The Afternoon Nap

Wrote About This Six Months Ago...

2011-03-03T16:31:00.004-05:00

Back in August I wrote a post about the misguided housing policies of the past and called for some of the more egregious violations of common sense to be stopped. The Obama administration had front and center in most of these policies the typical knee jerk reaction of liberals to either tax, spend or regulate something to death in order to "fix" it. I noted HAMP which is really just a scheme using taxpayer money to prevent foreclosures. It is based on bribery pure and simple. Here is Kevin Williamson of National Review summing it up today in an article over at NRO:

...paying the banks to modify (or pretend to consider modifying) mortgages that they really had no business or interest in modifying. And administration of the program was entrusted to Financial Public Enemy No. 1: Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that did so much to inflate the housing bubble in the first place while enriching its politically connected executives and committing a sustained campaign of outright financial fraud. An economically meretricious bank-bribery scheme run by a known criminal organization: That’s the foundation of the Obama administration’s housing strategy.

Enough already with this harebrained scheme that clearly doesn't work, and was actually set up to never truly work. Setting it up so the incentive to homeowners is to actively skip payments to maybe get one of these trial modifications that I noted in August were not converted to permanent modifications. So I am happy to report that the Republican congress is in the process of sending this ridiculousness to the trash heap of history. Elections do indeed have consequences.

Judge Vinson Decision on Individual Mandate

2011-02-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

I really couldn't break it down any better than the good people over at Volokh. I can't stress enough, if you want good legal news that is the go-to blog. Here is Ilya Somin's piece:

Florida District Court Ruling

As he mentions the weaknesses in the Virginia decision he lays out why Vinson's opinion will hold more weight once this gets to the Appeals Court and then eventually to the Supremes (which we all believe this is where we are headed). Well it is good reading nonetheless and should arm you with some basic facts to debunk any ObamaCare® lovers.

SOTU In Summary

2011-01-26T01:42:00.000-05:00

Two words really come to mind: flat and mindnumbing. I know by now the conventional wisdom is solidifying and fossilizing before the morning news tomorrow. He has made some fantastic speeches in the past, this was not one of them my friends. It drifted quite a bit even if it did stay with the recurring "win the future" theme. Which coincidentally was the title of a Newt Gingrich book, well it's called Winning The Future....close enough.

In many ways this speech came off as the first of the 2012 campaign, and before the last person left Statuary Hall predictably the boys over at OFA had their fundraising gears cranked up. He spoke a lot of investment, basically alluding that much is accomplished ONLY with the help of government. The whole Sputnik moment thing that he brought up. He should know that the entire Apollo program cost only 1/7th of his ginormous craptastic stimulus bill that accomplished zero. Costs aside, effective limited government is what the people want, they ran to the mountaintops and screamed that down to everyone in November's elections. Spending willy-nilly until we reach a circumstance like all of western Europe and their painful austerity measures, is something that we agree cannot happen. The time to grab onto the third rail of politics (entitlements) is here. The problem is that you have a President and a party deathly afraid of addressing such things. A party that identifies success in terms of how big can we make this program, how much can we spend on it. No regards for how efficient or how many people will it help, the primary interest is the level of increase in size and scope of government.

So with that constant underlying theme of wanting more government "investment", how can that be reconciled with the results of the November elections? The elections told you to stop the profligate spending Mr. President. The elections asked you to take a step back and think of the ramifications of such government largesse. And what have you returned with? You have basically ignored the deficit commissions recommendations on entitlement reform. At the end of the day entitlement reform will only happen if the President proposes it first. If he is serious about deficit reduction, which is questionable, he will do something about it now. Republicans controlling one chamber of Congress can only get so much done on this front and it is something they have learned from the Gingrich years. It is near impossible to accomplish anything unless the President is a willing participant, and that was with both chambers under Republican control. Freezing spending is all well and good, but freezing it at the current levels that you have brought it up to (25% increase since 2009) will not accomplish much at reducing a damn thing. It's basic math.

I think Paul Ryan's response was pointed and hit on ALL of the themes that American voters took with them to the ballot box in November. When you get the unenviable task of responding to the SOTU regardless of party it is not always to get noticed. You don't have the applause lines or the great setting of a joint session so it's a tough gig. I have included the link here to check out the full ten minutes of the speech.

All that being said I was glad President Obama didn't resort to the cheap shots, like he did last year regarding the SCOTUS' Citizens United decision, or any rank partisan hackery that has been his calling card the last two years. I guess this is part of the new Obama with Daley running the message. Then again he does have an election to win in 22 months, now is the time to go back into the Hope and Change® well. I sure "hope" America doesn't fall for that shtick again.

The Case For Repeal

2011-01-20T20:49:00.001-05:00

As I continue the internal struggle of whether to keep writing this blog or not, an issue comes up that requires my attention. A lot of issues have come up in the last month that piqued my interest (or raised the level of bile in my gut), most notably the shrieks coming from the Left regarding the Giffords shooting. That has been dissected and talked about by a lot of people. At the end of the day we all knew the Left was going to react in such a way. They are incapable of restraining themselves when creating a fallacious meme attacking the Right or others who don't think like they do. The Daily Kos, Media Matters, and MSNBC types are a fairly disgusting bunch so I won't give them much more column space than that. Hypocrisy is a term that gets thrown around in politics often (ironically it is the Left and their Holden Caulfield worshipping asses that sees hypocrisy as some sort of crime against humanity), but the paranoid hysterics emanating from the aforementioned media outlets shows if the shoe fits they need to wear it.

What I really wanted to discuss was yesterday's vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act or whatever nonsense the Democrats named the monstrous health care law. The debate itself is actually showing the Republican party as one of cohesiveness and purposed principled messaging. While the Democrats are once again throwing out everything and anything hoping it sticks with the American public. Whining things such as 'repeal will increase the deficit' (um when did they ever give a crap about that? Not to mention the argument is specious on its face), the oldie but goodie 'Republicans want to steal your Medicare grandma' and then there is nugget from Sheila Jackson Lee....noted constitutional scholar:

Seriously this is her argument? This is the Democratic Party line? They can't seem to get the fact that the American people, most notably seniors, understand that ObamaCare® would actually strip Medicare benefits (as it has already done so as some provisions of the law go into effect this year). And as Cavuto notes in the video, the woman in the video would get care regardless.

Charles Krauthammer was on O'Reilly the other night illustrating the fact that Democrats have already lost the argument over ObamaCare®, it was called the November elections. I agree with the point that Republicans after failing to repeal the whole thing, need to go after the individual mandate. Now once again it is something that has no chance of passing the President's desk without a veto stamp BUT it would be a politically difficult corner to back out of for the President come 2012. The only way to get this thing fixed for good is to have a Republican president in 2013, new majority in the Senate (not far fetched, the Democrats must defend 23 seats and many are in red states) and take the whole thing down. What can happen for now is to repeal certain pieces of it with new legislation. Having the individual mandate fail without the rest of it coming down could cause more problems than outright 100% repeal if other portions are not fixed (pre-existing conditions, the companies that are exempt from complying, etc.) that skew the risk pool. The whole scheme relies on everyone paying into that same risk pool. I have pointed out before that the individual mandate's questionable validity should be the linchpin of the PR strategy to unravel this disaster. It is still highly unpopular as it is unprecedented to have the federal government force you to purchase any private product. We have 28 states that filed a lawsuit contesting the federal government's overreach into health care. A cost that is usually a state budget's biggest nut. This tinkering with individual states' economies is destructive, couple it with that constitutionally questionable mandate and it should make for a compelling case in the courts, and with public opinion over the next year.

Oh I can hear some of my friends on the left saying, "Well then what exactly do you want, the Republicans don't say what they would change it to"....um yeah they have said it and so have most of the conservative punditry, check some of the proposals outlined in these two sources here and here. "Why didn't you guys do something back in the 90's when you had majorities, man?"....ugh really? There was no mandate for either party to massively and comprehensively overhaul the system. Did you all forget Hillary's foray into comprehensive health care reform? Crash and burn...with Democrats controlling the House, Senate and White House. How soon we forget, huh? If not for the Hillarycare debacle and some other missteps in 1993 and 1994 we wouldn't have had the Republican majorities starting '94.

Civility, My Ass

In the spirit of the new civil tone President Obama called for in his excellent speech last week (no seriously it hit all the right marks and was very eloquently delivered....albeit in a gymnasium with a bunch of screaming Obamabots, not in good taste but I don't blame him entirely for that), I report to you the latest on how Democrats and those on the left are embracing the civility:

By the way, nice job by Anderson Cooper grilling this idiot. And then you have Chris Matthews calling Michele Bachmann a "nut case" again here. Yes I know I should not expect much from the lefties on MSNBC and if we have learned anything at all in the last 10 days it would be this: Civility as defined by the progressive left is quite simply you must agree with me or you are an idiot and have no right to add to discourse. I will deem you uncivil for daring to question me.

Thrown Under The (Omni)Bus

2010-12-17T12:44:00.001-05:00

Last night was truly a big moment for the 112th Congress, even if we are still in the death throes of the 111th. It also left the White House exposed thanks to Harry Reid's cynical attempt to corner Republicans to vote for it (mostly the appropriators) and thereby stripping Republicans of the 'fiscally responsible' mantle in the next congress. Well it failed on an epic level, hurting the White House who said they approved of passage of this pork strapped disaster. In the end Harry Reid, Democrats and President Obama are the big losers in this risky gambit.

Jen Rubin over at the Washington Post put it this way:

"Think about it for a moment. Reid, for no good reason, forced the president out on a limb (recall that President Obama endorsed this mess of a bill) and helped the Republicans to cement their image as the more fiscally disciplined of the two parties."

So the title of this post is quite accurate, in a single move the Majority Leader may have thrown his whole party under the bus. At the same moment he did this, he illustrated the importance of the tea party activists since they were instrumental in defeating this bill. Looks like we may have a Merry Christmas after all.

Did I Miss Anything?

2010-12-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

Being on hiatus recently, and not having the luxury of a co-blogger, I realized that if you turn your back for more than a day or two this administration can f*#k things up pretty quickly...handing you reams of bloggable material. This entry isn't to simply excoriate President Obama for the sake of calling him what he is, incompetent. Well OK maybe it is, in a slightly backhanded way. It's really a commentary on how the hard progressive left really controls whether this President is seen as a failure or success. The Republicans have had no legislative clout for the first two years. An almost 70 seat minority in the House, and a near filibuster proof minority in the Senate. Yet, with all of that "success", nothing but dissension in the Democrat ranks.

So I spent this morning catching up on the latest and culled some comments from various sources that offered up some cogent analysis on the possible tax cut compromise's failure, and the ramifications. First some political porn:

This is classic for two reasons, (1) it’s libs (or socialist in Larry O'Donnell's case) eating their own and (2) it is finally exposing the Democrat Party canard for the last 9 years that the Bush tax cuts only helped the wealthy. Some are now actually admitting after 9 years (because it is convenient for them to do so) that it helped ALL brackets. Disingenuous, every last one of them.

P.S. to this…ummm yeah wonder which party is going to enjoy having this argument in 2 years (when they expire once again). Insert my evil laugh here.

Also if this tax cut compromise (which a lot of us do not love but we’ll live with it) can’t get through because of Democrat opposition which is hot and heavy…this President can mail it in. He will be the lamest duck ever only two years in. He will have shown he has no pull within his own damn party. Pathetic.

Over at Red State:

"The obvious lesson, if the deal collapses, will be that Obama can't deliver anything -- he can be pushed into compromise with GOP priorities, as he wouldn't before the election, but he can't bring along his own caucus, which has suffered so many losses for following his lead. Liberals will learn that they are better off striking their own distance from an unpopular and increasingly impotent leader. And heavy liberal opposition to the deal will make it impossible to blame DeMint or Republicans for the collapse, and will encourage conservatives to push for even fewer compromises with Obama in 2011. That calculus of legislative forces will make it hard for Obama to plan for the other leg of the Clinton strategy, a budget battle in which the GOP blinks. Obama can try to use the whole mess to argue that 'Washington is broken' and all that, but it's a hard argument to make from the Rose Garden."

Robert Stacy McCain:

"Looking at the list of more than 50 House Democrats who signed the Welch letter, I see several names -- including Paul Kanjorski, Jim Oberstar and Alan Grayson -- of Democrats who got beat in the midterm election. Their careers are over and so they've got a political free-pass for these lame ducks to take a stand on 'principle,' possibly resulting in a no-deal meltdown that results in Americans paying higher taxes next year. And maybe, as Larry Summers warns, pushing the economy into a double-dip recession. Because of hate. Liberals hate rich people, and they don't care if the rest of us suffer, just so they get to inflict some pain on the rich."

David Letterman, last night: "So it's the Bush tax cuts for two more years, then, uh . . . it will be up to President Palin."

Updated Top Ten List And Final Election Day Analysis

2010-11-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

I wrote a column a week before the midterm showcasing the races where I most wanted defeat for the Democrats. Well not bad, I batted .500, which if I were playing baseball I would be in the hall of fame. Since I am not playing nor am I going into ANY hall of fame, I will hold back on the self congratulations. It worked out that my bottom three and top two got fired last week. Well at least them returning to the private sector will create or save a job in their districts, we should treat it as good news. Somehow Raul Grijalva held on in AZ-7 against political newcomer and rocket scientist Ruth McClung by about three points, the others that survived on my list all got varying degrees of scare put into them. Rush Holt, Frank Pallone, Barney Frank, and John Dingell survived with much lower than usual victory margins. In districts were the Democrat usually wins these races with 65-70% of the vote (except AZ-7...it's nominally Democrat), Dingell did the best of all with 57%.

Now to the guys who did make it in, congrats to Allen West (FL-22), Michael Grimm (NY-13), Bobby Schilling (IL-17), Mike Kelly (PA-3), and the dragonslayer Daniel Webster(FL-8). Alan Grayson is now available for any segment on The Ed Show come January, fantastic.

The hope is for this wave election to not be in vain, the American people must hold the new majority accountable for any straying from limited government principles. This is the girl that got you to the dance so now it's time to deliver. Continue fighting for those principles, continue to show that we as a nation have a clear alternative between two parties that see this country very differently. If you can consistently show that, the Democrats are the ones who become the regional party. They will hold the Northeast (and even that is slipping from them), West Coast and select cities and that's really it. If you look at the map I posted yesterday it is almost a carbon copy of how the voting went in 2004 for President Bush. Republicans must also start to make inroads with Latino voters as President Bush had in 2000 and 2004. This is where a smart Republican face on the issue of legal immigration like Marco Rubio can be a huge asset. His ability to talk to Latinos and his overall articulation of conservative principles makes him a powerful weapon to have. If the party and leadership plays their cards right, it will actually be quite easy to oust the sitting President in two years*.

With that being said I leave you with Marco's words on election night. He shows he understands that this is not an embrace of the brand of Republican but a second chance for them to get it right, to deliver on the right principles going forward:

*barring any domestic terror attack or extremely dramatic improvement in the economy

Back From Vacation

2010-11-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

To my dedicated (but sparse) readership I apologize for being away so long, especially considering the big election last week. That's a quick way to get my political blogging membership card revoked. Last Tuesday was a big day and I hope all of you went out there and did your part to bring victory and stop the liberal progressive agenda. And if you happen to be one of those liberals here is a souvenir I brought back from my break:

Who's the regional party now?

The danger here is for the Republican Party to misread what happened here last week. It was not an open embrace for the brand of Republican, it was a full out rebuke of progressivism. Quite simply just that, and if they go back to their own big government tendencies they had in the last couple years of their majority, they will be banished to the hinterlands for a long time to come. I do not believe that will happen, for one the leadership is different. John Boehner is a tough bastard and is no Newt Gingrich with higher aspirations. He has set out the course of Congress already by making it clear that they are there to respond to the President's agenda and speak for the voters that sent them there to oppose that agenda. That is all the House can do without having the White House and Senate under the same party rule. Without the authority to override a Presidential veto, you don't really have the power to force their hand. It is the beauty of the design of our bicameral legislative body. What you can do is force the President to sit down with you to get anything through. In the House you have the purse strings, so when Obama sends you a budget replete with big spending, hack it up. In an odd twist it may be a good thing to have the Senate still controlled by Democrats, President Obama can't paint the Republicans as obstructing the agenda or position himself as Harry Truman and call this the "Do-Nothing" Congress. With 30 plus Senate seats up for re-election in two years (majority of them Democrats) the clear incentive for those due to lose their jobs in 2012 is to listen to what the electorate screamed out so loud and clear last Tuesday, "Enough of big government!".

Secondly, and most important, the people going to D.C. are committed to limited government principles and will form a more right leaning coalition than even what was present after 1994's takeover. The force of the Tea Party will also be holding a lot of these Reps' feet to the fire for any acquiescence to liberalism. So it will be interesting to see how the President starts to position himself and if he actually learned anything over the last two years. Will he actually understand the country he is governing, limited government is the tradition and if he doesn't grasp that fact it could be a long two years until we get his replacement.

It's obvious that some on the left still do not get it. Hearing that Pelosi wants to maintain her leadership has some of the few moderates left in the Democrat caucus shaking their heads and openly announcing a challenge to her becoming Minority Leader. It would be a devastating blow to the Democrats' national chances in 2012 if she gets her wish, since it would leave in place the same triumvirate of Obama-Reid-Pelosi as the faces of the party. Ouch.

My Top 10 House Dems That Should Be Unemployed

2010-10-26T15:22:00.002-04:00

With a week to go and while processing all the information of the last 18 months I have come up with a list of Democrats that most need to go on November 2nd. These all have a varying degree of possibility but with the final stretch coming, visit the sites of their opponents and Tweet, Facebook or whatever you like to do to promote them. Feel free to add to the list or discuss:

10. Ron Klein (FL-22) - Admittedly he isn't one of the biggest libs in the Congress, National Journal has him at 58% on the liberal side. He is solely on this list for the despicable pathetic campaign he is running against the guy he beat in 2008, Allen West. Lt. Col. West is an articulate conservative voice that is emphasizing America's exceptionalism and a coherent policy on Israel/Palestine. Ron Klein even shipped in the über liberal Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for a recent protest outside of West's office. Lame.

9. Mike McMahon (NY-13) - This is a district that contains all of Staten Island, the only borough of the city that is reliably Republican. McMahon took advantage of Vito Fossella's problems in 2008 to win but he has a real battle on his hands with former FBI agent, former U.S. Marine Michael Grimm. New York would be lucky to have a guy like this in their delegation considering the sad state of politics occurring all around them.

8. Phil Hare (IL-17) - This one is simple, watch here. We need more people who actually understand the document they swore to uphold. So here the choice is easy, Bobby Schilling.

