Uncalled House Races Update: Republican Challenger in KY-6 Concedes

As reported here, the Democrat Chandler holds on to his seat, winning by less than 700 votes.

The Republican net gain continues at 61 seats, with 5 uncalled races: CA-11, CA-20, IL-8, NY-25, and NY-1.

Massive Social Security Hearings Backlog: Millions Waiting, Many More Than Two Years

Sure that Obamacare thing will be different. You won't have to wait that long. Maybe only half as much! You can live with that hernia for a year, right?

As reported here:

A Senate subcommittee is expected to hear testimony on Monday at a field hearing in Akron, Ohio, about the rising number of threats, as well as the status of the massive backlog in applications for disability benefits, which are available to people who can't work because of medical problems.

Nearly 2 million people are waiting to find out if they qualify for benefits, with many having to wait more than two years to see their first payment.

This Is The Way We Check You Out, Check You Out, Check You Out

Boycott the Airlines Until the Scanners and the Gropers Come Out

From Steve Chapman for The Chicago Tribune, here:

The good news is that last year, the House of Representatives voted to bar the use of whole-body scanners for routine screening. But only a sustained public outcry will force a change.

We will soon find out if there is a limit to the sacrifices of personal freedom that Americans will endure in the name of fighting terrorism. If we don't say no when they want to inspect and handle our private parts, when will we?

S&P 500 Fair Value is 900

So says Jeremy Grantham, here.

Defining Middle Class

Maureen Callahan for The New York Post takes a look at the big squeeze of the middle class in "Class Dismissed: Why Middle Income Jobs Are Not Coming Back."

Here's an excerpt:

‘I don’t know if I’m middle class anymore,” says Mark Lieber, 54. “From what I read, if you’re earning over $150,000, you’re in the top 5% of earners.” He echoes Francese: “In New York, that’s not rich.”

Here's how you know you're solidly middle class:


You retired last year at age 65 and your last salary was $107,000. You own your 3 bedroom house and one car outright, you're still married to your first wife who never earned a paycheck but raised your four kids, for whose college educations and the weddings of two who were girls you paid (mostly), and you have no debt and about $391,000 socked away in cash.


That's the territory between the third and fourth income quintiles from 1980, adjusted for inflation.


Know anyone like that?

The Time to Get Serious About Coastal Defense is Long Past

In the summer of 2009, after Russian nuclear submarines were detected only 200 miles off our East coast, one commentator on the subsequent news story which bragged about our ability to detect  two  boats thought saying nothing about it would have been smarter in the absence of an official recommendation that the US actually beef up its coastal defenses with conventional defensive submarines. The reason? They're might have been three Russian subs.

The US military's response to the California mystery missile incident 35 miles off the coast of Los Angeles on Monday hardly inspired more confidence. We should have said nothing at all. Instead we said we didn't know what it was. Piling on to the airplane contrail theory a day later only made that worse, giving the impression the military was grasping at straws.

Unfortunately, from the commander in chief on down our government and military give the impression of being run by un-serious people. From the delay measured in days in responding to the Christmas Day underwear bomber to telegraphing our disengagement schedules in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's as if matters of war and peace are at best distractions from the really important matters like Obamacare, repealing DADT and defending the Ground Zero Mosque.

We could learn something about coastal defense from the Chinese, who understand the realities of American forward air, surface and submarine operations off their waters all too well. They have embarked on an ambitious naval modernization to counter our activities, which includes a commitment to robust coastal defense and power projection with submarines of varying designs. One such submarine, a Song, punked the USS Kitty Hawk in October 2006 over there, and it may be that Monday's incident over here was the work of a lately launched submarine of more recent design:

As other nations continue to develop naval capabilities we need to recognize that the operation of submarines off the US coast is going to become more common, not less. Indeed, what is the first thing China will do when tensions at sea rise over Taiwan or some other matter? Most likely, the deployment of submarines off the coast of Guam, Sasebo, Pearl Harbor, and if the PLA Navy has any strategic thinking at all, San Diego. ...

But this is what the US Navy needs to think about... the submarines off Guam, Sasebo, and Pearl Harbor can be Yuan class, because Yuans appear to have much better endurance for submerged operations than Song class submarines do, but for west coast operations it will be nuclear submarines.

Whether or not a missile was fired off the California coast this week to send such a message to America, we'd better get busy and start preparing for defensive submarine operations ourselves. Because sooner or later, Chinese boomers will come calling on the west coast just like the Russians do on the east.

 But we'll have to get serious first.

Who Said It?

"We can’t constantly explain to our voters that taxpayers have to be on the hook for certain risks, rather than those who make a lot of money taking those risks."

