Natural Wonders to Infinity. And Happy New Year!:)

We had thunderstorms in Chicago this morning. Unusual for New Year's Eve. More new:

The National Geographic grand prize photography winner.

Israel discovers natural gas field offshore.

And this: There’s a jungle inside Vietnam’s mammoth cavern. A skyscraper could fit too. And the end is out of sight.

Welcoming the New Year around the world, in photos.

Happy New Year, y'all.

P.S. Wisdom across the ages: This country's founders studied thousands of years of human history -- despotic regimes, authoritarian lunatics, totalitarian zealots -- and attempted to constrain government, not the individual.

Here's to a better year for America, with a new Congress.

P.S. Out with the stupid: Wind-Powered Scotland Needs Electricity From Nuclear France

P.P.S. :) The Tea Party is the political movement of the decade

And Pundit & Pundette's Thirty or so favorite quotes of 2010. Thanks for choosing one of my remarks:) Such august company.

Blackhawks Hockey Moms' Road Trip

Heading to California with their sons' team.

These guys don't need help tying their skates anymore but can still use a cheer from mom:)

...from shirts on skates to the Stanley Cup these moms can be proud.

God Bless Texas. One more time:)

Texas for Sarah Palin. Equally yoked edition. Thanks for the link:)

How bout a truce:)

Good discussion at Potluck on GOProud.

I'm for civil unions. Small government trumps all.

New eco-boilers mandated by Leftie Brits break in cold

The American Thinker.

Joining those frozen windmills and snowbound solar panels.

Related news here and here.

...And this. WSJ. The Midwest Wind Surtax. The latest scheme to socialize the costs of renewable energy.:

You'd think poor Michigan has enough economic troubles without the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission placing a $300 million to $500 million annual surtax on the state's electric utility bills. But on December 16 FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff announced new rules that would essentially socialize the cost of transmission lines across 13 states in the Midwest.

That region-wide pricing scheme, according to a study commissioned by utility companies, will force Michigan to pay about 20% of as much as $20 billion in new high-voltage transmission lines—though Michigan businesses and homeowners will get little benefit. Thanks to FERC's new tariff, nearly everything in Michigan—from cars and trucks to Frosted Flakes—will be more expensive to make. Indiana will also absorb new costs, as will industrial users and utility rate payers in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.[snip]

Let's be very clear on what's happening here: Mr. Wellinghoff and FERC are trying to establish by regulatory fiat a national energy policy that Congress has refused to endorse. Last summer Congress rejected the Obama Administration's renewable energy standard law because it would have inflated power costs. So the fiefdom at FERC is unilaterally moving ahead to require that industries and homeowners pay a surtax on their utility bills for a nonexistent renewable energy policy. This is similar to the EPA's initiatives to regulate carbon even after Congress rejected cap and trade.

Related post: The Incomparable Janet Incompetano

Wilmette's latest village pipe dream

Wilmette Beacon. Trib Local. See for yourselves. From the Wilmette Village "Master Plan"(Ugly boxy meets faux French provincial):
Many noted that the Village Center lacks the 24-hour activity and vibrancy seen in other comparable suburban downtowns.
Really? You want vibrancy live in bankrupt Chicago. Go to Old Orchard.

Wilmette is a small town, with narrow, cobbled streets and historic homes under a leafy canopy. We host and benefit from small, family businesses. And we can't afford pricey schemes from the village that will raise our taxes in some ephemeral pursuit of tax revenues always paid by the "other guy".

How much did Mallinckrodt cost us? (New empire building contemplated by the Park District as well) And you can bet the schools will be holding out their hands soon too.

Spare us from this enlightenment--cut the village staff and save us some pension money. We need it for our own non-subsidized retirement.

More here, a recent case in point:
The article even hints to the real problem-- The bigger backdrop for the drama is the overbuilding that has devastated the retail industry (at left, an empty furniture store in Chicago's far western*suburbs in 2009).

The Chicago region is “phenomenally over-stored,” said Stan Nitzberg, a principal at Mid-America Real Estate Corp. in Oakbrook Terrace. It's the same story nationally. The vacancy rate for U.S. shopping centers, from strip malls to super-regional malls, stood at more than 11 percent in the first quarter of this year — the highest it's been since 1983, when data were first collected, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York City-based trade group.

The reason that stores fail is that we have too many. The biggest offender in allowing too many stores are the idiotic money grubbing municipalities that see the 1% or so that the get in sales tax kick backs as the salve at allows them to over pay everyone from. "Village Managers" to police chiefs to ditch diggers and give them all FAT pensions while attempting to bamboozle residents into believing that because property taxes are not going up things are all rosy.

