Top Ten

[Warph]

With bad news seemingly everywhere, here is something to give hope to conservatives: the Top 10 Reasons Obama Won't Win Reelection.

1. Jobless rate too high: With the latest Labor Department report showing the unemployment rate at 9.1%, jobs will likely remain the No. 1 issue for voters. Well over 2 million jobs have been lost since Obama took office, and he wasted a trillion dollars on a stimulus bill that didn't stimulate. Unfortunately for the American people, his policies will keep the jobless rate high, right up to November 2012.

2. Economy in doldrums: It's not just jobs, but everything about the economy remains snake-bit. With housing slumping and the stock market tanking, all Americans are feeling the impact of the down economy. With the threat of a double-dip recession looming, don't expect a turnaround in time to help Obama's reelection.

3. ObamaCare looms: With health care costs continuing to rise, it is clear that ObamaCare wasn't the answer. As the implementation of the highly unpopular health care measure nears, more workers will be dumped from their employers' health care plans, taxes will rise and fewer doctors will be available—giving voters more reasons to dump its architect.

4. Out-of-control debt and credit downgrade: The debt-ceiling deal did little to fix the long-term debt problem, as the U.S. is still on tap to borrow $7 trillion over the next decade, adding to the $4 trillion Obama has already racked up since taking office. With the S&P downgrade, Obama goes down in history as the first President to lose America's AAA credit rating.

5. Depressed base: Progressives are having buyer's remorse and are trying to convince everyone that Obama is not even much of a liberal. The anti-war left certainly won't be out in force on Election Day. Nor will black turnout match 2008's historical number. More of the young will stay home. The excitement of electing the first black President has worn off and even his staunchest supporters are disappointed that Obama hasn't fulfilled their expectations.

6. Opposition energized: The Tea Party didn't even exist in 2008, and the 2010 midterm elections showed the country rejects the President's big-spending policies. No matter which Republican gains the party's nomination, expect an energized grassroots opposition to Obama's second term.

7. Changes in battleground states: The terrain that Obama faces in his reelection bid will be more difficult to navigate in 2012 than four years ago. He starts out by losing six Electoral College votes from states he carried in 2008 due to population changes registered by the 2010 Census. Then the 2010 midterm elections saw Republicans win governors' races previously held by Democrats in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan—all states Obama won in 2008.

8. Foreign policy mess: From the Libyan war to mixed signals given to Middle East protesters, from the Russian "reset" to China's economic belligerence, there is not much that Obama can tout as a foreign policy success. Now with deficit hawks setting their sights on the Pentagon, Obama is likely to preside over the dismantling of America's superpower status.

9. Media less a adoring: Obama will still have most of the media on his side for his reelection bid, but they certainly won't be getting thrills up their legs, admiring the crease in his pants, or writing how the seagulls were awed. Even Obamaphile Chris Mathhews has turned on the President, saying a recent Obama speech sounded like a Fox News commercial, a harsh epithet coming from the MSNBC host.

10. Aloof, inept: Now that America has seen the President up close for nearly three years, the magic that many believed in during his hope and change odyssey is clearly gone. His aloof personality and scolding partisanship will not endear him to the electorate this time. As his falling approval ratings attest, he increasingly looks pathetically inept and not up to the job he was elected to do.

[Warph]

With the debt-ceiling madhouse resolved (at least for the time being), it would be instructive to look back and see how the so-called "adults" in the Democratic Party and their media sycophants acted during the deliberations. Here are the Top 10 Unhinged Liberal Attacks during the debt talks:

1. Saving life on the planet: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi may have made her all-time silliest statement when she tried explaining what was at stake in the debt battle: "What we're trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We're trying to save life on this planet as we know it today."

2. Satan sandwich: Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D.-Mo.) took to Twitter to denounce the final deal: "This deal is a sugar-coated Satan sandwich. If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see."

3. End of democracy: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, the Left's chief cheerleader for massive deficits, had this to say: "What Republicans have just gotten away with calls our whole system of government into question. After all, how can American democracy work if whichever party is most prepared to be ruthless, to threaten the nation's economic security, gets to dictate policy? And the answer is, maybe it can't."

4. Eat your peas: President Obama, before storming off from the debt talks like a petulant child, pretended like he was the adult in the room by scolding the opposition: "It's not going to get easier, it's going to get harder. So we might as well do it now, pull off the Band-Aid, eat our peas."