-- Barack Obama Angela Merkel

To Hell With The TSA

"We spend my child's whole life telling him that only mom, dad and a doctor can touch you in your private area, and now we have to add TSA agent and that's just wrong," he told Reuters. "At some point the terrorists have won."

More here.

Uncalled House Race Update: VA-11 a Democrat Hold

Real Clear Politics has been showing this race a Democrat hold since yesterday.

Politics Daily shows the incumbent Democrat Connolly with just 920 votes more than the Republican challenger Fimian.

Three third party candidates could be blamed for the Republican's loss. The Independent garnered 1,838 votes, the Libertarian 1,381 votes, and the Green 959 votes. All together those votes represented barely 1.75% of all votes cast.

Net Republican gains remain at 61 with 6 races still not called: CA-11, CA-20, IL-8, KY-6, NY-25 and NY-1.

Was Monday's California Missile Launch a Chinese Cruise Missile?

Did history just rhyme on Monday with an incident which embarrassed the US Navy back in October 2006? Has the People's Liberation Army been (California) dreamin' about this since 1996?

Consider this from James Kraska, a former adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

In 1999, the PLA Navy introduced the sophisticated Song-class diesel electric submarine. Reportedly quieter than the fast attack US Los Angeles-class boats, the Song was equipped with wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles. In one incident in October 2006, one of the ultra-quiet Song submarines surfaced inside the protective screen of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Admiral Gary Roughead, who was commander of the US Pacific Fleet and who would later go on to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was visiting China at the time of the incident. In 1996, at the end of the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, PLA General Xiong Guangkai warned a visiting US envoy, ‘‘. . . you care more about Los Angeles than you do about Taipei.’’ ...


[T]he US Pacific Fleet was in panic after the Kitty Hawk embarrassment over its vulnerability to Chinese diesel-electric boats.


In the decades after the end of the Cold War, China closed the gap in naval capability, even surpassing the United States in some areas in terms of both quantity and quality of platforms. For example, China concentrated on advancing its large diesel-electric submarine force. Sweden became the first nation to develop a diesel-electric submarine with air-independent propulsion (AIP), which extended underwater endurance from a few days to one month. The first in class of these vessels, the HMS Gotland, was leased by the US Navy for two years in order to practice anti-submarine warfare. The Gotland proved extremely quiet and effective, and AIP submarines are able to sprint under water—greatly increasing their attack radius. China integrated AIP technology into the Type 041 Yuan-class boats, which followed the Song. Having launched several of these smaller, stealthy boats each year since 2004, a decade later, the US Seventh Fleet could never be certain whether China was shadowing US vessels.


Monday's incident could have been a shot across our bow, meant to embarrass the president in his own backyard while he's visiting in theirs.

Cutting Paychecks of 535 Members of Congress by 10% is Silly

Do the math:

$174,000 per year

10% of which = $17,400

x 535 members of Congress = less than $10 million.

That'll really hurt the plutocrats like John Kerry and Darrell Issa.

$10 million dollars goes into a $3.5 trillion budget 350,000 times for crying out loud. It's like taking a long piss in the Pacific ocean. NO ONE WILL NOTICE!

Get serious! Cut an entire Cabinet level department or two, starting with Education.

Story here.

About Half of New Republicans Term Limit Themselves

Pure idiocy.

To paraphrase George C. Scott playing General George Patton: Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won by term-limiting himself for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard term-limit himself for it.

These dopes haven't learned a thing on the outside. Why, I'll bet they're ready to compromise on all sorts of things. Heaven help us.

I predict rising spirits among Democrats.

Politico has the story here.

Another Guy Goes on the Record that it was a Missile

According to National Journal here:

Naval expert Norman Polmar, a long-time consultant to the Navy and Pentagon, said he believes the missile was almost certainly launched by the US military. “From the video it’s clearly a land- or sea-launched ballistic missile, and it couldn’t have come from a French or British submarine, because they are only deployed in the Atlantic and Mediterranean,” he told National Journal. “Chinese submarines have never ventured farther east than Hawaii, nor have they ever successfully test fired a ballistic missile. That only leaves the Russians, but for the life of me I can’t fathom why Moscow would have a submarine sail 5,000 miles to launch a missile off the coast of California.”

I can fathom why a North Korean submarine would do it, or a Chinese submarine, especially just ahead of Obama's arrival in Seoul for the G-20 meeting.

But the capability question is still there in both cases.

Do the North Koreans have a blue water submarine, let alone the technology?

Do the Chinese have the technology?

And why would the US government lie about a test of its own?

