Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel - In Good Company

Chuck Hagel - Ted Stevens - Larry E. Craig

Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, always ready to shame and embarrass the home folks that sent him to Washington, isn't going to attend the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. He will be in good company. I got the picture above from the LA Times, and here is their caption:

NOT IN MINNESOTA: From left, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who is about to retire, will be in Europe. Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens is awaiting trial; his aides say he's too busy campaigning to attend. Idaho's Sen. Larry E. Craig, another no-show, pleaded guilty in a sex scandal and will soon be an ex-senator.

Of course, the LA Times would like you to think that the fact that some 'prominent' Republicans will be staying away from the convention is a symptom of party disunity. Nice try, Californiacs, nobody wants these chumps to show their faces. It would be as unseemly as having impeached perjurer Bill Clinton show up at a Democrat convention.
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The LAT is being charitable in saying that Hagel is "about to retire". I'd call it something else; the RINO can read the handwriting on the wall in Nebraska. He couldn't get elected dogcatcher here. Even his Democrat friends don't want him around any more. Retire? More like shown the door.

Leftists looking for lurid pics of Sarah Palin

Obama Camp setting up anti-Palin websites

Ace of Spades has been getting hits from cats looking for photos of Sarah Palin in a bikini. Evidently they figure a lurid photo of the former beauty pageant competitor will be useful in making McCain look foolish for choosing her. Heck, I've got a picture of Sarah Palin topless. I don't think anyone will be put off by it. Most folks understand that Sarah is naked under her clothes. See-dubya at Michelle Malkin has more on the same google/sitemeter story.

Dumpster divers. You won't find any conservatives looking for pictures of Hillary Clinton topless or Michelle Obama wearing a bikini.
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Update - More Obamanists found in the dumpster:
It has hardly been a day since John McCain asked Sarah Palin join him on the Republican ticket and the Obama campaign has been busted for setting up anti-Palin websites poorly disguised as having originated from disgruntled conservatives. The image heading up this post comes from such a smear site, sarahpalingayrights.com. Gateway Pundit has the details on how these dishonest smear sites were tracked back to Barack Obama's own defensive campaign site, FightTheSmears.com.

Thats not all. Here are some more attack websites set up by the Obama Camp: McCainFailure.com; John McCain Prefers War.com. These faked-up websites were all traced back to the Obama campaign. They even use the same website template. The Gateway Pundit is on a roll for Palin If you are a troll-bowling fan, read the comments there. lgf also has the fake website story here.

Still more: Perhaps you have already seen the efforts of the Obama apologists the in-the-bag-for-Obama media have made to drum up a 'scandal' involving Sarah Palin. Flopping Aces has the skinny on TrooperGate.
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The better the GOP ticket starts to look to this old-line Barry Goldwater/Ron Reagan conservative, the lower the Democrats stoop to compensate. Talk about lowering the bar, the MSM has publishe pictures of Barack topless, too. How low can they go? Limbo lower now!
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Update: The Canada Free Press likes the Limbo metaphor. Most cats are too young to recall Chubby Checker and the Limbo Rock dance craze. I guess this article, Smut-hunting NY Times Limbo Dancing in Alaska, pretty much dates Judi McLeod!
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Update: Sure enough, as if on cue, the lunatic left has brought political discourse to a lower notch. From Stop the ACLU: Stooping to Lowest Level: Democratic Claim of Palin’s ‘Faked Pregnancy Gaining Steam’. I wouldn't be too sure that this is the lowest level. Praying for a deadly hurricane to disrupt the Republican Convention is past the gutter and into the sewer. Why they are as low and as bad as...
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The truth is out at the Democrat Undergound. As in "out the window". I saw this at Atlas shrugs:

Larwyn just sent this from Democratic Undergound on their grotesque speculation on a Palin pregnancy cover-up:

NoodleyAppendage (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-30-08 10:26

122. What many here don't understand. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. RUMOR IS TRUTH.

The modern laws of media hype and political warfare have a useful tenet:

Repeat ANYTHING or raise false concern over ANYTHING and it is likely to be planted in the conscious/subconscious of many voters.

If people start to think that there might be something fishy with Palin's last kid (if hers), then that's FINE. One more doubt (whether tied to reality or not) is another hesitation at the ballot box.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM PEOPLE. The "rising above it" bullshit has served us so well in the past, hasn't it?

If you have problems with the story, then STFU and get out of the way of Dems who are engaged in MODERN POLITICAL WARFARE. Go tend your garden or some other pedestrian task, because the "concern trolls" are not helping shape the message.

