The Saloon dot net

Romney: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:24:35 -0500

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

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A Sea of Unwanted Imports

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:21:54 -0500

Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country. But these are not ordinary times.

For now, the port itself is the destination. Unwelcome by dealers and buyers, thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being warehoused on increasingly crowded port property.

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Global Socialists Toast Victory over America

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:22:09 -0500

The American people may be losing their jobs and savings, but on Friday night, on the eve of the international financial summit, they provided President Bush and other G20 leaders a lavish banquet that included $300-a-bottle wine, Vermont Brie, eggplant fondue, and rack of lamb. Details of the “culinary delights” and “sumptuous feast” provided to the politicians who departed their black limousines were included in wire service stories. They were toasting the demise of America as a global economic and military superpower and planning to loot another trillion dollars from U.S. taxpayers.

Stories about the feast can only cause rising anger in the United States. A C-SPAN moderator on Sunday morning, hosting a discussion of the growing financial crisis and taking calls, himself commented that there was a lot of anger out there. One caller mentioned taking up arms against the government over the looting of the taxpayers

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Not your typical boring sermon. Preacher challenges couples to get their freak on for seven days straight

Riley Jones — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:18:08 -0500

The pastor of a mega-church says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days — and he plans to practice what he preaches.

"We're going to give it a try," said the Rev. Ed Young, who has four children with his wife of 26 years.

(Thanks, Pete!)

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Sarah Palin on Obama: "I pray for him, his family, the new administration"

Riley Jones — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:16:57 -0500

Palin appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Wednesday to discuss the historic campaign, how she thinks she affected the Republican ticket, the concession speech she never got to make, her family's coverage in the media and her plans now that the election is over.

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Affirmative Action and Gay Marriage

Roland, the Gunslinger — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:45:46 -0500

The real issue is whether marriage should be redefined...Despite heavy television advertising in California for “gay marriage,” showing blacks being set upon by police dogs during civil-rights marches, and implying that homosexuals face the same discrimination today, the analogy is completely false.

Blacks had to sit in the back of the bus because they were black. They were doing exactly what white people were doing — riding a bus. That is what made it racial discrimination.

Marriage is not a right but a set of legal obligations imposed because the government has a vested interest in unions that, among other things, have the potential to produce children, which is to say, the future population of the nation.

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Look ma, No Feet!

Riley Jones — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:34:46 -0500

I love this girl!

Brooklyn Marine sergeant & wife tortured, slain in Calif

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:09:09 -0500

A Brooklyn-raised Marine sergeant and his new bride were tortured and killed execution-style in their California home - allegedly by four other Marines under his command. Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak, who was raised in Bensonhurst, and his wife, Quiana, were found bound and gagged in the ransacked house, each shot in the head

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Tax Policy Decisions Ahead

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:01:58 -0500

In Tax policy decisions ahead: President-elect Obama’s call for change, the Tax Policy Group of Deloitte summarizes the broad tax proposals made by President-elect Obama on the campaign trail, and the challenges of moving his agenda through Congress. It then analyzes proposed tax changes more closely, and offers insight on how corporate and individual taxpayers can prepare for changes that may come.

(H/T to our man Steve)

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Early Polls Show California's Prop 8 Gaining

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:33:08 -0500

Approval of Proposition 8 would be a stunning upset in a $70-million campaign that just weeks ago looked to be running in favor of preserving gay marriage rights.

By 9 p.m. in California, 54.5 % of voters favored passing Prop 8, as the measure is known, and 45.5% were against it, with 20.9% of precincts voting, according to the Secretary of State. However, both sides cautioned that the vote could be very close and that it might still be early to declare a winner.

The passage of Prop 8, as it is known, would be a major victory for religious conservatives seeking to ban gay marriage in other states, and a crippling setback for the gay rights movement nationwide.

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Obama: I’ll make energy prices “skyrocket”

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:35:18 -0500

"You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers."

(H/T to the good folks at HotAir.com)

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America's Last Will and Testament

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:21:42 -0500

On the eve of the presidential election, I have a few last thoughts I’d like to share. First off, I keep hearing people say they don’t know Barack Obama. Oddly enough, I don’t think I’ve ever known a presidential candidate nearly so well...I know that he believes in the Marxist principle of sharing the wealth, and I know that doesn’t refer to his own wealth, but to everybody else’s.

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News To Obama: The OECD Says The United States Has The Most Progressive Tax System

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:11:14 -0400

Barack Obama's admission that his policies would "spread the wealth around" has ignited a nationwide discussion of how progressive the tax system should be and how it should be used to redistribute income among Americans. Obama has been very successful in bolstering the conventional wisdom that the U.S. tax system does not place a significant enough burden on wealthier households and places too much of a burden on the "middle class."

