“Bliss” in the time of Obama: off grid and down the rabbit hole.

Future presidential historians will note that the winter of 2013-14 was one of the coldest and snowiest on record, prompting the 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama, to sign Executive Order # 6749 requiring the oceans to recede.

Ice, encroaching on the shores of Chicago; winter 2014 – photo via Drudge

Likewise, in year VI of Obama, America’s Groundhog Day continued on, seemingly forever, recycling bad economic news with mind-numbing redundancy:

Basically, we’re going through cyclic stagnation. We get small boosts in job expansion, which economists keep treating as solid portents for explosive growth, only to see corrections to the downside shortly afterward. The average effect is still stagnation, and as long as we’re disincentivizing investment and labor, that’s what we will keep seeing.

In what the AP called  “a surprisingly weak” (aka “unexpected”) January jobs report:

The American economy once again failed to keep up with population growth in job creation in January, the second poor jobs report in a row. Only 113,000 jobs were added last month [ed.150,000 required to “break even”].

Despite a slight downtick in  “unemployment” to 6.6% all parties now agree that the surprisingly robust unemployment rate is due to the historic Labor Participation Rate which hoovers at an unprecedented level of 63%, meaning nearly 92 million Americans have opted out of the labor force. (!)

Furthermore, attempts to kick start the economy via the income multiplying effects of extended unemployment benefits and food stamps do not appear to be working.

Despite what resident Keynesian economists Pelosi and Jarrett may have told you

Thus prompting the cold hearted Republicans’ (CHR) refusal to extend unemployment (again) for the long-term unemployed. So look for another downtick in the labor participation rate next month, along with an uptick in the number of people on Social Security disability. That will ensure that our unemployment rate can remain robustly low.

The January jobs report provided further opportunity for the CHR to demonstrate their ill-will and racism:

“Republicans were quick to blame the weak jobs numbers on the president and call on him to accept parts of the GOP agenda.”

Perhaps future presidential historians will be able to tell us who, after 5 years of the Reign of Obama, they should have blamed instead? Because if they’re going to be pointing their fingers at BHO, expect him to be pointing right back at them.

I’m pointing at you, dude.

Along with all of the other usual suspects.

There was a bit of good news buried in the jobs report though:

The expiration of emergency jobless benefits at the end of 2013 could skew the participation rate, since individuals must be actively searching for work to be eligible for the benefits. Without that enticement, some people looking for work could give up their search.

In other words, if people are no longer required to pretend to be looking for work in order to collect unemployment, they will drop out and be added to the 92 million Americans already “not participating” in the labor market.

I know that doesn’t sound like good news, butt that’s all we’ve got right now. Still, some people are doing their part by putting a happy face on it:

This increase serves as a silver lining in the report, suggesting that people who were previously discouraged about finding work are feeling more confident about their prospects and jumping back into the labor force.

That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?  I guess it’s better than nothing:

“Given that the economy is improving and the labor market is improving, I think that we are likely to see over the next few months people who have dropped out of the labor force coming back in,” said PNC senior economist Gus Faucher.

Or maybe not:

“That being said, I think there is the potential that some of the people who were getting unemployment benefits could drop out of the labor force.”

Oh well, at least they can sign up for one of those plum, fully subsidized Bronze level Obamacare plans and follow their bliss.

Assuming your bliss is living off-grid.

So keep on keepin’ on, as they used to say in the hippie days. Because if you do, sooner or later you’re bound to run into the White Rabbit. Just don’t follow him down the hole next time. No matter what color he is.

In other news, American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg takes first gold in Sochi Olympics!!!

God bless America!!!

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

“For all those who’ve taken out predatory student loans, Lord, hear my prayer”

We went to school the other day to pump kids and their parents to apply for those readily available student loans for college:

Michelle Obama told a group of high school students and parents on Wednesday not to let financial concerns stand in the way of a college education as she urged them to apply for federal student aid.

“Unfortunately, too many students don’t even bother to apply to college because they don’t think they’ll ever be able to afford it,” she added. “So they just walk away from the opportunity without getting any advice or seeking any support.”

 

Lady M’s new eyebrows, imploring kids to apply for student loans so they can go to college, so the colleges can keep paying their tenured professors those elitist salaries.

Mrs. Obama, who attended Princeton and Harvard Law School, said she earned financial aid through a work-study program as a student, working in a day care center and an office, among other places.

