He was a news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices.
Known for his resonant voice and trademark delivery of "The Rest of the Story," Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his "News and Comment" for ABC Radio Networks.
He became a heartland icon, delivering news and commentary with a distinctive Midwestern flavor. "Stand by for news!" he told his listeners. He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as "skyjacker," "Reaganomics" and "guesstimate."
ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson said in a statement, “We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him. Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation's history.”
Feb 28, 2009
Radio legend Paul Harvey dies at age 90
Worlds smallest road-legal production car
A Peel P50 has gone on display at Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum in Piccadilly Circus, London. The car holds the Guinness World record for being the smallest road-legal car ever produced.
The Peel P50 microcar comes from the city of Peel located on the Isle of Man off the English coast. The P50 was manufactured by Peel engineering between 1962 and 1966.
The car has a motorcycle engine and has no reverse gear. It has a handle on the back so the driver can get out and pick the car up to turn it around.
Feb 27, 2009
Nearly $4 trillion budget to be paid for by decade of pain
A mammoth, $3.6 trillion budget was unveiled yesterday that would dramatically boost federal spending almost across the board. Just exactly what the tax and spend liberals in Washington have wanted for a long time.
It is a spending free-for-all.
Mr. Obama plans to pay for it with tax hikes of $1 trillion on individuals and businesses over the next decade.
More details here.
Colorado Trooper punished him for his good deed
A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange rewarded for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket.
Family members say 58-year-old Jim Moffett and another man were helping two elderly women cross a busy Denver street in a snowstorm when he was hit.
Moffett suffered bleeding in the brain, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and a possible ruptured spleen. He was in serious but stable condition Wednesday.
The Colorado State Patrol issued the citation. Trooper Ryan Sullivan says that despite Moffett's intentions, jaywalking contributed to the accident.
Let’s have a big Bronx cheer for Colorado State Trooper Ryan Sullivan.
Link
Your gas tank's full; that'll be $81 billion
When he filled up his 1994 Camaro the pump said $26.
This guy really needs a bailout because the transaction was recorded on his debit card as $81,400,836,908.
Yes, that’s a B, as in billions and he only had $90 on his debit card!
We have two questions:
1. Did he have overdraft protection?
2. Did he get a discount car wash with his fill-up?
Obama backers dismayed by raid on illegals
As a result, immigrant rights groups blasted Obama for breaking what they called his "personal commitment" to change the Bush-era immigration raids.
The Obama administration itself seemed taken aback by the raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (pictured) vowing to Congress that she would "get to the bottom of this."
“The secretary is not happy and this is not her policy," a Homeland Security official said Wednesday evening, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The Obama administration seems to think it is in the nation’s best interest to allow illegal aliens to stream into the country and take jobs away from U.S. citizens who are looking for work.
Link
Rocky Mountain News final cartoon
The final cartoon for the Rocky Mountain News by cartoonist Ed Stein.
Feb 26, 2009
Rocky Mountain News to silence presses today
Four owners of 33 U.S. daily newspapers have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the past 2 1/2 months. A number of other papers are up for sale.
This past weekend, there were separate bankruptcy filings by New Haven (Connecticut) Register publisher Journal Register Co. and by the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
They followed a December filing by Tribune Co., whose media stable includes the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, and January’s filing by the owners of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
Hearst Corp. announced earlier this week it will close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if it can’t reduce expenses dramatically within the next few weeks.
Last month, Hearst laid out plans to close the Seattle Post-Intelligencer if a buyer isn’t found before April. And Gannett Co. is looking for a buyer for the Tucson Citizen in Arizona.
And on it goes ... before long it may be hard to find a good birdcage liner.
Link
Float masks at Carnival in France
Many abundantly decorated floats pass a cheerful crowd during the 125th Nice Carnival Feb. 17, 2009, in Nice, France.
AP Photo
A jury decides who has the best attorney
Secretary of State - now an irrelevant position?
So far she has trivialized the office of Secretary of State with such things as her Asian “listening tour.”
