The Bitter American

Comings and Goings,....

2009-12-05T00:36:00.002-05:00

Hello,....

Polanco happy to be back in Philadelphia
Gold Glove-winning second baseman will move to third

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies brought back an old friend to give their lineup a fresh look in 2010.

They announced Thursday that Placido Polanco has signed a three-year, $18 million contract to play third base.

"I always wanted to be here," Polanco said. "I never wanted to leave."

Polanco joined the Phillies in 2002, when they traded Scott Rolen to the Cardinals. He left in '05, when the Phils traded him to the Tigers for Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Martinez.

Polanco is back because the Phils declined the $5.5 million club option on Pedro Feliz, who played third base the previous two seasons in Philadelphia. In a free-agent market that included Chone Figgins, Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa and Miguel Tejada, the Phillies focused on Polanco, DeRosa and Beltre, before pushing hard for Polanco.

and Goodbye,....

Flyers fire Stevens, hire Laviolette as coach
POSTED: December 4, 2009

By Sam Carchidi

Paul Holmgren is a grizzled sort, but the Flyers general manager's eyes filled with tears last night as he described visiting with John Stevens earlier in the day at the Skate Zone in Voorhees.

"It was a hard walk for me today to walk to John's office. A hard walk," Holmgren said. "It might have been the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

What he did was fire Stevens, the gentlemanly coach whom detractors thought wasn't emotional enough - or tough enough - with his team. The Flyers, picked by the Hockey News to win the Stanley Cup in the preseason, are 13-11-1 and have lost six of their last seven. They have not scored in the last eight periods and have suffered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2003.

Ummmm,...

2009-12-03T22:45:00.002-05:00

I don't know what I did right, but yesterday I had OVER 250 hits on my blog!! That's more than I get in a week!!

Whatever uber-blogger is hotlinking me,...THANKS!

BTW, here's a great song, courtesy of fellow Philly blogger Captain America:

Speaking of Liars,...

2009-12-01T22:58:00.001-05:00

Surprise!!

Facing Scandal, Head of Climate Research Lab to Temporarily Step Down

The director of the embattled Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in the United Kingdom is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.

In a statement posted to its Web site, the University of East Anglia says Phil Jones will relinquish his position until the completion of an independent review into allegations that he worked to alter the way in which global temperature data was presented.

Pin-o-o-o-chi-i-o-o-o!

2009-12-01T22:43:00.003-05:00

Obama Announces Plan to Dispatch 30,000 More Troops to Afghanistan

FOXNews.com

President Obama, in a speech that could define the rest of his presidency, announced Tuesday that he was sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan with plans to start withdrawing them in July 2011, a move intended to appease the military, a war-weary public, and anti-war liberals.

President Obama, in a speech Tuesday that could define the rest of his presidency, laid out his plan to quickly send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to revive the struggling war effort while setting a preliminary timeline for withdrawal -- aiming to start handing over security roles to Afghan forces by July 2011.

"The status quo is unsustainable," Obama said as he outlined his case for a three-part strategy: more troops to bolster the military effort, a "civilian surge" to improve living conditions in the country and an increased focus on the United States' partnership with Pakistan.

Gotcha!!

2009-12-01T10:21:00.002-05:00

Suspect in Washington State Police Killings Shot Dead

Seattle police shot and killed the fugitive suspected of gunning down four officers in a suburban coffee shop, a sheriff's spokesman said Tuesday.

Maurice Clemmons was shot to death after a "very alert patrol officer" tracked down a stolen vehicle linked to him, Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff, told Fox News.

Clemmons, 37, is suspected of murdering the four Lakewood police officers at a cafe Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle.

He was killed in a working-class neighborhood after police found him with the help of information about possible hiding spots, Troyer said.

"Shots were fired," Troyer told "Fox & Friends" Tuesday. "We're very happy that the Seattle police officer is OK. ... This could have turned out a lot worse."

Apparently, being scum runs in the family, too,....

More arrests are coming, Troyer vowed.