7. Rush Holt (NJ-12) - The race here is much closer than most people think and will be Rush's toughest defense yet. This is personal since this is the district I actually live in and have supported Scott Sipprelle from the outset. Monmouth University polling (which is notoriously inaccurate but the only non-partisan polling available) has this race close to the margin of error, with Rush up by 5. The district went 58-41 for Obama in 2008, so it would be a major upset if Scott somehow pulls this off.

6. Raul Grijalva (AZ-7) – Raul is the representative who suggested businesses boycott his own state. In the current economic environment to actually advocate for business going ELSEWHERE is just ignorant. He just figured the heavy Democratic demographic would insulate him. He just didn’t bank on Ruth McClung, a rocket scientist….no really she is.

5. Frank Pallone (NJ-6) – Another NJ Democrat who has been safe for decades is finally getting a run for his money. His open support and campaigning for the healthcare legislation has made him relatively vulnerable. This is a guy who usually wins with around 70% of the vote but is barely cracking 50 in all of the polling. Vulnerable for sure and Anna Little is running an active campaign, but I think the demographics will win out and Pallone is back. This is the district I used to live in, so again it’s personal.

4. John Dingell (MI-15) – A Dingell has held this seat since 1933, yep you read that right. His dad held it from 33-55 and John has been there since. It contains the very liberal area of Ann Arbor so for this seat to be competitive at all is surprising but there are some signs that it is. Dingell is actually campaigning and running ads, something he probably hasn’t had to do in 50 years. The fact that he is still there after all this time reflects how robotic this district has voted for him, will the Republican wave be enough to propel Dr. Rob Steele? Let’s hope so.

3. Barney Frank (MA-4) – Now we get to the real dirtbags. Tough to summarize the negatives on Frank, they are myriad. Another Rep who has been serving way too long. This is his first real challenge and the strain is showing. Sean Bielat is an ex-Marine who has campaigned strong and debated Frank capably so let’s see where this goes. Hopefully Barney’s days are numbered. If around 9pm next Tuesday this seat flips to Republicans it could be a VERY long night for Democrats.

2. Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) – As one of the Stupak Democrats who held out for the phony assurance that abortions would not be federally funded in ObamaCare, she has shown herself as the worst kind of politician...pandering. This district is nominally Republican (went for Bush twice and McCain in 2008), so what has she done? But predictably vote against her own district time and time again to be one of Pelosi’s lap dogs. These are the types of Democrats that will find themselves extinct come November 3rd. Mike Kelly looks to take this handily and let’s hope he does.

1. Alan Grayson (FL-8) – Here is the king of all scum progressives here. The fact that he is lionized by the left as some sort of principled crusader says so much about the current state of debate on the Left. Daniel Webster is poised to crush this little angry man out of Congress and sending him to a host chair on MSNBC. I have pointed out the questionable tactics and his over the top rhetoric as good enough reason to never have to hear him debate on the floor of the House, ever again.

So there’s my list, will follow up on November 3rd.

Left In Trouble

2010-10-22T14:47:00.002-04:00

The Left is losing credibility every day with the average American. True, the Left will always succeed with sucking in the people who live in echo chambers, L.A.,S.F and New York specifically. What is becoming apparent is that by hijacking certain media outlets with their orthodoxy they have created centers of intolerance, not necessarily to people but to ideas. If you don't share the idea you are out. This is what has happened to Juan Williams over at NPR. What other reason can you cite to fire someone, a journalist no doubt, who you pay for their opinions? Especially when what he said was cautioning about painting with a broad brush and using his own visceral experience to illustrate it...but I doubt any of these idiots listened to the whole 6 minute segment on O'Reilly. This is not to say there aren't fireable offenses when you make opinions, if they are offensive or say maybe directed at your bosses on air then yeah you probably should have thought before you spoke. I think most level headed people would after hearing all of Juan's comments would not think he was offensive.

At the end of the day the reason NPR gave was in not so many words "Hey Juan, we don't like that you go on Fox News". The current leadership at NPR (a federally funded disaster masquerading as serious news gathering increasingly being influenced by the irrational Soros left and whose money was used to employ about 100 or so "reporters") was growing uncomfortable with a man appearing with the likes of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on a network they hate. Look I dislike MSNBC's lineup of half wits (Ed Schultz anyone?) but I certainly do not deny their right to talk and give opinion...switch the channel if you don't like it, which by the looks of their ratings it seems most people do exactly that, but I digress. What they would see, if any of these leftists actually watched Juan's appearances, was that he was there to challenge a lot of their views. Especially with Hannity, he was there as a foil most times. Anyone who has listened to Juan or read any of Juan's excellent books would realize he is a man of the left and certainly not a bigot. Granted he's not one of these Soros funded, Kos loving rejects on the hard left....but one of level headed thought and opinion. God knows listening to him sometimes (especially in defense of some of the more liberal aspects of the current administration) made this conservative guy cringe BUT always he was classy and articulate with his opinions. In the end he was spreading those views on a network, where let's face it, most of the audience is not liberal. Isn't that what news opinion is all about? Exposing yourself to someone who doesn't think like you and one that does so without ad hominem B.S. like Olbermann and Schultz? A-ha but that is exactly what gets him fired, exposing himself to the much hated Fox News. He didn't think like the Soros, MoveOn.org,DailyKos, and Media Matters intellectual midgets so he must be kicked out of the clubhouse.

He made an astute observation in his interview today with George Stephanopolous, he said that growing up in New York and being a man of the left, he "always thought it was the right-wing that was inflexible and intolerant" and how this episode has made him re-think that position in regards to the type of leftists controlling NPR. He notes the ad hominem attack, which is the favorite tactic of the intellectually dishonest. I mean look at all those who stood up for him, all on the right and some on the left. Coincidentally it is many of the same people on the right who called out the administration for firing Shirley Sherrod this summer without having the whole picture, um why did the left direct their outrage at the media outlet for leaking the speech (breitbart) and not the government for the knee-jerk reaction? Two words: partisan hackery.

It is clear that the American public have a distaste for political correctness but even more so if their media outlets display it. They feel that commonsense has left the building and that many times they are being talked down to (that's because we are) by their traditional media outlets. In many cases they are correct, the Juan Willams situation only reaffirms that we have a long way to go to marginalize this type of 1st Amendment application by convenience. The establishment clause guarantees that we have a right to a free press and free speech, not sure if MediaMatters or NPR got the memo. One called for his firing and the other actually did it, pathetic. Their continuing position is one of pettiness and now they are upset that people on the right are defending him? Laughable stuff here. Hate to break it to the irrational left, the sales pitch of your ideology to the American public (outside of your usual precincts) is becoming stale. Americans thankfully are smart enough to see knee jerk hypocrisy when it occurs. Talk to me on November 3rd...

UPDATE: Suggested reading: Is Nina Totenberg Next? or Is Mara Liasson Next? That last piece from Mediaite points out that Boehlert of MediaMatters has already contacted NPR about Mara. That's where it all started with Juan. I sometimes wonder if the progressives thought 1984 by Orwell was a playbook and not the cautionary tale it was supposed to be. These are just more examples of, if you don't employ "goodthink" you are out of the left...you just aren't liberal.

12 Days Left....

2010-10-21T12:53:00.001-04:00

I am not usually one for hyperbole on this blog or in my personal life. Sometimes in my rhetoric I get heated and passionate but I try not venture into the realm of partisan hackery and the illogical. I support conservative and libertarian principles, and those on either side of the aisle that just don't get it will have me looking askance at them. That being said this is the most important election in our lifetime. I know that the phrase gets thrown around every four years like clockwork for the Presidential elections, but this time I actually agree with it. Why is it that important?

In the last two short years (and to a greater extent the last 4) we have seen a fundamental shift in the way America conducts itself here at home and abroad. We have for the first time since Woodrow Wilson, a man in the White House combined with both houses of Congress so married to the Progressive agenda. I say Wilson and not FDR because in Wilson's day both parties were progressive, it wasn't until the rise of fascism and Nazism in the 1920's and 1930's did Conservatives (classical liberals) start to take root in American politics (Calvin Coolidge being elected is the prime example). They did so out of response to the obvious similarities between the Progressive agenda and what was happening in Italy, the Soviet Union and to an extent Nazi Germany (minus the part about rounding up Jews). Having all those progressives so entrenched in everyday legislation brought on policies that ran so far afoul of the Constitution. Some of the highlights of the Wilson era: Federal Reserve Bank, Revenue Act (our lovely progressive income tax established), Lever Act (our first real agribusiness subsidies), and of course his love of nation building (which is a true progressive infatuation). Won't even mention many of the civil right crushing initiatives during WW1. He was the stereotypical elite technocrat, believing our society was best run by people like himself....former president of Princeton, published author,etc.

So why on earth do I invoke Wilson in my call for electoral upheaval on November 2nd? We currently have a ruling class in Washington that believes very much like those turn of the 20th Century progressives. The technocrats and bureaucrats have a better understanding of how this country should be run is their line of thought. They know better than our Founding Fathers and documents, that is the crux of their argument and why they desire power. I along with millions of others in the majority soundly reject this viewpoint. This election will be about America's exceptionalism, whether we want to be grounded in the founding documents that created the world's greatest human experiment or, whether we want to continue down the road of progressivism and the failing road that Europe has so expertly laid out for us. The choice is clear, the modern Democratic party has no place for believers of individual liberty and the free market system. This video here sums up the choice (H/T Red State and Ben Howe)

Right Klik: Juan Williams Not Sufficiently Islamophobic for NPR

2010-10-21T01:14:00.001-04:00

Nice breakdown by RightKlik:

Right Klik: Juan Williams Not Sufficiently Islamophobic for NPR

NPR...Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work

2010-10-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

Will someone please tell me where in today's society we need National Public Radio. They are a worthless cash drain on the American taxpayer, granted it isn't much but anything more than $1 is a waste. Now they have collapsed to the political correctness lynch mob known as thinkprogress.org (not linking to that den of dirtbags) and the HuffPo. The late breaking story tonight is Juan Williams getting fired over at NPR for making some comments on O'Reilly's show the other night. I actually happened to catch it and he really wasn't saying anything off the wall that in post 9/11 America we all haven't thought ourselves. But then again our employer isn't NPR and most of us don't have to answer to the irrational Leftist bloggers.

Here are a couple of the stories linked here:

Screw Free Speech-Big Journalism

Firing Offense - Michelle Malkin

Narratives In Chief

2010-10-20T11:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday two stories went kind of viral but with exactly the same theme. Regardless of facts or history the Left's narrative in the media always triumphs.

First the O'Donnell supposed gaffe in her debate with Chris Coons. In case you have been under a rock or really do not pay attention to the news the last two days, Christine O'Donnell gave this "ridiculous" answer in her debate in response to a question regarding local school boards teaching intelligent design and separation of church and state:

O'Donnell: "Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state?"
Crowd of ignorant Widener Law students: audible laughing

As I have had many discussions with my liberal friends over the years, they too believe this is in the Establishment Clause. You know what, I used to think that as well because that is what school taught me. That the 1st Amendment creates a wall between church and state, even though it does not expressly say so. The liberals that run the media and your schooling have been peddling this bull since the 1940's in an attempt to marginalize any religious person running for office. This phantom separation was first spit out in a landmark 1878 Supreme Court case Reynolds v. United States. It had to do with the Mormons in Utah or something to that effect (I'm not the legal scholar....yet). In the decision they contort Thomas Jefferson's writing to a Baptist convention in 1802. Ever since then and after another decision in 1947 (Everson v. Board of Education) we are taught that there is separation of church and state and it is guaranteed by the Constitution. We are somehow made to believe that a nation founded on religious freedom has no place for a congressman or woman to hold personal religious faith and have it guide their morality. Well that is exactly what the Progressives have in mind, it is to strike religion out of the heart of the people by marginalizing it. Making it seem "wacky" or un-scientific. Ann Althouse breaks down the exchange as such:

Plainly, the Constitution does not say "separation of church and state," so there's nothing stupid there. It's provocative, because many people like that gloss on the text.

Coons responded that O'Donnell's question "reveals her fundamental misunderstanding of what our Constitution is. ... The First Amendment establishes a separation."
He's talking about interpretations of the text, and she was talking about the text. What we're hearing is 2 individuals talking past each other.

She interrupted to say, "The First Amendment does? ... So you're telling me that the separation of church and state, the phrase 'separation of church and state,' is in the First Amendment?"
She's telling him to pay attention to her limited point about the text.

So as I said earlier what's so ridiculous about her answer? It's a stupid answer to them because it fits the preconceived notions that a)she's an idiot and b)she's a Conservative...usually in the media those go hand in hand. When in actuality she gives a perfectly nuanced answer showing her understanding of the history and the facts. Then she asks him what are the five guaranteed rights in the Establishment Clause and he can't name them...he went to Yale Law. Why does the media not jump on him? Oh yeah it doesn't fit their narrative.

The second story is more of the typical Palin idiocy from the Left. She has been living in their heads rent-free for a few years now. They just can't take it, and it's funny to watch. It stems from a recent speech she made and telling her largely tea party flavored crowd to not "party like it's 1773" and to make sure to get out and vote. Holy cow the immediate outrage from the online Lefties was great and classic. Cuffy Meigs over at Perfunction blog broke it and catalogued all the stupidity on Twitter:

Historic Illiteracy

Well if that doesn't sum up the Left's problem in a nutshell I don't know what does. Before those people could think about what she actually said they jumped all over it as a supposed gaffe. Because once again the narrative is Sarah Palin = idiot. Therefore anything she says or does is idiotic. The Left's reliance on the ad hominem instead of fact bites them in the ass this time. I admit I am painting with a broad stroke as it was mostly the online Left, Daily Kos, etc. but Gwen Ifill? Really? Once again Moe Lane taking the words out of my mouth:

While I understand and expect that your average online progressive blogger has about much awareness of American history as, say . . . Oh, this is awkward. An online progressive blogger would be the actual yardstick for 'abysmally ignorant about American history.' Nonetheless, while I understand that the Online Left is dumb . . . really, Gwen Ifill. You're supposed to be one of the bright talking heads.

The Empire Strikes Back

2010-10-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

RealClearPolitics - Video - Obama On GOP: "The Empire Is Striking Back"

Seriously? Talk about desperation, cue the music...

Latest Doom Scenarios (see map below)

2010-10-15T19:24:00.001-04:00

More polling results are becoming available in House races across the country, and that is significant. As Election Day nears pollsters move to their "likely voter" methodology, and also start polling districts that were considered lost causes to one party or the other. The shocking results that seats in solid blue territory are in play or the incumbent is under that 50% threshold in those districts is very bad news for Dems. A quick look at the RCP averages for the House races shows that 212 are firmly Republican, lean R, or likely R, it is astonishing considering they only hold 178 currently. Then you start to add in the toss ups, which RCP has at around 39. If this is truly a wave election, anywhere from 60-70% of those should fall in line with the Republicans. All spelling out DOOM and a fairly significant R pickup ranging up to around 52-53 seats (1994 territory)

There is plenty of time though for some of the most disenchanted of Democrat voters to come home by election day and save some of these seats. Is that possible? Yes. Is it likely? No. The latest Gallup numbers here also had to drive a stake through any hopes of saving the House for Democrats. In the higher and lower turnout models, the preference for the Republican candidate is significant. Combine that with news like this and this and November 2nd is shaping up to be a fun night for Republicans across the country.

The View (Well Unless You Disagree)

2010-10-14T22:20:00.003-04:00

This morning on The View, those paragons of intellectual debate and integrity Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg stormed off the set of their own pathetic TV show. It was all because Bill O'Reilly mentioned truth and fact. I understand why Bill does this show every now and then...although I am not sure why anyone still watches it. He does it to push product and actually voice a contrarian opinion in an articulate manner (unlike Elisabeth Hasselbeck who allows herself to get abused and offers her insipid response here as usual). Now he does condescend at one point to Joy but anyone that watches him knows that's his "brand", and he probably shouldn't have and on his show tonight he did regret that. Well here is the video:

He points out a CNN poll that did reflect that those of us who oppose the GZ Mosque are on the 70 percent side of this 70/30 argument. True. He points out the problem Obama stepped in when he commented on the obvious (their Constitutional right) and avoided the true bone of contention (the wisdom of actually building it). Truth. Muslims in the name of their religion attacked us on 9/11 and have invoked Islam in thousands of attacks since then. True. I invite you to go ahead and click the button on the right side of this blog and visit the Religion of Peace website or Jihad Watch. More truth.

He was asked a simple question of where the disconnect was with Obama and the American public. He points out his "View" and all heck breaks loose because he offended the liberal sensibility, the liberal love with political correctness. Their constant need to break down your speech. Their love affair with not offending Muslims. After nine years have we not figured out the difference between regular peace loving Muslims and these radicals. I refuse to use the word extremist, their tactics are extreme but there is plenty of evidence to back the fact that their narrative of Muslims being persecuted by the West is actually quite common and accepted in the Arab world. If it wasn't for Dr. Zuhdi Jasser I would be of the opinion that there are NO public Muslim voices denouncing the atrocities committed by Sharia loving Muslims worldwide.

Let me address Whoopi's particular sense of what is good taste. Isn't she the one who has defended Mel Gibson time and again, after his wife beating and his anti-Semitic rant? Didn't her mis-understanding of our legal system let her opine that Roman Polanski didn't commit "rape rape", whatever the hell that means. Interesting that she was offended by Bill's word choice when everyone in that freaking room knew exactly what he meant. Another typical liberal trope that she spouts is this line of reasoning that "Ooooh McVeigh was a right wing extremist why aren't we identifying white people in this manner?"...Holy crap where to start with this incomprehensible line of logic. First to equate a one off wacko like Tim McVeigh with a worldwide jihad is asinine. No doubt domestic terror is a problem but larger than Islamic terror? Really? If you want to make that argument please do so in the comments below, would love to hear them. Lastly, he was no right winger, if anything he was an anarchist with a Nazi bent. If you have read anything (read that book and it will open your mind on the conventional wisdom) about the rise of socialism, Fascism (big F is Mussolini's version) and Nazism you would understand that it is not easily characterized as "right wing". Those philosophies are more closely related with Progressivism than any sort of right wing thought.

