Missing: 1000 Indictments

So says Janet Tavokoli:



That equates to one indictment for every $1.6 million dollars stolen from MF Global customer accounts.

Our other MF Global posts:

November 1st: MF Global
November 4th: When the Middle Class Gives Up
November 17th: Ann Retires
December 7th: Today's News
December 24th: War with Great Britain.  Again?
December 27th: The Economy - 2012 Predictions

U/T: Karl at Market-Ticker

Tuesday Afternoon Cigar

A Rocky Patel Edge smoldered in the warm February afternoon as we started our latest book, Michael E. Newton's Angry Mobs and Founding Fathers: The Fight for Control of the American Revolution.

Back to Work!

We're back from the brink, America!



FB Friend, Jack, gets a Ushanka Tip for catching this video!

Chechens

In the past week we've seen a great movie and read a great book.

Both show Chechens as the in-human monsters of our time.

Act of Valor is clearly not of Hollywood.  The bad guys aren't some fringe secret Nazi group bent on world domination.  They are Chechen muzzie scum dedicated to one thing - evil.

Act of Valor was great on multiple levels - the personal sacrifice with family and friends.  The professional sacrifice for brothers in arms.  The noble sacrifice for our great country.

The action is fun too.

We'll leave it at that to avoid any spoilers.  It ranks up there with Black Hawk Down.  If you've served, go see it to remind yourself of the quality of our service members.  If you haven't served, go see what others do on your behalf.



Terror at Beslan is a book written by John Giduck.  We had the honor in 2011 to see Mr. Giduck speak in Cincinnati and review the Beslan terror siege, and the lessons learned.

Mr. Giduck offers a new perspective (for us) on the Chechen problem in Russia.  While we see evil with Putin and his ilk, and see Putin's hand in multiple journalist murders and generally believe the stories of Russian atrocities in Chechnya, this book has opened our eyes to the Chechen terror.

Reading this book, then going to Act of Valor, was an unplanned epiphany for us.  We encourage our like-minded comrades to take-in both as well.

Our Crazy Uncle

Blogger at Your Crazy Uncle is headed into surgery tomorrow.

Our thoughts and prayers are with him and we look forward to some good news later in the week.

He only lives a couple hours from us, yet we haven't met yet.  Hopefully in the next week or so.

We did a Google Image Search on "Crazy Uncle" and are guessing he is one of the following:

Please share your best wishes at his blog, Your Crazy Uncle, or his temporary site where he is reporting his progress, Not What I Wanted to Hear, Doc.

BofA Goes Galt?

The Feel Good Story of the day!

WSJ: BofA Ends Sales of Certain Mortgages to Fannie
Market-Ticker: Bank of (sc)America Plays Symbolism

Bank of America is decreasing the number of loans it is selling to Fannie Mae in protest.  This is huge.

Having worked in the mortgage business, we can tell you these absolute facts:

1) People were never coerced into any loans,
2) The Sub-Prime disaster was caused by Democrats and their policies,
3) The GSA system is corrupt,
4) Any loan deemed "toxic" was at one time guaranteed by our government,
5) Today's mortgage 'issues' are not real, but are efforts by liberals to dictate to and control our banks.

Countrywide slipped from a $45b valuation in April 2007 to a $4b BofA buyout in January 2008 because the company's policy was to process loans that were guaranteed (encouraged) by the US government.  They did this with zero critical thought.  If it was a loan that Fannie would buy, Countrywide would offer it to home buyers.

There was never any thought to saying "no" to the government back then.  It appears that has changed.

The government has penalized BofA $1.3b for non-fraudulent fraudulent loans.  This is just a new tax on banks.

There are other buyers of loans.  We hope BofA continues to avoid the government's attempts at pseudo-nationalization.

The WSJ Santorum Smear

Not to be outdone by Drudge, which is now the unofficial Romney campaign website, the editorial board at the WSJ today unleashes on Santorum.

First, Kim Strassel, explains that the MSM has painted Santorum as a politician that will enforce his social-conservative values on the American public.  Or, become our "Moralizer in Chief".  Then she falls for the MSM trap herself and takes his comments about birth control out of context.

At least Kim had the discipline to avoid endorsing one of the other candidates.

Second, Dorothy Rabinowitz, the grandmother of the WSJ editorial board, endorses Newt Gingrich in her Santorum hit-piece: Democrats are Praying for a Santorum Nomination.

Dorothy is convinced that the GOP candidate who won the last three primary states and who is in line for wins in Michigan and Ohio in the coming weeks is "unpalatable" to the electorate.  Dorothy is appalled at Santorum's position that home-schooling is favorable to government schooling.