"We're also looking at family members who aided and abetted in his escape," he told reporters. "They did everything they could to hamper our investigation. We expect to have six to seven people in custody by day's end."

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T11:04:00.003-05:00

Racism! Racism!

2009-11-25T20:44:00.004-05:00

The Obamessiah's concubine has been offended! Off with their heads!

Michelle Obama racist image sparks Google apology

Google has apologised over a racially offensive picture of Michelle Obama which appears when users search for images of the US first lady.

The image comes top of the Google Images results for "Michelle Obama".

Google placed a notice over the picture titled "Offensive Search Results", saying: "Sometimes our search results can be offensive. We agree."

But it refused to remove the image from its search. The White House has declined to comment.

Users who click on the advertisement above the image are directed to a statement from Google which explains that its results "can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries".

"We apologise if you've had an upsetting experience using Google," the company says.

And this is the same Google that poured tons of money into the Democratic campaign and kowtowed to the Chinese government's demands to censor the website,.....hmmm,....

The Tax-and-Spenders Are At It Again!

2009-11-24T10:17:00.002-05:00

Lawmakers Propose 'War Surtax' to Pay for Troop Increase in Afghanistan

by
FOXNews.com

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., are proposing new taxes to pay for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Two top Democrats say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a "war surtax." He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan.

"If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well ... by having a war surtax," Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. "The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they've had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war."

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is making a similar demand.

If Only the Muslims Could Be This Vocal

2009-11-22T18:12:00.002-05:00

NB: I'm being sarcastic, don't fatwa my blog!!

Bishops slam 'unacceptable' health care bill

Washington (CNN)– The US Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a strongly worded letter to members of the US Senate Friday, terming the abortion language in the Senate Democrats' health care bill "completely unacceptable."

"The new Senate bill is an enormous disappointment, creating new and completely unacceptable federal policy that endangers human life and rights of conscience," reads the letter obtained by CNN Congressional Producer Deirdre Walsh.

The bishops proved their power in the House, when, following direct negotiations with the House Speaker, they forced House Democratic leaders to allow a vote on the Stupak amendment, which introduced firmer restrictions on abortion funding.

The language in the Senate bill regarding abortion coverage is not as specific as the House bill passed earlier this month. In their letter to the Senate, the bishops ask for a similar measure to be added.

"Specifically, we urge you to include the House-passed provision that keeps in place the longstanding and widely supported federal policy against government funding of elective abortions or plans that include elective abortions. "

Catholic members of Congress, like Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, have already faced rising pressure from church leaders as debate rages over the language in the Stupak amendment.

More Belle Femmine!

2009-11-21T17:56:00.005-05:00

Hot on the high-heels of Donatella Arpaia comes Food Network's Giada DeLaurentiis:

Dipped in spicy red sauce,...

The Result of Obamacare?

2009-11-21T12:34:00.002-05:00

Neon Elmhurst Hospital Sign Burns Out Appropriately

It was simply a case of the right bulbs going out at the wrong time. But passers-by couldn't be blamed for thinking a smirking prankster, or something much darker, was responsible when they looked up at the neon sign for Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, N.Y., which then displayed the ominous phrase "I'm hurt."

When The New York Times showed Elmhurst spokesman Dario Centorcelli a photo of what a missing E and S had wrought, he seemed surprised. "Oh, God, are we going to get this fixed?" he wondered.

We can only hope the hospital stays more on top of the situation when patients come in hurt and in need of fixing.

Justice Served

2009-11-19T23:38:00.001-05:00

Officer Cassidy’s killer now faces death penalty

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

John "Jordan" Lewis, the baby-face North Philadelphia man whose string of six armed robberies ended with the Halloween 2007 slaying of Police Officer Chuck Cassidy, was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday by a Philadelphia jury.

The 12 jurors deliberated about 2 1/4 hours before returning their decision shortly after 4 p.m. The forewoman - the first juror selected Nov. 4 - announced the verdict in a loud, strong voice without hesitation.

