Hither and thither 11/5/10

What a week! The more I thought about Tuesday, the gladder I was for the general results. It's like watching every neighboring farmer getting rain on his land, while yours lies dry and parched. But it was good for the country, and interesting days lie ahead.

Speaking of "interesting" (remember: unmarked updates likely until noon)....

• !!! BREAKING NEWS !!! Der Spiegel is reporting that Obama comes across ""cold, arrogant, and elitist." Stop the presses!
• One major disappointment, however, was the victory of Reid over Angle. However, there is reason to suspect that his campaign broke the law.
• Gee, a Democrat scofflaw? Imagine that.
• Reader David authored what is sure to become a perennial favorite in some households each November 1.
•  This Brazilian court ruling raises questions. Like, "So, it's official that nobody is responsible for anything, anymore?" And, "So how did they arrive at that exact amount?"
• Look out LOOK OUT LOOK OUT --

• Chris Carney found it, and he says he's going to buy it: Jones' Bacon Soda. I'm not so sure... the taste-testers didn't even love it. Maybe... the cheeseburger water instead?
• Chris also noted a happy ending (for now) to the story of the woman in Michigan who had HUD coming down on her for advertising, in church, for a Christian roommate.
• You know... this actually makes sense to me:

• Jill Stanek details significant pro-life gains as a result of Tuesday's election.
• Impressive victory:

• Of all sources, The Los Angeles Times traces significant Republican gains in terms of state legislatures. This could have far-flung, long-term positive impact on the nation's path, as districts are re-drawn along saner lines.
• Other good news: there was a surge of support among all religious groups for the GOP, even including inroads among Jewish voters.
• President Obama said words indicating he accepts responsibility for Tuesday's "shellacking," but he would not admit that the voters repudiated his agenda, or that where he was heading was fundamentally wrong. Specifically, Obama thinks voters don't want to "relitigate" the past two years. But isn't that clearly what voters do want? They didn't send to Washington more people who will say "Yes sir" to his directives, but rather folks who will say not only "No," but "Heck no!" The man who hurt candidates and lost his own former Senate seat clearly doesn't get the fact that he needs to get his fingers out of the pie.
• Mercy, reader Robert Sakovich notes that even CNN's Ed Henry underscores that Obama doesn't get it, and is not seeing the error of his ways. I don't pine for the days of Clinton and his lying, cloying emotionalisms, but have to agree that he was a far better politician than Obama.

• How bad is it? Though they get everything else wrong, even Obama's fanboys at the Washington Post recognize that Tuesday was a sharp rebuke to what Obama's been doing and how he's been doing it.
• Again I ask: how bad was it for the Dems? In case you're overloaded with words, here's a visual representation:

• ...and, as to how President Obama felt about it:

• Conservatives, on the other hand:

• Victor Davis Hanson offers a pretty brilliant and dead-on "twofer."  First, a stinging analysis of just how profoundly Obama does not get what just happened. Second, a sharp assessment of the sad trajectory of California. Money-quotes from the latter (emphases added): "Now California’s state government will have to deal with the reality that if the highest-tax state in the union raises taxes still higher, it will lose even more high earners than the current 3,000 who leave each week"; "The state will continue to descend into a pyramidal society. On top there is the wealthy, leftist coastal elite from Napa to Hollywood, which is seemingly immune from the effects of high taxes and regulation (and wants more green laws, gay marriage, abortion, and therapeutic bromides). The top of the pyramid is in league with a growing underclass in part dependent upon a huge entitlement industry; this coalition thus favors more taxes, entitlements, unionized public employees, open borders, etc. Meanwhile, a squeezed middle-class private sector is slowly being strangled, shutting down, and leaving."
• As you might expect, Mark Steyn sums up California best: "I think we're seeing in California the limits of the democratic process in a Big Government state. The statist workforce and the dependency class can outvote the productive class. And, given the number of Californian small businesses who'll be ordering the U-Haul in the morning, that electoral gap will only widen in 2012 and beyond."
• One more bitter note on idiot California voters: they returned Rep. Loretta Sanchez to office. Sanchez is a glittering example of the double-standard under which racist, anti-immigrant liberals live while decrying racism and opposition to illegal immigrants.
• California needs to learn: most portable item in the world is money.
• Fred Siegel notes that, on the national scene, California and New York remain indebted and unrepentant. He traces the cause in part to those who are wealthy off of the global economy, and suggests that the rest of the nation may press those states to cut spending.
• Relatedly: here is a headline that tells you everything you need to know about California voters: California Elects a Dead Woman. Guess the party. Yep; being a Dem is more important than having brain waves.
• There's a joke there. Be my guest.
• One really terrific fruit of Tuesday's election: The brilliant Paul Ryan will surely be head of the House Ways and Means Committee, where all tax bills originate, who absolutely cleaned Obama's clock on the issue and destroyed Obama's "all they do is say noooooo" whine.
• Internationally patriotic pizzas:

• From fruit to crabs — in a vending machine. Thanks to a tip from John.
• Another good: razor-sharp Elaine Donnelly notes that hiding behind uniforms didn't help advocates of  forcing the military to embrace a particular sexual perversion against its will.
• Could be that 2012 will bring the Senate corrective that last Tuesday should have brought.
• John brings us an Important Safety Tip:

• And another, thanks to reader RWT:

• Unlike California, Iowa showed some sanity. Judges there shoved "gay" "marriage" down citizens' throats. Three of them were up for confirmation in the vote. Iowans rejected all three. (Thanks for the tip, Sonja.)
• Contextualization comes to South Africa, thanks to a Charismatic pastor. To say the least, it isn't pretty. (Thanks, Paula.)
• Some pastors might recognize attenders amid these, ahem, phony sheep.

• Then there's all this: