This Is Too Priceless To Pass On

I've finally gotten around to picking the winners of this GOP and College Caption Contest. So without further delay, here are the awards.

Honorable Mention:
"I think Shaq dropped a testicle!" - Wyatt

Top 5:
5) Shaq: "Maybe the other one will drop soon too sir." - Rodney Dill

4) GWB's poll numbers didn't get the expected bounce either. - Cowby Blob

3) "What do you mean, 'Excuse me while I whip this out?' Whip out *what* exactly?" - V the K

2) That bounced right back up, about as well as one of your free throws going trough the hoop. - Sssteve


And the Winner:
"What you laughin' at Willis?" - Rodney Dill


Source: Reuters

Video courtesy of Fox 5

Paris Hilton Violates Probation

Paris Hilton was arrested just last September for driving under the influence. Her license was revoked when the ruling came down in January, and she was placed under probation for 36 months. Less than 2 months later she was pulled over AGAIN at 11 PM for speeding and driving without her lights on.

If she is found guilty of violating her probation, she could get up to 90 days (more like an overnighter) in prison. Paris claims that she was unaware of the situation, but sorry princess, stupidity is not a get out of jail free card.

Again, to Rick and Kathy Hilton. A fine job of parenting you've done.

A Change Of Rules

The Man has decided to bump up the available slots in the HWC baseball league from 14 to 20. The regular HWC Baseball league now has seven open slots left, so if you want to join, do it fast. However, the Man has a great idea for a new league in case you can't get into the 20 team league.

It's a futility league, where you are awarded for having bad players, and good players are punished.

League ID:141031
Password: osama

Join in and suck away! I have created my team as the Chicago Cubs. Because who can suck any worse than the Cubs?

Tech Goes To Nashville

TTU beat The Southeastern Missouri Redhawks 88-60 last night in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. Tech finished 3-0 for the season against SEMO, and advances to the next round against Eastern Kentucky in Nashville Friday night. If they win that game, they will face either Austin Peay or Samford in the championship game live on ESPN2 from the GEC.

I dressed up as a blind referee, and by the middle of the first half, one ref was calling so blatantly bad, that I took off the fake sunglasses, walking stick, and mega phone asking if he needed them more than me.

Semo never really had a chance. They took the lead for the first 5 minutes, but we went ahead 7-6 and never looked back. The closest SEMO came after that was tying the game at 11 and 14. The second half was even worse for the Redhawks, where they scored a mere 36 points compared to Tech's 50.

Best part of the game: Crowd Chants
The score was 38-24 by halftime, and we let them know. Every time they called a time-out we would start chants of "Fun-da-men-tals!" "Back-To-Ba-sics!" and "SE-MO-High-School!" At one point when they had the ball we started chanting "May-be-Next-Year!" Late in the game they fouled one of our players, and the coach was yelling at the players down court. It got really quiet and I belted out "Tell em' coach! They don't know they SUCK!" It got a good laugh from all the people in my section.

Best Chant:
With about 7 minutes to go in the game the score was 71-41, and we fouled #3, Dionte Perry. He stepped up to the free-throw line and made the first shot. I started chanting "Does-n't-Mat-ter!!" The rest of the group started to follow suit, and Perry couldn't help but notice and started laughing. He looked over and laughed. We knew we'd gotten to him.

**Side Note** SEMO Coach Scott Edgar is a great sport about our rowdiness. In the last meeting between Tech and SEMO in Cookeville he made the mistake of getting on a knee to argue with one of the referees. One of the students belted out "Will you marry me ref??!! Please say yes!" The ref was still laughing about it 5 minutes later.

Dose Kvazy Ger-mahns!

Patrick Stubing and his wife of 4 kids are actively trying to fight the incest laws that they feel are "archaic" and were created by the Third Reich to ensure racial purity.

Why? They are blood brother and sister.

Forget the fact that inbreeding causes physical and mental disabilities, the laws were created by the Nazis to ensure the blood lines of the Aryan Race.

Arabs Using Holy Sites As Military Positions

We've all heard the outrage when Muslims cry foul at troops firing at Muslims inside a mosque, despite the fact that those Muslims instigated the fight from within the mosque by shooting small arms fire at the troops.

Now Palestinians have been firing rockets into Israel from inside a Jewish Synagogue. And if that doesn't top things off, they claim that the use of those Synagogues is Israel's fault.