The standing-room-only courtroom crowd had been warned not to visibly react, and the room was silent except for the congratulatory sound of hands slapping shoulders.

The jury will return to the Criminal Justice Center this morning to begin hearing evidence about whether Lewis, 23, should be put to death by injection or spend his life in prison with no chance of parole.

The jury will hear evidence of aggravating factors in the murder of Cassidy, 54, that justify a death sentence or mitigating factors in Lewis' character or background that warrant a life term.

If the jury cannot reach a decision, Lewis will get life in prison.

And the Healthcare Rationing Has Already Begun

2009-11-18T15:47:00.003-05:00

Creeping in on little cat's feet, comes the first acknowledgment of medical rationing from the Obamessiah's unofficial Surgeon General:

We're now on the same playing fields as European Health models??

1900 screenings to save 1 life??

And THIS coming from the queen of medical objectivity, huh??

Great Outcomes from Government-Run Healthcare,...

2009-11-17T16:18:00.002-05:00

Medicare is, after all, operated by the US Government, right?

One in four hospitalized heart failure patients with Medicare back in hospital within a month

Study highlights:

Roughly a quarter of Medicare patients hospitalized for heart failure are back in the hospital within 30 days.
The rehospitalization rate for these patients, who are over age 65, remained the same from 2004 though 2006

DALLAS, Nov. 10, 2009 – Almost a quarter of heart failure patients with Medicare are back in the hospital within a month after discharge, researchers report in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association.

Each year, from 2004 through 2006, more than a half million Medicare recipients over age 65 went to the hospital for heart failure and were discharged alive. And each year, about 23 percent returned to the hospital within 30 days – signaling a need to improve care, researchers said. Readmission rates for all causes were almost identical all three years.

“I was hoping for improvement and was disappointed to find that was not the case,” said Joseph S. Ross, M.D., M.H.S., the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “Despite the increased focus on the need to reduce readmissions, about a quarter of patients are back into the hospital within 30 days.”

Stupid Is As Stupid Does?

2009-11-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

Official: White House Considering Illinois Prison to House Detainees

A White House official says the Obama administration is eyeing an Illinois prison to house some Gitmo detainees.

The Obama administration may buy a near-empty prison in rural northwestern Illinois to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay along with federal inmates, a White House official told Fox News.

The maximum-security Thomson Correctional Facility, about 150 miles west of Chicago, was one of several evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and emerged as a leading option to house the detainees.

WTF??

Is the Obamessiah serious? Does he want the Gitmo prisoners to feel more at home, near a den full of crooks like his hometown of Chicago? Or does he want them to get a closer look at their next big building target - the Sears Tower???

How Did THIS Get Past the MSM Censors??

2009-11-15T11:22:00.002-05:00

Who needs Glenn Beck? Score a victory for the media-infiltrating right:

Does ABC's New 'V' Miniseries Have a Right-Wing Agenda?

There's a lot to love about ABC's remake of "V," from the re-emergence of everyone's favorite "Firefly" companion (Morena Baccarin) to the amped-up special effects, but the show's political underpinnings seem designed to appeal to a pretty specific crowd.

Like its "Beastmaster"-aided predecessor, this "V" also contains heavy doses of political allegory, but in the original, the villains were analogous to the Nazis. Although ABC downplays the connections, in this update, the alien visitors share a lot in common with the Obama administration. Many town hall protesters might ask what the difference is.

Check out the parallels between the new "V" series and a right-wing fever dream, and see an extended preview of the first episode.

1. The aliens come to Earth using Obama-campaign watchwords hope and change, and offer the most literal form of universal health care. Aided by a complicit news media, they assuage rabid protesters through a sweet-talking figurehead. Skeptics try to warn everyone of the impending danger, but nobody listens.

2. Of course, the most striking comparison is that, while many Obama opponents are sure he's concealing an alien birth certificate, the seemingly benevolent V's are pretending to be just like us, but (spoiler alert) are hiding lizardy evidence that they just aren't.

