BREAKING: OSAMA BIN LADEN GIVES UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTALLAB A SOLID B+

BREAKING: OSAMA BIN LADEN GIVES UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTALLAB A SOLID B+

ZAWAHIRI: "HECKUVA JOB UMAR!"

OBAMA:" A MISERABLE FAILURE."

• SERIOUSLY: WHAT DID OBAMA KNOW AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?

• ROUND UP HERE AT MEMEORANDUM.

NYTIMES: OBAMA MORTGAGE PROGRAM A MISERABLE FAILURE

NYTIMES: "U.S. Loan Effort Is Seen as Adding to Housing Woes"

Since President Obama announced the program in February, it has lowered mortgage payments on a trial basis for hundreds of thousands of people but has largely failed to provide permanent relief. Critics increasingly argue that the program, Making Home Affordable, has raised false hopes among people who simply cannot afford their homes.

As a result, desperate homeowners have sent payments to banks in often-futile efforts to keep their homes, which some see as wasting dollars they could have saved in preparation for moving to cheaper rental residences. Some borrowers have seen their credit tarnished while falsely assuming that loan modifications involved no negative reports to credit agencies.

Some experts argue the program has impeded economic recovery by delaying a wrenching yet cleansing process through which borrowers give up unaffordable homes and banks fully reckon with their disastrous bets on real estate, enabling money to flow more freely through the financial system.

... The Treasury Department publicly maintains that its program is on track. “The program is meeting its intended goal of providing immediate relief to homeowners across the country,” a department spokeswoman, Meg Reilly, wrote in an e-mail message.

But behind the scenes, Treasury officials appear to have concluded that growing numbers of delinquent borrowers simply lack enough income to afford their homes and must be eased out.

THAT'S CORRECT: THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS LET THE MARKET CORRECT ITSELF.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS STAYED COMPLETELY OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET IN THE FIRST PLACE; (THE HOUSING BUBBLE WAS MOSTLY THE RESULT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORDERING BANKS TO MAKE BAD LOANS VIA THE C.R.A. AND FANNIE MAE).

GOVERNMENT THAT GOVERNS LEAST GOVERNS BEST.

I BETCHYA OBAMA WOULD GIVE THE PROGRAM A SOLID B+.

Update: Scooped Instapundit by a day.

UPDATE #2: SCOOPED HOT AIR BY A DAY, TOO.

IS THE BBC WAKING UP?

THE THREE BIG LEAD STORIES ON THE BBC-TV TONIGHT - ALL ABOUT GLOBAL JIHAD.

(IF THE BEEB CAN WAKE UP, THEN MAYBE THE REST OF THE LEFT CAN, AND WE CAN DEFEAT THE JIHADIST ENEMY ONCE AND FOR ALL.)

FRANCE WELCOMES 2010 WITH 1137 CARS TORCHED

ABC:

Youths burned 1,137 cars across France overnight as New Year's Eve celebrations once again turned violent, the French Interior Ministry said on Friday.

Car burnings are regular occurrences in poor suburbs that ring France's big cities, but the arson is especially prevalent during New Year's Eve revelry.

OH, ER UM... THOSE SUBURBS: THEY'RE MOSTLY MUSLIM. BUT NEVER MIND. MOVE ALONG. NOTHING TO SEE HERE. BESIDES: THIS YEAR'S TOTAL IS 10 LESS THAN LAST YEAR, SO THEY'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

SHEESH.

UPDATE: SCOOPED MEMEORANDUM BY A DAY - AND: Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and Associated Press

BREAKING NEWS: DANISH MOHAMMED CARTOON CRISIS UPDATE: GUNFIRE OUTSIDE KURT WESTERGAARD'S HOME

Gunfire reported at the home of Kurt Westergaard, artist known for his Bomb-in-Turban Muhammad Cartoon.

According to the report three men tried to enter the premises but were stopped by police who guard the house 24/7.

One of the 3 perps was shot in the leg.

Police confirm that they now have massive presence at the address.

• UPDATE: THANKS FOR THE INSTALANCHE PROFESSOR. AND YES: WE SCOOPED HOT AIR AGAIN.

• WE SCOOPED DAN RIEHL, TOO - WHO HAS MORE.

• MEMEORANDUM HAS A ROUND UP.