As for Joy, I really do not have much to say that she hasn't already said herself. You can see it here, here, here, here and here. Once again I have no problem with these yentas jabbering on this show talking up their views, good for them. The problem here is the overt hypocrisy, and then stomping off like children. I mean the cracks on the liberal facade of Hope And Change® are showing daily, and I understand that they just don't get it. They can't possibly understand why the majority of American people have had it with profligate spending, out of control government overreach and a President who is so coolly out of touch with American sensibility. It's the same thing over and over again for the big government lovers, how are the rest of us so stupid that we just don't see what's good for us. Don't you rubes know that the Constitution is flawed and we the technocrats and bureaucrats will fix it for you. Ok I am tired so I finish here, besides listening to Behar speak on those videos has made my ears bleed...

Al Green Dishing Out The Smooth Tunes

2010-10-14T13:06:00.001-04:00

Nope not that Al Green, this Al Green (D-SC) candidate for Senate:

But somehow I am supposed to be convinced by the MSM that Christine O'Donnell is not fit for a Senate seat? I applaud Alvin for even showing up to these interviews. I wonder if he sees just how bad he comes off, poor bastard.

Would You Have Seen This In '08

2010-10-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

Four years ago and then again two short years ago the Democrat tidal wave was sweeping in all sorts of characters (Eric Massa or Alan Grayson anyone?) on the guise of draining the swamp (2006) or Hope and Change® (2008). Along with that came the pundits screaming from all angles that the Republican party was dead and anyone associated with it would have electoral troubles in the future. Well I agree that the version of the Republican party that had been parading around Washington in the last half of the Bush administration was essentially 'Democrat-Lite'. This was a large factor in the wave elections of '06 and '08. No one could reasonably figure out which party was NOT big government. With that being said who would have thought that only after two short years you would have a Democrat running an ad touting his voting record in this manner:

Home Run

2010-10-08T11:55:00.000-04:00

Could there be a more effective ad in addressing the subject that many voters will have on their minds on November 2nd...jobs. Considering today's once again disastrous number that was released by the Labor Department, this is highly relevant. Former WWE head honcho Linda McMahon strikes a blow from the top rope on this one...call it the "people's elbow" if you like

Desperation Sets In

2010-10-08T11:18:00.002-04:00

This story below from Right Klik illustrates the continuing liberal despair. They see the only opportunity they have had since the New Deal to transform this country slipping away. The Progressive agenda is headed for a historic rebuke on November 2nd and these people just can't handle it. When your philosophy is tightly related to nihilism and fascism, you know no other way than to act in this manner. When morality does not inherently exist it is not a stretch to say to yourself, "Ahhh screw it I can get away with saying whatever I want as long as it disparages my opponent".

Between the Brown aide suggesting the campaign call Meg Whitman a "whore", to President Obama recently saying that Republicans in Congress would result in hand to hand combat, the unraveling is on full display. Keep the pressure on and with the 24/7 media this stuff will finally come out from behind the curtain.

Extreme Predatory Harassment From Online Dems

Dialing Up The Rhetoric

2010-10-07T23:20:00.001-04:00

President Obama has resigned himself to the fact that he has lost independents and is concentrating solely on riling up the base for the midterm. There is no other reason for the type of rhetoric he has been engaging in. Nevermind the fact that it is beneath his office to go toe to toe with specific lawmakers, it is the tone that is disappointing. As polls show, the gap in enthusiasm is huge between Republican and Democrat voters. Look I understand that as President you are the leader of your political party and it is your job to be a cheerleader. The problem is, with no discernible accomplishments that the public approves of he is reduced to this or this.

The best hope this President has of saving his term is to have a complete overhaul of the House with the hope some of these jittery companies get off the sidelines and into the game because of it. His agenda has done nothing but engender fear and uncertainty of economic viability for large companies let alone small businesses. This type of news that is all too common the last two years has to stop or he is one and done.

If you look at the very first graph in that last link from Gallup, you'll notice a disturbing trend in this "recovery". Technically we are in recovery as far as GDP growth, it is at an anemic annual rate of around 2% but it is there. The big problem is that graph. After topping out at 10.9% according to Gallup (it is not seasonally adjusted as the official government numbers but those have always been sketchy because of their propensity to be ever adjusted retroactively) we saw it trend back to a shade under 9% in July of this year, BUT it now finds itself creeping back over 10%. I am sure the Labor Dept. numbers that come out tomorrow will show the same trend up. How is this possible if we are in recovery? Theories abound but the most solid theory for this chronic underemployment is what I alluded to above.

Companies right now are sitting on record amounts of cash assets they are presently unwilling to part with. Think about it, if you are unsure what your future liabilities are as an individual do you not hoard a little more cash yourself? You don't go out and buy that new car, or make those home improvements. It is exactly what the business world does, especially smaller business people. In my regular nine to five life, these are the people I speak with and have spoken to over the last two years. Small businesses are unsure about everything from healthcare benefits to sales, therefore they must cut hours to present employees and not hire any new ones. When you see private sector jobs dwindling and public sector jobs increasing you start to wonder if this country has it all backwards and if our government forgot about those private enterprises. You know, the ones that actually fund all the public sector jobs.

When you see the ravages this economy has done to usually prosperous cities like New York you start to think, 'When will the downturn end?'. Unfortunately the message out of Washington is not restraint, and certainly is not centered on rebuilding the private sector. It is centered on the liberal grab bag of waste via stimulus, sweetheart deals to our public service unions, and a leviathan government looking to stick its hands in all parts of your life it doesn't belong. These are not reassurances that the people in Washington get "it", that's why you have so much shifting within the Right and the Left. People have had enough and they are ready to hold them accountable. And in the end it is why he has to resort to the inflamed rhetoric, he does not have a choice if he wants to continue on his path to "remaking America". His constituents need to hear that kind of talk or they will lose all Hope®.

Are You An Out Of Work Actor?

2010-10-07T18:03:00.000-04:00

And you just happen to be in the D.C. area October 14th. Open casting call! I wonder if SAG scale is being offered...

A ‘Casting Call’ for Obama’s MTV/BET/CMT Town Hall Meeting - By Jim Geraghty - The Campaign Spot - National Review Online

Recurring Nightmare

2010-10-07T17:09:00.001-04:00

No it's not the one you have where Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid control the legislative agenda. It's the one these Democrats must be having after all the promises of the Obamacare are falling by the wayside. I am not sure where or what the wayside is but I think it hurts when you fall by it. All joking aside, news story after news story illustrates that the Democrats were lying with a straight face for months. Hey Pelosi how about those 400,000 jobs that were supposed to be created "almost immediately" after the law was passed? Was there a statement uttered by a politician that garnered a quicker call of "BS" than that one in recent memory? When even a quarter of your Democratic voters favor a repeal of the law you know it's a P.R. disaster. Maybe that's why they brought in Mark Penn to poll this recently.

Democrats running for Congress are also running from Obamacare, Pelosi and other portions of the Obama agenda that the majority of the country is opposed to. And certain portions of the hard Left are none too happy about going out to vote feeling that Obama has watered down their Progressive agenda. He shouldn't antagonize the whiners, they pull the strings of the modern Democratic party. Not exactly a surprise really, George McGovern in 1972 is the one who pulled this party so far to the Left. It is no coincidence that it took a perceived centrist Bill Clinton to have multiple national electoral successes as a Democrat. If I have said it once I will say it a thousand times, America has a whole rejects Progressivism. The country may embrace certain ideas of it but, this midterm election and 2012 will bury huge portions of big government love (nationalized healthcare,extreme environmentalism) for good if the elected Republicans do the job people send them there to do. If you show yourself as an unabashed big government liberal you will lose nationally, oh you'll win your congressional districts in Manhattan, Detroit, and Los Angeles but the rest of the country doesn't drink Kool-Aid. See the year I mentioned above.

At the end of the day November 2nd is shaping up to be a rejection of statism, not Obama's personality or race. It will be a rejection of policies and a hope that a new Congress will be able to stem the tide of encroaching government on every aspect of your life. So Democrats need to understand it as such so we can actually have discussions regarding the merits of their policies as opposed to the usual ad hominem they deal in (i.e. O'Donnell, Angle,Whitman,etc.). Well you and I know that will never happen, since any real discussion of Progressivism leads to rejection by the majority.

Dayyyyyy-O

2010-10-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

Harry Belafonte, the godfather of American calypso music and all around Communist good guy showed his true colors once again, this time at the One Nation Rally. You know, the rally of union workers, socialists, Marxists and other assorted Americans who inherently dislike their country and its values...

They billed it as the answer to the Beck 8/28 rally. Harry mentions the Tea Party as did other speakers. Tellingly the Beck event was not political (more like a religious revival camp) much to people's surprise and much to the Left's chagrin. As you watched that clip notice all the diversity in the crowd...all the red, green, or purple shirts representing all the unions. The Commie rally over the weekend though was anything but civil as was plainly reflected by the key speakers and with this not so shocking video:

As offensive as all of this imagery is to most Americans, this is the apparatus of which the Democrats will rely upon to maintain legislative control. We must be very aware of their usual tactics and know that they are serious in their objectives. They will be busing people to the polls as they were busing people to the National Mall on Saturday. We have to continue to speak about the Obama agenda, and the continuing creep of Leftism's influence at the highest levels through their usual apparatus, the labor unions. The House is not won yet nor is the Senate, so get out to vote on November 2. Tabitha Hale over at RedState has some first person reporting from the One Nation rally here.

More On Allred

2010-09-30T23:43:00.000-04:00

I really do despise Gloria Allred. This whole Maidgate issue with Meg Whitman gets better every minute. How is it that she gets away with crap like this from the legal community, AND why does the media softball her at every turn. Much like the Hugh Hewitt interview I posted earlier she cannot answer straight questions, she just goes on and on about the fair treatment of illegals. And as usual Allred is a media whore capable of only realizing what is in it for her. She does expose her client to some serious legal ramifications. She is an illegal, has forged documents, and Ms. Allred could care less that exploiting this for political purposes could send this woman to jail and permanently damage her future attempt to become legal if she does decide to go that route. Pathetic, so thanks to Levin and Hewitt for working her over the coals.

Via Left Coast Rebel:

Mark Levin Guts, then Fillets, then Grills, Gloria Allred

Random Thoughts

2010-09-30T18:45:00.003-04:00

Some days in writing this blog I feel like there are so many things to talk about that in a fit of ADHD would rather just lay them out to you, give some quick points and then let you decide. Kind of like my version of Fox News' "We Report, You Decide". Hope they don't mind I used that. In the spirit of being a full service (using the term loosely of course) news site here are a few things that have piqued my interest.

Obamacare

This will be a recurring theme through the next month leading up the mid-term and beyond. As we start seeing some of the early implications of the bill and it's mandates, people will come to loathe this legislation more than they do now. I mean how many more stories like this, this or this are we going to have to read in order to understand that the President openly lied to the American public time and time again. I wonder why I haven't heard him say lately, "If you like your current insurance you will keep your current insurance". Anyone care to answer that question for me? Or anyone care to posit as to why Democrats running for re-election are being cautioned to not say the words "stimulus" or "healthcare" in their campaigns? Oh that's right we are all just too stupid to know all the wondrous things Dear Leader Obama has bestowed upon us. Look bottom line is that everyone that took an objective look at this piece of legislation could have predicted these types of "unintended" consequences. As I have argued before, I do not believe these consequences were at all unintended by this President and the leftist hacks that wrote the law. It will be their excuse for even more government intervention when the insurance companies have to increase rates to stay in business while keeping in compliance with the mandates.

Dirtbag Grayson

Ugh not sure why I give this guy the time of day but, found this new video a fantastic answer to his line of slimy ads. A little taste of his own medicine. H/T Townhall.com:

Meg Whitman and Maid-gate

I really question anything that weasel attorney Gloria Allred is involved in, she pulled a similar stunt before Arnold Schwarzenegger's election to governor. She gives the legal profession a bad name and the women never met a television camera she didn't like. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor in California, has run into a problem with hiring an illegal as a maid. In a not so unsurprising move, this story breaks a day after Jerry Moonbeam Brown got his clocked clean in a debate against the former CEO of eBay. Bottom line is that it seems as soon as they found out she was un-documented they had to let her go. Sour grapes? I doubt it. It's that scumweasel Allred taking advantage of a poor woman who had to get fired once she was discovered as an illegal. There seems to be some questionable timing as to when Meg Whitman found out she was illegal, but to everyone with a pulse it's a distraction. If a state that is facing massive pension underfunding, unemployment well above the national level AND cities literally stealing from their residents cannot see through to the real issues, they deserve a second round of that awful Jerry Brown. Here is a brief interview with Allred doing her usual.

Coincidence?

Does this: http://www.gallup.com/poll/143267/distrust-media-edges-record-high.aspx

have anything to do with this? : http://www.gallup.com/poll/9430/news-media-too-liberal.aspx

If the media is not trustworthy and too liberal at the same time, it would logically follow that a large chunk of this country has become wary of liberalism.

Rahm Out

The worst kept secret in Washington is finally out, Rahm will be announcing his departure from the White House to run for mayor of Chicago. The mass run to the exit continues. How can the media narrative spin this one as an overall positive for the administration? I guess we will find out tomorrow....to be continued.

Democrats Keeping It Classy

2010-09-29T16:39:00.000-04:00

Seriously this post could be forty pages long if I went ahead and pieced together every hateful comment thrown at our last President but I am going to keep this current. Yesterday I posted Alan Grayson's (D-FL) new campaign ad, today we have this video from Ohio. It actually occurred a few days ago and I am a little late to posting it. I am putting it up because just wanted to start a discussion about this downward spiral of the Leftist wing of the Democrat Party. There are some who believe this in combination with Obama's continuing divisiveness will damage the Democrats for multiple election cycles. And that the President really only has two constituencies left in his corner. Then there are Democrats who think it possible to drive Republicans to minority on a permanent basis. I'll get back to that point later but without further ado the video I promised...

Anyone want to take my 3-2 odds that he is a union member? Seems typical of their tactics, instead of respectfully engaging the interloper (or better yet ignoring him altogether as it is his right to be there) the guy in the cheesy hat decides to commit simple assault with hot coffee. Look campaigns these days send their operatives out to videotape everything, in this day of YouTube a gaffe could be viral within hours. Just deal with it like a man.

Then you've got this race baiting Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) saying :

Yes the V.C. is out to get her. My goodness. At least she is getting called out for this by the usually-can't-be-bothered media. I'm left wondering, 'So what do all these outbursts have in common?' Is it they are finally realizing their days are numbered? Do they feel we still live in the pre-Internet days when liberals could get away with this type of commentary on a regular basis without recrimination? Or do they honestly believe this is the way to further an argument? Their angle is hard to discern but my belief is that it probably is a little bit of all those reasons. The rhetoric that Democrats have been using this cycle to disparage average Americans (embodied by the Tea Party and in recent polls about 24% of whom are registered Democrats) will haunt them not only this cycle but more than likely next. It looks as if the Tea Party movement is not going anywhere and will be holding accountable the members that they helped elect. So any notion that Democrats are poised for dominance as I noted before are slightly premature. I understand the argument that Dylan Loewe makes in his book (linked above) about demographics. The trend in demographics (specifically the millennial generation that overwhelmingly is socially liberal) move towards Democrats but since he is only about 28 years old he seems to forget (or is too young to recall) that this has been said about every youth movement. His key assumption is that the politics you have has a college student are permanently with you for life. You certainly forge some values in your youth that you hold dear but, as you become more engaged with the real world those things tend to shift. Obviously not for all but, he and other liberals are delusional if they think that generation remains about 68% Democratic. The argument for Democratic dominance can be a tempting one for them to make, increasing minority populations and the millennials help them make it. Their 'fatal conceit' (apologies to Hayek) is to assume the American people as a whole are unsophisticated and, will not develop thought outside of the liberal tropes handed to them through the education system. As the famous writer, essayist and journalist P.J. O'Rourke recently said, "...paying taxes make you a Republican, logic makes you libertarian, but children make you conservative"

Alan Grayson (D-FL) = Scum

2010-09-28T11:38:00.001-04:00

Ever wonder what it would be like to have one of those Daily Kos trolls in a Congressional seat? This guy never ceases to amaze with his insanity. He is by far one of the prime one termers Republicans are targeting all across the country. They are weak and they mostly reside in Republican leaning districts. His latest ad to brand Daniel Webster as 'Taliban Dan' is about as low as it gets. But then again it's Kos and his intelligence challenged readers who have been equating the Right in this country with the Taliban for a while now. Here is his latest ad:

Well the predictable backlash has occurred, here and here. But what would you expect from the posterchild of toxic discourse. Don't need to tell most of you what the reaction would be if this was a Republican running ads like this. Especially with a track record like this. So anyone in Grayson's district, get out and vote this despicable excuse for a human out of office. Thanks we'd all appreciate it.

UPDATE: Clearly I was not the only one completely turned off by the latest in Alan Grayson's continuing assault on common sense and decency. Sadly he is still a hero to some....read: here, here and here

Union Thuggery

2010-09-27T20:41:00.000-04:00

A term which has become redundant. I guess the stuff coming out of Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, should be expected. It must suck to see in just 26 years your share of the workforce has gone from 20% to a little over 12% or a loss of about 2.4 million union members since 1983. Seeing their power and political influence over the last few decades erode has made them a little bitter, and well delusional.

Via Michelle Malkin:

[Trumka said]We have to offer working people something other than the dead-end choice between the failed agenda of greed and the voices of hate and division and violence…

…In the short term, said Trumka, the labor movement has to “recapture the moment and take control of the national conversation.” Building for the future,we need to fundamentally restructure our economy and re-establish popular control over the private corporations which have distorted our economy and hijacked our government. That’s a long-term job, but one we should start now.

Interesting take on our country and how it is run. Re-establish popular control over corporations? I am sorry Mr. Trumka but are you suggesting the "working man" just take over companies and redistribute wealth? Oh wait you may actually be succeeding at such: Teamsters Attempt to Oust Fed-Ex Chairman

Teachers' Unions Becoming Isolated

2010-09-27T18:01:00.002-04:00

This morning on the 'Today' show on NBC we had another President Obama infomercial, this one about education policy. I actually agree with much of the President's rhetoric when the subject switches to education in this country. Unfortunately the actions have not backed up the words, so I'm not completely convinced. BUT he and Secretary Arne Duncan may be the only Democrats in my recent memory to actually believe that school choice is a good thing. The teachers unions, namely the UFT (the largest branch of the AFT) and the NEA, have weilded the hammer of union influence over the Democratic Party...could that be waning? Not at the speed people who favor school choice and charter schools would prefer. But there are signs that the teachers unions are increasingly falling out of touch with the policy directives of some high profile Democrats, namely Mayor Cory Booker in Newark New Jersey, the President and Sec. Duncan. The recent documentary Waiting For Superman has exposed the unions, shined a light on our failing schools and how the decades old liberal argument of throwing wads of money after the problem has solved nothing and if anything has made it worse. Making the movie more effective is the fact that it has been produced and directed by the people who brought you An Inconvenient Truth, blunting any criticism that the movie is some right-wing hatchet job on unions. If you have been following what the Republican governor from NJ has been going through with the teachers unions you would be well versed in their tactics when the criticism comes from the Right.