She met with foreign leaders but she commanded more attention for meeting with "giggly" students on campus and appearing on an Indonesian variety show called "Awesome."
There she discoursed on the pop culture of teenagers. She mugged for the paparazzi, glad-handed crowds and explained her informality as "a way that is not traditional, not confined by the ministerial greeting and the staged handshake photo."
Abedin carries the title "senior adviser." What she knows about foreign policy remains a mystery, but she knows the Clinton political operation.
Abedin will be there to "silently hand Clinton a glass of water when her voice rasps during a briefing." Nice to have a water bearer.
The article at the link below blames Hillary for her lack of serious participation in her roll as Secretary of State. However, it seems obvious that Barack Hussein Obama wants Hillary Rodham Clinton to have an insignificant roll in the administration.
The position of Secretary of State is much too important to be playing politics with or using for “giggly diplomacy.”
Link
GM had $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss and burned through $6.2 billion in cash
Not only that, the nation's biggest domestic carmaker said Thursday it lost $30.9 billion for the full year.However, don’t expect the century-old carmaker to fold. The Obama administration can’t allow that to happen.
Labor Unions contributed heavily to help elect Mr. Obama and a host of other union-friendly Democrats. The administration will not allow thousands upon thousands of dues-paying union members to end up in the unemployment lines.
Link
Michelle Obama wardrobe - trend setting or just plain tacky?
Michelle Obama rocked the capitol dome with her fashion statement.
Sleeveless in February.
It wasn’t just a cocktail party she was attending - it was the president’s speech before a joint session of congress, justices of the Supreme Court and other high level dignitaries.
Doesn’t she have someone to coach her?
Let’s face it: a Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy or Nancy Davis Reagan she ain't.
US soldier in Iraq calls Obama an imposter
“As an officer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this.”
The soldier has called President Obama an "impostor" in a statement in which he affirmed plans to join as plaintiff in a challenge to Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief.
The statement was publicized by California attorney Orly Taitz who, along with her Defend Our Freedom Foundation, is working on a series of legal cases seeking to uncover Obama's birth records and other documents that would reveal whether he meets the requirements of the U.S. Constitution.
“As an active-duty officer in the United States Army, I have grave concerns about the constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the office of president of the United States," wrote Scott Easterling in a "to-whom-it-may-concern" letter.
A second soldier on active duty in Iraq challenges the eligibility of Obama to be president of the United States.
This story can be found here.
Feb 25, 2009
Guantánamo abuse worse since Obama
Abuse of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards "get their kicks in" before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.
Human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour cited beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding detainees who are on hunger strike.
Obama has insisted that the U.S. does not torture.
More of the story here.
The eyes have it
A Siberian Husky with miss-matched eyes sits tethered during a day of preparation for the Arden Grange Aviemore 2009 Sled Dog Rally in Scotland.
Audience at Obama’s speech listened with heads down
Why would the audience be given copies of the speech beforehand? It doesn’t look that good on TV to have a great number of those present with their heads down rather than looking at the speaker.
The answer is simple.
A large number of those in attendance are old and hard of hearing. There's nothing worse than getting repeatedly interrupted by elderly lawmakers yelling into a neighbor's ear asking, "hey man, what’d he say?”
The solution is also simple.
Term limits!
Feb 24, 2009
Santelli responds to White House propaganda minister
We reported on the original Santelli rant here.
Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary a.k.a. White House “propaganda minister” followed with a scathing attack against Santelli.
The YouTube video below shows dialog between Larry Kudlow and Rick Santelli and also shows Gibbs making a fool of himself.
Royal footwork
Britain's Prince Charles stands next to wooden shoe lasts during a visit to a shoemaker's workshop in London.
He needs something to do while waiting for the Queen to die so he can finally begin his life’s work.
Obama auto team drives imports as US carmakers struggle
The vehicles owned by the Obama administration's auto team could reflect one reason why Detroit's Big Three automakers are in trouble: The list includes few new American cars.