It is time for the Journal to put Dorothy out to pasture if she is using their opinion page to defend the state of our public education.  Clearly she has lost all perspective if she'd rather bash a GOP candidate than admit the damage the unions have done to our public schools.

Maybe Dorothy can join Clint Eastwood in his next commercial.  They could share a drool cup.

Of all the primaries, this has been my favorite because we haven't cared.  Typing this post has been the most effort and emotion I have put into this primary season, and I have the Tea Party to thank for this.  I have ignored the debates and have put my middle finger in the wind to the establishment types at Drudge, WSJ, Karl Rove, and others.

My candidate is the one who most strongly conveys the values of the Tea Party - 1) limited government, 2) controlled spending, and 3) strong national security.  This candidate's name changes, but the name isn't important to me at this stage.  First it was Palin.  Then Bachmann and Perry.  Now it is Santorum.  If Santorum falls out, Gingrich will be the closest.  If Newt falls out, Romney will be the closest to the Tea Party.

I voted for Mitt in the California primary back in 2008.  He was the most conservative on the ballot.

I am popping my popcorn in anticipation for the day when our nominee is named and the attention turns to our Dear Leader and his record.  I suggest my fellow conservatives do the same.

Obama Cuss Jar Contest - CLOSED

Our Obama Cuss Jar has runneth over in response to Obama's 2nd attempt to squelch our religious liberty.

Time for a contest so this bitter clinger can convert his $1's into $100's (or into precious metals), and start cussing anew!

About:

There will be TWO WINNERS: you, and the blogger or source who sent you here! Both will receive the Commie Obama Hat and Bottle of Leninade.

Rules:

Add your guess in the comments below.  Guesses MUST consist of a dollar value guess (no cents) AND the name of the blog that referred you.  If you don't have a referrer, pick one of the cool bloggers in our Blogroll at the left.  

One guess per person please.

Contest ends at noon EST on Sunday, February 19.  Check back then, and send us your contact information if you are the winner!

If two guesses are equal - one higher and one lower by the same amount - the tie goes to the lower.

The first of duplicate guesses will be considered.

Hints:

The jar is 10 inches tall, and 7 inches in diameter.  There is no lid on the jar in the photo.

The jar contains a known quantity (bottom) and an unknown quantity (top).

Known: 10 $100 bills and 340 $1 bills.  You can see the $100's at the bottom, then the $340.

Unknown: The large stack of $1s.

There are no bills hidden from view.  See larger picture.

You are guessing the total amount in the jar, so be sure to guess over $1340! 

Previous Contests:

July 2009, $124, Winner: B... from SondraKistan,

May Day 2010, $602, Winner: Conservative Cowgirl from IOTW

December 2010, $978,  Winner: Doc from IOTW

May Day 2011, $1340, Winner: Simply Amazed from IOTW

Thanks for the links back:  Bird Ankles, IOTW, RobertaX

IOTW has a hat conversation too...

2.19.12 - We have a winner!

The total in the jar is $2080.

Anon from RobertaX wins with their guess of $2090.

Honorable mention goes to:

Larry, $2040, RobertaX
Jack Daniels, $2107, IOTW
OrbitUp, $2042, IOTW
NinnyBau, $2100, IOTW
Freeman, $2012, unknown source
Texan59, $2107, unknown source

We traded the cash in for 8oz of silver and 1oz of gold.  Why let our Dear Leader reduce the value of this cuss jar over the course of the next year?  If my cussing hasn't sent a clear message, maybe these coins will...

We hope the cuss jar will retire in January 2013.  I'll then need help deciding on how to spend the money.  The Bill Wilson, or The Custom Classic?

Two Peas

The WSJ's Bret Stephens said this last week about one of the men pictured above:

...his father was a top Mao lieutenant until he was purged in the early 1960s—and press accounts of his life are stuffed with details about the rough years he spent as a farm hand during the Cultural Revolution.


[He] "chose to survive [the Cultural Revolution] by becoming redder than red"; his first degree "was not a 'real' university education but instead a three-year degree in applied Marxism"; he was "considered of only average intelligence"; and "the most permanent influences shaping [his] worldview were his princeling pedigree," not his sojourn in the countryside.

Journalism by Question Mark

Today's Yahoo News article in their business section:  

If Republicans Are So Great For Business, 
Why Does Silicon Valley Support Democrats?

There is a video interview there of Reid Hoffman, an amazing entrepreneur and the man behind LinkedIn.  


Don't be confused by successful business leaders who happen to be liberal.  There is no relationship.


