I just got a great Press Release. Apparently, today marks the 34th Anniversary of Jack "Unindicted Abscam Co-Conspirator" Murtha's (D-PA) election to Congress.

So why the Oscar Goldman like shout out in the title? Because Murtha is officially the $2 BILLION MAN.

Inflation is a bitch, huh.

Anyway, check out these stats:

Taxpayers for Common Sense – a nonpartisan, taxpayer watchdog group – estimates that Congressman Murtha has funneled over $2 billion in federal taxpayer funds to his district.

One wonders what other uses some of the people who live in Congressman MurthaÂ’s district might have had for $2 billion:

· Instead of Congressman Murtha’s earmarks, the government could have sent a check for $86,956 to every person living in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

· Instead of Congressman Murtha’s earmarks, the government could have bought a fully loaded Dodge Ram for every adult in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and paid for its gas for the next 31 years (on the assumption that the average Pennsylvania resident consumes 386 gallons per year and that gas would cost $3.20 cents per gallon).

· Instead of Congressman Murtha’s earmarks, the government could have bought every household in Johnstown, Pennsylvania 4 lower level season ticket seats to see the Pittsburgh Steelers for the next 11 years (if there wasn’t a waiting list).

· Instead of Congressman Murtha’s earmarks, the government could have bought a pony for every child in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and paid for its lodging & care for the next 50 years.

· Instead of Congressman Murtha’s earmarks, the government could have sent every child in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to a private Pennsylvania college and still had $1.3 billion left over to pay for their graduate education.

But can he kick a mechanical bigfoot's ass? Can he?

I doubt it. Poser.

Posted by: Jack M. at 10:35 AM | Comments (11)
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Apparently Bob Dole wrote Rush Limbaugh a letter extolling Maverick's virtues but not endorsing him. When Romney got wind of it he said what I imagine a lot of conservatives were thinking.

Well, it's probably the last person I would have wanted write a letter for me. I think there are a lot of folks who tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race. That it's the guy who's next in line, the inevitable choice.

Of course McCain turned that into a swipe at veterans in general.

Governor Romney's attack on Bob Dole is disgraceful, and Governor Romney should apologize. Bob Dole is a war hero who has spent his life in service to this nation and nobody has worked harder to build the Republican Party. Bob Dole deserves the respect of every American and certainly every Republican.

Hey MaverickÂ…shut up.

DonÂ’t forget that in the process of misrepresenting RomneyÂ’s position on the surge and timetables, McCain demanded that Romney apologize to the men and women serving in the military.

If the rule is you can never engage in political sparing with veterans, we need a new rule. If the rule is McCain is going to be a whiny bitch and disparage people as insulting veterans every time someone says something he doesnÂ’t likeÂ…we need a new front runner.

Posted by: DrewM. at 10:13 AM | Comments (67)
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Mississippi lawmakers waste The People's time by introducing a bill merely to raise awareness of how fat Mississippians are.

Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier filed a bill asking that it be illegal for restaurants with more than five seats to serve people who are obese, the criteria for obesity being set by the state Department of Health. Restaurants that failed to abide by the new law would have their permits revoked.

The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports on its website that the bill has no chance to become law, as House Public Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Steve Holland declared the bill “dead on arrival at my desk.”

The underlying cause for this legislation is concern over the financial impact of unhealthy fat folk on Mississippi's 'free' healthcare system. Another cause is that some Republicans are actually douches that don't deserve to have an (R) after their name.
Let's move on.

It's a happy coincidence that this morning a Dutch study confirms what others have insisted for years. Smokers and obese people save healthcare dollars.

The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.

On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years, and obese people lived about 80 years. Smokers and obese people tended to have more heart disease than the healthy people.

Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all three groups. Obese people had the most diabetes, and healthy people had the most strokes. Ultimately, the thin and healthy group cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on.

Recently some douche was on the local radio, insisting that the Extortion Big Tobacco money awarded to the State was not a windfall, but a reimbursement for healthcare costs already incurred (this distinction was intended to buttress his argument that more of the money should be used in the general fund instead of smoking-cessation programs, for which very little has been done).

Seem to remember that during the Extortion Big Tobacco lawsuit, the argument that smokers use fewer healthcare dollars because they die earlier was widely scoffed at.
Do I remember that correctly?

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:59 AM | Comments (40)
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Or why I voted today. For Barack Obama.

That's right. I voted to give the Big Mo to the Big O.

I really didn't intend to do it, at first. As a conservative, I was going to vote for a GOP candidate.

But I just couldn't do it. Romney may be the "anybody but McCain" candidate, but he really isn't in contention in my state and, let's face it, his Presidential road to Conservatism has never seemed all that genuine to me anyway. Huck and Paul are non-starters.

Which left me staring at McCain's name. I've been saying all along that I just McWouldn't.

I knew that I probably McCouldn't.

And when I got the ballot I found myself saying "I Just McCan't."

So I didn't. But I couldn't vote for Hillary Clinton either. I know the arguments "she helps us raise money, she's easier to beat, she's too poll driven to live up to her moonbat war promises, yada, yada, yada."

But I can't vote for a Clinton either. Not even strategically. Hell, I worked as a staffer to impeach the first one.

Which left me with two choices: 1) not vote in the Presidential primary or 2) Vote for BHO.

All of a sudden I was empowered, baby. I was like one of those asshole democrats/independents in New Hampshire that resuscitated McCain's campaign. I could screw with the Democrats in return.