5. Taliban Tea Party: Martin Frost, former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, compared the Tea Party to the Taliban: "We now have a group of U.S. politicians seeking political purity, who seem to have much in common with the Taliban. They are Tea Party members, and because of blind adherence to smaller government, they seem intent on destroying what American political leaders have constructed in more than two centuries of hard, often painful, work. Like the Taliban, they see compromise as an unacceptable alternative."

6. Extremists lock down Congress: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went wild after House Republicans passed the Boehner debt-ceiling bill: "No, no, no. We cannot be in this battle all the time. Right now the extremists have locked down this Congress. We're doing nothing. The extremists have locked down the White House. They're not able to do their work."

7. Dictatorship to spark panic and chaos: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, told Politico, "Aren't we at the point where the closer we get to chaos, the more concern that there should be about coming to the table and compromising with Democrats? This is not leadership. This is almost like dictatorship. I know they want to force the outcome that ... their extremists would like to impose. But they are getting ready to spark panic and chaos."

8. Absolutists hold economy hostage: Sen. John Kerry told MSNBC: "The Chinese are looking at us right now and they are just gleeful and incredulous at the way in which one of the great competitors is imploding on itself, because a group of absolutists and extremists don't understand the implication of what they are doing, and are prepared to hold the entire economy hostage, and it is unprecedented of anything I have seen in all of the time I have been in public life, and I think it is damaging and dangerous and reckless and irresponsible."

9. Full-blown terrorists: Representing academia on this list is American University law professor Williams Yeomans, a former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy, who made this reasoned discourse, writing in Politico: "It has become commonplace to call the Tea Party faction in the House 'hostage takers.' But they have now become full-blown terrorists. They have joined the villains of American history who have been sufficiently craven to inflict massive harm on innocent victims to achieve their political goals."

10. Sabotage, gargoyles, adamantine nihilists: Few can match the pen of New York Times writer Maureen Dowd, but her screed against the Tea Party set a new high for rhetorical excess: "The maniacal Tea Party freshmen are trying to burn down the House they were elected to serve in. It turns out they wanted to come inside to get a blueprint of the historic building to sabotage it. Like gargoyles on the Capitol, the adamantine nihilists are determined to blow up the country's prestige, their party and even their own reelection chances if that's what it takes."

[Warph]

Obuma pledged he would start a clean-energy revolution that would create 5 million green jobs over 10 years.  Of course, when the government tries to intrude in the marketplace, bad things happen.  Such as these: the Top 10 Green Job Fiascoes.

1. Solar debacle: Solyndra Inc., which manufactured solar panels at its plant in Fremont, Calif., received $535 million in Energy Department loans, and President Obama talked glowingly about how the company was "leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future." Instead of creating work for Americans after receiving taxpayer money, the company shipped half its manufacturing jobs to China. In August, Solyndra declared bankruptcy and laid off 1,100 workers.

2. Government Motors: The bailout that General Motors received from the government came with a price: The carmaker was tasked to create the ultimate green vehicle. The result—the Chevy Volt​—is a product with an exorbitant price tag that nobody wants to buy. Despite vast government subsidies, GM only sold 3,200 cars in the first eight months since the electric plug-in vehicles hit the marketplace.

Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents gave you $20 to buy them a Christmas present?  You bought them something worth $3 and pocketed the rest?  That's what GM has just done.

So how the Hell Did GM Pay Back Its Loans in Full And Ahead of Schedule?  

Well, It Didn't:

3. Spanish windmills: Spain's quixotic quest to create a green-jobs economy should have been a lesson for the United States. After Spain went crazy subsidizing windmills and solar farms, the result was higher utility bills for consumers, with a loss of 2.2 jobs in other industries for every green job created. And each green job came at a cost of $774,000 to Spanish taxpayers.

4. Solar debacle II: Evergreen Solar Inc., of Massachusetts, which received $58 million in stimulus money and other government largesse, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August and closed its plant in Midland, Mich. Not being able to compete against the Chinese and their low-wage workers, the company racked up $485 million in debt and cut 800 jobs, with more cuts to come as the company restructures.

5. Weatherizing stupidity: The city of Seattle received $20 million in federal stimulus money to help homeowners make their houses more energy-efficient. Some 16 months later, 14 jobs were created and three homes were weatherized. Most of the money went to a company to train workers to weatherize buildings, but the lack of demand for the service meant those trainees had no work to do.

6. Green (union) jobs: After Obama's stimulus package doled out billions to subsidize the weatherization of homes, the Labor Department delayed the project by seven months while it determined the prevailing-wage standards for those green jobs—a sop to the President's union supporters. That is just one reason why the program turned into a miserable failure. In its first year, the program spent $508 million to create 600 jobs and update 9,000 homes nationwide.