So much for "rising above it". Lets hear it for "STFU and get down in it".

Palin: Honored to Make History -- Biden: Drunk?

This message from Sarah Palin arrived in my e-mail box a few minutes ago: Honored to Make History. At about the same time I was watching this Hot Air video of Joe Biden introducing Barack, et al. in Pennsylvania. I'm not the only one that thought Joe seemed drunk. I'm happy with Sarah on the ticket.

McCain Taps Sarah Palin for VP

Updated Repeatedly

I'm having too much fun reading and posting your reactions to McCain's 'checkmate' move. Both sides just keep them coming. I wouldn't have done anything less for Joe Biden or Obama's other running mate. Enjoy!

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin with a Salmon

From the Wall Street Journal: "Sen. John McCain picked first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, adding a little-known but reform-minded woman to his ticket.

The move is the most dramatic in a series of efforts to appeal to Hillary Clinton supporters still disappointed that she did not capture the Democratic nomination."

I think Palin is much better looking than Hillary. As Proof says at Say Anything Blog: "What a refreshing change from making old, tired Washington insiders veep!" I like refreshing.
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I don't know much about Sarah Palin. Uncle Wiggily from the Heartland Notebook, said this about her in the feedlot comments: "She's purty, knows how to fish (family business), play basketball (state champs), and reproduce (5 kids). Mac could do worse." I understand she was endorsed by the NRA when running for Governor in 2006 (Press Release - pdf).
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I felt I had to stick with the fish theme, so I wouldn't seem so silly for taking the Pawlenty bait.
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Selected Reactions from all sides:

• PUMAS at Count Us Out: Hillary supporters are happier than if McCain had picked Hillary.
• Daily Kos: Worse than Quayle ...the most unqualified VP nominee in modern history... McCain revealed his desperation to make a splash to rival the genuine excitement generated by the Obama campaign.
  
• Three Month's Time: John McCain has dropped a bombshell. ...if this is a strategy from the McCain team to get the Hillary supporters who weren’t, for some asenine (sic) reason, swayed by Obama this week, it is the most shameless, ruthless display of politics we’ve seen since… Worse: She’s pro-fur and seemingly anti-animal. More: She’s pro-hunting and allows creationism to be mentioned in Alaska's public schools. [This babe is pissed off!]
• Power Line: Carp, carp, carp. (Thats a Salmon she's holding, Paul, John & Scott. compare it to the little hammer-handle walleye Pawlenty caught.) Minnesota isn't any nearer to the center of the earth than Alaska. Think positive!
  
• Think Progress: Palin denies global warming is man-made. She once attacked McCain for his 'close-mindedness on ANWR.'
  
• American Thinker: Defending Against the First Attacks on Sarah Palin
  
• Anchorage Daily News: Husband Todd Palin - He's worked the oil patch, won the Iron Dog and takes care of the kids.
• wizbang - Kim Priestap: Palin on Energy I - the polar bears endangering energy independence; Palin on Energy II - Palin knocks Biden for voting against the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline 30 years ago.
  
• Barking Moonbat EWS: Background information and great photos of the Palins. "Let’s find out who this woman is and what she stands for. Then let’s see if she can deliver the goods on the campaign trail. "
• Jawa Report: Wall Street Journal has a fevah and the only cure is more Palin, "My family and I eat a healthy diet heavy in wild Alaskan seafood, moose, caribou and fresh fruit," she says.
• TigerHawk: Thinking about attacking Sarah Palin - She is no Dick Cheney, but she's almost certainly a better shot.
  
• Michelle Malkin: A true conservative: “She knows when to stand up and doesn’t let anyone tell her to sit down”
• Hot Air: Video - Palin knocks Biden on drilling, ties it to national security. And not just Biden either, she says Bush lacks a national energy policy, kowtows to the Saudis. Look for McCain ANWR epiphany any day now.
  
• MSNBC's Keith Boykin: Palin is an affirmative-action pick.
• CNN’s John Roberts: Palin Might Neglect Her Disabled Infant?
• The Page (Time/CNN) Mark Halperin: Palin=$ McCain camp claims $3 million poured in by 6 pm ET after Palin pick.
  
• Rosie O'Donnell:
  obama did not even vet
  r nations most qualified woman
  johnnie mac chose one
  a beauty queen - no less
  
• Barbra Streisand: “This calculated, cynical ploy to pull away a small percentage of Hillary's women voters from Barack Obama will not work. We are not that stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
  
• Democratic Underground round-up: Anyone who thinks Palin is a "bimbo" check in here.
• Pajamas Media - Rick Moran: More to Sarah Palin Than Meets the Eye. There's steel behind that beautiful smile that Democrats belittle at their peril.
• Volokh Conspiracy: Sarah Palin's Dad, "I'd rather go moose hunting than be involved with politics."
  
