Coming soon to a country near you

Desperate governments do desperate things. Some of those things qualify as theft if you or I do them. This is one of those things.

The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.

Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates, and with severe spending rules in place due to its EU-IMF bailout, Ireland has few ways of spending to stimulate the economy. Today’s jobs program includes specific tax increases, including the tax on pensions, aimed at keeping government jobs spending from adding to the national debt.

Yeah. Call it a tax. “Theft” is such an ugly word.

The article contains a link to a slide show of 17 countries that appear poised to use this same tactic. Surprisingly, the USA wasn’t one of them. Il Duce must be slipping.

South Korea was #4 on the list: someone warn bingbing!

Coming in at #1 was — drumroll, please — Japan, a country with an aging population and two decades of economic stagflation under its belt.

But don’t worry if your country wasn’t on the list of those ready to pounce on your hard-earned retirement nest egg. They’ll get to you soon enough.

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.

Sense Spoken

I don’t agree with everything the man in this video clip says, but he says it well and makes his points clear. It’s worth a watch.

Does anyone know who he is?

This video, focusing mostly on abortion, is also worth watching. Excellent points are made.

I’m not sure who he is either.

The Five Stages Of Obama Worship

Stage One

Feeling not only an admiration and respect for the man, but then starting to defend him in every argument, whether what you’re saying is true or not.

Stage Two

A small donation to the campaign is made, and a bumper sticker is bought and affixed to the bumper of your car with a small sense of pride.

Stage Three

A decision is made to pump more money into the Obama campaign, because he genuinely seems like a nice guy, so you buy a t-shirt, a few more bumper stickers, put a sign in your yard and talk him up to family, friends, co-workers and neighbours.

Stage Four

You read about Camp Obama, the chance to learn about the man and his propaganpolicies, and you leap at the chance. You learn about the Democratic Party’s policies and start spreading the news to all of your friends, family members, co-workers, neighbours, random people in the street and school children. If you’re already a teacher, you form a choir out of innocent children.

Stage Five

Now that you’re a trained Camp Obama Counsellor, you also get brought into the inner folds of the Obama Campaign. This means that you’re now qualified to not only spread the good news about Obama, but also criticise any Republican Party members, spread lies about their family, claim to have previously voted Republican but now see the light, and participate in the AstroTurf Campaign. Reaching Stage Five means that you’ll also be widely mocked, derided and deleted for using fake names and email addresses.

The Vice-Presidential Debate: My Wrap Up (Updated)

The line that spoke to me most came from Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin:

“I think we need more of Main Street Wasilla in Washington, so that these people, these middle-class, hard-working people are heard in Washington.”

Contrast this to the line that almost made me cry with laughter:

“I go down Union Street, and speak to folks in Home Depot…”

On to the serious stuff, I think Palin nailed this debate. She spoke in a way that showed that she’s far outside Washington circles, using some very homely expressions such as “doggone it”, “ya”, “Say it ain’t so Joe”, and she sounded nowhere near as rehearsed as Joe Biden, plus Governor Palin didn’t rely on her notes almost every sentence. Certainly, she looked at notes (although hers were clearly in dot point form, whereas Biden’s can’t possibly have been) yet she spent the majority of her time making eye contact with the camera.

An Alliance Worth Keeping

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has written an excellent article examining the Australia-US alliance and puts forth a very convincing argument as to why the alliance should be kept.

An extract:

In the middle of 1908, Australians and Americans recognised immediately the kindred spirit of two rugged and energetic peoples separated by half the globe but united by shared hopes for mankind. That initial friendship would be forged into an inseparable bond through many struggles in the years to come. Ten years after the Great White Fleet left Sydney Harbour, American soldiers would serve under Australian general John Monash at the decisive Battle of Hamel on the Western Front. My father and grandfather would both serve side by side with the Royal Australian Navy in the Pacific theatre, turning back the Japanese tide and then building a post-war network of alliances that would usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in Asia.

