Get ready for Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving, retailers discount products to kick off the Christmas shopping season...

The Black Friday site will alert you so these sales - and point you to online links that will allow you to take advantage of sales online - so you WON'T spend your time waiting on lines.

Wrong AGAIN on global warming

Proving again that Nobel prizes are given BY idiots, TO idiots.

Or, perhaps WORSE than idiots. Incompetents? Habitual liars?

A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. On Monday, Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore's chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record.

Except that - er - it WASN'T:

Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China's official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "worst snowstorm ever". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.

The anomaly was the result of a GISS data error. So - did they correct it? Yeah, kinda:

GISS began hastily revising its figures. This only made the confusion worse because, to compensate for the lowered temperatures in Russia, GISS claimed to have discovered a new "hotspot" in the Arctic - in a month when satellite images were showing Arctic sea-ice recovering so fast from its summer melt that three weeks ago it was 30 per cent more extensive than at the same time last year. ...last week's latest episode is far from the first time Dr Hansen's methodology has been called in question. In 2007 he was forced by Mr Watts and Mr McIntyre to revise his published figures for US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s, as he had claimed, but the 1930s.

This is what happens when you're more invested in PC ideology and politics instead of - oh, we don't know... actual science?

Corzine gets 'F' for fiscal policy

Considering his abysmal performance in office, you wouldn't think Corzine... had ANY background in running a private business. But then again, considering the performance of companies such as Lehman lately, running a Goldman Sachs appears to be proof of nothing beyond the ability to manipulate markets to a few players' advantage. As Warren Buffet colorfully noted: 'When the tide goes out, you get to see who's wearing a bathing suit'.

That said, get the links to the unflattering portrayal of Corzine's disastrous fiscal policies here. Corzine was one of eight governors getting an 'F'. If you missed it, his latest bright idea is to have the government buy houses whose owners are failing - as if that would solve anything.

Really, Corzine's just running out the clock, hoping that Obama will gain office and get him the hell out of Dodge before Jersey's inevitable fiscal collapse.

Howard Stern asks voters about their support for Obama

Hilarious and brilliant, though completely unsurprising. (audio)

What this points to, actually, is the real way people make decisions. It has little to do with independent analysis (especially in urban areas) and everything to do with tribal identification.

Stern, God bless him, IS an independent mind. He may speak to the lowest common denominator, but he sure doesn't follow the crowd. That's how he got to where he is today, by following his own muse wherever it took him. All things considered, this is a pretty courageous piece, but then Stern's never been afraid of controversy, either.

Orson Scott Card reflects our own feelings toward Obama

It's as if we had written this post ourselves.

The creator of Ender's Game was rooting for Obama when he first emerged. Then he got a better look at him, and was horrified.

Once you scratch the surface, Obama's as cynical and dangerous a demagogue as you'll find. Beyond that, though, is the emergence of an interesting trend. It's an extension of the trend away from newspapers (leaving them increasingly in the hands of the hard left) and towards the web.

The first wave of web commentators were full-time pundits, dedicated to their positions (whatever they were). Now we're seeing a move toward people like Orson Scott Card, who make a substantial living in an unrelated area (Card made his name writing sci-fi), openly taking a position as a citizen.

This is something that few are willing to risk, unless of course it's an already-popular position. Bush-bashing carries zero risk in the 'creative' community, so actors, writers and other artistes continue to pile on. Going against the grain and speaking one's mind, though, is a different matter. The downside risk of loss is considerable.

Here's another example of this, from Baseball Crank. This is a very successful baseball site whose author has stepped well outside the chalk outlines of the game to speak passionately from his heart. He's risking his audience, but as you can see he's moved by a higher purpose. That's something rare and wonderful in a media age where everyone (yes, even bloggers) have a hidden agenda.

California may beat New Jersey to bankruptcy

...but don't worry. We'll get there too.

Not to be left out in the rush to the Federal trough, California is crying "me too" and threatening dire consequences unless the Feds cough up $7 billion.

