Weekend Rain? More Austin Drought Photos, Bull Creek & Deep Eddy Pool Drying Up

Water restrictions continue for Austin residents. We are still in phase two with restaurant patrons being required to ask for water before it can be served. Otherwise, waiters and bartenders can be fined $400. I like the restriction given the circumstances, but I'm not so big on the fines. How about cutting the working folks some slack? Haven't heard of the city handing any out though, so I won't make a big a deal of it. We'd be better off going after the top ten percent of water users in the city and encouraging them to conserve. Maybe provide incentives.

The good news is we got some rain this evening. It completely knocked out power at my store and there was even a little hail. Very violent winds with gusts measured as high as 50 mph. Between 2 to 3 inches fell in some parts of the city, though very little downtown, and there may be more on the way tomorrow. Meanwhile, our beloved, spring-fed Deep Eddy pool is drying up, so we need it badly.

Deep Eddy Pool’s wells are running dry, and the city said Friday the pool could dry up soon.

When the city replaced what they thought was, a failing pump last week, they realized the pump wasn’t broken— the well that feeds the shallow end of the pool was bone dry.

Two wells feed Deep Eddy Pool, the city said. The well at the shallow end has dried up. The well that feeds the deep end of the pool is at risk of drying up, according to experts. Both are victims of the ongoing drought in the region.

I figured now is as good a time as any to post these photos I took of the Bull Creek water crossing, where the road has always been covered by the creek since I moved here. It often floods, closing the road completely and threatening nearby houses. Lately, it's been so dry that road crews have been able to work on what's usually under water. A picture's worth a thousand words. See previously posted drought photos here.

America's Spiritual Drought

After almost 70 days of 100 degree temperatures this summer with no substantial rain, Austin finds itself in a serious drought. Lake Travis has been reduced to a river running through a canyon and nearby creeks and springs that are always full of water have completely dried up. The soil is hard, barren, and cracked. It needs nourishment. But this is nothing compared to the spiritual drought our nation currently faces.

The American Dream is dying. It is being strangled and constrained by Big Government. And if we don't renew our commitment to the founding values that gave birth to this nation and 240 years of unbridled prosperity, we risk destroying it. A fertile economy needs fertile soil. That soil requires liberty and liberty requires opportunity, the opportunity for Americans to succeed or fail on the merits of their ideas. It requires private capital pouring into free markets instead of being seized and managed by the state. It requires limited government that is more accountable to the people (think globally, govern locally) and works for the people's best interests, not the best interests of bureaucrats and the politically elite.

Our forefathers didn't come here because America was the land of tranquil servitude, they didn't come here for the entitlements or welfare or union jobs or because America guaranteed success. No, they risked everything, including their lives, to sail to a foreign land that offered nothing but hard, rugged work and sacrifice. But it offered something else, something greater than personal profit. It offered independence and opportunity, a place where they could speak freely and worship freely, where they could escape the overbearing taxation and authoritarian rule of European monarchies. It offered a chance to start their own enterprises and dream bigger dreams than anyone ever imagined. These brave men and women risked everything for a promise. That promise was a better life for their families and their grandchildren and their grandchildren's children. In that, they succeeded.

Over the past decade, but especially over the past two years, we've done everything imaginable to wreck that promise and spit on their hard work. We've gone from a nation that celebrated the independent spirit to a nation that seeks to make more families than ever dependent on government. We've gone from a nation that did a poor job of overseeing certain aspects of the financial market, to a country bent on overregulating and intruding in everything; from the life-saving treatments doctors can offer their patients to the pay of private sector employees, from subsidizing inefficient energy to injecting cash into failing companies.

The path our current leaders have laid out for us is fraught with peril. It goes against the exact principles that America was founded on. A blip in our economy has been turned into a crisis of political opportunity for those who wish to change this nation forever (as White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel said, "Never let a crisis go to waste.") Rather than adjust for the terrain and steer the ship gently forward, they wish to change our course completely. They see a large, centrally planned government as the solution to all our problems, but the exact opposite is true. Big Government is the problem, and it is making our economy and our way of life progressively worse.