He makes a solid argument for the continuation and deregulation of free trade, as well as the case for maintaining an alliance with Australia, and furthering relations with Asia. It’s an excellent article and well worth a read.

Today Is September 11, 2008. I Will Never Forget, Nor Will I Forgive.

While many people died in the atrocities in 2001, we tend to remember most the Twin Towers falling.

Many of us watched it happening in real time, even myself here in Melbournistan, Australia.

Seven years after the event, the enormity of it is something that never leaves; perhaps that really was the end of history as we know it, rather than the year 2000.

For someone with the gift of the gab, this is one that renders me nearly speechless, and so I will just leave you with a comment of the frollicking mole’s from Tim Blair’s old blog:

I saw people jumping and never considered it suicide. It was a choice between the auto-de-fe of the islamists or the quick death of their own making.
They made a CHOICE not to die by burning, I only hope they closed their eyes and thought back to when they were 5 and could fly….

In the interests of tolerance, diversity and multiculturalism, and for those who think that America (we) deserved 9/11:

I hope you fucking rot in hell.

God bless America and her martyrs.

(crossposted at RightWingDeathBogan)

UPDATE (Beef): Memories of that morning posted here.

Archbishop of Washington Chides Pelosi; Denver Archbishop Warns Biden to Skip Communion

Fox News

“As an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time,” Pelosi told NBC’s Tom Brokaw, who had asked her when life begins. “And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know.”

Personally, when a religion involves itself in politics, it should lose the corporation sole tax exemption. Then again, this is the U.S. and they should be able to voice their opinions, but as we know, taxes are completely different from “freedom of speech”. Just ask the IRS.

On the other hand…I like who the church targets 🙂

Stuff Worth Lookin’ At

Via Paco (and The_Real_JeffS (ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS!)) we have some military photos.

The Tree Hugging Sister clearly understands my KFC addiction.

A rather unsurprising look at the changing qualities of marijuana.

Mythusmage has it about right on the Bigfoot hoax. I like the idea of Bigfoot being real, so these types of hoaxes also annoy me.

Michelle Malkin has the scoop on how desperate the Obama camp is getting.

Maggie’s Farm has some really cool photos of Golden Gate Park.

An intriguing look at some US law.

The man with the bike sets an evil challenge. I was afraid to guess.

Received in my email. One of the few advertisements you will see on our Blog, unless or until we go “commercial”.

A Personal Note from John O’Neill

(and Human Events’ sister company, Regnery Publishing)

Dear Friend,

As you may recall, I was privileged to play a role in helping prevent John Kerry from being elected president when my fellow Swift Boat Veterans and I released the book Unfit for Command. As liberal as Kerry was, America faces an even more liberal threat today: Barack Obama. Fortunately, investigative journalist and National Review Online political reporter David Freddoso has written the book every voter needs to read: The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate.

Uncovering stories the mainstream media has neglected, Freddoso reveals Obama for who he really is: the U.S. senator with the #1 most liberal voting record in the Senate. And a politician whose rhetoric of “change” does not match the reality of his corrupt, “Chicago-machine politics” background.

Moving past Obama’s inspiring speeches and say-anything-to-win campaign tactics, Freddoso outlines Obama’s extreme, far-left legislative record and his questionable associations with both criminals and radicals. From Obama’s repeated support for the Chicago patronage system, to his hard-line position of no restrictions on abortion, The Case Against Barack Obama offers the cold, hard facts about this man who would be our next president.

As American citizens, it is our right and duty to question the background, character, and proposals of any candidate who could be our next commander in chief. Democrats and the media are not holding Obama accountable, so conservatives must. I’m grateful to David Freddoso and my publisher, Regnery, for finally revealing the man behind the myth.

I urge you to read The Case Against Barack Obama. I also recommend that you buy copies for your friends and relatives who may consider voting for Obama. They deserve to know the truth, too.
Please click on one of the links below to order your copy today.

Sincerely,
John O’Neill

Click below to save 20% or more off bookstore prices!

Should one chose to do so, the links:

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble.com

Borders.com

Anyone For A Challenge?