The story over there is pretty familiar. Like Corzine, Schwartzenegger presides over an unmanageable morass of corrupt Democratic pols, who have been completely ignoring his pleas for fiscal constraint. Now, it's all about to collapse. The only difference between The Arnold and The Jon is that in California, the mob is ignoring a member of the opposition party. In Jersey, they've ignored one of their own.

Fall is here, and The Big Fall is not far off. (As we've predicted, for about as long as this blog's existed.)

Scared yet? You will be.

Obama's teleprompter issues its demands

A hilarious video.

If there's gonna be soup lines, someone's gotta make soup

In the overnight market results (via Bloomberg), only one stock rose since yesterday. Guess.

Campbells' Soup was up 6 points hen we looked early this AM. The cheery thinking, no doubt, is that lots of us will be eating out of tin cans for awhile.

Campbell's should have some company today, though, as we experience a sharp relief rally. Looks pretty bleak for the next few years for overleveraged, badly-run New Jersey though. Our crooked pols have to go to the well again, but not only is the well dry - it's been ripped right out of the ground.

How bad is New Jersey's financial situation?

It's THIS bad:

Jersey has the highest median real estate tax in the nation.
It's truly in a class by itself - about 50% higher than the next-highest state.

Jersey has about $25 billion in debt.
That's "billion" with a "b". Most of this is in unfunded union pensions. In other words, the state is obliged to pay out money it does not have.

Jersey takes the highest percentage of income via real estate tax of any state.
New York is not even close. (Same link as the top link.)

Jersey's population is dwindling.
And no wonder. Corruption and other factors have spiked the cost of living.

Add it up:

The state's debt is increasing, the economy is down ('collapsing' does not seem like an exaggeration), and fewer people are sticking around to pick up the tab. And if you've ever been to this site before, we don't need to tell you about the wholesale corruption that's ravaging towns like Hoboken. This is a cycle that feeds on itself. In other words, it gets worse - lots worse - before it gets better.

Corzine sees it coming. Should Obama win, he'll set world speed records for moving to DC. Adios.

We've said before that the only way to cap the state's corruption will be a complete, NYC 70's-style economic collapse. All the signs certainly seem to be pointing in this direction.

How you know when a politician is lying

His lips are moving. HA. OK, now here's how you know when anyone ELSE is lying.

Actually, that crack about politicians and their lips moving was unfair. Hoboken Mayor David Roberts can lie just sitting there. And his bestest buddy Tony Soares moves his lips when he reads (and he's NOT lying), but not when he posts under various Internet aliases (when he definitely IS).

Just wanted to clear that up.

Want to know how this financial mess happened?

Thought you'd never ask. Watch the most talked-about vid on YouTube right now:

Some folks won't like it - not that we care, mind you. (You're only as good as the people you tick off.) All we care about is gathering the facts, just like this fellow did. A dynamite piece of resaerch work, though the sound track gets a bit overwhelming. (Turn the sound down.)



RELATED: Econbroswer discusses the housing meltdown, but without following the breadcrumb trail all the way to its government underpinnings. The blog also discusses the bailout plan, which right now looks stillborn, on NPR. (You can listen, below. The NPR widget is kinda balky, but it's the same way of NPR's own site.)

The smartest man alive saw this coming 5 years back.
Fortunately, all OUR money is in our mattress.

Hacker fun

The Boston Globe lists the ten most common Internet passwords.

In other words: If you're on this list - get OFF it, fast.

Does the Instapundit understand every post he links?

Well, no. Today: Is the iPod 'over'?. Problem: The post is 2 years old.

The online credo is: Reader beware. (Yes, he corrected it, and quickly. We and no doubt a million others sent emails.)

BTW, today iTunes is the Number One seller of music, online or off, in the world, and Apple has almost 80% of the MP3 player market.

This two-year-old post is quite a prediction. We should all be so 'over'.

But this matters in more ways than meet the eye. Actually, in TWO more ways, by our reckoning:

1) It makes us wonder how Glenn Reynolds comes by his posts. He must get tons of email 'suggestions', for one thing, but one does not often come by a two-year-old post that way. Certainly the blog owner, at least, wasn't sending that one out.