I heard that she also painted houses during the summers, just like Bill O’Reilly and Big Guy did.

Anything you can do I can do better

Butt that’s another story.

So kids - get those forms filled out before it’s too late! Heaven knows, what we really need to get the economy rolling are more college graduates flipping burgers. No wonder we need to raise the minimum wage: these people have 6 years worth of accumulated student loans to pay back!

And now that Lady M has solved the “financin’” part of getting a college degree, let’s address another concern that may hold some students back: the self-doubt that they’re not really smart enough to go to college. Although this is less of an issue now that we’ve replaced the 3 R’s with the 5 self-esteems, it’s still a concern for some students. Allow me to put that fear to rest once and for all by offering Exhibit A, Sheila Jackson Lee:

(Shelia Jackson Lee) earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1972, followed by a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

See kids: even you could represent the citizens of the United States as a post-modern enlightened despotic anti-constitutionalist – if only you get that college degree!

“We will be answering the call of all of America because people need work and we’re not doing right by them by creating work. And I believe this caucus will put us on the right path and we’ll give President Obama a number of executive orders that he can sign with pride and strength.”

As Keith Koffler notes, Sheila – thanks to all that education – has found a way to streamline that whole “constitutional” republic thing:

Legislation doesn’t have to pass Congress anymore! IT JUST NEEDS TO BE APPROVED BY THE FULL EMPLOYMENT CAUCUS AND SENT STRAIGHT TO THE PRESIDENT.

And then we have Exhibit B, Maxine Waters, (BA Sociology, California State University, Los Angeles). Because her degree is in sociology, she’s adopted socialism as her cause de célèbre:

And while Maxine and Sheila both received grants to cover most of their college expenses, let the record reflect that they have both paid us back by dedicating their entire careers to public service. And still, they have somehow managed to end up as socialist millionaires in the process – if that’s not an excellent return on our investment I don’t know what is. And all because they went to college! On your dime! Is America a great country or what?

Butt back to Lady M’s advice to this generation’s college hopefuls: She’s not just encouraging them, she’s almost demanding that they take out loans to support the bloated higher education system:

“You don’t have to be the valedictorian. You don’t have to major in a certain subject. You don’t even have to be at the very bottom of the income ladder to receive the money,”

Gosh, didn’t the Democrats called that sort of thing “predatory lending” when Big Banks did it to encourage people to take out loans on homes that weren’t worth what they were borrowing? And they couldn’t afford to pay back?.

“Fill out those forms, fill them out!” Mrs. Obama exhorted. “Don’t leave money on the table.”

Hold that thought: “Don’t leave money on the table.” I believe it’s the Democrats’ battle cry for the midterms. Republicans better come up with their own call to arms if they hope to combat it.

“ For the preservation and protection of this great Republic, Lord, hear our prayer.” 

The Obama’s at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 6, 2014

Somehow I don’t think they’re praying for the same things we’re praying for.

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? 

Benjamin Franklin
July 28, 1787

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

“Going Dictator” - a Brief How-To Course

Did you hear what El Presidente said now?

"I make an appeal to the country economic sectors, for work and self-regulation of commodities and prices. You have time until next Monday; otherwise, I will take the most radical measures. I am determined to make an economic revolution. Nobody, nothing will stop me!"

No, that wasn’t Big Guy; that was Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chavez’s successor and president of the other most dubiously democratic country in the Western hemisphere.

Hugo (RIP) presents BHO with a book documenting 5 centuries of American and European Imperialism: BHO’s response, “ I wrote one of them too.”

In response to inflationary pressures (56% last year) Nicolás, a pragmatic man like BHO, decided that limiting corporate profits and establishing price controls was the best way to fix his country’s ailing economy:

Venezuela decreed a new price control law that sets limits on company profits and establishes prison terms for those charged with hoarding or over-charging, part of populist President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to tame inflation.

Goodness, where do these pragmatic leaders go to economics school, Havana?

“See Hugo, in Cuba our cars last for 50 years or more!  We don’t need no stinkin’ factories.”

As you know Big Guy has always been interested in international policy and law, so he’s been studying Venezuela to see exactly what is required in order to fix an ailing economy single handedly. It turns out you only need a few things:

1) A staff of mini-czars trained to act as stand-in tyrants in your absence:

“The president’s been quite insistent in cabinet meetings and in private meetings that he expects his cabinet to be forceful and to act. We can’t wait for congressional action. So pursuant to his climate action plan, we established a number of climate change hubs,” Vilsack said during the White House press briefing,

2) a high court of the land packed with hand picked justices willing to rule as directed:

On the Supreme Court since 2009, Sotomayor said it was tough at first as justices made references that went over her head. She said joining the high court amounted to joining an ongoing conversation among justices who had served for years.