What the liberals at Yahoo News and elsewhere are trying to do with headlines like this is to confuse you into thinking ideology is a choice.  This also reinforces liberal beliefs that they are open-minded to all considerations, when in fact they are the most intolerant and anti-choice people in society.


Should we assume Yahoo's collapse as both a trendsetter and viable business model was caused by a staff of Rick Santorum supporters?

Questions for the Dear Leader

If excessive government spending leads to lower wages, leaner pensions and less jobs when the money runs out - which then leads to riots and despair - why are you taking us down the same path?

Why will it be different here?

While we wait for our Dear Leader to respond to our questions above, let's read how Ann Barnhardt suggests it may be different here:

In case you hadn't heard, Greece is burning tonight, as those people would rather burn their own country to the ground than turn loose of the government teat. Take notes and learn well, because if a bunch of middle class Greeks will do this, just imagine what the welfare class in this country will do when our inevitable collapse happens. It will be far, far worse here. The hip-hop culture absolutely guarantees that it won't just be looting and burning. There will be RAPING. Got guns? Got ammo?

Employee Rights Act

The first ad we ever listened to, or clicked, at YouTube:



Short clips like this will do to the employee unions what Reagan did to the Soviet Union.

Whatever good intentions existed when the current unions were formed have now turned into involuntary slavery.  Turn over your career to greedy marxists and become 100% dependent on their whims.

Which will win?  Simple 40-second video clips that eviscerate the unions, or nightly rallies to the dependent masses led by highly paid union lawyers?

Here is another:



Let's pass this around!

Employee Rights Act Site

The Nazis are coming in April

... from the moon!

We suggest Russia fight the Nazis for the first 3 or 4 years, then we come in and finish them up.

U/T:  Walls of the City

Sucks to be us!

Bill Whittle's presentation skills set the standard.  Here is another excellent video from Bill:



He covers ObamaCare, fiscal policy and foreign policy.  Missing: education.

We appreciate the comments starting at 3:12.

Let Me See Your War Face!

This is the current home page at Drudge:

Do you remember an America with a better war face?  We do.

The Origin of Preppers

"Preppers" is the label for those who hoard food, fuel, seeds, silver, rifles and medicine for a coming collapse.

The collapse can be an EMP attack, food shortage, global financial meltdown, anarchy, a Zombie Apocalypse, and/or an Obama second term.

You know, something of biblical proportions:



Here are links to searches on the term "Prepper":  Google.  YouTube.  The deeper you dig, the more you'll find serious people considering serious scenarios.

If we had to pick a disaster, the financial collapse scenario seems the most likely.

The Greece disaster has been given a positive spin in the media and mis-managed by the other European powers.  Greece cannot pay its debts and will walk away from those debts in the end.  Could be tomorrow, could be 2013.  The bailouts have set a precedent that the other Europeans cannot afford, yet are already duplicating with Portugal, Spain and others.

Our Dear Leader has duplicated Greece's mistakes of deficit spending, redistribution (aka theft) to the unproductive, and a disregard for proven growth strategies.

He is introducing similar destabilizing policies here.  With enthusiasm.

Our motivation for this post comes from Karl Deniger, who posted this Bill Whittle video:



There are Preppers.  There are people who make fun of Preppers.  There are people who are confident these warnings have no merit.  And there are those who are blissfully ignorant.

Some think they will have to survive on their own, and others who are positive the government will be there for them.

Who are you?

Lost Lessons of Communism

John Hinderaker at Powerline blog links to a great article by Janet Daily published at the Telegraph: The Lessons of the Fall of Communism have still not been Learnt.

John:

I think a very partial answer to the question Ms. Daley poses is that leftism has never been based on idealism. It has always been based, for the most part, on hate and envy. So when Communism was conclusively proved to be a failure, leftists (including not only leftists in politics, but more important, leftists in the media and in academia) didn’t change their minds or admit their mistake. For in their eyes, while there may have been disappointment, there was no mistake. Their resentments and hatreds remained. They merely sought other vehicles, other terminologies, other tactics to bring down the West and the free enterprise system and democratic institutions that define it. Yesterday’s socialists are today’s progressives. They barely missed a beat.

Janet:

...the truth is that a good proportion of the population harbours a vague notion that there exists a whole other way of doing things that is inherently more benign and “fair” – in which nobody is hurt or disadvantaged – available for the choosing, if only politicians had the will or the generosity to embrace it.

Why do they believe this? Because the lesson that should have been absorbed at the tumultuous end of the last century never found its way into popular thinking – or even into the canon of educated political debate.

Janet's article and John's post sum up our work here at Ushanka.us.