When a large, centrally planned government picks winners and losers, the only winners are special interests and lobbyists. When a large, centrally planned government attempts to control and ration resources, it rations and controls prosperity. When a large, centrally planned government prohibits risks, it stifles entrepreneurship. And when a large, centrally planned government tries to ensure not equal opportunity for all, but instead an equal outcome for every individual regardless of their decisions, it tramples on personal liberties.

The hopes and dreams of Americans don't rest in the hands of bureaucrats. The American Dream doesn't rely on the creation of a new czar or government agency. The American Dream rests in the freedom of the individual and the hands of the people. We got to where we are today because of these values, not despite them, and we did it without the interference of a huge, overbearing nanny state. America isn't great because of our government or because our government knows best. America is great, because we, the people, are the government.

Never in my lifetime has the government ignored the will of the people as much as it does today. Never in my lifetime has the leadership in Washington attempted to confiscate and control as much private wealth as this government has attempted to take over. Never in my lifetime has a president organized his own army of protesters to demonstrate against those who protest his policies. During this unspeakable process, I have watched the economy tank, businesses close, and investors and consumers pull their money out of the suddenly not-so-free markets. As a small business owner, I now face the difficult decision of closing my shop or trying to salvage something out of this wretched and hostile business environment.

The American economy can't recover until the American spirit recovers. The American spirit can't recover until we dare to dream again, to imagine the impossible. To imagine the impossible, we must remove the constraints that we constantly place on the individual and the entrepreneur. We must not just protect our freedoms, we must encourage them to flourish.

We must stop enabling an obese and unfettered government to take resources away from hard-working families and communities. We must stop collecting the high taxes that we confiscate from our most successful people and businesses, for these are often the same people that have the resources to bet on visionary ideas and invest in research and development. This is a nation that put a man on the moon and invented the airplane and the computer. These are amazing accomplishments that were once considered impossible, spurred by visionaries encouraged to take risks. Where are the dreamers that can spur this innovation tomorrow?

Today, the dreamers are hindered by an ideology that is more concerned with restricting and taking from successful enterprises than encouraging new ones. They are hampered by a bureaucracy that rewards dependency. The poison that keeps our spirit barren and our economic soil from being fertile is called progressivism. It is the most tempting, most abused, and misguided ideology in the world.

Progressivism preys on the human heart. It takes the compassion we feel for those less fortunate than ourselves and uses it against us, not by encouraging us to give but instead by encouraging us to take. It teaches people to covet, to not be generous with the fruits of their own labor, but to start counting and redistributing other people's wealth. As a result, an economy of abundance is turned into a nation of hoarders. People hang on to their possessions more dearly. They become greedy and the state becomes even greedier. After all, the state has been granted license to steal.

Progressivism encourages man to play God. It is an ideology that seeps in where spiritual fulfillment is weakest. It usurps religion and grants man the power to experiment socially with the lives of fellow human beings in order to "fix" perceived injustices. It removes choices, both moral and personal, along with their consequences, from the person. The state institution will see you through now. It steps on the rights of the individual in the name of the greater good. If one man's rights can be threatened, any man's rights can be threatened, and as a result no one's rights are protected except for tyrants.

It is this ideology that Barack Obama and the far left have chosen to inject into the bloodstream of our nation. Not because they mean harm, but because the chance to play God is too seductive. The road to hell is always paved with good intentions. That is why progressivism is the most dangerous type of tyranny that exists. It is as far from our founding documents and the Declaration of Independence as you can imagine. It hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried, and it will divide our nation. It will destroy the spirited work ethic that we hold so valuable. Even Democrats such as Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt warned against it's unintended consequences. "Continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber... a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit."

That was in 1935. Today, we find ourselves much further down the slippery slope of government dependence. After years of social engineering and endless entitlement programs, we are much closer to economic bankruptcy and moral disintegration than ever. We are in the midst of a huge spiritual drought. If ever there was a time to renew and restore our faith in free enterprise, fiscal responsibility, limited government, independence, and God, that time is now. Let freedom ring.

Austin's Drought in Pictures: Lake Travis at Third Lowest Level

Come Labor Day, this is usually a boater's paradise. This year? Not so much. These photos look more like New Mexico than the Texas Hill Country. Here's what's left of Lake Travis outside of Austin after a hot, dry summer including 68 days with temperatures over 100 degrees. Records indicate this is the third lowest level the lake has ever been at and the lowest in almost 50 years. Simply amazing. I stopped at Windy Point, a lakeside park, and walked a good half mile before I got to the edge of the water. All boat ramps are closed and the landscape is anything but inviting without the usual cold beer and party boat. Click here to see more photos of the surreal terrain, not to mention a bone dry Bull Creek.

