Mi Amigo, Senor Deval!

He's at it again. As part of his "education reform" package, Gov. Patrick wants to reward crimmigrants stealing jobs and government services in Massachusetts with subsidized college tuition.

This is on top of the new program from the Patrick administration to track down crimmigrants and give them taxpayer-funded health insurance. Which means that, once again, we go from "Together, we can" to "I'm going to do what I want, and you're gonna have to pay for it!"

Gov. Patrick, you've already given away $1 billion of our tax dollars, much of it to big drug companies like Wyeth and Genzyme. You're about to raise our taxes by $500 million. Your administration has raised tolls, is probably going to raise them again, and gas is headed towards $5 a gallon.

Could you please, PLEASE cut us a little slack and not force legal Massachusetts residents to pick up the college tab for the crimmigrants? You're right: compared to the billions in tax dollars you're throwing around like a sailor on shore leave, the few million we're talking about here ain't much.

But it matters, Governor. If nothing else, it's a reminder of where we, the law-abiding, taxpaying citizens of Massachusetts, are on your priority list.

Dead last.

A Lot Of Graham (too much, really) Via Video Today

I'm filling in for Glenn Beck tonight, and we'll be discussing Rep. (as in "reprehensible) Jim Fagan; the SCOTUS 2nd Amendment ruling; and the uber-political hotness of Scarlett Johansson.

As the great journalist Edward R. Murrow used to say--"Yeah, baby!"

And all evening long the Move America Forward webcast will be underway. Please don't wait for my appearance to log on--check it out right now and see Rush, Sean, Dr. Laura, Monica Crowley and a cast of thousands as they support this effort to set a new record on behalf of our troops.

Support Our Troops And Help Make History TODAY!

The photo above is from Baghdad, where I spent a week in 2005 broadcasting live and letting the soldiers and Marines on the ground tell their story. My trip to Iraq was made possible by a group called Move America Forward, which has spent years working hard to support our troops.

Now Melanie Morgan and the gang at MAF are hosting a history-making effort on behalf of American troops abroad fighting the Global War On Terror. I jumped at the chance to be a part of it, and I hope you will join me tonight:

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Lt. Col. Oliver North, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, comedian Jackie Mason, Mark Levin, Miss Florida 2007 and Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik and former First Lady Nancy Reagan are among the many stars and heroes joining a Sacramento-based nonprofit in a historic push to send the single largest shipment of care packages in history to American troops overseas.

I will be part of the show, hosted by Melanie and our good friend Michelle Malkin. You can watch this special webcast on Thursday from 4pm-Midnight at the Move America Forward website. But they're hoping you'll do more:

Thousands of Americans have already sponsored packages through MAF’s website and a giant database of names and addresses of U.S. troops in Iraq & Afghanistan is being built—so that the packages can reach our military men and women in time for the 4th of July holiday. MAF would like all families with loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan to send addresses and names to ensure all troops benefit from the overwhelming support of a grateful nation.

The goal is to make this the biggest webcast ever, and the biggest delivery of care packages to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, too. You can send your own care package to the troops by clicking here:

I'm proud to be a part of this effort, and I would be honored if you joined me tonight around 11:45pm.

A Grieving Father Lays Down Some Natural Truth On A MassHole Politician

(Why is this man smiling? Because he's carrying water for the MA Trial Lawyers Association--right over the backs of children who've been raped and molested.)

“How long have you been in office, and why haven’t you closed those loopholes? Stop being a defense attorney when you’re up at the capitol and start being the legislator you told the people you would be.”

That's Mark Lunsford, talking about MA state rep (as in "reprehensible") James Fagan (D-Mass. Trial Lawyers Assn). You know, the guy who threatened victims of child rape who come before him in court this way:


“That 6-year-old is going to sit in front of me, or somebody far worse than me, and I’m going to rip them apart. I'm going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined; that when they’re 8 years old they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep; when they’re 19 years old they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody.”


First, a minor fact error, Rep. Fagan. There ISN'T anybody worse than you. Anyone who disagrees with my assessment should listen to his on-air conversation with Jim and Margery here on 969 FM TALK.

I rest my case.

The Poll You WON'T Hear About Today

While MSWHB (We Hate Bush) dedicated an entire day to the notoriously inaccurate Newsweek poll showing Obama with a huge lead, I have yet to see a mention on their network--or any other--of the latest Gallup poll:

McCain and Obama are tied.

Gee, Mr. Olbermann, could we get you to talk about the latest polls on perceptions that the media are biased?

UPDATE: I just watched MSWHB do a scroll of "latest poll numbers." All of them give Obama a double digit lead. The one poll they left out this morning? The LATEST one, from Gallup.