3. The whole thing could have been lifted from the minds of Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs.

Of course, the flip side to this is the possibility that, in macro, this is actually a satire of the anti-Obama hysteria that's filling Fox News' coffers. Either way, the new "V" is a great way to start a good argument while watching some cool sci-fi action.

UPDATE: The White House reacts to allegations of right-wing agenda in "V."

RAPper B***h-Slapped by Country!

2009-11-13T08:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not a fan of country music, but anyone who can make fools of Radio Air Polluters is OK by me:

Who'd ever think those nice, wholesome folks down South could be mean to anyone?

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T13:39:00.003-05:00

Buy a Veteran a lunch today. Its the least you could do for someone who's put themselves between you and harm's way!

Even better, make yourself and your community better while living under the umbrella of his or her protection.

The Great Communicator at His Greatest,...

2009-11-09T18:24:00.003-05:00

20 years ago, it all fell apart for the Soviet Union. Its almost unfathomable to think our current "leader" should turn his back on those countries who yearned for our lifestyle for generations:

How Ft. Hood Happened,...

2009-11-09T17:23:00.004-05:00

I won't insult my readers' intellect in connecting the dots for them:

Korematsu vs United States - good references here and here

US Airways settles intimidation lawsuit filed by Flying Imams

The Flying Imams' lawsuit was "the latest component in a national campaign to intimidate airlines and government agencies from acting prudently to ensure passenger safety." In other words, it was a quintessential stealth jihad effort.

I post it, you decide.....

Cat Fight!!

2009-11-09T15:42:00.000-05:00

Who said soccer was boring?

Boating Safety Tip,...

2009-11-07T08:23:00.000-05:00

If you're going into the water,....

Always wear your personal flotation devices!

Ft Hood: Is This Obama's 9/11?

2009-11-06T13:40:00.003-05:00

Troubling Portrait Emerges of Fort Hood Shooting Rampage Suspect

WASHINGTON — His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

And the Obama administration's response?

Obama: 'Dont' Jump to Conclusions' on Fort Hood Shooting

President Obama said Friday he met with FBI chief Robert Mueller and other federal agencies to discuss what may have caused Nidal Malik Hasan to turn on his comrades in Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and 28 wounded.

In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. base, President Obama on Friday cautioned against jumping to conclusions on the motive of the suspect.

"We don't know all the answers yet and I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts," Obama said on the White House lawn.

"What we do know is that there are families, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday," the president said.

Obama said he met with FBI chief Robert Mueller and other federal agencies to discuss what may have caused Nidal Malik Hasan to turn on his comrades in Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded.

How Soon Before the Untied Nations Denounces Israel Again?

2009-11-04T17:47:00.001-05:00

From the BBC:

Israelis 'seize Iran arms ship'

Israel's navy has intercepted a ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of Iranian weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Israeli military has said.

The Antiguan-flagged vessel, Francop, was boarded 160km (100 miles) off the Israeli coast, the military said, and has been towed to the port of Ashdod.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the arms were intended to strike Israeli cities.

In recent months Israel has stepped up efforts to combat the smuggling of arms to both Hezbollah and Hamas militants.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the latest incident.

Iran and Syria have both rejected Israel's allegations.

It Ain't "O"-ver 'Til the Fat Guy Sings, Huh?

2009-11-03T22:44:00.002-05:00

Christie Takes N.J. Governor's Race

TRENTON, N.J. - Chris Christie, an aggressive former prosecutor who racked up a perfect conviction rate in public corruption cases and became the darling of New Jersey's Republican Party establishment, has unseated the deep-pocketed but unpopular Gov. Jon Corzine, according to The Associated Press.

Christie, 47, on Tuesday became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey. President Barack Obama invested heavily in the race, campaigning with Corzine five times on three separate visits.

With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Christie had 50 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Corzine. Independent candidate Chris Daggett, who at one point had been feared as a potential spoiler, had about 5 percent.