Swim at your own risk or walk at your own risk? This sign is a few feet from the water most summers.

The boat ramp ends here but the water is nowhere to be found.

All of this is usually under water. A few stolen cars and buried appliances have been found this year.

This is literally the bottom of the lake. When there's a lake. As this fish found out. Looks downright apocalyptic.

No wake? No problem. That's Bob Wentz Park at Windy Point in the distance.

Yes, this is really Lake Travis. Not Death Valley. File it away to show your kids.

If you've got a boat, better head to Lake Austin or LBJ, but expect them to be crowded. For more Austin drought pictures don't forget to go here. I'll be adding them until we get rain. Oh, and please pray for rain!

I'll Take Mock Execution Over a Death Panel Any Day

With the Justice Department's release this week of previously classified documents involving enhanced interrogation techniques, Democrats have a new excuse to be outraged at Bush, Cheney, and company. The so-called "abuses" perpetrated on detained terrorists by the CIA include such unorthodox techniques as faked executions, false threats against their family members, and in at least one case a drill held behind a captive's head like it might be used to pick his brain.

Of course, no actual harm was done in any of these cases. Without harm, how do you define abuse? It's ridicule maybe, psychological trickery most definitely. But abuse?! Heck, if this is abuse, where do I sign up? Because given the choice, I'd rather face a mock execution than an Obamacare death panel any day. Who wouldn't?

What a wonderful time to be a terrorist. If you are an Al-Qaeda member detained by the United States, you have a White House and an attorney general in your corner. The ACLU is fighting for your rights. You have hundreds of the best lawyers championing your cause. You'll be back on the battlefield in no time, Allah willing, perhaps with a prosthetic limb that we provided in a rare case where we actually should have rationed health care.

If you're a Libyan bomber in Scotland and you are responsible for the deaths of 260 innocent airline passengers, even if you are found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison, you can be set free after only eight years under the guise of compassion. The bomber, al-Magrahi, received a hero's welcome back home, which had tyrants and terrorists joyfully singing."It's springtime for Gaddafi, winter for Lockerbie. We're marching to a jihad's pace. A Scottish judge threw out the case."

You'll excuse me for not singing along.

Everyone on the Left seems to be concerned about the most constitutional, humane, and compassionate way to treat the least compassionate, most vile jihadist, the undignified cowards often responsible for plotting to blow up innocent women and children. We must stand up for their liberties! But if you're an everyday American, not so much. In fact, if you've been speaking up at town hall meetings, please shut up. Your speech is offensive, radical, racist, and dangerous. Which reminds me, why haven't we passed the "Fairness" Doctrine yet?

Welcome to Obama's America, where we are supposed to be outraged over pretending to execute terrorists, but gladly volunteer ourselves to appear before real health advisory boards who can, for all practical purposes, hand out death sentences by rationing life-saving treatments. You can mock Sarah Palin all you want for calling them death panels, but just because they aren't supposed to officially kill people, doesn't mean they haven't had that effect.

In the U.K. for example, depending on where you live and what your income level is, the chance of receiving effective cancer treatment varies greatly. As many patient advocates have said of the poor single-payer system, it's a health care lottery. You are 400% more likely to survive most types of cancer in the United States than in Britain. Given that data alone, why change our system to look more like theirs when you've got to ask yourself, do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, statist punk?

Our vicious CIA interrogators might issue false threats against family members of Al-Qaeda operatives, but our bold health care reformers want to send end-of-life counselors into our homes to interrogate our vulnerable, eighty-year old moms and dads. Maybe we should be sending these bureaucrats out to visit the family members of Al-Qaeda, signing up terrorists for hospice and encouraging do-not-resuscitate orders. But the ACLU would probably suddenly step in and call it torture. It's amazing what you can get away with if it's against your own people, especially if the perpetrator is progressive and the victims are perceived to be old, white, and against progressivism.

As C.S. Lewis said more brilliantly than I ever could:

"A tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their conscience."