The latest fad that is contributing to the mess is hhe so-called mixed use developments where a builder throws some hideous condo things up that are way too tall but has retail space on the street level. The "promise" is that high ticket retails (like jewelers) will fill the space and sales tax will flow like Class V rapids, instead the beleaguered leasing agent has to cut a deal to get some breakfast in their that struggles with undocumented dish washers...
A pipe dream.

...As for Green Bay Rd., the so-called village traffic "improvements" have managed to create a both a bottleneck for cars and an unsafe pedestrian environment. And narrowing Wilmette Avenue was truly a genius move.

Yes, the village is envisioning seniors riding their bikes around town 24/7. Vibrantly.

P.S. From the master plan: While the market for additional development is evident, it is unlikely to occur without public subsidies and/or incentives... Oh yeah, it's all very evident.

P.P.S. From one of my friends:
The Wilmette Village Board should remember that Marie Antoinette also built a French village, and look how well that turned out for her. And, she did not even use TIF financing.

But were the teens suffering from childhood obesity?

Outrage: Marine, Wife Attacked by Teenage Thugs at Theater

Related post here.

It's amazing she's still standing

Given she's been leading the debate for the last two years. This poll's just a snapshot after they've thrown everything at her, leftist and Republican establishment alike.

I’m late to this Sarah Palin story Da Tech Guy. HT Pundit & Pundette

As for the NRO and other calls for her to just continue to support candidates, the hell with that. As DeMint puts it:
“We’ve never spoken, but she left me a nice message, and I believe she’s done more for the Republican Party than anyone since Ronald Reagan,” he said.
She's as much right to run as anyone--more. She's earned it, saving the GOP from a third party, and energizing the TEA party to historic gains.

And anyone who thinks she's a mere charismatic "celebrity" is fooling themselves.

P.S. WaPo bizarro. Yes, every day it's a new story with these people.

She says we've been down this road before

Indeed we have. And then we read something imbecilic like this.

Men have suffered the majority of job losses in the recession, meaning that increasing women's earning ability is essential to stabilizing families in ways not seen in past generations.
I'm in my 50's now and I used to be a liberal. I am not going to recite the stats, but I used to think, as materialist leftists do, that poverty caused crime.

But now I know crime causes poverty. And what causes crime. It's the culture, stupid.

Did we have massive crime during the Great Depression? No. Families were largely intact.

Now unwed mothers bear unwed mothers. And fatherless sons become killers.

It's the culture.

We need an education solution.

We need to put an end to the cowards and killings.

If you finish high school, get married, and then have a baby your chances of success are much, much greater.

Marriage is the foundation of a healthy society.

The first duty in civil society is toward one’s own children; everything else is built around it.

...You have to wonder if this woman has even read the Heritage study. It's worth reading. One key excerpt:

Do Unwed Fathers Lack Earnings?

Some argue that encouraging marriage in lower-income communities is irrelevant because the fathers do not earn enough to contribute significantly to the support of the mother and child. This is not true in most cases. Eight out of 10 unmarried fathers were employed at the time of their child’s birth.[43] Ironically, given the degree to which the earnings capacity of non-married fathers is generally maligned, these men actually earn more than the mothers in the period prior to the child’s birth. If the fathers are economically unprepared to support a family, the mothers are even less prepared.[44]

Most non-married fathers have sufficient earnings to help their children escape from poverty. As noted, if women who had children out of wedlock were married to the actual father of their child, their probability of living in poverty would be cut by two-thirds.[45]

In fact, over 60 percent of fathers who have children outside of marriage earned enough at the time of their child’s birth to support their potential family with an income above the poverty level even if the mother did not work at all. If the unmarried father and mother married and the mother worked part-time, the typical family would have an income above 150 percent of poverty, or roughly $35,000 per year. In addition, at the time of birth, the fathers are young; their wages can be expected to increase over time and are likely to rise faster if they became married and committed to a family.

Is There a Shortage of Marriageable Men?

A related argument is that single mothers do not marry because the fathers of their children are non-marriageable. This is a stunning argument given the fact that 40 percent of all children are now born outside of marriage. Are policymakers to believe that 40 percent of young adult men in America are non-marriageable? In reality, while some of the fathers are not suitable marriage partners, most would be.