This story needs to be told.

100 million dead in a span of 72 years, yet the 6 million killed by Fascism gets the attention of the history books.

Our children deserve a full understanding of both evils and both stories.

One has to wonder why the politics of envy is so underweighted in public education curriculum, no?

2.9: Thanks to IOTW for the link back!

Halftime in USSR

English Russia has a post today of photos from a car museum in Russia.

The Soviet Union did not come back from the brink.

They doubled down on Obama-style policies and are now on the ash-heap of history, as predicted by Ronald Reagan:

...the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people.

If we had time, we'd pull the Clint Eastwood audio and overlay these images in a video.  

Same message.  Same intent.

PS: The Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago, yet museum walls go un-painted.  How long will the negative effects of Obama's policies impact our lives?

Religious Liberty UPDATED x2 and BUMPED

[original post 1.31]

Ann Barnhardt's posts: The Entire Sad Contraceptive Issue Explained, Parts I-III

Do you think that it is just a crazy coincidence that the same people who want to force you to pay for contraception and abortion are the same people who murdered over 100 million people, NOT counting abortions, in the 20th century alone? When are you going to understand that Marxism is satanic and from hell itself, and that contraception is one of the cornerstones of Marxism and totalitarian oligarchy?

Please read all three parts.

NiceDeb's post: Obama Picks Fight with Catholic Church in an Election Year: Game On.

She posts these two videos of Glenn Beck discussing this issue.





You don't need to be catholic to understand the threat. (We aren't Catholic).

Remember, the one common trait of the Nazis and Soviet Communists was Moral Nihilism: The rejection of religious and traditional family values.  It is the goal of evil to be replace God and parents with government.

Moral Nihilism is here.  

It is the threat.  

Do you see it?

NiceDeb has plenty of other information at that post too, including the letter from Bishop Marquette of Michigan.

The two references mentioned in Glenn's videos:

Catholic Advocate

Respect for Rights and Conscious Act

UPDATED 2.5

Found at Townhall:

UPDATED 2.6 and BUMPED

Found at IOTW:

Drudge just linked to CNS News: a battle line has formed with our military clergy.  Obey the Obama Administration and stay mum on this issue, or speak out for Catholics and their values?

Read it so you'll understand why we are converting this post to a Tribute Post in Archbishop Timothy Broglio's honor.

QOTD

Our Quote of the Day comes from a list of top ten Reagan quotes at Weasel Zippers:

#6:

How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin.

And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

Things we have in common with Ronald Reagan:
- Was an Army Reserve Captain
- Served in California
- Loved the United States of America
- Hated Communism

He also defeated communists in Hollywood and abroad.

We're still catching up to him on those fronts.

Halftime In America

That was the title of Chrysler's Super Bowl commercial last night staring Clint Eastwood.



He's getting old, and his judgement is not what it used to be.

He tried to frame the Chrysler bailout as a positive event, bless his heart.  He probably doesn't remember that American citizens were forced into a criminal conspiracy.

1) Theft.  We were forced, at gunpoint, to invest our money into a company that all sane investors had long ago rejected.

2) Corruption.  Our money did not go into a company, it went into a union pension fund.  A pension fund that is gearing-up for an expensive election year.

3) Theft.  Non-Union owners of the Chrysler bonds were forced to take $0.10 on the dollar, while Union owners of the same bonds received full payment.  In other words, the Unions were given majority ownership of Chrysler and GM.

4) Waste.  The company's products still suck when compared to competitors - namely Ford.  Another bailed-out company, GM, sells cars that self-immulate.

Did you see a Super Bowl commercial for the Volt?  If not, why not?  What about a commercial for Solyndra?  Are we no longer green?  Are we just green when if favors political expediency?

Chrysler's Halftime in America commercial is just an updated Jimmy Carter malaise commercial.

Elect Democrats, and you are guaranteed sad speeches and sad commercials.


Our advice for car companies:

1) Design and build cool cars that people covet,

2) Create commercials that show off your cool cars.

Acura did just that:


So did Audi:


Chrysler and their government owners want you to think the decline they've created is everywhere.  That it is owned by all of us.  That we as a nation, under liberal guidance, can pull out of this funk.  Wrong on all counts.

Chrysler's depressing commercial shows the current state of Chrysler - a company that took it's eye off of the ball years ago.  A company that, like public education, prioritized unions over consumers and sealed their fate of despair and decline.

Our advice: Ignore the gloomy. Embrace the shiny.  Evict the liberals.

UPDATED 2.7

Rush Limbaugh offers his version of the Halftime Ad:


U/T: FB Friend Amy

ANOTHER UPDATE 2.7

This one from ReasonTV:

Unions & Education

The Teachers' Unions will tell you that vouchers are too radical of a concept for reforming education.

They will tell you that just a little more money is all that is needed to restore American education to its historic highs.

They will say "no" to testing and merit-based compensation, and to insurance co-pay.  "Yes" to more time off for teachers, and less work (aka smaller class sizes).

The American public school system has been destroyed by the unions as has several generations of American youth.  Yet we're told it is salvageable as-is.

Maybe this video can help us pro-voucher parents make our case.  It is long overdue to introduce market-based principles to those who wish to educate our children.



U/T: Moonbattery

Tyranny

It isn't just what governments do.

We've lived under Fortune 500 tyranny.  The 2nd worst kind: IT.

The true death camps in corporate America are titled "HR".

U/T: Dilbert

Wisconsin

The feel-good story of the day.

The first shooting in Wisconsin involving a concealed-carry citizen.

The robbery took place despite the store's 2 un-armed security guards.  Shocking.

Not many details, so we'll have to use our imagination on how it went down...

Rick Santorum UPDATED 2x & BUMPED

[original post 1.27.12]

A tribute post for Rick Santorum.

We've been detached from the GOP primary fight for several reasons: 1) we cancelled our cable TV a while back, 2) our vote on Super Tuesday (March 6th) will have little impact on the nominee who will likely be chosen prior to that day, and 3) we side with the Tea Party in values, principles and priorities.

So to address #1 above, we appreciate the hard work of our fellow bloggers like NiceDeb to parse out the highlights of the campaign.  Here is one of three Santorum clips she has posted from last night's debate:



As for #'s 2 & 3 above, if Santorum makes it to Super Tuesday he will get our vote.  Not because of what he has said or his popularity or his policy positions, and not because of the endless and pathetic MSM attacks on Gingrich or Romney, but because he is the best candidate in Tea Party terms.

Our thanks to Sen. Santorum for making our life easy.  We don't have to think at all, just go vote.  Good luck sir, and GodSpeed.

U/T: NiceDeb

UPDATE 1.30

Michelle Malkin posts a ringing endorsement.

And at this point in the game, Rick Santorum represents the most conservative candidate still standing who can articulate both fiscal and social conservative values — and live them.

UPDATE 2.3 and BUMPED

NiceDeb posted this 1999 Santorum rant on Senate floor.



Another U/T: NiceDeb

Charts of the Day

Karl Deninger at Market-Ticker has a long post a a response to Congressman Paul Ryan's recent comments about the financial state of the United States.

This other Karl posts this chart of debt vs. GDP.  It appears our Commie in Chief was slightly incorrect about government spending's impact on the economy.  Instead of a positive influence, increasing debt appears to damage an economy.  Huh.

In other words, don't try this at home.

Karl has some other charts in that post in response to the Fed's stupid 2% inflation concept.  Ready for $8 gas?

But there are still about 40% of Americans who support this President and his policies.  They are the ones who will tell us there are positives too.

Here's one:  look at how our president has influenced the purchase of Silver American Eagle 1oz coins.  Source: Seeking Alpha.

We wonder what a chart of gun sales would look like. 

Yes, our Dear Leader has positively influenced several areas of the economy.  No argument from us.

Posted today at Dilbert:

Is it possible the damage to our economy was planned, and the continued assault is intentional?

U/T: Karl

Gun Stuff

Check out these items we found at our favorite gun blogs:

Zombie Sheets.  Buy Here.

A new song: Right To Bear



A new product: Pink Mist



U/T: SaysUncle, The Minuteman, and Every Day No Days Off

UPDATE 2.2 8am

If there is one thing that has been missing from our life, it is a song called The Sheeple Song.

As of today, our life is complete.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. FXHUMMEL1:



UPDATE 2.2 5pm

About a month or so ago at a grocery store near Indianapolis, a robbery took place.

A bad guy shoved an object (never been identified) in the back of a store employee and led that employee to the manager's office.

Another Kroger employee saw this.... and was armed.  The Kroger employee shot the bad guy dead.

I've followed this story via RobertaX, who lives in Indianapolis.  Here is her first post, and a later post.

Weer'd reports today that the employee has volunteered to quit.  It appears Kroger policy requires their employees to behave like Sheeple (see above) when their life is threatened.  A policy this employee ignored.

Apparently, that corporation has weighed the impact of dead employees vs. higher insurance premiums and come out in favor of their insurance carrier.

Bad Kroger.  Bad.

U/T: Roberta and Weer'd