7. Green-car fiasco: Green Vehicles received $500,000 from the city of Salinas, Calif., and another $187,000 from the state of California as it promised to create 70 new jobs making an innovative three-wheel electric car with a $25,000 price tag. Little wonder that company folded without making a single car.

8. Biofuel bust: Before Republicans took back the statehouse in Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell helped support the ethanol producer Bionol Clearfield with $27 million in grants and loans, and by issuing $67 million in tax-free bonds. But even a deal with Getty Oil to buy the fuel couldn't save the venture from going belly-up two years after its founding.

9. Do-nothing government: Johnson Controls​, which manufactures batteries for electric and hybrid cars at its plant in Holland, Mich., received $300 million in taxpayer help and created a grand total of 150 jobs—or $2 million per job. That must qualify as a huge success in the green-job world, as President Obama visited the facility in August, using the trip to attack Republicans and a "do-nothing government." Yes, Mr. President, sometimes doing nothing is preferable to shoveling money into a hole.

10. Almost two jobs created in Vegas: Clark County, Nev., which happens to be the home of the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, received $490,000 in stimulus money from the U.S. Forest Service to plant trees in urban neighborhoods (more palm trees on The Strip?). The stimulus that resulted from the grant to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's home state created 1.7 jobs (one full-time employee and one part time) and 11 temporary jobs. You get a better return for your money at the slot machines.

[Warph]

 

With President Obuma's approval ratings in free fall and 2012 election prospects looking bleak for Democrats, liberals are resorting to vicious attacks, name-calling and hyperbole to paint Republicans in a bad light. 

Here are the Top 10 Examples of Liberal Incivility:

1. Obama's army: Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa unleashed this tirade on Labor Day in Detroit as he rallied the union audience before President Obama addressed the crowd: "President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Everybody here's got to vote. Let's take these sons of bitches out."

2. Hanging on a tree: Rep. Andre Carson (D.-Ind.) suggested that some conservative congressmen want to return to the days of lynching. At a Congressional Black Caucus event Miami in August, Carson delivered this gem of civility: "This is the effort that we are seeing of Jim Crow. Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now with this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree."

3. Biden's barbarians: Vice President Joe Biden​ used an AFL-CIO rally in Cincinnati on Labor Day to mock the political opposition in vile terms. Biden told the union members: "You are the only folks keeping barbarians from the gates."

4. Save the children: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, at a San Francisco fund-raiser, said Republicans were sacrificing their children in their attempt to destroy government: "The Republicans​ right now are using the idea of deficit reduction as an excuse, they're hijacking an idea that has some resonance—we all want to reduce the deficit—in order to not reduce the deficit but to destroy the public space, destroy government. ... You wonder, do their children breathe air? Do they drink water?"

5. Straight to hell: California Rep. Maxine Waters (D.-South Central) revved up her constituents last month, blasting the Tea Party and talking tough. Waters told the crowd: "I am not afraid of anybody. This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell."

6. Global-warming racism: Al Gore​, high priest of the global-warming cult, likened those who question his doctrine to racists: "There came a time when friends or people you work with ... when racist comments would come up in the conversation and in years past they were just natural. Then there came a time when people would say, 'Hey, man, why do you talk that way? I mean that is wrong. I don't go for that, so don't talk that way around me. I just don't believe that.' That happened in millions of conversations and slowly the conversation was won. We have to win the conversation on climate."

7. Stockholm syndrome: Political genius and hack comedienne Janeane Garofalo​ came up with a doozy of a conspiracy theory, positing that the Koch brothers or Karl Rove​ or Grover Norquist​ were paying Herman Cain​ to run for President in order to deflect charges of racism against Republicans. Taking off her tinfoil hat to appear on Al Gore's Current TV, Garofalo said: "Herman Cain, I feel like, is being paid by somebody to be involved and to run for President so that you go, 'Oh, they can't be racist' ... There may be a touch of Stockholm syndrome, because anytime I see a person of color or a female in the Republican Party or the conservative movement or the Tea Party, I wonder how they could be trying to curry favor with the oppressors."

8. To the streets: Keith Olbermann​, the former MSNBC host now working for Al Gore's Current TV, was infuriated by the debt-ceiling deal and called on his viewers to share his anger (luckily for America he has few viewers): Those responsible for the debt-ceiling deal, Olbermann said, "will crush us, because those who created it are organized and unified and hell-bent. And the only response is to be organized and unified and hell-bent in return." Opponents of the deal "must find again the energy and the purpose of the 1960s and early 1970s, and we must protest this deal and all the goddamn deals to come, in the streets."

