The Saloon dot net

Dick Morris: Al Franken's Funny Business Exposed

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:38:26 -0500

Those who want the recount actually want to count ballots in 25 precincts — that would bring the total number of votes cast higher than the actual number of people who voted!...In Ramsey County, 177 more votes have been counted than people who voted on Election Day. The canvassing board, in effect, is admitting that it is counting fraudulent, duplicate ballots!

In some cases, absentee ballots, particularly from troops serving overseas, have been counted. In other cases not. One ballot, on which Franken was crossed out and replaced by "Frankenstein" was counted as a Democratic vote....Apparently, when a ballot was challenged, a copy was made to facilitate examination. But, in many cases, the canvasser failed to label the ballot as a duplicate. Then, in the recount, all the ballots were counted, ensuring that the challenged vote was not only counted, but counted twice.

What makes all of this even more suspicious is that each of these errors inured to Franken's advantage and eroded Coleman's election night lead until the Democrat could claim victory.

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This Is the Downer We've Been Waiting For!

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:32:08 -0500

After NBC canceled me "for life" on Monday -- until seven or eight hours later when the ban was splashed across the top of The Drudge Report, forcing a red-faced NBC to withdraw the ban -- an NBC insider told The Drudge Report: "We are just not interested in anyone so highly critical of President-elect Obama, right now," explaining that "it's such a downer. It's just not the time, and it's not what our audience wants, either."

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PRUDEN: The dirty joke from Minnesota

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:50:14 -0500

A lot of the venal sins of Congress could be judged pornographic, both politically and otherwise, but we've never had an Official Senate Pornographer before. Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al Franken will fit right in.

"With the Minnesota recount complete," he says, gleefully, "it is now clear that Al Franken won the election." Actually, it isn't clear at all, as Mr. Schumer well knows, even though the Democrats managing the recount declared Mr. Franken the winner yesterday. The Democrats in the Senate are eager to get Al seated quickly because once he's seated among equals a bum is difficult to throw out. There's honor among senators, similar to the honor among thieves. (The difference is that thieves often hold to higher standards.)

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'Trillion-Dollar Deficits for Years to Come'

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:35:40 -0500

President-elect Barack Obama predicted Tuesday that the nation could see ''trillion-dollar deficits for years to come,'' but said the country needs to continue spending taxpayer dollars to get the economy back on track. Obama, speaking to reporters at his Washington transition office, said he didn't want to get into specific budget numbers because his proposal is still being worked out with lawmakers

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Bank Of England Policymaker Predicts Unprecedented Dollar Collapse

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:29:21 -0500

Willem Buiter, who served the BOE from June 1997 to May 2000, has stated that he expects to see the plug pulled from under the dollar as foreign investors turn away from the dollar and other US backed assets including government bonds.

Writing for the Financial Times, Buiter, now a Professor with the London School of Economics European Institute, comments: “There will, before long (my best guess is between two and five years from now) be a global dumping of US dollar assets, including US government assets. Old habits die hard. The US dollar and US Treasury bills and bonds are still viewed as a safe haven by many. But learning takes place.”

Buiter, who has previously advised the World Bank, the IMF and the European Commission, points out that the dollar has managed to stay afloat due to the misguided notion that the US can make more capital on overseas investments and interests than foreign investors can make on US assets - a hypothesis that economists have referred to as “American alpha”.

However, he believes the global financial crisis has exposed the fatal flaws in that assumption....Prof Buiter writes. “Even the most hard-nosed, Guantanamo Bay-indifferent potential foreign investor in the US must recognise that its financial system has collapsed.”

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NewsBusted, Episode 2-27, January 6

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:14:12 -0500

Obama’s Revolutionary “Vision”

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:09:49 -0500

On the Fox News program “Hannity & Colmes” in December, analyst Dick Morris made the absolutely critical point that President Bush has taken the country so far to the left, in terms of his socialist-style Wall Street bailout program and his integration of the U.S. economy into a new emerging international financial order, that anything Barack Obama does in this area seems almost mainstream. This is because what we were expecting from Obama we are now getting from Bush. So Obama doesn’t look so radical anymore.