Three-quarters of non-married fathers are still romantically involved with the mother at the time of birth. Among these men, alcohol, drug, and physical abuse are infrequent.[46] While many of the men have potential problems, so do many of the non-married mothers. In most cases, both the men and women would be better off if they were older, more mature, and in a stable, committed marriage before conceiving children.

But, this is an argument for encouraging stronger, more mature relationships before conception, not for writing off the men in general. The decline in marriage in low-income communities stems from changing social norms and from a welfare system that for decades has penalized marriage, not from a lack of millions of marriageable men.

The Incomparable Janet Incompetano

Gone post-modern. Thomas Lifson, The American Thinker

But what to do? Clearly she is out of step with her Homeland Security charge, which appears to be veering 19th century: ...Other dictatorial news, petty or otherwise: Obama and Holder demand unilateral control. The Constitution does not give it to them.

Berwick and Sebelius sneak end-of-life counseling incentives in through regulation

The Red and Blue States' Fort Sumter

...oh and this.

In case we can't think of them ourselves, your official government New Year's resolutions.

...I say we fund DOD, State, Treasury and the FBI and chop everything else. Let the rest devolve back to the states.

..."If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." -- Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

Yes we can.

We'll take care of YOU.

The elders have asked for a fitness center

News from Helmand province.

More here.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, A Remedy for Beggar States - George Will, Washington Post. And Michelle O trips a "few land mines". Back off, lady. (And stuff it, Joe Klein)

Blogging off and on this week. Blessings of the season to you all.

P.S. Chris Muir.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

If you have loved ones away this Christmas, whether it be across the country or overseas, this one's for you. A bit more upbeat than the classic.

...Merry Christmas.

And God bless us, every one.

Books Kids Will Want to Read


My friend Pundette at Right Network.

Anne of Green Gables has always been a kindred spirit:)

Some of these choices I read for the first time as an adult, looking for books for my own growing children.

I would add a personal favorite are the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, more appropriate for parents reading aloud, curled up with their younger ones:)

Should we go back to the one-room schoolhouse?

Dennis Byrne, Chicago Daily Observer

Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune

Don't treat children as statistics. Don't use them. They are individuals. Don't fail them.

A third of American voters say a fruit cake would be their gift of choice to President Obama this Christmas


conservativehome.

Fruitcake Recycling
I'll be talking smack about fruitcake until the holiday season is over. Like always, only more festive. Or less. Hard to tell.

WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting 'mythical' healthcare system

The Guardian.

...Will Michael Moore ask for his bail money back?

...In other news (to clueless leftists anyway): New York's Income Inequality Worse Than In Chile: Study

...And the ChicagoBoyz: The WikiLeaks paradox

Julian Assange Suddenly Appeals to the Rule of Law

Leftists always want to take the law into their own hands, whether in Cuba, Assange's universe, or in the US of A. And they lie and lie. Here's another one:

Columbia U. vs. the little guy

People die with these guys. They destroy lives. And they don't care because they can't see beyond their own navels.

...Lame Duck Dem Congress trying to shove through legislation without due process--no amendments and little debate. Dream Act on the Senate floor now. Kirk a no:
Statement of Senator Kirk on H.R. 5281, the DREAM Act:

"The American people believe our borders are broken. It is a fundamental duty of our government to know who is entering the country, making illegal entry nearly impossible. In the coming Congress, we have an overwhelming bipartisan consensus to restore confidence in the security of our borders -- before we pursue other immigration proposals."
Update: Dream Act fails to advance on cloture vote. 55-41. Short of the 60 needed. Good.

More.
memeorandum Firehose
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL - DREAM Act causes ugly breakup on left (Byron York / Washington Examiner)

Michael Moore Supports WikiLeaks, Then Discredits Lies Released By… WikiLeaks

Belfast Hockey Guys Sing and Dance, uh

Belfast Giants - All I Want For Christmas Is You

My friends are emailing this around:)

Sleigh Ride!

My last Christmas concert of the season, and this is our finale, including real sleigh bells from one of our grandmother's pony carts. The pony was named Woodrow. After the current president. Here you go with the Boston Pops! I am having a Coke Zero with a little something to celebrate...champagne comes later:)

All I have left to do is get the stocking stuffers and bake the Santa cookies.

P.S. "...another Woodrow Wilson"?

The TEA Party. Setting a New Course

Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago last night, a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded British merchant ships and dumped an estimated £10,000 worth of tea into Boston Harbor. This Boston Tea Party, which John Adams described as the “grandest event which has ever yet happened since the controversy with Britain opened,” was not just a protest about taxation. Our forefathers did not destroy tea because of a simple tax dispute. The 1773 Tea Party were protesting the process by which the British government taxed them. They were fundamentally rejecting the way the British were governing them.

