1977 Victoria's Secret Catalog

Ahhhh..... 1977, the good old days!

Sculpture

Quote Of The Day

"I’ve been saying for months that the difference between America and Europe is that, when the global economy nosedived, everywhere from Iceland to Bulgaria mobs took to the streets and besieged Parliament demanding to know why government didn’t do more for them. This is the only country in the developed world where a mass movement took to the streets to say we can do just fine if you control-freak statists would just stay the hell out of our lives, and our pockets. You can shove your non-stimulating stimulus, your jobless jobs bill, and your multi-trillion-dollar porkathons."
- Mark Steyn

Trickery

This letter was published today at NRO. I sincerely hope that the President and the Congressional Democrats pass health care this way. An idiotic move of this dimension would be enough to bury the Democratic Party for decades, if not permanently.

If the Democrats resort to this tactic there will be hell to pay. Since they apparently don't think much of the Tea Party activities and marches or the town hall meetings, I wonder what they would think of citizens surrounding the Capital building with torches, rope and guns?

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

National Review Online has acquired a new letter soon to be sent out by the House GOP to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.):

February 12, 2010

Dear Mr. Leader and Madam Speaker:

As you know, we welcomed the President’s call for bipartisan health care talks. The American people have made it clear that they strongly oppose the comprehensive health care bills you have passed and want them shelved in favor of a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs for families and small businesses.

Given the President’s statement that he is “open to any ideas” at the proposed summit, it is our responsibility as congressional leaders to see that the views of our Members and our constituents will be heard in good faith. The existence of any kind of backroom deal among the White House and Democratic Leaders would certainly make a mockery of the President’s stated desire to have a “bipartisan” and “transparent” dialogue on this issue.

To that end, we were taken aback by a report in the Tuesday, February 9 edition of Politico stating that President Obama “hopes to walk into the Feb. 25 summit with an agreement in hand between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a final Democratic bill, so they can move ahead with a reform package after the sit-down.”

We were further taken aback by a report in CongressDaily later the same day in which an aide to the Speaker, appearing at the National Health Policy Conference, described the legislative “trick” Democratic Leadership intends to use to jam through a “pre-negotiated” health care bill. It has also been reported that other congressional aides present concurred with this assessment.

Additionally, the Christian Science Monitor reported today that special interest groups are calling for Democrats to finalize a deal in advance of the proposed summit.

To ensure we can move forward in good faith, we ask that you publicly disavow these reports and assure the American people that Democratic Leadership is not putting together any kind of backroom deal or plotting any kind of legislative trickery to pass it. Your response will help clarify whether Democratic Leadership is serious about genuine bipartisan negotiations and whether the proposed summit will be a truly open forum or merely an intramural exercise.

We appreciate your immediate response in this matter and look forward to further efforts to foster bipartisan cooperation.

Sincerely,

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN)

Kill Phil

Quote Of The Day

"I've said numerous times before, Quentin Tarantino is incredibly talented but unfortunately he also has the impulses of an abused ten-year-old boy left alone with a frog and a box of firecrackers."
- Scott Nehring

Quote Of The Day

WOLF BLITZER: Three statewide elections in three states Obama won, where Obama campaigned for the Democrat. All three won by Republicans. What message does this send?

Alex Castellanos: If you can’t hide in Massachusetts, you can’t hide anywhere.

H/T Instapundit

The Tide Begins To Turn

Democrat Martha Coakley has just conceded the Massachusetts senate race to Republican Scott Brown. After almost 47 years as "Teddy Kennedy's seat" a Republican now takes over in time to deny the Democrats a filibuster-proof majority and possibly stop the Obamacare monstrosity. How sweet the irony.

And now the fun really begins.

Our Amish Neighbors

I just saw a buckboard wagon drawn by two horses pass in front of our house. Of course it had two of our Amish neighbors on it. One of the many reasons we really enjoy living here...

The Wise Man Speaks

Krauthammer on Obamacare:

"At first, health-care reform was sustained politically by Obama's own popularity. But then gravity took hold, and Obamacare's profound unpopularity dragged him down with it. After 29 speeches and a fortune in squandered political capital, it still will not sell.

The health-care drive is the most important reason Obama has sunk to 46 percent. But this reflects something larger. In the end, what matters is not the persona but the agenda. In a country where politics is fought between the 40-yard lines, Obama has insisted on pushing hard for the 30. And the American people -- disorganized and unled but nonetheless agitated and mobilized -- have put up a stout defense somewhere just left of midfield.

Ideas matter. Legislative proposals matter. Slick campaigns and dazzling speeches can work for a while, but the magic always wears off.