This point must be understood in order to have an appreciation of the “moderation” of the new Obama Administration.

Interestingly, some of Obama’s strongest “progressive” supporters are being brutally honest about what is happening. On the Rag Blog website, former Weather Underground terrorist Mark Rudd defended the “conservative appointments” of the President-elect and said that they are part of a deliberate strategy to “feint to the right” and “move left.” He explained, “Any other strategy invites sure defeat.”

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Sold-out movie thwarts Bidens

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:08:34 -0500

A few minutes later, she said, the Bidens came into the lobby.

Jill Biden walked up to speak with Muhamut while Joe stood nearby.

"She was asking me about other shows, but they really wanted to see 'Benjamin Button,' " Muhamut said. "He was maybe five feet away, looking at her. He was standing with his other Secret Service men."

Remarkably, none of the other moviegoers appeared to notice. Employees said nobody mobbed Biden or called his name or asked for an autograph.

"It didn't seem many people recognized him," said employee Becky Gingrich, 21. "Honestly, I think people were just too wrapped up in themselves to notice."

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What Disappearing Sea Ice?

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:24:01 -0500

Despite the mountains of contrary evidence, concerns over disappearing sea ice and the unfounded position that the North Pole could melt entirely in 2008, pushed U.S. government bureaucrats to officially list the polar bear as an endangered species in May of 2008. And then guess what happened....

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New blast at British Columbia pipeline

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:24:25 -0500

Vancouver - Another explosion has targeted an EnCana natural gas facility in northeastern British Columbia. RCMP say EnCana gas line workers discovered a partially destroyed metering shed on Sunday at a wellhead near the community of Tomslake. Police say this appears to be a deliberate attack, similar to three other blasts in October...The explosions were preceded by a letter that called oil and gas companies, and EnCana in particular, ''terrorists'' and demanded an immediate halt to operations

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NYT's Cohen: Dangers of the Penn

Roland, the Gunslinger — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:09:14 -0500

Penn is a poor writer, as rambling as a journalist as he is disciplined as an actor. A gift for detachment is as important to the journalist as a gift for empathy is to the actor. Penn has only the latter...When I read the piece, I’d just returned from Cuba, where among the more prominent of Raúl’s reforms has been allowing Cubans into hotels for the first time (seriously!) and granting them access to cellphones costing six times their monthly salary.

Penn, by the way, traveled to Cuba from Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela on a plane loaned by the Venezuelan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. But, says Penn, that’s like a “journalist flying on Air Force One.” He’s apparently unaware that journalists on the U.S. presidential plane pay commercial rates.

But I don’t want to quibble. Penn’s not the first leftist star seduced by revolution despite dictatorship: Simone Signoret and Yves Montand touring Eastern Europe after the Soviet bludgeoning of Hungary in 1956 comes to mind. The French left had a very hard time getting Stalin in focus, just as part of the Euro-American left cannot free itself of Castro worship. Lenin’s “useful idiots” still abound.

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Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:15:27 -0500

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.

Pelosi’s rule changes -- which may be voted on today -- will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.”

(I guess this is what the Democrats mean by "bipartisanship." -Roland)

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The Pelosi Doctrine: What’s good for her is good for the U.S.

President-elect Barack Obama meets today with Democratic congressional leaders to discuss their forthcoming economic stimulus package. On Wednesday a Democrats-only committee hearing will convene to push for congressional action before Obama’s January 20 inauguration. Thus advances a sham economic stimulus bill via a sham legislative process. Regardless whether the final version spends $750 billion or some figure north of $1 trillion, the measure will be an economic sham.