• STAY TUNED. (A FEW PREVIOUS ASTUTE POSTS ON THE DANISH CARTOON CRISES HERE.)

• WE SCOOPED THE BBC AND SCOOPED THE TELEGRAPH, TOO. (BOTH LINKS VIA POWER LINE - WHO WE ALSO SCOOPED.)

• UPDATE #2: MORE HERE.

• REMINDER:

  Last year US authorities arrested two men in Chicago who were suspected of planning attacks on Mr Westergaard and his newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which published the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.

• OUR CONTEMPORANEOUS COVERAGE OF THE CHICAGO/DENMARK JIHAD CONNECTION HERE AND HERE.

NO COMMENT NECESSARY: In 75 per cent of gun crime in London the victim and suspect are both from black communities.

In 75 per cent of gun crime in London the victim and suspect are both from black communities.

IS IT DIFFERENT HERE? NOPE.

WIKI:

Patterns are found within the victimology of crime in the United States.

Overall, the financially disadvantaged, males, those younger than 25 and non European-Americans were more likely to fall victim to crime. Income, sex and age had the most dramatic effect on the chances of a person being victimized by crime, while the characteristic of race depended upon the crime being committed.

In 2005, 27 out of 1,000 African Americans became the victim of a violent crime, compared to 20 out of every 1,000 White Americans. African Americans were overall 35% more likely to sustain a violent crime. The likelihood of being murdered was drastically higher for African Americans.^[26] In 2004 African Americans constituted roughly 13.4% of the general population,^[27] yet, nearly half, 49%, of all murder victims in 2005 were African American.

OBAMA SHOULD ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM WITHIN CONTEMPORARY BLACK CULTURE/SUB-CULTURE.

BILL COSBY DID.

THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: WINNER OF THE NINE-HOUR NOSTRADAMUS AWARD!

It's nice to be noticed - along with 49 other blogs - by one of the absolute best in the blogosphere.

(MAYBE WE SHOULD RENAME THE AWARD TO "THE NOT-SO-DUMB-ASS AWARD"!)

REGARDING THAT HORRIBLE PHOTOSHOP OF OBAMA SHINING PALIN'S SHOES...

YES: IT'S HORRIBLE...



HE'S NOT WORTHY OF THE TASK.

MORE ON THE CONTROVERSIAL PHOTOSHOP HERE AT MEMEORANDUM.

UPDATE: Scooped JWF by 3 hours on this - yes: he posted the same angle on it AFTER we did.

ROUNDUP HERE AT MEMEORANDUM.

UPDATE: PLEASE SEE COMMENTS.

WASH POST: OBAMA'S TSA NOMINEE VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW AND LIED TO CONGRESS

UNBELIEVABLE:

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws, documents obtained by The Washington Post show.

OBAMA MUST IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW THE NOMINATION.

VIA MEMEORANDUM WHO HAS MORE.

Update: Scooped Instapundit by a few hours.

UPDATE #2: SCOOPED HOT AIR BY A DAY.

UPDATE #3: SCOOPED GATEWAY BY A DAY, TOO.

WHATTAYA CALL OBAMA'S ORATING STYLE? OBAMANURE

ONLY ONE YEAR IN AND OBAMA IS REALLY STINKING UP THE JOINT.

IN NOVEMBER 2010, WE'RE GONNA CLEAN HOUSE - AND THE SENATE!

A CONDOM, A CELLPHONE OR A GUN: WHICH PROTECTS YOU BEST FROM A RAPIST?

THIS IS WHY SELF DEFENSE - AND THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS - IS AN UNALIENABLE RIGHT.

PREDICTION 2010: BEN NELSON VOTES "NO" AND DEFEATS OBAMACARE

PREDICTION #1:

SENATOR BEN NELSON (D - NEBRASKA) WILL SAY HE'S VOTING "NO" BECAUSE THE JOINT-VERSION IS UNACCEPTABLE - GIVING HIM AN OUT, BUT THE REAL REASON WILL BE THAT IT'S SO HIGHLY UNPOPULAR THAT IT'S DRIVEN HIS POLL NUMBERS WAY WAY DOWN.

