The ObamaNation's impression of itself

Were any of ye socks as stunned as yours truly was to hear tonight that the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue gave himself high marks for his track record to date?

Seriously.

He told his guru/benefactor Oprah that he would give himself a B+.

Self-deluded much?

I mean, really, how do you get that kind of a grade with only a 46% approval rating?

When I was going to school back in the Stone Age, a 46% was pretty much an F-.

He must be grading on one heck of a curve.

I tried to engage in some Al Gore style fuzzy math to figure it out, but got about as far as his presidential ambitions.

For instance, I'm willing to concede that roughly 25% of the population is never going to approve of the ObamaNation.

And, I figure there's another 25% who will always goosestep behind this guy, or any other Democrat for that matter.

So, really, you'd have to grade him on how well he's doing with the remaining 50% in the middle.

Well, by my caluclations, 46% - 25% loyal supporters = 21% real approval rating x 2 = 42% of actual middle of the road type folks.

But, that result is even worse than the poll numbers, and still yields a big fat F-.

Hmmm . . .

A tax by any other name . . .

In case ye socks need any further evidence that Orlando is still a tourism-based economy, I submit the example of the ongoing brouhaha over the so-called "Travel Promotion Act" that is not only working its way thru the halls of Congress but is also being debated just about everywhere in this little corner of heaven.

Essentially, if passed, the act would tack a $10 FEE (read TAX) on every international traveler who dares to book a flight to the good old USofA.

Then, our friendly (and oh-so-trustworthy) federal government will use 50% of the proceeds to mount an annual ad campaign with a projected budget of $200,000,000.

None of the news accounts I have seen or read seem to know where or how the other 50% is being spent. Evidently, it will be eaten up by the typical Washington wastefulness that has made Beltway bureaucrats the perennial darlings of their fellow citizens.

Now, I know folks like Mitt Romney have been trying to disguise TAX increases by calling them FEES for quite some time now.

But, since when is it the job of the federal government to pimp our tourist magnets all over the world?!

Note, the junior senator from Illinois (and heir apparent to John Kerry, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis) has signed on as a co-sponsor of this piece of trash legislation.

Surprised?

Don't be. Most socialists live for this sort of tripe. Take money out of the private sector. Waste half of it in DC. Then dole it out as needed to increase the power and influence of the central government.

I say, let the market decide.

And, surprisingly, so does John McCain in this instance.

Keep all of this in mind come November, ok?!

William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008)

The conservative movement in America has lost one of its most distinctive voices today with the death of William Frank Buckley, Jr.

I am sure his contributions to the cause will be highlighted on all the major news outlets today.

But, I thought I'd let ye socks know why Buckley was always a favorite of yours truly.

Unlike many in the political arena today, Buckley was unabashedly politically incorrect. And, he wasn't afraid to get in the face of any liberal foolish enough to engage him in a debate.

The most classic example was that idiot Gore Vidal, kin to many prominent Democrats like the Kennedys, Jimmy Carter and Al Gore.

Back in 1968, Vidal squared off against the ruthless Buckley in a live televised debate that probably would not make it past the censors today.

Anyway, Vidal persisted in labeling Buckly a "crypto-Nazi," and received the following rebuke in front of a much-amused national audience, "Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I will sock you in your goddamn face, and you will stay plastered!"

He said what many folks felt. And, that took guts. We need more of that these days.

RIP.

U.S. Troops get Scrooged by Nancy Pelosi

In case you missed it, the illustrious Speakeress of the House of Representatives has rallied her Democrat majority to give a collective middle finger to our men and women in uniform.

Just before scurrying away from Capitol Hill to enjoy her Christmas vacation, she rushed thru an omnibus spending bill.

And, she spent like a drunken sailor. We're talking 3,500 pages of itemizations totaling $515,000,000,000 of ye socks' tax money.

But, here's the kick in the teeth: Of that huge wad of cash, she stipulated NO funds should go to our troops in Iraq!

Is she completely out of her mind? How can she do this?!? It is nothing short of an outrage!!

Clearly, she and her ilk want to ignore the success of the recent troop surge. Violence is down in Iraq, and order is being restored.

I think Al Gore would have to call this an "inconvenient truth." You see, it is not in the best interest of the Democrats in Congress for the US to succeed in Iraq. They have a vested interest in seeing America's defeat. They must be so proud of that.

Fortunately, the Senate is expected to thwart the House in their efforts to play politics with the lives of our troops. The Democrat majority in the upper chamber of commerce is razor thin, and is unable to pull the type of shenanigans Pelosi can get away with in the House . The final version of the bill will likely correct her gross miscarriage of duty. And, I guess we will have to be content with that.

But, remember this the next time you're tempted to elect a Democrat to Congress. Their party politics come before the insignificant lives of our fellow Americans, especially those putting everything on the line in a war zone.