Solid Propellant Missile From A Submarine or Surface Ship

If it wasn't a missile that's news to at least one expert, as related here:

Doug Richardson, the editor of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, examined the video for the Times of London and said he was left with little doubt. 

"It’s a solid propellant missile," he told the Times. "You can tell from the efflux [smoke]." 

Richardson said it could have been a ballistic missile launched from a submarine or an interceptor, the defensive anti-missile weapon used by Navy surface ships. 

Obama Doubles Number of Federal Workers Getting $150K or More Per Year

Dennis Cauchon for USA Today keeps on the trail of federal worker pay:

The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Read the rest here.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 is National Opt-Out Day: Pass it On

Check it out here:

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 is NATIONAL OPT-OUT DAY!  

It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an "enhanced pat down" that touches people's breasts and genitals.  You should never have to explain to your children, "Remember that no stranger can touch or see your private area, unless it's a government employee, then it's OK."  

The goal of National Opt Out Day is to send a message to our lawmakers that we demand change.  No naked body scanners, no government-approved groping.  We have a right to privacy and buying a plane ticket should not mean that we're guilty until proven innocent.  This day is needed because many people do not understand what they consent to when choosing to fly.

Here are the details:

Who?

    You, your family and friends traveling by air on Wednesday, November 24, 2010. 

What?

    National Opt-Out Day.  While the government doesn't always like to advertise this, you have the ability to opt-out of the naked body scanner machines (AIT, or Advance Imaging Technology, as the government calls it).  All you have to do is say "I opt out" when they tell you to go through one of the machines.  You will then be given a pat down.

Where?

    At an airport near you!  

When?

    Wednesday, November 24, 2010.  That's right: November 24 - one of the busiest travel days of the year!  We want families to sit around the dinner table, eating turkey, talking about how a government employee molested them at the airport.  We hope the outrageous experience then propels people to write their Member of Congress and demand change.  

Why?

    We are sick of "security theater."  These naked body scanners do not make us a more secure nation.  In fact, the scanners, which use radiation, may not even be safe for our long-term health.  The government should not have the ability to virtually strip search anyone it wants.  Why should a government employee get to see a naked scan of a passenger, and do who knows what in the back room while viewing that image?   We have already heard stories of TSA officials laughing at small genitals and making certain women go through the machines or taking off extra clothes, reducing them to tears.  This is absolutely sick behavior.  If you don't like it and don't want to be virtually strip searched, then too bad says the government.  To try and make everyone comply with the naked body scanners, the government has made the alternative worse!  With their enhanced pat downs, TSA now touches the genitals and private areas of men, women and children!  We do not believe the government has a right to see you naked or feel you up just because you bought an airline ticket.  There are better, less invasive security measures that can be taken.

How?

    By saying "I opt out" when told to go through the bodying imaging machines.  Also, be sure to have your enhanced pat down by TSA in full public - do not go to the back room when asked.  Every citizen must see for themselves how the government treats law-abiding citizens.

follow us on twitter:  http://twitter.com/nationaloptout

Arrogant Flight Attendants Want Special Treatment On Enhanced Pat-Downs

But your choice is to get scanned virtually strip-searched or groped, that's it, against your 4th Amendment rights.

Calling enhanced pat-downs by the TSA "invasive," Deborah Volpe, Vice President of the Association of Flight Attendants Local 66 in Phoenix, says they want a different "crew pass" procedure for flight attendants and pilots, according to a story here from ABC15 in Phoenix:

"We don't want them in uniform going through this enhanced screening where their private areas are being touched in public."

"They actually make contact with the genital area."

"They've already contacted the ACLU."

"We just feel this pat-down is a little much."

If it's a little much for you, isn't it a little much for anyone? What makes union members so special?

Want to crash the TSA? November 24 is National Opt-Out Day. Refuse the scanners. Make them feel you up. And make sure to film it and upload it to YouTube.

Pass the word: optoutday.com.

Wikipedia Article Debates Possible Role of North Koreans in Missile Launch

The article in question is about the Golf II class of submarines, which you can find here.

Here is a screen shot of the relevant passage which was removed overnight, claiming "vandalism":

Was The Missile a Stunt from Kim Jong Mentally Ill?

Here's a theory:

Obama leaves the country on his grand Asia tour, which involves a G20 meeting in South Korea. While the cat's away, the North Koreans sneak a missile sub 35 miles off our California coast to demonstrate their ability to strike us and embarrass him, catching us flat-footed. The event gets credited to Kim Jong-Il's son, the new general and heir apparent, cementing his position with the military. Meanwhile we've got a president who's disengaged from and unrealistic about matters military whose liberal death wish could very well get us all killed. Would this have happened with a 600 ship navy under Reagan instead of the 300 ship one we have now?