Detective School Enrollment Exam - Take Dell’s Bottom Line Test To See If You Qualify

Detective School Enrollment Exam

Take Dell’s Bottom Line Test To See If You Qualify



By Dell Hill
 

Analysis of the above picture can tell us a lot about how different people think.  Here are the results of Dell’s Bottom Line Blog enrollment exam:

- For young men, it's a picture of a lady with a nice derriere but only the most observant will notice that she is  crossing a street.

- The really observant will notice that she is wearing a  thong.

- For older men, she appears to be a respectable woman  - with a big butt - on her way to work.

- The perverts among  them will imagine her naked.

- Wiser men will ponder the presence of mind of the photographer to take the shot in the face of such beauty and be grateful that they shared it.

- For half of the women, this is an ordinary woman  who should not have left home dressed that way.

- The other half will think she is a slut but wonder where she bought that blouse.

- Older women will imagine the misery that the woman's curves will cause by the time she reaches 50.

- But only young children, the extremely intelligent, and the celibate will notice that the taxi is being driven by a dog!

Best Buy Says ‘Goodbye To Christmas’ - Hello To Bankruptcy

By Guest Blogger, Abraxas

“Talk about karma.  Last year I seethed to hear Best Buy was refusing to celebrate Christmas - they were calling it the 'holidays' with the feeble excuse they didn't want to offend non-Christians.  At the time I did a slow burn, but I've since come to realize that what I was really witnessing was not just the lack of Christ but of common sense in that company.  No company can survive if it shows contempt for its customers and BB was doing precisely that by spitting on Christmas.  

Well, now they're paying for it.  As Forbes now warns, it's only a matter of time before BB collapses in a pile of stinking bankruptcy.

Larry Downe's article gives a personal illustration of the reason for BB's collapse - their customer 'service' stinks.  He witnessed this first hand when he accompanied his friend into one of their stores in Pinole, CA to help the friend purchase a 3D blu-ray of “How to Train Your Dragon,” which BB sells exclusively.  Not surprisingly, the store didn't have it in stock (it was 'back-ordered'); nonetheless, the friend decided to shop for another blu-ray.  And here's where things got ugly.  

"One young, poorly groomed sales clerk from the TV department...wandered over to interrogate us."  "Interrogate" is the proper word because the young man wasn't the least interested in helping the friend find the disc he wanted but instead trying to bully the man into buying either a tv or cable service.  When the friend refused, the clerk skulked off.  But it got worse.  Because of the lack of help, the friend ended up buying the wrong blu-ray disc, one he already had.  When the writer and his friend returned the next day to the store to return it, BB flatly refused to exchange, citing their policy of not redeeming software (which the blu-ray disc qualified as).  

The instant the writer heard that, he thought at once of Amazon's exchange policy.  In contrast to BB, Amazon will (almost literally) do back-flips to please their customers.  The writer recounted how he'd had problems with a TV he'd bought from them, only to hear Amazon not only breathlessly offer to instantly switch a new TV for the old one but also send someone over to the writer's home to install the replacement.  This type of customer care definitely beats a pimply-faced geek refusing to exchange your disc.

And BB gets worse - as proven by their debacle of last year.  As the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported it, only days before Christmas (excuse me, 'the holidays') the store blithely informed its shocked customers that their orders for TVs, iPads, tablets, cameras, laptops, PS3 games, and Nintendo Wii (which many of those people had ordered the day after Thanksgiving) couldn’t be filled and thus were being cancelled.  But it was the nasty way in which BB tried to weasel out of blame that struck the writer most.  

The company issued a statement that read:  “Due to overwhelming demand of hot product offerings on BestBuy.com during the November and December time period, we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our customers’ online orders.”  In short, BB was blaming the customers for the foul-up.  If those buying idiots hadn't made an 'overwhelming demand' during the last two months of the year, BB wouldn't have encountered the 'situation' of not being able to fill their orders.  Because, as we all know, stores hate an upsurge of business in the holidays.  Oh, brother!

So Best Buy is collapsing.   Well, karma is a b*tch, guys.  Which, come to think of it, is exactly how best to describe your customer relations.”

