155,000 jobs added in December, unemployment rate 7.8% “The unemployment rate was 7.8%, vs the 7.7% expected: who else is surprised that the rate is now rising with Obama reelected and when a lower unemployment rate means an earlier end to QE4EVA? The labor force participation rate: 63.6%, same as November.” Our hunch is that the excuse the month will be the Mayan Calendar end-of-the-world scare.

FBI: More people killed with hammers, clubs each year than rifles. Not to mention that hammers are responsible for breaking fingers and driving health care costs UP. (Wow, we’re starting to think like statists and it’s making our head hurt… sorta like somebody conked us with a hammer.)

AGW Bombshell? A new paper shows statistical tests for global warming fails to find statistically significantly anthropogenic forcing. “…our rejection of AGW is not absolute; it might be a false positive, and we cannot rule out the possibility that recent global warming has an anthropogenic footprint. However, this possibility is very small, and is not statistically significant at conventional levels.” Hey, if they didn’t fudge data, ignore contradictory evidence and call anyone who disagreed vile names, then they’re not real climate scientists.

Glenn Beck tried to buy Current TV, too, but his offer was rejected, as he didn’t share Al Gore’s worldview. “And you know who did? Why, Al Jazeera, of course.” Confirmation that Al Gore thinks conservative Americans are the only enemy. BTW, “Al Gore tried to hurry up the sale so he could avoid the increased taxes beginning January 1st.”

50 reasons why it rocks to be a progressive in 2013. “Examples: –Whatever your heart desires, it’s a ‘right.’ –You can make other people pay for your stuff, and call them selfish and greedy if they refuse. –Stealing is no longer crime, but an act of redistributive justice. –All you have to do is agree with the mainstream media, and you’re automatically right.” Wait, is this a satire or an Obama campaign ad?

“I felt like there were three angels in the room. And, interestingly, they had New York accents…” Sen. Mark Kirk returns to the Senate after his stroke and recounts an interesting story. Forget the fiscal cliff, there’s a real cliff we all have to face – but unlike in politics, the guiding higher power won’t be vacationing in Hawaii.

Surprise: Obamacare-wary employers not hiring, cutting hours. “…instead of complying with the mandate and spending money they either (a) don’t have or (b) need for other purposes, cash-strapped small business owners are planning to shave hours and provide less work for their employees. That’s not greed; it’s business reality in a stagnant economy.” No, that’s just another form of raaaaacism!

Calpers seeks to sue bankrupt San Bernardino over pension payments. “The issue is, do Calpers obligations supersede unsecured bondholders? There’s an awful lot of unsecured bondholders in California. If you put pension obligations to Calpers as secured and senior to unsecured debt, in effect those bonds have been downgraded.” Downgrading drives bond prices down. A lot of those bonds are held by retirees and other savers, either directly or thru funds. You do the math.

Wind industry gets to keep their taxpayer-funded lifeblood for another year. “According to wind energy industry players, the PTC remains crucial for the continued ascendance of wind power…” The wind industry generates power by burning fiat money.

Al-Jazeera to buy Al Gore’s Current TV? Will Current TV’s audience notice the change? If someone knows him, please inquire.

Recipe for a long life: overweight people have LOWER death risk. “…the new study shows that people who are modestly overweight have a 6 per cent lower rate of premature death from all causes than people of ideal, ‘healthy’ weight, while even those who are mildly obese have no increased risk.” In other news, Nanny Bloomberg sets up new group, “Mayors Against Illegal Opinions”. (Not yet, but stay tuned…)

“Fiscal Cliff” deal doles out millions for Hollywood, railroads, rum producers. “Under the plan, the federal government would eat nearly $100 billion in forgone tax revenue over the next two years by extending special tax credits for select businesses that had been set to expire.” And the winner is… Crony Capitalism! Unexpectedly!