But a new study on inequality by researchers at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris reveals that when it comes to household taxes (income taxes and employee social security contributions) the U.S. "has the most progressive tax system and collects the largest share of taxes from the richest 10% of the population." As Column 1 in the table below shows, the U.S. tax system is far more progressive—meaning pro-poor—than similar systems in countries most Americans identify with high taxes, such as France and Sweden.

Even after accounting for the fact that the top 10 percent of households in the U.S. have one of the highest shares of market income among OECD nations, our tax system is second only to Ireland in terms of its progressivity for households.

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What Obama Really Means by 'Change'

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:08:03 -0400

I had a shocking conversation with a well-informed voter the other day. She asked about Barack Obama's “tax cut for 95 percent of Americans.” I laughed, noting that it was going to be quite a trick to give a “tax cut” to the roughly 40 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes.

“What?” She asked.

It stopped me dead in my tracks.

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Obama Bombshell Redistribution of Wealth Audio Uncovered

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:49:32 -0400

The Warren Court wasn't radical enough in that "it didn't break free from the restraints" imposed by the founding fathers in the Constitution!...Redistribution of wealth SHOULD have been enforced to address "economic justice" in society...Obama says that the Constitution doesn't say what the federal government MUST do for you "on your behalf"!

Stunning bombshell stuff. Why won't the national news media pick this up and report it to the American people?

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IBD: If Bailout Plan Is Too Socialistic, Just Wait For Obama Leviathan

Roland, the Gunslinger — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:17:33 -0400

Election '08: Have Americans been so lulled by Barack Obama's smooth talk that they don't realize his plans would expand government into a massive socialist behemoth? His is a soft-spoken, hard-left agenda

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Pastor charged with felony for spanking son

Roland, the Gunslinger — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:06:27 -0400

A Wisconsin pastor has been charged with felony physical abuse of a child after he spanked his 12-year-old son for lying and a teacher notified social services.

Barry W. Barnett Jr., 43, of Poynette, Wis., is free on a $10,000 bond, but he could face up to three years in prison and fines for disciplining his son, the local Portage Daily Register reported

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John Batchelor: Keynes Again (Barney Frank Provides a Clue)

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:38:27 -0400

Much to admire in Barney Frank’s (left) confident, unusual, subversive performances on TV, and I always remember, when watching Mr. Frank, the observation of my best source in Congress that Mr. Frank has more gumption and gall than the whole lot of the Republican leadership...Mr. Frank certainly did say clearly, “I believe later on there should be tax increases.”...And he did add the prankishly impudent, “Speaking personally, I believe there are a lot of very rich people out there whom we can tax at a point down the road and recover some of the money.” Burningly shrewd, Barney Frank, to reawaken the old Robin of Locksley line again, to wink at the camera like Friar Tuck and mention that Sherwood Forest is a magical place where heroes take from the rich to give to the poor. Applause.

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A 'Spread the Wealth' Plan for your 401k?

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:42:42 -0400

Thankfully, since being reported on GOPUSA and other sources, Americans are finally starting to hear about Barack Obama's socialist agenda. His income tax policy of taking money from one group and giving it to another group who doesn't pay income tax is simply a welfare program. With Democrats in charge of the U.S. House, Senate, and the White House, that's exactly the kind of big-government program we would get. And it doesn't stop there.

Democrats are now looking at a plan to go after Americans' 401k accounts. These accounts serve as the retirement nest-egg for millions of Americans. They are used because money can be saved in these accounts tax-free. Oh, that is unless that new Democrat plan of "spread the wealth" becomes law. Then, we could all see our 401k tax breaks go out the window...

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Obama Does Not Regret "Spread the Wealth" Comment

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:30:14 -0400

Incest Dungeon Rapist Josef Frtizl: It's my Mother's Fault

Riley Jones — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:39:42 -0400

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian builder who locked his daughter in a cellar and fathered seven children with her, sees himself as a born rapist, a victim of his own tyrannical mother.

According to the first leaked account of interviews with a forensic psychiatrist, which is due to appear in two Austrian newspapers today, Fritzl hatched his plan to incarcerate his daughter, Elisabeth, while he was in prison for rape.

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NYT: OMGWTFBBQ!!!11!! Cindy McCain was Addicted to Pain killers after surgery. NYT on BHO's admitted use of cocaine and other drugs: -crickets-

Riley Jones — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:09:24 -0400

FTA- "John McCain's campaign is expressing outrage over a New York Times story that focuses on Cindy McCain's marriage to the Arizona senator, including her miscarriages, her past addiction to painkillers and her failure in Washington to fit in."