Nor would this come through Reynolds' RSS feed reader. Again, it's too old.

It's more likely this came about as a result of a casual glance at a search result for something iPod-related. Which is something we do often - comment on something revealed through a search result or Site Meter result. We just didn't think The INstapundit did this.

2) The post itself reveals how a tainted survey can lead to bad judgement. SInce the survey mentioned was taken, Apple has passed both Amazon and WalMart in total music sales.

How did the survey get tainted? In the usual subtle ways. In brief, it was tailored toward the 'technological elite', and not the man in the street. The elite want a product that's special or exclusive, as it boosts their own self-worth. The man on the street just wants the thing to work, and not demand much of him.

This is the sort of folly to which 95% of all poll results, focus groups, surveys, etc., fall prey. And it is why Apple is such an astonishing company.

At the core, if you will, of Apple is one man who gathers information and listens to feedback, but also is guided by his own gut. He asks himself one simple question: What does that man in the street want? By cutting past the egos, waffling, and agenda that comprises 95% of public opinion, Steve Jobs has learned how to key in to the essence of his customers' needs.

If more companies, or our government, worked the same way, we'd live in a much different world. But at the end of the day, there are only a handful of Steve Jobs out there.

Paul Krugman: Wrong again

Trying to pander to a Manhattan audience, Krugman trips over his own ego.

This level of insight is par for the course from Krugman, but he'll never be the biggest horse's ass in the media biz. We still have Olbermann.

RELATED: Another recent gaffe by former Enron advisor Krugman here.

How to know it's time to sell your Microsoft stock

Just watch this ad. (BUMPED TO TOP & UPDATED)

Microsoft has just cancelled the campaign shown below, which we mocked in this same post last week. They're replacing it with this 'me too' ad.

You know, the Feds have just offered a bailout plan to AIG. AIG was once one of the world's largest, wealthiest companies.

You don't suppose...



This is a company with a LOT of 'disposable income' (i.e., the money you paid for their stock), but whose next big idea will have to come from SOMEWHERE ELSE. Now go sell that stock. FAST.

UPDATE #2: Could this be a screen clip from the new ads?

Because a day without a Hillary-for-VP rumor is like...

...uh, dunno WHAT it's like. Normal? Boring? Anyway: Your daily serving of you-know-what.

Take Our Country Back believes the rumor, though he says it's 'political suicide'. That's pretty much our take on it, too. Some good points at the link.

ABC's Jake Tappert (and apparently the rest of the media) asks: 'Joe who?'

And the Lucianne crowd seems to have a pretty informed handle on the current happenings (check the comments).

Seems like only yesterday that the all-seeing, all-wise Jack Cafferty was telling us about a likely VP-switcheroo. He just got the party wrong.

What will McCain do if Obama swaps Biden for Billary?

How will he strike back? Well, for starters, he could peruse the lefty blogs for ideas...

Most likely McCain's advisers have already done their homework on this, just in case. There's a mountain of Hillary-bashing material to sift through, it's merely a question of picking the best stuff and polishing it to a high gloss. Since it all comes from the Dems themselves, it'll be difficult for the Dems to defend.

You know what this campaign reminds us of? Yeah, you do:

Uh-oh: Second thoughts on the Hillary as VP meme

Whoops - we can't discount the rumors anymore!

Having just written a couple of posts debunking the Hillary-replacing-Biden rumors, we came across something that made us rethink the possibilities. (Hey, it's what we call a fluid situation.)

We just found this nugget:

Talk of replacing Biden with Hillary must be under discussion. I just got a follow-up survey from – William Arnone Phone: 212-773-3285 asking me if I would change my mind about voting for McCain if Biden was replaced with Hillary.

Read between the lines here: William Arnone is affiliated with the CLINTONS, not Obama. This means one of two things: (1) Obama really HAS asked Hillary to replace Biden, and the Clintons are trying to figure out if they could actually pull Obama's fat out of the fire. Or, (2) Arnone's survey is part of the Clintons' disinformation campaign designed to put Obama under water.

