Thursday, December 22, 2011

Political Digest for December 22, 2011

Best older posts for new blog readers

Bob’s Christmas Pudding

Bob’s New England Cranberry Sauce
Holiday Recipes just for you. ~Bob.

Aussie DUI ad
Worth sharing.

Medicare
On a conference call with Medicare today, they said that if Medicare was a country, it would have the third largest economy in the world, based on current expenditures. Fraud runs $29B per year. Do you really think it will last another ten years? ~Bob.

Axis Of Evil Loses Murderous Dear Leader Kim Jong Il
Excerpt: Dear Leader's cognac bill was estimated at $500,000 a month. Despite one of the longest and costliest emergency international food relief efforts in history, North Korea's artificial famine has had a proportionately higher death toll than any in history — worse even than Stalin's Russia or Mao's China. In remote locations not far from the borders with China and Russia, a gulag not unlike the worst labor camps built by Mao and Stalin holds 200,000 men, women and children accused of various crimes against the state. The North Korean Freedom Coalition estimates that between 400,000 and 1 million have perished in these death camps. (The joys of living in a planned, state-controlled economy like that Obama, OWS and the leftists want us to have, as opposed to the evil free market economy of South Korea, where the people have food to eat. ~Bob.)

Bradley Manning case: Investigators show evidence of WikiLeaks link, Assange chats
Excerpt: Prosecutors presented new evidence Monday that appears to link Pfc. Bradley Manning to a massive leak of government material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, including the existence of computer chat logs between Manning and WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange discussing the exchange of government information. At a pretrial hearing, which is scheduled to continue in a military courtroom at Fort Meade this week, a government witness on Monday described a memory card he said belonged to Manning and contained nearly 500,000 field reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. Prosecution witnesses also testified that a file allegedly deleted from one of Manning’s work computers contained more than 100,000 State Department cables. (Let’s see. Revealing classified information during time of war. That sounds amazingly like espionage, doesn’t it? So, espionage during time of war. If found guilty of this universal capital crime, he deserves to be executed. I know where at least two reasonably good shots could be found for a firing squad, don’t I, Bob? Ron P. Well, there’s you, me, and a couple dozen Marine and other vet buddies on my blog list, just to start. But I’d be willing to try to strangle him with my oxygen hose. Readers who don’t know us will assume this is a joke. ~Bob.)

Coming War Threat: Terrorists Developing a Safe Haven in Egypt to Attack Israel
Excerpt: Governments and political analysts are supposed to examine likely problems in order that they can be evaded or minimized. The time to be alarmed is not when problems become visible but when governments refuse to recognize their existence. Western regimes and analysts are generally taking a best-possible-case view on Egypt and other developing issues in the region. (...) They dismiss not just worst-case but highly likely case scenarios.

Santorum showing signs of life in Iowa
Excerpt: Rick Santorum's presidential campaign has started to show signs of life, and GOP kingmakers in Iowa say the former senator has an outside shot of winning the caucus next month. While the large religious conservative voting bloc remains split between Santorum, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, many experts in the state say Santorum has more structure and momentum than the other two and could coalesce enough support to win the state.

Worth Reading: Second Period of Islamic Power By Pat Buchanan
A very interesting article. Most Americans have no clue about the long term implications...—GBH. Excerpt: But democracy delivered a rude shock. In the first round of voting, over 60 percent of all Egyptians cast their ballots for either the Muslim Brotherhood or the radical Islamist Nour Party of the Salafis. In the second round last week, 75 percent voted Islamist. … While all the world has heard of the atrocity against Muslims in Srebrenica, that world ignores the desecration and destruction of Orthodox churches and cathedrals in Kosovo and the ethnic cleansing of Serbs by the Muslim Albanians that President Clinton brought to power.

Marine Stands up to Liberal Professor on Fox News

If Any State Prevents Us From Spreading Islam On Its Soil We Will Wage Jihad On Them
But try to preach Christianity in a Muslim country…~Bob.