9. Obama's silence: After his call for civility following the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, President Obama's failure to condemn Hoffa's remark gives tacit approval for more shameful attacks. After sharing the same podium with Hoffa at the Labor Day rally where the labor leader declared war, the President has refused to condemn the remarks, with a presidential spokesman saying the President isn't going to "serve as the speech police of the Democratic Party."

10. Kill GOP zombies: As Democratic bile worsens, abated by President Obama's blinders, it was only time before the culture became infected with violent anti-conservative imagery. The video-game company StarvingEyes has released a new game called "Tea Party Zombies Must Die," where impressionable young minds can score points by killing zombies in the likeness of Sarah Palin​, Michele Bachmann​, Newt Gingrich​ and Fox News​ hosts.

[Warph]

We rarely agree with Rep. Maxine Waters (D.-Calif.), the loud-mouth, left-wing congresswoman from South Central Los Angeles, home of the 1992 Rodney King riots. But recently she said, "We're supportive of the President, but we're getting tired. We're getting tired. The unemployment is unconscionable." Yes, Maxine, we are also getting tired of the President. And we are getting tired of you as well, and here's why:

The Top 10 Outrageous Maxine Waters Quotes.

1. Tea Party hell: In remarks earlier this month in Inglewood, Calif., Waters went after the Tea Party, telling a group of her constituents (many wearing purple SEIU T-shirts): "I am not afraid of anybody. This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell."

2. Walk the plank: During her August 2011, "We're getting tired" tirade, Waters also went after the opposition in the debt-ceiling debate: "We were basically held up in raising the debt ceiling until they got all of those budget cuts they demanded. We didn't raise any revenue, and they didn't close any tax loopholes. I believe the Democratic Party and the President of the United States should not have backed down. We should have made them walk the plank."

3. Socializing oil companies: Back in 2008, Waters was lecturing oil company executives at a congressional hearing when she plainly stated her true intentions: "Guess what this liberal would be all about? This liberal would be about socializing ... uh, umm. ... Would be about, basically, taking over, and the government running all of your companies."

4. Outrageous flag-waving: After the health care bill was signed in April 2010, Waters denounced flag-waving at a Tea Party rally. "I was amazed. I really was. I didn't say anything to anybody. I just watched—the Republicans were out there—they were having a great time. They were laughing, they were waving the American flag, they were egging them on, and I thought that was outrageous behavior. I really did."

5. No crisis at Fannie Mae: As a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, Waters played a key role in allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's reckless actions that led to the housing meltdown. Here is Waters, at a 2004 congressional hearing, (and yes, that is the same "Frank" Raines that vastly overstated Fannie Mae's earnings in order to receive $90 million in bonuses). "We do not have a crisis at Freddie Mac, and particularly Fannie Mae, under the outstanding leadership of Frank Raines."

6. Right to anger: Way back in 1989, Waters was quoted saying how angry she was, and she has been angry ever since. Here are those 1989 remarks: "I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry."

7. White power: Racial politics are always front and center for Waters, as evidenced by this quotation from a 1993 interview with the Los Angeles Times: "Policy, for the most part, has been made by white people in America, not by people of color. And they have tended to take care of those things that they think are important. Whether it's their agricultural subsidies, or other kinds of expenditures that are certainly not expenditures for poor people or for people of color. And so we have to band together and keep fighting back."

8. Rodney King rebellion: During the "Why can't we all just get along" riots in her congressional district, Waters excused the wonton violence, as her constituents were intent on burning down the city. The Los Angeles Times quoted her saying: "If you call it a riot, it sounds like it was just a bunch of crazy people who went out and did bad things for no reason. I maintain it was somewhat understandable, if not acceptable. So I call it a rebellion."

9. Schedule a meeting: With the financial crisis looming, Waters was mostly worried about a bank that her husband had a financial stake in. Here, she admits that she contacted the Treasury Department on behalf of OneUnited Bank officials, actions which prompted a congressional ethics probe: "I followed up on the association's request by asking Treasury Secretary Paulson to schedule such a meeting."

10. Liar, thief: For those liberals who decry harsh conservative attacks on President Obama, let's hearken back to 2005 and listen to Waters' comments on President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney​: "The President is a liar. Dick Cheney, the chief architect of the Big Lie, is not only a liar, he is a thief."[/font]

[Warph]

President Obama is becoming a veritable Pinocchio by stretching the truth on a regular basis.