We are proud to turn these lands, especially these parts that were for long time the symbol of occupation and injustice, like the synagogue, into a military base and source of fire against the Zionists and the Zionist entity," Mr. Abir said.
Mr. Abir blamed the Jewish state for the desecration of the Gaza synagogues by Palestinian Arabs, claiming the decision to leave the structures intact was part of an Israeli conspiracy.
Israel "left the synagogues behind so the world would see the Palestinians destroying them," Mr. Abir said.

Because any good conspiracy has to involve the JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!

HT: Hot Air

Al Gore's Energy Gobbling Mansion

Everyone knows by now about Al Gore's power hungry house in Nashville, TN, but one thing that the reporting wingers have not realized.

Al Gore's permanent residence is in Washington D.C. The Nashville home is merely one of MANY homes the Gores own, but don't actually live in.

So which is worse, Al Gore's house consuming over 10 times the average house, or Al Gore's UNOCCUPIED house consuming over 10 times the average home?

TP Commentors Wish Death To Cheney

A suicide bomber recently targeted VP Dick Cheney in Kabul during a bombing attack, but failed miserably. Cheney is uninjured, but it did kill 14 people, mostly civilians.

However, some (BDS suffering) commentors at Think Progress wish the story were otherwise.

"So near and yet so far with Cheney. Maybe if he stops off in Iraqnam after Afghanistan the suicide bomber there will have better luck. We can cross our fingers and hope. Or, I guess the “christians” can pray." - Mike

"Would I trade one US soldier and 22 people for Cheney?
Yes. If Cheney had a pair, he would make that trade, too.

Do I favor assassination of a sitting VP?
I favor ending Pairless Cheney’s tenure as VP; murder is not my first choice." - Pairless Ed

"Someone should send the Taliban a thank you note and a message: keep trying. Dale at #11 should realize that Cheney is the personification of evil whose policies have caused the deaths of 700,000 Iraqis, half of them under the age of 16 and it is quite doubtful if the vice president has lost any sleep over the unnecessary deaths of those thousands of innocent people." - Erroll

Well mr cheney, it appears someone may have leaked information on your afghanistan visit,maybe someone who you put your trust in.Sucks doesnt it jerk? My only hope is they have better luck next time……tick tock dick.

...Oh and mr cheney, next time bring the wife and kids. - Vance...twice

And it wouldn't be a liberal hate party if Fox News wasn't included:

"Of course. And I just had another idea, we can add the entire Fox News cast also." - AshenShard

And at least one conspiracy nut to boot:

"It’s becoming obvious that Karl Rove has hired shifts of trolls to hang out on TP threads 24/7 now. Probably does this for other progressive blogs." - Jay Randal

At least one person has a good point (but of course the voice of dissent is quickly stamped out with the same drum-beat of the anti-war left):

"Advocating for the assasination of the US government officials. I am sure there is some kind of legal infraction in there somewhere.
A pox upon both of you houses.

Hate, the truely progressive value."

At least one other person slapped the pro-assassination crowd:

“You’re right, Dale. None of those people should have had to die. It was certainly nothing to be cheerful about.”
Good for you, Chimpeach. Some of the cheering going on here for a Taliban suicide-bomber is sickening. Regardless of party, to root for an ally of Al Qaeda to kill Americans is appalling.

Malkin has more from Huffington Post, and other places.

This Couldn't Get Any Jucier

Former Virginia ACLU president Charles Rust-Tierney was arrested last week on charges of possessing Child Pornography. Not only did he posess it, but he actually paid money for it with his own credit card.

The complaint states that federal investigations into child pornography websites revealed that "Charles Rust-Tierney has subscribed to multiple child pornography website over a period of years."

As recently as last October, the complaint alleges, "Rust-Tierney purchased access to a group of hardcore commercial child pornography websites."

...The videos described in the complaint depict graphic forcible intercourse with prepubescent females. One if the girls is described in court documents as being "seen and heard crying", another is described as being "bound by rope."

The report also states that he had coached multiple children's sports teams. I would hope it wasn't a girls soccer or softball team.

John at Stop The ACLU points out that this is halfway to be expected since the ACLU defends the distribution of child pornography.

Bama STILL Sucks

A few of my friends made (in my opinion) a mistake in going to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, so this post is dedicated to them.

Being a Tennessee fan, I am obligated to have a brutal, passionate hate for 2 schools; The Alabama Crimson Tide, and The Florida Gators. The Gators, I can root for in instances like the BCS championship game where they made Ohio state look absolutely silly. However, the dire hatred for Alabama runs so deep, that if I were Catholic, I would feel the need to go to confession if I were forced to root for them in a championship game for the sole reason that they are an SEC team.