Facts vs. Speculation

The Wall Street Journal does an excellent job of explaining why blaming speculators for today's high gas prices doesn't make much sense. Read the entire editorial for yourself, but here is one highlight that caught my eye:

The futures market may be a convenient scapegoat, but it's simply a price discovery mechanism. Major energy consumers – refiners, airlines – buy and sell these contracts to lock in goods at a future price, as a hedge against volatility. Essentially, they're guesses about coming oil supply and demand, as well as the rate of inflation. The political theory is that such futures trading is creating a bubble in the spot market (i.e., oil purchased for immediate delivery) beyond oil fundamentals. Thus, $4 gas.

But there's no inherent reason to "bet" that commodities will go up rather than down. Bet wrong – place all your chips on red, say – and you lose. If a company purchases the future right to buy oil at $140 a barrel and it instead sells for $130, the option is worthless. Besides, somebody has to take the other side of any futures contract: Some are trying to predict where the price will go in the future, while the other side is attempting to sell its future price risk. But no one knows how things will end up.

As anyone who's seen the movie Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd can tell you, the commodities market is nothing new. And--if you recall--the evil ??? Brothers lost their bet on frozen orange juice.

Like OJ, oil six months from now will have an inherent worth. Promising today to pay $150 for a barrel will not stop that barrel from being worth $50, nor does it ensure the oil will be worth $200. Blaming investors for the price of oil is like blaming GM stockholders for the decline in car sales.

It's not the money that's the problem. It's the market. Supply and demand.

Are We Sure Sen. Obama Knows...

...that he's NOT the president yet?

In fact, he's the first "presumed" nominee in 30 years who will arrive at the convention without enough pledged delegates to actually win the nomination. Sen. Obama is forced to rely on the kindness (and promises) of superdelegates. Even Jimmy Carter in 1980 didn't have to do that.

But hey--why let a technicality get in the way? We don't have time to wait around for elections. Our souls need healing now!

UPDATE: Mickey Kaus absolutely nails this (as he does so many subjects):

Is Obama's new faux-presidential, alternative-reality seal his "Mission Accomplished"? If you wanted to emphasize to voters that the Democrats' nominee is a bit stuck up, it would be hard to do better. I suppose he could start requiring reporters to stand when he enters the room...

UPDATE II: 96.9 FM TALK listeners have weighed in with their theories about the meaning of "Vero Possumus." Here are some of their best guesses:

“No Experience Necessary.”

“Let Them Eat Possum!”

“For The First Time, Proud”

“Stupid Is As Stupid Does”

“Middle Class, Bend Over.”

“Smoke ‘em If You Got ‘em.”

“If I Win, You’re Roadkill.”

“If the Right is Wrong, Then Wright Ain't Wrong”

Barack Obama Plays His Ace

Don't support higher income taxes?

Don't want to increase Social Security taxes?

Don't want to pay for your neighbor's medical insurance out of your pocket?

Don't support a moratorium on new oil drilling with gas at $4.50?

Don't want a president who has never been an executive, never hired or fired anyone and had just 1 year of federal service before launching his presidential campaign?

Why, you must be a....racist!

God Is A Celtics Fan, Too!

This photo was taken Friday night, as the Creator him/her/itself smiled upon Boston--a.k.a. "Titletown, USA."

(h/t Universal Hub and Maria Varmazis)

Maybe Sen. Obama Should Stick With The Magic Unicorn Hair

Sen. Obama opposes all new sources of oil, he opposes nuclear and--if it annoys a Kennedy--he opposes wind farms, too. Instead, Sen. Obama says that "new technologies" will have us all livin' green in no time.

What kinds of new technologies? Well, like running our cars on hydrogen which--Sen. Obama claims--we would already be doing if not for the evil oil companies, George W. Bush, Halliburton, blah, blah, blah. Why, if we'd spent $250 billion of tax dollars like Sen. Obama wanted 10 years ago (when he was a community organizer in Chicago) we'd all be driving hydrocars today, running on water and, er, uh, well, whatever that other stuff is.

Only one problem, Senator: Science.

As aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin points out, the physics for hydrogen power just don't work. The first, high school physics fact the Greenies don't understand, is that hydrogen is a great energy maker because it's an element that is highly reactive to other elements (or, as in the Sun, with itself, making helium via fusion). But because it's so reactive, virtually all the hydrogen on earth is already combined with oxygen and/or some other element. To get hydrogen to make power, you have to use more power to break it away from other elements to get it.

The result is the second obvious fact about hydrogen about which the Greenies are clueless--it's very expensive:

The wholesale cost of commercial grade liquid hydrogen (made the cheap way, from hydrocarbons [a.k.a. "fossil fuels]) shipped to large customers in the United States is about $6 per kilogram. High purity hydrogen made from electrolysis for scientific applications costs considerably more. Dispensed in compressed gas cylinders to retail customers, the current price of commercial grade hydrogen is about $100 per kilogram. For comparison, a kilogram of hydrogen contains about the same amount of energy as a gallon of gasoline.