• Belmont Club: The old attack pilot pulled a move which aims to exploit several chinks in Obama’s armor: gender and class.
• Joe Biden: She’s good-looking
  
• Fred Thompson: I am absolutely delighted by this selection. Once again, John McCain has shown that he is an independent thinker who paints in bold strokes. Sarah Palin is a conservative reformer with executive experience who will bring a breath of fresh air to Washington. She will be an ideal running mate for John McCain, and will make a major contribution to our country's future.
• Mark Steyn: The hostess with the moosest - naughty librarian vibe - won't need the usual stage-managed "hunting" trip to reassure gun owners - took on her own party's corrupt political culture directly while Obama was sucking up to Wright and Ayers and being just another get-along Chicago machine pol - Hyper-American. What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew?
  
• Gateway Pundit: "Move Over Barack Obama, There's A New Rock Star In Town!" And, cryptically, "Her husband is a native eskimo." (Evidently, Todd Palin is one-eighth Yup'ik.)

Reform - Prosperity - Peace
Neither of them is a Lawyer

Are you ready to support the McCain-Palin ticket? I'm betting lots of old-line conservatives will be loosening up their wallets now.
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Going Deep: Heartland Notebook suggests persuasively that the re-invigoration of McCain's campaign, perhaps including the Palin pick, are attributable to Steve Schmidt, the new "man behind the curtain" at McPalin.

Will McCain tap Pawlenty for VP?

Pawlenty, wife, walleye

RedState says McCain's choice for his running mate is more likely than not going to be Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. The man has much to going for him. Not only is he a young, outdoorsy cat, he's got a good conservative record, which the linked RedState post conveniently lists. The buzz is on in Minneapolis, and the blogs are picking up Red State's lead. I saw the story first at the Jawa Report. I would be pleased with Pawlenty.

Who is Gorki Aguila?

Free Gorki!

...at the length truth will out.

Ayers helped Barack Obama launch his political career

It is becoming more difficult for Barack Obama to conceal the extent of his radical Marxist roots. Michelle Malkin reports that the facts about his long standing and very deep connection to Weatherman terrorist William Ayers are coming to light, even though he used the power of his clout with Chicago's Daley machine to keep them hidden.

He has failed to keep Americans from watching this ad, in spite of his threats of lawsuits and prosecution. His heavy-handed efforts to squelch the truth about his close connections with the unrepentant, bomb-throwing terrorist of the SDS Weatherman faction are backfiring on him. I and others want Bill Ayers to be Obama's real running mate in this election.
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The old feeder is familiar with the SDS and the Weatherman faction. I was here in 1965 and saw much, and in Chicago later, where I saw more. I won't offer any further personal details, but if you would like to peruse some enlightening background material, I suggest you look here and here. Know your enemy. The Weatherman faction was deadly serious.
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Update: The American Issues Project, the outfit that made the ad featuring Bill Ayers that the Obama campaign wants to ban from public view, has struck back. From Michelle Malkin, (our fearless spittle martyr), the AIP folks have sent their own message to the DOJ suggesting that they look into:

[L]eftwing donors whose substantial contributions to political causes in the last three election cycles have consistently landed each of them on the top donors list and surely each of these donors warrant the Department’s review, scrutiny and prosecution, if the Obama Campaign standard is to be applied evenly: George Soros, Steven Bing, Peter Lewis, Herb and Marion Sandler, Linda Pritzker, John Hunting, Alida Messinger, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker, etc.

The gloves are off, and its about time.

Pelosi on gas drilling and fetus killing

Nancy Pelosi - Stretching the Truth

From Cigar Mike at Babalu Blog: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi claims that natural gas isn't a fossil fuel. Rush Limbaugh has details of an interview with Tom Brokaw in which Nancy said repeatedly that natural gas wasn't a fossil fuel. Her point was that natural gas would help provide the energy America needs until hope and change bring the new miracle alternative energy sources into being. Without the drill here, drill now idea that is gaining support every day.

Right off the bat, Pelosi is wrong about natural gas. It is a fossil fuel. Worse yet, she seems ignorant of the fact that this bridge-the-gap energy source must be obtained by drilling wells for it. The stuff is usually found in conjunction with oil deposits. Could the Third most powerful person in Washington, DC really be so ignorant? I think not.