PREDICTION #2:

THE STOCK MARKET AND DOLLAR WILL BOTH GO UP AS A RESULT - THE FIRST TIME THEY BOTH RISE ON THE SAME DAY IN 2010.

THE HATRED CONTINUES: FATAH VERSUS HAMAS

INN: Fatah: Hamas is Harming Sick Gazans for Propaganda

Fatah sources in the Palestinian Authority accuse the Hamas government in Gaza of inventing a supposed “medicine shortage” and preventing sick patients from receiving treatment abroad.

The PA’s health ministry in Ramallah denies the Hamas reports about a shortage of hundreds of medicines and medical equipment in Gaza. Spokesman Dr. Omar Al-Nasser said that a Hamas announcement to this effect “has no truth, and is designed to create confusion and harm the morale of patients and citizens in the Gaza Strip.”

XINHUANET:

Hamas movement on Friday slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and described his speech on Thursday to mark the 45 year anniversary for establishing his Fatah party as "comic".

... Abbas slammed Hamas movement for keeping control of the Gaza Strip and refusing to sign on an Egyptian-drafted pact of reconciliation. He called on the Islamic movement to end the current split and sign on the pact.

FATAH AND HAMAS ARE BOTH EVIL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS WHICH HAVE NO BUSINESS RUNNING A STATE.

PUTTING THEM IN CHARGE OF GAZA AND THE SO-CALLED WEST BANK IS A BLEND OF PUTTING THE TALIBAN IN CONTROL OF PAKISTAN, CAPONE IN CHARGE OF CHICAGO OR MUGABE OF RHODESIA.

ISRAEL CAN NO MORE MAKE PEACE WITH THIS SCUM THEN FDR COULD WITH HITLER OR LINCOLN WITH THE CONFEDERACY.

IOW: THEY MUST BE UTTERLY DEFEATED AND TERMS OF SURRENDER MUST BE DICTATED TO THEM, NOT NEGOTIATED.

BRRRRRRR!: COLDEST DECEMBER IN BRITAIN SINCE 1996

BRRRRRRR:

Heavy snowfall and seemingly permanent freezing temperatures have made this December the coldest for 13 years, UK forecasters said yesterday.

The chilliest December tem-peratures since 1996 were re-corded with most areas of the UK witnessing prolonged snowfall.

There was even snow on the ground in many parts of the UK on Christmas Day as the freezing temperatures prevented a thaw from taking hold.

AND MORE IS ON THE WAY.

AGW = BS.

PS: ALL MY LIBERAL FRIENDS WHO CALLED ME A NEANDERTHAL FOR DISBELIEVING THE LEFTIST PSEUDO-SCIENCE AGW CRAP FROM THE GET-GO OWE ME A HUGE FREAKIN APOLOGY.

ANOTHER JIHADO-TERRORIST PROBING ABOARD A JET IN CANADA?

NEWS ITEM HERE.

I THINK THE ENEMY IS PROBING US, TESTING US, LOOKING FOR OPENINGS.

THANK GOD WHAT THEY ARE FINDING IS THAT DESPITE GOVERNMENT/BUEAUCRATIC SHORTFALLS, THE PASSENGERS HAVE NOT BECOME COMPLACENT AND ARE READY TO ROLL.

DURING THE CAMPAIGN, OBAMA LIED ABOUT MIRANDIZING TERRORISTS

KISP HAS THE QUOTES AND LINKS.

BOTTOM-LINE: OBAMA IS A LYING, TERROR-ABETTING TRAITOR BENDING OVER BACKWARDS TO HELP THE ENEMY WHERE AND WHEN HE CAN.

OBAMA, AXELROD. RAHM: MACHINE UBER ALLES

NICE DEB:

Oh. My. Gosh.

On December 26, two days after Nigerian Omar Abdulmutallab allegedly attempted to use underwear packed with plastic explosives to blow up the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight he was on, and as it became clear internally that the Administration had suffered perhaps its most embarrassing failure in the area of national security, senior Obama White House aides, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and new White House counsel Robert Bauer, ordered staff to begin researching similar breakdowns — if any — from the Bush Administration.

Let that sink in…instead of treating the issue as a national security problem, their first instinct was to treat it as a political one.

REPEAT:

Instead of treating the issue as a national security problem, their first instinct was to treat it as a political one.