However I never have to worry about that scenario, since Alabama sucks. And the Lady Tide proved it in remarkable fashion when they faced LSU in basketball, and lost by a score of 70-27. Alabama is all of 10-19 for the season, and was 0-12 in the SEC.

In the first half, Alabama stayed in line for 5 minutes befire the Tigers began a 33-3 run on the Tide. After that it was all over but the crying. Bama's scores by the half were 12 and 15. Bama's shooting during the game was 8-47, and only 2-12 for 3 pointers. The only thing they shot well were free throws,where they were 9-10.

Other "great" moments in Alabama sports:
Basketball:
Auburn - 81, Alabama (M) - 57
Arkansas - 88, Alabama(M) - 61
Tennessee - 72, Alabama (W) - 36
South Carolina - 95, Alabama (W) - 35
Heck, The whole 2006 Alabama Women's Season!!
Football:
Vanderbilt - 78, Alabama - 0 (1906)
Florida - 35, Alabama - 0 (1991)
Louisville - 34, Alabama - 7 (Fiesta Bowl, 1991
Tennessee -41, Alabama - 14 (1995)
Arkansas - 42, Alabama - 6 (1998)
Virginia Tech - 38, Alabama - 7 (Music City Bowl, 1998)

Our Tax Dollars At Work

You know, at a school with such a vast amount of intelligence you would think there would be more common sense than I've seen here. I was walking out of my Fluid Mechanics class today and noticed a crowd of people. Being the inquisitive person I am, I had to turn and look at what they were gawking at. Apparently TTU had to call the Cookeville fire department because some dolt threw their cigarette into a container VERY clearly marked "CARDBOARD ONLY."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together. If you throw a lit cig into a giant box filled with essentially paper, it's going to burn. But what upsets me is that this is the second time IN A WEEK that this particular container has been set ablaze. Fortunately the first time, I don't think the fire department was called. However, each time something like this happens it can cost the school upwards of $1,000 per call. It wouldn't surprise me if Tennessee Tech is the highest income earner for the Cookeville Fire Department. There was one week where some drunken idiots in a single dorm pulled the fire alarm 4 times (during the cold winter) at times like 3 AM. Each time CFD had to come out and inspect the entire dorm before anyone was allowed back in.

That money comes from a) my tuition, and b) my taxes, and I don't like it being wasted because some bumbling buffoon has no common sense.

HWC Baseball Update!

There are only 2 spots left open in HWC Baseball, so if you are going to join, then do it fast!!!

League ID: 6872
Password: hillary

Hahahaha!

From 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (and Al Franken Is #37)

100
Rick and Kathy Hilton

OKAY, PARIS HILTON has an excuse. She's a moron. But her parents can't be let off so easily.

If they gave Nobel Prizes for the mom and dad who raised the most vapid, empty-headed, inane, hollow, vain, tasteless, self-centered, useless twerp in the entire country —maybe in the entire world —Rick and Kathy Hilton would be on their way to Stockholm to pick up the medal.

Paris wears designer T-shirts with slogans like "Got Blow?" and has said, "Wal-Mart? What's that? Do they, like, make walls there?" She's made headlines for shoving her way to the head of a wash-room line, and when upbraided for her rudeness, said she just wanted to look at herself in the mirror. And, as everyone knows, she's a big movie star —if you count having sex in a home video that has made its way around the world on the Internet as being a movie star.

But Rick and Kathy's little celebutante insists she's misunderstood. The bad press "sucks," she pouts, and she thinks that "people are mean."

Congratulations, Rick and Kathy. You did a fine job. People are mean —especially to heir-heads like your daughter.

Hahahaha! Awesome. "Paris Hilton - The epitome of what what you get from bad parenting."

The #1 Reason To Blog Anonnymously

There are a few people who know my true identity, but they are a select group of family and friends. This guy is the number one reason why I don't just hand out my name and personal information.

...Later that day we found a list of names on the front porch, complete with addresses, boys and girls, all members of the college Republicans. I was 9th on the list. I contacted a few of the people on the list and only one had received a visit from this guy, and they hadn't even answered the door because they knew of his affiliation and what he was coming to say. For lack of better words, we were pretty unsuspecting. His arraignment is on March 1st, and our school newspaper is doing a large investigation of his ties to other organizations on campus, etc. For now, we're all pretty scared about what this guy'll do now that he's back on the streets.