Last night, the spirit of the Tea Party won another major victory...
Heritage Morning Bell:)

The TEA Party is mainstream:) Coursing through Congress.

We have just begun to fight!:)

Statement by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) on Transferring Gitmo Detainees to the United States

Latest. Success. Provision struck out:
Statement from US Senator Mark Kirk on restoring the current law that bans bringing Gitmo terrorists to the Heartland

"In order to block a the House Defense Authorization bill with the Gitmo terrorist transfer provision included, I threatened to place a hold on the bill in the Senate. Illinois Republicans worked together to protect our national security and strike the provision, restoring the current law that bans bringing Gitmo terrorists to the heartland."
***Update with audio of Don and Roma interview***From his office:
“Instead of providing Congress with a clean Defense Authorization bill that could win overwhelming bipartisan support, Speaker Pelosi buried a provision in the House defense bill that permits bringing Guantanamo terrorists to the United States. Such a provision would weaken the security of our country. Therefore, should the Defense Authorization bill come to the Senate with the Gitmo terrorist transfer provision included, I will place a hold on the bill and would seek to strike the provision, restoring the current law that bans bringing Gitmo terrorists to the homeland.

“We should not put ourselves in a position where a rogue court can order the release of a member of the al Qaeda core. Just this week, a terrorist attack directed by a former Guantanamo detainee and now senior Taliban commander, Mullah Zakir, killed six U.S. soldiers in Kandahar.

“While we could authorize a federal prison in Thomson, Illinois to support economic growth, it should never weaken our nation's security by housing Gitmo terrorists. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to continue our bipartisan prohibition on transferring Gitmo terrorists to the heartland.”
Background here, here and here.

Palin Takes on Krauthammer

Sorry Charlie, you lose this one.

You need to get out more. And get on Facebook. Lots of substance there. Like this one: Bailouts Reward Bad Behavior And then there's the Wall St. Journal.

But maybe you only read the WaPo.

It's that vision thing.

And I'm looking forward to the next episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Getting in touch with the pioneering spirit that made this country great.

P.S. On polls this far out.

More. Sarah Palin, NRO: Senate Republicans: Vote No on New START

Omnibus Defeat Is a Victory for Reality

And her GMA interview.

NY Times Gets Intel from the Taliban

Via TWS, NY Times:
“To tell you the truth, the government has the upper hand now” in and around Kandahar, the Taliban member said. A midlevel commander who has been with the movement since its founding in 1994 and knows it well, he was interviewed by telephone on the condition that his name not be used.
NY Times protects terrorist sources. Takes a leak through Wikileaks.

I suppose we should be thankful they care about The One.

A tenuous grasp of what is at stake.

As for me, I see a woman gets to wear a green headscarf, not an enveloping burka. A small victory.

Paul Ryan (R-WI) on House Floor. Americans Can’t Afford These Tax Hikes

James Pethokoukis
RT @: this paul ryan speech will get many clicks tomorrow
One thing at a time.

Did We Just Win? Kirk to McCain on Killing OmniPorkulus

RCP Video
Sen. Kirk On Reid Conceding Omnibus Bill: "Did We Just Win?": After Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) conceded that he did ...
Previous posts here and here. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Death to the Omnibus. McCain Calls for Filibuster*UPDATE BREAKING

BREAKING. SSENATE DEMS abandon omnibus bill.
Phil Kerpen
Reid pulled the plug on OmniPork bill because rogue Rs came back into line! Great grassroots victory!
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) on the floor now with Sen. McCain. YAY!!!!!!!!
Philip Klein
McCain thanks Tea Party & American people for defeat of omnibus bill.

Michelle Malkin
Sen. Mark Kirk to Sen. John McCain: "Did we just win?" .i.p.
****All 12 freshman Republican Senators-elect are united. Sen. McCain was on Kudlow just now. Video:












We have to stop this bill--it will tie our hands for next year and includes $1 BILLION in ObamaCare funding.

I mentioned Gitmo North? and the massive $8 billion in pork in the earlier post.

And this: Omnibus Bill Includes Taxpayer-Funded Abortions in D.C.