Senators, Do Your Job and Get to Work
Excerpt: On the front page of the White House's website, a clock slowly ticks away, second by second, counting down to the day, hour, minute, and second that the nation's payroll tax "holiday" expires and the American people get socked right where it counts -- in the pocket book. And just next to that clock is a message laying the blame squarely on the House of Representatives. But today the real culprit in this debacle is the U.S. Senate which, right now, is home for the holidays already, celebrating with family while Washington sits in a stalemate.

Worth Reading: China Is Not The Source Of Our Jobs Problem By Walter E. Williams
Excerpt: Republicans and Democrats, liberals as well as conservatives, have bought into anti-Chinese trade demagoguery. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that tariffs against China are a "key part of our 'Make It in America' agenda." During his 2010 campaign, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called his Tea Party-backed Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, "a foreign worker's best friend." … In 2010, total imports were about 16 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, and of that, 2.5% came from China.

Also Good: 3 Misconceptions That Need to Die by Morgan Housel
Excerpt: At a conference in Philadelphia earlier this month, a Wharton professor noted that one of the country's biggest economic problems is a tsunami of misinformation. You can't have a rational debate when facts are so easily supplanted by overreaching statements, broad generalizations, and misconceptions. And if you can't have a rational debate, how does anything important get done? As author William Feather once advised, "Beware of the person who can't be bothered by details." There seems to be no shortage of those people lately. Here are three misconceptions that need to be put to rest.

Thank you western media: The terrifying truth behind the so-called Arab Spring By John R Bradley
Excerpt: Stripped above the waist — save for her bright blue bra — the protester lies in a street just off Cairo’s
Tahrir Square
, seconds before a soldier stamps on her naked torso. She has been dragged around by her arms and beaten by frenzied soldiers wielding metal batons, but still they won’t let her escape to safety. This brutal scene from Egypt has sent new shockwaves around the West in the past three days, as the military regime has become ever more brutal towards pro-democracy protesters. (But think how bad it would be if they weren’t members of The Religion of Peace. Below is the link to the video. Graphic. ~Bob. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnFVYewkWEY&skipcontrinter=1 )

I’m for Newt- and the Tea Party by John Ransom
Excerpt: While the Democrats made a mistake in believing that Barack Obama was the next JFK, Republicans make the mistake of always looking for the next Reagan. Ronald Reagan is not here to save us. Sarah Palin will not save us. It won’t be Mike Huckabee or any of the other wanna-bes who have figured out how to monetize their narrow popularity into fat TV and radio gigs but could never win the GOP nomination.

Muslim baby was at risk of "honour killing"
The Religion of Peace, stamping out dishonor one baby at a time. ~Bob. Excerpt: A baby at risk of becoming the victim of an "honour killing" because she was born as the result of her unmarried Muslim mother's secret affair must be adopted to keep her safe, the Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday.

One sorry senator
Excerpt: Of course, he could have thought of that before he sold his not-inconsiderable Albany influence for $1 million in payoffs. In return for the cash, he intervened on behalf of a high-profile lobbyist’s clients and several health-care execs. And those proceeds allowed him to indulge in such luxuries as a Bentley Arnage and a garish Mill Basin mansion originally built — appropriately — for a former organized-crime family boss.

Fair Is a Four Letter Word
Excerpt: Barack Obama’s stated mission is to close the “fairness gap” between the power-haves and the power have-nots. And, in taking up the fight to “restore fairness” as he put it, Barack Obama has joined a long line of leaders in human history who have tried to “restore fairness” in a world that is unfair by design. So far – under the names of fairness, egalitarianism, socialism, and Communism – efforts to close the “fairness gap” between power-haves and power have-nots have killed more people than any other idea in human history: more than 100 million dead and counting.

John Terry to face criminal charges over alleged racist abuse
When speech is criminalized, no speech is free. ~Bob.

Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is “A Great Concept”
So, why is she living in a capitalist country? China or Cuba won’t have her? ~Bob.

VIDEO: Obama Places Himself on the Continuum of Greatness
excerpt: OBAMA UNCUT: I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln... (More of a leader like my ancestor, Ethelred the Unready. ~Bob.)