Does government create a wealth gap? “The political classes would like you to believe that putting more money into government makes things more equal. They’d like you to believe that because, in fact, putting more money into government puts more money into their pockets. The truth is, government doesn’t create wealth, it consumes it. And it doesn’t create equality, either. It undermines it.” And it’s also very good at blaming the problems it causes on someone else.

Health Care, Housing, Education worse when government helps. “But policies trying to extend the benefits of health insurance, housing and higher education that tended to sever the connection between effort and reward have backfired and hurt many of the intended beneficiaries. Government policymakers failed to anticipate the responses of third parties attempting to game the system and grab some of the money government was making available.” And as we have seen, the third parties attempting to game the system are often the loudest proponents in favor of government “help”. Crony capitalism isn’t capitalism.

“Demand a plan” satire. A small pin lets the air out of a lot of over-inflated balloons.

More eliminationist rhetoric from an allegedly respectable newspaper columnist. “Then I would tie Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickup truck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the light on gun control.” As Tolstoy said, “Everyone wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change himself.”

Woman of privilege and her boyfriend — a Harvard grad and Occupy Wall Street activist — charged with having a cache of weapons and a bombmaking explosive. But they’re part of a mostly peaceful leftist activist movement. The people we gotta control are those wingnuts who want to defend themselves against enlightenment and otherwise be left alone.

Evan Thomas, Charles Krauthammer rip Obama for lack of fiscal cliff leadership. “This is not Congress’ fault,” Thomas said. “Congress is behaving like Congress. This is the president’s fault. The president needs to go to the country and explain why they need to get this done. He has never done that.” Well, Obama is, as Thomas once said, a sort of god… the golden calf or hollow statue sort. [Video at the link.]

Obama blames Benghazi attack on “Some sloppiness, not intentional”. Mistakes were made. Excuses were proffered. Concussions were suffered. Passive voice was used. Explanations were, are and will continue to be Shovel Ready.

It was the Kitchen Knife in the Parlor with Professor Plum… or was it Professor Plum in the Parlor with the Kitchen Knife? “The BBC offers this advice for anyone in Britain who is attacked on the street: You are permitted to protect yourself with a briefcase, a handbag, or keys. You should shout ‘Call the Police’ rather than ‘Help.’ Bystanders are not to help. They have been taught to leave such matters to the professionals. If you manage to knock your attacker down, you must not hit him again or you risk being charged with assault.” How long is it until they ban briefcases, purses and keys?

French court rejects 75% millionaires’ tax. “The Council, made up of nine judges and three former presidents, is concerned the tax would hit a married couple where one partner earned above a million euros but it would not affect a couple where each earned just under a million euros.” Well, to paraphrase the old adage, two can be soaked as cheaply as one. No doubt John Roberts would’ve found a way to approve it: “Hey, it’s not a tax, it’s an individual mandate!”

Obama orders pay raise for Biden, members of Congress, federal workers. “The pay raise will generally be about 1/2 of 1%.” More than they deserve.

British doctors call for ban on long kitchen knives to end stabbings. Well, now the Brits can have Piers back so he can call everybody against knife control a stupid idiot. And we’ll throw David Gregory in for nothing. Aw hell, take all of our journ0lists… please! What could’ve started this Night of the Long Knives, a mass stabbing somewhere? We’ve heard rumors the individual pictured below killed numerous times and even filmed her crimes for audiences to watch. Scary.

Is America’s Future Progressive? “The Obama-Bernanke-Geithner economy has done little to reverse the relative decline of the middle and working class, whose their share of national income have fallen to record lows. If you don’t work for venture-backed tech firms, coddled, money-for-nearly-free Wall Street or for the government, your income and standard of living has probably declined since the middle of the last decade.” Yeah, but will the outsiders ever get wise to the reason for this dichotomy? How long can it stay “Bush’s fault”?

Gallup Poll: NRA way more popular than the media. Well sure, but being more popular than the media is a low bar to clear. How about comparing the media to a festering boil on one’s butt? Ooops, sorry, they’re the same thing…