While the preference is for the Federal Government to detach itself altogether from the business of educating our children, that ship has sailed and now would like their involvement minimal but at least responsible (i.e. no national standards and NO increased spending). What we have been getting over the years has been the opposite, more largesse to line the pockets of the teachers unions who then turn around and take your tax money to donate to the Democratic Party in Washington and other leftists. The unions then protect bad teachers, with the system setting up permanent job security on your tax dime. How is it your tax dime? Well the trail is quite simple, you pay property taxes to pay your public school teachers, your teachers are forced (they can opt out but it actually costs them to do so) to pay dues, and voila their dues fund the great Democratic Party machine. Look if private trade unions want to feed that animal, that's their prerogative and their memberships', but when public service unions are doing it with your tax dollars...wake up!

Which brings me to my point, as the truth about these practices, the truth about our public school system and how they fail our children come to light...the more these unions are going to find themselves politically isolated. Governor Christie (R-NJ) stated the obvious this morning, they can hop on board with reform or they can come kicking and screaming but it will get done. It is sad that it has taken Democrats and some liberals to finally see the light on the subject of school choice, but better late than never. We need more courageous politicians of either stripe to continue the fight of reform in our public schools. The hope is that gifts like the one Mark Zuckerberg made to benefit Newark schools goes to an actual paradigm change and does not continue to reward bad behavior and bad policy. I do believe it will work with the leadership of Christie and Booker, and color me cautiously optimistic that union political influence will decline with the latest public developments. That will be good for everyone involved in education, well except the heads of the UFT and NEA.

Reason #4,985 the U.N. is Useless

2010-09-27T15:11:00.001-04:00

I am really not sure how to preface this story, except that it is 100% true. The UN has shown itself to not really care about humanitarian causes, to pay no mind to personal freedom, or have any respect for the country that hosts their glorified debate society. Now I guess there are some people who actually believe this position is necessary. You know the types...the people who believe we didn't actually land on the moon, JFK was killed by the mafia, and that liberal politicians actually care about minorities on any other day but election day. Just wondering when we can get to the business of kicking out all of these third world pot bellied dictators from that prime real estate on the East Side of Manhattan. The city could actually earn some ratables off of the property as opposed to the virtually free ride the U.N. gets now.

UN to appoint space ambassador to greet alien visitors

Americans Are Stoopid

2010-09-26T18:21:00.001-04:00

The effete Senator from Massachusetts illustrates why the electorate is fed up with these ruling class types of any political stripe. It also shows quite clearly why he lost the 2004 election. He's just another über-rich limousine liberal, nothing he says here should be news to anyone who pays attention to the usual liberal tripe. Look, these types on either side of the aisle that do not get where the current atmosphere comes from, they are going to find themselves on the out.

Until they understand that Americans as a whole have had it with; 1) the ruling class spending us into unsustainable levels, 2) forcing government intervention into areas that were never intended by the founding principles and 3) that we have finally caught on to their crap while willing to do something about it....they will find the environment hostile to their usual lines of defense. So Senator Kerry thanks for making the target easy and clear for us. We appreciate it.

Via Boston Herald:
John Kerry: Democrats’ woes stem from uninformed voters

More On The Circus Sideshow

2010-09-25T00:36:00.001-04:00

This comes from Right Klik. I talked about the Colbert fiasco earlier on Friday, and by all accounts it seems it was a total fail by Democrats. It overshadowed more serious testimony occurring before the Civil Rights Commission illustrating some real live ethical and legal lapses, something that Congress used to be interested in. But why let the facts get in the way of a good time:

Forget the Clown, Listen to Coates

Will Charlie Crist Just Go Away?

2010-09-24T16:15:00.000-04:00

This from Rich Lowry, Editor of National Review. I have noted on here before the calamity that is Charlie Crist and his ideological contortions. He is a disgrace and Mr. Lowry calls him out as such.

Via NRO - The Corner

Governor Crist—

How time flies. It was only a few months ago that you were clogging our phone lines with assurances that you were a “Reagan conservative” and a committed Republican.

Since then, of course, you have only continued your sprint away from both Reagan’s party and his principles, flip-flopping on everything from Obamacare—first you were against it, then you were for it, now you’re against it again—to education reform to traditional marriage. Indeed, the only thing about you that is consistent is your willingness to do or say whatever it takes to sustain your floundering campaign for another day.
So perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised me when I saw your recent attack ad on Marco Rubio misleadingly attribute the headline “IRS Investigating Rubio Expenditures” to National Review. A minute of research would reveal that the piece referenced, posted on National Review Online on April 21, 2010, consisted of an attributed quotation from the St. Petersburg Times and a response from the Rubio campaign.

It should have been obvious that the attribution belonged to the Times. Instead, you used the reputation of National Review to attempt to undermine Rubio’s support among conservatives. Your tactic is even more tawdry considering nothing ever came of the Times story, and not even the faintest whiff of wrongdoing has attached itself to Rubio.
On behalf of NR, we demand you correct your ad, though we have no expectation that you will do so, given that you are running one of the most unscrupulous political campaigns in recent history.

Actually, maybe I shouldn’t be so pessimistic. You’ve changed your mind about everything else—why not this ad?

Sincerely,

Rich Lowry

Colbert? Really?

2010-09-24T15:33:00.002-04:00

I noticed the other day that the Democrats that run the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration wanted to bring Stephen Colbert to testify. My first thought was, 'Isn't he a comedian?' and what exactly does he bring to the table to the very serious discussion of Immigration policy in this country. The news item noted that he would be appearing "in character", good grief. For those who do not know, he pretends to be this O'Reilly type TV commentator. His brand of satire is so obvious and not at all funny. I mean every joke is to point out that Republicans are racist, homophobic, and bigots. It isn't exactly Lenny Bruce groundbreaking comedy. Successful political satire and humor generally works when it comes from an unexpected angle (The Onion on it's good days, and to an extent Jon Stewart), not from a caricature. Intelligent people can basically tell the difference. Sadly people actually get their news from this man. Pathetic. So why bring him to Congress? Well Democrats to prove a point generally don't engage in issues or legitimate discussion, rather a stunt like this to try to make Republicans look goofy and stupid is the preferred method. Predictably it doesn't reflect well on the current Congressional leadership. We have serious issues, the House has yet to produce a budget and we get Colbert Report live from D.C?! It didn't start off well either when Rep. Conyers asked him to leave the room and just submit a statement. Maybe the smartest thing he has done in decades. What a sideshow...

Then it just got ugly after that. Thank God November 2 is only 39 days away. These libs and Democrats make me ill.

There He Goes Again

2010-09-24T15:05:00.001-04:00

At a rally to support Meg Whitman in California, the big man from Jersey lays the smackdown. East Coast in the house.

The man is always professional and as I have shown in other video clips here, he knows his stuff. He will not be derailed by your yelling and screaming, or in the case of the teacher a couple of weeks ago, your eye-rolling as he answers your question.

Fan-fu**ing-tastic

2010-09-22T11:20:00.000-04:00

I have noted in this space numerous instances of Democrat insanity and desperation. Well consider this the latest installation, complete with the F-bomb. Losers...

Via Libertarian Republican:

Panic is truly setting in. Here we are little over 40 days from the election, and the Democrats are losing everywhere. And the outlook in the swing state of Ohio is especially grim.

Just released from Quinnipiac:

Governor
Republican John Kasich 54%
Democrat Ted Strickland 37%

Senate
Republican Rob Portman 55%
Democrat Lee Fischer 35%

So, last night at a Union Hall, the State Democrat Chairman Chris Redfern vented his frustration. From WTOV Channel 9:

As the United Steelworkers union was announcing its endorsement for a number of Ohio Democrats, including Gov. Ted Strickland, Chris Redfern used a variation of the F-word to describe opponents to his party's agenda.

A NEWS9 reporting crew was invited into the union hall in Clarington for the endorsement announcement, and the camera was rolling as Redfern leveled the expletive at critics in the Tea Party, who, in his words, believe health care is a privilege, not a right.

"If your kids are going to graduate from college, now he or she gets health care, your heath care, while he or she looks for a new job," Redfern said. "It's in the very base terms we win these arguments. Every time one of these [Fu*kers!] says, excuse my language..."

Note - Redfern was ranting against Tea Partyers and free market advocates who do not believe taxpayer-subsidized health care is a Constitutional right.

Inside Baseball (Updated)

2010-09-21T15:50:00.006-04:00

That's generally the term you hear when either side is engaging in process shenanigans in the Senate. If you are unaware with the way both chambers do business, it is the Senate that is steeped in procedure. So here I present to you the Democrats' latest cynical ploy...putting the DREAM act and DADT repeal into a defense spending bill. If you really believed in the DREAM act Harry Reid wouldn't you have introduced this as a separate debate. It is one totally worth having by the way because there are portions of it that are acceptable to Republicans and Democrats. If Democrats were serious about illegal immigration reform you wouldn't cloak it in a defense appropriations bill.

Same thing with Don't Ask Don't Tell. What the repeal of this has anything to do with our soldiers getting funded is beyond me. Look there are legitimate arguments for the repeal of this but to send this defense bill to a cloture vote (which does not allow the minority party to petition for amendments) knowing damn well that it won't pass is purely a political play. One that is completely unnecessary at the cost of holding up funding for the troops. To me it is always telling how the Left/Democrats bring up these issues when desperate. Then they paint the Right as the ones who are out of step with the mainstream, thereby scoring them political points (which invariably they do only with their leftist base)...it's laughable. The issue of DADT to me is best handled, as Senator McCain has said, by the heads of the respective Armed Services. At the present time they are against the repeal of the policy so end of story. They would be the ones most qualified to comment on what holds morale and motivation amongst their troops. This cynical play by the Senate Democrats is pathetic and should be seen as obvious. If you really care about these issues debate them seriously, propose them on the floor not as extraneous amendments to a funding bill. They aren't serious of course, the only thing Reid is serious about is trying to fire up the far left to go out and vote in November.

In a somewhat related story, the remarks that Lady Gaga made in front of a rally yesterday were embarrassing. People who truly do care about this subject should be careful as to who they parade out to champion the cause. Her remarks set the movement back. By suggesting to expel the soldiers who are "homophobic" because they support DADT, really is not helpful or intelligent in the slightest. She is a fruitcake and I do hope her 15 minute clock is running.

UPDATE: Classic testy McCain/reporter exchange,haha

UPDATE Part 2: More detailed breakdown of the Democrats' lack of seriousness by RedState's Dan McLaughlin

We Sure Have Come A Long Way

2010-09-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

A long way from this:

To this exchange yesterday

People were really swept up by this unrealistic fervor in 2008, not exactly a groundbreaking revelation on my part. It is the speed at which everyone has awoken from their slumber which has impressed me. Yet at every turn Democrats seem to be missing the point of the outrage. Even the President seems to be oblivious to this. There is a moment in yesterday's exchange where it seems he is ready to laugh with the woman, when at first blush it seems she will be going off on the President's critics. Some commenters over at Ace Of Spades noticed this too and nailed how his facial expression changes:

Obama thought at first she was making the point that exists only in Obama's head, that is, that these attacks are all silly distractions made by unserious people (or seriously racist people who talk about him like he's a dog). He wanted to laugh with her at how nonsensical all this criticism was. I hear ya, sister. It's ridiculous, isn't it?

But then she affirmed her own belief in the seriousness of these criticisms and he realized he wasn't going to get what he had been used to -- adulation for his lack of accomplishments. And then he grimaced.

This unique brand of arrogance emanating from the White House is dragging them down further than necessary. The President made some interesting remarks at this town hall as well. Granted they were complete and utter fabrications as he tries to position himself as a fiscal conservative. This type of disingenuous about-face is what has made this administration anathema to most of America. The turnaround of Obama the Centrist, Post-Partisan Campaigner to the hard left ideologue who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has destroyed this Presidency. How is this becoming so difficult for those in this White House to admit? There was a time when most of us believed that Emmanuel, Plouffe and Obama were politically savvy....well I guess there was also a time when people thought their mortgage was getting paid for. We have come a long way indeed.

The Rout Is On...In Most Places

2010-09-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

Jim Geraghty's latest breakdowns on the races across the country are found below. The momentum is clear and it will take a miracle of some sort to stem the rising tide but everyone on the Right must keep talking about the elections with their friends and make sure they get out to vote in their respective areas. The media will be spinning all sorts of stories like this, since they are the water carriers of the Left. It only displays sheer desperation and a realization that the high watermark of 2008 is well in the rearview for them. As always facts are stubborn things and all the numbers and facts point to a certain Democrat bloodbath. The Governor races looks like a likely 13 statehouse pickup for the Republicans. Ouch! Taking out the toss-up races, RCP has it 31-19 after November's election day. This plays a large role in redistricting after a year ending in a zero. The Senate looks out of reach even if Mike Castle was the nominee in Delaware. It would have been close but picking up ten seats was always a tall order, more importantly the almost six-seven seat pickup completely destroys the near filibuster proof majority the Democrats have had for almost two years. Control of the House is paramount though to thwart Obama's hard left agenda so let's hope the momentum continues and on November 10th we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

The Rout Is On. - The Campaign Spot - National Review Online

Man This Is Pathetic

2010-09-16T22:04:00.002-04:00

In my movie trailer voiceover voice (just pretend, OK? sheesh)......From the people who brought you the critically acclaimed "Man Caused Disaster" and "Overseas Contingency" comes the latest suspense filled, action packed, political thriller....."Global Climate Disruption"

I guess since we know that global warming isn't actually occurring as severely as the enviro lobby wished, here comes this more generic term. While Al Gore laughs all the way to the bank with his carbon trading scheme, this administration seems to have hired every technocratic hack in America to further enrich the enviro kooks. I mean look the 'War On Terror' was not the greatest name as in it wasn't all that accurate. Tough to have a war on a tactic the enemy uses but everyone in the country knew what it meant because it was plain and straightforward. Once again the Left fighting the battle on 'common sense'.

This guy John Holdren fits right in with the Progressives surrounding this President. He's a throwback to the '20's-30's era of Progressives. You know, the ones who favored eugenics. More homework for any liberal readers I have, check out what your intellectual forefathers have wrought before just assuming modern liberalism has the purer motives than anything us classical liberals propose. In the 70's this guy wrote a book called Ecoscience, gripping stuff if you favor a single mother having their baby's seized from them against their will and given to other couples to raise. Or it's a quick read if you feel that sterilizing the population through poisoning our drinking water with infertility drugs will curb population growth and natural resource depletion. Yeah just give it a tumble, I'm sure you will enjoy its lighthearted nature. I'll take my right wingers who think masturbating is dirty over this truly demented crap.

Contemplating the Price of Cheap Political Rhetoric

2010-09-15T14:28:00.000-04:00

Excellent piece as usual by Thomas Sowell. As the title of my post suggests he provides good thought and clear points on how "social justice" and other such terms affect our society and policies. Give it a read, you won't be sorry.

The Money of Fools - Article - National Review Online

Thoughts On O'Donnell in DE

2010-09-14T23:29:00.000-04:00

A few things strike me with the results in Delaware tonight. There has been a lot of Conservatives squabbling over her candidacy. One look at my Twitter feed over the last few days would make that obvious. You had some in the blogosphere and establishment GOP backing Mike Castle; and the tea party, Sarah Palin, with others in the blogosphere backing O'Donnell. I kind of stayed out of it because my thought is to leave this to the primary voters in the state of Delaware. I see the arguments on both sides, the moderate Castle while not a conservative would have gotten the Republicans one seat closer to firing Harry Reid as majority leader. He was leading in all major polls in a hypothetical matchup against Coons. O'Donnell on the other hand speaks of true conservative principles and had the energy of the tea party behind her.

I was not around in 1976, but understanding what started happening to the Republican party at that time has some parallel in today's disagreements. An outsider Governor who was bucking the GOP establishment which at that time believe it or not was very entrenched in the Northeast blue blood culture. The man he beat for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, George H.W. Bush, was the poster child for the ruling class. The Southern stronghold had not developed yet, although Nixon famously used the Southern strategy to win the Presidency twice. That governor was Ronald Reagan and his brand of conservatism has changed the party for the better forever. Not trying to give a history lesson here but it is to put the debate over O'Donnell-Castle in some context. This kind of stuff happens for the heart of parties all the time, and it can be productive if people take away the right lessons. What has occurred nationally is a mood of not anti-incumbency but anti-big government and dead set against out of control spending, plain and simple. People are looking for candidates who espouse that line of thinking regardless of party stripe. The Republican Party has always been the one that has been the ideological home of this line of thinking since Abraham Lincoln, save a few exceptions(Teddy Roosevelt,Herbert Hoover). So if this battle over O'Donnell and Castle move the party closer to actually adhering to these principles instead of paying it lip service as it did during the Bush years, then I am all for it.

The thought that only moderate Republicans like an Arlen Specter should be nominated in the Northeast to me is nonsense. As a conservative who was raised in New Jersey and now lives here I hear this argument all the time. Yes of course this is not Alabama and most voters in our state are not as conservative. But they are mostly independent and if you constantly trot up candidates that are not discernibly different from the Democrat, why the hell would the electorate choose them? If you cannot articulate a true alternative to the leftist liberals that run as Democrats up here than you will not win. An independent voter is going to vote for the Democrat because at least they know what they will be getting. Look at what has happened to the GOP in New York, it is a total dysfunctional joke mostly because they consistently send up total squishes that the electorate cannot understand what their principles are.

At the end of the day what makes your party relevant is winning elections. In that vein I understand the urge to elevate the candidate who can just win, but this presidency has given us a unique opportunity to right the ship of the GOP. That is more important for long term success in opposing the Progressive agenda and forging a future based on the principles contained in the Constitution. Just think, two years ago the punditry were writing the obituary of conservatism and the GOP. I have been saying since day one they misread the 2008 election so greatly that it would bite them in the ass. Just didn't think it would happen in the first mid-term. I will support Christine O'Donnell even with all her flaws, even if the NRSC will choose not to, and wish her much luck in the general. She will need a lot of it. I just hope Republicans don't start openly sounding like libs in bashing the Tea Party movement. The establishment needs to learn to work with the grassroots or November's gains will not be as dramatic as some think. Shooting itself in the foot has been the party's specialty as of late so I won't put it past them.