Nancy Pelosi didn't get rich by being utterly ignorant of the facts. She is simply counting on her belief that most ordinary (read: not of the leftist elite) Americans are helplessly ignorant. That may be true of Nancy's constituency, but the rest of us can see where her real interest in natural gas lies. Follow the money.

Nancy Pelosi and her husband have big dollar investments in T. Boone Pickens' energy scheme, which includes burning natural gas from his oilfields until he can con America into buying windmills from his companies. From the Washington Wire at the WSJ:

Pelosi and her husband drew attention recently for their investment in T. Boone Pickens’s Clean Energy Fuels Corp., which markets compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas as a fuel for motor vehicles. Some leading Democrats, including Pelosi, have been eying legislation to encourage such uses of natural gas, as soaring gasoline prices have put pressure on Congress to do something. Amid steady pressure from Republicans, both Pelosi and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama also have signaled that they’re open to expanding offshore oil drilling, as long as it’s part of a comprehensive package that includes other energy alternatives.

Pelosi’s investment in Clean Energy – between $50,000 and $100,000 – is a tiny fraction of the speaker’s assets, as she pointed out on Sunday. “That’s not the point,” she added. “I’m investing in something I believe in.”

Those selfless liberals! Its always 'something they believe in', isn't it?
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While I'm on the subject of beliefs, Nancy Pelosi is, in her own words "an ardent Catholic". She is so ardent in her Catholic faith that she has usurped the Pope, re-written the Catechism and put words into the mouths of the Saints. Speaking on "Meet the Press" last Sunday, she said that none other than Saint Augustine agrees that human life doesn't begin at conception.

Many folks claim they are Catholics and at the same time rationalize their support for abortion. I'm not a Catholic, but Pelosi's abortion position sounds like someone arguing that it would still be basketball if the players were allowed to run with the ball. Or a Baptist repudiating the resurrection.

Believe whatever you like, but the Catholic Church has never, ever condoned procured abortions. Not at any stage of gestation and not for any reason. At least that is what the archbishop of Washington, DC is saying in response to Pelosi's pronouncements. Even at the risk of going to hell, Pelosi is putting politics before facts and truth, and refuses to back down on the matter. After all, Nancy has studied theology for years.

From the feedlot e-mail box

John Edwards and Rielle Hunter

Making the e-mail rounds today is this succinct piece:

John Edwards is not welcome at the Democrat convention because he had an extra-marital affair. Bill Clinton enticed a young girl to have oral sex in the oval office and if I remember correctly wasn't there something about Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick? Not only are these two miscreants at the convention they are speaking.

I guess fresh sin is worse than stale sin in liberal Democrat rationale.

It is wrong to speak ill of the dead, so I'll hurry

Marxist operative Obama with Marxist stooge Kennedy

Senator Edward Kennedy, the Hero of Chappaquiddick, was put on display at the Democrat National Convention yesterday. Certainly the old-school fellow traveler has half a mind to support the Marxist changes Barack has in mind for America, but who really cares what Teddy K thinks these days? I can't imagine what Barack Obama could possibly hope to gain by this grotesque stunt, except perhaps to draw public attention away from something else. There is nothing like a car accident to divert attention.

Could it be Obama wants to defuse the PUMA crowd of disaffected supporters of Hillary Clinton. I don't think so. The whole Hillary mess itself could be just another red herring. She's not going to get the nomination. That her followers will vote for Barack or McCain will make little difference to Barack in November, and he knows it.

Perhaps Obama would rather the American public not pay much attention to the antics of his fanatical supporters as they try to re-create 68 in Denver? The very fact that idiots and criminals like these are allowed to vote is a shame to our Republic; that they all seem to be Democrats is an eye-opener. Barack would rather we look the other way.

Maybe the Kennedy smokescreen was intended to draw attention from Obama's running mate. I don't mean the new guy, Joe "Chevy Chase" Biden, but the running mate Barack has had at his side since day one of his political life: Bill Ayers. Ayers the Weather Underground fanatic who admits to bombing and robbing to further the cause of Marxism. The one who tramples the flag and brags about being "guilty as sin, free as a bird". Barack wants us to believe Ayers and Dohrn are under his big bus along with the the likes of Tony Rezko, his white grandma and his minister.