This means that even if hydrogen cars were available and hydrogen stations existed to fuel them, no one with the power to choose otherwise would ever buy such vehicles. This fact alone makes the hydrogen economy a non-starter in a free society.

Is Sen. Obama ready to tell the typical American we need to pay $1oo a gallon for our magic hydrogen cars? Until he is, his opposition to new oil and nuclear is, like most of his other policies, ridiculous.

Come To The Beach!

I'm at the BBQ Beach Party this morning at City Hall Plaza, broadcasting live, and that's where you should be, too!

Come for the conversation, stay for the barbecue sauce.

Lots to talk about, including more developments from the Gloucester High School "pregnancy pact." If there were ever a story that proves the value of teaching and promoting abstinence, this is it. And yet idiots like Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe-Democrat are still getting it backwards. "Stop telling kids sex is wrong!" scream the lefties who refuse to allow any sexual decision to be judged.

Including the decision of a 15-year-old to get herself knocked up, right?

By the way, for those of you who keep repeating the mantra that abstinence-based education "just doesn't work," here's some actual research you should know about.

Liberals And Gas Prices: Doing Their Best To Make It Worse

My take on the clueless, elitist, anti-working-family oil policy of the Left is in the Boston Herald today.

If You're Watching CNN Headline News Tonight...

...you may see a familiar face--or at least hear a familiar voice--filling in for Glenn Beck.

And special thanks to Jay Severin for filling in during my 11am hour so I could catch the NYC shuttle.

Gloucester Girls Get The Message...And A Baby Daddy!

Remember that arrogant jerk Dr. Brian Orr from the school clinic at Gloucester High--the one who quit because the hospital overseeing his work wouldn't let him give out birth control to 14-and 15-year olds without their parents knowledge or consent? He believed that society should give birth control to these teens and then trust their judgment. After all, who are the parents to judge?

Well, the girls at his high school were certainly paying attention...

According to Time Magazine, about half the 17 girls who became pregnant during this year's "pregnancy crisis!" at Gloucester did so...ON PURPOSE. They made a pregnany pact with each other and used the school clinic as their own private ob/gyn.

The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to [the school principal] reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby...

The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.

Dr. Orr continues to insist that the solution is to make it easier for 15-year-olds to have sex, to treat their sexual activity as normal and acceptable and to give them hormone pills behind their parents back.

Instead, what he and the Gloucester schools have done is to encourage the idiotic notions in their girls' heads that they are mature and responsible enough to be making these decisions. They are "choosing" (pause for a moment of sacred chanting from feminists) to go get pregnant and become moms at the age of 16. That is their "right" (pause again for cheers from opponents of abstinence-based education). Parents? They don't need no stinkin' parents.

They've got Dr. Brian Orr and his school clinic. And as a result, these girls will soon have a taxpayer-subsidized bundle of joy.

Another Cambridge Liberal Makes Mom Proud

Thanks to Adam Reilly at the Boston Phoenix for pointing out this odd photo in Monday's Boston Globe-Democrat. She's from Cambridge, she's a student living in Brighton, and if you look carefully at her shirt, you'll see a message on her pocket for local law enforcement.

If you can't quite make it out, it says "Cops are NOT pigs. Pigs are more civil."

Now, you may be asking yourself why even the lost Lefties at the Boston Globe-Demcrat would put this nitwit and her retro-60's "pigs" talk (apparently her "Screw The Fuzz!" shirt was at the cleaners) in their news pages in the first place. Good question.

The BG-D does these dopey, vapid profiles every Monday in a desperate bid to get circulation numbers up. Hey--10 family members a week run out to buy a handful of copies. It all ads up.

But this is the first I've seen where the subject took the opportunity to insult a large number of their fellow Bostonians.

I wonder if this photo would have made the paper if, for example, the shirt had read "What Part Of 'Illegal' Don't You Understand?" or had a Confederate Battle Flag with "You Wear Your X, I'll Wear Mine." To ask the question is to answer it.

So the Boston Globe- Democrat--which has no obligation to run this picture, of a person with no news value--chooses to print the "Cops are worse than pigs" message for their readers.

And then they wonder why they have fewer and fewer of them every day.

What Ever Happened To What's-His-Name?

Angry, post-menopausal women who want to say "Thank You" to Hillary Clinton for proving that America is a nation of sexist pigs can do so at a new website posted by the Clinton campaign.

It features a photo album tribute to the Arkansas attorney and one-term senator with the highest "unfavorable" ratings of any presidential candidate since Watergate, but who only lost the Democratic nomination because she's a girl.

And if you do check out this photo album, you'll see that the Hillary campaign was absolutely for the ladies, of the ladies and by the ladies. Hardly any men appear in the photos at all. Lots of Hillary pics (of course) and quite a few with Chelsea.

But there's one person who you might be expecting to see in a Clinton campaign retrospective who doesn't appear even a single time. A guy who was out on the campaign trail quite a bit, and who many of us sexist pigs believe made Hillary's campaign possible. In fact, some of us Neanderthals would argue that if it were not for Hillary's relationship to this man, she wouldn't have been a serious contender for the White House.

