Yeah, they know

John Hinderaker:

"Democrats' polling must be showing something similar (to the national polls showing major public disapproval of the health care bills). Otherwise, House members wouldn't have competed for permission to vote against it, Senators wouldn't have demanded nine-figure payoffs to vote for it, and Harry Reid wouldn't have held the vote on a Saturday night."

It also explains the urgency in getting a vote before Christmas break, as they know that it will lose votes rapidly as we enter an actual election calendar year. Which is kind of odd, really, the thought that voters will forget what happened in December but not what happens after January 1.

Your brain on union

Gotta love how the Los Angeles School District, awash in red ink, ordered a hiring freeze:

The only exceptions to the hiring freeze will be for classroom teachers, principals, assistant principals, cafeteria managers, school police officers, bus drivers, teachers' assistants, education aides, special education assistants and plant managers.

In other words, they ordered a hiring freeze except for union workers, whom they will continue to hire without regard to minor concerns like budget deficits.

The entire state is an object lesson in how not to govern. That they can still find new ways to sell out the people to unions is a testament to the enduring creativity of the bureaucratic mind.

The Ultimate Bureaucrat

Pg. 132: The Pelosi bill creates the Health Choices Administration headed by the Health Choices Commissioner. Among the commissioner's duties (he will be appointed by the president and approved by the Senate): "establishment of qualified health benefits plan standards," "administration of individual affordability credits under subtitle C of title III, including determination of eligibility for such credits," auditing insurance exchange participants to provide "accountability" for meeting his established standards and billing those insurance companies for the audits, collecting unspecified "data," penalizing, suspending payments to, and terminating insurance plans that don't meet exchange standards, establishing " effective and efficient administration of the Health Insurance Exchange," and "development of standards for the definitions of terms used in health insurance coverage, including insurance-related terms."

Yeah, I want an unelected, unaccountable hack to have this kind of power.

PC kills

Dana Loesch:

"While DHS was busy putting tea parties and anyone who dares fly the official military Gadsen flag on the domestic terrorist watch list, a real terrorist was spouting off online, glorifying suicide bombings and our mission in Iraq. I mean, I’m sure if I drink enough I might be able to understand the perception that a bunch of middle-class people peacefully dissenting with certain Washington policies are way more dangerous than a dude who talked about terrorist stuff on social sites and had gotten authorities’ attention six months ago."

It is quite clear that political correctness killed those (currently) 13 people at Fort Hood. The fear of maybe, possibly offending somebody by removing a jihadist from our military had tragic consequences this time.

Do more need to die, or can we start being honest?

Seizing power by force

Jennifer Rubin:

“One would think such an historic and noble action, as the Democrats have styled it, would enjoy robust support from the full spectrum of the House Democratic caucus. But in this case, only those who occupy safe seats (or think they do) can be corralled. If Pelosi gets her 218 votes, it will be unprecedented. It is fair to say that never will a piece of legislation this sweeping (and damaging) have been passed over the opposition of so much of the electorate and on the votes of such a narrow ideological slice of the governing class.”

The contempt for the American people shown by the vote is breathtaking.

Hypocrisy's poster child

VDH on charlatan Al Gore:

“To distill Gorism is to live in a 1,000 sq. ft. solar house, bike to work, and take the train on long distances; but to promote Gorism, one lives in a mansion, jets on private planes, and is chauffeured from airport to conference center—a rather heavy carbon footprint indeed."

Bingo. That he's only been doing it to line his pockets should be clear to everybody by now.

On appeasement

Is this thing on?

OK, then check out this quote from the great John Howard, former Australian Prime Minister:

"If you imagine that you can buy immunity from fanatics by curling yourself in a ball, apologising for the world - to the world - for who you are and what you stand for and what you believe in, not only is that morally bankrupt, but it’s also ineffective. Because fanatics despise a lot of things and the things they despise most is weakness and timidity. There has been plenty of evidence through history that fanatics attack weakness and retreating people even more savagely than they do defiant people."

Hopefully our president realizes this very basic fact.