Here are the Top 10 Obama Lies:




1. Americans want higher taxes: During the debate over raising the debt ceiling, President Obama said that 80% of Americans support including higher taxes as part of the deal. But a Rasmussen poll taken the same week showed that only 34% believe a tax hike should be included in a debt-ceiling agreement.

2. Mother denied health insurance: During his presidential campaign, Obama said that his mother died of cancer after being denied coverage for a preexisting condition. He used her image in a campaign ad, repeated the claim in debates, and used the same rhetoric as President when he tried to sell ObamaCare to the American people. But a new book by New York Times reporter Janny Scott says that Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, had health insurance through her employer and was only denied disability insurance.

3. Tax restraint for middle and lower class: Obama pledged during his campaign and throughout his presidency not to raise taxes on families making less than $250,000. But ObamaCare's individual mandate will hit many under the $250,000 mark.(Obama's own Justice Department said the mandate was a tax, not a penalty, when it argued its constitutionality.) Not to mention a higher federal cigarette tax and countless other "fees" in the health care law that hit the middle and lower class.

4. Shovel-ready jobs: When Obama was selling his $787 billion stimulus package, he consistently bragged about how shovel-ready construction jobs would be funded across the nation. Even the President later admitted that was a lie, when he told the New York Times: "There's no such thing as shovel-ready projects."

5. Keep your doctor: President Obama repeatedly pledged that under his health care measure, Americans would be able to keep their doctors. However, with rising costs, many employers will dump their health care plans and force workers into the state health care exchanges (unless you belong to one of the unions getting ObamaCare waivers.) A survey by McKinsey & Company found that more than 30% of companies will discontinue coverage for their workers.

6. No lobbyists: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama said: "We have the chance to tell all those corporate lobbyists that the days of them setting the agenda in Washington are over. ... I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am President, they won't find a job in my White House." At least a dozen former lobbyists got top jobs in his administration at the beginning of his presidency, according to Politico, and National Public Radio reported the Obama administration was granting waivers to lobbyists to circumvent the ban.

7. Foreign money in campaigns: During his 2010 State of the Union address, and again during the 2010 midterm elections, Obama railed against foreign money influencing U.S. elections. The only problem was that there was no evidence to support the charge or, as Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, in the State of the Union audience, silently mouthed, "Not true."

8. Arizona immigration law: During the battle over Arizona's immigration law, President Obama said: "Now suddenly if you don't have your papers and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you can be harassed, that's something that could potentially happen." Uh, actually, Mr. President, it couldn't. The law would allow law enforcement officials to inquire about immigration status only when there is suspicion of a crime being committed.

9. Transparency: Obama pledged that transparency would be a top priority, but his administration refused to grant one-third of the Freedom of Information Act requests, according to an Associated Press analysis. He also was dishonest about transparency when he said that health-care negotiations would be televised on C-SPAN and that he would wait five days to sign a bill so people would have a chance to read it online.

10. Constitutional oath: During his January 2009 inauguration, Barack Obama pledged to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," yet he has consistently ignored the 10th Amendment giving powers not enumerated in the Constitution to the states. Exhibit No. 1: ObamaCare.

[Warph]

Government in the United States, both federal and local, has enacted laws and regulations that drag down the economy and restrict individual liberty. Some regulations are so broad that they govern entire segments of the economy, while others tell us what we can and cannot do in our own homes. As President Reagan once said, "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem."



Here are the Top 10 Most Egregious Government Regulations:

1. ObamaCare overkill: If you think the 2,000-plus-page ObamaCare law is a travesty, wait until you see the regulations it spawned. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is beginning to release regulations based on the health care legislation passed last year. One section on Medicare took up six pages in the original law, yet HHS turned that into 429 pages of new regulations. At that rate, there will be more than a hundred thousand pages of regulations in place for doctors to consider before seeing a patient.

2. EPA's carbon dioxide fixation: Talk about job-killing regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to regulate carbon dioxide emissions in order to combat "climate change" will raise the cost of energy. Forget about creating jobs. The EPA's regulations will add a new burden on business, increase the cost of material for the construction industry, and hit consumer in the pocketbook, dampening the outlook for economic growth.

3. Lightbulb ban: Unless Congress overturns a 2007 law, the incandescent lightbulb will be phased out in 2012, and fluorescent bulbs will be the only choice for consumers. Instead of being able to buy a 39-cent bulb, Americans will be forced to pay $6 for the energy-efficient alternative, with its harsh bright light. Do we really need Washington nanny-state legislators to decide what is "best" for us, right down to how we light our own homes?