I, for one, would appreciate the enhanced interrogation technique of a mock death panel. Pretend the person in the room next to me is having their treatments rationed for the benefit of the state's bottom line, and I'll give up almost any information. Just don't let the government decide how long I can live based on what treatment they will approve. If only it was all pretend. But the takeover is real. Obama and the Democrats are doing everything they can to make it happen. Even if there are constitutional questions that haven't been addressed. I'd tell Eric Holder and the boys over at Justice to look into it, but I understand they have their hands full protecting the civil liberties of wannabe suicide bombers.

Meanwhile, real atrocities are being confirmed in prisons in Iran, where protesters against the government's stolen election have been jailed, beaten, tortured, and raped. Funny, but I haven't heard any uproar coming from the U.N. or human rights activists who were so worked up about a few nude photos taken at Abu Ghraib. I haven't seen any outpouring of support from the Muslim world or massive demonstrations against this cruel oppression.

President Obama hasn't said a thing about the rights of these prisoners. Which is too bad, because his silence is the soothing sound of comfort that tyrants and terrorists are all too glad to hear. His silence gives hope to our enemies around the globe. That's probably not the kind of hope most people thought they were voting for.

Remembering Senator Kennedy (1932-2009)

Too often in this nation, we let our political stripes divide us. Too often, we demonize the other side. Too often, especially on left leaning blogs, the death of a political opponent is celebrated. Vile things that no decent human would say to another person's face are written anonymously. It hinders us as a nation. It poisons us as a people. It diminishes our cause and cheapens the debate. This blog, even though it is a conservative blog that often serves up red meat, will do no such thing. We condemn any blogs that commit such acts of malice. In other words, we are not the Huffington Post.

We mourn today the passing of a longtime legislator, Edward Kennedy, who was the lion of liberalism in the Senate. He served almost 50 years for the state of Massachusetts. I will save my rant for Congressional term limits for another time. Senator Kennedy's life was one of tragedy and triumph. He lost three brothers during his lifetime; one in war, and two assassinated by extremists who clearly had no respect for the dignity of life, for the Constitution, and for the process through which we elect our leaders in America. Let us remember how important that process is, for though politics may divide us, we are all Americans.

We are too quick to forget in this country and we are too quick to judge, so let us do neither now. Senator Kennedy and his family deserve our gratitude and our respect. Even though we may disagree on key issues, including universal health care and abortion, even though we may have doubts about how the senator handled his affairs in the past, including Chappaquiddick, the appropriate time and place to have that discussion is not today. We do a great disservice to our nation and our own ideals when we can't separate the achievements of the person from the person, or for that matter, the life of the person from our philosophical disagreements. Let's not use the tragic end of his life to breathe life into our own personal biases and political agendas. He is neither hero nor villain.

We are bound by a common past and our destiny is a common future. Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, we share a common set of values. That all men are created equal with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. May no enemy take those away from us.

"Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation -- a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty and war itself."

The famous words of Ted's older brother, President John F. Kennedy never seemed more appropriate. If only he would have taken these words more to heart during his lifetime. Today, the trumpets have summoned Senator Edward Kennedy home.

You're Racist, America, So Get Behind the President

Are you against socialized medicine? Then you're a bigot. A redneck. A close-minded hate-monger. And you're probably racist (or a self-hating uncle tom). You are clearly a sore loser still bitter from last November's election. Get over it and stop using fear tactics to defend the status quo. The Republicans had eight years and they blew it. They have no plan and we have to do something. America voted for change.

There you have it in a nutshell. That's the "eloquent" argument most Democrats make for President Obama's health care reform. You may have noticed that none of these counterpoints have anything to do with health care policy. Republicans are dissecting the 1016 page bill, talking about the details of the legislation, while Democrats are talking about Republicans. Why do you think that is?

The answer is simple. The president and the Democrats are losing the health care debate and probably can't win it. At least not in America. Maybe in Switzerland. But fortunately, here in the states, we have enough informed citizens who are aware of the Constitution and individual rights: most importantly life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So if your policy works against the truths our founders held to be self-evident, as Obama's state control of health care does, it's going to be a tough sell. Hooray for America!