“I figure I may not be the smartest judge on the court but I’m going to be a competent justice,” she said. “I’m going to try to be the best I can and each year I think my opinions have been getting better. And I’m working at finding my voice a little bit.”

Holy Legal Briefs Batman! Since when did being “competent” qualify you to serve on the Supreme Court!? Oh, right - since Obama - “wise Latina” yada, yada, yada.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly,

3) a completely compliant media, willing to support and defend El Presidente’s every move, twitch and dictate. To wit, The New York Times definitive report on the Benghazi affair de Hillary: here are three major revelations from the report:

1. Al-Qaeda was not involved in the assault

2. Anger at the Innocence of Muslims video motivated the initial assault and fueled the anger that powered the attack

3. The spontaneous response to the video stoked another attack that was already in the works, planned by smaller militia not affiliated with al-Qaeda

As you see, BHO has been a good student, a very good student indeed. All he needs to completely transform America into the economic utopia he envisions are the education camps. We’re thinking of repurposing Gitmo for just that purpose.

Anyway, getting back to Nicolás’ little problem in Venezuela, like Big Guy he thinks his lack of success at making the oceans recede and the economy recover is the result of his political adversaries who are waging an “economic war” against him and his policies. Which is why he can’t afford to wait for congressional action and will therefore “expropriate whatever needs to be expropriated” in order to end the bad morale.

His critics, of course, charge the collapse is evidence of the failure of Venezuela's state-driven (socialistic) economic model. Butt what else would you expect your political enemies to say? I just don’t get why this economics stuff is this so hard to figure out: Capitalism - it doesn’t work if you don’t work. Socialism: it doesn’t work because, well, because you don’t work.

"I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts."  - Ronald Reagan, February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004

 

 Happy Birthday, Gipper! We miss you.

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Caution: You’re Entering The Spin Zone

It’s a good thing Mr. O hightailed it out of here. Not Big Guy, I mean Bill O’Reilly, because as of noon yesterday when the CBO report came out, things have been spinning around here like your electric meter on a blistering hot day.

Only ours spins backwards, because of the tax subsidized solar panels on the roof producing so much power we’re selling it back to our local utility, as required by law. Win Win!!

 

Suffice it to say it’s enough to make your head spin. So here’s the deal, as first reported yesterday:

The new healthcare law will cost the nation the equivalent of 2.5 million workers in the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in a report released Tuesday.

The nonpartisan agency found the reform law’s negative effects on employment would be “substantially larger” than what it had previously anticipated.

It said the equivalent of 2.3 million workers would be lost by 2021, compared to its previous estimate of 800,000, and that 2.5 million workers would be lost by 2024. It also projected that labor force compensation would be reduced by 1 percent from 2017 to 2024 — twice its previous estimate.

But let me be clear: this is good news; you don’t have to work as hard anymore! Or at all, if you “choose” not to.

The report predicted more people would leave the workforce because of lower wages, and be slower to return because they would want to keep their healthcare insurance subsidies.

That’s right, we’re all going Greek.

It took our crack White House staff a few minutes to reset their gyroscopes and mount an argument to defend our new healthcare law that discourages Americans from working.

Initially even an old pro like Jay-Jay was having a hard time getting this puppy to spin,

Sure I can clean the dirty laundry, butt if you want it to spin, that costs extra.

And since Jay-Jay is taking his nervous pills again, he called in reinforcements in the person of Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors:

"This is not businesses cutting back on jobs. This is people having new choices," Furman said.

Furman told reporters that the law would not reduce the hours being offered by employers. Instead, Furman said, ObamaCare allowed greater "choice" — for workers to scale back their hours to spend more time with their children, or to leave their jobs to launch a small business or startup.

No, wait…did he really say that? Let me check my transcript…why yes, he did: I guess “choice” always tests positively with our focus groups. At least when we’re talking about women’s “healthcare options.” So now what people are going to choose is to “spend more time with their families?” Really boys? That’s all you’ve got?

Furman also said it was wrong to evaluate the law based solely on the finding that people are less likely to work and will work fewer hours under the healthcare law.

