O', Cyber Monday...

The long weekend is over -- welcome back to reality.

So who was he thanking? - "Yet again, President Obama’s Thanksgiving message eschewed any direct reference to thanking God, making this the fourth straight year in which the President of the United States has ignored the central message of the holiday in favor of political grandstanding."

Just a photo opp?


From NorthJersey.com: Donna Vanzant struggled through flooded streets and downed power lines two days after superstorm Sandy to reach the ravaged marina she owns in Brigantine [NJ]. Secret Service agents were combing the area when she finally arrived, and by the time the afternoon was over, she had met President Obama and shared an emotional hug with him. The following morning, the image of that embrace, [above], was published and broadcast by news outlets around the world. [The photographer] returned to Brigantine last week to see how she was doing.

All but one of the boats in her North Point Marina that were pushed as far as three blocks away by the storm surge have now been recovered, but there is much left to do. Vanzant estimates that her business losses will amount to at least $500,000, including the cost of repairing the marina. Her son Stephen, 26, took a two-week leave from the Navy to come home to help out. He has started a Facebook page called Rebuild North Point Marina to seek contributions. Vanzant has been moved by the many kindnesses she received from friends, family and customers. She heard from countless people after the photograph of her hug with the president was published, including from strangers as far away as Vietnam who wished her well.

She said she was honored to meet Obama, but she is also frustrated that she has yet to receive help from either her insurance companies or the government. "The president told me I would get immediate help," she said.

"Looking back on it, it wasted a lot of people’s time," she said of the visit.

Regarding our economic predicaments...




Do you live in a "death spiral" state? - "Thinking about buying a house? Or a municipal bond? Be careful where you put your capital. Don’t put it in a state at high risk of a fiscal tailspin." 

Wanna guess which states are the worst? Here's a hint: they're "blue states." 


California Gov. Jerry Brown: killing it...

It pays to know the right people: "Obama Donors Got $21,000 in Government Money for Every $1 They Gave." There is a "recovery"...for some folks.


"What's in your wallet?"


"Lord and Savior?" Really? - Actor/comedian Jamie Foxx (at the BET Awards) praises Barack Obama...



Yes, Virginia, there is a liar: Disagreeing with Obama can ruin Christmas, says White House report.

Words of wisdom

Sometimes, the less said...the better.

In this case, NJ Gov. Chris Christie (R) gets to the root of the problem plaguing his state -- and this country -- with just a few words.

A few, very powerful words.

His talk (video below) is reminiscent of other historical/political/economic observations made by the likes of Churchill, Thatcher and Friedman (to name but a few).

You go, guv!

The Daily Round-Up...

Items from all over...

Like we haven’t been talking about this for several years: LA Times editorial - “Day of reckoning on pensions: The Little Hoover Commission paints a bleak picture of what's ahead for state and local governments in California.” Better late than never, LA Times...

President Obama Waving Grudgingly - Sometimes you can tell he's not into it. I mean the waving, not the presidency...

Obama signs extension of Patriot Act, the same Act he railed against during his campaign: I guess this wasn't the Change© he promised his supporters...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie applies the smack-down: The Star Ledger is a newspaper in New Jersey and Tom Moran is the reporter from that newspaper asking NJ Gov. Chris Christie the question in the clip below. (Christie is the one bringing common sense to government, upsetting the ruling class, and schooling the media, btw.)