Enter Barack the Magnificent. If the public ain't buying it, better give them a better show. Obama has attempted just that. He's bussed in his union supporters and community organizers to shill for him at overstaged town hall events as far away as Montana. He's pre-selected town hall questions from contributors to his campaign. He's told his paid astroturf protesters to get in the faces of real American protesters, in some cases leading to violence. He's demonized insurance companies and doctors. And he's conducted closed-door negotiations with drug companies, ensuring their support for his legislation by promising not to reduce or negotiate payments they receive from Medicare.

He's got almost all the lobbyists from the AMA to the AARP on his side, not to mention the trial lawyers and unions, and yet he pretends he's fighting against the special interests. Did you ever think you would see the day when liberals would champion the big pharmaceuticals over the will of the people? It's happening under Obama, as Democrats sell out on all the principles their party held sacred under Clinton, from balancing the budget and reducing deficits to defending free speech. Yes, that's right. Protesters are dangerous, radical militants now that it's President Obama and not the Bush administration being protested.

The White House seems to have two strategies when it comes to defending their health care agenda, policies that would easily pass, I might add, if a majority of the public supported them. After all, the Dems easily control Congress. If Democrats in more conservative districts felt that their constituents were behind them, they would jump on the Obama bandwagon. Instead, they are seeing real anger and frustration at a president who hasn't delivered anything close to what he promised during the election - transparency, fiscal responsibility, and bipartisanship. Words. Just words.

These two strategies are the strategies of scoundrels, but we all know what political machine Obama hails from. They are to demonize and ridicule anyone who disagrees with the president and keep the public in the dark on the details of health care reform. One day the Secretary of Health, Kathleen Sebelius, is out there saying a public option isn't necessary, and the next day she is saying she was misquoted. One day the president is out there saying he will sign health care reform without a public option, the next day he is saying it's essential to bend the curve of health costs. One day Medicare is the model for Obamacare, the next day Medicare is the problem that necessitates health care reform. If you are confused at home, that's the intention.

There's a better chance state-controlled health care will gain support if its spoken in broad terms that keep you in the dark on the details of the "state-control" part. There's a better chance it will pass if there is more misinformation than information, so that you're not sure whether anything you've heard is true. The less you know, the less likely you are to oppose it. The less you know, the more it becomes an issue of trust. If you are confused, it must be because the Republicans and right wing "extremists" confused you. That's the strategy.

Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod know this. They know Obama won the election because he effectively convinced America that he is above politics, that he is someone the American people can trust, that he can bring change to all that is broken. These platitudes and slogans still sell better than any of Obama's policies, including health care reform. Obama the Symbol polls better than Obama the Liberal Salesman. So they are doing everything they can to make this a referendum on Obama the Symbol.

That's why Obama smiles and makes the talk-show rounds. He tells wild tales of health care failures and makes pretty promises of hope. Look at the president and his beautiful family. How can you not trust him? Are you going to believe the Republicans, the ones who got us in this mess? Are you a racist? Don't you want to bring the change that Obama wants to bring to health care?

Barack Obama said it's not about him, but believe me. It's all about him. The nitty-gritty details of the legislation are too convoluted and infringe on too many liberties to pass without a celebrity spokesman smiling all the way to the bank. Eliminate Obama from the equation and my guess is support for these reforms sinks to around thirty percent.

This is the future of every policy Obama is going to push as president. Whether it's closing Gitmo, cap-and-trade, state-control of health care, immigration, or reforming social security, expect Axelrod and Emanuel to make every debate about our dear leader. You are either with him or against him, for hope or against hope. And if you're against him you're a greedy, close-minded, hate-mongering, racist. So much for pragmatism.

If the debate is never about the policy or the details of the legislation, then we are no longer living in a democracy. We are living in a banana republic, a cult where charisma matters more than reason. The executive branch is becoming more powerful than ever with a complicit media that has decided to paint dissent as extremism. I ask you, who are the real extremists? Those who want to slow the process down, listen to a plurality of voices, and analyze our best options? Or the ones telling you to stop thinking and do what the president wants now?

If we continue down this path, the rights of the individual will be crushed by the whims of authoritarian hero-worship. The best way to prevent this is to stand up against state-controlled health care right now and make articulate arguments against tyranny. Even if it means being labeled an extremist or a racist.