I think that Obama is counting on Teddy Kennedy to take the edge off of his extremist plans for America. To lull Democrats into believing he is just another liberal. Barack wants to distract America while he and his Marxist pals pull off the coup of the century.
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Update: Barack Obama really doesn't want Americans to get wise to his connection to the American Marxist bomb-thrower William Ayers. He is willing to throw out the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech to prevent Americans from hearing the truth about the working association between them. Here is the Ayers video Barack doesn't want you to see.
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Update: Michelle Malkin - Fighting back against Obama’s thugs

I cannot stress how outrageous the Obama campaign’s attempt to silence the creators of the Ayers ad is. Mr. Hope and Change is applying Chicago-style mafia tactics to intimidate those who want to alert the nation to Obama’s troubling ties to, and longtime relationship with, the unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist. Obama’s lawyers and minions are playing hardball with TV stations that have dared to air the ad.

Send a link to this video to everyone you know. Don't let Obama's thugs hide the truth from American voters.

Vice President Colin Powell

General Colin Powell

What? Am I hearing this right? General Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State is on John McCain's short list for his running mate. I heard it first from the Gateway Pundit.
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Powell's selection would mean an "all military service" ticket for the GOP, versus "no military service" for the Democrats. The choice would no doubt be viewed in some quarters as an attempt to co-opt Obama's negroness.

The future for Cuba?

I got my job through the New York Times

Seen at artdiamondblog.com: Castro's Legacy is Fear. It concerns a NYT article by Anthony DePalma, and I blogged it over at the Two Dollar Pistol. I thought the more refined audience here at the Plains Feeder would appreciate it as well.
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I sure wish I could find a copy of the caricature of Castro that William F. Buckley published at the National Review in 1960 with the caption above. The only cover I could find was this one.

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel endorses Joe Biden

Withholds endorsement of Obama, but...

Nebraska's cross-party-dressing Republican Senator still hasn't announced his official support for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Still, Chuck Hagel has done everything but, including acting as bodyguard for Barry on his obligatory trip to Iraq last month. I'm sure that Hagel was up all night waiting for that phone call that would have put him in Joe Biden's place, even though all of Obama's true believers were nixing Chuck.

When Obama passed him over for Biden, Hagel stifled his disappointment and drooled all over himself to heap praise on the Robinette from Delaware. What a trooper! Chuck still thinks this is the Most Important Election Ever, and that only a Democrat can pull America out of the Great Depression and the quagmire of Viet-Nam Iraq.

I think this is going to be one of the most important elections this country has ever had," Hagel said. "We are living in a time of great transformation in the world. We have immense challenges. I think the next president will inherit an inventory of problems as big, deep and wide as any president since Franklin Roosevelt's first term in 1933.

I don't know why Chuck Hagel hasn't just come out and given his full endorsement to Barack Obama. Nebraska's other Senator, Ben Nelson (a Democrat that often dresses like a Republican), has managed to spit out the magic words "Hope and Change". I'm guessing that Nebraska's biggest RINO is still hoping for a call from the Obamachine asking him to be Barry's Secretary of Defense, or Agriculture, or Veteran's Affairs, or Secretary of Something.

Regarding his own future, Hagel said he plans to be a private citizen come January. He said that's when he'll decide what he's going to do away from capitol hill.

He does say if the next president asked him to be a member of the next administration's cabinet, he would consider it.

Maybe he would settle for an appointment as Ambassador to Someplace Nice.
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Update: Like Brazil?

Joe Biden chosen to sit at the right hand of the Messiah

Click to see Joe Biden and Barack Obama video

Watch the video to find out what Biden has to say about Barack Obama's qualifications for the Presidency besides this:

I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.

My first reaction to Barry's choice: At least we can stop worrying about John McCain choosing Joe Biden as his running mate.
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Hat tip to the commie fighters at Babalu Blog.
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Reactions to Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden:
Bridget at Rocky Mountain News: So Joe Biden is 'change'?
Gateway Pundit: Joe-Mentum?... Obama Picks Pro-Iraq War Plagiarizer Biden
Bill Nichols at The Politico: [Seasoning for] the ticket: Obama-Biden
Another Rovian Conspiracy: It's the eternal comb-over from Delaware!
ChicagoRay: It's Officially JoeBama...McCain Wins!
Fausta's Blog: The candidate of change went with the status quo
RedState: He certainly fits Obama's Cheneyesque goal in a choice
Lorie Byrd at Wizbang: Early Obama-Biden Analysis
Jawa Report: Loser Ticket Confirmed
Ed at Hot Air: an act of desperation
Althouse: 3 a.m. call will needle Hillary lovers
stevenmary jihad: Biden will whip whoever McCain picks in the VP debate
Beldar Blog: Obama picks serial plagiarist
Belmont Club: Why Biden?
Power Line: the man and the moment have met
Fox News: McCain Ad of Biden Endorsing McCain?
David Brooks at NYT: Biden’s weaknesses are on the surface.
TigerHawk: Obama selects his lead apostle
Overlawyered: Biden’s Mississippi connection
RedStateEclectic: announcement timed for the "hanging out" crowd
American Thinker: So much for 'Hope and Change'
Say Anything Blog: McCain: Not Biden/Our Time
Astute Bloggers: Biden's 7-11 episode
Domestic Divapalooza: Obama just shot himself in the foot!
La Shawn Barber: "clean as a whistle sharp as a tack"
Cao's Blog: a cloud of foreboding
Stop the ACLU: Barry’s Bitch
Flopping Aces: He’s a liberal so he just can’t be racist…
Riehl World View: ObaJoey In '08, Or Else
Michelle Malkin: It’s Smarmy and Smirky ‘08!
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy: The jokes just write themselves
Atlas Shrugs: As if it couldn't get worse
sondrak: It's Obama bin-Biden! (plugs)
Cop a Laugh at DU: So supporters weren't the first to know?
The Crank Files: HA HA HA! you got shit bagged!
Heartland Notebook: epic instance of philosophical miscegenation
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Add a link to your Joe Biden post - Mention it in the comments or send it to the old feeder.