Dell’s Bottom Line:

I’ve tried.  Really, I have.  I’d love to have Abraxas say what she really means, rather than hold it all in.  That’s not good for the woman’s psyche.  I’ll try harder....

Doug Ross Endorses Rick Santorum

Doug Ross Endorses Rick Santorum

New Media Writers Series Continued



By Dell Hill

Regular readers of this blog are well aware that I’ve made no choice, as yet, as to a candidate to strongly support in the Republican primary battle.  And I’m not going to do that today, either.

But some of my blogging colleagues have made their decision and Doug Ross, a blogger I highly respect, has selected former senator Rick Santorum.

Here’s what Doug had to say:

“When the media questions a GOP candidate -- from Eric Cantor to Paul Ryan -- their perspective is always the same.  Why are Republicans unwilling to compromise with their altruisitic Democrat partners?  Why won't they work with President Obama?

The framing of these questions is, of course, patently bogus.  When Democrats had control of Congress from 2006 to 2010, and after Obama's election in 2008, where were the great compromises that the media loves to harp about?

• Did they compromise on Obamacare?  Or did they ram it through on midnight of Christmas Eve with bribes, backroom deals, and thousands of hidden pages of legislation?

• Did they compromise on Global Warming?  Or did the president command the EPA to issue CO2 regulations when even a Democrat-controlled Congress couldn't pass cap-and-trade legislation?

• Did they compromise on the Stimulus package, ramming through trillions in deficit spending that has utterly failed to rescue anything except for the public sector unions' campaign coffers?

• Did they compromise on their outrageous financial reform legislation ("Dodd-Frank") that is spreading misery and layoffs throughout the country?

Actually, I don't recall a single Democrat compromise on any of these outrageous measures.  Not a one.

So when we choose a candidate, are we going to have another RINO mush who will "go along to get along"?  Who will permit the Democrats' social welfare state to continue expanding, albeit at a slightly slower pace?  Who will not try to move the rudder on this country before it sails over the fiscal abyss?

Or will we have a man with courage?  Who will shoot straight with the American people?  Who would issue a true declaration of political war with the Marxist Utopians that have overthrown the real Democrat Party?

A man who would give a speech like this, paraphrasing Truman?

Two years ago an American juggernaut dropped a bomb on Democrats in Congress and destroyed their usefulness to the Marxist Left.  That bomb had the power to swing 63 House seats and 680 state legislative seats and left in its wake what the National Journal called "devastation".

The Democrats began this war in 2007 when they promised to run the "most ethical Congress ever" with "no new deficit spending." Instead they permitted and encouraged rampant criminality and an all-time record of nearly $6 trillion in new deficit spending.

But the end of their reign of fiscal terror is near.  The electorate dropped the political equivalent of an atomic bomb on the Democrats again last month.  The force which gave birth to this country -- an insatiable desire for freedom -- has been loosed against those who brought fiscal ruin to the nation.



The greatest marvel is not the size of the Democrats' defeat, nor its cost, but the achievement of the people -- a true, grass-roots effort to repudiate Marxism, Statism, Utopianism, whatever their un-American strategies are called -- into a workable plan.  People of all races, religions, economic backgrounds and interests worked to advance freedom.  It is doubtful if another such combination could have been assembled anywhere in the world.  What has been done is among the greatest achievements of a people fighting incipient tyranny in history. It was done under pressure and without failure.

We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every destructive endeavor the Democrat Statists have created.  We shall destroy their agencies, their bureaucracies, their unconstitutional czars, their ideologues who have burrowed into regulatory bodies unknown to most Americans.  Let there be no mistake: we shall completely destroy the Democrats' political power-base: the bloated federal bureaucracy that has grown, unchecked, for one reason and one reason alone, which is to fund Democrat campaigns.

It was to spare the Democrats from utter destruction that I issue this ultimatum.

If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of political ruin, the likes of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this 2012 offensive will follow subsequent forces in such number that and power as they have not yet seen and with the political skills of which they are already well aware.

