Cheap Blue Dresses...From Paris

MICHELLE Obama dazzled in a sapphire blue dress, estimated to retail for $2400, as her husband laid out his vision for economic recovery in the State of the Union address last night.

The first lady stood out in a shimmering silk twill creation by designer Barbara Tfank, from the Los Angeles designer's 2012 resort collection.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/michelle-obama-opts-for-pricey-designer-dress-for-state-of-the-union/story-e6frfku0-1226254044599

or...Michelle could consult with 'Paris' and get an equally stunning blue dress for $279.  You're right.  Why would anyone want to save $2,100?!!!!!!

 Get a celebrity look for less with this stunning sapphire blue chiffon prom dress by Blush. This beautiful evening gown features asymmetrical ruching on the bodice with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. Sparkling rhinestones adorn the neckline and waist for contrast. The long chiffon skirt has a sexy front slit and long train for a memorable effect at your next prom or special occasion formal affair.


Style: BL-S007

Name: Sapphire Blue Prom Dress http://www.simplydresses.com/shop/viewitem-PD478552

Closure: Zipper

Details: Criss Cross Ruching, Beaded Accents

Length: Floorlength

Neckline: Sweetheart, Spaghetti Straps

Waistline: Natural

Our Price: $278.00

Low Price Guarantee


(THANKS ANYWAY.  WE DON'T WANT LOW PRICES.  WE WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, AND HOW TO SPEND YOUR MONEY, AND THEN WE WILL DO WHATEVER WE WANT TO DO, EVEN IF IT'S RIDICULOUS, AND MAKES NO SENSE.) 

Our British cousins are feeling a tad pessimistic

Britain is heading for its first double-dip recession in 37 years after the economy slumped in the final quarter of 2011 and officials warned of a new threat to jobs.

The whole fish and chips here.

A poignant dad-daughter moment

An Egyptian carries his daughter as they watch thousands celebrating at Tahrir Square marking the first anniversary of the popular uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt.

They would charge double or triple for a round of golf at St. Andrews

Scotland talks independence – but can it afford it?

With a vote on Scotland's independence from the UK becoming more inevitable, Scots want to know how an independent Scotland would pay its bills.

• The Monitor's View: Independence for Scotland: Nothing brave about it

Jan's not signing up for BHO fan club

OBAMA HAS HEATED ARGUMENT WITH AZ GOV.... DEVELOPING...

Headlines below serve as a good summary of SOTU

REPORT: State of the Union speech registers at 8th grade reading level...

Obama Uses Same Lines from 2010, 2011...

AP: Pushes plans that flopped before...

'We've come too far to turn back now'...

Populist Tone...

DETAILS: Daniels Blasts 'Extremism' in Response...

Would someone, anyone please run against this woman!

PELOSI THREAT: NEWT WON'T BE PRESIDENT...

'THERE IS SOMETHING I KNOW'...

Gingrich: 'Put up or shut up -- bring it on'...

Pelosi backtracks...

Queen Bee, sunk off Nantucket, shows up on coast of Spain 3 years later

The Queen Bee, a 26-foot fishing boat, was found off the coast of Spain more than three years after it sank during a Nantucket, Massachusetts storm. Its owners are shocked it' still in such good shape, all things considered. The 26-foot Queen Bee is a little worse for the wear and is covered in mould, rust, and barnacles, but its two motors are still attached....read

A very valiant woman

Gabrielle Giffords (left) has resigned from the House with a standing ovation from her colleagues, more than a year after she was gravely wounded by a would-be assassin. Tears streamed down the faces of her husband Mark Kelly (left) and House Speaker John Boehner (right) as her resignation letter was read on the House floor by fellow congresswoman and close friend Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

What will they think of next?

No more rushing to departure gate: It's the suitcase that converts into a scooter

Stay away, stay far away

New iPhone and iPad app rewards couch potatoes for watching TV - with gift certificates to Burger King and Starbucks

Viggle, slated to be released today, racks up loyalty points for every minute of programs watched, which earn viewers gift certificates to participating retailers.