Among the eight members named Friday to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and the 10 senior policy aides who will assist them in their work, two own American models.
Add the Treasury Department's special adviser to the task force and the total jumps to three.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is the president's designee for purposes of enforcing loan agreements with GM and Chrysler and must approve or reject any proposed transactions by either company that would cost $100 million or more.
Geithner owns a 2008 Acura TSX, registered in New York. He once owned a 1999 Honda Accord and a 2002 Acura MDX, according to public records.
Just imagine for a moment what would happen if John McCain was president and most of the people on a task force he created to repair the struggling auto industry owned American cars. The media would swarm over the story like flies at a porta potty!
One would expect the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry would patronize the companies they've been appointed to rescue.
Link
Former astronaut speaks out on global warming
Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt (pictured), who walked on the moon and once served New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, doesn’t believe that humans are causing global warming.
"I don’t think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect," said Schmitt, who is among 70 skeptics scheduled to speak next month at the International Conference on Climate Change in New York.
In 1972, when he and Gene Cernan were the last to visit the lunar surface, the global warming crowd was all screaming that we were causing the next ice age.
Schmitt has a Science degree from the California Institute of Technology, a Doctorate in Geology from Harvard, and has been an astronaut.
Al Gore has a BA in Government.
The Oscar for Gore’s film, awarded by the Hollywood movie industry, fails to impress. They are movie experts - not environmental experts.
The Gore Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 also fails to impress when compared to the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to Yasser Arafat, the father of modern terrorism.
Schmitt contends that scientists "are being intimidated" if they disagree with the idea that burning fossil fuels has increased carbon dioxide levels, temperatures and sea levels.
"They’ve seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven’t gone along with the so-called political consensus that we’re in a human-caused global warming," Schmitt said.
'Consensus,' as many have said, merely represents the absence of definitive science. You know as well as I, the 'global warming scare' is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making. It has no place in the Society's activities.
Newsweek warned of global cooling in 1975 as reported here. The astronaut speaking out on global warming is here.
Feb 23, 2009
A three-week driving ban really stinks
Me neither - until now. After a recent surgery, the driving ban was laid down and it won’t be up for nearly two weeks.
Since Valeta is enforcing the ban, it’s only fair that I have a little fun at her expense. For instance, it’s fun to put on my best imitation of a child’s voice and say, “mommy, please drive me to...”
The one we laugh at most is: “mommy, please drive me to McDonald’s for a ‘senior’ coffee.”
I will be glad when the driving ban is over. Valeta will be overjoyed when that day comes.
Slave in Jefferson Davis’ home was Union spy
Jackson provided the Union Army with key secrets about the Confederacy.
He learned high-level details about Confederate battle plans and movements because Davis saw him as a "piece of furniture" -- not a human, according to Ken Dagler, author of "Black Dispatches," which explores espionage by America's slaves.
"Because of his role as a menial servant, he simply was ignored," Dagler said. "So Jefferson Davis would hold conversations with military and Confederate civilian officials in his presence."
In late 1861, Jackson fled across enemy lines and was immediately debriefed by Union soldiers. Dagler said Jackson provided information about supply routes and military strategy.
Jackson and other slaves' heroic efforts have been a forgotten legacy of the war -- lost amid the nation's racially charged past and the heaps of information about the war's historic battles. But historians over the last few decades have been taking an interest in the sacrifice of African Americans during those war years.
More of the story here.
German biathlon fan in South Korea
A German biathlon fan wears glasses emblazoned with Germany's national flag during the women's 15 km Individual of the IBU Biathlon World Championships in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul, South Korea.
(AP Photo / February 18, 2009)
Chinese drywall causing building problems
Many outsourced materials are installed by illegal aliens.
Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.
The wide flat board used to create interior walls, is emitting sulfur-based gases that may be corroding air-conditioner coils, computer wiring and metal picture frames.
Some homeowners are even concerned about possible respiratory problems.