Who is he? If you don't know, you won't find out from Hillary's website.

The (Not So) Distinguished Gentleman From Illinois

Here is an excellent, one-page rundown of Sen. Barack Obama's "accomplishments." It's not mean-spirited or overly snarky. It's just what Sen. Obama did. Or, more accurately, hasn't done.

It is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to cast a serious vote on the presidency in November. That leaves out about 90% of Barack Obama's supporters.

The writer echoes a point that, every time I make it, people say "Gee, I didn't know that, " namely this is Sen. Obama's first contested election. That he hasn't lost, anyway.

He used hard-ball tactics to force his first opponents off the ballot when he ran for state senate. He ran in a primary against incumbent Chicago congressman Bobby Rush and got crushed 2-1. Then he ran essentially unopposed for US Senate when his primary opponent and serious GOP opponent both had to drop out due to sex/divorce scandals.

Not only has Sen. Obama never had an executive position, tried an important legal case, or run a business or led on any significant legislation--he's never been tested before in a serious political campaign. There has never been a candidate who has done so little in his life, and gotten this close to the presidency.

He may still be the better man. But nobody can read this account of Sen. Obama's record and say "This guy is qualified to be president." It's just not true. Period.

This is my father, Simon Graham, during his most recent visit to Boston. For some reason, the management of Jacob Wirth's would NOT allow him in the Ladies room.

Seriously, thanks for the many kind emails re: his appearance on the show Friday. Like every good dad, my dad was unappreciated by his kids until we had kids of our own. Suddenly he seems like a genius.

One listener commenting on my dad and I said "The apple doesn't fall from the tree," which is interesting because my father often says of me "I think someone kicked that apple down the hill."

I hope all my fellow New England dads are having as happy a Father's Day as I. Below are some emails from listeners sharing their father's favorite "words of wisdom" from their youth.

Enjoy!

Hi Michael,

My dad, retired Lt. Col from the US Army, used to say "Careful or I'll demobilize you" --Anne


My father had 2 sayings I remember When I was disappointed about something out of my control ( as often the case with kids) he would say: “My boy” (he started everything with that) “You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out. But you dress for them all.” (as my kids’ soccer coach, I catch myself using this one a lot). When I wanted something frivolous (I was one of 6 so there wasn’t much money to spare) he’d say : “People in Hell want ice-water.” -- Phil.


My dad used to say "Children are to be seen, and not heard." It really p***ed me off, too, until I had kids. Now I use it ALL the time! -- Jaqueline.


My Dad's most memorable quote: I got bagged doing what I wasn't suppose to and my dad sat me in a chair and said," I'm gonna punish you. Not for what you did, because I did worse when I was a kid. I'm punishing you for being STUPID enough to get caught." The rest is history and I'm waiting to use it on my kids!!! --Mike from Randolph.

Michael,

My two oldest sons were directed to me by their mother to answer their questions about "safe sex". I looked them over with a straight face, saying, "There's no such thing as safe sex, because if you have sex before you're married, I'LL KILL YOU."--Paul


Dad's quote: "What do you want a medal, Or a Chest to pin it on" -- Jesse.


And finally, from the evening meal at the Simon (and now Michael) Graham Family Compound: "As long as you put your two feet under MY table, you'll do what I say!"

If You're Not Happy, You're Not Paying Attention

Why do we live in Gloom-and-Doom Nation? Is it, as many of my callers insist, because everybody's broke and the Iraq war is a disaster? They must be right, because pollsters show most Americans agree--life sucks. Right?

Of course they're right...as long as you ignore the facts.

There are so many positive stories from our ongoing success in Iraq that some of you are tired of hearing about it from me. In fact, our victory is so overwhelming that Democrats and other grumpy Americans are abandoning the "We lost" argument and switching to the "It's not worth it, anyway" complaint. But the fact remains that if President Bush had promised in 2003 that we would topple Saddam Hussein, bring an end to attacks on America and its facilities abroad, cripple Al Qaeda and place a functioning, democratically-elected government in Iraq--all while suffering fewer than 3500 combat deaths--he would have been mocked as a cockeyed optimist and dismissed as a hopeless Pollyanna

That's exactly what happened, and as a result he's called a hopeless failure.

Meanwhile, here at home, $4 gallon gasoline sucks and the economy is stumbling. But as Gregg Easterbrook points out in the Wall Street Journal, those are the two dark clouds in a sky filled with silver linings:

Unemployment is 5.5%, low by historical standards; income is rising slightly ahead of inflation; housing prices are down, but the typical house is still worth a third more than in 2000; 94% of Americans do not have threatened mortgages, and of those who do, most will keep their homes. Inflation was up in 2007, but this stands out because the 16 previous years were close to
inflation-free; living standards are the highest they have ever been, including living standards for the middle class and for the poor.

