Time for Thorns

Hat tip to John Hinderaker at PowerLine for linking to this Michael Ramirez  cartoon ridiculing  His Oneness.

National Review Online has  a symposium of predictions for 2011.   Brad O’Leary  just wants AG Eric Holder to resign.   Tom Korologos offers  some predictions at Politico.

Rep. Henry Waxman,  one of Nancy Pelosi’s chief allies and  man who always makes me think of a pig,  foresees more rancor in politics  — gee,  ya think?   Of course,  it will mostly be on the part of Democrats,  as it generally is.   Politico offers the 10 worst political decisions.

The Boston Phoenix makes  some political prognostications.  Jim Antle bravely  –  and amusingly  –  points out some that he got wrong last year.  The Center for American Progress insists that Washington  won’t determine the success of His Oneness in 2011.

The WaPo has a  list of what’s in and what’s out for the new year.   It struck me as rather strange.   The Washington Times made more sense with its  likely and not so likely  news of 2011.   Peggy Noonan has  a sweet piece on  the origins of  “Auld Lang Syne”,  our unofficial New Year’s song and seldom heard at any other time.

Michael Ramirez has a  year-end cartoon which ties neatly into my title of the god who looks both back and forward.   Here’s one that’s rather  more hopeful.

I’m cooking black-eyed peas and turnip greens and ham for New Years,  keeping up the old Southern traditions.  Throw in some fresh cornbread and it’s a tasty meal any time of year.  But the slow cooking lets me watch the Rose Bowl Parade and clear away Christmas and start on my next box of items for the Salvation Army,  one of the few charities worth its salt in my book.

It looks like rain,  so Big Girl and I probably won’t be outside much — for a beast who’s half Great Pyrenees,   she sure hates getting her head wet.   She’s not much help inside,  having to inspect every item which is moved from one spot to another,  but if any of them dare transmogrify into sabre-toothed tigers,  I’ll be very well protected.

Happy New Year to all,  and may 2011 be more prosperous and fulfilling for all of us and those who matter to us.

Michael Ramirez  shows us who the true hostage-taker is in the tax bill debate.

Nancy  evidently thinks the same lies that so infuriated the electorate will make them proud of the radical accomplishments of her Congress. (h/t Jonah Goldberg at The Corner)   Even her own colleagues don’t appear to be buying that,  since they’re calling   for a delay in leadership elections.

Reality hasn’t deterred Madame Speaker  from throwing a big party to celebrate the achievements we despise so much,  though it’s now being called   just a reception using no taxpayer money  — except that it’s being held in a federal  (taxpayer funded construction and maintenance) building.    As FOX News just showed live,  the entrance to the party area is hidden by a  large red screen flanked by security.

Her expensive plane rides look even worse in the face of Speaker-elect John Boehner announcing that he has flown commercial for the past two decades and will continue to do so.

This is  the wheel turning.   And Michael Ramirez captures how most voters  probably feel about the first female Speaker.

Michael Ramirez  has some fun with the favorite metaphor of His Oneness.

Iowa voters have  thrown out three of the state supreme court justices who were complicit in the insane invention of a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Paul Chesser points out the damage  early voting,  a liberal  idea,  has the potential to do.   I suspect,  as he does,  that it has already made much mischief.   Chesser  also notes that His Oneness lied about the court  and the EPA during his press conference.   Chris Horner has more details,  here.

The Wall Street Journal  offers a chart to put the scale of the tsunami into perspective,  which also serves to clarify that this wave was about much more than the economy,   despite Obama’s stubborn pretense otherwise.  (h/t Veronique de Rugy)   Matthew Spalding has  a different,  though no less interesting,  historical take.

Chris Horner  observes that His Oneness needed 18 months to have Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell meet with him,  but less than 18 hours to tell Republicans to respond to their greater numbers by now working with him more closely.

National Review’s take is  here.   This is the New York Post’s.   Kristen Soltis  proves it  was indeed independents who made the difference.

As I enjoy doing,  I’ll let Michael Ramirez  have the last word.

I heard Austin Goolsbee tell Stuart Varney his job wasn’t to spin economic matters,  but what else could you  call this or  this?    John Lott calls it  what it is and correctly says His Oneness wants government to run the economy.    Charles Hurt is  less polite about it.   Joseph Lawler says the numbers  don’t lie,  and this just adds to James Sherk’s view of what he calls  stagnation summer.   Jeffrey Folks wonders if all the  previous numbers have been jiggered,  deliberately.

Samuel Staley humorously says the  stimulus emperor has no clothes,  while Bloomberg looks at  what it means for the overall economy.   IBD calculates  how long it will take for jobs to return at this pace.   The Wall Street Journal blogs on a  broader measure of unemployment,  which is much higher.

Stephen Spruiell notes that media reports focused mainly on government workers being laid off,  while Rush comments on the pro-White House  spin.    Bloomberg thinks the $2 trillion hasn’t bought us much.

And I’ll indulge myself by ending with an appropriate Michael Ramirez drawing.

Michael Ramirez has the  appropriate view of Rahm Emanuel’s departure from the world of an increasingly chaotic White House.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Rham turns out to  be ineligible to be mayor of Chicago?

Michael Ramirez scores a touchdown with  this one.

And here’s one  that’s related.

This  cartoon perfectly captures His Oneness speaking about a mosque at Ground Zero.  David Frum thinks the whole thing is a publicity stunt.

Andrew Stuttaford points us to some  interesting historical bits about how Cordoba has been used.   Daniel Foster sees the muddled mosque messages as  political Rorschach.   Even the  pundits are mangling their messages on the subject,  except those telling you what His Oneness really  meant to say.    Scott Johnson at PowerLine offers a  biting critique of Obama’s Iftar speech  (h/t Andy McCarthy at The Corner).     Andy also has an excellent column on the  “tolerant pose”  of the mosque’s supporters.  In this post,  he  directs you to Bill Kristol who comments on a rather remarkable column by  the left-leaning director of al-Arabiya TV.

My favorite response is from Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser,  a Muslim and a former U.S. Navy officer,  who  plainly thinks His Oneness is wrong  (h/t K-Lo at the Corner).    More Democrats are now taking Harry Reid’s stance on the mosque.

Rich Lowry does a fine  job of dissecting Obama’s ever-evolving non-position on the mosque,  and finally,  watch Jon Stewart  have some fun at the expense of His Oneness.  Jonah Goldberg tells us what the  debate is and isn’t about.   See a  Ramirez cartoon for a bookend.