Durbin: ‘Reading Bills Is a Waste of Time’

Sen. Durbin (D-IL) is a waste of time. And money. In contrast, (video) Republican Sen. minority leader Mitch McConnell offers a one page resolution to continue government operations until the new Congress can take it apart and knock it back. Kirk(R-IL) here:
Mark Kirk
Fighting for a one-page bill to keep the federal gov funded through February 18th at current spending levels
Does Chicago Way Illinois Dem Dick Durbin not want us to know what's in the BIG 1,924 page, $1.2 TRILLION Omnibus bill the Democrats are SHOVING down our throats because they didn't have the GUTS to pass it BEFORE the election?

Let's see, shall we Tricky Dickie?

The omnibus spending bill that passed the House contained explicit language that prohibits funding for the closure of Gitmo and the transfer of detainees to U.S. soil. The provisions were roundly attacked by Eric Holder and the DOJ.

But guess what? The Senate version of the omnibus includes a superseding provision that would allow the transfer of detainees to the U.S. for the purpose of conducting civilian trials.

Craptastic. Yessirree all we need is terror trials at Thomson, IL with O'Hare the closest major airport. We have to keep fighting the same battles over and over again because of these lying Dem slime. They tried to pull a fast one last Christmas too as I recall. Because they figure most good folks would be otherwise engaged.

This omnibus is a cornucopia --how about this one, a TOTAL waste of time given the corrupt power grab of Sen. Durbin and his ilk:

$74,085,000 in total for three educational programs--the National Writing Project, Reading is Fundamental, and Center for Civic Education--by several representatives and senators.

Is this worth wrecking our economy? Pork and more PORK. And that's just the stuff we think we know about.

Democrats are the biggest, greediest BIG GOVERNMENT GRINCHES--they are STEALING from us and OUR CHILDREN.

More. A look at earmarks in the omnibus and your relative tax burden.

Related: CHART OF THE DAY: The Huge Structural Employment Hole Is Going Nowhere

STOP BURDENING US

And our DEMOCRAT Governor: Mixed Messages: How Governor Quinn’s Tax Hikes Will Erase President Obama’s Tax Cuts

A TSA Seasonal Serenade?

I just came back from a concert myself so I appreciate the sentiment. And they are volunteering their time, at LAX.

But these singing screeners "putting a face on TSA" set my teeth on edge. This one's more my style: And in case you missed this new classic: P.S. But ya better not yodel: Austrian Man Fined for Yodelling Near Muslims

More. Cheery news: Gaping Holes in Airline Security:
Loaded Gun Slips Past TSA Screeners:

He didn't realize he had forgotten to remove the loaded snub nose "baby" Glock pistol from his computer bag. But TSA officers never noticed as his bag glided along the belt and was x-rayed. When he got to his hotel after the three-hour flight, he was shocked to discover the gun traveled unnoticed from Houston.

Happy Meals not OK? Turn off the TV, Monet

These leftists are pathetic. McDonald's ads are apparently too sophisticated for this Sacramento parent.

Does she play with the toys too?

One in a long line of mentally challenged lefties.

Bank Robber Mom

Making choices is so scary.

Wow. Loser Lame Duck Wisconsin Dems Stunned

They even got a judge to let a legislator out of jail to try to ram through a last minute contract for state employees--but the Dem Senate Majority Leader, who had lost his reelection bid in November to Republican physician and surgeon Dr. Pam Galloway, voted NO.

Absolutely amazing.

Then the union called him a whore.

Contract negotiations are usually a quiet affair, but Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker ignited a bitter debate when he demanded last month that the current administration stop negotiations.

He said he wanted state workers to make deeper concessions to help him deal with a projected $150 million deficit in the current fiscal year and a projected $3.3 billion shortfall in the next two-year state budget. He even went so far as to say he might consider abolishing state employee unions.

On Wisconsin. Republicans swept both state houses:

Democrats currently control the Assembly 49-45 with two independents and three vacancies. Democrats have an 18-15 majority in the Senate. In January Republicans will hold a 60-38-1 majority in the Assembly and 19-14 in the Senate.

...and took the U.S. Senate with TEA partier and businessman Ron Johnson.

Oh, look, Dem U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl is under 50%.

Let's stun some more Dems.

...STOP the PORK NOW.

To Survive a Nuke, Take Shelter STAT

Why in the NY Times now? It's probably in aid of pushing a vote on the wrongheaded START treaty, as if aging Russia were our big risk, but we'll take it, because AQ is threatening as is Iran. Here's the skinny:

In 2007, Congress appropriated $5.5 million for studies on atomic disaster planning, noting that “cities have little guidance available to them.”