REPEAT:

Instead of treating the issue as a national security problem, their first instinct was to treat it as a political one.

DID FDR DO THAT ON DECEMBER 8TH? DID DUBYA ON 9/12? SHEESH.

BY THEIR ACTIONS (PROSECUTING CIA AGENTS AND NAVY SEALS) AND INACTIONS (PLAYING FOOTSIE WITH AHMADINEJAD), THE ALINSKYITE APPARATCHIKS RUNNING THE WHITE HOUSE ARE MAKING US LESS SAFE.

WANT TO BE SAFER?

VOTE GOP IN 2010.

(VIA LARWYN.)

JIHADISTS ATTACK VOLLEYBALL GAME IN PAKISTAN - 25 MURDERED

NYTIMES/AP:

Bomber Attacks Volleyball Game in

Filed at 9:11 a.m. ET

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A suicide bomber set off an explosives-laden vehicle on a field during a volleyball tournament Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 25 people, police said.

WILD BEASTS HAVE MORE MORALS THAN THE JIHADIST SCUM.

PAKISTAN HAS TO DEMOLISH EVERY MADRASSA WHICH TEACHES JIHADISM.

AS LONG AS JIHADISTS ARE MADE, THE WORLD ISN'T SAFE FROM THEIR TERROR.

BRRRRRRR!: DENMARK FRRREEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZING!

It was 1.4 F last night in Copenhagen.

They are starting to talk about an icewinter in Denmark---where the brackish waterways freeze over:
The recent ice winters

Denmark has 15 times within the last 100 years had ice winters:

• 1995-96 1995-96
• 1986-87 1986-87
• 1985-86 1985-86
• 1984-85 1984-85
• 1981-82* 1981-82 *
• 1978-79 1978-79
• 1969-70 1969-70
• 1962-63** 1962-63 **
• 1955-56 1955-56
• 1946-47 1946-47
• 1941-42*** 1941-42 ***
• 1940-41 1940-41
• 1939-40** 1939-40 **
• 1928-29 1928-29
• 1923-24 1923-24

* Absolute cold record in Denmark was measured at -31.2 ° C in January in Hørsted in Thy.

** Coldest winters in Denmark, -3.5 ° C on average for December-February.

***Coldest isvinterperiode, -5.5 ° C from January to March.

The next 2 or 3 nights will also be as cold or cold.

AGW = BS.

ARIZONA MAYO CLINIC TO STOP TAKING MEDICARE PATIENTS

BLOOMBERG:

The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.

...Obama in June cited the nonprofit Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for offering “the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.”

Mayo’s move to drop Medicare patients may be copied by family doctors, some of whom have stopped accepting new patients from the program, said Lori Heim, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, in a telephone interview yesterday.

SOCIALISM DOESN'T WORK AS WELL AS THE PRIVATE MARKET.

INCREASING THE GOVERNMENT'S ROLE IN HEALTHCARE IS EXACTLY THE WRONG DIRECTION.

DOCTORS HAVE A RIGHT TO CHARGE A FAIR FEE FOR THEIR HIGHLY SKILLED SERVICES.

THE SERVICE IS THEIRS TO SELL; IT BELONGS TO THEM; IT'S THEIR "PROPERTY".

THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO STEAL THEM.

A FAIR FEE IS AS MUCH AS THE TRAFFIC WILL BEAR.

THE CURRENT MEDICARE/MEDICAID SYSTEM IS BROKE, AND OBAMACARE IS WORSE.

INCREASING THE GOVERNMENT'S CONTROL OF HEALTHCARE IS BAD AND WRONG FOR YOUR HEALTH AND OUR NATION'S HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.

WE MUSTN'T LET POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS AND THE UNIONS REDESIGN AND RUN OUR HEATLCARE SYSTEM.

VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

VIA MEMEORANDUM WHO HAS MORE.

Update: Scooped Instapundit by a few hours.

FSTOTD

FIRST SCARY THOUGHT OF THE DECADE:

ONE DAY WE'LL LOOK BACK AND SAY THESE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS!

DON'T LAUGH:

IF OBAMA AND HIS COMRADES GET THEIR WAY, THESE WILL HAVE BEEN THE LAST OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS!

FPOTD

FIRST POST OF THE DECADE.

IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT ONE!