Sig Sauer offers 'Cash for Klunker Handguns' as trade-ups

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging for a message from one of our valued advertisers (in my dreams) Sig Sauer:

SIG SAUER - Gives you $200 "CASH For your KLUNKER^* Handgun"
Purchase a new SIG SAUER® P220®, P226®, P229®, 1911, SIG556 pistol, or SIG556 rifle from your dealer’s inventory from September 7th through November 30th, 2009, and SIG SAUER will give you $200.00 for your old KLUNKER* pistol or revolver.

Now there's a cash for klunkers program I can support. The wife and I briefly considered trading in her high-mileage Chevy Blazer for something better on gas during the recent guvmint economic stimulus plan for the nation's auto industry unions. (When it comes to "saving jobs" no group of workers ranks higher with the Obama administration than labor union members.)

But we just couldn't bring ourselves to take the ol' Chevy out behind the barn and shoot 'er in the head. She still runs good, gets fair to middlin' mileage and just because the federal guvmint wants to give you a welfare payment, is that any reason to take it? We decided the answer was "no" so we kept the Chevy off death row.

So Sig Sauer takes the idea and runs with it. Only problem I have is none of my handguns are klunkers. And I can't find a barely functioning piece of junk at the shop and use it for a trade-in because we have no "klunkers' at the gun shop. All our guns are there because we bought 'em or accepted them in trades and we don't take in no junk.

But if you've got a klunker, here's your chance to trade it on a genuine new Sig Sauer. Go for it!

RNC files FEC complaint over illegal Obama foreign cash

In the about time category, the RNC has finally filed an official complaint with the FEC about the much-reported illegal foreign campaign contributions to the Obama campaign.

The Republican National Committee is filing a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission over what they believe are illegal donations made to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign from foreign sources.

"We believe they have been accepting donations from foreign nationals and excessive contributions," said RNC Communications Director Danny Diaz. He said there were "questions with regards to the legitimacy" of the hundreds of millions low-dollar contributions Obama has received.

Federal campaign finance law forbids campaigns from accepting donations from foreign nationals. The complaint will be formally filed with the FEC Monday. The RNC is requesting that the FEC begin auditing Obama's campaign contributions.

If the RNC's allegations are true, it won't be the first time the FEC has found Obama guilty of taking money from foreign sources. Earlier this year, the FEC ordered the Obama campaign to return an illegal donation worth $31,100 made from two brothers in the Gaza Strip.

The RNC's complaint was spurred by a story written by Newsweek's Michael Isikoff on October 4. It said the Obama campaign had accepted online donations from people named "Doodad Pro" and "Good Will." The "Good Will" donor said his employer was "Loving" and his occupations was "You." The address he submitted was for a GoodWill Industries store.

Before Isikoff wrote his piece, several conservative blogs had discussed some of these odd-sounding donations as well.

RNC General Counsel Sean Carincross said various press reports have called into question at least 11,500 donors names. Those names donated approximately $33.8 million to Obama's campaign.

Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot on NRO is one who's been writing about these illegal foreign contributions and has a pretty good guess what the FEC will be looking into.

My guess is that it is based on these reports, that had a "Good Will" of Austin, Texas, giving $17,375 in 1,000 separate donations, mostly in amounts of $25 to avoid FEC disclosure requirements, as well as “Pro, Doodad,” from “Nando, NY,” who gave $19,500 in 786 separate donations, most of them for $25.

Neil Diamond: 'Man of God'!

I heard one of Neil Diamond’s new songs on the radio, I think it might have been “Man of God,” and it made me wonder if he’s gotten saved.

He's still rockin' and rollin' and his new record is the first No. 1 in his long career, says a story about him on his latest tour in the Noo Yawk Times: The Marathon Man of Pop

Always a strong concert draw, he has been making more money on the road than ever before, grossing $168 million over his last three tours, according to Billboard. And in May his 46th album on the Billboard charts, “Home Before Dark” (Columbia) — a set of stripped-down and reflective songs produced by Rick Rubin, who recorded Johnny Cash’s last releases — became his first to reach No. 1.

Like Cash in his last years, Rubin is bringing Diamond to a new generation, but some of the old-timers admit they don't care for the new and improved version, with his new songs.

Linda Aronie, a 56-year-old fan from Canton, Conn., said after the show that she was lukewarm about the new material. “I have to be honest, I’m not crazy about it,” she said. “It just doesn’t seem like him.”

Mr. Diamond said he was not bothered by the response to the new songs.

“I already have ‘Sweet Caroline,’ ” he said. “Most of these people haven’t heard ‘Hell Yeah’ or ‘Man of God,’ but I see them and they’re listening, and that’s really all I want.”

Toward the end of the concert, right after a string of megahits, including “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “I’m a Believer,” which he wrote for the Monkees, Mr. Diamond told the crowd he had no plans for retirement.

“This is my job,” he said. “Someone much greater than me gave me that job. He said, ‘You, you with that stupid look on your face — go out and sing until I tell you to stop.’ I haven’t heard the word yet so I’m just going to keep doing it.”

Wow, an old rocker talking about his calling from "Someone much greater than me." Rock on, Neil.