And what's even scarier is the fact that this is not a first. There are others.

Recently, I was quick to condemn Tony Katz when he threw a chair at Joe Redner after Redner insulted his weight during a televised political debate, as well as when the GOP site apparently put a Hitler-Stache on Howard Dean, but where is the condemnation from the left? What are their thoughts on this incident?

The Real Problem In Iraq

The man has the loyalty of the people. They protect him, they protect his family, and the families of his men. I can capture him for you. But to do so requires the use of some tactics that are somewhat...What was the word your lords used? "Brutal," I think.

- The Patriot

Now this is going to sound weird coming from a conservative like myself, but the real problem with Iraq is in fact here in America. Not the troops, not the leadership, but other things here in America. Yes, part of it is the media, but the other part is the actual American people in general.

"What the hell??!!"

Have I gone mad? No. My roommate is of Christian-Jordanian descent, and lived there for some time. When it comes to discussions about the Middle East, I'm very open to what he has to say. And when compared to Middle Eastern people, we are too thin skinned. Americans see a man stripped of his clothes in an interrogation room and think that it is a heinous crime. True Arabs see that and think "Wow, he got off lucky. He didn't even lose a finger."

Loud, screaming, almost violent arguments are an every day thing in Arab countries. People get into an argument about how much they think an article of food should cost, and other simple things. The mindset there is that civility in an argument is a sign of weakness, and if you want to win the argument, you have to force your view. This goes for fighting as well; You have to have prove to your opponent that you are stronger, and make him beg for your mercy. Only then can you let off, because the battle is won.

It is all about the visualization of power. His suggestion for solving the problem in Iraq would have many human rights advocates screaming; The media and CAIR would demand the necks of every American soldier, and the Anti-Defamation League would want the President's head on a plate. BUT IT WOULD WORK. The reason that insurgents continue to attack soldiers and members of other sects is because no one in their eyes has shown them that they are stronger, and so they believe that they can get away with it. We are there now to mainly do humanitarian aid, and that should not be stopped. However, that is the only thing we are doing to combat the insurgents aside from random raids. That needs to change. Trying to win the insurgents over by being their friend is not going to work.

What needs to be done is a mass arresting of Iraqi warlords. The warlords are who the Iraqi people see as the most powerful force in the country right now. Take the warlords out into the middle of the street and strip them of all their clothes. While you are doing this, make a VERY big scene about it. This symbolically strips them of their power. Scream out the crimes that the men have committed (over a PA system is even better), so that all the people around know what they have done. Then make them beg for mercy from you. This tells the insurgents that you are a force to be reckoned with, and tells the people of Iraq that you are bringing the men to justice. THEN, show them mercy. Give them back their clothes, and put them in prison. The message is clear, and the insurgents realize what will happen to them if they follow the warlords.

Yes, it sounds very brutal to the average American, but to an Arab it makes sense. For example, when we attacked Iwo Jima with 110,000 soldiers, there were 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island. By the end of the battle 20,700 of them had been killed. The American people could not understand why the Japanese would not simply give in when they were down. Their culture had no concept of surrender, and when American soldiers would surrender, they were shot.

The same concept is for the Arab world; Diplomacy without battle is a sign of weakness.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Vs Auburn Tigers

Recently, the NCAA has allowed 1-A schools to dip into the 1-AA pool for an easy win. Auburn's choice for the game is Tennessee Tech. The game will be November 3rd, and is Auburn's Home Coming Game.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle football team will play at Auburn University on Saturday, Nov. 3, facing the highly ranked Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game was announced this week by officials at both schools.

While the Golden Eagles have faced 19 Bowl Subdivision teams (formerly I-A) in the past 22 years, the game at Auburn will be the first for Tech against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference in 56 years.

To accommodate Tech's scheduling of the game against Auburn, Eastern Illinois University officials agreed to move the Ohio Valley Conference game between the Golden Eagles and Panthers. That contest, originally slated for Nov. 3, has been moved to Thursday night, Aug. 31, in Charleston as the season-opener for both schools.

"Our kids are really looking forward to this," said first-year Golden Eagle coach Watson Brown. "We want to take them someplace nice once a year. It's a 'money' game, so it covers two areas for us. Our kids get a major opponent to look forward to and it helps us financially."

Will it be a slaughtering? Oh yeah. Tech is going to go down like a Thai whore in front of a $100 bill, but what it will also do is give us possible TV time, as well as much needed funding for the advancement of the program. With new coach Watson Brown, I am looking forward to an upswing of performance from Tech.