Barack Obama's Running Mate

William "Weatherman" Ayers

If I have anything to say about it, Obama will be running with this terrorist commie at his side right up through November. No matter who Barack selects, he is stuck with Bill Ayers.

Aspiring Light Bulb King Dethroned

Totalitarian State Illuminator

The old feeder is probably the worst businessman ever. Anyone would be better off taking investment advice or entrepreneurial guidance from a Magic Eight Ball than from me. Heck, I ought to start using one myself instead of trying to use my head.

I have successfully stored away enough cheap incandescent 40 Watt light bulbs to last me until I croak or the electrical grid collapses, whichever comes first. I'm not going to be a victim of the eco-totalitarian oppressors, or so I figured. When the law makes it illegal to sell incandescent light bulbs in 2012, I will not be forced into using cold, poisonous compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

I find that the best sources are big home improvement stores. Every time I visit one, I get a cart full of good, old-fashioned room warming incandescent light bulbs. Some places have already quit selling them, like Sam's Club, but Lowe's, Menard's and Home Depot stores around here still stock them. I get the cheapest ones available, one brand seems to last as long as another for me. I have acquired a scandalous number of them, raising only a few eyebrows from cashiers.

Sounds pretty smart, no? Maybe not.

Here's what is is going to happen. Congress is going to hear from more and more folks that don't like the idea of paying several dollars to replace a 25 cent light bulb. Some of these folks will find out just how nasty the light from these buzzing, grotesquely twisted fluorescent bulbs make their surrounding appear. Some will even find out that the mercury in them can actually get out and into your kids. These folks will pester their representatives in Washington to kill this nasty, anti freedom of choice, totalitarian law before its provisions even go into effect. There is already a bill in the House: H.R. 5616, the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act.

Its a good thing I wasn't buying up bulbs with an eye toward cornering a future black market for outlaw light bulbs. I know at least one Nebraskan has set out to become the Outlaw Light Bulb King of Grand Island. One out in the third, whose comments you may have seen on many other blogs, said as much here in a comment. Nobody wants to end up like the cat that had warehouse full of hula-hoops when the fad died.

I can only hope that my room full of lightbulbs will serve as a hedge against inflation. With my luck in the realm of the coin, someone will find a way to make incandescent bulbs out of straw for less than a nickel apiece. Its what I deserve for betting against a good outcome.
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Perhaps I may be able to take solace in the fact that if any would-be Light Bulb Kings get dethroned it will be the CFL profiteers, whose only interest in green is the dollar. Also, I'd like to see Al Gore pay the taxes and utility bills on his mansion with carbon credits in a world gone sane. Maybe if I wish real hard.
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I found out about this legislation from World Net Daily: Lawmakers take up battle against light bulb ban. WND is off kilter on many things, but they got this right.
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If the government can take away your choice on such matters as what kind of light bulbs you can use and you don't care, I have a suggestion for you. Call your representatives in Washington and ask them to draft and pass the Regulation of Everyday Life Bill as soon as possible. As Machiavelli advised the prince: bad news from the state is best delivered all at once, only good news should be drawn out. Gary Gilmore was more succinct: "Let's do it."

Ames, Iowa: Urban deer hunt opens early this year

Bowhunting in town?

Somehow, the idea of an Urban Bowhunt in the town where I went to college sounds like fun. I picture scantily clad, dangerously armed Iowa State coeds cavorting in Brookside Park as the tame deer stand still for the kill. Its only a short drive away, but I don't think I'll go. Both of my ex-wives live in Ames.