(h/t: Kevin Elliott)

Today's Top 10 List: States with the Highest Income Taxes

From NYC Educator

The always reliable and informative Tax Prof Blog posts the following list of states that take the most from their citizens. There are no surprises:

The Top 10 Highest State Income Taxes: All Obama Blue States

Forbes, States (And Bill Gates Sr.) Look to Soak the Rich, by Ashlea Ebeling:

Hawaii: 11% (income over $400,000 (couple), $200,000 (single)

Oregon: 11% (income over $500,000 (couple), $250,000 (single)

California: 10.55% (income over $1 million)

Rhode Island: 9.9% (income over $373,650)

Iowa: 8.98% (income over $64,261)

New Jersey 8.97% (income over $500,000)

New York: 8.97% (income over $500,000)

Vermont: 8.95% (income over $373,650)

Maine: 8.5% (income over $39,549 (couple), $19,749 (single)

Washington, D.C.: 8.5% (income over $40,000)

(Yes, I realize the taxes listed above are state and President Barack Obama is a federal official, but the clip was too good to pass up...)

Winners...and losers

Gov.-elect Christopher Christie (R-NJ)


Gov-elect Bob McDonnell (R-VA)


Hoping for different results...


Not the governor of Virginia, Creigh Deeds (D)

Soon-to-be former gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ)

How important were today’s elections in California, New Jersey, New York and Virginia?

It depends who you ask.

Earlier in the day, “facing the possibility of Democratic losses in Tuesday’s gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, the White House downplayed the significance of the contests Monday, saying they were not a good barometer for future elections and would have little impact on the next campaign cycle. ‘I don’t think that these elections will portend a lot for what happens in 2010,’ said press secretary Robert Gibbs.”

Of course that answer was a given, considering it looked like the two biggest prizes – the governor’s offices in NJ and VA – were about to swing from Democrat to Republican.

And just as polls predicted, the GOP candidates turned Blue into Red.

In New Jersey, as the New York Times reports, “Christopher J. Christie, a Republican former United States attorney who said he would vanquish corruption from the halls of New Jersey government, won the New Jersey governor’s race on Tuesday, defeating the incumbent, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, and striking a blow against the Democratic party on a national stage.”

The Grand Old Party also marched to victory in a state that had squarely gone Dem when Barack Obama was being elected just a year ago. “In Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell, a former state attorney general, defeated the Democratic candidate, R. Creigh Deeds,” and the GOP also took the lieutenant governor’s and state controller’s offices. As the NY Times put it ever so bluntly, it was “a stark reversal of fortune for Democrats who have held control in Richmond for the past eight years.”

The other big race, NY’s 23rd Congressional District appears to have been wrested from the GOP after a hold of more than one hundred years. The NY Times also reported that, “Bill Owens, the Democrat, defeated an upstart Conservative party candidate, Douglas L. Hoffman, who had gained support from prominent conservatives like former Gov. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. A more moderate Republican nominee withdrew from the race days before the election, after pressure from national officials. Mr. Hoffman conceded the race.”

And in California, the least-anticipated contest of the night went to “Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi ran away from four other candidates in a special election to fill the Bay Area's 10th Congressional District seat vacated by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek,” according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

So what does it all mean?

While Republicans are quick to point to the gubernatorial results in NJ and VA as referendums on the Obama reign, many polls show him to be enjoying a level of support very close to the same numbers that ushered him into office. Nonetheless, the Associated Press sees the results as an omen for the administration and Democratic Party, reporting, “President Barack Obama invested heavily in the race, campaigning with Corzine five times on three separate visits. A Republican captured the only other governor's race in the country, in Virginia, a troubling sign for Obama heading into next year's midterm elections.” And according to the NY Times’ report on the Virginia gubernatorial race, “In 2008, 53 percent of voters backed Mr. Obama, and exit polls on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of voters approved of his performance.”

So what's the impact Obama & Co.'s big agenda?

Well, it doesn’t make their jobs any easier.

They did gain a seat in the already Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, which doesn’t tip the balance for them on any issue. And if political coattails are a truism then it means Obama’s have shortened, considerably. Neither McDonnell’s Virginia win nor Christie’s NJ victory mean anything changes in the immediate.

There’s a multitude of political lifetimes between here and the next big set of elections, but with health insurance reform delayed and Afghanistan appearing mired in politics and indecision, these big losses won’t help our young, untested president or his plans.