I see his point; there are so many other aspects to evaluate the law on that are equally if not more deserving of our attention. For example: the impending doctor shortages it will create, or the fact that you really CAN”T keep your doctor, or your hospital – or your full-time job; and sometimes all you get is the pain pill…

Butt wait, there’s more:

Furman also argued that allowing workers greater flexibility would create more dynamism in the marketplace as workers felt freer to change jobs or start their own businesses.

So there you go: Nancy Pelosi may have been wrong about Obamacare creating 4 million jobs, butt she was dead-on about people being free to follow their bliss:

We see it [Obamacare] as an entrepreneurial bill, a bill that says to someone, if you want to be creative and be a musician or whatever, you can leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care. - (Then) Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi

I don’t think “entrepreneurial” means what you and Jason thinks it means, Nancy. And we may want to be a little more selective about who we’re encouraging to “follow their bliss.”

Butt let’s focus on the good news in this report: I think that as more and more people “choose” to enjoy their subsidized Obamacare instead of paying for it themselves, they’ll decide to drop out of the labor force too, further reducing the unemployment rate! Another Win! Win!

At least now I understand why we need to open the borders to let more of our Mexican citizens in: we really do need them to do the work Americans won’t do because they’re following their bliss! Just wait till our new Mexican citizens find out they can get subsidized Obamacare too, by not working; then where will we go to find new Democrats who just want a better life?

Butt back to today’s theme – spinning - there’s no finer example to be found anywhere than the syncopanties at WaPo’s Fact Checker: check out this remarkable reworking of the “facts.” (emphasis added, to note White House talking points)

First, this is not about jobs. It’s about workers — and the choices they make.

The CBO’s estimate is mostly the result of an analysis of the impact of the law on the supply of labor. That means how many people choose to participate in the work force. In other words, the nonpartisan agency is examining whether the law increases or decreases incentives for people to work.

One big issue: the health insurance subsidies in the law. That’s a substantial benefit that decreases as people earn more money, so at a certain point, a person has to choose between earning more money or continuing to get the maximum help with health insurance payments. In other words, people might work longer and harder, but actually earn no more, or earn even less, money. That is a disincentive to work. (The same thing happens when people qualify for food stamps or other social services.)

Thus, some people might decide to work part-time, not full time, in order to keep getting health-care subsidies. Thus, they are reducing their supply of labor to the market. Other people near retirement age might decide they no longer need to hold onto their job just because it provides health insurance, and they also leave the work force.

Look at this way: If someone says they decided to leave their job for personal reasons, most people would not say they “lost” their jobs. They simply decided not to work.

Uncharacteristically, the Fact Checker is conflicted on how many Pinocchios to award:

Moreover, the argument could go, this would hurt the nation’s budget because 2.3 million fewer people will pay taxes on their earnings. That’s certainly an intellectually solid argument — though others might counter that universal health care is worth a reduction in overall employment — but it’s not at all the same as saying that all of these jobs would be lost. Some jobs will go away, but the actual number is unclear because of the unknown interaction between part-time and full-time work.

Yep, it’s definitely Greek to me.

And nobody put a better spin on this than Harry Reid, who advised us that these people are not going to “lose their jobs,” they’re simply going to turn into “free agents:”

“We have the CBO report, which rightfully says, that people shouldn’t have job lock. If they — we live in a country where there should be free agency. People can do what they want,”

Caution: Free Agent at Large

I do see the advantage of being a free agent though - many more options:

So all I can say is spin-on, baby, spin-on:

And you’ll have plenty of time to do so now that you’re a “free agent” with “more choices.” I must admit, this is a clever spin; a very clever spin indeed. Still, not every spin is a winner.

“Zero?” Who bets on “Zero!?!”

In fact, with each subsequent spin, the greater your odds of going bankrupt.

Which is a real bummer when it’s your final spin.

You got no money, you got no home
Spinnin' wheel, all alone
Talkin' 'bout your troubles and you, you never learn
Ride a painted pony, let the spinnin' wheel turn

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Obama’s Phony scandals and O’Reilly thrash it out in the Fox’s No-Spin Zone

Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views. – William F. Buckley Jr.

In O’Reilly’s extended Super Bowl interview, Big Guy made it perfectly clear that he felt Bill had been “absolutely” unfair to him throughout his presidency.