Yep, sure looks like the movie

Like a scene from the Titanic: Astonishing pictures show lifeboats fleeing Costa Concordia moments after it ran aground

The dramatic pictures, released this evening, show a number of boats spilling from the sides of the ship and passengers waiting onboard to board those which haven't been deployed. Elsewhere, holidaymakers, who moments earlier had been enjoying dinner on the luxury vessel, can also be seen making their way around the heavily-banking prow of the ship, with the whole dramatic scene lit up by the lights on board the ship.

I hope his boss needs a new job by next January.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested Wednesday that he's highly unlikely to stay in the Obama administration for a possible second term.

Geithner said that he would not expect President Obama to ask him to stay on for a second, four-year stint should Obama win re-election. And even if he were to ask, Geithner said he had planned on pursuing "something else."

"He's not going to ask me to stay on, I'm pretty confident," Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "I'm confident he'll be president, but I'm also confident he's going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury."

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10236588-geithner-says-he-doesnt-expect-to-serve-second-term

Romney, Gingrich even in Florida polls

Romney, Gingrich in dead heat in another Fla. poll.


Romney leads Gingrich, 36%-34%, among likely GOP voters in the CNN/Time/ORC International poll released this afternoon. Those numbers are identical to the findings of a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.

1861 Library of Congress picture of the U.S. Frigate 'Pensacola'

The picture was taken on the Potomac River adjacent to Alexandria, Virginia.

Enough with Buffett's secretary already...

John Hood writing at National Review online:


Obviously, President Obama will repeat the utterly false claim that Warren Buffett bears a lower tax burden than his secretary does. If you understand the varying tax treatment of labor and capital income at the corporate level — the former being deductible from taxable income, the latter a part of taxable income — then you understand why Buffett’s claim is false. If you further understand how screwed up the tax calculation on phantom capital gains is, how taxing the principal of an investment already taxes its return, and how America’s corporate income tax came about in the first place (Congress enacted it as a substitute for individual income taxation, after the Supreme Court declared direct income taxes unconstitutional), then you understand that those who defend Buffett’s false claim about the undertaxed wealthy are either ignorant or dishonest.

The wealthy pay a significant higher share of their income in taxes than the middle class or the poor do. If you combine federal, state, and local taxes together and divide by income, the top quintile of U.S. households pay about twice as much in taxes as a share of their incomes as the bottom quintile does. Because government spending disproportionately benefits lower-income households, the progressivity of government’s fiscal structure is even more steep than the tax data alone would show.

If you want to defend this level of progressivity, fine. If you want to argue that the system ought to be even more punitive at higher income levels, go for it. But denying that the wealthy already pay a disproportionate share of taxes is an act of gross irresponsibility.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/289176/misleading-political-theater-john-hood

He wore a different tie--that's the only difference

Navy SEALS free American held by Somali pirates

The Pentagon released a statement Wednesday morning on the U.S. military's rescue, saying that Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, were not hurt in the operation.

The Pentagon also said there were no injuries to any of the U.S. troops involved. It also noted that the FBI was involved in the rescue.

The commandos that carried out the operation were drawn from the same Navy SEAL team involved in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, according to the Associated Press.

Nine Somali hostage-takers were killed in the operation, and five others were wounded, witnesses in Somalia told the Los Angeles Times.

The whole story here.

Obama's State of the Union registers at 8th grade reading level

President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address again rated at an 8th grade comprehension level, on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test — the third lowest score of any State of the Union address since 1934.

The University of Minnesota's Smart Politics conducted an analysis on the last 70 State of the Union addresses and found that President Obama's three addresses have the lowest grade average of any modern president. "Obama's average grade-level score of 8.4 is more than two grades lower than the 10.7 grade average for the other 67 addresses written by his 12 predecessors," they conclude.

"The Flesch-Kincaid test is designed to assess the readability level of written text, with a formula that translates the score to a U.S. grade level. Longer sentences and sentences utilizing words with more syllables produce higher scores. Shorter sentences and sentences incorporating more monosyllabic words yield lower scores," the University of Minnesota's Eric Ostermeier explains.

The Politico story here.