Thoughts On A Sunday

Apparently we are receiving a slight reprieve from winter over today and tomorrow, with warm temps and rain rather than snow through tomorrow. This will have the effect of clearing away the last of the snow and ice from the driveways and roads...making room for future snow and ice.

Such is the nature of New England winters.

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BeezleBub and I got the remainder of our last delivery of firewood stacked in the garage today. That gives us about a cord and a quarter stacked in the garage, with another four cords outside. One cord of the fire wood still outside won't be ready to burn until next year as it's mostly oak. For those of you unfamiliar with heating with woodstoves, oak takes two years to dry before it will burn well. Maple is like that, as is elm. Elm must be dry before you can split it otherwise it just splinters. (Yes, we still burn elm up here. A number of them survived Dutch Elm Disease and were to the point where they were too old and too big to survive much longer, so down they came.)

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Roger L. Simon lays a smackdown on President Obama, and rightfully so.

The scary thing is that many of us believe the President hardly knows much of anything, certainly not economics, and is surrounded by an increasingly paranoid and defensive group of advisers. It’s shades of Nixon, but worse. Tricky Dick, at least, knew what he was doing and could accomplish things.

You know it's bad when Dick Nixon at his worst is seen as far more competent that the present occupant of the Oval Office.

I have to agree with this as well:

Obama is the biggest windbag to ever ascend to the presidency. He has no idea what he is doing and now things are getting rough. Frankly, I’m worried for our country because this man doesn’t really understand what the public is telling him. He just thinks we’re “angry.” He’s wrong – we’re furious and we’re furious because he blames everyone but himself and seems psychologically incapable of taking responsibility.

Yeah, I'd say that sums it up pretty well. It also points to someone who has never needed to deal with the consequences of failure. Once someone like that is forced to face failure that is of their own making, they either 'freeze up', break down, or run away (figuratively speaking).

You know it's getting bad for Obama when even the Canadians are saying he's an incompetent narcissist. But wait, there's more!

Even the Left is piling on The One.

(H/T Instapundit)

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ClimateGate, the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.

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Being the TEA party supporter that I am, I am doing more than just attending rallies, protests, and town halls, or writing about TEA party activities or posting on my blog.

I am running for office.

In this case it is a town office (I've got to start somewhere). It is not the first time I've run for office, having run for selectman twice. (I lost both times, but the second time I had a pretty darned good showing.)

Being the cheap...uh...frugal Yankee that I am, I figure I can keep an eye on town spending, one of the few places where the citizen can have a direct effect on a government budget and, of course, the taxes that fund it.

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In the Super Bowl race, the Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets for the AFC Championship. The NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints starts later this evening (as I write this).

I'm hoping the Vikings beat the Saints as I'd love to see them take on the Colts and beat them.

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Don't worry. Obama has just the program to help create jobs.

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Now these are dedicated teachers, willing to take one for the team.

Where do these public servants teach? Vermont, of all places.

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Something that almost escaped my attention: Air America Radio has shut down and its corporate assets are being liquidated.

The liberal talk radio network was never successful, with dismal ratings, high salaries and expenditures, and just plain piss poor (and sleazy) management. The fact it lasted as long as it did was surprising.

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As if California doesn't have enough problems, now Democrats in the state want to impose a single payer health care system.

Where exactly do these morons think the money to pay for it will come from? California is broke, in hock to the tune of $40 billion (and growing). Residents and business owners are leaving in droves as taxes keep rising (and revenues fall). These guys must be reading from the Obama play book. And they'll have just as much luck.

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I have to agree with Glenn Reynolds on this one: Welcome to Harrison Bergeron High.

The school officials in Berkeley, California aren't doing their minority high school students any good by holding them to lower scholastic standards in science.

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Chris Christie, New Jersey's new Republican governor has already taken the bull by the horns and has put lawmakers on notice that it won't be business as usual in the Garden State.

The encouraging news is that Mr. Christie has ruled out raising taxes as a means for solving this problem. He has done so publicly and repeatedly. People close to the new governor say he has done this deliberately, as a message to the legislature and even his staff not to come to him with the same old solutions that have people fleeing the state. And he has done so knowing full well that if he reneges on so public a pledge, he will be crucified for it.

[Chief of Staff Richard] Bagger says that one thing that drives the Christie team crazy is the reigning assumption in too many quarters that taxes have no effect on business decisions. "If you are an entrepreneur," he says, "are you going to set up your business outside the University of Texas in Austin, where the income tax is zero, or outside Rutgers in Piscataway, where you face income tax and capital gains tax over 10%?"

History has shown again and again, both here in the US and the rest of the world, that high taxes always have a negative effect on business and that once they reach the trigger level, businesses and capital leave for greener pastures. It's a lesson the tax-and-spenders have either been unable to learn or have chosen to ignore, which is why they keep making the same mistake again and again and again.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the firewood is stacked under cover, the rains are coming, and where Monday has returned all too soon.