The power of the people will continue to grow as more citizens educate themselves regarding the unholy alliance of Democrats and the fourth branch of government -- the public sector unions.  Both align themselves against the citizen, against the taxpayer, and threaten the destruction of our country, our currency and our way of life.

We pledge to politically eradicate the Marxist left that inhabits the body of the Democrat Party like some sort of horror film zombie.

And in 2014, 2016, 2018 and in every subsequent election, we will return this great Republic to the Constitutional basis that our Framers intended.  Our contract with America is this: it is the Constitution.

No political quarter asked, and none given.

This is a war for the country's future.  We can have a failed Marxist welfare state of the sort melting down in Europe.  Or we can begin to right the ship by returning to the principles of Constitutional government, the wisdom of which becomes more and more obvious by the day.

I believe Rick Santorum is the only candidate who would issue this kind of ultimatum to the Democrat-media complex.  Time grows short to save this republic.  I urge you to offer him your support.”

Dell’s Bottom Line:

As new media bloggers like Doug Ross endorse candidates, I’ll be posting their thoughts here to give everyone a well-rounded basis upon which to make your own decisions.  These men and women speak truth to power and consider their support very carefully.  I will do the same when the time comes.

Gingrich Surges In SC - Santorum Fading Fast - Rasmussen’s Final Poll Before SC Vote

Gingrich Surges In SC - Santorum Fading Fast

Rasmussen’s Final Poll Before SC Vote



By Dell Hill

Gingrich surges.  Romney now trails.  Paul holds steady.  Santorum brings up the rear.  That’s the very latest in poll results from Scott Rasmussen.  Here’s his report.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has now surged ahead of Mitt Romney in the final Rasmussen Reports survey of the South Carolina Republican Primary race with the vote just two days away.
           
The latest telephone survey of Likely GOP Primary Voters in the state finds Gingrich with 33% support to Romney’s 31%. Two days ago, before the last debate, it was Romney by 14 percentage points.
           
Texas Congressman Ron Paul now runs third with 15% of the vote, followed by former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum at 11%. Paul's support is steady while Santorum's support has dropped five points since Monday.  At the beginning of the month, just after Santorum’s strong showing in the Iowa caucuses, he ran second to Romney with 24% of the vote.




This South Carolina survey of 750 Likely Republican Primary Voters was conducted on January 18, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Dell’s Bottom Line:

If these numbers hold up, it’s great news for Newt Gingrich and horrible news for Rick Santorum.  Mitt Romney simply wants to make sure he finishes near the top because he’s expected to win in Florida by a wide margin.

And just as the internal polling by Rick Perry’s organization led to his ouster, the numbers on the wall are growing much clearer for Santorum.  

For Santorum to finish three percentage points out of third place would just about signal the end of his campaign, too.  South Carolina was not expected to be a strong Santorum State, but he figured to be at least third, behind Gingrich and Romney.  Rasmussen has him finishing a distant fourth.  Not good.

Polls don’t determine the final outcome, however.  Voters do.  So we’ll wait and see how close Mr. Rasmussen is on the South Carolina vote. 

Dell Gives Obama ‘The Bird’ - Preznit Targeted By Florida’s Feathered Friends

Dell Gives Obama ‘The Bird’

Preznit Targeted By Florida’s Feathered Friends


By Dell Hill

With many millions of Americans out of work - some for over two years or more - the President went to Disney World, where life is a fantasy day and night.

Some of my feathered friends swooped in to ‘greet’ him.

“First squad - Prepare To Bomb In 3 - 2 - 1!

Gingrich Nukes John King & CNN - The Video

Gingrich Nukes John King & CNN - The Video



By Dell Hill

Talk about your video going viral!

Everybody wants a copy of the video produced at the CNN sponsored Republican presidential campaign debate, so this blog is happy to oblige.



Dell’s Bottom Line:

I did not watch the live telecast.  I prefer to read the transcripts of these so-called debates and decide for myself what might be worth watching and what’s actually newsworthy.

This exchange is actually newsworthy.  Not so much because of the subject matter, but because Newt Gingrich has earned a reputation for calling out the agenda-driven, heavily Democrat controlled media at a time when many Americans have hoped and prayed it might happen.