Congratulations Anthony Fisher And The TTU Golden Eagles!!

Tennessee Tech Guard, Anthony Fisher scored 31 points in TTU's 73-72 victory over the Austin Peay Governors, and as of 9 PM CST, it is the most points scored by a single NCAA player tonight.

Congrats to Anthony Fisher and the rest of the Golden Eagles in taking out the "Number One" team in the OVC. I of course was at the game, and had an awesome time! I may have even gotten to be on national television after the game! (see the Highlights here)

TTU overcame a double digit deficit to take the lead in the first half, then at least a 9 point deficit in the second half to take the win in the last 35 seconds of the game.

Via AP:

Tech led at halftime 47-43 after trailing by as much as 12. The Golden Eagles have now won 12 of their last 14 games and are 12-1 at home.

Supposedly, if we win our last game of the season, we get a bid in the NIT.

To see the momentum swings of the game, check this out.

**UPDATE**
I've been trying to find this recap from ESPN.com about the Bracketbuster game of TTU vs the Northwestern State Demons. Tennessee Tech won the game in overtime 85-84 on apparently one of the infamous Tech dunks that echo across the country.

But the most thrilling radio-only BracketBusters game occurred between two teams that still may end up in the NCAA's Big Bracket a month from now. Homestanding Tennessee Tech, tied for second in the OVC, defeated first-place East Division Southlanders Northwestern State 84-85 in a seesaw overtime battle. In addition to seven double-figure scorers (including Tech's Belton Rivers with 35), there were 17 ties and 20 lead changes. The final scoreboard switch came on an Amadi McKenzie slam with five seconds to go in the extra session, a dazzling dunk that sent the Cookeville crowd into 'Buster bedlam. Sorry you weren't able to see it.

Last seasone, one dunk made ESPN's top 10 plays. On an inbound pass for TTU from below the net, Milon Clark caught the ball in mid air and slammed it home. But I assure you, there are many more that go unseen. Last night there were 3 monster dunks in the game, all by Amadi McKenzie

Now More Than Ever

Jack Murtha
John Kerry
John Edwards
Ted Kennedy
Hillary Clinton
Howard Dean
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid
Chris Dodd

All of these people want to cut and run almost immidiately from Iraq. Their plan is to leave Iraq, let the country fall further into chaos (rather than trying to fix it), then blame the Bush Administration, stating that it was his fault for going in in the first place. Some have expressed concern that Iraq is closer than the media reports to becoming a true victory, and to pull out, would be "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," just like in Vietnam.


Now more than ever:

The (D) Stands For Defeat.

HWC Baseball Coming Soon

Was it a gruelling season? Yes, but was it FUN? OH YEAH!!! Yahoo! is opening registration for fantasy baseball on Thursday, and The Man is gonig to set up the team again this year. 20+ weeks of HWC Baseball are right around the corner!

Last season there were 16 teams, and this year, we have limited it to 14 teams. Only 7 spots are left, so join quickly!!!

Click here to go to Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball;
League ID: 6872
Password: hillary





Already signed up:
The Man
GOP and College
Lawhawk
bRight & Early
RFTR
Don Surber
Ssssteve!
Private Pigg
Cake Or Death
fmragtops
Wyatt Earp

In Blogs

I recently found the page Inblogs.net, a site where if you are in India, Pakistan, China, or any other web-censoring country, you can access your favorite blogger blogs by typing on the name of the page. For example, here at GOP and College.

Kudos for opening the sphere up in opressed countries!

Who Cares??!!

I've been hearing all of this flap about Keith Ellison and wanting to be sworn in on the Quran. I say let him do it. Think about it this way:

Would you rather him swear to serve and protect our country on the book that he holds the highest, or would you rather him swear on something that has no spiritual meaning to him? I'd rather him swear on the Quran.

What comes to mind is the movie Fried Green Tomatoes:
Idgie Threadgoode: I can't believe he swore on the Bible!
Ruth: Well, if that judge had looked any closer, he'd have seen that it was a copy of Moby Dick.

My Response To One Question

A question was asked if President Bush believed that people who say "I support the troops, but not the war." And Bush replied that he did, but didn't give a very good explanation of his meaning.

Here's what Bush should have said:
"Sure, I believe that you can support the troops, but not the war. You are entitled to your opinion just as every other American is. However, if you claim to support the troops, then do things like picket the hospital where they were sent to when they were wounded, spit on them at an anti-war protest, or decide to cut off their funding, it's very obvious that you are lying through your teeth."