The Joy Of A Salesman (off-topic)

2010-09-13T18:21:00.000-04:00

If you are a sales rep you will totally get this. If you aren't...thank whatever God you worship that you have never had this conversation as I have numerous times in my second career as a salesman. It is NSFW as it includes some salty language.

Liberal Despair

2010-09-13T15:08:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, the "country is just a bunch of irrational boobs" argument. Liberals are in a pit of despair and hopefully soon a pit of irrelevancy. They somehow see Obama as the "voice of reason incarnate". I am not sure how as the only one he seems to be making sense to these days is the ever shrinking hard Left of this country. Unfortunately for us the Progressive Left still controls the narrative in print and broadcast news media. No matter how many viewers O'Reilly, Hannity or anyone on Fox News gets it is still behind in raw numbers to the three major networks. Granted fewer and fewer people are getting their news from Katie Couric and the like, but why wait until 6:30pm to get your news when you can get it all day right here on the Internet. That network audience will only shrink more rapidly as the baby boom generation ages.

The story here as Ben Smith writes below is that in fact this "irrational doofus" (my term) string of logic will be the new Democrat Party strategy, and implemented by most "journalists". Do we see more public anger and distrust of government than ever before? Not really, it's always been the underlying fabric of this country. I just think in this day and age with the Internet and 24/7 media these things can organize very quickly. We know that as entrepreneurs and innovators this country has no peer. And why has that been the case? Largely due to the fact that for most of this country's existence we have allowed private individuals to control their own destiny to an extent and kept the hand of big government out of their way. All across Europe you see countries rejecting much of their Bismarckian ways. The excesses of government spending and deficit spending, which has been the canard of liberal Keynesian economics for as long as it has existed, has finally hit a breaking point with some in the Eurozone. But they are learning and clawing back to prosperity along the way. The weakness of the Euro due to the collapse of the free spending countries seems to be helping along too in an interesting paradox. The fact remains that center-right coalitions continue to govern most of these countries out of their slide. Save for the exceptions of Italy,Greece,Portugal and Spain (the so called PIGS) the trend continues to move to the right.

The liberals here should start asking themselves the question: Who ushered in this current climate of "irrationality"? Is it possible that people could have legitimate concerns over government metastasizing beyond control? Could it be that the majority of Americans feel the Progressive agenda is wrong for the country and it never will be right? Progressives' whole existence is driven by the fact that they know best. That the university professors and intellegentsia know what is best for the majority. They would love nothing more to centralize power in a strong Federal government to forever be able to drive that point home to you....you irrational American idiot.

POLITICO: Liberal despair: Age of irrationality - Ben Smith - Liberal despair: Age of irrationality

Related Piece to My Story

2010-09-13T13:49:00.000-04:00

Here is a well written related piece by a blogger over at Big Government.com. Her brother was a Wall Street survivor of 9/11 and his experiences of going back to work afterwards mirror exactly what most of us dealt with in the aftermath. The checkpoints, bomb sniffing dogs, guys armed with assault weapons all became part of our daily work routine. NOT going back to work down there was not an option for us, it is how we made our living. She also intertwines some excellent analysis about the country's current attitude towards Wall Street workers in light of the meltdown of 2008. Excellent read and I hope you will take the time to read it as well.

9/11 Aftermath: Quiet Patrots of Wall Street Should Not Be Today's Politcal Casualties

Thank God

2010-09-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

I say that because I am so glad someone wrote a definitive review of Meggie Mac's book, relieves me of any sense that I had to read it. Some of the other reviews were the typical snark or just dismissive of her, which describes how I generally deal with the junk she writes on The Daily Beast. Anyways the link below is worth reading if you are a clear thinking person, hopefully this ridiculous book will end all notions of her being taken seriously by the lamestream media. Why they constantly give her air time is anyone's guess. I will give you mine: The media loves to prop anyone who self describes as a Conservative then goes ahead and bashes the ideology at will. She is nothing but a useful idiot of the Left, this book just proves the 'idiot' part.

Meghan McCain’s Dirty, Sexy Politics The New Ledger

9/11- My Story

2010-09-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

I have long battled with the idea of writing about my experience on 9/11/01. I always found what happened to me so inconsequential compared to the larger scale loss of life and destruction. Daughters lost fathers, mothers lost sons. How does my experience possibly measure up? I was just a guy who happened to make his living just yards away from the most recognizable man-made landmarks in the world. The fact that nine years has passed has allowed ample time for my thoughts to cohere and make sense even to me. I know this is a blog dedicated to news and politics. This is not politics but it is my story, and to warn you it's a long post so read it if you wish.

I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday (Cheerios?) but I could tell you with detail the happenings of that day from the minute I left my house to get the train in Middletown,NJ to the minute I got home that night around 9:30pm. It was a beautiful clear crisp morning in the suburbs, one of those mornings that follows a warm day with a chilly night up here in the Northeast. A little dew on the grass and on the windshield of my black 1997 GMC SUV was there and I knew Fall was right around the corner. That and the Monday Night Football (Denver vs Giants) game I had watched the night before confirmed it. For people who know me, Summer is my favorite season around here and those first glimpses of Fall remind me it's over. Other personal things at the time were on my mind so I wasn't particularly excited to go to work. My attempt to branch out on my own as a market maker on the floor of the American Stock Exchange, where I had spent the previous four years, was starting to flounder and I was taking larger risks than I was used to making. When things are good you don't mind taking those risks because you know that is part of the deal and you know you'll make it up. When your confidence is lagging a little and you start to doubt your analytical ability to make good decisions is precisely the time you get your clock cleaned. That only turned into paralysis by the time the floor reopened for business at the end of September.

So I did the daily grind, taking pretty much the same train in everyday. Leaving my house around 7:15am to get to office at 8:45-8:50 and then be on the floor by opening bell 9:30am. Rode the NJ Transit train into Newark Penn for the switch to the PATH which took me to the WTC virtually every morning for those four years. Newark Penn was the usual crowded mess at that time in the morning, you basically jam up into these little groups of people, your spot on the PATH platform hoping to be exactly where the doors of the stopped train will eventually open. Sometimes you don't get a seat, you stand in that spot as people whizz by you so you can sit on the next train that pulls up and maybe take a cat nap on the ride in. That was my preferred tactic, trains came every 2-3 minutes, that wouldn't make or break my time in plus I wasn't punching a clock. So I get on my train and proceed to sleep for the next 20 minutes (odd simulation of that exact ride i found when searching for an old PATH map) only to be awaken by the screeching brakes as it pulls into the WTC on the usual hard left it would make pulling to the platform. Checked my watch...it reads 8:45, right on my schedule, take the 3-4 minute walk to 2 Rector St. and I'm there at 8:50.

As I am filing out of the train though I start hearing a blaring fire alarm from the deli (Akbar's Cafe I believe was the name) that's stationed just one floor up from the PATH platform. My thought was 'poor guy just had that place completely re-done and it's on fire already?' Made my way up the large bank of escalators to the Concourse shopping mall level and that is where it became strange. Dropped coffee cups all over the floor and people were kind of scattering straight to the exits. That is when a plainclothes PA Officer told me to "Get the hell out", sometimes I think to myself if that man followed his own advice. Crazy to think but I just walked out of there, no running no panic since i had no clue. Went through the usual set of doors between 4 WTC and the South Tower (2 WTC) I walked out of almost everyday to make my way to Greenwich Street. That's when it became even stranger, glass was all around me and I was actually feeling things hit my head. Nothing heavy mind you, but it made me look up immediately and that's when I saw the smoking hole in the side of the North Tower. People were starting to gather and just stare upwards so I asked someone on the street, "What happened?", the response "A plane crashed into it". I felt at that moment 'what a terrible tragedy', just looking up at the smoke and fire you knew people were not making it out alive and my sentiment was that it was a terrible accident. Flaming papers and other debris at this time are hitting the street and the first police and fire were starting to arrive asking me to keep moving down the street. I walked down Greenwich and watched the guys at Ladder 10 right there on the corner of Liberty and Greenwich packing up their stuff and getting ready for the call.

I got into my office just before 9:00am and CNBC is already covering what they are terming a terrible accident. No one knew exactly what happened. My desk next to the open 5th floor window faced west but just looking down Greenwich Street you had a clear look the block and a half down to the WTC. Sitting there with my clerk watching people on the street staring up at the fire wondering why they were still there "Didn't they have to get to work?", he responds "What's that sound?". We could hear the high pitched roar only a commercial airliner makes, looked west and saw the plane explode upon impact of the South Tower. The sounds and being able to feel the heat of the explosion are still with me. Now we know we are under attack and security in our building is asking everyone to evacuate. I comply but as I gather outside with some fellow AMEX members I learn that subways are closed and train service stopped to New Jersey. I am now in it for the long haul it seems. I grab a coffee to go at George's Diner, corner of Rector and Greenwich. Me and 3 or 4 of us are outside now one block further east on Trinity and Rector trying to figure out how to get back to NJ. Word is, if we can get uptown to 38th St they were running ferry service out.

The problem is that in the middle of that conversation, I heard the loudest sound I had ever heard and felt the earth rumble just a little. People were running at us screaming,I grabbed my briefcase and ran not knowing what i was running from. Took one look north and this cloud is about to overtake me. At this point I get separated from my friends and kept running east towards Broadway, but it didn't matter I couldn't see a damn thing. I put the bag over my mouth since i took one inhale of the dust and it completely dried me out, wanted to try and shield myself from it. This is where it got scary, couldn't see but could hear people crying and screaming. I also was convinced along with some of these people that something was going to fall on me and I would die. I somehow found myself to an office lobby that was actually open and people were filing in. We were all covered in dust, soot, and whatever the hell else it was. I just remember sitting on the floor of the lobby staring in space holding my briefcase not understanding what had just happened. The security guards in this building (would later find out it was 55 Broadway) were extremely helpful, one brought me a little paper cup filled with water. I took it and washed my mouth clean.

The security guards were not sure what to do with us, would it be better to herd everyone downstairs? Was another attack coming? No one knew what to do. They eventually took us upstairs to a big conference room that was setup for a conference later that day. That floor also had a bathroom we could use, thankfully. Oddly my only desire at that time was to wash my face and clean up. Used it and went to the conference room to get more water, that is when i received my first panicked phone call. It was my friend Cheryl in Baltimore, she got through somehow and we spoke for probably 20 seconds before the phone cut out. But I was glad that now at least someone knew i was OK. Now it was time to try and get in contact with others, my cell phone was useless at this point, no signal at all. There was a room that they were allowing people to use to make phone calls,the landlines were working. I tried my sister (an MBA candidate at NYU Stern at the time, also downtown)...nothing. I tried my father whose office was in Queens...not there, his cell phone was not working either. Any New York cell number or any one's in the area was worthless. I knew my girlfriend (who later became my wife, and now ex-wife) was at work teaching and not reachable. Last hope was my mother who happened to be vacationing in Miami at the time. I got through and told her i was fine and i just cried. I just stopped talking and said "I'm fine, I'll get home". In that room is when I found out about the Pentagon and the second tower collapse, everyone saw it on CNN in another small conference room. I just opened up my paper and tried to read to relax, not knowing when I was getting home. That is when security came in and informed us that the National Guard was moving in and asking for evacuations of all buildings in what later became known as the 'Frozen Zone'.

Took the elevator down to the lobby of the building, that is where I ran into my clerk. He was with me when we left 2 Rector, but lost him somewhere, now he also ended up in 55 Broadway somehow. We walked out together and trekked towards Water St. where we were told would be clean air and no dust. He offered some perspective on the fairly quiet walk, see he was born in Vietnam and remembered his being 4-5 years old and growing up with war. So I just listened and walked, uptown through Chinatown, seeing the sea of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, and finally taking a pit stop for lunch at McSorley's Ale House. We wanted some beer and stat. That was the place to go. There we ran into some others we knew from the AMEX who seemed to have the same idea. The rest of the day was a walking tour of Manhattan until I found my way to 38th Street on the west side with two other new friends I found at McSorley's who lived in NJ. We took a dinner cruise boat to Weehawken, waited in line for a bus to Hoboken, got onto the PATH so I could get to Newark Penn to take the train home that started my day.

I was wearing black pants so when I got off at the Middletown,NJ train station I was immediately spotted by the local First Aid and HAZMAT crews. "You were exposed sir, I need you over there", was all I heard. All the stops of NJ Transit were apparently equipped that night with these teams to wash off anyone who was exposed to the dust cloud. I waited my turn and took a quick warm water shower fully clothed in the parking lot of the train station. A nice woman gave me a blanket and walked me all the way to my car. I was cold and in total shock from everything. I pulled in at home and sat down with my ex-wife just glad to be home and then late that night I wrote this:

>I just wanted to let all of you know that i made it home alright. I got home
>about 9:30pm about 12 hours after the whole ordeal happened. I know most of
>you called and im sorry i have not gotten back to you but honestly im not in
>the mood to talk about what i saw today. I appreciate all the calls...its
>nice to know that some of you might actually miss me if i was gone:-) I will
>be calling some of you within the next couple of days. Thanks again and say
>some prayers for the people who were not as lucky as i was.

>love,Ocho

My friend Stacey says she opens that every 9/11 and reads it. That's really the only reason I have that, she sent it to me last year. My cell phone was no longer taking messages and my machine at home had 38 messages on it. Some of them the same person calling two or three times worried that they had heard nothing from me. What's the point of telling you that? Well it really made me feel for the people who would not be hearing responses to their frantic phone calls. Who wouldn't be getting some simple form e-mail from their loved one saying more or less what I wrote above. Those friends and family lost and gave the ultimate that day. All we did was go to work, we didn't strap on for war. So today I remember all of them, and I give you what Marco Rubio, US Senate candidate in FL and fellow Cuban-American, wrote this year:

“On this ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we remember the heroes who lost their lives that day and grieve with the loved ones they left behind. It’s because of the selfless heroism of first responders and passengers that countless lives were saved in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on the ground.

“Today, we give thanks to the brave men and women of our armed forces, intelligence community, law enforcement and public safety agencies, whose efforts have prevented another similar tragedy on U.S. soil. Especially today, they deserve our respect, admiration and appreciation for all they have done to keep us safe.

I couldn't have put it any better. We Will Never Forget...9/11/01. Thanks for reading.

Debate 101

2010-09-09T18:43:00.000-04:00

These poor teachers that continue to go up against our Governor here in NJ armed with the union propaganda at these town halls. When will they learn? A trip to YouTube shows teacher after teacher getting worked over in a respectful and factual manner. He just schools (no pun intended) them, shows why he was such a successful US Attorney. I am so proud to have helped elect this man and would do it again:

Donald Trump Offers to Buy Out Park51 Investor

2010-09-09T17:36:00.000-04:00

On one condition...all references to Ground Zero Mosque must now be "Trump Mosque"

Donald Trump Offers to Buy Out Park51 Investor - WSJ.com

Rearranging The Deck Chairs

2010-09-09T16:43:00.000-04:00

That is the sense we are getting from the Democrats isn't it? Every thing being proposed lately is just more of the same junk. A $786 billion dollar stimulus we were told had plenty of shovel ready projects clearly wasn't enough, so let's print another $50 billion to do exactly that? Whoopee more deficit spending, haven't heard that one! I have a better idea, print the $50 billion and throw it in with Pastor Terry Jones' Koran fire on Saturday. It will have the same effect....NOTHING!

Today, Time Magazine reports that Obama's OFA propaganda/campaign arm is hurting and lacking in organization. The White House recently pumping $30 million into it. Why bother? It seems Plouffe and the rest have thrown in the towel for 2010, not really doing too much but getting out of the way of most congressional races because the President is so toxic. They do realize they are on the Titanic this year so let's throw some life rafts down to our base. Let's get the unions riled up, let's fabricate some fake racism, and let's engage John Boehner for no reason. Jim Geraghty over at NRO put it this way:

In fact, the last people to pay enormous attention to John Boehner were probably his family. This is not to knock him, but to illustrate the inanity of the Obama camp's last-minute demonization effort. It's tough to gin up a good Two Minutes Hate after the Two Minute Warning. The economy's a shambles, and Obama wants Americans to focus their ire on . . . that guy? Him? The orange fella who looks like a hardware-store owner who's managing a House caucus small enough to meet in a phone booth? If he reaches any further, Obama's next scapegoat will be an actual goat.

The more President Obama opens his mouth the more evidence I have that he and his team have no effing idea what they are doing, if their intent is to govern this nation. For goodness sakes he can't even fill the auditoriums anymore with real people that want to listen to him. The professional Left (Soros' crew, HuffPo,Olbermann) are completely unhinged lately (not that they aren't usually, just more so lately...um Ed Schultz anyone?). Do we need any more proof that they know their Progressive agenda is a non-starter. Every poll now has Republicans ahead on the trust question. Which is a stunning turnaround if you think about it. Heck I even have a problem trusting them BUT this administration is SOOOO far to the Left that it has traditionally middle of the road people simply incredulous. Who will pull this administration back to reality? Hopefully the takeover of the House will answer that question.

What Exactly IS Obama Doing?

The President along with the sycophants around him continue to support ridiculous positions that he apparently cannot back down from. For those who want to see this WH move to the center that fact alone is cause for alarm, since it seems one of the only contrarian voices left, Rahmbo Emmanuel, may be exiting stage left. More and more Democratic candidates are distancing themselves from him and his policies. That is merely for political survival, because trust me if they get re-elected they will continue to follow the Pelosi-Reid train to nowhere. More reasons to get these bums out, the only vote that we should see as important is their continued support for Pelosi as Speaker or Reid as Majority Leader. After last summer I thought that Obama may triangulate after the November mid-term elections. I now realize that his political instincts are all wrong and he will dig in and double down because it just isn't in him to believe that what he is doing is destructive or wrongheaded. He has a different vision for this country. How can I say this? I just use the evidence I have in front of me (SB1070,Holder's Justice Dpt.,Skip Gates,GZ Mosque,Obamacare)*, just like the evidence I had in 2008 would not allow me to pull the lever for a community agitator with no executive experience and questionable (at best) associations.

The bottom line is that I want to believe in that initial assessment, made after the debacle of Obamacare last summer. He would wake up and realize that the country as a majority despises Leftist policies. Then that would cause a shift to pragmatism. Well I haven't seen it and I do not believe we will, I now believe him when he says he wouldn't mind being a one term president. Toby Harnden of the Telegraph (U.K.) wrote a piece recently suggesting that may be his intent, while I don't agree with everything in it I do agree with his general point. Obama does not seem to want to do the things necessary to lead or be President of ALL the United States, just the 20% or so who consider themselves liberal. The President would rather have a "post-presidential role as the leading global thinker in the post-American world as a Republican successor enters office is more attractive than being sullied by the political compromises and manoeuvrings necessary to win."
My problem with that is this President is an open advocate for a post-American world and has no interest in preserving our exceptionalism. That reason alone is what drives my ire and opposition more than any of his irresponsible fiscal policies. The fiscal policies are just the means to create that post-American world he so desperately wants to live in. I say just send him on his way to the head of the UN or some Leftist think tank....in 2012.

