Courtesy of Time:

…what we need is an ex post facto international regime with real teeth:
You test a bomb, and you face certain and total economic embargo, one
that will make the pre-emptive sanctions we have in place now seem like
a day at the polo club. Right now China should be closing its border
with North Korea, cutting off everything except food. It is only when
the lights go off in Pyongyang that the North Koreans will seriously consider giving up the bomb.

I would go a little farther than Mr. Baer.

The US should announce a policy of overwhelming retaliation in case of Nuclear Attack against ANY of our allies; to include the bombing of all medium and large cities (say, over 50,000 population) and all military facilities.

Courtesy of Pravda:

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

USA Today has a wonderful (and interactive graphic) piece today, which presents some truly horrifying numbers about the Average Liabilities Per Household in the USA Today!

Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover
rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement
benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY
analysis shows.

The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per
household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That’s
quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car
loans, credit cards and other debt combined.

Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in
2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.

So, again, using the numbers USA Today has, the average US household owes $121,953 in personal debt (mortgages, cars, credit cards, etc), and their share of the federal debt is $546,668.

One - Courtesy of Doug Ross:

Red State, American Thinker and Joey Smith provide anecdotal and
quantitative evidence that would appear to confirm a decided bias
against dealers who donated to GOP causes or to anti-Obama Democrats.

Consider the partial list of Chrysler dealership owners, listed below.
You’ll notice that all were opponents of Barack Obama, most through
sponsorship of GOP candidates and organizations, but a handful through
Barack’s Democrat rivals (Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in 2008, for
example).

• Vernon G. Buchanan: $147,450 to GOP candidates and organizations
• Wallace D. Alley and Family: $4,500 to GOP.
• Robert Archer: $4,600 to GOP and conservative causes.
• Homer S. Higginbotham and Family: $2950 to GOP.
• James Auffenberg and Family: $28,000 to GOP; $6,000 to one Democrat candidate.
• Michael Maroone and Family: $60,000 to GOP; $8,500 to two Democrat candidates.
• Jerome Fader: $6,500 to Democrats; $2,500 to Independent Joe Lieberman.
• Stephen Fay and Family: $13,500 to GOP.
• William Numrich: $20,000 to GOP.
• Robert Carver: $10,000 to Democrats including $1,950 to Hillary Clinton, nothing to Barack Obama.

Victor Davis Hanson courtesy of Pajamas Media:

Cracks in the Facade

Fissures in the Obama Totem

Oh, I know that President Obama’s approval ratings are still around
62%. But I also remember that George Bush’s at the end of 2001 got even
higher — and stayed at or above 60% through most of 2002, explaining
why he increased his congressional majority in the midterm elections.

Nevertheless, I think we are beginning — after less than four months
— to see fissures in Obama’s Pentelic statuary. And the cracks will
widen, because in about six areas he has taken on human nature itself,
age-old logic, and common sense-opponents that even a Harvard Law
degree and Chicago organizing are no match for.

Click on the link, and read the whole thing!

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a registered Republican.  When I turned 18, in the great state of Alaska, I registered as a Libertarian.  While I had some quibbles over a couple of planks in the Libertarian platform, over all, it was the best fit for my beliefs.

In the fullness of time, and several relocation’s, I became an Independant (or Non-Partisan, depending on the options), because my political leanings had shifted somewhat, and I no longer felt that I could fully support the Libertarian party, and their predilication to self destruction - but the Republicans didn’t impress me as having the strength of their convictions.

When Washington went to a closed primary, and since I typically support Republican candidates, simply as the lesser of evils, I felt it was prudent to register as a Republican, so I could participate in the primary process.

Courtesy of Reuters:

Outnumbered U.S. troops defend Afghan frontier

U.S. commanders are rushing thousands of reinforcements to the south of Afghanistan to take on the Taliban in what Washington considers a make-or-break year for a war it now views as its main security priority.

Here in the east of the country, the official line from top commanders is that they now have all the troops they need.

But down on the ground, in the high mountain passes on the east bank of the Kunar river which guerrillas have been using to smuggle fighters and weapons in from Pakistan for decades, the soldiers of 6/4 squadron tell a different story.

The fighting is hard and constant, and they do not have enough men to stop the Taliban infiltrating across the border.

Just a software update, but I will also be adding Twitter integration. Stay tuned.