Link From Phil Valentine

The interview with Phil Valentine has been linked to from PhilValentine.com!

For those of you who have not read it, I did a review of the 2nd Town Hall Meeting in Franklin about Illegal Immigration. After the show I interviewed Phil about some various topics. Chekc it out.

AQ Downs United States UAV

All 4.2 lbs of it. Rusty Shackleford has the report.

The plane is an AeroVironment Raven. A 4.2 lb UAV with a max range of 10 km. Rusty suggests that AQ didn't actually shoot the plane down (a thought which is backed up by the fact that there is no significant damage to the vehicle itself), but rather the plane simply ran out of battery life.

Congratulations AQ. You picked up a plane that ran out of juice. It takes a real warrior to accomplish that task. And you'd better be thanking your lucky stars that at a range of only 10 km you weren't tagged by the armed forces members who would be sent to find the lost aircraft.

That Damn Ground Hog

Phil did not see his shadow on the 2nd, a sign that spring is just around the corner.

Early Spring my @ss.

What's Goin on?

I'm trying to figure out why I've got so many people visiting my page looking for this image. Over the past week or so I would guess that I've had about 250 hits from people google searching it alone (click on the view image alone link). It is people all up and down the coast, and I can't figure out what's going on.

Is there something I'm missing?

More Economic Reporting By GOPAC

It's very funny to see the people like John Kerry and other liberals trying to state that an economy with high taxes and intrusive government is a good thing. They use Europe as a model of excellence saying that it is the way to go. But do we really want to do that? The Swedish company Timbro did a study that compared the United states to the entire European Union, and the results are not what Euro loving economists would like you to see.

Big point #1 - The lowest 25% of income earners in United States are FAR wealthier than the average European.
The study shows that 73% of Americans who made below $25,000 in 1999 owned their own car. 97% owned a color TV, with 55% owning more than one. Take for example housing; 46% owned their own home. You might say that the house is probably pretty small, but the average house for those 46% of people making $25,000 or less is 1,200 square feet. Compare that to the entire European average of 975 square feet. There is actually only one country that can beat the average "poor American's" home, Luxembourg. Their average home size is about 1,350 square feet. However that is still a far cry from the 1,800 square foot average for the overall average American home.

Big point #2 - European Countries will likely NEVER catch the United States unless something dramatic is done.
The study shows that even if the United States economy remained absolutely stagnant, it would take most European countries over 10 years to catch up to the United States if their growth remained the same. There was only one country that would have caught up to the United States in less than 8 years, but more on that later.
Unfortunately, over the past 30 years, the United States has nearly doubled their economy per person in the past 30 years. Only Germany has kept a reasonable pace, but they are still about 5% below the United States per person GDP.

Big Point #3 - A person in the United States buy more than a person in Europe.
In fact the average American spends about 77% more than the average European. The only country who comes close is again Luxembourg However this is misleading since it takes into affect per person GDP. Luxembourg has a very high GDP per person since most of their work force comes from people who live outside the country. Even with the skewed scale, Americans are able to spend almost $5,000 more per year than them, and almost $10,000 more than in any other European country.

Why is this? - The United states has a more free market than the European Markets.
European countries have policies which have high taxation, and strict laws preventing companies from firing unproductive workers. This makes companies more reluctant to hire people, as well as make it difficult for people to become entrepreneurs. Companies are very difficult to start up, and no one wants to deal with it.
Not only that but taxes for the American income earner are the lowest of all people surveyed. Americans have much more money left after the government takes it away in taxes. This allowed for more consumption spending, which helps the businesses that sell the products.

Big Point #4 - There is one exception to the European Mire
There is one country who is defying the European lackluster performance, and I'm betting you would have never thought of it if you didn't know: Ireland. Yes, the Irish have taken notes from America and discovered the key to long term economic gains; Economic Freedom. Ireland was listed in 2004 as being the 4th most free market in the world, and their economic growth has shown. In 1987 Ireland had the lowest per capita GDP of all the EU countries. However in the following years Ireland's government sliced taxes, and opened up the market to more freedoms. Growth flowed from the economy at a fire hydrant rate. From 1990 to 1995 the economy grew at a rate of over 5% per year, and from 1995 to 2000, the economy averaged over 9% growth per year! The key to this is exponential growth. It's calculated the same way as interest in an account. You start off with 100, the next year you have 109, the next you have 119, the next 130, then 141, and so on. From the year 1990 to 2000 the economy grew 96%.