4. TSA abuse: Whoever is writing the regulations for the Transportation Security Administration needs to lighten up. TSA officials think they are making the skies safe by patting down infants and grandmothers in wheelchairs, while giving travelers the option of being subjected to harmful radiation or on the receiving end of sexual abuse. There are plenty of other ways to ensure safety, like profiling young to middle-age male travelers from the Middle East.

5. Union favors: As payback to his Big Labor support, President Obama signed an executive order in February 2009 that tells federal agencies to require "Project Labor Agreements" on federal construction projects, meaning higher labor costs as contractors are forced to use union workers. Now the National Labor Relations Board is seeking to prevent Boeing from building a plant in South Carolina because it is a right-to-work state. By "protecting" workers, fewer jobs are created. Is that what we want?

6. Food crackdown: Federal regulators are tightening regulations on food manufacturers in order to combat childhood obesity. But as usual, the regulators are going overboard, cracking down on breakfast cereal, Girl Scout cookies, and all kinds of snack foods, including nuts, bagels and fruit juice. According to HUMAN EVENTS' Audrey Hudson, the food industry says the government is imposing "multibillions of dollars" of changes, with no evidence it will do anything to help kids stay healthy.

7. Outside smoking ban: The city of New York has made it illegal to smoke in all parks, on beaches, and in pedestrian plazas. This includes, you're hearing right, a smoke-free Times Square. That will be 1,700 parks and 14 miles of public beaches that city officials will have to monitor in case someone lights up. Don't New York's Finest have anything better to do?

8. Trash violations: Beware of what you put in the trash, at least in New York City. The city's Sanitation Department is enforcing a rule that says trash from households or businesses cannot be thrown in receptacles on the street meant for pedestrians. But do the workers really need to ticket elderly residents and fine them $100 for throwing their used newspapers into the trash cans?

9. Illegal garden: Julie Bass decided to grow some vegetables in her front yard because the price of organic food was on the rise. Now, she has been hit with a misdemeanor charge and is facing three months in jail, because Oak Park, Mich., says her garden violated the city code, which requires that front yards consist of "suitable, live, plant material." The city says vegetables aren't "suitable" for a front yard and are going to court to prove their point. Now that's a great use of taxpayer resources.

10. Multicultural doll mandate: The Colorado Department of Human Services is proposing new rules to require all day care centers in the state to have dolls available that represent the three different races. The guideline is part of a 98-page document that sets new rules for child care that include what kids can drink, how long they can watch TV, and mandates for field trips and sunscreen use. One wonders how the state, which has been working on the measure since 2006, will go about enforcing the law.[/font]

[Warph]

California has often been called a trendsetter for the rest of the nation, and if having a government that's going broke is the new reality, then the Golden State is leading once again. Nowhere else better symbolizes the West Coast view that government knows best than the City by the Bay, lovely San Francisco.



Just hope that these Top 10 Examples of San Francisco Silliness aren't a new trend:


1. Low-flow toilet stink: In the name of water conservation, San Francisco made a big push for citywide use of low-flow toilets. The only problem is that, without that extra push of water, sludge is clogging the sewer lines, causing an unpleasant odor. The city has had to spend $100 million to modernize its pipes and is spending another $14 million for 25 million pounds of bleach to combat the rotten-egg smell near the city's otherwise pristine baseball stadium, AT&T Park, home of the world champion San Francisco Giants.

2. Homeless coddling leads to sitting ban: After it offered generous benefits and an elaborate support system to care for its transient population, San Francisco shouldn't have been surprised when problems with the homeless arose—like the smell of urine permeating the Tenderloin. Voters took care of having to walk around drunken hobos by passing a measure banning sitting or lying on city sidewalks. SFPD officers are reportedly enforcing the law, which can result in $500 fines and jail time for repeat offenses.

3. Sanctuary city violence: San Francisco is a sanctuary city, where illegal immigrants can find safe haven. Since 1989, city police officers have been forbidden from inquiring into an offender's immigration status. As a result, the city has been plagued by violence committed by illegal immigrants who should have been deported for earlier, less serious offenses. Most notable was the 2008 murder of Tony Bologna and his two sons by Edwin Ramos, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who had previous run-ins with police. Ramos gunned down the family members as they were leaving a picnic because they had blocked his car in traffic.

4. Happy Meal ban: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors last year voted to ban the sale of McDonald's Happy Meals in the city, passing a measure ordering that meals meet certain nutritional guidelines in order to include a toy with the purchase. The meals also must include a serving of vegetables or fruit to warrant a toy giveaway. Now that will be a real driver of traffic to the kids' menu—Brussels sprouts with a cheeseburger.