What do the mice know that I don't?

Last Bite

As you may know, I blog from an old feedlot. There are no cattle here now, because its too close to the sensitive nostrils of town folks, who think that agriculture ought to be cashed in on but not smelled. So the feedlot office is surrounded on all sides by fields planted alternately to corn and soybeans. There must be millions of mice within a mile of the feedlot.

Twice every year many of these mice make a concerted effort to get into my office building. In the spring, when the fields are planted, and again in the fall at harvest time when their happy dens get torn up by the machinery, I can always expect a flood of little furry refugees. What mouse wouldn't want to move in with an old duffer that has plenty of food and only sweeps up his crumbs three or four times a year?

For the last couple of weeks, however, I've been getting invaded by hordes of mice for no reason I can see. The fields are in corn this year, the weather is normal and there has been plenty of moisture. Why the little rascals should want to go looking for new digs now is beyond me. I have to check my trap line twice a day. I wonder if the mice know something I don't.
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Speaking of trap lines reminded me of an old place that DadGum and I shared for a few years. It was an old one-room school house divided into rooms by wooden doors. We called it the Bayou and it had a relaxing "trap room":

The Trap Room

I'd get a cat, but the last ones I had here didn't like the fact that I keep the thermostat set at about 55ºF all winter. They were old, and both of them caught pneumonia and died the first winter they were here. For a good cat story, check out Jeffro's Poor Farm post about his cat Rooster.

Musharraf is out - whats next for Pakistan?

Musharraf in civvies

One of America's most valuable allies in the war against Mohammedan fanaticism has been forced out of office. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has resigned rather than subject his country to a politically motivated impeachment trial. In his official statement, he said he was resigning to put Pakistan first. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Musharraf will be allowed to leave Pakistan, or will get the same sort of wretched treatment as the Shah of Iran did at the outset of Mohammedan fanaticism's dramatic rise in 1979.

It is important to note two things: First, Pakistan is a nuclear power, armed with atomic weapons; second, Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and 9/11 mastermind, has been given refuge inside Pakistan by outlaw tribes. What happens next is critical to the War on Mohammedan Terrorists.

If the past is prologue, expect to see political upheaval followed by another military takeover in Pakistan. We may also expect more of this sort of Mohammedan political manuevering in other nations that support the US in the fight against Islamic fanaticism. The Russians must love this distraction from their own dishonest Asian opportunism.
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Mohammedan fanaticism continues to make the world more dangerous for everyone.

A day at the air show: Offutt AFB

US Air Force Thunderbirds

The old feeder decided to part with some gas money and spend the day at Offutt Air Force Base yesterday. The base was holding its annual Defenders of Freedom Open House & Air Show, and I had a great time. Here is a video I shot of the Thunderbirds. The pictures that follow are all clickable.

Nice crowd of decent, patriotic folks

I was able to park on the base, then caught a shuttle bus to the area where the static displays and some open are afforded an excellent view of the flying performances. There were the usual aerobatic flyers with little hot-rod planes doing stunts that seem to break the laws of physics. I tried to snap some photos, but most of them came out like this. I'm not used to the 'lag' between pressing the button and the shutter function on my digital camera.

AC-47 gunship - Spooky

Some old cats were there displaying an AC-47 gunship. These gents looked like they might have been with this machine since Viet-Nam. I gave them $2 bucks to look inside and they actually had a couple of nasty little chain guns mounted. I suppose its OK to have these since the Supreme Court's Heller decision. Below is a picture of the 30 mm business end of an A-10 Warthog. Now that is a big Gatling gun!

Business end of an A-10 Warthog

The A-10 demonstration must have been heartening to all the old grunts in the audience. This ugly death machine seems to be the perfect close air support device; its a flying full auto cannon that can carry bombs and rockets stuck to every available spot on its wings. Click the A-10 gun picture to see how the The AN/GAU-8a 30mm Avenger weapon just about fills the fuselage. I took a picture of the big magazine.

F-22 with pyro display background

There were aircraft of every sort, old and new. The F-22 was exotic looking, but the big transports and antiques were perhaps more fascinating to an old duffer like myself. All in all, I had a wonderful day. It was nice to see the young troops who were so polite and helpful. It is almost enough to restore one's faith in the future of America. I got a big kick out of watching the recruiters work the kids. This one asked the recruiter why he had a life raft set up on the runway. Sarge's answer: "So boys like you will ask about it."

Farm field salute at the Offutt runway - click

This last picture came from Google Earth. (You can click it to see the street names, etc.) It shows the respect the folks of Nebraska, especially those in the Bellevue area, have for the US military in general and the Air Force in particular. God bless 'em.

