The summerfolk are here and in large numbers. I made a quick stop by the town beach yesterday to see how many people were there. The lot was full and cars were parked along the road leading to the beach. From what I could see from the road the beach was packed, though most of the folks there were congregated along the northern end close to the restrooms and concessions.
While I didn't get to all my chores yesterday, I did get most of them done. Depending upon the weather later today, I should be able to finish the rest of them. I might even get down to the beach late this afternoon or early this evening for a quick dip in the lake.
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Bird Dog rehashes the ObamaCare decision and the fallout from it, including analysis of what ObamaCare really means as well as the financial realities that, in the end, dooms it to failure.************
At least White House staffers are “doing just fine” in regards to pay. Too bad those of us the private sector aren't doing so well, particularly when we're paying even more we can't afford to help support those three White House calligraphers making between $86,000 and $96,000 per year.Seriously, calligraphers? I thought there were computer apps for that now.
(H/T Instapundit)
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Getting back to the ObamaCare decision, Pat Austin comments and links about a couple of the good side-effects: Increased donations to the Romney campaign and more folks joining or supporting their local Tea Party organizations.************
Villainous Company covers the Washington Post fact checking the...umm...Washington Post in regards to the highly deceptive attack ads the Obama campaign is running against Mitt Romney.I guess the Obama's campaign staff has decided to use the Big Lie concept first used so well by Goebbels in Hitler's Germany. (Yes, I know it appears I've come under Godwin's Law, but I'm not equating them to Nazis, merely stating a historical fact. That the Obama campaign has decided to go there was purely their choice and not a matter of opinion.)
(H/T Pirate's Cove)
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“Privilege for me, but not for thee.”Apparently that's the mantra from Eric Holder's DOJ when it comes to the Texas state executive and legislative branches of government. It's okay for the Feds to cite executive privilege to keep documents secret, but not for the individual states to do so.
I don't know about you, but that looks an awful lot like a double standard being applied. But then Democrats are known for applying that kind of double standard where only they and theirs get a pass while everyone else has to follow the law.
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Here's a two-fer from David Starr way up in the Northwoods of New Hampshire.First, he explains how he found it impossible to watch a movie he Netflixed, explaining it was too darned depressing.
Second, David delves into the conspicuous consumption of the past and today's realities when it comes to consumer spending.
As David writes:
In short, Americans are consuming less, durable goods are more durable, the hot new electronic toys are fairly cheap and as consumer demand drops off, so does employment.That's certainly true of automobiles. It used to be a car or truck was ready for the junkyard at 100,000 miles. These days, they're barely broken in. Replacing cars every two or three years is a rarity when in the past it was a regular thing.
Here at The Manse, the newest vehicle we have is the trusty 2004 Ford F150. BeezleBub's Dodge Dakota is a 2003 model. His Jeep CJ5 is of 1975 vintage. And Deb drives our 2000 Dodge Intrepid which has almost 140,000 miles on it and has been quite reliable to date. (One side note: the A/C compressor on the Intrepid has failed and we're waiting for a new one to be delivered to our local mechanic's shop.)
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Scary Yankee Chick has a timely customer relations tip.I think this could also be applied in a few more places, like the AGW or ObamaCare debates, just to name a couple.
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Stingray also has some timely advice for meteorologists in his little part of New Mexico (Los Alamos):Current reporting claims 45% cloud cover. Please, for the sake of us all, open the window and let the bong smoke out, you’ve clearly mistaken it for atmospheric conditions again, as the only thing covering 45% of the sky at the moment is heat, along with more heat and a side of dry. The remaining 55% happens to be covered by the same thing, but small details like that are easy to miss in the fever of inventing fictional climates. I imagine this fantasy Los Alamos which has been the subject of your reports and forecast for some time now to be quite a nice location, and while I’d like to consider the notion you’re merely reporting on what the weather will be in late September, instead of the end of June, I’m not sure I quite buy that level of prognostication.This reminds me of an old promo for one of the Boston TV stations' weather forecasts. Their chief meteorologist talks about how forecasting the weather is still as much of an art as it is a science when there's a sudden flash of light and rumble of thunder. He runs over to the widow, throws it open and stick his head out to look at the sky. He then looks at his watch, frowns, and then comments: “Hmm. 20 minutes late!”
If only that were the truth.
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Eric the Viking makes this prediction: “You absolutely will not see another press conference by this president. Everything will be carefully scripted and loaded onto TOTUS for delivery.”I have to agree.