Again

Exhibit 1: in his Super Bowl interview (full transcript here) Bill raised uncomfortable issues like the botched Obamacare website, the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the deaths of 4 Americans in Benghazi. Issues that the MSM, and consequently, ordinary Americans are not interested in.

Then BO he went on to explain why he’s not the most liberal president ever - that honor would go to Richard M. Nixon (resigned, 1974, ahead of impeachment).

Lacking adequate press support, Richard Nixon was unable to overcome his phony scandal

“And I disagree with that because I think that what used to be considered sensible we now somehow label as-as liberal.”

Yeah, I can see that; in the same way that what used to be considered toadyism we now somehow label as journalism. And what used to be known as investigative journalism is now known as “absolutely unfair.”

Investigating a break in at the DNC Watergate headquarters: investigative journalism

Asking the President about the terrorist attack on Benghazi: “absolutely” unfair

Butt don’t worry, because we have "the most transparent administration in history" we will get to the bottom of this.  Because what used to be considered stonewalling we now somehow label as transparency.

Maybe BO is NOT the most transparent President either

Oh yeah, and "We have not massively expanded the welfare state.” We’ve just spread the 1%’s wealth around.  

Beat it, you little vixen.

Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich. – William F. Buckley Jr.

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Monday the Day After Groundhog Day: We Do it All Over Again

Since I, like everyone else, was distracted by the Super Bowl yesterday (sorry about that, Peytonistas, maybe next year) I was unable to provide my usual Groundhog Day coverage. Plus, I forgot all about it until Mayor De Blasio, decked out in his industrial strength anti-wildlife gloves, dropped his groundhog – causing it to curse New York with 6 more weeks of winter and 4 more years of De Blasio. Also, I understand “Staten Island Chuck” will be filing a claim against the city for brain damage cause by the ensuing concussion.

Some news reports indicated Staten Island Chuck was not “dropped” butt rather “bolted.”

So given the conflicting priorities and complications yesterday, I’m celebrating Groundhog Day today: just like in the movie! As such, I am continuing my custom of reprising previous Groundhog Day posts, because really, don’t you feel like we’ve been trapped in some type of a time warp for the past 6 years anyway? So we pick up with last year’s post, and move backward in time through the seemingly interminable years…

February 2, 2013, The first official MOTUS Groundhog Day Redux:

Ever since the release of the seminal Groundhog Day movie, February 2 has become synonymous with a type of recurring déjà vu. The movie touches on Camus' Myth of Sisyphus, veers into Nietzsche's “eternal recurrence of the same” and even touches on the possibility of man becoming a god-like Superman. Boy, does this have “BHO’s” fingerprints all over it or what?

So I dedicate this Groundhog Day redux to our Glorious (and possibly god-like) Leader and Shadow-Master: without his most transparent administration ever we would not be able to see through the “fog of government.” Won’t you please join me in enjoying, again, some previous  Groundhog Day celebrations:

And on Groundhog Day, 2012, we commemorated some of Lady M’s attempts to see her own shadow in Two Hogs, Two Shadows:

Allow me to apologize before I begin. We have another historical first to rack up so it’s my dutiful responsibility to report: Yesterday marked the first time ever that a FLOTUS “dropped to give us 25” in a celebrity contest on national daytime television:

Although this was not, technically, the first time Lady M has done pushups on television. That international milestone was reached last June when we were in Africa and Lady M challenged Archbishop Tutu to match her awesomely toned guns in a few on-stage pushups.

She whipped his butt too, so let’s not be making this into a racial thing.

And when all is said and done, let me be perfectly clear: this was just an exhibition, not a competition. (Read more)

Back in 2011 Groundhog Day coincided with the “Arab Spring” uprising during which the Egyptians “unfriended” President Mubarak. It was a bad Groundhog Day for me:

“I had a restless night, and every time I woke the television was playing the same thing, over and over again. I thought I was having the vapors until I realized that little Mo had tuned the TeeVee to a movie channel that was having a “Ground Hog Day” marathon. What a relief! We’ve got enough déjà vu going on around here with that whole Egyptian mess.”

Unrelated to the overthrow of our friend in Egypt, 2011’s GHD post also covered an embarrassing incident involving ValJar, in which she mistook an General for a waiter (an honest mistake at a black tie dinner):

“You know the old saying ‘To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail?’ Well, it looks like it has a corollary: ‘To an imperialist, every uniform looks like a waiter.’”