The Department of Homeland Security financed a multiagency modeling effort led by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The scientists looked at Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other big cities, using computers to simulate details of the urban landscape and terrorist bombs.

The results were revealing. For instance, the scientists found that a bomb’s flash would blind many drivers, causing accidents and complicating evacuation.

The big surprise was how taking shelter for as little as several hours made a huge difference in survival rates.

I usually have some supplies on hand for a power outage or a storm or two--this is useful advice--good to know some have a fighting chance.

I remember as a child of the 50's thinking our basement, which had plenty of windows, didn't offer much shelter, but I grew up in the middle of nowhere so I wasn't too worried. Now I live in a prime target. With this president in charge.

HT Pundit & Pundette, Instapundit

Related. Heritage: Release the START Negotiating Record:

Kyl’s press conference was a major blow to the White House as a slew of potential yes votes lined up to announce they would not vote for the treaty this year, including the newly sworn-in Senator Kirk and Senators Lamar Alexander (R–TN), Kit Bond (R–MO), Saxby Chambliss (R–GA), Orrin Hatch (R–UT), Mike Johanns (R–NE), George Lemieux (R–FL), and John Thune (R–SD).
Good. We need a serious, fresh look at all of this. It's too important.

Daniels Keeps the Door Open for 2012


The Republican governor of Indiana took a break from shoveling snow to talk with WLS Don and Roma this morning (Audio). He blasted the $1.2 TRILLION omnibus spending bill Dems want to cram through, and while noting earmarks are only a small portion of the federal budget, pointed out he had objected to them early on when he had served as W's budget director nearly 10 years ago. They were just picking up steam then and we've seen the abuse, attaching them to PIGS of bills as sweeteners to push bad legislation through.

Daniels went on to say he thinks many people may not realize how close this country is to Niagara with all the spending and debt we're piling on. Asked about the TEA party, he was positive--a grassroots group that raises a little hell on behalf of freedom and the tax payers is all to the good.

Indiana has seen new private sector job growth during this recession--Governor Daniels spoke of creating a great business climate with low taxes and trimming job-killing regulation.

Asked about 2012--the answer is if people are still interested check back in 4 months or so.

Previous posts: Daniels of Indiana First Up. 12 for 2012, "Skinflint Mitch" Daniels, A small, small government contender, Daniels of Indiana on ObamaCare Disaster, Indiana's Mitch Magic, Daniels Makes His National Debut, Daniels: Hoosiers and HSAs, Mitch Daniels Opens the Door, A GOP Governor's Serious Steps on the Economy, Mitch Daniels, Doing What Works in Indiana, The Indiana Model

Meeks Proposes Choice for Chicago Kids

Meeks wants vouchers for 50,000 students An idea whose time has come. LA has a parent trigger. Come on, Chicago.

More.Teachers Unions Stop Expansion of Charter Schools in Chicago

With this Tribune editorial--oh yeah, a huge percentage send their own kids to private schools. They can afford it with the salaries taxpayers fund.

Related posts: The Decline of Evanston High School, Patdown at the Checkout?

Why Sen. Thune Didn’t Withdraw His Earmark Requests

The presumed 2012 hopeful shows his establishment hand. NRO.

Edible Fracking Chemicals?


Don't you just love this story? One in the eye to the eco-zealots who are trying to starve this country of energy.

And developed with the help of the eeeeevil Halliburton to boot:
Apparently Halliburton and Baker Hughes have developed fracking chemicals using fatty acids and other ingredients found in toothpaste, ketchup, ice cream and beer.
American ingenuity. Got Gas?

Let's get to work.

3 year old boy confronts terrorists

“Enough, Enough, Enough”: 3-Year-Old Catholic Confronts Islamic Terrorists as His Parents Lay Dead

From Sci Fi to Reality and Back

Well, we can't ask Scotty to beam us up yet. Orson Scott Card: How 'Friend' Became a Verb

A lot has happened, though. I threw out the encyclopedias a long time ago, records are a distant memory with CDs not far behind.

I'm more worried about internet viruses than the human kind and will we all start talking like our tweets in a few years?

It may sound like Klingon to me.

My dear old dad refused the internet and still wrote letters. That was a fine art. I have the feeling, though, if my mom had lived longer she would have gotten on board. She was a fan of C.S. Lewis from way back.

Eventually this blog may grow old but right now, for me, it's a path to understanding.

And what's not happening now I can always dream about.

Wouldn't urine-soaked books qualify as fine art?

