but, that's just my opinion

Obama's War Afghanistan

KABUL (AP) — U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed and commanders ramped up winter operations against an increasingly violent insurgency.

As troops pour into the country and violence rises, another sobering measure has also increased: More Afghan civilians are dying in U.S. and allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban, according to a count by The Associated Press. In the first two months of the year, U.S., NATO or Afghan forces have killed 100 civilians, while militants have killed 60....

....Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009.

If there is war that cannot be won this might be it. This is a war against entrenched tribal customs, illiteracy, and Muslim ideology

Paul Harvey Dead

Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died Saturday in Arizona, according to ABC Radio Networks. He was 90.

Before there was a talk radio there was Paul Harvey.

The Fight for Freedom in Europe

Geert Wilders

The Party for the Freedom of Geert Wilders is according to a survey of Maurice de Hond the largest party if elections were held now. It is for the first time that in a survey the Freedom Party obtains most of the seats.

According to De Hond Wilders' party would get 27 seats, one more than the conservative Christian-Democrats (CDA). The PvdA (Labor-Socialists) stands according to De Hond at 21; Liberal D66 is with 19 seats the fourth party.

Since the Court of Justice ruled six weeks ago Wilders should be prosecuted, the Freedom Party surged with 10 seats. Wilders also came in the news because him was denied the access to Great Britain.

When the politicians sell a country down the drain, when relativism becomes the norm, when politically correct speech is taught in school, when liberals rule, this is the result. Someone will step forward and right the ship. This will happen in the United States, we have been set on a course of destruction by the liberal Democrats, someone will step forward and lead the fight for freedom and liberty versus equality and relativism.

Obama's Approval Rating Drops

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 39% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Twenty-nine percent (29%) Strongly Disapprove to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +10 (see trends).

....5 point drop in 2 days, hmmmm, is the bloom off the rose?
I

Today's Pinup

Bang

Mail Online

As an illustration of luck, it doesn’t get much more explosive.

This remarkable picture shows how two bullets from opposing troops fused after striking each other in mid-air.

The odds of the clash are said to be a billion-to-one and it could well have saved the lives of two soldiers.

The War on Philantrophy

The New Ledger

....The tax increase is a new proposal from Mr. Obama, and would limit deductions for filers in the 33% and 35% tax brackets.

Under current law, taxpayers who itemize calculate their deductions based on their income tax bracket. A taxpayer who pays a 35% rate on his income may deduct 35% of various expenses — such as mortgage interest or charitable contributions — from his taxable income.

Under the Obama proposal, these deductions would be limited to a maximum of 28%, even for taxpayers paying higher tax rates.

Essentially, Obama removes any tax incentive for individuals to give at the levels they have in recent years, an effective declaration of war on every major nonprofit in the country that survives primarily on individual giving — particularly thinktanks and private academic institutions. Foundation giving is already ravaged thanks to the poor economy (and if history is a guide, it’ll get worse before it gets better) — Jewish philanthropy in particular is hurting thanks to Bernie Madoff — now this new policy would wreck the tax incentive for charitable giving as well.

The good people at the Chronicle of Philanthropy were stunned by the news:

“It seems like unusual public policy to try, as the President announced to the Congress this week, to return the United States to world leadership in access to higher education and then make it more difficult for extraordinary donors to contribute great gifts to colleges and universities,” Mr. Flessner said. “Likewise, it seems like unusual public policy to penalize the great medical centers that contribute so much to scientific breakthroughs by making it more difficult for donors to make the six-, seven-, eight-, and nine-figure gifts.”

The ridiculous nature of this policy is that it would strike a blow against those who were generous — those who give nothing to charity will experience no tax increase whatsoever. And while it’s true that many people support philanthropic causes without considering the net cost after the charitable deduction, giving people a reason not to give in a time of crisis is almost always a bad idea.

We all knew that Obama’s enormous spending intentions would need an offset in the form of a tax hike — and most of us assumed the majority of that cost would come in the form of a tax hike on the rich. But why in the world would you place a tax hike on the money the rich were planning to give away? It’s a decision that at the very least, President Obama must explain.

The easy answer: To make people dependent on the Democrats! Period, end of story.

Change You Can Believe In

Kudlow
Let me be very clear on the economics of President Obama’s State of the Union speech and his budget.

He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equity and venture-capital funds.

That is the meaning of his anti-growth tax-hike proposals, which make absolutely no sense at all — either for this recession or from the standpoint of expanding our economy’s long-run potential to grow.

Socialism in our time.....

Iberiabank Gives Back Tarp Funds

...We believe recent actions, interpretations, and commentary regarding various aspects of the program places our Company at an unacceptable competitive disadvantage. Our Board of Directors has determined that continued participation in this program is no longer in the best interest of our Company and its shareholders. Our Company occupies a unique position of strength, growth, and opportunity relative to other participants in the financial services industry. We are pleased to be able to redeem the Treasury's investment in our Company."...

in other words keep your greedy hands off our bank, thank you very much.

Tea Party UPDATE

Updates: Instapundit

Found at the top of the Website for the Top Conservatives On Twitter group, it’s a photo taken by Michelle Malkin, amongst many more shots from the DC “Tea Party” on her blog. More Tea Party background, here.

more here