In the meantime, did anyone know Barack "Barry Soetoro" Hussein Obama is running for President and Cindy McCain isn't running for anything...?

Screw the NYT. May their subscription base continue to completely dry up.

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The Intolerant Tolerant: Prop. 8 Supporter Violently Attacked for Distributing Lawn Signs

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:26:40 -0400

In a violent display of intolerance, an opponent of Proposition 8 attacked and seriously injured a man who was volunteering on Sunday for the initiative to define marriage as between and a man and a woman.

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Teachers union donates $1 million to oppose Proposition 8...wait, what...?

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No, somehow this ISN'T Child Abuse

Riley Jones — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:49:13 -0400

Since he could speak, Brandon, now 8, has insisted that he was meant to be a girl. This summer, his parents decided to let him grow up as one. His case, and a rising number of others like it, illuminates a heated scientific debate about the nature of gender—and raises troubling questions about whether the limits of child indulgence have stretched too far.

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The Left Declares War On Joe The Plumber

Roland, the Gunslinger — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:02:54 -0400

Six-term Sen. Joe Biden’s got some nerve going after citizen Joe the Plumber. But the entrenched politician from Delaware, who fancies himself the nation’s No. 1 Ordinary Joe, had no choice. Obama-Biden simply can’t tolerate an outspoken citizen successfully painting the Democratic ticket as socialist overlords. And so a dirty, desperate war against Joe Wurzelbacher is on.

The left’s political plumbers are attacking the messenger, rummaging through his personal life and predictably wielding the race card once again. It’s standard operating procedure for the Obama thug machine.

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BREAKING: 2nd lawsuit challenges Obama's citizenship

Riley Jones — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:02:21 -0400

In a second lawsuit challenging Barack Obama's "natural born" citizenship, a Washington resident is demanding officials review original or certified birth documents for the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Steven Marquis of Fall City, Wash., filed suit Oct. 9 in Washington State Superior Court, calling for Secretary of State Sam Reed to determine whether Obama is a citizen before Election Day. Marquis released a statement saying the state has the authority to "prevent the wholesale disenfranchisement of voters" who might have otherwise had the opportunity to choose a qualified candidate should records show Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.

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Sarah Palin speaks to a special base

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:31:44 -0400

Palin pays special attention to special needs

Oct. 14: All along the campaign trail, children and adults with Down syndrome have been drawn to Gov. Sarah Palin's openness in how she deals with being a parent of a special needs child. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports.

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Palin helps expose Pro-Abortion Obama

Riley Jones — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:47:19 -0400

"I listened when he defended his unconditional support for unlimited abortions. He said that a woman shouldn’t have to be – quote – “punished with a baby.” He said that right here in Johnstown –“punished with a baby” – and it’s about time we called him on it. The more I hear from Senator Obama, the more I understand why he is so vague and evasive on the subject. Americans need to see his record for what it is. It’s not negative or mean-spirited to talk about his record. Whatever party you belong to, there are facts you need to know.

Senator Obama has voted against bills to end partial-birth abortion. In the Illinois Senate, a bipartisan majority passed legislation against that practice. Senator Obama opposed that bill. He voted against it in committee, and voted “present” on the Senate floor. In that legislature, “present” is how you vote when you’re against something, but don’t want to be held to account."

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The Cost of Being a Muslim Woman in a Muslim World

Riley Jones — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:44:52 -0400

In a case that is hard to watch, in a case that will turn your stomach (youtube.com has since removed the gruesome video), a man married for six months accused his wife of infidelity. In return for such he cut off her lips, her nose and scratched out her eyes… he left her for dead… against all odds she survived. The full inhumanity of the violence I described only fully assaults the sense of reality once you see what the woman looked like, in the video, as a result of an absolutely inhuman… but seemingly devout follower of Islam.

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The Pornification Of A Generation

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:32:44 -0400

The idea for a book about porn culture came to Kevin Scott the day his daughter decided she absolutely had to have a Bratz-doll pony. For months, the 5-year-old had begged him for a Bratz doll—clad in spike heels, fishnets and miniskirt, enormous puppy-dog eyes protruding from her oversized head. Her sexy look seemed a little too sexy for a preschooler, so he and his wife bought her a different doll, which she was happy with. Except that a few months later, Bratz came out with Bratz Babyz. "If Bratz had looked like Barbie hookers, these looked like baby hookers," Scott says. Again, he convinced his daughter that My Little Pony was just as cool—and for a moment, the conversation ended. Until, of course, the Bratz came out with Bratz Ponyz. And then, says Scott, an English professor at a small college in Georgia, "I realized porn culture and I were in a death match for my daughter's soul."

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