Who would like the challenge and exclusive honour (YES! I used a “u” there!) of explaining the Electoral College to me?

I’m currently reading a book called The Right Nation: Why America Is Different by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, and it keeps on mentioning the Electoral College, but I’m not completely sure what it is.

So take the ultimate challenge! Explain it to me!

Reasons why McCain is still doing OK

Say hello to Sergeant Schmidt.

Pajamas.

Don’t Rush, Uhbama

Barack in Aman, Jordan the other day.

(Thanks, Yojimbo, for the idea)

The Ad Hillary Should Be Running

Hillary should definitely have run this ad in Pennsylvania.

Again, this is via Instapundit.

Greenpeace Care!

Greenpeace have shown some courage, and admitted that they care about me getting bored. So they stuck some games on their website. Have a look at the games they have on offer and tell me that they don’t make you want to both laugh and cry.

Especially NukeSweeper.

Oh, and I’m really, really sorry about that time I blew up the US. Can you guys forgive me?

McCain’s Perfect Choice for a Running Mate: Governor Sarah Palin

While most of the pedantic, two-dimensional, inside-the-box-thinking, conservative political hacks are touting Tom Ridge for the slot (Not a bad guy, but…), David Freddoso notes a far superior choice has been proposed: The Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

I believe this is a truly inspired idea. Gov. Palin ran as an anti-corruption outsider, and handily defeated a corrupt and entrenched Republican political machine. Plus, at 44, she would almost totally wipe the “age issue” McCain has off the slate, and since Obama is only two years her senior, there is no way they could attack her for her youth and inexperience: She has much more executive experience than Senator Obama has.

Not to mention the fact that, she’s a gorgeous woman who exudes mass quantities of charisma…

and has a super-solid family life.

Dibs on the eldest daughter! LOL!

This inspired choice would allow McCain to actually capitalize on his “maverick” persona, as Gov. Palin shook Alaska politics to the core: She’s a charming, charismatic woman, but she can also play with the big boys and kick ass.

What say ye?

UPDATE: Things are looking optimistic!

UPDATE II: Welcome to all 4500 8000 40,000 in the past few hours (so far!) people visiting us from Google. We’re a fairly opinionated right-wing blog, and you might like to take a look at our “About” page. You might also be interested in our other coverage of Sarah Palin and whether she becomes a prospective Vice President of the United States. You can find this coverage here and here. Personally, I hope she does, but you can feel free to debate the idea in comments below. All first comments are moderated, but unless you either insult or use severe profanity (and I mean severe by my standards, which generally only means the C U Next Tuesday word or the implication that someone has had a rather enjoyable erotic experience with someone who has borne a child), however if you come up with a new one, I may simply delete your comment. I, and all other contributors to this blog are more than fair in what we permit.

UPDATE III: Nayr Drahcir, don’t bother even trying. You will not be published.

UPDATE IV: A lot of people must like Palin.

UPDATE V: More coverage of Governor Sarah Palin and a theme song here.

UPDATE VI: Funniest observation on the announcement yet: “Put Obama and Palin on a basketball court one on one. Winner takes all!”

UPDATE VII: [spot_the_dog] No, we do not have any pictures of “Sarah Palin + Naked,” nor do we have any of “Sarah Palin + Swimsuit.” In the past 24 hours, there have been 157 separate searches on this site for “Sarah Palin Swimsuit,” and 161 separate searches for “Sarah Palin Naked.” I repeat, we have no bathing suit, swim suit, bikini, or naked pictures of Sarah Palin. What kind of people do you think we are, anyway? 😉

UPDATE VIIa: [spot_the_dog] Ace has noticed a similar search phenomenon on his blog and has a theory…

UPDATE VIII: A well-rounded view of the selection of Sarah Palin for the Vice President Nomination can be found here.

UPDATE IX:  We got it!  YES!  Nude photo of Sarah Palin right here!  (C’mon.  You know you want to click.)

UPDATE X: Feel free to visit our main page and read the latest posts we’ve written.