Last week’s State of the Union address was a sad and pathetic affair, full of transparent rhetoric and demagoguery, brimming with incandescent hypocrisies, variegated with an expansive assortment of half-truths and lies, palled by a mediocrity that almost seemed intentional, detached from reality like an unmoored hot-air balloon that slowly ascends to the heavens, stuffed with dense and infuriating arrogance, and draped over our nation like a several-sizes-too-small coat with promises and ideas rendered diminutive in the shadow of the historical moment.

An administrative law judge in Georgia could decide as early as this week whether voters in the state convinced him Barack Obama’s name should be removed from the 2012 presidential ballot because he is not qualified to hold the office. But win, lose or draw, the fight isn’t going to be over, as other cases are erupting across the nation, with challenges being raised anew even in Obama’s own adopted political network in Illinois. The Georgia hearing was before Judge Michael Malihi, and while none of the lawyers who appeared in the proceedings was willing to predict what the decision will be, several did confirm that Malihi had considered simply granting them a default victory, because Obama and his lawyers expressly stated they would not participate in a hearing to provide evidence that he is qualified to be on the ballot.

When Pliny the Younger was a provincial governor in the Roman Empire, he wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan asking whether he should execute Christians who refused to burn incense in worship of the emperor. Pliny, in keeping with the customs of the empire, did not care about forcing Christians to believe that the emperor was a god.

SITTING in the Oval Office on October 31st, Barack Obama tried to look like a man in charge. “We can’t wait for action on the Hill,” he declared. “We’ve got to go ahead and move forward.” The president then signed his latest executive order

There they go again. The American left, caught in the act of brandishing their electronic rope for yet another conservative black man, is busy dodging their long and horrendous history of racism

At the Heritage Foundation last week, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan demonstrated why he doesn’t need to be running for President to be framing the debate for 2012. He delivered there on October 26 a breathtakingly beautiful speech on Saving the American Idea, which defines the Spirit of 2012.

One of the largest landslide elections in the history of the United States took place one year ago today. Free-market Republicans, riding a wave of public anger at bailouts, stimulus, and big-government programs, swept into power, capturing 63 seats and control of the U.S.

SOMETIMES the best stimulus is not the biggest, but the one that’s possible.

Obama visits Michigan to tout his “jobs plan” and his auto bailout. ( NYT ) Republicans are holding a House committee hearing on Solyndra; Steven Chu is not testifying. ( The Hill ) A clash is ahead for Occupy Wall Street and the city of New York after Mayor Bloomberg said they’re going to clean up the park the protesters are camped out in.

I’m not a number. I’m not a line item on a budget. And I’m definitely not a pushover.

There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today.

Quin Hillyer thinks Eric Holder should not hold on as Attorney General. I read his piece and find little with which to disagree. Nevertheless, I think Holder should stay

Two more shoes dropped in the Solyndra scandal today, but it remains to be seen their sound will stir the sleepy liberal lapdog media. Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison resigned last Friday, the Associated Press reported early this afternoon. Oh, and while the media of late have cheerleading the Democratic push for a new surtax on millionaires, don't expect the news media, particularly MSNBC, to note how a key Obama donor who pushed for the Solyndra loan has been delinquent on his evaded federal taxes for years

A little while back, I composed a list of the ten greatest “state-actor” threats to American security interests, both at home and abroad. I ranked Iran #2, given their reckless bellicosity, nuclear ambitions and willingness to fight America by proxy

The U.S. Postal Service has faced serious budget shortfalls in recent years and is looking at a long-term problem as mail volume declines. However, that’s not the primary reason that USPS’ budget is in crisis

F.H.

My further thoughts on J. Christian Adams’ book Injustice, which paints the Obama/Holder Justice Department and especially the Civil Rights Division as a place of reckless lawlessness.

AFTER THE STANDARD & POOR’S downgrade in early August, it didn’t take long for the blame game to begin. Predictably, the mainstream media blamed the Republicans.

THE Senate likes to think of itself as the world’s greatest deliberative body. Of late, however, much of that deliberation has been devoted to its own rules.

Asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos if he regretted his promotion of the bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra, Barack Obama said, “No, I don’t.” This cavalier answer provides yet another snapshot of the arrogance and ideological fixation that drives his presidency.