We have to admit the possibility that the Clintons' outsized egos and ambition might in fact cause them to decide to rejoin the fray. Perhaps, rather than wait four more years, they may simply go for it.

The Clintons may figure it like this: If they go for it, and Obama loses - it's OBAMA who loses. (They'll figure they can spin it that way, anyway.) But if they win, then they (NOT Obama) are the saviors of the Democratic Party.

That's a big upside, weighed against a manageable downside.

Obama's in rough shape, and on his knees. The Clintons LIKE that. They'll write their own ticket, and offer Obama a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. They'll run the campaign from here on, of course. Obama's people will take a backseat. They won't like that.

But unlike Hillary's people, Obama's people have (mostly) never HAD the kind of power the Clintons have enjoyed. They can't engage in a 'work slowdown' in protest, like the Clintons have engineered. This may be their one and only shot at the brass ring. So really, if the Clintons shove them aside, they'll have to take it and like it.

Hmm...

It's not a 'smart' move for Obama, it's a desperate one. We still think this will NOT prevail in the long run, but it will give Obama a sharp boost and force McCain to do something besides coast along on Palin's sudden popularity. On the other hand, in making the switch, Obama will be giving McCain plenty to work with. (They'll attack Obama's judgement, for one thing.) It will also create a LOT of turmoil within the ranks of Obama backers, at all levels. But, his core support is already hedging their bets on him anyway, so he has little to lose.

Yeah, we can see it now. There's a real chance Obama will drop the soap and take it from the Clintons. Yow.

And we just realized something else: In both parties, it's women who are driving the bus.

So just in case, let us be the first to welcome our new female overlords.

AND: "If Mrs. Clinton accepts the V-P offer -- and it appears she will -- the damage to our nation's political system would be enormous. On a lesser plane, it could destroy her reputation."

Now it gets ugly: Obama supporters jumping ship

The number of Obama pundits heading for the lifeboats continues to increase.

What you need to understand is this: Politics is a big business. Lots of the folks who promote a candidate make their living, in one way or another, off their punditry. So when your candidate starts to tank - you don't wait until AFTER the election to distance yourself anymore. By then, you see, everyone else has already bailed, and like a sped-up game of musical chairs, YOU could get stuck holding the bag.

That means you'll vacation in the backyard next year. That new car will just have to wait. You may even have to cut back on Mistress Hildegarde's House of Pain (and you know she won't like that).

When this starts to happen, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's dominos. Because some people are pulling back, other people pull back, and then other people pull back.

Yes, it's an ugly business. Yes, it should be about ideals and morals and values. But most of the time, it just ain't. Most of politics is about a bunch of cynical, manipulative people trying to grab power. Once in a while, one of them does something decent, but even that's usually by accident.

(What can we tell ya, there's a reason we rarely do that stuff anymore.)

There's panic at the core of Obama's campaign, and at the sensitive, loosely-connected fringes. Soon he'll lose the middle.

Rumor du jour: Biden will get 'sick', step down, Oct. 6th

Highly unlikely, but it's all over the 'net. We collect some samples.

Before you go much further, there's an important UPDATE to this post here. This is a fast-moving target.

No sooner had we written about why there's no WAY this would happen, than the rumors that it was about to happen started flying. There's even been a date - Oct. 6th, and a PR rationale - ill health - attached to it.

Of course, were this to now transpire, Obama on top of everything else would be painted as a liar. After all, everyone's already exposed the ruse.

But even in the few hours since we wrote this, things have gotten much worse for Obama. SO much worse, in fact, that we think this crazy idea might actually happen. Good God.

Anyway, we've collected some of the choicer posts among the rumor-mongers and chewers of this hot bit of business. And we've fashioned them into a nice stew for your amusement and possible nourishment. Enjoy.

On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary.

We actually don't know what to make of this site - it LOOKS like a spam site, but it's hard to be certain. Anyway, they picked up the rumor.

Conservatives fear Obama will switch VP- Biden for Hillary Clinton

This one perpetuates the rumor of a switch, but offers no evidence whatsoever that conservatives "fear" such a move. Maybe they fear laughing their butts off or not getting a prime position in the feeding frenzy when that blood hits the water. But it's doubtful the McCain campaign is afraid of ANYthing Obama might do these days.