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Freedom of Choice Act: Losing Hyde Amendment Could Drastically Increase Abortions

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:56:05 -0500

The Hyde Amendment, originally enacted in 1976, is a pro-life limitation amendment in the annual appropriations bill that restricts the direct federal funding of abortion through Medicaid.

Without the Hyde Amendment, women eligible for Medicaid would have their abortions paid for by the Federal Government – in other words, OUR tax dollars. If abortions are free to the individual, you can bet on abortion rates increasing.

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Funny Business in Minnesota (In Which Every Dubious Ruling Seems to Benefit Al Franken)

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:00:44 -0500

Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.

Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.

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Sea Ice Ends Year at Same Level as 1979

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:41:34 -0500

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Ice levels had been tracking lower throughout much of 2008, but rapidly recovered in the last quarter. In fact, the rate of increase from September onward is the fastest rate of change on record, either upwards or downwards.

H/t to our pal, Steve!

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Prez-elect to establish 600,000 new Democrat voters...err...new government employees

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:13:17 -0500

States want in on the looting of America, too, as governors push $1 trillion "stimulus package"

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:08:34 -0500

As the nation braces for Democrats to take unbridled control of the federal government, some lessons about how big a mistake that really is are already coming to light. Just as no non-union manufacturer is asking for a government bailout, only Democrat run states are begging for federal funds to avoid the inevitable bankruptcy of the states they have run into the ground.

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NRO: Life in the Clown-Car Fast Lane

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:56:58 -0500

Can you believe it? Barack Hussein Obama II hasn’t even been inaugurated yet and he’s already been interviewed by federal prosecutors in the ongoing Blago mess; he’s seen Bill Richardson immolate himself rather than stand the federal grand-jury scrutiny that would have come with his appointment as Commerce Secretary; his boy Rahm Emanuel is both en pointe, having resigned the House seat that was previously warmed by Hot Rod and Dan Rostenkowski, and, apparently, on Patrick Fitzgerald’s tapes too; and he’s facing the prospect of the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, standing like a homunculus George Wallace in the schoolhouse door, ready to deny entrance to a black man when Roland “We Are the Senator” Burris tries to take Bambi’s hardly-even-used seat tomorrow.

And here we Democrats thought the Clinton administration could never be topped!

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Rick Warren Is No Billy Graham

Roland, the Gunslinger — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:32:00 -0500

Last August I wrote a column critical of Rick Warren's decision to host a presidential candidate forum at his Saddleback Church. My reasoning then was that America's crisis is moral ambiguity.

I argued that Pastor Warren would only contribute to this ambiguity by hosting candidates with opposing views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality and presenting himself as a neutral moderator.

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GOP Vows to Block Franken From U.S. Senate

Roland, the Gunslinger — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:21:15 -0500

Republicans will filibuster any attempt to seat Minnesota Democrat Al Franken when Congress convenes next week, Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn warned his Democratic colleagues Friday.

It was the latest salvo in the war of words touched off this week when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested Franken was drawing near to clinching a victory — despite the fact that as many as 2,000 votes are uncounted and numerous legal challenges loom.

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Will Media Report Reid Pressuring Blago Not To Pick Black Senators?

Roland, the Gunslinger — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:13:01 -0500

Imagine for a moment the Senate was currently controlled by Republicans, and the white male majority leader advised Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich not to pick a black candidate to fill president-elect Barack Obama's vacated seat instead pressuring the governor to choose between two white candidates, do you think this would get some media attention?Probably every hour on the hour until the white majority leader was forced to apology and conceivably resign, right?

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Russia, Ukraine say gas dispute won't hurt Europe

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:42:59 -0500

In 2006, much of the blame for the supply disruption fell on Russia, which was accused of using its energy resources as a political weapon to punish Ukraine's Western-leaning government. European countries then began to question Russia's reliability as an energy partner and look for ways to diversify their supplies...The deadlock over gas supplies reflects the deep political split between Moscow and Kiev. Yushchenko has angered the Kremlin through his efforts to build ties to Western Europe and his support of Georgia in its August war with Russia.

