraq. For more from Hoven, go here.

Little-known fact: Obama's failed stimulus program cost more than the Iraq war | Washington Examiner

And Obama Wants Us To Be More Like Them ::: China's massive traffic jam could last for weeks | Asian Correspondent

Okay... these people officially need aid. A ten-day - so far! - traffic jam? Send in the Salvation Army!

A massive traffic jam in north China that stretches for dozens of miles and hit its 10-day mark on Tuesday stems from road construction in Beijing that won't be finished until the middle of next month, an official said.

Bumper-to-bumper gridlock spanning for 60 miles (100 kilometers) with cars moving little more than a half-mile (one kilometer) a day at one point has improved since this weekend, said Zhang Minghai, director of Zhangjiakou city's Traffic Management Bureau general office.

But he said he wasn't sure when the situation along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway would return to normal.

The traffic jam started Aug. 14 on a stretch of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway. That section has frequently been congested, especially after large coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia, Zhang said. Traffic volume has increased 40 percent every year.

Drivers stranded in the gridlock in the Inner Mongolia region and Hebei province, headed toward Beijing, passed the time sleeping, walking around, or playing cards and chess. Local villagers were doing brisk business selling instant noodles, boxed lunches and snacks, weaving between the parked trucks on bicycles.

The highway construction in Beijing that is restricting inbound traffic flow and causing the jam "will not be finished until Sept. 17," he said.

The best part? The Won wants us to be more like them! ROTF.

China's massive traffic jam could last for weeks | Asian Correspondent

Line of the day!::: Iran's "Ambassador of Death" Is Actually Sweet and Cozy

Ahhh... the stuff ya can't make up...

Ahmadinejad is once again onajihad.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday inaugurated the country's first domestically built long-range unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.

Speaking to a group of officials, Ahmadinejad said, "The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship."

[snip]

The ceremony came a day after Iran began to fuel its first nuclear power reactor , with the help of Russia, amid international concerns over the possibility of a military dimension to its nuclear program.

Iran insists it is interested only in generating electricity.

Referring to Israel's occasional threats against Iran's nuclear facilities, Ahmadinejad called any attack unlikely, but he said if Israel did attack, the reaction would be overwhelming.

"The scope of Iran's reaction will include the entire earth," said Ahmadinejad. "We also tell you — the West — that all options are on the table."

And where oh where was Bambi this weekend?

Yesterday... on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Sweet.

Iran unveils 'ambassador of death' bomber - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - Iran - msnbc.com

Nancy Pelosi's Not A Fascist... She Just Plays One On TV

Ah yes, the same Nancy Pelosi that just could not believe the CNS reporter was serious when he questioned her on the constitutionality of government healthcare is back with an encore. Thank goodness.

"There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how ... this opposition to the mosque is being funded," she said. "How is this being ginned up that here we are talking about Treasure Island, something we've been working on for decades, something of great interest to our community, as we go forward to an election about the future of our country and two of the first three questions are about a zoning issue in New York City?"

Investigate how opposition to the mosque is being funded?! She's just plum loca.

AUDIO - Rep. Pelosi calls for investigation of WTC mosque opposition - Washington Times

Dear Leader! ::: White House Directive: Erect Signs at All Stimulus Projects as ‘Symbol of President Obama’s Commitment to American People’

Hahahahaha. Wonder when the signs will start including his picture too. Hilarious.

White House Directive: Erect Signs at All Stimulus Projects as ‘Symbol of President Obama’s Commitment to American People’
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - Federal contractors receiving money for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—the $862 billion economic stimulus law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009—have been encouraged and, in some cases, required by the administration to post signs that say their work is funded by that specific act.

Some congressional Republicans are calling the signs propaganda for the administration and questioning their cost.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recommended one model sign that included these words: “Funded By: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/ Barack Obama, President.”

The law itself does not require the signs. The program sprung from aMarch 2009 directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama White House.

“Projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will bear a newly-designed emblem,” said the OMB directive. “The emblem is a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American People to invest their tax dollars wisely to put Americans back to work.”

“All projects which are funded by the ARRA should display signage that features the Primary Emblem throughout the construction phase,” said the directive. “The signage should be displayed in a prominent location on site. Some exclusions may apply. The Primary Emblem can also be displayed on signs at events or conferences associated with the ARRA or the individual projects funded by the ARRA. The Primary Emblem should not be displayed at a size less than 6 inches in diameter.”

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act sign near Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. (Photo by Rachel Jeffries/Courtesy of House oversight committee staff)

Many of the ARRA signs already posted say: “Putting America Back to Work.” All cite the name of the law: “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” And the Department of Housing and Urban Development even suggested a model sign that gives Barack Obama personal credit as president for funding the project.

[snip]

CNSNews.com - White House Directive: Erect Signs at All Stimulus Projects as ‘Symbol of President Obama’s Commitment to American People’

LOL ::: TOTUS Goes on Florida Vacation with Obama – Video

Everybody needs a break, but it looks like the TelePrompTer never gets a rest.

Freedom's Lighthouse � TOTUS Goes on Florida Vacation with Obama – Video

Keeping It Classy ::: Liberals Start "F*ck Tea" Party Campaign/CBS News

This is really just unbelievable. Just what the nation needs. Sad.

Opponents of the Tea Party movement tried responding to the conservative grassroots movement nicely -- by creating the inclusive, deliberative Coffee Party.

But now they're ready to get mean.

A new progressive group called the Agenda Project has launched the "F*ck Tea" campaign. "Progress is the real American party," reads the campaign website's tag line.

"Set aside your good manners, your tolerance, your measured understanding of policy differences, and your earnest do-gooder ideas for a just a moment to join me in telling the Tea Party what you really think of them," Agenda Project founder Erica Payne said in a press release.

The Agenda Project describes itself as "a public policy organization dedicated to building a powerful, intelligent and well-connected political movement capable of identifying and advancing rational, effective, non-ideological ideas in the public debate."

F*ck Tea is one of several projects the group is advancing to push back against what Payne calls "the rhetoric over results paradigm that is holding our country hostage."

The campaign is selling products like mugs and t-shirts with "F*ck Tea" emblazoned across them and plans to sell other products like a "Glenn Beck Bowl Buddy."

While the Tea Party and the subsequent Coffee Party are grassroots, decentralized movements, Payne's Agenda Project is structured as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. Payne is a former Democratic National Committee official who has founded other organizations like the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal donors whose partners have invested over $100 million in progressive organizations.

And I thought the right-wingers were the astroturf. (rolls eyes)

Liberals Start "F*ck Tea" Party Campaign - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Memory Lane ::: President Bush Scuffles with Guards in Santiago, Chile

Bush had some pretty classic moments as president, and this one is still one of my absolute favorites.

YouTube - President Bush Scuffles with Guards in Santiago, Chile