The day trip was a tonic for the old feeder. The Open House and Air Show is on again today. If you live anywhere near, go see it. Take the kids.

Ethanol: the fuel of suckers

Click for more on Barack Obama's ethanol interests

The corporate agriculture ethanol hucksters and their mentally challenged suckers supporters are gathered in Omaha this week to further their self-enriching schemes. Read how Nebraska corn liquor is necessary for National Security at Love Global Warming, the old feeder's clean, green ecology blog.
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Addendum: Reason TV has an excellent little video addressing the problems associated with the huge government (read: taxpayer) subsidies the ethanol industry requires. It is titled Silly Senator, Corn is for Food, but is really a serious analysis. The Reason.tv blurb about the video:

Ethanol advocates claim that the biofuel is a cheap, renewable energy source that reduces pollution and our dependence on foreign oil. It sounds too good to be true—and it is.

Ethanol, especially the corn-based variety, is bad for taxpayers, bad for consumers, bad for the environment, and horrible for the world's poor. In fact, even environmentalists are critical of ethanol subsidies these days. The ethanol craze has distorted markets and increased the price of food worldwide. The only people who still support ethanol subsidies are the ethanol producers—and politicians from both sides of the aisle. Together, they make sure the subsidies keep coming.

In a recent interview about the current food crisis, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said, "If part of our problem is that the Chinese are going to eat meat and you've got to have corn and soybeans to feed the Chinese their meat, then why isn't it just as legitimate for the Chinese to go back and eat rice as it is for us to change our policy on corn to ethanol?"

Let them eat rice? So that American taxpayers can continue to pay people to turn corn into fuel?

Silly senator, corn is for food.

I got the link from a brand new blog: The Founding Bloggers. Hat tip: Gateway Pundit.
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Update: This ought to make Republicans gag. The GOP will invite anyone into their new, all-inclusive Big Tent.

Wind Power: not just stupid, but a "Boone-doggle"

Crop duster dodges windmills and power lines

Michelle Malkin's syndicated column today, Pelosi and the Big Wind Boone-doggle explains why you have been hearing so much these days from T. Boone Pickens, the leveraged takeover artist, hedge-fund scammer and 117th richest man in America. For more links and comments, see Michelle's blog post on the same topic.

I guess Pickens has found Gaia in wind energy, or at least a mammon-worhipper's equivalent: tax breaks and subsidies for the true believers. Hang on to your wallets, folks. This big enviro-racket is going to cost the taxpayers a bundle and, in the long run, benefit nobody but cats like Pickens.

The old feeder is no fan of wind energy. I think they are inefficient, ugly and potentially dangerous. Now, opportunists like Mr. Pickens see a chance to clean up by tricking gullible "save the world at any cost" suckers. If the free market dictated if and where wind farms were built, there wouldn't be any. Now, thanks to unfettered democracy, these economic disasters could be ruining vistas near you, paid for with your hard-earned dollars.

Tower on road M-27 near Peterson, Iowa - last winter

I've blogged a couple of times about this particular tower in a NW Iowa wind farm that I drive through regularly. It was damaged sometime last year and still hasn't been repaired. Not even after I saw a huge crane working on it this spring:

Gigantic crane working on the same tower in late May

This work was commenced not long after the Plains Feeder post featuring the exploded windmill. I figured the operators might have it fixed by now, but all they seem to have done is take the generator box down off the tower. I wonder what it costs to move that big crane from cornfield to cornfield?

The same 'wind generator' as it appeared this month

Not only hasn't this wind turbine been repaired or replaced, but I estimate that one out of six of the windmills in this particular wind farm are non-functional. I have to estimate because the physical plant covers many square miles. The ones that aren't shattered are 'feathered' so that the wind can't turn them. The only efficiency these monstrosities exhibit is in separating taxpayers from their money.
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Excellent description of a wind farm: "they look like a Calcutta slum skyline viewed from ground level." From Uncle W at the Heartland Notebook.
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I saw the crop-duster while taking the last picture in this series. I have always admired the nerve these on-the-deck pilots display as they apply pesticides on the fields. As I watched this cat deftly avoiding the wind generators and their associated power poles, I wondered what his opinion of The Pickens Plan would be.

I'll be back

Thanks to long-distance assistance from my blog friends, I expect to be back at it here at the Plains Feeder in a week or so. I'm doing my R&R in sweltering hot Iowa. The schvitz effect, combined with daily exposure to lily-white Obamaniacs should do the trick.