Joe Biden can DESTROY the McCain camp

This Kos diarist prefers things as they are, says Biden's completely competent to stop McCain. Today, though, he's clearly in the minority.

The political science class lessons of the Obama Campaign

Does not involve the rumored 'switch', but offers a thoughtful analysis of events to date. Also, we like the site's tagline: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'

Does anyone really think that’s [replacing Biden with Hillary] a good idea at this point?

Define 'anyone'. Andy Ostroy thinks it's a keen idea. Is he 'anyone'?

Barack buys a lemon

Says it all. Next?

Barack Obama has gone to Bill Clinton–with his hat in hand, chin on chest–and begged Bill to campaign for him. My first impulse thought was “What’s in it for Bill?” A cabinet post? Nomination to the US Supreme Court? Dump Biden and take Hillary as his VP running mate? Bill Clinton doesn’t work for free! If I were a betting man, my money would be on Obama dumping Joe Biden and taking Hillary on as his running mate...

OK, but the SS Clinton sailed the day Biden was selected. It won't be back in port for a few more years.

We re-thought this one a few hours after we wrote this post. Not so sure anymore... starting to see how the Clintons, with Obama so badly weakened, might take a shot.

The Obama campaign sold “better judgement” as the reason to vote Obama rather than all the Democrats in the primary that had actual accomplishments and experience. So I thought I’d review what this week reveal about Obama’s better judgement.

Well, you can already tell where THAT post is headed. Next?

There are a whole host of women in the Democratic Party who believe the Democratic Party does not understand what sexism is, routinely underestimates the impact of women, and they are coming in droves to the Republican Party because they think the party and John McCain get it. That’s a fact.

Again, you get the message.

According to the New York Post, internal polling by both Democrats and Republicans show Barack Obama beginning to fade in New York.

Hell will freeze over before that happens in Jersey. Just in case, though, if you're visiting - bring a parka.

Sarah "Lying Sack of Shit" Palin was widely panned on the Sunday talk shows...

OK, there's 'whistling-in-the-dark', and then there's 'foaming-at-the-mouth-in-the-dark'. Moving on...

Let me share some info with you that i have gotten from excellent sources within the DNC: On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur after the VP debate on 10/2.

Back to the rumor. You thought we forgot about the rumor, didn't you? Well, here it is. One thing that makes this allegation bizarre, though, is the supposed timing: Hillary's supposed to come aboard AFTER a VP debate? Why?

People have begun predicting Biden will fall "ill" and Clinton will humbly move in and accept the role as VP.

He's not buying it. Maybe he doesn't know about those 'excellent sources within the DNC'.

Biden's upcoming "Health Issue"

This one also cites those 'excellent sources'. But this blog may be pulling our leg. You decide.

Will Hillary end up running against Sarah?

This one's just tossing the rumor out there. No opinion on its veracity, no citing those 'excellent sources'.

Could Obama replace Biden with Hillary and, if so, would she take it?

This blogger says the answer is 'no' on both counts. Makes good rational sense, but of course THAT's no fun.

Letter to Obama: Why not replace Biden with Hillary?

For answer, see previous blogger.

I've been the main voice on the Internet discussing the story that Hillary Clinton -- early in October, it appears -- would replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. I stand by this revelation because I believe it's true.

And we believe we could hit .400 in the bigs. But the Yankees NEVER call us!

Barack failed to pick Hillary because as Roeser says he is a "very-very soft" man who felt "threatened by [Hillary] and her husband-which tells us much about the wispy poetical presidential candidate."

Now THAT's a spicy meatball. And written by a liberal, too. Mamma mia!

Desperate Obama to replace Biden with Hillary? I can't vouch for the voracity of this but it sure sounds like an Blowhard Obama move.

This one just wants to spread the rumor, to hurt Obama. We saw a number like it.

Obamatrons put lipstick on Obama's decision to pick Biden

We're still a sucker for those 'lipstick' headlines.