I take no for-or-against stance on Newt’s infidelity, marriages, divorces or his sex life.  Until such time as all of these topics are discussed concerning ALL of the candidates, I see no reason to single out one man for what amounts to persecution by rumor and suggestion.  Until the double standard is removed and each candidate is treated equally and fairly, I see no reason to become involved.  

I could spend hours writing thousands of words about the sordid sex lives of Democrats, but I’m not going to do that either.

Holder’s Top Dogs ‘Taking The Fifth’ On Fast & Furious

Holder’s Top Dogs ‘Taking The Fifth’ On Fast & Furious


“The assertion of the fifth amendment by a senior Justice official is a significant indictment of the Department’s integrity in Operation Fast and Furious.” - Darrell Issa



By Dell Hill

The Obama administration - most especially Attorney General Eric Holder and his staff - have themselves painted into a very small corner, thanks to the dogged pursuit of truth and justice being pursued by Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee.  That pursuit has resulted in an unprecedented legal maneuver by one of the highest ranking employees of Holder’s agency.

The details via Fox News and Ed Morrissey.
                           
“It’s every citizen’s right to take the Fifth Amendment in court and Congressional hearings when testifying.  When the sitting chief of a criminal investigation division for a US Attorney’s office does it, though, it certainly calls into question what in blazes the Department of Justice has been doing, especially with Operation Fast and Furious:

The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.

Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

Cunningham was ordered Wednesday to appear before Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee regarding his role in the operation that sent more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa Cartel. Guns from the failed operation were found at the murder scene of Border Agent Brian Terry.

The letter from Cunningham’s Washington DC attorney stunned congressional staff. Last week, Cunningham, the second highest ranking U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was scheduled to appear before Issa‘s committee voluntarily. Then, he declined and Issa issued a subpoena.

Cunningham is represented by Tobin Romero of Williams and Connolly who is a specialist in white collar crime.  In the letter, he suggests witnesses from the Department of Justice in Washington, who have spoken in support of Attorney General Eric Holder, are wrong or lying.

Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, issued a statement few minutes ago calling this move “extremely rare” and “an indictment” in itself of the DoJ’s integrity.  Issa also points out that the scope of the strategy that Cunningham will employ will leave him answering no questions except his name and title:

“The assertion of the fifth amendment by a senior Justice official is a significant indictment of the Department’s integrity in Operation Fast and Furious. The former head of the ATF has previously told the committee that the Justice Department is managing its response to Operation Fast and Furious in a manner designed to protect its political appointees.  This is the first time anyone has asserted their fifth amendment right in this investigation and heightens concerns that the Justice Department’s motivation for refusing to hand over subpoenaed materials is a desire to shield responsible officials from criminal charges and other embarrassment.

“Coming a year after revelations about reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious were first brought to light, the assertion of the fifth amendment also raises questions about whether President Obama and Attorney General Holder have made a serious and adequate response to allegations raised by whistleblowers.  Did Attorney General Holder really not know a senior Justice Department official fears criminal prosecution or is this just another example of him hiding important facts?  The committee will continue to demand answers.”

Dell’s Bottom Line:

In his letter to Issa, Romero suggested that Cunningham has become the victim.

In the letter, he suggests witnesses from the Department of Justice in Washington, who have spoken in support of Attorney General Eric Holder, are wrong or lying.

“Department of Justice officials have reported to the Committee that my client relayed inaccurate information to the Department upon which it relied in preparing its initial response to Congress. If, as you claim, Department officials have blamed my client, they have blamed him unfairly,” the letter to Issa says.

Romero claims Cunningham did nothing wrong and acted in good faith, but the Department of Justice in Washington is making him the fall guy, claiming he failed to accurately provide the Oversight Committee with information on the execution of Fast and Furious.

However, we have to ask “If Cunningham did nothing wrong, why not testify to that fact and prove his innocence immediately?”  He’s going to have to testify at some point, it would seem to be to his advantage to do so now and get the monkey off of his back.  Refusing to testify only suggests that lies have been told and that he (Cunningham) may have told some of those lies.  