Lower taxes, and less government intrusion left the people more options, and made it easier to succeed. People were starting new businesses everyday, and the economy skyrocketed from being worst to first.

Ireland's recent economic storywould be one which emphasises the role of low taxation in promoting economic activity. Low corperate taxes are vital if a region is to encourage foreign direct investment. Aside from the 10% corperation tax rate there have been substantial reductions in tax rates between 1985 and 1998. The top rate of income tax has come down from 65% to 46%, capital gains tax has been reduced from 60% to 20% and capital aquisitions tax from 55% to 40%. Well targeted tax breaks can generate worthwhile employment generating activity. - European University Institute

Recently Ireland's growth has declined, reason; the government has decided that they want more regulation. This has begun to peak the "Celtic Tiger."

Need further proof that big government is bad for the economy? Compare this map of the 2007 Index of Economic Freedom, to the rank of world economies. Note that every one of the most free economies are among the top per capita economies (5th, 8th, 13th and 17th, again, note Luxembourg's $80k/C is heavily skewed). Of the countries who are 70-80% free, they hold 12 of the remaining 16 spots in the top 20. Only Qatar, France, Germany, and Italy were among the 60-70% free class to break the top 20, and they ranked 7th, 18th 19th and 20th. Qatar was the 7th, but like Luxembourg, their numbers may have been skewed to the high range due to workers living outside the country.
As far as I could see, the highest ranked 50-60% country is Poland at $7,946/C. Compare that to the United State's $42,000/C, and it only goes downhill from there.

They make it seem like Europe is such a great model, but in actuality,
"It is better being poor in a rich country than in a poor one."

Economic Freedom: The key to economic success.

Cross Posted At: The Right Place

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Another Reason To Not Raise Minimum Wage, Continued
Another Reason To Not Raise Minimum Wage

Shut Up And Work

You know, I'm sick of all these lazy people talking about how they don't want to work, and just want to go home with their government checks.

I'm not talking about people on government assistance. I'm talking about the people that make upwards of 10 times that on Capitol Hill.

Members of Congress, and Senators are again complaining about the fact that they are having to actually work 5 days a week to earn their $180,000 per year. Most people who make that much money per week work more than 40 hours per week, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the majority of them worked over 50 hours per week.

Complain all you want, but you took the job. If you don't like it, then don't go for re-election and do something else.

It's The Jimmah's!

Blogmeister is hosting their first ever Jimmah Awards. The nominations are open for 2 more weeks, so throw the names in of who you feel should be nominated for these categories:

1. Worst anti-Semite
2. Worst American anti-American
3. Worst Foreign anti-American
4. Biggest Hypocrite
5. Most Willing to Ignore Reality
6. Most Willing to Embrace Dhimmitude
7. Lifetime Achievement in Moonbattery

I would like to throw in my nominations.

Worst anti-Semite: Mamoud Ahmadinejhad, for "Israel will be wiped off the map," "Death to Israel," blah blah blah.

Worst American anti-American: Rev. Fred Phelps, for organizing protests stating that the death U.S. Troops have been God's punishment for things happening in the United States.

Worst Foreign anti-American: Hugo Chavez. Anyone who has the nerve to come to America and spit in our face deserves this award.

Biggest Hypocrite: John Edwards, for campaigning he is "helping the little" people while making riches as one of the many trial lawyers who have been raising health care costs.

Most Willing to Ignore Reality: AARP, for not waking up to the fact that Social Security is going to die soon.

Most Willing to Embrace Dhimmitude: Great Britain. With the Radicalised Muslim population growing in Britain it's only a matter of time.

Lifetime Achievement in Moonbattery (2): Amanda Marcotte, for "F#$%^ BUSHCO!!" and Arianna Huffington, for the Huffington Post.

I Can't Help But Post This

Thanks to the members of Cardinal's Space for this one. For all you Cubs fans out there:



Just in case YOU need another reminder of how crappy the cubs are; here are 20 major events that have occurred since the Chicago Cubs last laid claim to a World Series championship:

1. Radio was invented... Cubs fans get to hear their team lose.

2. TV was invented... Cubs fans get to see their team lose.

3. Baseball added 14 teams... Cubs fans get to see and hear their team lose to more clubs.

4. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays.