But our favorite reaction du jour was the following image:

The clarion call to replace Biden with Hillary

Do yourself a favor and note the names of the pundits calling for this. Make a list, and hang onto it. Then, in the future, you can save yourself the trouble of listening to any of these clowns ever again.

The heavily self-promoting (we nearly wrote 'heavily self-medicated', but it's such a nice day that we don't want to be MEAN) Andy Ostroy is only the latest in a series of clowns exiting the 'replace Biden' clowncar. Of course, Obama can afford to do no such thing, because:

1) Having Hillary run as VP was a no-brainer decision - so why do you think Obama didn't go that route in the first place? Obama knew that having a Clinton at his side in the White House was the political equivalent of locking a fox in a room with a chicken. (Guess who the fox is.)

2) Replacing Biden at this point would be a PR disaster, and there's no time left to recover. Obama would spend the rest of his campaign slogging through the fallout from that one decision. He'd be doomed. (Not that he isn't anyway, but we mean - If you're doomed already, why go to all the extra trouble?)

3) If Obama DID extend an offer to the Clintons at this point - THEY WOULD NOT TAKE IT! Obama's a sinking ship. Exactly why do the Clintons want to board the Titanic and start bailing, when they can sit back all nice and dry and watch their only future obstacle to the White House sink from view?

UPDATE: Important new information and developments. Swapping Biden for Clinton is still a bad strategic idea - but it may happen anyway!

Obama and marketing 101

Just another tone-deaf, clumsy move by the Obama campaign & its supporters.

MoveOn thinks they're pushing "Obama/Biden" stickers (see image at bottom). But the takeaway, for a LOT of casual observers, is support for Osama Bin Liden.

Think that's farfetched? Think again... and then think again.

This is VERY fixable, by the way. A smart communicator recognizes and breaks up the unfortunate rhythm and pattern of the words, by (for example) inserting the first names in small type.

Why doesn't MoveOn 'get' this? Maybe it's because they don't really have the same problem with Bin Laden that most of the rest of America does. But if B'ani Brith was sponsoring something that read like 'Hitler', think they'd notice?

Obama stubbornly compounds the problem by insisting on "Barack" instead of the more familiar and voter-friendly "Barry". And then there's the issue of his middle name...

What happens in a political campaign is, all these little messages add up. These stickers, Obama's body language as he bowls or places flowers at 'Ground Zero', various gaffes and gotchas, etc. The voters total it up somewhere in their subconscious, and pull the lever. These messages carry far more weight than what a campaign is trying (and paying good money) to say. At the end of the day, most of the centrally-planned 'canned' messages are heavily discounted.

You can see a train wreck like Obama's campaign coming from WAY down the line. But there's no stopping it. And when it's over, Obamaphiles will blame everything (racism, sexism, any other 'isms' you care to name) except the campaign's real failings.

People make the same mistakes over and over and over again when they fail, for whatever reason, to recognize their real problems. The American left fails repeatedly because it refuses to acknowledge and account for perceptions beyond its own sphere of influence.

RELATED: Great strategic advice for Obama, from Mickey Kauss. Unfortunately, it's pearls before swine.

Here's the new gold standard for 'flaming idiot'

"I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels." - Nancy Pelosi

The remark's in context - it's not a 'gotcha' moment (we don't do that). She really DOES NOT KNOW that natural gas IS a 'fossil fuel'. Utterly clueless. And she's a LEADER of her party. Out there setting policies that will strangle the rest of us. (Shudder.)

Interesting that Pelosi has avoided criticizing Sarah Palin. Holding out for Hillary? Or afraid she'll get her head handed to her when it backfires?

Surely, it's a bit of both.

Does the Jersey Journal actually read what they publish...

...or are its editors too busy placing bets?

Presented for your approval, a newspaper column like few you've ever seen. So tortured is its prose that it defies comprehension, just as the baffling decision to print it defies rational explanation. The columnist dodges and weaves from 1948 to 1960 to last winter - and then, apparently, meets his word quota and turns it in.