5. Pension crisis worsens: San Francisco's municipal pension system has an unfunded liability of some $4.4 billion, or $35,000 for every household in the city. Oh, and there is also $4.36 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs. Despite the massive red ink in city obligations, San Francisco last year gave city retirees a $170 million cost-of-living bonus on top on their regular COLA.

6. Bio-Fuel buses cause stink: San Francisco has transformed its 1,500- vehicle city fleet to run on biofuels as a way to combat global warming. Oops, make that climate change. To help power the vehicles, the city's SFGreasecycle program is collecting cooking oils from San Francisco restaurants. The result: Besides clogging the air filters of the diesel-converted buses, city streets often smell like French fries or fried chicken.

7. Mandatory composting: Throw away coffee grounds or a banana peel in the garbage and the City of San Francisco can fine you. When enacting the toughest recycling rules in the nation, city leaders included a mandatory composting law. Trash must be separated into three separate, color-coded bins, one of which is for compost. Fines of $100 for residences and $500 for businesses will be levied only in "egregious case," the city assures.

8. Circumcision ban: San Francisco voters this November will have to decide whether to ban circumcision of male children in the city. Backers of the measure gathered 7,700 signatures to get it on the ballot, saying that the practice is a form of genital mutilation. Opponents say the initiative, which would make circumcision of a minor punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in jail, is a violation of religious and parental freedom.

9. Cell phone radiation disclosure: The city enacted a law requiring cell phone stores to post the amount of radiation that each of its models emits. The wireless industry filed suit, saying the law misleads consumers, because there is no credible science to back the fears that cell phone radiation causes health problems. The law would require that store owners post how much energy a cell phone user would absorb into his head. Perhaps a Tinfoil Hat Law is next.

10. Animal companion sales ban: San Francisco's Animal Control & Welfare Commission last year held multiple meetings on a proposal to ban the sale of pets, oops, make that animal companions, the preferred politically correct term. After nationwide ridicule in the media, the panel tabled the proposal for future consideration. The measure was pushed to lessen the number of abandoned animals and was cheered by animal-rights activists who believe "owning" a dog is a form of species-ism.

[Warph]

Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) has announced that he will not run for reelection, giving conservatives an early Christmas present.  Let's look back on his more than 30 years in office and give thanks that the liberal lawmaker will soon be returning home. 

Here are the Top 10 Barney Frank Offenses:

1.  Fannie and Freddie:  As ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank blocked tightened oversight over Fannie Mae​ and Freddie Mac, saying in 2003, "These two entities ... are not facing any kind of financial crisis," and, "I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing."  More than any other factor, the 2008 financial meltdown was caused by pushing these government-sponsored enterprises to encourage housing loans to risky borrowers.  Thanks a lot, Barney.

2.  Liberal voting record:  Frank never met a liberal cause that he didn't embrace, including backing partial-birth abortions and gay marriage.  Liberal groups such as the ACLU, NAACP and others routinely give him the highest marks for his voting record.  Americans for Democratic Action named Frank one of their "heroes" for his perfect left-wing tally of votes.

3.  Live-in prostitute:  In 1989, the Washington Times reported that Frank allowed his lover at the time, male prostitute Steve Gobie, to live in the basement of his Capitol Hill​ townhouse, where the hooker turned tricks while the openly gay congressman was at work.  The sordid living arrangement led to an official reprimand of Frank by the House of Representatives for using his congressional office to fix parking tickets racked up by the prostitute.

4.  Dodd-Frank:  This misguided attempt to reform the financial sector has added to the problem with its burdensome regulations.  The only benefit from the bill will be the jobs created in the legal and accounting fields needed to comply with its onerous provisions.

5.  Campaign donations:  Frank's interest in allowing free rein at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was not necessarily due to his altruistic motivations for helping poor people buy houses.  He also received more than $40,000 in campaign donations over the years from its top officials.  Other top donors to Frank's campaigns included Fidelity Investments​, J.P. Morgan and the Bank of America​—all institutions that stood to benefit from his position on the House Financial Services Committee.

6.  Lover at Fannie Mae:  Frank's longtime lover Herb Moses worked as a top official responsible for relaxing mortgage standards at Fannie Mae, an enterprise that was subject to oversight authority by the House Financial Services Committee upon which Frank served.  Conflict of interest, anyone?

7.  TARP favor:  Frank inserted a provision in federal bailout legislation that granted $12 million to OneUnited Bank.  Yes, that is the same bank that embroiled Rep. Maxine Waters, Frank's colleague on the House Financial Services Committee, in an ongoing House ethics committee probe for seeking special treatment for the bank where her husband has financial ties.