So I did. I voted for Barry. (It helped that he is in a much tighter race in my state too.) Who knows? Maybe the dude will do well enough today to drag the Dem race out all summer long and force them to waste their precious resources while simultaneously causing the Dems to fracture over race and gender politics. Maybe he'll even win, thereby putting an end to the Clintons as a national presence once and for all.

Did I hear angels singing and harps playing when I cast my ballot for the Obamessiah? Well, no.

Did I feel my soul sing or bear witness to spontaneous healing of my various infirmities? Well, no. (I have to admit feeling a little gipped about this based on the advance billing).

Did I take some small comfort in mucking around with the Democrats. Yes. Yes, I did.

Which, for this conservative, may be the only comfort I get at all from today.

So, goodbye, Super Loseday. Who could hang a campaign's name on you? When you promote "change" with every new day. I'm not gonna miss you.

Posted by: Jack M. at 07:39 AM | Comments (147)
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Today's the day for 24 states. Weather may play a factor, although in the areas affected, I'm not sure who gets helped by suppressed voter turnout (Huckabee's stupid assertions notwithstanding).

Here's the map:

And here's the weather:

So the Northeast is getting hammered with storms, as is the Midwest. Wisconsin had thick fog and freezing rain in the south. Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee should be ok until the weather arrives late tonight or tomorrow. The Southwest looks mostly clear and Southwesty. And all 37 of the primary voters in North Dakota should be able to make it to the polls.

UPDATE: I suppose I could explain the colors in the primary map, but I think most of you morons get it. Blue is Democrat only, Red is Republican only, and purple is both.

Like I give a shit. I can't really see red or purple.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 06:58 AM | Comments (31)
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I deleted a post of Purple Avenger's which linked a claim I found too flimsy and trashy to air without some evidence beyond someone's say-so of someone else's say-so. The fact that the other someone's say-so included the assertion that Bill Clinton had been recruited by a student by the CIA and paid to tour Moscow developing, I don't know, contacts or something makes me doubt the claim even more.

I did debate putting this up myself, weighing two factors: 1, it really was very flimsy and libelous, if untrue (which it almost certainly was), but 2, this is the sort of rumor that everyone's going to end up hearing anyway so what's the point in pretending that I have some Gatekeeper power like the MSM and can hide such a thing? Or that I should arrogate to myself the decision to even try?

That said, I guess I just don't like such a trashy rumor by a guy I never heard of before being linked here.

So I put it into draft.

As for the substance of the post: Captain Ed trashes the claim made by Dr. Jack Wheeler here.

Thanks for that to Maetenloch.

Posted by: Ace at 09:32 PM | Comments (67)
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Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners rejected her request for a license last year, but she's trying again.

Meng-sheng Lin is the licensure committee chairwoman, and the Dallas acupuncturist said she's inclined to repeat her vote against Cumbo's application.

She said she's trying to fulfill her duty to protect the public.

Lin said acupuncture can lead to bleeding that if unnoticed could pose a contamination risk.

Cumbo's attorney, David Cohen of Austin, said denying Cumbo a license solely because of her blindness would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I wholeheartedly support her approval and hope that the board will reconsider their position.

Because those folks who would actually hire a blind acupuncturist...well.

Circle of Life. Caveat Emptor, etc; you see what I'm getting at here.

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:48 PM | Comments (24)
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Resigns Texas Tech immediately.

I neither praise, nor denigrate the man. He is what he is, I'll give him that. He was consistent.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 06:11 PM | Comments (28)
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This time as a citizen journalist rather than a soldier.

...There must be a name for this sickness, for this consuming malady that compels some few of us back into the conflict, back into the desert. It feels like a mild form of addiction- thereÂ’s the drive to get more of it, and the rush, and the memories. It comes without the wasting, without the needle marks (thatÂ’s a lie, actually- I have a wicked bruise in my elbow right now from blood tests), but it brings its own scars, flashbacks, and dementia. ThereÂ’s something very existential about it- I am forever the sum of my experiences, after all, and time spent in austere environs, separated from my comfortable life and often in the heat of combat certainly qualifies as life experience...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 05:05 PM | Comments (15)
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Yet another attack from the leftwing playbook. Check out what Romney's "vote suppression efforts" consist of:

Huckabee’s accusation followed Romney’s remarks to FOX News last week, in which the former Massachusetts governor said: “A vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain, and if they want John McCain as their nominee … that’s exactly what the vote would do.”

Huckabee then cast RomneyÂ’s comment as an attempt to keep voters from going to the polls.

“If you try to discourage people from voting for somebody, what else would you call it? Isn’t voter suppression when you try to keep people from voting a certain way, by anybody’s definition? … Isn’t that voter suppression, suppressing the vote, pushing it down, keeping people from feeling comfortable and going and making a vote? I think that’s exactly what it is,” Huckabee told reporters during a stop in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Monday.
But Romney, speaking in Atlanta, dismissed the charge, saying Huckabee has misused the term.

“First a couple of rules in politics. One, no whining. And Number 2, you get them to vote for you. And so I want them not to vote for Mike Huckabee and not to vote for John McCain and to vote for me. … That’s not voter suppression. That’s known as politics,” Romney said. “I want people to vote, but I want them to vote for me.”

Huckabee's got a lot of mileage from his pose as Christian Martyr.

Yet again we find Huckabee on the cross. Whining.

Posted by: Ace at 03:27 PM | Comments (89)
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