Chapter 11 Filing Imminent for Chrysler

From the Wall Street Journal, via Fox News:

Talks between the Treasury Department and lenders aimed at keeping Chrysler LLC out of bankruptcy broke down late Wednesday, making it all but certain that the car maker will file for Chapter 11 protection Thursday, according to people familiar with the discussions.

I’m not well educated in economics and I have had a heck of a time following the whole auto industry/bailout thing… But the Capitalist in me believes it has to be a good thing when companies are allowed to fail rather than continually throwing good money after bad.

And The Audiologists Wouldn’t Hear Of It

Via email:

A Medical Association has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package….

• The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
• The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.
• The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.
• The Opthalmologists considered the whole idea shortsighted.
• The Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, Grow up!”
• The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.
• The Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.
• The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, but the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter.”
• The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were p***ed off at the whole idea.
• The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
• In the end, the Proctologsts won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a$$****s in Washington.

 

Cheney In 2012 – Liz, That Is

What a debate performance Liz Cheney gave against the annoying Norah ODonnell of MSNBC.  She didn’t respond to false premises but corrected them, and forcefully reiterated her points to clarify her position. 

Why is no one else standing up to the MSM on this issue?

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/04/023409.php

Another Global Warming Skeptic

The Osgood File. I’m Charles Osgood.

I know you’ve already got a lot to worry about as it is, but something rather odd is going on — on the Sun.

The Sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle of activity — and last year, it was supposed to have heated up — and, at its peak, would have a tumultuous boiling atmosphere, spitting out flares and huge chunks of super-hot gas.

Instead, it hit a 50-year low in solar wind pressure, a 55-year low in radio emissions, and a 100-year low in sunspot activity. Right now, the sun is the dimmest it’s been in nearly a century.

Did you know that? It’s true. Astronomers are baffled by it, but has the press covered the story? Hardly at all. Is the government doing anything about it? No, it’s not even in the Obama budget or any Congressional earmarks.

But, sooner or later, I bet it will turn out to be our fault — yours and mine. And in Washington, where everything is political, they’ll note that it began before President Obama took office — perhaps “another example of the failed policies of the Bush Administration.”

At an upcoming meeting of astronomers in the United Kingdom, they’ll be studying new pictures of the Sun taken from space, looking for any hint that the Sun will start heating up again and acting up again, the way it’s supposed to. But there is no sign of that, so far.

In the mid-17th Century, there was a quiet spell on the Sun — known as the Maunder Minimum — which lasted 70 years, and led to a mini-Ice Age here on Earth.

Right now, global warming is a given to so many, it raises the question: Could another minimum activity period on the Sun counteract, in any way, the effects of global warming?

Hush, child! You’re not even supposed to suggest that. The only thing that can change global warming is if we human beings — we Americans, especially — completely change our ways and our way of life.

I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about this solar dimming business, now that the story is out. Remember, you heard it here first…

The Osgood File. Transcripts, podcasts, and Mp3’s of all these programs can be found at theosgoodfile.com. I’m Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.

Cincinnati Tea Party Video

Looks like Cincinnati had a nice Tea Party on the 15th.  While the left and the MSM keep saying the Tea Parties are promoted by the Republican Party and their big donors, this video shows who really sent people out to demonstrate.

Spending Your Federal Tax Dollars

I attended a regional meeting this morning that showcased how area counties, cities and townships have spent their Community Development Block Grant and Housing and Urban Development monies. 

Improvements in our little park were one of the projects showcased from our county.  We transformed a small eyesore piece of property with an abandoned building into a nicely landscaped entryway park with a gazebo, fence, parking, picnic tables, etc.  It has made such an impact that the community, which qualifies as low to moderate income, is making preparations for a home and garden tour next year, with tickets sold at the gazebo in the park.  This project strenthened feelings of community pride among many residents, and that translated into increased pride in caring for personal properties.

Many projects shown were beneficial to the taxpaying public, but then there were others…

The most disconcerting one was the use of many tens of thousands of dollars of CDBG funds – to organize 800 people living in dilapidated apartments for the purpose of forcing the landowner to provide them with better housing.

Think about that for awhile.  The federal government gave local officials tax money, to be used to organize renters together to harass a private citizen.  The money wasn’t given to build anything, or to fix anything – it was given soleley to organize with the intent of pressuring the property owner.

For all I know that property owner may have been the biggest sleazeball landlord in the history of the world, but that doesn’t matter.  Any deficiencies should be a case for zoning enforcement and the court system; the federal government has no business funding community activism against private citizens.

Once the landowner was defeated, the federal government then came through with an additional $100 million and built new housing for the people.  They now live in apartments owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Here’s my question.  If you don’t like where you live, whatever happened to working hard so you can improve your condition?   When did it become the responsibility of the taxpayer to provide you with nicer housing, or the government to help you agitate for it? 