*excuse my rampant use of parentheticals today,ha.

9/11 Gainesville,FL Koran Burning

2010-09-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

I really do not see how this helps, but happy that most people seem to be disgusted about it. Once again proving we aren't the knuckledragging bigots some people think this country is. Maybe someone can explain to me why it is necessary to burn any religion's book. I understand that we are always presented with images of burning American flags, effigies of Presidents, and chants of "Death To America!" from numerous cities around the world. The thought of making a similar statement in the United States to radical Islam by burning the Koran seems incongruous to our values. We value religious freedom, they do not. We value political speech, they only value hate. As Osama Bin Laden once said "The U.S loves life, we love death". Burning a Koran is beneath us on many levels and I do hope this Pastor reconsiders.

Having it on 9/11 also defiles the memory of what really happened that day. We were attacked by people espousing a certain malignant ideology, and innocent Americans died and a country scarred forever. What Terry Jones should be doing is educating his people on what is contained in that book he so desperately wants to burn. Having people understand true radical Islamism and its very real threat is the best way to combat it. He should have his followers read people like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser or have them watch the following hour long documentary to truly get a grip of the enemy we have to fight.

Video Of The Day

2010-09-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

Another very effective web ad by the NRSC. It says it all

Happy 'Special Interest' Day

2010-09-07T01:34:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated Labor Day and how did the President spend his time? Well giving one of the more hyperpartisan speeches I can recall any man holding that office has ever given. He knows no bounds of lowering himself and the office. Some highlights...

And over the last two years, that's meant taking on some powerful interests -- some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time. And they're not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog

He's saying this with a straight face with hundreds of union members and leaders behind him. The irony is thicker than the 2000 pages of the healthcare bill. That of course protected union interests. Sir with all due respect I wouldn't compare yourself with a dog, since dogs actually learn from their mistakes.

We've given them to small business owners. We've given them to clean energy companies. We've cut taxes for 95 percent of working Americans, just like I promised you during the campaign. You all got a tax cut.

There is not even a kernel of truth in that statement, not one. So I will move on.

But there are some folks in Washington who see things differently.You know what I'm talking about.

STRAWMAN ALERT! STRAWMAN ALERT!

When we passed a bill earlier this summer to help states save jobs -- the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and nurses and police officers and firefighters that were about to be laid off, they said no. (Applause.) And the Republican who thinks he's going to take over as Speaker -- (boos) -- I'm just saying that's his opinion -- (laughter) -- he's entitled to his opinion. But when he was asked about this, he dismissed those jobs as "government jobs" that weren't worth saving. (Boos.) That's what he said, I'm quoting -- "government jobs."

OK enough of that, I can't take it anymore. There are multiple problems with this inanity from the mouth of the President. The fact that he has lowered himself into the day to day partisanship of the House is unbelievable. Sadly this is where he is, after losing independents all he can do is rile up his base. THAT is no way to govern my friends. Nevermind the fact that more union members are planning to vote Republican this November which only complicates matters for him even more. It happened in Massachusetts earlier this year. These are the Reagan Democrats, the blue collar workers who felt their party was becoming too liberal in the Carter years and abandoned Mondale in droves in the '84 election. Now they seem to be tilting back to the Republicans. Add to the mix Democrats as a whole not all that enthusiastic about voting in the midterm and you have a recipe for a wave election.

This is the cyclical nature of politics, but the Republicans winning their primaries across the country and presumably be voted in will decidedly be to the right of the DeLay led House. This hopefully will force the liberals left in the House to the negotiating table to actually make some deals, cut spending and participate in real deficit reduction or otherwise risk looking like the partisans they are. I believe only a solid majority will do that not a slim one. A slim majority will only create gridlock, which may be progress in and of itself since it will stop the liberal agenda dead in its tracks. But if we want to see Obamacare repealed or measures de-funded, we will need way more than 218 seats. Or hope of all hopes is that it tacks Obama back to the center, and maybe just maybe he can be as smart as Clinton was by co-opting some of the more successful pieces of Newt's contract with America.

As for the guy "who thinks he's taking over as speaker", he will have a tall order on his hands when Republicans do take over (just a hunch,don't quote me). He must pull them together and follow an agenda of what the people really want (cut spending,preserve low taxes), not what they did the last time they were in power. Tough to trust some of the leadership currently in place, but with Paul Ryan and the more libertarian leaning and fiscally conservative newcomers we are bound to get we may have something that could start to turn this putrid economy around. If that happens we may get a general public that could possibly be a little more hopeful of what can get done in Washington.

Clueless (cont.)

2010-09-03T13:20:00.000-04:00

This from the WSJ today

The report is likely to cause renewed debate during the long Labor Day weekend over what new steps the Federal Reserve and Congress should consider to jump-start the job market.

This is in response to the jobs number which once again was atrocious, but admittedly not as bad as expected. The only silver lining is that the private sector actually managed to add some jobs but a net loss overall of 54,000 jobs and an increase to 9.6% of the unemployment rate. Why did I pull out that one sentence? It highlights exactly what the problem is, the Fed and Congress. I don't want them debating anything, as long as the Democrats control Congress their answer to every single bad number is to make it worse by proposing some new spending as we saw with that ridiculous $26 billion payoff to the teachers unions in August under the guise of a "jobs bill". I wonder if any of that taxpayer money they received will be kicked back into tight congressional races this November? The only jobs it is helping to save will be some liberal congressmen. No doubt that it is part of the reason the DSCC is flush with cash at this moment.

The beginning of the discussion should be to extend the Bush tax cuts that liberals (for knee jerk reactions) despise. Raising taxes in the current environment is unhelpful and most economists would agree with that, well the ones that aren't partisan hacks (Paul Krugman, Robert Reich ). Companies and investors are standing on the sidelines in part due to their uncertainty as to what their liabilities will be in the next year. The marginal tax rates being only part of the problem, start adding in the potential costs of Obamacare and it's a recipe for job stagnation. I think if Republicans proposed some legislation to extend the cuts I do feel it could get some steam in the House, Senate not so much. For two reasons, first the Republicans in the Senate are for the most part 'inside-the-beltway' R's and not willing to hand the Democrats a political win before the election. Cynical but true. Second, outside of Ben Nelson I don't see many Democrats in that chamber willing to go there. So we may have to wait until January to see movement on the issue, by then the cuts will have expired.

But hey we are supposed to feel good because our Labor Secretary says "There are jobs out there". Coming from a hardcore Leftist like Hilda Solis who is only intersted in redistribution, it should make me feel all warm and fuzzy? Well that's very reassuring to the millions out of work applying for the measly 67,000 jobs that were added in the private sector last month. Yeah that adds up. The Obama administration's war on math continues.

Clueless

2010-09-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

Christina Romer, the soon to be ex-member of President Obama's economic team revealed some disturbing details last night in a speech to the National Press Club. Of course she gives the usual line that they didn't know how serious the recession was. That's just ridiculous, I think we all knew it was a colossal meltdown on multiple levels. Deeper impact than recent blowups was apparent early on. So I am supposed to believe this, from the WaPo:

It wasn't the food; it was the entertainment. Christina Romer, chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, was giving what was billed as her "valedictory" before she returns to teach at Berkeley, and she used the swan song to establish four points, each more unnerving than the last:

She had no idea how bad the economic collapse would be. She still doesn't understand exactly why it was so bad. The response to the collapse was inadequate. And she doesn't have much of an idea about how to fix things.

This just follows the pattern that they are a clueless bunch with no idea how to encourage economic growth. Their strict adherence to Keynesian stimulus provided the sugar rush last year temporarily but as discussed before that is no basis for long term growth. Re-stocking the shelves, which is all the government can do, is not an economic policy. It doesn't create demand or jobs in the slightest, understand why here, here and here. Keynesian multipliers are a sham.

Considering where this administration is headed I would not be surprised that Obama, the true believer that he is, replaces Romer with someone who wants to continue down this road contrary to evidence that it will never work.

The Beck/Palin Obsession

2010-09-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

I did want to talk about something else today. Well a couple of things actually but just wanted to put this out there. Let's discuss the continued Palin hardon that leftist bloggers/media have and their rage with Glenn Beck. Sarah Palin no longer holds any sort of office, Glenn Beck never has. So why the constant barrage of attack pieces? Why do I have to listen to halfwits like Ed Schultz obsess over Glenn Beck's audience, well I don't do I? Those who disagree have a choice, hey just turn the channel. Go flip to IFC or Planet Green, or whatever else brings you pleasure. Why is it that the Left can never argue on merits, on like ummm...actual policy positions. It is the weakest technique of arguing and it holds no water in formal logic. The ad hominem attacks of the Left are so tiresome but entertaining to me on some level because they do feel they are making good arguments. The constant drive to shut people on the Right down is counter to the First Amendment values they only pretend to believe in. Talk about the policies she advocates, not that she is some evil person, phony, wears expensive clothes, ad nausea. That is just noise, because by branding her a fringe wacko you somehow have discredited her message? Yeah nice try. This obsession sadly extends onto her family as well. Somehow Leftist politician kids are off limits yet hers are not? I do not care that they were at every campaign rally during 2008, that's the lamest excuse. As if no families have NEVER appeared on stage with the candidate. It's just an unreasonable double standard, but those things I am used to in the media. What I find distasteful is the type of vitriol sent Bristol Palin's way. She is a young woman trying to find her way in the world as a single mom (thought the Left loved that kind of crap....oh not when they disagree with the person's politics they don't) under constant scrutiny from a media looking to disparage.

As for Beck, I rarely watch the guy. I do appreciate his ideas and what he believes our priorities as a country should be, less government and more individual responsibility. I just am not a huge fan of the theatrics...the blackboard,etc. So I do not watch often. Those on the Left don't get him and that's fine. So why is the Left so obsessively watching Beck/Palin and paying so much attention to them? One word: Fear. That's right, they are scared that so many people listen to them and attend their gatherings debunking every Leftist myth with ever increasing effectiveness. That scares the crap out of them. The rise of the Conservative blogosphere, Fox News' continued ratings dominance, combined with people eschewing the mainstream media's narratives after they were bamboozled by the Obamamania media lovefest during 2008 has the Left fearing for their own relevance. Throw in the femenazis foaming at the mouth every time Palin opens hers and you have a full fledged Derangement Syndrome. So there's my two cents on that.

If It Wasn't So Funny, It Would Be So Sad

2010-09-01T16:16:00.000-04:00

Here we have how this hostage situation has been reported by the intellectually bereft Leftist reactionaries over at Think Progress: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/01/discovery-terrorist-immigration/

Comical.

Then here is how Hot Air covered it: http://hotair.com/archives/2010/09/01/gunman-holding-people-hostage-in-discovery-channel-building/

Big difference. Fact: Lee is an environut, that's about all is known from those gathering sources. We can examine his beliefs and ideology if applicable when those become clearer. Outside of that it's a bad situation that is only made worse by conjecture of the type offered in Soros' basement (I think that is where Think Progress writes from).

BREAKING: Hostage Situation at Discovery Channel Building

2010-09-01T14:37:00.000-04:00

An armed male with demands and an apparent bomb, according to the local police, is holding numerous people hostage until he speaks with the head of Discovery Network. They are speculating that he has some sort of issue with the Network. Rumors of some sort of online manifesto are being reported. Reports keep streaming in. Below is a link to further info from LCR...

BREAKING: Hostage Situation at Discovery Channel Building, Silver Spring Maryland

UPDATE: They have identified the alleged hostage taker as some environut who has protested the network before. Here is some info and more. If you want to read his manifesto check it here. Holy Crap! What a big bag of crazy.

Public Policy Polling: Previewing Ohio

2010-08-31T16:34:00.000-04:00

Some interesting trends seen in the recent polling by PPP (Democrat firm). As we get closer to Nov 2, the more you will see these polls switch to likely voters. With that shift it should make these polls more accurate.

We'll start rolling out our Ohio poll results tomorrow but there's one finding on the poll that pretty much sums it up: by a 50-42 margin voters there say they'd rather have George W. Bush in the White House right now than Barack Obama.

Public Policy Polling: Previewing Ohio

UPDATE 9/1: The actual results of the poll available now

Yep, People Are Still Trying To Kill Us

2010-08-31T16:10:00.000-04:00

I would have written about this yesterday but we had technical difficulties for over five hours yesterday. An inconvenient day all around the Jersey Shore.

Anyways, seeing this story raised some eyebrows with me even if it apparently didn't do the same to some TSA agents. Now look I am not going to disparage the screeners that work at TSA, tough job dealing with cranky and mostly rude travellers. BUT sometimes I get the feeling that they are not on the same planet we are. Never mind the errors all over the no-fly list, that's bureaucracy at its finest. These Pepto would-be bombers set off more internal caution alarms than I thought possible. As Phineas over at Sister Toldjah put it:

"So, what did they need to actually stop him? An autographed photo of Osama bin Laden and travel brochures for Waziristan?"

What is disturbing about this story, is that apparently they really didn't break any laws. It is not against the law to tape a cell phone to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol®. It seems to be a dry run of "what can we get away with", in order to make terror more effective. It is actually smart and it also shows that they are still fairly organized and funded. Who knows how many more of these dry runs are being performed across the country at any given time. It also illustrates our biggest weakness in airport security, not profiling behavior. One only needs to look at how Ben Gurion Airport in Israel handles security to find the ideal. Now does this country need that level? Not sure, but it wouldn't hurt to lean more towards that course of action.

Color Me Surprised

2010-08-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

What did not surprise me is the article that Beau Friedlander wrote. It's the typical tripe you would have expected from the former head of bankrupt Air America. I am not the biggest Glenn Beck fan, but soliciting for a sex tape to disparage and discredit him? It's distasteful.

The Huffington Post has editorial standards, apparently The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Housing Policy Failure

2010-08-27T13:26:00.000-04:00

I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago and today Mona Charen of National Review speaks of the greater failure of the HAMP program.

The president’s $75 billion program guaranteed that homeowners with Fannie or Freddie mortgages would be eligible for refinancing to lower rates if their mortgages were between 80 and 105 percent of the home’s worth. Other borrowers facing foreclosure would be able to refinance their mortgages down to 31 percent of their monthly income. Didn’t this mean that taxpayers who didn’t buy too much house or who paid their mortgage bills on time would be subsidizing those who did not?

Well of course it does

Obama's Manichean World

In Case You Were In Martha's Vineyahd For The Last Month

2010-08-27T12:41:00.000-04:00

It is Friday in August, and in the spirit of the President playing his 48th round of golf yesterday I also will be mailing it in today. Today is 'links' day....get it? links? golf? I crack myself up....anyways I have scoured Al Gore's Internet for the best stories, so enjoy...

Hey everyone,Welcome To The Recovery Summer Tour '10!!! :

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100827/D9HRP2DG1.html

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ-gdp-20100827,0,4011261.story

http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE67N3B320100827

Seriously WTF is this Justice Department doing? Holder and his crew are an embarrassment:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082606353.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2010082700364

Shock Poll!!!

http://www.leftcoastrebel.com/2010/08/cbs-poll-three-out-of-ten-americans.html

Nice to see a formerly solid blue state start to figure out that one party liberal rule for a generation is not a good thing. Michigan was in a one state recession for over a decade (when the rest of us were enjoying relative little unemployment this state has refused to evolve) and Granholm will be leaving with lower approval ratings than George W. Bush. To prove how clueless and insular NYC liberals are, I overheard this a couple of weeks ago (won't name names)..."Granholm is the hottest governor...besides her looks she really has turn it around there"....huh? I clearly ignored this stupidity as not to engage in lunacy:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/governor/mi/michigan_governor_snyder_vs_bernero-1407.html

The more press he gets, the more it legitimizes his approach. The approach that it is OK to talk to your constituents like an adult and be honest with them. I heart Christie:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_36/b4193068424504.htm

Random observations from the blogosphere:

Jen Rubin
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/348316

Reid Wilson
http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/08/why_democrats_w.php
I expect this piece will be what Democrats continue to hold their hats on the closer we get to November.

Well that's about it hope everyone enjoys their Friday and weekend.

P.S. In honor of the recently deceased (man you are getting old when all the artists of your youth start dropping dead of natural causes) Michael Been of The Call:

Best Governor In America

2010-08-27T02:31:00.000-04:00

Well it's close between him and Mitch Daniels but I give the edge to the big man from Jersey, my home state. Watch the video and read the post below

How Vindictive Is This Administration? - The Corner - National Review Online

UPDATE (8/27): H/T Cubachi
Apparently Bret Schundler fibbed to the Governor and has been canned. Cubachi has the details on her blog. Props to my fellow Cuban for bringing this to attention.

Driving Down Premiums?

2010-08-26T18:33:00.000-04:00

As advertised, Obamacare lowering premiums everywhere! Nah just kidding.

Look, the new regulations slowly being implemented (some starting in September) as part of this debacle (that apparently the "author" has not even read) will increase costs and drive out providers. Not sure how many times I have said that here, but I'll keep saying it. O'Care will force millions of seniors out of their current Medicare Part D drug plans almost immediately, even though the program has been fairly successful by government program standards.

How? Insurers will need to hike premiums as noted here to deal with these reform minded mandates. If health plans can't set premiums high enough to cover these new costs put on them by the government, guess what? They will go broke and exit the market. Making traditional health insurance unviable is the clear intent here, it is to have government control the delivery of medical care and that means controlling insurance companies. The state exchanges, which will allow people to buy gov't subsidized health insurance plans from private providers, that will be setup by 2014, will not have the consumer choices promised. Why? Well as I noted they will be all out of the insurance business by then. That will be just fine with the Democrats though, they will cry "market failure" and ask for even more government control, i.e. public insurance.

This stands in contrast to the last time we tackled a large entitlement program, the Part D plans began in 2006. The reason this program has cost not nearly as much as originally believed is that it did create an increase in consumer choice. It certainly is not a perfect plan and as most entitlements has its share of waste, bottom line is that it turned out way better than expected. The rules were purposely written to encourage plans to enter the market and allow them to turn a profit. Shocking, I know. The idea as it always is in a free market, is to allow the market to mature with competition. That in turn makes prices fall. Economics 101. I admit that any large entitlement isn't ever really "free" of government interference, but Part D was revolutionary in its implementation. Meaning it did not incur price controls or prohibit profit.