By all mean shoot rioters but... by James Delingpole, Telegraph UK
Excerpt: It was pegged to the new report suggesting that police should be allowed to use baton rounds, water cannon, even live bullets against rioters endangering life and property. Professor Gus's line, astonishingly, is that this was bad because it might "escalate" tension – especially since so many kids these days carried guns and might be tempted to shoot back. "Eh?" I said. "You're saying Gus that the reason police shouldn't use guns is because the bad guys already have guns? Sounds like a counsel of despair to me."

Obama Campaign Issues Creepy Convert-Your-Relatives-to-the-Cause Video
Forwarded email comment: John on December 21, 2011 at 9:11 am. Pat Dollard posted this. It’s an official Barack Obama campaign ad for 2012. Having asked supporters to shove their donations to Obama’s reelection in their relatives faces last week, they’re now asking fans to convert those same people through persistent political harangues at family gatherings. If any of your relatives turn up at Christmas dinner demanding to know why you’re not voting for Barack Obama, ask them this question: Did your cult leader instruct you to do this on his behalf. If they say yes, point out how creepy this is. And if they say no, show them this video and then point out how creepy it is. Seriously, it’s one thing to ask for people’s vote. It’s something else to put out a video instructing people to badger their relatives into voting for you also. I guess this is what you get when you elect a community organizer.

Climate Crackdown - by Donna Laframboise, Financial Post
Excerpt: In recent days I’ve been receiving calls and emails asking what the U.S. Justice Department wants with me. In fact, there has been a misunderstanding. I write a blog about climate-change dogma that has a similar Web address to a blogger in the United States. It is that person — who publishes under the pen name Jeff Id at NOconsensus.wordpress.com — who is being targeted.

Just on the other side of our undefended border. ~Bob. Excerpt: A policeman in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was burned alive Tuesday by unknown attackers in front of several witnesses who saw him writhing in agony as he died. The killing was the 33rd of a municipal police officer in Juarez this year and the 59th in the last 15 months, according to the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office.

Excerpt: The Sun reports that the 27-year-old, who is third in line to the British throne, told guests at “A Night of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards” on Monday night that he would likely return in 2012 – almost four years after his previous secret mission was cut short when details leaked. “I can’t wait to get out there,” the newspaper quoted Harry as saying. Harry served as a battlefield air controller in Afghanistan for 10 weeks from December. 2007, but was sent home early after details were made public – first by an Australian celebrity magazine and later on the Drudge Report website. (I admire his courage and loath the media for putting him at risk for the sake of a story. ~Bob.)

Study: Illinois, NJ tie for most outbound migration
The productive, those with wealth and those retired are fleeing the fiscal disaster states, making them worse. Surprised California isn’t tops, though. Note those moving to DC, as the Democrats grow government. ~Bob. Excerpt: An annual study of interstate moving trends by United Van Lines shows that Illinois and New Jersey tied for the states with the largest outbound migration this year.

Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle
Excerpt: Each Chevy Volt sold thus far may have as much as $250,000 in state and federal dollars in incentives behind it – a total of $3 billion altogether, according to an analysis by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. (Worth every penny so Obama, Gore, et al can feel all Green and fuzzy. ~Bob.)

Occupy protesters disrupt Gingrich during endorsement event
http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=256482
Excerpt: For the second time in two weeks, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was drowned out temporarily by protesters, as he made his final push to the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. Gingrich was holding a news conference Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol to receive the endorsements of Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, and New Hampshire House Speaker William O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, when five protesters who are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement began shouting. (My Floor Leaders in the Massachusetts Senate, the late Sen. John Parker, used to say, “It’s always an advantage to a public man to be the victim of an outrage.” This should help Newt. ~Bob.)

Carter sends condolences to NK?
How about to the millions starved and murdered? Leftist collateral damages in creating a planned economy, I suppose. ~Bob.