Ok, Ok, it’s true. Val did ask a decorated US General to fetch her a glass of wine at a black tie dinner. Butt for goodness sake let’s take all of the circumstances into consideration before we jump to conclusions. For starters, the affair was held at the Alfalfa Club. The Alfalfa Club!? Isn’t that just a little racist? (read more)

And since Groundhog Day is really more about shadows than (the Arab) Spring, I thought you might enjoy this Groundhog Day-esque ode to Big Guy’s shadow, from the occasion of his 2010 Great Asian trip.

“Seriously, by the time we got to Japan, we were just a shadow of our former self.”

My Shadow

by Robert Lewis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;

And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,

And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an errant sleepy-head,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

BO introduces his shadow, who will be reading a speech with TOTUS

 

Damn! Stop bugging me. Go Away!

 

Does this Shadow make my ears look big? (Read more)

Well, that’s a wrap for this year’s Groundhog Day re-broadcast. I leave you with this report directly from Punxsutawney:

Extended Forecast: Cloudy with a very slight chance of meatballs, as ground beef hit another all-time high of $3.82 a pound last week.

 And just for good measure, enjoy Phil’s weather report for the Obama years, one more time:

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Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Whose Pen is Mightier in the No-Spin Zone? Poll to Follow.

It’s Sunday and I guess there’s nothing else happening in the world other than the Super Bowl. Before our big party begins today, Big Guy’s having another sit down with Bill O’Reilly; which is rather odd as everyone knows how he feels about the Fox News Network.

Last fall BO accused Fox of lying about the increased costs of Obamacare, and just last week he complained that Fox and Rush have prevented him (the greatest orator of all time!) from getting his message out:

"... the issue has been the inability of my message to penetrate the Republican base so that they feel persuaded that I’m not the caricature that you see on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, but I’m somebody who is interested in solving problems (with my pen and my phone)"

To which Charles Krauthammer (Fox News contributor) responded that it was "rather unseemly" for the President of the formerly free world to be "so whiny."

"You've got NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CNN, of course MSNBC. You've got Hollywood that's sympathetic, you've got the television entertainment side. You've got the major newspapers, The Times, The Washington Post. It's what Lenin would call 'the commanding heights of the culture' are all on one side. All of them. And what do you have on the other side? Fox News and talk radio. And you've got a President of the United States complaining that that explains the failures of his administration,"

I hope Bill is polite to Big Guy because otherwise…well, BO does have that pen; and he knows how to use it:

Joey, witnessing the signing of a memorandum directing the federal government not to discriminate against long-term unemployed job seekers.

Joey, witnessing the signing of a memorandum directing the federal government not to renew Fox News Network’s broadcasting license.

So if he’s not real careful about how he handles Big Guy, Bill’s next book might not be a New York Times best seller.

So I’d say, watch your tails, Fox! The Redcoats are coming!

Although I have heard that some of  Fox are armed and dangerous.

And apparently pretty good shots

So here’s my prediction: Both Bill and BO will be on their best behavior, which is to say boring. And the game? Does anyone really care who wins? We’ve already seen all the really good commercials and halftime won’t be anywhere near as good as the Grammies. So I say turn the game on in the background, listen for cheers at which point you can back up the DVR and watch the touchdowns.Meanwhile, enjoy your favorite healthy snacks and beverages while reading a good book.

Here’s a delicious dip I’m serving (h/t foodiecrush). You’ll never want another cheese dip again.

Cheesey Chorizo Caramelized Onion Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon thyme

½ fresh chorizo sausage, about 6 ounces

8 ounce package of cream cheese

¼ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup mozzarella cheese

¼ cup chopped chives or green onions

kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Remove chorizo from casing and cook in a medium skillet over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, chopping with spoon and stirring occasionally. Set aside. If greasy remove excess grease.

2. In another skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add onion. Add thyme, season with kosher salt and lower heat to medium-low and cook onion for about 20 minutes until onions become soft and caramelized.

3. In a medium sized bowl add cream cheese and mayonnaise and mix well until smooth. Add mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, green onions and mix well. Gently fold in chorizo. Pour into a 2 cup baking dish.

4. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degree F for 12-15 minutes or until dip is golden and bubbly. Garnish with additional green onion and serve with baguette slices or tortilla chips.

And remember, he may be wily, butt the Fox will be looking out for you.

And he’s got a pen too.

Linked By: Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and Abby L Call, Susana Patrick on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network