A salient comment on the latest PC storm: Did Harvard Help Manufacture Alleged LGBT Hate Crime?

And they wonder why alums don't care to donate to these knee-jerk blowhards.

More disgust at academia: Claremont McKenna Cover Up: Can’t Hide Prof’s Terrorist Loyalties – or His Wife’s

...But there's hope for some high schools: L.A. Parents Pull the Trigger on School Choice

Related posts: The Decline of Evanston High School, Patdown at the Checkout?

Those Sore Leftist Losers at Time Punt

Breaking News
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is named Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year

More reaction:
jimgeraghty
Lame, lame, lame Time. The backlash against the Obama agenda was the dominant story here and abroad. Should have picked "The Tea Partier"

Jake Tapper
Once again @ editors demonstrate POTY no longer for the person who had the greatest impact on the year. Next year: @?
Pretty funny. A weekly "newsmagazine" can't get the major story of the year straight. They've had lots of time to digest it--go for social media. Hey, why does anyone need/read you anymore Time?

Time, founded in 1923, misses biggest wave election since the 40's.

...We didn't quite get back to 1928, we peaked a bit early:
A Republican vote margin of 15 points would more than double the party’s 1994 victory and it is about double its 1946 victory. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1928 to find an election where the popular vote margin resembled anything close to what Gallup is predicting.
Time, however, is past its prime.

More.
Kathryn Jean Lopez
time not putting the tea party on the poy cover probably proves a tea party point
And:)
Rory Cooper
by GayPatriot
TIME Magazine has 2,820 fans on Facebook. Heritage Foundation has 276,000.
Related post: Dems' Lame Duck Turns into a PIG

Warm Those Red Kettles This Cold Winter

Please Don't Forget

In this season of great joy, suffering and sadness remain all around. Destitute families with children . . . ailing veterans and sickly elderly people . . . neighbors who have lost their homes in this economy . . . they need your compassion.

Please give generously to The Salvation Army today. Your gift will ensure Chicago-area children and other neighbors in need are not forgotten this holiday season.

Clear and make a general donation.

Dems' Lame Duck Turns into a PIG

Don't you just want to slap these Senate Democrats silly?!!!!!

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint wants the bill read:
“President Obama and Democrats have apparently learned nothing from this November’s election. This nearly 2,000-page omnibus filled with thousands of earmarks shows they are still determined to ram through as much big-government spending as they can in this lame duck session. Americans loudly demanded an end to the runaway spending, but Democrats are intent on raiding every taxpayer dollar that they can grab from the Treasury on their way out of power. This bill also funds the unconstitutional Obamacare law that Americans oppose and have asked Congress to fully repeal. Democrats haven’t given Republicans or the American people time to read the bill, but I’ll join with other Republican colleagues to force them to read it on the Senate floor.”
Sen. McConnell On 2,000-Page Omnibus Bill: "No One Has Seen It"

...IT IS A SCANDAL. THE EFFING DEMS HAD ALL SUMMER TO PASS THIS CRAP. IF THEY'D PASSED A BUDGET THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT WITH 51 VOTES, WITH RECONCILIATION.

REMEMBER LAST YEAR: Nakedly Self-Interested Political Calculation

More. Don't you just want to shake these monstrously dumb#@%! Dems
Financial Times
Spain faces fresh Moody’s downgrade: The credit ratings agency has said it may downgrade Spain’s government bond...

The Economist
Unless it is a lot bolder, the euro zone risks being overwhelmed by the markets
More. I'm staring at YOU Dick Durbin.
Amanda Carpenter
Interested in finding out how many earmarks each senator put in the omni? Here you go.

Kirk's First Senate Speech

Video here. I especially liked the story about the duel.

Also, Senate Set to Pass Tax Package

Bonus quick history video: Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes

...We need a flat tax revolution more than ever. So we don't stall out.

And recognition of this: Generosity drives American innovation

No evidence of run. Just hit

What could be the motive? Jihad Watch: Muslim shuttle driver charged in series of hit-and-run attacks near Dulles airport

Hit.

Is Vlad Having a (Midlife) Crisis?


A thug and a cad?

Not taking care of business: VTB, Troika Shunning Lowest Ruble Yields May Mean Sale Bust: Russia Credit

Video: Raw Video: Anti-government Protests in Russia

President Medvedev says Russia must plug brain drain‎ - Reuters Africa

Legal cases to determine Russia's future with the West

Russia trying to perpetuate rule over N. islands

Will Russia progress and go West?