8.  Airplane freebie:  Liberals love to hurl ethics charges against their conservative opposition, but said little when Frank was caught taking a free trip to the Virgin Islands on the private jet of a billionaire, G. Donald Sussman, head of Paloma Securities, which received $200 million of federal bailout funds.  Imagine the howls if any conservative had done the same.

9.  Rude and insulting:  It is not just that Frank voted as a true-blue liberal that is galling, but also how he expressed his opinions.  Normally described as witty or acerbic by his fans in the mainstream media, Frank was often rude and insulting when pushing his agenda—witness his attack on Bill O'Reilly, telling the Fox host during an interview, "Your stupidity gets in the way of rational discussion."

10.  Disheveled:  Far from upholding the gay stereotype of being meticulously dressed, Frank always looked like he'd slept in his suit.  And considering that his net worth is several million dollars, is there a reason why he can't afford to buy a comb?

[Warph]

Say goodbye and good riddance to 2011.... another tough year for America.  Before we move on to 2012, let us pause to reflect upon the year gone by.

Here then, are the Top 10 Lowlights of 2011:


1. Obama's class warfare: Obama began his re-election bid by attacking bankers, insurance companies, Big Oil, and pharmaceuticals.... while raking in campaign cash from the very same.  This sophomoric and cynical appeal to inflame class warfare in order to win votes ignores the root of America's woes: big government, out-of-control spending and massive debt.

2. Occupy Wall Street: This so-called movement of the 99% that arose in 2011, soon disintegrated into local bands of ruffians, homeless squatters, progressive activists, and aimless youngsters. By blocking workers from earning a living, these so-called "social justice" advocates hurt the very people they claim to represent. Not to mention the public health hazard caused by their filth. Go occupy your parents' basement for awhile and give us a break.

3. Pipeline politics: For a President who assures the nation that he is all about job creation, Obama's delay of the Keystone XL pipeline is the height of hypocrisy.  Choosing political support from environmentalists over tens of thousands of good paying jobs is an insult to unemployed workers.

4. Fast and Furious: Letting guns "walk" into the hands of Mexican drug lords was not a good idea in the first place, but the way that Atty. Gen. Eric Holder​'s Justice Department is covering up "who-knew-what when" is equally criminal.  With pitbull Rep. Darrell Issa on the investigative trail, new revelations will likely keep this one on next year's lowlight list.

5. Solyndra goes belly-up: Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent trying to create "green jobs" and finding alternative sources of energy.  As the bankruptcy of Solyndra proved, those ventures can't compete in the marketplace even when heavily subsidized.  To get real energy jobs, it's time to allow the real development of U.S. energy resources, opening up coastal oil drilling and tapping the vast deposits of natural gas and shale oil in the heartland.

6. Wisconsin union war: Faced with a rollback of their lucrative taxpayer-funded benefits and pension plans, public employees in Wisconsin protested the cuts, with teachers leaving their classrooms, Democratic legislators fleeing the state and unions flooding the state capital building with boisterous members.  How about funding your own 401 (k) like the rest of us?

7. Weiner's Tweets: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D.-N.Y.) broke new ground in political sleaze, bringing congressional indiscretion into the world of Twitter.  Horrified Americans were forced to see a new bulging crotch shot every time they turned on the news, until the humiliation drove Weiner from office.  Good luck with your job search, Tony.

8. Media attack on GOP: No matter which Republican running for President rose in the polls, the media was ready to pounce.   Bachmann was portrayed as a flake; Perry, a dunce; Cain, a molester; Gingrich, as zany.  Interestingly, many of the same reporters now on the attack are the same ones that forgot to vet a certain Democratic candidate in 2008.

9. Do-nothing Senate: The Democratic-led Senate is setting new records for not getting things done.  It's been years since the chamber passed a budget and unless a spending bill has money for a Cowboy Poetry Festival it is unlikely to pass muster with Majority Leader Harry Reid. We say it's time for the Senate to get to work and a good place to start would be the pile of bills already passed by the House of Representatives.

10. Hollywood shenanigans: We had to save a place for Hollywood on the list.  After all, 2011 saw Charlie Sheen go insane, Lindsay Lohan pose for Playboy between court appearances, Kim Kardashian's nano-second marriage, and Alec Baldwin get tossed from a plane for boorish behavior..... and worsed of all, Shawn Penn joining forces with Chavez and denouncing America's capitalistic system.... the same Country that made him a multi-millionaire.

Need we go on?