All forms of pollution other than greenhouse gases are in decline; cancer, heart disease and stroke incidence are declining; crime is in a long-term cycle of significant decline; education levels are at all-time highs...

Campaigning in Pennsylvania in April, Hillary Clinton said "We need to go back to the prosperity of the 1990s," a comment that drew loud, enthusiastic applause. Converted to today's dollars, per-capita income in the Keystone State is 23% higher than in 1990. People may think Pennsylvania was more prosperous in the past, but the state is better off today. The same can be said for most (needless to say, not all) parts of the country and most
demographics. Most are, right now, the best-off they have ever been.

Those are the facts, and yet we're still a nation of moaners. Why? Is it because we've become so spoiled in the past 20 years that we simply can't handle any adversity at all? Or is it because the Obama-friendly, Bush-hating media are determined to tell you that this is the "worst economy ever!," despite the facts?

Because You Asked For It

Here's the audio of Barack Obama, SuperGenius, trying to explain, uh, well, actually I can't tell what the heck he's talking about.

"You Know, This Fidel Guy Is Onto Something..."

So says Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi. My take on Speaker DiMasi's pre-emptive strike on Massachusetts democracy is in today's Boston Herald.

The NY Times Writes Something Nice About...AMERICA?

You may want to sit down for this one.

Fellow fans of the inimitable Mark Steyn will be thrilled to read the front page piece in today's NYTimes about the assault on free speech in Canada. For those of us familiar with the facts about the kangaroo court prosecuting Steyn for writing a magazine article critical of the current state of Islam, the NYTimes adds little to the story. However, they place Steyn's prosecution in the larger context of America's commitment to free speech. A commitment, the NYTimes points out, that most other liberal Euroweenie countries (and many American Lefties) do not share.

The NYTimes notes that "Many foreign courts have respectfully considered the American approach — and then rejected it."

They quote Jason Gratl, a lawyer for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association of Journalists. His group opposes the prosecution of Steyn by the so-called "Human Rights Commission," but he's not willing to say that such prosecutions are inherently wrong.

“Canadians do not have a cast-iron stomach for offensive speech. We don’t subscribe to a marketplace of ideas. Americans as a whole are more tough-minded and more prepared for verbal combat.”

What a refreshingly honest admission from a foreigner about America's exceptionalism. How astonishing to read it in the NYTimes.

If only a certain (very) junior senator from Illinois felt the same way.

Sal Gives Voters The Finger

Actually, it's the OTHER finger.

The Massachusetts Speaker of the House told my hometown newspaper, the MetroWest Daily News, that he doesn't care how the people vote on a proposal to repeal the income tax. He's never going to enact it in the legislature--period.

Sal Dimasi told the MWDN editorial board: "I'm against doing it and I find my self hard-pressed to say that I would try to completely implement an elimination of the income tax. I can't see myself doing that..." (You can watch DiMasi's interview here.)

This is hardly news for anyone who's been paying attention to Massachusetts politics. The courts and the corrupt hacks of Beacon Hill are notorious for completely ignoring the will of the people, on everything from same-sex marriage to even reducing the state income tax.

We vote, they ignore us, we re-elect them. So why should our politicians take us seriously if we're going to reward them for giving us the shaft?

What can you do about it? You can start by getting the income tax repeal on the ballot this November. In fact, the deadline for signatures is June 18, so use this website to print out a petition, get your neighbors to sign it, and then take it down to your town clerk.

Why is it important to get the income tax repeal on the ballot if we know upfront that the political hacks are going to screw us? Because then you've got an election cycle this fall in which you can ask every candidate for re-election "Will you respect the will of the people and obey the law if the repeal passes?"

That means that your local legislator will either have to a) look you in the eye and lie; or b) admit that he has absolutely no respect for the principles of consent of the governed, the rule of law, or democracy itself.

Now is our chance, Massachusetts! Sal DiMasi wants to stick it to you. It's time to stick it right back.

The Ol' College Try

Back in my PR days, I spent some time working with the financial aid department of the University of South Carolina and the students who applied for it. The experience confirmed what I have observed time and time again from my encounters with college grads:

One of the worst, dumbest and hardest to recover from decisions many young people (with the help of their parents) will make is the decision to go to college.

The fact is, as this excellent article by a 100-level college instructor confirms, colleges are crawling with kids who lack the basic skills college requires. Some of them are enrolled because their parents want a "college grad" kid. Others are only there because their employers have foolish requirements for college credits and degrees utterly unrelated to the job.

The net result is a bunch of young people with tens of thousands of dollars of college loan debts, a relatively useless degree (assuming they actually graduate), and a dumbing down of what a college degree is worth.

The sad truth is that a Bachelor's degree today is the equivalent of what my father's high school diploma was worth. It just means you've had your ticket punched and are ready to start your grown-up life.

That's not much for $100,000.

Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less!

I couldn't agree more.

Sign the petition by clicking here.

WE'RE SAVED!

Whew!

Isn't it great to know that all the major problems we thought we faced in the future--the economy, war, terrorism, "global warming," etc.--are all behind us?

According to Sen. Obama, the war in Iraq has already begun to end, our nation is--thanks to his nomination--secure from terrorism, the Earth is healing itself and even the rising tides are turning back.

All this, just from Barack Obama's victory in the Democratic primaries. Imagine how great things are going to get once he's actually president. It'll be Christmas every day!

Don't believe it? Just ask a Barack Obama supporter. They do.

Here, for example, is Mark Morford in the San Francisco Chronicle--the paper of record of the Loony Left:

No, it's not merely his youthful vigor, or handsomeness, or even inspiring rhetoric. It is not fresh ideas or cool charisma or the fact that a black president will be historic and revolutionary in about a thousand different ways. It is something more. Even Bill Clinton, with all his effortless, winking charm, didn't have what Obama has, which is a sort of powerful luminosity, a unique high-vibration integrity...

Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul.

R-i-i-i-i-i-ght.

UPDATE: WTKK listeners are adding to the list of things they're looking forward to once Sen. Obama wins the White House:

Stephen: All that stuff is great but I really can't wait for the free ice cream.

Kathy: Don’t forget leaping tall buildings in a single bound!!!

Barbara: I am canceling my laser hair removal treatments and throwing away my razors. Along with the oceans receding, the hair on my legs will fall off.

David: WOW! If he can do all that and get my 4 year old to go straight to bed he’s got my vote.

What Is That--Some Kind Of JOKE?!

Uh, yes. At least, it was supposed to be.

The folks at Legal Seafood have--or should I say "had"--an ad campaign on the Green Line promoting their fresh fish by having cartoon fish in posters making fresh remarks. You know, stuff like "This trolley gets around more than your sister," and "This conductor has a face like a halibut."

HI-larious! OK, maybe not. But still, it's just a joke, right?

Not to the Boston Carmen's Union (which is not, I learned to my surprise, a labor organization involved in the performance of French opera). "If they don't come down, we will not drive those trains." Oh, please.

The folks at Universal Hub absolutely nail this story in one paragraph:

Let's see: Green Line trolleys are falling off the tracks and getting into fatal smashups. Downtown Crossing is catching on fire and Red Line trains have to slow down so they don't fall off the Longfellow. And what is the Boston Carmen's Union so upset about it was threatening a work action?

Fish jokes.

What makes the story even better is reading blog postings of limp-wristed Bostonians defending the carmen and denouncing the ads as offensive. "Why can't we put up posters that compliment the carmen?" one local whines.

As hokey as these Legal Seafood ads are, it turns out Roger Berkowitz is still too hip for the room.

ATTENTION, FELLOW FOODIES!

As all regular listeners know, I'm a huge food nut and always have been. One of my greatest discoveries in New England is my former radio show producer, Mark Bedrosian. Mark's father was in the food business and Mark learned, as only the son of an Italian mother and Armenian father in Rhode Island can, the way to make classic, handmade Italian sausage.

I have eaten great Italian sausage in many places, including Florence and Rome, and Mark's is as good as it gets. When we worked together, he would make a few pounds and bring it in for me to use in my cooking.

Well, finally Mark's expertise is available for you. Saturday, June 7th, is the grand opening of Papa’s Sausage at 2009 Smith St. in North Providence. I'll be there around 10am to grab a few pounds of Mark's best and bring it back to MetroWest. I also want to check out Mark's store, which he assures me will have authentic Italian foodstuffs that are hard to find in your local grocery.

Is this a shameless plug for a friend? Absolutely! But having enjoyed his handmade sausage so many times, I'm happy to spread the good news to New England foodies everywhere.

Papa’s Sausage

2009 Smith St. North Providence. R.I.

Another "Mission Hill" Outrage Hits Connecticut

When a NU student from Connecticut was shot to death on Mission Hill here in Boston and none of her neighbors called the cops, we talked about what it said about us.

Now there's another disturbing example of disregard for fellow citizens from Connecticut, where folks in Hartford stood around and stared at a hit-and-run victim lying in the street.

Watch this troubling video for yourself.

Before You Cripple Our Economy and Starve Third World Families Fighting "Global Warming..."

...couldn't you at least wait for it to get warm?

We've had three days of 50 degree weather here in Boston--in JUNE.

Now the new numbers are out for May, 2008 and--shock!--it's freakin' freezing!

Here's the key observation:

Compared to the May 2007 value of 0.199°C we find a 12 month ∆T is -.379°C. But even more impressive is the change since the last big peak in global temperature in January 2007 at 0.594°C, giving a 16 month ∆T of -0.774°C which is equal in magnitude to the generally agreed upon “global warming signal” of the last 100 years.