The speaker who bragged about his role in organizing those tenants then went on a rant about people who go to anti-tax rallies (he never did use the term Tea Party), and said he was concerned about the negative tone coming from those rallies.  He minimized the  number who attended a local rally yesterday, stating it at about 20% of what the local media is reporting, and ended by lecturing us on tax spending.  Taxes and spending aren’t the problem, they are the solution to our economic problems.

Right.

Study the issues and the candidates well, every single election.  Knowing where this man is from, I”m sure he represents his constituents well.  Make sure your officials represent your beliefs well too.

Tax Day Tea Parties – Don’t Miss Your Chance To Speak Out!

Today’s the big day! Are you going to a Tea Party? With more than 500 Tea Parties planned throughout the United States, there is bound to be one near you. Click here to find out where the Parties are planned in your state.

But what if you, like me, can’t get to a party today? (Someone has to get the kids off the bus and off to swimming lessons tonight…)

Be there in spirit.

How?

Take a few minutes right now and FAX Obama and your Senators and Representative and tell them you are standing with the Tea Party Ralliers – their voice is your voice. Because let’s face it, at the end of the day this is all about numbers and the bigger the numbers, the more our elected officials will sit up and take notice. So don’t waste this chance, even if you aren’t able to get to a rally.

It’s easy to do.

1. Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code to find the contact information of your elected officials.

2. Type up a short but polite letter to each official, personalized with their names. Keep it simple, something like: “I want you to know that I am at the Tax Day Tea Party in spirit… as I’m sure many other Americans are. Please let us know you hear our voices – stop the spending!!”

3. To give your fax a little extra punch, consider putting a Tax Day rally “sign” on the top. This page has a lot of great images you could use. There’s a lot of good ones, but this is my personal favorite:

4. Fax your letter. If you don’t have a fax machine at home, you may be able to use your computer to fax. If it is hooked up to your phone line, you can send a fax using MS Word – just choose “fax” under the printer options and then type in the appropriate fax number. Also many scanners have fax capabilities as well. If all else fails, make a quick run to a mail or copy shop and fax from there. Faxes will have a greater impact than email or even a phone call (harder to dismiss that piece of paper coming into the office and also keeps their fax machines buzzing!) so if at all possible, take the time and spend the few cents a fax will cost you.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by – be a part of the Tax Day Tea Party movement and make your voice heard!!

Tyrannosaurus Debt

Maybe Congress and the White House should watch a little School House Rocks before voting to put more millstones of debt around our necks.

Former Treasury Secretary Paulson claimed the government had intervened enough at $267 billion; we are now approaching $2 trillion and still counting.  A big serving of change without much hope.

h/t:  Lilola and mysterious fishtank

Global Warming Data Hoax

For those who still worry about the Earth heating up and reaching a “tipping point,” read this article to see the quality of research being done to support that theory.

Catlin Biotelemetry Data

What kind of scientist starts out to prove the degree of a hypothesis, not whether the hypothesis is true?  And what kind of science puts fake data on a website about such basic things as the well-being of the scientists and whether their ice-measuring equipment works?  If they can’t be honest about the fact their equipment malfunctioned from day one, how can they expect people to believe any information they bring back? 

Read some of the comments, for many of the commenters on this blog are real scientists who look at both sides.  Go to some of the later comments too, say after about the 200th one.  I find them fascinating.

Will the MSM report on the fraud being perpetrated here, or sweep that under the rug and only give us the “scientific data” they bring back.  That information will certainly show the ice is thinning dramatically since that is what they set out to “prove.”

Now read this post,  which uses information from military buoys to show the Arctic ice is thickening.  In fact, between the Arctic and Antarctic ice, there is about a half million square kilomoters of sea ice in the world more than normal, and the Arctic ice was twice as thick as anticipated during a recent flyover study.

The Funny, The Scary, and The Ugly

While our Democratic leaders are busy rigging the census and Obama is busy apologizing for America, news in the real world continues to grow bleaker. 

And odder.  With Obama as GM’s car designer in chief, is this where we’re all headed?  GM is partnering with Segway to develope this, er-umm “car” by 2012. 

Today’s Assigned Reading (for the brave of heart):

Welcome To The Dark Ages  Truly scary.  You thought Iran and North Korea wanted nuclear bombs to attack us on the ground, but an Electromagnetic Pulse attack is far more effective.  And devastating.

Farewell To Zion Is it too late to save Israel?  If they try to save themselves will Obama use the United States military to stop them?

Communities Printing Local Cash  Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, it keeps the money flowing locally.