Although officials are still investigating the drywall from China, the complaints about drywall follow a rash of safety problems with other Chinese exports, ranging from toys to pet food.
Post cartoon compares stimulus author (Obama) to dead chimp
African-Americans protested outside the offices of the New York Post because of a cartoon depicting Barack Obama as a dead chimp.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton called the cartoon "troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys."
But Sharpton said the Post should clarify the point it was trying to make with the cartoon, which was playing off Monday's rampage by a pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., that left a woman severely mauled. Police ended up killing the chimp.
Photo above shows New York State Senator Eric Adams protesting by holding the New York Post cartoon comparing President Barack Obama to a violent chimpanzee.
Real reason Sharpton was angry at New York Post
Several blacks protested outside of the New York Post offices. The loudest protest came from Al Sharpton.Sharpton had another reason to be angry at the New York Post because of a July 2008 article in the Post shown at the second link below.
The 2008 article was an “exclusive” report about the IRS probe into Sheraton’s finances and the “flurry of subpoenas” sent to Sharpton’s most generous corporate donors.
Sharpton unsuccessfully ran for a US Senate seat in 1988, 1992, and 1994. In 1997 he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of New York and in 2004 he ran for President of the United States.
The Reverend Al Sharpton was especially incensed by the “exclusive” report on the 2008 IRS probe.
The dead chimp story is here. The Sharpton IRS probe story is here.
Feb 22, 2009
Will this be the most boring Oscars in history?
The 2008 Academy Awards sunk to its lowest ratings ever.
The Oscars presentations seem to be falling just like the large Oscar statue shown above.
This year may be worse than 2008. Not even Hollywood wants to participate in the Oscars anymore.
This year's producers are privately complaining that the biggest movie stars in the world like Jack Nicholson, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Kate Winslet gave them reasons galore -- some serious, some trivial -- for why they didn't want to present awards, once considered a huge honor.
Maybe Hollywood is becoming irrelevant.
Do I plan to watch the Academy Awards today? Nope. I have more exciting things to do. I’ll spend the time rearranging my sock and underwear drawers.
Link
Laying out the Hollywood red carpet
Workers lay down the red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard at the entrance of the Kodak Theater, in preparation for the 81st Academy Awards
(Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)
Redistributing wealth by subsidizing bad behavior
Obama’s massive mortgage-bailout plan is nothing more than a thinly disguised entitlement program that redistributes income from the responsible 92 percent of home-owning mortgage holders who pay their bills on time to the irresponsible defaulters who bought more than they could ever afford.
This is Obama’s spread-the-wealth program in action.
Team Obama is rewarding bad behavior.
It is enlarging moral hazard.
It is expanding its welfarist approach to economic policy. And with a huge expansion of government-owned zombie lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Team Obama is taking a giant step toward nationalizing the mortgage market.
If the government really wants to help, instead of bailing out irresponsible mortgage holders, it should support new and younger families who want to buy starter homes and begin to climb the ladder of prosperity.
Kudlow reports that in some of the hardest-hit areas of the country, markets are already solving the housing problem.
That can only mean that Obama’s stubborn refusal to have any faith in the free market is obviously the result of his commitment to take us into socialism sooner than later.
Kudlow continues:
All this is Free-Market Economics 101. And I say, let free-markets work.
Let’s remember that most folks — even those with underwater mortgages, where the loan value is more than the home value — do not walk away from their obligations. They don’t want to wreck their credit — and their homes are their castles.
That’s the American way.
But if we penalize the good guys and subsidize the bad ones, we are undermining the moral and economic fabric of this country.
While prudent people were budgeting within our means, paying down our mortgage, driving one newer car and a second 8-year-old car, the folks being bailed out were getting every credit card they could get their hands on.
They bought 2nd mortgage financed boats and RV’s, no down payment plasma TV's, credit card financed vacations and designer clothes.
They denied themselves nothing and now the taxpayers are going to finance their new low interest rate loans and monthly mortgage payments.
I think I'm going to be sick.
Link
A picture of my cave
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