If Ma Nature can wipe out a century of warming in 16 months, how in the world does anyone defend spending trillions on what the Earth's temperatures MIGHT be 100 years from now?

George Will Tells You Everything You Need To Know About Mrs. Bill Clinton

"Clinton, having risen politically in her husband's orbit, is a moon shining with reflected light. Were Obama to hitch himself to her, he would reduce himself to a reflection of a reflection."

Read the rest of Will's terrific (as usual) column here.

Gee, What Word Is Missing From This Story?

The Lowell Sun is the hometown paper of the community where Sen. "Touch My Willie" Marzilli was allegedly attacking women on park benches. You'd think they would be the paper of record on this disturbing story and this serial creep.

So read the news story and tell me what key bit of information about an elected official--information that one would expect to find in such a story--is utterly missing.

I'll give you one hint: It's information that would be in the very first paragraph if Sen. Marzilli were a Republican.

Another Massachusetts "Ultraliberal" Strikes Again!

What the Boston Globe-Democrat says:

A self-described ultraliberal, Marzilli has been a darling of unions, environmental groups, and social service organizations whose causes he championed.

"This does not conform to the behavior of the Jim Marzilli who we know and love," said George Bachrach, a former Democratic state senator from Watertown and a longtime friend who hired Marzilli to run his campaign for governor in 1994. "I feel many of us who had positive relationships with Jim professionally feel deeply for him now personally."

What I say in today's Boston Herald:

Take the example of state Sen. James Marzilli (party affiliation withheld at the request of The Boston Globe). The Arlington liberal was caught - again - allegedly trying to do to a lady on a Lowell park bench what he regularly does to the taxpayers on Beacon Hill.

I love the fact that, yet again, a Clintonesque "advocate for women's issues" is caught with his hands in the, er...uh, well, being inappropriate. We were laughing yesterday when the Globe-Democrat buried Sen. Marzilli's party affiliation in the 11th paragraph of the news story. Today, it's the same defense: "This can't be true--he's a liberal!"

Bill Clinton repeatedly used the power of his elected offices to pressure women into sex. As liberal Christopher Hitchens and reporter Michael Isikoff found, the allegations that Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broaddrick are credible. If he were a private citizen, they would have surely resulted in a trial.

And yet Bill Clinton remains a "women's champion"--and I don't mean that in any score-keeping, Wilt-Chamberlin sense.

Of the many ways the Left has embarrassed itself during the years of Clinton love, the most humiliating was watching women activists defending a dirtbag like William Jefferson O.J. Clinton.

Sen. Marzilli can only hope the tradition continues.

March Of The Mediocrities

I agree with just about everything John Hood of the John Locke Foundation has to say about the 2008 presidential election. You can read his entire article, but here's a sampling:

...it feels as though we’ve already had several national elections since last summer. And yet we’ve only just begun the general-election campaign Tuesday night with Barack Obama weakly clinching the Democratic nomination while losing one of the final two primaries and John McCain blandly promising a respectful contest with his fresh-faced Senate colleague.

We’re stuck with these two mediocrities for the rest of the year. What’s more, we’re also going to be subjected to hundreds of mainstream-media mediocrities endlessly recycling the same trite observations, then revising the observations, then rediscovering the original observations, ad nauseatium.

You Go, Girl!

Sign this petition and demand that Sen. Barack Obama give Hillary Rodham Clinton her rightful place on the Democratic ticket in 2008.

Do your part to elect Sen. John McC..er "stand up for women's rights" today!

And I'm "Willing To Take" Gisele Bundchen To Nude Beach In the Bahamas...

From the LA Times to CNN, the headline is Mrs. Bill Clinton's "willingness to take" the vice presidential spot if, for some unimaginable reason, Sen. Barack Obama should decide to force this opportunity on Hillary who, really, has never even imagined he might offer it to lil' ol' her. Her answer?

"Who, me? Vice President? Well, if you insist...."

Right.

Here on Planet Earth, we're watching Heavyweight Hillary's all-out effort to put Sen. Obama in a headlock. On the day Sen. Obama could have been celebrating his victory, Mrs. Clinton was announcing her "willingness" to take the VP slot in every conversation. Meanwhile, the Clinton's ultimate "useful galoot" Lanny Davis (and I mean that in a nice way) has launched an online petition demanding Sen. Obama make Hillary his running mate.

Here's my prediction: Sen. Obama will not choose Mrs. Bill Clinton to be his vice president because he can't. It would cripple his candidacy and all but assure Sen. McCain's victory (as much as any political action could in the era of $5/gallon gasoline, the Iraq War and falling home values).

Why?

What is the number one obstacle Sen. Obama faces as a candidate for POTUS? If you said "race," you're either some clueless, knee-jerk America hater or a member of the Boston Globe-Democrat editorial board. (But I repeat myself...)

No, the question Sen. Obama must answer is "Are you strong enough to be president?" Or to put it in a manner more likely to offend the thin-skinned, "Are you man enough?"