(H/T: Our pal, Semra)

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Sarkozy tackles France's car burners

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:22:35 -0500

President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to crack down on France's car burning after more than 1,100 vehicles went up in flames overnight on New Year's Eve. Sarkozy said he had asked authorities to be "uncompromising" with vehicle arsonists and said those caught burning other people's cars should lose their own licences until the damage had been paid for. "There is no reason why honest people should have to pay the consequences of the behaviour of delinquents,"

(This is "getting tough" with criminals in France? Taking away their drivers license? Not jail? -Roland)

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Americans Closely Divided Over Israel’s Gaza Attacks

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:45:42 -0500

Americans, while far more sympathetic to Israel than the Palestinians, are closely divided over whether the Jewish state should be taking military action against militants in the Gaza Strip...Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans back Israel’s decision to take military action against the Palestinians, but only half as many Democrats (31%) agree. A majority of Democrats (55%) say Israel should have tried to find a diplomatic solution first

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Don't Tell Media Attacks On Israel Increased Since Hamas Elected

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Cuban Dictator Sez Fifty Years of Socialist Rule Awesome...No Comment Permitted From the Ruled

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:23:10 -0500

Havana - As Cuba prepared to officially commemorate 50 years of socialism later Thursday, President Raul Castro declared that socialism had "not failed in any way."In a radio address, the younger brother of Fidel Castro, the father of the Cuban revolution who is too ill to appear in public at any celebrations, disputed remarks by the "enemy ... that socialism has been a failure."

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Greenhouse gases could have caused an ice age, claim scientists

Roland, the Gunslinger — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:45:20 -0500

Filling the atmosphere with Greenhouse gases associated with global warming could push the planet into a new ice age, scientists have warned. Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that 630 million years ago the earth had a warm atmosphere full of carbon dioxide but was completely covered with ice. The scientists studied limestone rocks and found evidence that large amounts of greenhouse gas coincided with a prolonged period of freezing temperatures

Hot? Anthropogenic carbon dioxide-induced global warming. Freezing? Oh, that's anthropogenic carbon dioxide-induced global warming, too.

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GOP Congressman Gives His Pay Raise to Charity

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:43:58 -0500

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett says he is donating his new congressional raise to an Anderson charity...Barrett says lawmakers should not be earning more during these poor economic times. He says he voted against the automatic pay raise and all increases should have to be voted on individually.

Barrett is beginning his fourth term in Congress.

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The Warm Turns: The Earth has been warming ever since the end of the Little Ice Age. But guess what: Researchers say mankind is to blame for that, too

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:21:15 -0500

When the sun is active, it's not uncommon to see sunspot numbers of 100 or more in a single month. Every 11 years, activity slows, and numbers briefly drop near zero. Normally sunspots return very quickly, as a new cycle begins. But this year, the start of a new cycle, the sun has been eerily quiet.

The first seven months averaged a sunspot count of only three and in August there were no sunspots at all — zero — something that has not occurred since 1913.

According to the publication Daily Tech, in the past 1,000 years, three previous such events — what are called the Dalton, Maunder and Sporer Minimums — have all led to rapid cooling. One was large enough to be called the Little Ice Age (1500-1750).

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Video: IDF takes out Hamas vehicle being loaded to transport missiles

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:11:26 -0500

Israeli Air Force Strikes Rockets in Transit 28 Dec. 2008

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What First Amendment: Connecticut lawmaker Frank Nicastro sees saving the local newspaper as his duty

Roland, the Gunslinger — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:57:59 -0500

Relying on government help (to financially support newspapers) raises ethical questions for the press, whose traditional role has been to operate free from government influence as it tries to hold politicians accountable to the people who elected them. Even some publishers desperate for help are wary of this route.

Providing government support can muddy that mission, said Paul Janensch, a journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and a former reporter and editor.

"You can't expect a watchdog to bite the hand that feeds it," he said.

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