If the economy is so bad, where are people getting all this money to spend? (HT Weapons of Mass Discussion)

The Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 1.1 percent in November, the biggest one-month gain since 2004 and well above analyst expectations for an 0.7 percent increase.

Oh, and I’m not buying what AP is selling:

Oil prices rose Friday after the government reported that consumer spending surged last month, raising hopes that the economy will weather the crisis roiling credit markets and that demand for oil and gasoline will strengthen.

….. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.08 to $93.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A one month report from one country changes the price of a commodity traded worldwide by over 2%? Doubtful.

The improving situation in Iraq is driving certain congressmen and congresswomen to rhetorical depths I don’t recall ever seeing.

Though there have almost surely been other instances of offensive excess on the House Floor over the Iraq War, we’ve recently been treated to at least the following:

• Pete Stark (D-CA), October — “You don’t have money to fund the war or children,” Stark said. “But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.” Stark, under intense pressure from Nancy Pelosi, later tearfully apologized.
• David Obey (D-WI), November — Insurgents “are running out of people to kill,” and “There are fewer targets of opportunity.” I do not believe that Obey has backed off of his remarks.
• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), December — “They (Republicans) like this war. They want this war to continue.” Pelosi later “clarified,” saying she meant to say “support” instead of “like.”

The latest example, courtesy of Virginia Congressman Jim Moran on Wednesday, may, despite the strong competition noted, take the prize for greatest smear of our president, his administration, and/or our troops — ever.

It all depends on what the definition of “we” is (link is to “full” YouTube video; HT Weapons of Mass Discussion, which has a 13-second clip).

Here is a transcript of the short clip:

….. good schoolgirls having to go to school wearing their veils? A repressive society, what will become a Shiite theocracy?

Sure, there’s less violence, but that’s because we’ve ethnically cleansed most of Baghdad.

As to who “we” is, I would suggest, in the context of the full video, that the answer is “all of the above.”

Vets For Freedom (vetsforfreedom.org) has responded, apparently via e-mail. Here are the opening paragraphs (the full text is at Weapons of Mass Discussion; bolds are mine):

(Washington, DC) Vets for Freedom condemns the recent comments by Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) on the floor of the House of Representatives in which he stated that American troops “ethnically cleansed Baghdad.” The United Nations, along with the rest of the civilized world, commonly refers to ethnic cleansing as genocide.

“Once again, Congressman Moran demonstrates how far from reality he has fallen,” said Executive Director of Vets for Freedom and Iraq Army veteran, Pete Hegseth. “Jim Moran has a long history of putting his foot in his mouth, but this time he has gone too far. The men and women who make up our nation’s military are decent and honorable citizens who bravely serve to fight our enemies who threaten our national security. Insinuating that they are war criminals is outright despicable.”

Old Media coverage is nil. This Google News search on “Moran ethnically” (not in quotes) has one item, a blog post at Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air.

The fact that these outrageous insults continue to spew forth from Congress, and continue to go either unreported or underreported, tells you all you need to know about where Old Media’s sympathies lie.

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

As we head towards Christmas, don’t forget that Christmas 1944 was dominated by news of the Battle of the Bulge. Imagine if we had second-guessing like this during that time. Yes, in hindsight we weren’t very smart. But someone, who should have been Time’s Man of the Year, figured it out, and was heeded. I’d say the glass is mostly full, not partially empty.

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Underappreciated tech development of the year — Inkjet all-in-one units (print-copy-scan) are virtually the same price as inkjets that only print. Standalone printers may become obsolete very soon. Of course, the need to print may be obsolete sooner than we think.

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There’s a really bizarre thing in this article about payday lending:

Critics liken payday lending to legalized loan sharking, and many at the hearing wore badges with a shark biting large wads of cash. Supporters sported yellow “I support payday lending” stickers; a group of about a dozen – many of whom were payday lender employees – approached during a break declined to comment.

“I love payday lending” stickers? What, no room for pom-poms? I’d decline to comment too if I was wearing something that dumb.

I also note that this guy wasn’t around.

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Does anyone remember “The Angela Merkel I Know” web site? Who thinks that Mrs. Thatcher would ever have set up a “The Maggie I Know” site? Then why is there a need for The Hillary I Know? (no, I’m not linking)

Can there be anything more trivial? Oh yeah, news coverage that takes it seriously.

Update: Owe, Brother. Cries of foul are totally empty, given this.

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Cynthia McKinney has declared for the Presidency. I can see her peeling off a couple of points in certain states, and possibly having an impact (thank you, Ralph Nader, for Florida 2000). The dream ticket: Two Cindys, with Mama Moonbat Cindy Sheehan as Veep.

From Visalia, California:

Article published Dec 8, 2007

Offered a walnut-filled sample at See’s Candies Thursday, Visalia Mall customer Tammy Veale declined. The safety-conscious Visalian, who’s allergic to walnuts, accepted an “orange something” candy instead.

It stuck in her throat.

“I took one bite, fine. Then the second bite, I was choking to death,” Veale said Friday. “I was turning blue. I was going to pass out.”

Fortunately, another customer knew what to do. Matt Beloof, a 19-year-old California State University, Fresno, student, jumped out of line, asked Veale if she was choking — “She nodded,” Beloof said — and applied the Heimlich maneuver, expelling the candy.

“I just did a light little jerk and she was fine,” Beloof said.

A light little jerk?

“I can still feel it in my stomach where he hit me,” Veale said. “I’ve been feeling it all night. He got me pretty good.”

And she’ll be forever grateful.

“I just literally owe this kid my life,” Veale said. “If it was not for him …”

Beloof was in the store to buy boxes of Christmas candy for his mother and sister. Once it was clear that Veale was all right — “Everybody clapped,” Beloof said — he made his way out of the store, only to be tracked down by Veale’s 16-year-old son, Dane.

Veale wanted to see Beloof, ask him his name and offer him something for his service.

Beloof wanted no part of a reward, but he did have a request.

“He said, ‘All I want is for you to call my [mom] and tell her what a good kid I am,’ ” Veale said.

Veale was happy to comply. Michelle Leder, who lives in Amarillo, Texas, was happy, too.

“He feels like, ‘Wow, I’ve done something worthwhile,’ ” said Leder, who talked to Beloof after the 6 p.m. episode. “I [told him], ‘You’re a man to have around in case of emergency.’ ”

Leder, a former teacher, knows something about emergencies.

“I taught first grade for 30 years and I had to Heimlich a little girl once,” she said. “That was the last Tootsie Roll Pop I ever gave anybody, I can tell you.” …..

Go here for the rest of the story.