Right now, the answer is "no." Sen. Obama has been getting pushed all over the political landscape by Hillary Clinton. His "let's hug Iran" foreign policy and his near-tears reaction to criticism on the campaign trail feed the perception that he's just not tough enough for the world's hardest job.

Because everyone knows Sen. Obama (not to mention Mrs. Obama) doesn't want Hillary on the ticket, the only way she'll get there is if he's forced to choose her. In other words, if he gets pushed around by a girl one more time. And reasonable, fair-minded voters will ask themselves the obvious: If Sen. Obama isn't tough enough to take on Hillary, how can he possibly be tough enough to take on the world."

Right now, Sen. Obama is a 1992 candidate. He's the kind of nice, liberal "I'll vote for him so I can feel better about myself" candidate America could take a chance on once the Soviet Union collapsed and the economy was in fundamentally good shape.

This is 2008. We're at war, Islamist whackjobs are trying to attack us around the globe every day, China, Russia and Iran are itchin' for a fight, we can't afford to buy gas and the economy is the worst its been since the Reagan recovery 25 years ago.

This is our world, and the Democrats choice to lead it is a guy who's not even man enough to say "no" to Hillary Clinton?

Putting Hillary on the ticket is what a weak candidate would do. Sen. Obama can't afford to be that candidate.

Sorry, ladies, but Mrs. Bill will not be invited to this dance.

Hate America, Love Obama?

What do Jeremiah Wright, Fr. Michael Pfleger, Michelle Obama and a majority of Europeans have in common?

They don't like America, but they really like Barack Obama. In fact, according to polls, preaching and personal observation, there is an undeniable, inverse relationship between one's affection for the US and support for the Obama campaign. That's certainly the case with callers to 96.9 WTKK, as I wrote in the Boston Herald today:

Yesterday on my radio show, a caller named Rich defended Obama’s membership at Trinity this way:

“That church is right. White people in America are privileged, just like Japanese people are privileged in Japan. This is you guys’ country. It ain’t our country.

“Don’t blame me, it’s not my America,” says Rich.

And when he does, I hear echoes of other Obama supporters - Bill Ayers, Louis Farrakhan, Michelle Obama. They don’t see America as “our” nation - great, but flawed - but rather someone else’s country. It is simply a lost land waiting for these cultural outsiders to redeem it - and to heal our souls.

Only then will they embrace America as their nation, a nation they can finally be proud of for the first time.

You can listen to that depressing, heartbreaking call by clicking here.

Here's the big question for the Obamaniacs: If you don't like America, if you think so little of this nation that you can't call it your own, why do you WANT the White House? Shouldn't you just go to a better country somewhere, one with a political culture more in tune with your beliefs.

You know, like Cuba?

From The Irony-Challenged Anger-Mongers of Media Matters

My friends at DevalPatrickWatch sent me a link to this posting from the loony-Left, Clinton-funded website Media Matters For America:

Guest host on Beck suggests if Obama elected, political correctness will kill comedy: "[E]veryone will be so scared of saying anything"

MMA then proceeds to quote me accurately from my appearance on the Glenn Beck TV show::

GRAHAM: Are your comedian friends telling you what my talk show's telling me, which is, if we have a President Obama, comedy will be dead? Not because of any, you know, political action or government action, because everyone will be so scared of saying anything.

You'll be scared to order blackened red fish, because you're afraid that an African-American or Native American will beat the crap out of you for it.

My comments offended the folks at Media Matters because...well, their posting never states why they object. They present this comment as objectionable on its face. Graham's comments are so, so shocking, they need no explanation!

Uh, OK.

My best guess is that they believe I said something racist or related to race. If so, they're argument is "Michael Graham says that electing Barack Obama will dampen free speech because of fears over accusations of racism--that racist!"

Thanks for making my point, guys.

UPDATE: Stephanie Miller, who allegedly has a radio show somewhere, joins the "stop saying we'll call you a racist, you racist!" bandwagon. At least she has the courtesy (or clarity) to accuse me of racism directly, though she doesn't explain it. Apparently the phrase "blackened redfish" is now a racial pejorative. I'll leave that to the free-speech-lovin' folks on the Loony Left.

Your Monday Morning Wake-Up Call!

Here are some news items to start your week off right:

The good news is now so obvious that they've even discovered it at the Washington Post--We're winning in Iraq!

More Bad News For John Kerry Democrats: "We're 75 Years Behind The American Economy," Euroweenies Admit.

Speaking Of The US Economy...

Companies sold a record amount of bonds in May, showing that the credit freeze that locked up Wall Street for months this year has begun to thaw. Highly rated companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Philip Morris and Merrill Lynch raised $132.8 billion selling bonds in May, says Thomson Reuters. That's the most ever raised from bond sales in a month.

And then there's Manny Being Manny. C'mon--even NY Yankees fans have got to like this guy!