The race card is the new McCarthyism of the 21st century, the last refuge of a scoundrel. And the scoundrels at the White House are playing it. Hmmm. Maybe Obama was paying attention to Rev. Wright's sermons after all.

Harry Reid in 2008: Nuclear Option Will Ruin This Country

Whoops. Speaking candidly about his book on C-SPAN less than a year ago, Harry Reid said that his proudest moment in the Senate was fighting against the nuclear option the GOP considered using to break a Democratic filibuster over Bush's judicial nominees. The same nuclear option he is now talking about using to push state-controlled health care through if Democrats can't find 60 votes.

Reid didn't just speak out against reconciliation or the nuclear option in the Senate. He vehemently opposed it, invoking the language of the framers of the Constitution.

"What the Republicans came up with was a way to change our country forever," Reid stated. "We would in fact have a unicameral legislature where a simple majority would determine everything that happens... the Senate was set up to be different. That was the genius, the vision, of our Founding Fathers."

When former Democratic Majority Leader Tom Daschle asked what the likelihood was we would see the nuclear option come up again, Reid passionately reiterated his convictions. [emphasis mine]

"As long as I am the leader, the answer is no. I think we should just forget that. That is a black chapter in the history of the Senate. I hope we never, ever get to that again. I really do believe it will ruin our country."

Daschle expressed the same concerns about reconciliation as Reid. Click on the following link and see for yourself. [Note: if you get a pop-up window error, simply click on the flash player icon on the C-SPAN page]

VIDEO: Book TV 2008: Reid Calls Nuclear Option a Black Chapter

My how things have changed. Is Reid ready to abandon his convictions for the expediency of ramming unpopular health care reform down the country's throat? Have we really reached such a crisis that Reid will abort his principles (and those he ascribed to the founding fathers) to help dear leader get what he wants despite his belief that it will destroy the nation?

In April, Democrats set October 15 as the deadline for state-controlled health care reforms to pass. If they hadn't, according to the New Republic, the White House and Senate agreed to pursue the nuclear option. Reid's spokesman suggested last week that the nuclear option was still a possibility. [emphasis mine]

"We will not make a decision to pursue reconciliation until we have exhausted efforts to produce a bipartisan bill," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid. "However, patience is not unlimited, and we are determined to get something done this year by any legislative means necessary."

In the same interview, Reid also made several comments complaining that the Bush administration was too partisan, that they were willing to do anything to get the president's agenda passed, even without a mandate or any support from the opposition party. Pot? This is kettle. You're black. Click on the following link to watch more hypocrisy.

VIDEO: Book TV 2008: Reid Thinks Congress is Too Partisan

If Reid and the Dems proceed with this tactic, splitting the health care bill in two for reconciliation, as the Wall Street Journal reported on August 20, there should be a photo of Reid next to the word "unprincipled sell-out" in the dictionary. The nuclear option Harry Reid is suddenly comfortable pursuing was designed for budgetary measures only, and has never been used for major overhauls of highly controversial legislation, especially ones that take liberties away from the people like socialized medicine.

Anyone who seriously believed that Obama would bring a bipartisan effort of change to Washington can now officially admit they bought into a bag of Democratic falsehoods and demagoguery. And oddly enough, they did it to defeat a true moderate with a long history of bipartisanship, John McCain. Instead, Chicago thuggery has come to the White House.

(Note: These videos aren't on youtube and I couldn't find a way to embed them, so if someone knows how, please add them to your blog before they go down the memory hole.)

Update: To be clear, Republicans threatened but never used the nuclear option under Bush. And their threatened use of it was limited to confirming judges that the Constitution gives the executive branch the power to appoint. To compare this with a nuclear option to pass state control of health care is to compare apples and orangutans.

Raving Mad, Right-Wing Extremist's Shocking Protest Sign!

If it ain't broke, don't break it.

Now that's what I call patriotic. Beats comparisons to Hitler. And its enough food for thought to allow the statist/big government Democrat an opportunity to make a fool of themselves with a rebuttal. Just don't look for meaningful debate. Barney Frank and Obama have already given their stock answer, "Bush Did It!"

Yeah, flimsy. Too bad these are all government programs started by Democrats. How did Einstein define insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Of course, Obama thinks he's smarter than Einstein.

Hat tip: Charlie Foxtrot.