Innocent Bystanders

MSM Notices That People Are Voting With Their Dollars September 25, 2009

Liberals are keeping their wallets closed.

WASHINGTON – Democratic political committees have seen a decline in their fundraising fortunes this year, a result of complacency among their rank-and-file donors and a de facto boycott by many of their wealthiest givers, who have been put off by the party’s harsh rhetoric about big business.

The trend is a marked reversal from recent history, in which Democrats have erased the GOP’s long-standing fundraising advantage. In the first six months of 2009, Democratic campaign committees’ receipts have dropped compared with the same period two years earlier.

via Democrats jarred by drop in fundraising.

Meanwhile, the GOP is doing great.

WASHINGTON — Despite being in the minority in Congress, Republican campaign committees outraised Democrats by $1.7 million in August as they have aggressively collected political cash amid the rancorous debate over health care.

Republicans also held an edge over Democrats in the amount of money available, when counting debts, as both parties set the stage for the 2010 elections, in which more than three dozen competitive House and Senate seats are at stake.  The GOP spike is a departure. In each of the past four years, the party in power — whether Democrat or Republican — raised more than the minority’s fundraising committees in August, a USA TODAY review of campaign records shows.

via GOP gets big bump in donors.

This has got to throw a scare into Dems who have to run for reelection next year.  They are going to have to think about distancing themselves from Obama.  It’s one thing to see Obama go down in the polls.  Even worse is contemplating that your opponent will have a financial advantage as the result of an energized base.

Alzheimer’s Crisis!!! Danger Danger Will Robinson September 22, 2009

Will Robinson - We have an Alzheimer's crisis!!!

Jeez, I am sick to death of the crise du jour mentality.

WASHINGTON – More than 35 million people around the world are living with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, says the most in-depth attempt yet to assess the brain-destroying illness — and it’s an ominous forecast as the population grays.

The new count is about 10 percent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimated Alzheimer’s growing impact in developing countries.

This reminds me of scientists and bureaucrats still hyperventilating (and seeking funding) to combat global warming, never mind that the U.N.-sponsored computer model they all rely on has been discredited (turns out, in real life, the hypothetical tropical water vapor feedback loop, which is essential to the model, doesn’t exist).

Here’s a rule of thumb — anybody predicting a crisis should be ignored if they are bureaucrats in the business of whatever they are blathering about.

Let’s just see who is responsible for this dire warning.

Barring a medical breakthrough, the World Alzheimer Report projects dementia will nearly double every 20 years. By 2050, it will affect a staggering 115.4 million people, the report concludes.

“We are facing an emergency,” said Dr. Daisy Acosta, who heads Alzheimer’s Disease International, which released the report Monday.

The new count is about 10 percent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimated Alzheimer’s growing impact in developing countries.

Yeah, Daisy, and I’ll bet you think the budget of Alzheimer’s Disease International should double right now.

Remember the massive scare about the ADHD epidemic in our children, resulting in massive over-diagnosis of the disorder, that resulted in huge numbers of children being zombified by drugs like Ritalin?

Don’t trust doctors.

Report: 35 million-plus worldwide have dementia on Yahoo! Health

TOTALLY unrelated, don’t miss this Obama family portrait at S. Weasel’s blog.