It's inherently risky for any charismatic politician to legislate. To act is to choose and to choose is to disappoint the expectations of many who had poured their hopes into the empty vessel -- of which candidate Obama was the greatest representative in recent American political history.

Obama did not just act, however. He acted ideologically. To his credit, Obama didn't just come to Washington to be someone. Like Reagan, he came to Washington to do something -- to introduce a powerful social democratic stream into America's deeply and historically individualist polity.

Perhaps Obama thought he'd been sent to the White House to do just that. If so, he vastly over-read his mandate. His own electoral success -- twinned with handy victories and large majorities in both houses of Congress -- was a referendum on his predecessor's governance and the post-Lehman financial collapse. It was not an endorsement of European-style social democracy.

Hence the resistance. Hence the fall. The system may not always work, but it does take its revenge."

The Third & The Seventh

This is quite beautiful and completely computer generated.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

H/T bOING bOING

Stupid Stickers

Don't you just hate this bumper sticker? I do. And here's an in-depth analysis of it's inherent stupidity.

Sabotage

I love this version of the song. Wait until the end.

From Cliff May at NRO:

A Bipartisan Proposal


Step (1): Return all Gitmo detainees to Yemen.

Step (2): Use Predator missiles to strike the baggage-claim area 20 minutes after they arrive.

Just an idea.

A Great Article To End Year

In today's Christain Science Monitor:

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / December 31, 2009

Can’t quite settle on a New Year’s resolution? How about this: Resolve not to repeat the media’s mantra of America in decline.

The airwaves and netwaves are full of reviews of the decadem horribilis – a decade of terror attacks, two hot wars, hurricane Katrina, a great recession, a record federal deficit, and more.

The common conclusion is that the American sun has set, much like the end of the British, Ottoman, and Roman empires.

That’s, well, nonsense.

There’s no denying that these past years have been tough for many in the United States, especially military families and the unemployed. But focusing on decline blinds one to the deep well of renewal that has always defined America in difficult times. Accepting a fall as a fait accompli avoids the opportunity to learn from mistakes. It obscures facts that would encourage.

The US is still the world’s largest economy, though fast-growing China moved up to third place in 2009. Despite US trade and fiscal deficits, the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency. The World Economic Forum ranks the US as No. 2 in global competitiveness, and still No. 1 in innovation. That’s hugely important, because new ideas spark new industries and jobs.

Corporate spending on R&D may have slowed, but peek inside engineering schools and home offices. Innovation is humming. The Wall Street Journal reported recently a surge in “tinkering” as plummeting prices on materials and equipment allow individuals to turn their ideas into inventions. Engineering schools are reporting more students wanting to do hands-on work. “Hackerspaces,” where tinkerers can share ideas and tools, are blossoming across the country.

Financial upheaval in the late 19th century sparked a golden age of independent inventors in the US. Will that happen again?

It could be that individuals – as opposed to institutions – lead the way into the next decade. That wouldn’t be surprising. Americans are renowned for their can-do attitude and resourcefulness, and the Internet gives them more voice and opportunity.

Unlike Washington and Wall Street, Americans in general seem to have learned from the Easy Street values that begot the stock market and housing bubbles. Lost wealth jolted them into saving (though whether they’re saving enough is still an open question). They’re also practicing a personal pay-as-you-go policy – choosing debit over credit cards.

Many jobless Americans are doing their utmost to take responsibility for their lives. A December New York Times/CBS poll of unemployed adults found that over 40 percent had moved or were considering moving to find work. Meanwhile, 44 percent have pursued job retraining or other education. Online learning is growing, making it easier for Americans to improve their skills.

Americans also want to help others. Community service has soared over the last 20 years.

“If you want to feel depressed about the country, think about the government. If you want to [be] really optimistic about the country, look at people under 30,” New York Times columnist David Brooks said recently on PBS’s “NewsHour.” Youth violence, crime, and teen pregnancy are all down.

Of course, it’s easy to get down about polarized Washington. But don’t give up yet. Both parties back education reform based on performance – a key ingredient for a healthy economy. And the government has made a down payment on infrastructure, essential to moving goods and people and improving competitiveness.

Concern about the federal debt is mounting on both sides of the aisle. The states, meanwhile, are in the forefront on tough issues like greenhouse gases.

Overseas, America is working hard to win back respectability. Unlike Rome, London, or Istanbul, though, it hasn’t sought an empire. Its interest is the promotion and defense of freedom – the basis of American greatness, but also of world greatness, if countries embrace it.

That national characteristic hasn’t changed. It’s why applications for US citizenship are still rising, despite much higher fees. Outsiders see the promise. Americans should, too.

H/T Instapundit