5. Haley's comet passed EARTH... TWICE.

6. Harry Carey was born... and died. Incredible, but true.

7. The NBA, NHL, and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won
championships in each league.

8. Man landed on the moon... as have several home runs given up by Cubs pitchers.

9. Sixteen U.S. presidents were selected.

10. Eleven amendments were added to the Constitution.

11. Prohibition was created... repealed.

12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, was discovered, and became
the subject of major motion pictures, the latter giving Cubs fans hope that something that finishes on the bottom can come out on top.

13. Wrigley Field was built... and becomes the oldest park in theNational League.

14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field's roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants. Those flag poles have since rusted and been taken down.

15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held.

16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown; several thanked Cubs Pitchers.

17. Bell-bottoms came in style and went out... and came back in.

18. The Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Florida Marlins have all won the World Series.

19. The Cubs played 14,153 regular-season games and lost the majority of them.

20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were added to the Union.

Pay Attention Jihadi's

If you want to learn how to be a real martyr, listen to Michael Yon.

He was dressed as a woman as he walked down the alley toward the mosque full of worshippers. It was Friday, just before Ashura, and the air was chilled.
The bomb strapped to his body was studded with ball-bearings so that he could kill more villagers as they gathered for prayer. The detonation would eviscerate and dismember those closest, shattering bones into fragments, but the ball-bearings would ensure lethality beyond the percussive edge of the blast wave, ripping through the flesh of people who might not have been knocked down by the explosion.
There were no soldiers in his path to stop him; no police to alert to the man in women’s clothes. There were only villagers. The man dressed as a woman was to be the agent of their deaths. He kept walking down the alley toward the mosque where more than one hundred people were praying, a mass murderer masquerading in a woman’s garb.
...The closer a counterfeit comes to the genuine article, the more obvious the deceit. As the murderer dressed in women’s clothes walked purposefully toward his target, there was a village man ahead. But under the guise of a simple villager was a true Martyr, and he, too, had his target in sight. The Martyr had seen through the disguise, but he had no gun. No bomb. No rocket. No stone. No time.
The Martyr walked up to the murderer and lunged into a bear hug, on the spot where we were now standing.
The blast ripped the Martyr to pieces which fell along with pieces of the enemy. Ball-bearings shot through the alley and wounded two children, but the people in the mosque were saved. The man lay in pieces on the ground, his own children having seen how his last embrace saved the people of the village.

Martyr: One who suffers for the sake of principle

Sacrificing your life to save the lives other people is true martyrdom.

H/T: FreeSpeech.com

Cross posted at: In The Right Place

Turner's $2 Million Mistake

Turner Broadcasting and the marketing company Interence Inc. have been ordered to shell out 2 million dollars to cover the cost of the "bomb scares" and to cover "restitution" from the agencies who carried out the orders to neutralize the perceived threat.

What's even funnier is the fact that CNN, who is owned by Ted Tuner, reported on the incidents without knowing the fact that their own parent company was responsible for the hoax until Turner Broadcasting issued them the official statement that it was a hoax.

Question to ponder:
Exactly when DID CNN discover the incident was a hoax, and how long did it take that information to reach the anchor desk?

Newsweek Busts Inconvenient Kyoto Truths

Newsweek writer George Will has dropped a massive bombshell on Global Warming alarmists, stating not only that ratification of the bill was blocked 95-0 in December 1997, but that John Kerry and Barbra Boxer were two of the "Nay" votes.

The Senate warned against any agreement that would require significant reductions of greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States and other developed nations without mandating "specific scheduled commitments" on the part of the 129 "developing" countries, which include China, India, Brazil and South Korea—the second, fourth, 10th and 11th largest economies. Nothing Americans can do to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions will make a significant impact on the global climate while every 10 days China fires up a coal-fueled generating plant big enough to power San Diego. China will construct 2,200 new coal plants by 2030.

Not only that but Kyoto mandates that countries reduce their greenhouse emissions by 5.2%. The United States without the treaty is on pace to reduce their "carbon intensity" by 18% by 2012. China is intentionally increasing their greenhouse gas emissions, and will be the largest Greenhouse emitter within the next 2 or 3 years.

"Was life better when ice a mile thick covered Chicago? Was it worse when Greenland's shore was warm enough for the Vikings to farm there? Are we sure the climate at this particular moment is exactly right, and that it must be preserved, no matter the cost?"

Newsweek Commenter J Sprinkle says;
"After moving to Minnesota from Georgia I've changed my mind: I'm now in favor of global warming."

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