The President said a number of things about this current plan..."if you like your insurance you can keep it"..really? Chalk up the "choice and competition" myth as another promise it is clear he will not be able to keep. Not sure they were ever intended to be kept. Does this plan have an opportunity to surprise us and perform better than naysayers? I am a gambling man and I would put the likelihood somewhere between never and....well never. It must be repealed and replaced, short of that key parts must be defunded in order to get true reform of the insurance market.

Leftists going over the deep end in 3....2..

2010-08-25T20:04:00.000-04:00

....1.....

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/08/25/left-the-muslim-cabbie-stabbing-was-right-wing-islamophobia-oh-wait-a-minute/
(as always love the comments from the ThinkProgress morons)

Breaking story about Ken Mehlman, even though it was more or less an open secret in Washington for a while. And of course the gays on the left are angered. It's amazing how someone has to follow your identity group's supposed political leanings to the letter in order to be "accepted". The same goes with African-American conservatives, the energy spent on calling them Uncle Toms or race traitors is shameful if we are truly to judge a man by his character not by his presupposed "identity". Disgusting. I mean god forbid the timing of some guy's personal struggle with his sexuality didn't perfectly coincide with your freaking agenda. Sure hope that everyone right and left gives the guy a break because honestly most of us could give a crap about Ken's personal life. By the way Jim Geraghty's tweet shortly thereafter had it perfect.

Not The Sharpest Tool In The Shed

2010-08-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

"For eight years before we arrived in the West Wing, Mr. Boehner and his party ran the economy literally into the ground," VP Biden said. I am just wondering if it was put into the ground with shovels? Hammers? A backhoe? His misuse of the word 'literally' is kind of amusing. He literally uses it ALL the time. His whole point of contention with Boehner's address is that he is nostalgic for the Bush economy. I mean it's an outrage that Boehner wants to go back to the days of 4.5% unemployment. He clearly didn't hear or read Boehner, all the press going to his calling for the heads of O's economic team. But inside the speech were some undeniable facts and ideas going forward for a potential Republican run House. Everyone in media on the Left would rather just make fun of his name than argue on the merits.

Biden: 'We've seen this movie before': The Swamp

Speaking of blunt instruments. Dan Quayle's kid Ben Quayle won the Republican primary in Arizona District 3, more than likely going to Congress in John Shadegg's vacant seat come November. It was a pretty tight race and there are a couple of good conservatives in that district that ran good campaigns and who we should expect to hear more from in the future. Namely Vernon Parker, he ran a good campaign based on principles and got his political start with Lee Atwater. Ben Quayle I am hoping will do a good job, but won this primary on name recognition and money advantage. He has tough shoes to fill as John Shadegg has always been one of the better members of Congress.

Good news out of Florida though, Meek won the Democratic Senate primary which is important. If billionaire buffoon Jeff Greene (who had Mike Tyson serve as his best man) would have beaten him, Democrats would have thrown their money and support behind Charlie Crist...he of the original orange tan. It also would have given traditional Democrats the excuse to pull the lever for Charlie, now that is gone. As election day nears I think you will see some of those Democrats pull away from Crist and return to Meek thereby giving Marco Rubio the easier road. I have made it no secret that he is who I support wholeheartedly in that Senate race, from when he was 30 points down to Crist in the polls to now.

A Trip In My Hot Tub Time Machine

2010-08-25T12:56:00.000-04:00

First off we have this:

Yeah and this...

OK you get the picture he hates the surge, blames Bush for poor war execution, etc. What is so crazy about this? Everyone knows these were his stated positions going into the election of 2008. Well it is slowly boiling me up because he now wants to take credit for recent withdrawal of combat troops. Two things 'dear leader', first this withdrawal was setup by your predecessor, secondly it was only able to be negotiated because the surge you so excoriated as a failure actually succeeded, which thankfully you finally admitted. Mission Accomplished? The hope that this kind of whitewashing of history will occur is unlikely in this day of YouTube and blogs. So in short, I am more than happy that we are slowly drawing down in Iraq. BUT the biggest job still is in front, they have a nascent political system that needs America's diplomatic engagement. Yet what we have is a President who is completely removed from that process. Iraq may be viewed as a success through the prism of history one day, to no thanks from our current President.

New York Times Seeks Higher Taxes on the “Rich” as Prelude to Higher Taxes on the Middle Class

2010-08-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

As usual Dan Mitchell with Cato schools the Keynesians over at the NY Times. I do not understand why we still have to go through these exercises when Keynes has been disproven time and again. Hoover and FDR...Fail. Japan in the '90's...Fail. One just needs to look at how Germany has succeeded in the last year in part by shunning further stimulus. This type of stimulus has never shown itself to be a recipe for long term economic growth. Borrowing money from some people in the economy to hand it to others is counterproductive and too reliant on consumer spending to drive it. It never creates any sort of increase in aggregate demand, we have seen it time and again. Read Dan Mitchell below and just get smarter....

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/new-york-times-seeks-higher-taxes-on-the-rich-as-prelude-to-higher-taxes-on-the-middle-class/

OK This Is Getting Silly

2010-08-23T16:32:00.000-04:00

I am as fatigued about the Ground Zero mosque debate as the next guy BUT some of the arguments that have been coming out of the mouths from the supporters of the mosque couldn't be more intellectually dishonest. Now from the Left, opponents of the mosque are branded as ideologically Conservative Nazi sympathizers, madmen bombers or this doozy: that opposition is actually helping Al-Qaeda recruitment??? I really can't swallow this insipidness that becomes branded as conventional wisdom when they repeat it enough on the mainstream media outlets.

My favorite is of course the parallel to Nazi sympathizers, CNN uses pictures of Father Coughlin in the link above. He of the famous radio sermons of the late 20's and through the Depression. First off do lefties know he was a committed LEFTIST? One of the great liberal myths was that Father Coughlin's preachings were from the right of the spectrum. They are being disingenuous (or more likely just ignorant of history) with you if they say that. This was a man who praised the "New Deal" as "Christ's Deal" and that the choice was simply "Roosevelt or Ruin" during his first campaign for president. It was only when he started to oppose FDR in 1934 as not doing enough that he began to be seen as a "right-winger", but that is just a typical fascist ploy of marking anything that does not agree with them one hundred percent as "right-wing". Especially when you take into consideration Coughlin's formation of the NUSJ, hardly considered a classically liberal organization. This went on all during the 1930's, if you opposed FDR you were a right-winger. People like J.T. Flynn, a muckraking journalist at the time, was labeled a leader of right thinking for no other reason than he was a relentless FDR critic. He was a left leaning columnist for the New Republic (the bible of Progressives since the turn of the 20th Century) that denounced FDR for moving in what he perceived as a rightward tilt. There is a lot more to that story and for space reasons I will just leave it to others to do, Alan Brinkley is a good place to start.

The bringing up of Timothy McVeigh by some is quite interesting. Once again it is another twist of logic. He considered himself agnostic and did not bomb the Murrah building in the name of some sort of Christian ideology as some on the left have purported. He was if anything a white supremacist national socialist. He was an angry white guy so he must be a right winger, is how the Leftist string of logic goes. Just an odd leap for the Left to make to disagree with the opponents of the mosque/cultural center. But as noted above, with Coughlin and Flynn, a typical one. The people who commit terror like the WTC, the embassy bombings, and numerous other instances have done so specifically in the name of Islam.

Look we can have disagreements about this but to see the arguments now being used on the Left, it kind of smacks of reaching for something, anything that will stick. It is to us, the opponents of the mosque, that the Imam and his people have questionable motives since he continues to avoid meaningful questions. If it truly is about building bridges and outreach, why the insistence in continuing to avoid even listening to alternatives? The longer they show obtuseness toward prevailing American public opinion, the more it looks like their intent is a political statement in name of Islam NOT outreach or tolerance.

I really do hope to put this to rest very soon because this is a debate that will not further issues that really are at the root of an ailing economy. I will be happy again to discuss health care, tax policy and economics in the coming months leading to the mid-term election. At the same time I cannot ignore the continuing of specious arguments by those on the Left over the mosque.

In related lefty intellectual dishonesty, here is George Will dressing down Robert Reich on history and the typical liberal tropes about the Depression. BTW note Will's restraint while Reich is talking...he is great:

Will does slightly exaggerate, Hoover increased spending 88%...not quite doubling. Almost though.

Congressman Alan Grayson (D, Fla.) Blames Bush for 9/11

2010-08-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

Typical. To paraphrase Nathan Wurtzel, Grayson is what it would look like if some anonymous troll lefty blogger ended up with a Congressional seat. Truly disgusting and pathetic.

Thankfully the days of his first and only term are numbered, can't imagine his R leaning district will send him back for more. Can't wait until you get that host job on MSNBC come next January. Picture it now, The Ed & Alan Show.

Red Alert: Congressman Alan Grayson (D, Fla.) Blames Bush for 9/11

It Sure Is Nice Having A Grownup Around

2010-08-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

Slowly but surely he is winning over the most cynical of New Jersey voters. Trust me, we have seen our share of placating and pandering politicians from both parties run this state over the last 10-11 years. If only we could clone more straight talking politicians (who don't need a bus to advertise it) across the country we could have our states in much better budgetary shape. Keep it up Chris, it's only going to get tougher with each successive budget you try to pass.

Poll: Majority of N.J. voters approve of Gov. Chris Christie's job performance | NJ.com

You Dropped A Bomb...

2010-08-20T11:21:00.000-04:00

What the hell does The Gap Band have to do with politics? Well nothing really. Just delivering some sad news, the founder of the group Robert Wilson died two days ago at age 53. Sometimes I do miss that golden age of funk music, Dazz Band,Rick James,Parliament, etc....but I digress.

The title of the song could be a metaphor as to what President Obama and his agenda has done to Democratic Congressional candidates. Most of them can't run away from him fast enough. BTW after you watch the video, keep the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' jokes to a minimum...

Simply put in Politico this morning:

"Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care legislation, abandoning claims that it will reduce costs and deficit, and instead stressing a promise to 'improve it.' . . . The confidential presentation, available in full here and provided to POLITICO by a source on the call, suggests that Democrats are acknowledging the failure of their predictions that the health care legislation would grow more popular after its passage, as its benefits became clear and rhetoric cooled. . . . The presentation also concedes that the fiscal and economic arguments that were the White House's first and most aggressive sales pitch have essentially failed."

That last sentence is a doozy. The arguments failed because they were never true in the first place, and most of us realized that. What made us so prescient? It's called math.

They just cannot run on any legislative accomplishments because basically almost everything they passed the American public hates. So continue to look for Harry Reid style campaigning from their candidates, that would be to malign your opponent on a personal basis and try to identify them as some fringe wackjob. As I noted the other day, it looks like the liberals are the fringe so good luck to them.

Outside of that Happy Friday to everyone and enjoy your weekend! I couldn't resist, one more for the road:

Bush's Rorschach Moment?

2010-08-19T12:26:00.000-04:00

Via Moe Lane

I linked to a similar article yesterday. I agree with Moe for the same reasons. Karma is a bitch and those on the Left have reaped what they sowed. I never did see the movie referenced in his post, but the clip makes sense in context. I also believe that this nostalgia is convenient and they will get back to pillorying the man soon enough. Agree or disagree (and I did on multiple fronts) with the previous President you treat the man with respect. The crap that we had to watch for most of the previous eight years was shameful. That goes for Obama as well, I can have policy and political disagreements with the man but I will not engage in any of the birther nonsense, and neither will the majority of conservatives. If you want that go read WND.

Bush's Rorschach moment?

In somewhat related items: It's Bush's Fault!

Do They Miss Bush 43?

2010-08-18T15:49:00.000-04:00

This is absolutely priceless. Especially coming from Maureen Dowd, who made a career of vilifying 43, it is rich. I sure hope he keeps his nose out of it. My favorite quote from Karl Rove:

"This Bush swoon by selected members of the left commentariat is temporary, their swamp fevers will return momentarily."

Mosque supporters beg George W. Bush to come to Obama's rescue Washington Examiner

Need More Proof?

2010-08-18T12:04:00.000-04:00

Do we need more proof that the "top" priorities of Congress and this administration are so upside down and completely out of step with the rest of the country? When you have the Speaker of the House saying this

"There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded"

Who exactly is she joining? Secondly while I agree this has become a political football, she is WAY off thinking this is some concerted funded effort. This started back in May as a local NY issue, I commented about it at that time, and it was basically just covered in dailies here in the NY/NJ area. What really sent it national in my opinion was the ridiculous photo op speech that Mayor Nanny Bloomberg gave using the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop. It kind of mushroomed from there with everyone weighing in across the country. I give a lot of credit to Pamela Geller of the atlasshrugs blog for keeping the pressure on locally with the Community Board in lower Manhattan, and then taking to the news shows with her concerns over Imam Feisal Rauf. She is a tireless writer/activist exposing the bull of certain Muslim "moderates" along with CAIR and I applaud her for that.

Another issue most Democrats are finding themselves on the wrong side, and by wrong I mean 70-30 wrong according to polls, is the illegal immigration law in Arizona. Suing a state for enforcing a federal law the federal government has no intent of enforcing....got that? The suit is two things, logically specious and racial pandering. Then today news comes that they are ready to do this. Expending all of this energy instead of focusing on the root cause of the illegal immigration problem. That being our continuing policies of no border enforcement and not talking about assimilation, which has always been the route to success for immigrant groups. We have become so sensitive to cultural concerns that we never talk about what it is to be American. You could say that is the reason liberals on a whole support the mosque and tip-toe around every issue regarding Muslims. What? You think all of a sudden liberals are interested in property rights arguments? Or the fact our Attorney General can't call a terrorist, a radical islamist? And if you disagree with their approach you are a bigot. It's a joke. I find myself agreeing with Erick Erickson, that maybe liberals are finally realizing that they are the ones who are "fringe".

The 70-30 President

2010-08-16T15:17:00.000-04:00

I am not one to usually parse over every single word our Presidents say. I mean when you make comments every single day for a few years occasionally you will make a gaffe here or there, some of them humorous. The problem Obama finds himself in more often than not is that his statements find him contravening American opinion on a hot button issue, and usually in a situation where his interference is not necessary. Long to short, these are self-inflicted political wounds. He should be worried about greater issues, like spiraling deficits, Iran getting nukes, etc. Much like his clumsy response to the Cambridge police last summer this similar tap dancing, or as Jim Geraghty at NRO called it this morning "[the] hokey-pokey", is creating unneeded distraction and erosion of political capital. The reaction to the police acting stupidly remark is eerily similar. It goes something like this: He makes an off the cuff statement of his position, then back tracks off it after seeing that he is out of the mainstream of American opinion. Why would he hand his political opponents such a layup? Especially when you are on the short end of an overwhelming majority opinion as it was during Cambridge.

The first problem with his comments on Friday at an iftar dinner was his tone. Often he is lecturing, his numerous "Let me be clear" statements, as if we don't understand. The condescension is a habit with him and don't think that it goes unnoticed by the great unwashed massses. The main problem is that he really stated the obvious by saying this,

"As a citizen, and as president I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."

I mean I hate to say it but, uhhh no s*it Mr. President. Then after that statement he props up the usual strawman arguments and prattles on. The question over this has never been the right of the Imam to build this 13 story "cultural" center and mosque on private property, our laws protect that right. Everyone on the right and left can agree on that. Ironically the controversy has been over what the Imam's stated purpose has been; sensitivity and tolerance and then who deserves it. The decision to build this there is extremely insensitive to the families of loved ones who died on 9/11 and to American sensibilities in general. If this guy packed up and moved this a mile north, that would speak volumes for sensitivity and brotherhood with our fellow Americans that happen to be Muslim. I have said it in this space before, Imam Feisal Rauf has to answer to why he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Why was his book titled What's Right with Islam: a New Vision for Muslims and the West here in the U.S. and then when it was translated into Arabic it became A Call to Prayer from the WTC Rubble: Islamic Dawah from the Heart of America Post 911. A dawah is a call to Islam, nothing about tolerance and coexistence there. Why did he say publicly that Muslims did not perpetrate 9/11? The list goes on and on and like I said I went over this back in May here.

When you do not have leaders of the Muslim faith (outside of a couple of organizations, namely the AIFD who does a great job) speaking out consistently against terror and crimes committed in the name of Islam, it is hard for most Americans to feel comfortable and very "brotherly". Look no one would care where a mosque is built, but many people view this area of Manhattan as a sacred battlefield much like Gettysburg and other national protected parks. Couple this with the perception by some that this may be a typical Islamist move to construct a house of worship over "conquered" land you have a recipe for feeding intolerance against the religion. The more this drags on you may see other communities across the country oppose mosque construction and that is NOT what this country is about, but the percieved provocation of the Ground Zero mosque may foment the exact opposite of its stated intent. Not only that but instead of really talking about religious tolerance and our founding principles we are talking about an increasingly inept President.

Pathetic

2010-08-12T14:33:00.000-04:00

(H/T LCR)

Just had this brought to my attention. How lame is this? The Left as usual having troubles staying mature and keeping the debate to real issues. Stay classy...

POLITICO: Dem group launches 'F*ck Tea' campaign - Ben Smith - Dem group launches 'F*ck Tea' campaign

Home Ownership Has Its Priveleges

2010-08-12T14:16:00.000-04:00

Lately there has been talk about the loan modificaton program and the administration perhaps passing a law to provide (more) subsidies to mortgage forgiveness programs. As usual the governmental alphabet soup is at play here confusing most of us. I mean who can keep up with HAMP, Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC)? I know not me, but there are some basic principles alive here that our government should start to reconsider in light of what happened in the meltdown, and post-collapse.

Misguided Subsidies?

A recent piece in the USA Today started with this,

If there are two things that middle-class taxpayers who behave responsibly don't like, they are (1) having their money go to irresponsible people, and (2) having their money go to richer people.

Our current housing policies continue to do both. The HAMP which I mentioned above has granted 340,459 permanent modifications but 429,696 trial modifications and over 6,000 permanent modifications were cancelled, generally due to insufficient income documentation. More startling is that only about 10% of these that got to the final stages of modification were able to bring their mortgage current. Another 23% were a variety of short sales, bankruptcies, or foreclosures. So it begs the question, how is that $50 billion dollar program helping? Are we going to continue to encourage bad lending and borrowing habits or should our policies be crafted towards a more fiscally responsible incentive to home ownership.