The headline says 'Campaigns never make sense until they're over'. But when will this column make sense? What does it MEAN? We don't know. We're pretty sure the author doesn't know either. In any case, we'd hate to wake him just to ask. Something about... politics being strange? No doubt, this news would be a revelation to most folks in Hudson County. Someone, please - stop those presses.

If it's too bizarre for The Twilight Zone, it's perfect for the 'all the news that fits, we print' Jersey Journal. Let's have another round for the boys in the newsroom - they look a little dry. We're buyin'!

What is it about Sarah Palin...

...that has driven so many smart, thoughtful Obama supporters around the bend?

That's EASY. They thought their candidate would always be the prettiest one in the race.

AND: Obama asks (begs?) Bill Clinton for help. In keeping with our Hillary slowdown theory, we don't expect much. Here's what Bill says he'll do:

Clinton said he will start campaigning for Obama as soon as he is done with work on the Clinton Global Initiative... Clinton, when asked how frequently he would be campaigning for Obama, said that he has “agreed to do a substantial number of things, whatever I’m asked to do.”

So - just as soon as Bill's done with his Clinton Global Initiative, he'll be out there stumpin' 'substantially' for Barack. Well, lessee. Their annual meeting is on September 23-26, so he definitely won't start before that. Then, in the first week of December, CGI will convene in Hong Kong. That's their first meeting there, ever, and gosh durn it, he'll have his hands full preparing for THAT... but don't worry, he'll squeeze you in somehow, Barack!

'Talkleft' didn't get the memo

Talkleft has some advice for Obama. What they don't get is: It's not part of the plan.

Talkleft: "If I were running Obama's campaign, I would have Obama campaign with Bill Clinton next week in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan for a few days." Sounds good, right? Instapundit says: "Excellent advice." In fact, we'd be surprised if Obama's people hadn't ALREADY thought of this.

Just one little problem: It's not in the plan. Bill's going to be busy, too busy to help out - just like Hillary. Oh, maybe he'll put in a token appearance somewhere, offer a soundbite. But that's just for show. Actual campaigning? Fighting to save Obama's campaign? Forget it.

The fact that 'Talkleft' actually thinks the Clintons have any motive for propping up Obama now, when he's all that's standing between them and the White House in 4 years... well, let's just say the word 'clueless' is inescapable.

Bird, bird, bird - Bird is the word

Chaz flips the bird. We have the shocking proof!

Chaz at Dustbury updates his site design and publishing platform. His is one of the oldest blogs (from before there WERE blogs, really) on the 'net. But why oh why did he have to change his bird?

Still more signs of a Democratic Party meltdown

Joe Biden: "Hillary might have been a better VP pick than me."

You can bet you'll be hearing THAT little sound bite for a while.

Another sign: Some lefty blogs are becoming unhinged - and the more rational liberals are telling them to knock it off. The significance here is that this is exactly the pattern of behavior one expects when a message is getting zero traction.

And here's a biggie: Dem pundits second-guessing the Obama campaign's strategy. (They're starting to jockey for position in the NEXT election - presumably with Hillary on the ticket. At least vultures wait until you're actually DEAD.)

Starting to get the feeling that, like Dukakis and that tank, the name 'Barack Obama' is destined to be associated with the phrase 'epic fail'.



RELATED: More Joe Biden fun, as he tells a paralyzed state senator to 'stand up':

The Amazon red/blue political book map...

...is showing a surprising amount of red. In New Jersey.

Does this mean New Jersey will go McCain? No. Not as long as Jersey's votes can be freely manufactured by the Democratic mob. But it does correlate with the man on the street around here, who's been more than willing to tell us about his (her) doubts about Obama.

Another snippet from our 9/11 documentary

Video images of The Missing, with some fine original music by Cecilia and Don Slepian.

Slepian composed his music on the spot, and mixed it with pre-recorded narration and Cecilia's studio-produced work. The soundtrack you hear was, therefore, recorded live at the documentary's one theater performance (at Stevens Institute). That's why the sound is of uneven quality and volume. We'd like to reassemble the pieces in a more polished fashion, if we come across an interested backer at some point.