Issa’s committee will now have to determine if offering immunity to Cunningham would be worth the time and trouble, or would they be better served to haul Holder back in and find out what the Hell is going on that would cause his chief operatives to fear criminal prosecution.  There’s also the distinct possibility that those involved could expose themselves to civil liability, all the way up the DOJ ladder.

One thing that strikes me as almost cruelly ‘funny’ is the fact that the agency designed to maintain justice at the very highest levels is now refusing to maintain justice by refusing to answer to Congress.

In any event, should Cunningham stand by his attorney recommended legal stance of exercising his Fifth Amendment Right against self incrimination, his days as a federal employee should be instantly over.  Should Issa offer him immunity in exchange for his testimony and he still refuses to answer questions, the obligatory contempt citation would be issued and we would then know most assuredly that some serious criminal activity has taken place.

Many Americans have been screaming for Issa to investigate and take every legal step possible to get to the bottom of several simmering scandals inside (and outside) the Beltway.  Fast and Furious is clearly the most serious of the scandals because its net affect has been the loss of as many as 200 lives, including federal agents.

It’s difficult, however, when the Obama administrations top officials refuse to comply with subpoenas and decline to answer questions during a congressional investigation.  That’s a matter that needs to be addressed by the President, but all indications are that no such action will ever be taken.  Further suggesting this President might well have known about Fast and Furious and perhaps even signed off on that ill-fated federal policy.

Largest Tax Increases In US History One Year Away!

Largest Tax Increases In US History One Year Away!


By Dell Hill

It’s an election year, therefore it would be an extremely poor time to raise taxes for those seeking election or re-election, as the case may be.  But, that’s exactly what President Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have done - with the always-available assistance of at least a half-dozen Republicans who act more like Democrats every day.

Will President Obama even dare to bring up the topic of increased taxes in his State of the Union Address?  I doubt it strongly.

State of the Union: One Year to Go Until Largest Tax Hikes in History

                       
“When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday Jan. 24, taxpayers will find themselves less than one year away from the largest tax hikes in American history.  There are three great waves of tax increases threatening families and small employers in January 2013.  On top of rising income tax rates, four additional Obamacare tax hikes will kick into full gear.  President Obama needs to face this tax hike threat of his own creation head on Tuesday night:

    First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
   
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for small business owners, families, and investors (later re-upped by President Obama and Democrat Congress in 2010).  The following tax hikes will occur on January 1, 2013:
   
Personal income tax rates will rise.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which the majority of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
   
    - The 10% bracket rises to a new and expanded 15%
    - The 25% bracket rises to 28%
    - The 28% bracket rises to 31%
    - The 33% bracket rises to 36%
    - The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
   
Higher taxes on marriage and family.  The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of taxable income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.  
   
Middle Class Death Tax.  The death tax is currently 35% with an exemption of $5 million ($10 million for married couples).  For those dying on or after January 1 2013, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.
   
Higher tax rates on savers and investors.  The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 23.8 percent in 2013.  The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 43.4 percent in 2013.  This is because of scheduled rate hikes plus Obamacare’s investment surtax.
   
    Second Wave: Obamacare Tax Hikes
   
There are twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare.  Some have already gone into effect (the tanning tax, the medicine cabinet tax, the HSA withdrawal tax, W-2 health insurance reporting, and the “economic substance doctrine”).  Several more will go into effect on January 1, 2013.  They include:
   
Medicare Payroll Tax Hike.  The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9 percent on all wages and self-employment profits.  Starting in 2013, wages and profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8 percent rate.
   
“Special Needs Kids Tax.”  Imposes a cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited).  Indexed to inflation after 2013. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.  There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.  Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.  This Obamacare cap harms these families.
   
Medical Device Tax.  Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax.  Exempts items retailing for $100.
   
“Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deductions.  Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).  The new provision imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI.  Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only.

Read the entire story by clicking right here.

Dell’s Bottom Line:

Perhaps the President was miss-quoted.  Let’s listen and see.



Nope!  You heard him say it.  Of course his administration has now changed course and has declared the tax increases in Obamacare are actually.....you know.....TAX INCREASES.