University Mum on Radical Chaplain
Excerpt: Northeastern University isn't commenting about concerns regarding its Muslim chaplain, despite his recorded statements praising an attempted attack on American forces in Afghanistan as "brave" and his earlier call for Muslims to "grab on to the gun and the sword" to fight injustice. On Monday, the Investigative Project on Terrorism reported on remarks Abdullah Faaruuq made during a Dec. 8 fundraiser for Aafia Siddiqui, also known as "Lady al-Qaida." Siddiqui, an MIT-educated neuroscientist, was arrested by Afghan officials in 2008, who found notes about mass casualty attacks in her possession. During questioning by U.S. officials, she grabbed an Army officer's M-4 rifle and fired it at the Americans.

Matt Damon Blasts Obama: 'We Would Have Been Better Off With A One-Term President With Balls'
Excerpt: “I’ve talked to a lot of people who worked for Obama at the grassroots level,” says Damon. “One of them said to me, ‘Never again. I will never be fooled again by a politician.’” Damon then gets even more direct with his own criticism. “You know, a one-term president with some balls who actually got stuff done would have been, in the long run of this country, much better,” argues the We Bought a Zoo star.

VIDEO: Congressman Scott Rigell (R-Virginia) Mocks PC Police in Christmas/Hanukkah Greetings

Obama’s Christmas Carol Parody.
Worth Sharing. ~Bob.

Rachel Maddow, Jacob Weisberg and the Religion of Liberalism
Excerpt: What is so sad and awful about this is that liberalism, like other extreme religious movements, tends to eradicate the human conscience. One of my favorite religious stories involves Cardinal Newman, one of the great converts to Catholicism. Cardinal Newman was once asked to offer a toast to the pope. He raised his glass and said, “To conscience first, the pope second.”

Atheist Group Threatens to Sue if Michigan City Fails to Put Up an Anti-Religion Sign
Excerpt: Giving the Grinch a run for his money this year, an attorney — acting on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and local atheist complainant Douglas Marshall — has sent a letter to the mayor of Warren, Mich., threatening legal action against the city unless the mayor allows an “equal time” anti-religion sign next to a nativity scene in the city hall lobby. The reason? Marshall is offended by the expression of faith in the public square.

VIDEO: Morning Joe panalists slam media love affair with Obama in 2008
Excerpt: On Wednesday’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, host Joe Scarborough and guests were in agreement: The press was “in the bag” for Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign. Speaking to Newsweek and Daily Beast editor Tina Brown, Scarborough pointed out how she “followed Hillary [Clinton] around in 2008 and just saw, everyday, incoming [attacks] against not only Hillary Clinton, but anybody who supported her.”

The Torch Has Been Passed to a New Generation by Mark Steyn
Excerpt: A few days ago, during the recent military crackdown, the Institut d’Egypte was burned to the ground — mainly because young soldiers either joined in the gleeful savagery or declined to prevent it. Millions of manuscripts were lost. This blogger (politically correct enough to use the terms “BCE” and “CE” rather than “BC and “AD”) compares it to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. But I’d put it in the context of the Muslim world’s more recent retreat into ignorance represented by the Brotherhood, the Wahhabists, the Ayatollahs et al.

False Fronts, at Home and Abroad - Mark Steyn
Excerpt: The jig is pretty much up for the post–World War II global order. It's becoming increasingly hard to avoid the thought that, when it comes to the Western world, there's no there there. There may be a there out there somewhere else, but chances are you're paying for that, too. The put-upon taxpayer of an industrial nation accepts that the bulk of his contribution to the "international aid" budget is entirely wasted: The traditional quip, made by many people, from the great Peter Bauer to Ron Paul more recently, is that it's poor people in rich countries funding rich people in poor countries. But that bon mot doesn't seem quite to cover the revelation that the U.S. Agency for International Development gives foreign aid to China. That's to say, we borrow money from China to give to China.

Bernstein Shreds The Penn State Letter
Excerpt: A letter from 382 former Penn State football players was released Wednesday showing support for Joe Paterno. The former Penn State coach is currently battling lung cancer and turned 85 today. Below is the letter in its entirety, with my comments in italics:

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