With the presidential seal on the little T-shirt

Ramirez. How cute.

But, um, we don't really want Bill back.

Even if it means we see less of you.

...strike up the kazoo band. Hail to the chief. 2012 can't come soon enough.

Assange Still in Jail, Friends Rat Him Out

Fellow leftist brat Michael Moore tried to spring the Wikileaker, but he's still being held in the UK as the Swedes object. Meanwhile Assange's mom has arrived from Australia to advocate for her perennial adolescent. And on another front:

Ironically, his former colleague says Assange became enraged over leaks about him he thought were coming from inside WikiLeaks. "Was this you?" Assange wrote during an on-line chat with Domscheit-Berg just before their split. "I didn't speak to Newsweek or other media," he responded.

"I am investigating a serious security breach," Assange replied. "Are you refusing to answer?"

"He's not the best person to deal with criticism, I would say," said Domscheit-Berg.

Let him rot in jail.

Gee, I wonder why the Swedes are a bit testy these days: From Sweden to Macedonia: Radical Islam Continues Probing Europe

As are most sensible Americans Another Man Arrested for Plotting Bomb Attack on D.C. Metro

Wilmette Diversionary Residential Burglary

The following is a Crime Alert from the Wilmette Police Department. For past Alerts, please visit our website at: www.wilmette.com/police/. THANK YOU
Crime Alerts
# Diversionary Residential Burglary
# Theft of Packages

Diversionary Residential Burglary

On Monday, December 13th at 3:00 PM, a diversionary residential burglary occurred in the 2700 block of Orchard Lane (1 block south and 1 block west of Lake & Locust). The residents related that several males came to their home and claimed to be with the village. They said that they were checking for contaminated water. Two of the unknown males diverted the attention of both occupants while the other two males took jewelry, checks and cash.

There was no description of a vehicle. The offenders were described as possibly Hispanic or Eastern European. They were further described as below. The first subject identified himself as "Tony".

1. Male; 5'9" tall, 250 lbs, 45 years old; dark hair; wearing dark colored jacket, jeans, gloves & Chicago Bears baseball hat;
2. Male, 5'5" tall, 170 lbs, 25 years old, wearing dark colored jacket, jeans and Chicago Bears baseball hat;
3. Male, 5'6", 175 lbs, 25 years old, dark hair; unknown clothing
4. Male, 5'6", 170 lbs, 25 years old, dark hair, wearing dark clothing

Theft of Packages

On December 10th and 11th, the Wilmette Police Department took reports package thefts and mail from a residence in the 1000 block of Oakwood and a residence in the 800 block of Oakwood (east of Green Bay and block south of Linden) The thefts occurred between Monday, 12/6 and Thursday 12/9. Three thefts were recently delivered UPS packages that were left on the resident's porch. One was a theft of a credit card from mail box. There is no description of the offender(s).

If you are expecting a delivery of a package, the Wilmette Police Department recommends that you take the following actions to prevent a theft:

* Arrange for the delivery to be made when someone is home.
* If no one can be home, arrange for the delivery to be left with a neighbor who is home or have a neighbor pick it up.
* Arrange to pick up the package at the company's distribution center.
* If none of these options work, set up a place where a package can be left but is not in view of the public.

Mountain Leader: My leader kit



This is the last of my "xray" diagrams for kit lists. This one is a typical(ish) ML leader pack. Containing a variety of items essential for leading groups in the mountains. This is by no means an exhaustive list and any ML or aspirant ML should pick their own kit based on their experience. My equipment listed below is everything I would take (although not everything is shown on the diagram)for a standard group day on the hill, any specialist items are not included, however these could include things like GPS, any books or guides for the area as required, I also list a sling in the equipment, if going for you ML assessment it is worth noting that some ML assessors do not allow the use of a sling and biner and some do. If you do have one, make sure you know how to use it correctly! Kit list:



Camelbak
Spare water
30m Confidence rope - Set up for easy use
240cm sling and HMS karabiner
Hardshell
Spare warm jacket
Food and emergency rations (in yellow stuff sack)
Headtorch
Phone
First aid kit
Group shelter
Penknife
GPS handset
Walking poles
Thermos flask with warm drink
Map

The above list is not exhaustive, but is generally what I carry when with groups, I add or take away items depending on time of year, group size/age/type, and the nature of the day.

I hope you have enjoyed the series of little diagrams in the last couple of posts, feel free to use these in any presentations etc, but please reference me or let me know if you do :)

Next post: FigFour Dry tooling....any good?
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