What we have now is a creation of both parties, and the result of the drive to make home ownership our primary industrial strategy in the last half of the 20th century. When the vote came to the House floor to renew the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit back in June, the vote was 409-5 in favor. Pretty amazing considering how polarized that body is at the moment. It was intentioned to be a one year one off stimulus, now it seems to be stated policy. That credit is a large transfer of wealth that has little to no economic impact for the country. What it did last year was similar to the cash for clunkers program, getting people to hasten a purchase they were going to make anyways. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser likened it to "mindless house swapping".

The effect of this and of our current tax structure (which is to allow mortgage interest deduction) is that it inflates the housing market unnaturally. What I mean by that is it inflates the value of homes outside of what the free market would intend. Because of the tax incentives, people are incentivized to take out a larger mortgage. If you can write off the interest why would you choose the smaller mortgage? It used to be quite difficult to own your own home, you had to have a good downpayment (back in the 1920's you had to have HALF down), so the political class argued to make it easier and have won that argument. Then in the last fifteen years you had the creation of mortgage finance products that reduced down payments and minimized equity. If homes increase in value for perpetuity then equity is not nearly important, but that is not realistic. What this homeownership without equity does is create macroeconomic costs not benefits. A recent paper written by Christopher Papagianis & Reihan Salam notes:

Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick has argued that such homeownership can exacerbate unemployment by making workers less likely to move from one labor market to another. Labor mobility is badly undermined when homeowners in a depressed market can’t sell their property for anything approaching the principal balance of the mortgage they originally took out to buy it.....since most homebuyers base their purchase decisions on the monthly after-tax cost of housing, reducing the deduction for mortgage interest would mean that the same monthly payment would buy “less house.” For example, a 25 percent deduction for mortgage interest allows buyers with a 6 percent mortgage to spend an extra $30,000 on a house without seeing any increase in their monthly payments.Similarly, an increase in down-payment requirements from the current 3.5 percent to 20 percent would mean that $20,000 of savings could be used to buy only a $100,000 house, rather than one priced at $570,000.

Combine that with the overall decline in housing equity in the country from 2001 to 2009 to the tune of $1.35 trillion and you have a society that has become stagnant, the opportunity of upward mobility (which so many tied into homeownership) has been damaged. That decline has more or less wiped out the real estate boom and then some on many levels.

Solution

The American people unwittingly propped up the housing market and by de facto the construction industry which has hemorrhaged jobs that may never come back. What may work to strengthen our economic prospects long-term is a tax deduction for home ownership akin to the child deduction. It must be a flat rate so as not to incentivize someone to purchase a house they really cannot afford. It would reward middle class homeowners but at a fraction of the cost of the current mortgage interest deduction. Other less likely solutions would be to revamp Fannie and Freddie which will not happen under current leadership. We the taxpayers have been put on the hook to them for over $150 billion dollars. These two GSE's operate as spigots of tax payer money to subsidize housing in this country, without serious reform there and in our tax structure our economy will not be better off for having experienced such a calamatious event. It would be nice, if for once, our policy makers could learn from prior mistakes and not double down on them.

Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before

2010-08-11T09:46:00.000-04:00

This is a good one. Harry Reid, a Republican Spic, and a guy with "negro dialect" walk into a bar...
Hey I am just a raaaaacist conservative telling jokes here, don't get angry.

The hypocrisy from the left is rancid and nevermind that the mainstream media won't make a case that this jackass should resign a la Trent Lott. This is the kind of identity racial politics that is to be expected from a group (Progressives/Liberals) whose philosophical forefathers were Mussolini and Lenin. Here is how you answer such stupidity, my wonderful jokes not withstanding :)

More on the story:
Harry Reid: "I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican."

The Ground Zero Mosque

2010-08-11T00:47:00.000-04:00

Hands down the best and most comprehensive breakdown of the argument over the GZ Mosque by Dan McLaughlin over at Red State. On point and touches all angles, a must read! To me and the rest of us that oppose the mosque it really is a moral question, not so much do they have a right to build whatever they want there. When you look at all of the issues surrounding the project and the Imam directing it, there is no moral dilemma. The answer is clear, build it somewhere else or don't build it at all.

The Ground Zero Mosque and The Obama Administration RedState

Payola

2010-08-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

Pelosi,et al. have been called back from recess to pass this blatant payoff to the teachers' unions at the expense of $12 billion in food stamps benefits...so much for bleating heart liberals. Why couldn't they pay for this stupidity out of the unused stimulus funds, you know because so far the funds have really gone to good use. Well that wouldn't make much sense, let's just draw on the greatest credit card that is already $14 trillion in the hole.

The usefulness of unions has long passed. Democrats need to make these payoffs because without unions they lose the greatest 'get out the vote' apparatus any party has ever known. The reason so many of these teachers face getting the axe is because in many states the teachers unions do not know the word "concession". They think they can draw on their local taxpayers until infinity. They think that paying nothing into their benefits on the backs of taxpayers is ok. I for one am thankful to have a governor that has faced down these criminals and told them, "Enough is enough".

August Surprise

2010-08-10T13:21:00.000-04:00

Does Obama think this pandering will work to electoral benefit in November? This would seem to back up the contrary. He, like most on the hard left, does not understand the work ethic and motivation of the American people.

58% Oppose Federal Mortgage Forgiveness Plan for Troubled Homeowners

In somewhat related news: A leftist actually acknowledging the existence/validity of the Laffer curve?

Where Does The Laffer Curve Bend

Generic Congressional Vote

2010-08-10T11:59:00.000-04:00

The latest generic numbers over at RCP are linked to below. This is very bad news for Democrats based on historical data, since 1950 they have polled the question and Republicans have NEVER led by this many. The big news is not only the spread but what the trend means as we get closer to the midterms. It's just simple math, the Democrats have many more seats to defend and 25 of them reside in districts that have R+ numbers over 7 (PVI). Republicans need 40 to switch the House, you figure they may get all 25 of these. The balance of control will be in the swing districts and this is why the overall generic number is bad news for Democrats. In the months to come it will be interesting to see how this advantage in the generic translates to electoral results since we have not seen this type of lead. We very well could be on the cusp of a historical turnover in the House and more Republicans in the Congress since the 1920's. Three months is a lifetime in an election cycle but if Democrats and the tone deaf Obama administration continue on this course Ms. Pelosi will become Minority Leader....and who wouldn't enjoy that?

RealClearPolitics - Election Other - Generic Congressional Vote

Ohio Democrats Hit New Lows

2010-08-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

I recently have mentioned the murky prospects that the Democrats have of retaining power in the House. What I have not spoke about is the complete flip in statehouses that is likely. According to the RCP averages after November you could have as many as 35 Republican governors. That's right, 35 out of 57! Which is very important in a year ending in zero, redistricting after the census is under the aegis of each state legislature. So it's no surprise they are coming out swinging in the very tight Governor's race in Ohio. The problem is they are coming out with something that was discredited already months ago. As Erick Erickson over at Red State wrote some months ago, there is no "there" there. Secondly by attacking a worthwhile charity that assists our military families shows how truly despicable the Left is and typical of how they operate. The woman who originally raised the questions of the Freedom Alliance and Sean Hannity's involvement has been proven to live in a world where most of us do not reside. Where everyone is anti-Semitic and we all have some sort of sympathies for Islamofascists. People on the right and left have dismissed her for some time now, she calls herself Conservative but I am not sure what her philosophical leanings are. She is an angry woman who seems to have some sort of petty jealousy with successful Conservatives. I will not link to her here on sheer principle and she has been known to cyberstalk...haha. You can figure out who it is by clicking through some of the links in this story. I will give you two hints, I appeared on the same shovio.com show as her on June 10th of this year and her name rhymes with Mebbie Shoesell.

Crunching Numbers

2010-08-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

So I was looking at some of the Missouri primary election returns from last night, because I'm a total nerd. I notice a couple of interesting things that are being noted in some other circles as well. I never like to chase the news but these things are too obvious to not comment on it.

The Proposition C results are what everyone this morning is talking about. This bodes very poorly for Obamacare and it's continually anemic poll numbers. It was approved overwhelmingly, the 'yes' vote was a vote to amend current Missouri law to deny the government authority to "penalize citizens for refusing to purchase private health insurance or infringe upon the right to offer or accept direct payment for lawful healthcare services." I believe the fact that VA had a law similar to this already on the books is partially the grounds on which Federal Court did not dismiss the VA case against the Gov't. The guys over at volokh.com can address that WAY better than I can. In their opinions (they are mostly all legal scholars or law students) it paves the way for an appeal to the 4th Circuit which would then lead directly to the Supreme Court. In any case the fact that it passed by a 3 to 1 margin is telling. It shows the enthusiasm of the opponents of Obamacare and that they are willing to travel to the ballot boxes to make their voices heard.

To further illustrate the enthusiasm gap being discussed recenlty. I offer up what happened in St. Louis County, the most Democratic county, the votes for Robin Carnahan (D) were 58,775 in her primary. The numbers for Roy Blunt (R) while facing many more opponents in his primary was 59,274. Draw your own conclusion as to how that may translate in November for Carnahan the incumbent. But to me it shows the Democrats are headed for serious defeats in November. Now for the bad news...Sharron Angle. Would the election of Sharron Angle benefit conservative policies in the Senate moreso than Harry Reid? Of course it would, but I really would like a candidate who can get out of their own way. This video is hilarious:

Carl Cameron's incredulousness is priceless. If this is truly what she thinks we on the right need, she is sadly mistaken and needs a refresher course. I guess all candidates can't be as eloquent as Senate wannabe Democrat Alvin Greene. I kid of course, but would it be too difficult for the Republican Party to put someone up there who can communicate principles effectively? Senator Reid is eminently beatable and his struggling to get anywhere near 50% in polls shows that he is ripe for a beatdown. Then Nevadans give us Angle...oops. Don't get me wrong, I like her and when she is not sticking her foot in her mouth does stand for small government and consistently votes conservatively in her current role as a state representative. So I wish her luck and she has my support in this blog against Harry Reid.

You Were Expecting What Exactly?

2010-08-03T23:26:00.000-04:00

The chart recently released by Rep. Kevin Brady's (R-Tx.) office is priceless. All of this stuff is no surprise to anyone that has been paying attention to the legislative debate over Obamacare. You know, the fact that the law creates 68 grant programs, 47 bureaucratic entities, 29 pilot programs, six regulatory systems, six compliance standards and two entititlements should not be new info. As Queen Pelosi said "we need to pass it to find out what's in it", well we really didn't because most of us knew it stunk to high hell and if the recent poll numbers are accurate so do the majority of the American people. I believe the liberal argument of "Don't worry they will like it once they get the free stuff" will not hold true here. One simple reason. When most entitlements are created it is new and nothing is taken away (except more of your tax dollars). With Obamacare once people start getting dropped from their employer based insurance, the wake up call of your lost freedoms will come too little too late.

As the article below notes, by the administration's own calculations as many as 117 million people will have to change their health plans by 2013 as the employer provided insurance loses grandfathered status. It's the leftist version of the end around, can't actually pass single payer so let's rig the system. So forget all the tax implications, the backroom deals struck to get this disaster passed, and the continual lies from Obama himself ("if you like your insurance you get to keep it"...what a load of sh*t) that last little piece of info is all you need to know what the true intentions were. It was not to get better health care for all, it was simply to grant government grand powers this country has never seen before. They were banking on the American people to be suckers and lay down and take it. Only 91 days until the midterms...

Obamacare Only Looks Worse Upon Further Review: Kevin Hassett - Bloomberg

Center for American Progress Attacks New York As Un-American

2010-08-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

This is where the left is in this country. First off it doesn't surprise me that the Commies over at the CAP think that the majority of Americans are not in posession of true American values. Any organization run by alien abduction wack job Podesta should be questioned for its intellectual veracity. The opposition to this mosque has been deconstructed in my space here before so I won't go into it again, but the questions I posed then still have not been answered.

Center for American Progress Attacks New York As Un-American

Wow I'm Shocked!

2010-08-02T15:22:00.000-04:00

No not really. Over the weekend the FBI released documents regarding Howard Zinn. The radical "historian" was revealed to have Communist ties in the 1940's and '50's. The dirty secret of liberals is that most of them were/are Commies or were/are small "f" fascists. I will be dissecting the philosophical origins of liberal/conservative in a future post. Been doing my research on that for some time and want to put together a good full post about it. I have alluded to the origins of these terms in my past posts and have had some commenters comment about it so I figured it would be a good topic to tackle and in turn drop some knowledge. It has always been a root of my curiosity, the history of what constitutes today's modern liberal. The only reason for that curiosity is that for some reason the right is always held to some philosophical clarity test when we propose policy, while the left seems to escape similar scrutiny when they do.

Well as noted in the first sentence, here is the report about Zinn:

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act

P.S. some good news from the courts today: Court Refuses to Block Virginia's Obamacare Challenge

Men Run Onto Citi Field With Mexican Flags

2010-08-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

Typical Mets fans, making a political statement....using the flag of Mexico? By the way I always love how the press collectively describes the law as "Arizona's immigration law", funny. Seriously though, all joking about Mets fans aside, it is not a law against immigration it is a law on ILLEGAL immigration as if there is no difference to these leftist morons. The irony is that this combined with the recent judge's decision to hold back portions of the law, all add to more animosity against immigrants (legal or otherwise). I am glad that most of the crowd started chanting "USA! USA!" as these dipshits ran across the field. It is all about being a reactionary and protesting without even examining what it is they are protesting, it just looks cool to protest and yell and scream little slogans. They are just spoon fed that the law is evil and anti-Hispanic by most of the intellectually challenged members of the media (e.g. Rick Sanchez).

Men Run Onto Citi Field With Mexican Flags

Somehow Fitting

2010-08-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

I honestly could have cared less if FNC got Helen Thomas' old seat in the front row of the White House press room. Although it is kind of fitting and indicative of the about face in the national mood in the last year. More people realize in this post JournoList world that the MSM and its ilk are unreliable in the distribution of the news sans bias. So Congrats to Fox on graduating from "not a news network" to the front row.

FNC goes from ‘not a news network’ to ‘all up in Gibbs’ face’ The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Huh?

2010-07-30T09:39:00.000-04:00

Demonstrating two things 1)Democrats are desperate and 2)they really are shameless. Singling out your opponent for receiving donations from a specific ethnic group? WTF? Who really cares what ethnicity he is getting his donations from. I am curious as to how Mike McMahon's (D-New York) campaign figured this out. Oh this is how, according to his campaign spokeswoman "Where is Grimm's money coming from. There is a lot of Jewish money, a lot of money from people in Florida and Manhattan, retirees."

Jew money? Seriously?

McMahon Campaign Hits Grimm For Taking "Jewish Money" The New York Observer

Oh wait it gets better,a copy editor over at Mother Jones (a leftist blog that can't shoot straight) had it this way. Oops....too bad you couldn't delete that Twitter status fast enough.

My Way News - Obama's message to voters: Things could be worse

2010-07-26T09:18:00.000-04:00

Yes things could be worse, your Democratic Congress could have passed Cap and Trade as well. This is the mentality that got Carter sacked in the late 70's. The whole "woe is me" crap, the sense of dread (who can forget Peanut Man's "malaise" speech") combined with the "way in over my head" look is what made him a one term wonder. Let's all "hope" the same applies here.

My Way News - Obama's message to voters: Things could be worse

My Favorite Punching Bag...Part Deux

2010-07-22T16:03:00.000-04:00

Allahpundit over at HotAir gives us this surgical tearing apart of Olby. That crackpot on MSLSD.

Hot Air » Video: Arch-propagandist troubled by media’s lack of ethics

Then you can see how Glenn Beck takes it down, freaking hilarious. Just stick with the video for a few minutes, oh it's good. Just sit back and revel in the oblivious, overweening pompousness of the great Olbermann.

Raaaaaaacist!

2010-07-22T15:16:00.000-04:00

There I said it. The word has no meaning any more thanks to the numerous nimrods on the left that have used it willy-nilly to beat down Conservatives or anyone that disagrees with them. This couldn't have been more illustrated by the two stories dominating the narrative on the blogosphere (BTW I'd like to petition to change that term, how about..."blogoverse" or "blogoplanet"?...nope they suck too), the Shirley Sherrod story and JournoList.

Couple thoughts about Shirley now that we have had a couple of days to digest this story. She got a raw deal not only from the NAACP but from her employers and the WH. The knee jerk reaction was to can her before it did become a story,even if they didn't have the whole story. BEFORE it even aired on Fox (quite the contrary, ironically it was Glenn Beck and Charles Krauthammer coming to her defense almost immediately) or ANY other news outlet reported on the tape, she was told to pull over and write her resignation on her Blackberry as she was driving to work that morning. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. I do hope she retains some sort of employment at the USDA. The lighter side as written by Nathan Wurtzel yesterday is that the administration can "claim another job created or saved". I also linked to Shannen Coffin's reaction on NRO yesterday right here on this blog. She does a nice job of breaking it down in a few paragraphs and acknowledging that she is due an apology from more than one source.

Breitbart does not emerge unscathed in this, but his intention of putting the tape up was not to fire this woman. Don't they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions? It does not excuse that he shouldn't have put it up without knowing the whole context. In this case his embrace of leftist Alinsky tactics that he has used successfully against leftists kind of backfired here (different take on that here). He had this piece of tape for months and was waiting to release it as a counter to any NAACP race baiting (which they are known to engage in....um all the time). I saw the original posting and its intention was to drag out the double standard of the NAACP after they had just issued a proclamation declaring the Tea Party as Raaaaacists. He commented about the cheering and overall acceptance of this woman's prejudice in the crowd reactions. He will now become the MSM punching bag for a few days for this lack of oversight. They are good at diversionary tactics. What was not known at the time was that the speech continued and it was her telling how she overcame these prejudices, truly a redemptive story. Although at this point she should quit while she is ahead, talking about suing everyone...ugh.

For the other story continuing to have legs, and will for a while I suspect, is JournoList. I mentioned it yesterday and below linked is Fred Barnes' take. He was mentioned by Spencer Ackerman in the listserv as a Conservative to label as racist for no reason except to put him/us on the defensive. A good read:

Fred Barnes: The Vast Left-Wing Media Conspiracy - WSJ.com

Obama wins! And Journolisters rejoice | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

2010-07-22T11:02:00.000-04:00

Journolist...the gift that keeps on giving. These revelations once again exposing the MSM as a bunch of partisan, openly rooting for their candidate, hacks. Love it, they completely ignored this and now Journalism is DEAD. These guys should have been writing for Pravda.

Obama wins! And Journolisters rejoice | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Shirley Sherrod Re-revisited - Shannen Coffin - The Corner on National Review Online

2010-07-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

My thought is: Ditto

Shirley Sherrod Re-revisited - Shannen Coffin - The Corner on National Review Online