Had to resize the photo to load. If you can't read, it says: "My next door neighbor wants to ban all guns. Their house is not armed. Out of respect for their opinions, I promise not to use my guns to protect them."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
New House Sign
Had to resize the photo to load. If you can't read, it says: "My next door neighbor wants to ban all guns. Their house is not armed. Out of respect for their opinions, I promise not to use my guns to protect them."
Political Digest October 27, 2009
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Prognosis improves for public insurance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102304081.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Okay, government programs have always cost far more than predicted and been subject to the inefficiency of political interference, but this time will be different, we promise. Beside, when the crises hits in ten or twenty years, we’ll mostly be gone and it will be someone else’s problem. The folks who passed Medicare don’t have to fix it, now that it costs ten times what they claimed.
Public option revival not a sign of strength
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Public-option-revival-not-a-sign-of-strength-8437298-65944137.html
Excerpt: But while it may be cause to raise a glass of carbon-neutral pinot noir in Berkeley and on the Upper West Side, the renewed talk of a government-run insurance program is a sign of weakness, not strength, for President Obama's health plan. The president and his team have put the insurance industry at the top of their ever-lengthening list of enemies and are now threatening to cut them out of the great health care takeover. But the plan until recently was to turn the health insurance industry into a public utility: Americans would have no choice but to buy their products, but the feds would set rates and coverage rules. This was appealing to moderate Democrats in Congress who have rejected the idea of a government-run insurance program on the grounds that it would compete unfairly and wipe out private, employer-based insurance. Rather than risking the poor quality of care and debilitating expense of a single-payer system, the public option would be scrapped in favor of a deal with the devil of big insurance.
From the people who brought us the swine flu vaccine shortage - Government-run health care!
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/From-the-people-who-promised-swine-flu-shots---Government-run-health-care-65900377.html
Excerpt: President Obama's late-night declaration of a nationwide public health emergency last night shouldn't be allowed to obscure the most important lesson of the developing swine flu crisis - The same government that only weeks ago promised abundant supplies of swine flu vaccine by mid-October will be running your health care system under Obamacare. On Sept. 13, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, told ABC's This Week program that the government was on schedule to deliver an "ample supply" of swine flu vaccine by mid-October: "We're on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October. But we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls off the production line." But here we are five weeks later and news reports are coming in from across the nation of long waiting lines of people wanting the shot, but being turned away because of grossly inadequate supplies. The typical explanation from public health offiials is that the swine flu vaccine requires more time to be cultivated than seasonal flu vaccine. That's no doubt true, but did federal public health officials just discover that fact? These are the same government officials who will be in charge of your health care under the government-run health care system being sought by Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress. (Let’s be fair here. Blaming the BO administration for the swine flu response is like blaming the Bush administration for the Katrina response. Wait….that’s what they did! BO promised government competence on his watch.)
Next phase in health-care debate: The art of the deal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502630.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: In Washington, there are two ways to wage legislative war: fight to kill and fight to tweak. With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it. "We're very close to getting the 60 votes we need to move forward," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to request a cost estimate on the bill he has worked out behind closed doors, moving one step closer to debate in the full Senate, his spokesman said. Lawmakers, industry executives and lobbyists said over the weekend that this is the moment to exert maximum influence on legislation aimed at refashioning the $2.4 trillion health-care sector. From company-specific minutiae to far-reaching changes in the tax code, it is bargaining season.
Private Sector Socialism, Part II
http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/private-sector-socialism-part-ii/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-6238
Excerpt: The congressional leadership has been very vocal lately about the need for competition in health insurance. These are people who have previously never had a good word to say about “competition” in their entire political careers. They are the very same people who have previously resisted (and even ridiculed) proposals to allow health insurers to compete across state lines.
WHAT DOES MEDICAID EXPANSION MEAN FOR TEXAS?
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18602&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
And for every other state as well, to varying degrees. Excerpt: Under Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' still-developing plan, the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009," the Texas Health and Human Services Commission estimates that: The program's costs will rise by more than $20 billion over the next decade. The number of people enrolled in the program will grow by more than 2.5 million. Dumping these state and federal resources into the Medicaid program is not the right answer. Already the system consumes an enormous amount of public resources. Adding to it would only worsen the burden on states, enlarge the pool of health care recipients dependent on government aid, and worsen a growing problem of fraud, says the Foundation. (Create a program, buy votes, let someone else figure out how to pay for it.)
If you build a coverage mandate, will they come?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502607.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: As the proposed $900 billion health-care legislation inches toward the finish line, a critical unknown is whether people would comply with a mandate on individuals to carry insurance, one of the Democrats' primary tools to significantly increase the number of Americans who have coverage. The Senate Finance Committee, whose bill has dominated much of the recent debate, set its maximum penalty for noncompliance at $750 per year, at the same time creating subsidies to help low-income Americans buy coverage. In the House, the penalty is based on income, but works out to about the same for a middle-class family.
Electronic medical records not seen as a cure-all
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/24/AR2009102400967.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: When President Obama designated $19.5 billion to expand the use of electronic medical records, former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said it was one of only "two good things" in February's stimulus package. But such bipartisan enthusiasm has obscured questions about the effectiveness of health information technology products, critics say. Interviews with more than two dozen doctors, academics, patients and computer programmers suggest that computer systems can increase errors, add hours to doctors' workloads and compromise patient care. "Health IT can be beneficial, but many current systems are clunky, counterintuitive and in some cases dangerous," said Ross Koppel, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who published a key study on electronic medical records in 2005.
A congressman, a lobbying firm and a swift path to earmarks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502640.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: It takes a while for most start-up companies to gain the confidence of a U.S. congressman and the promise of federal funds. But last year, a small Illinois company accomplished its goal in 16 days with the help of Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, a little-known Indiana Democrat who sits on the House committee that funds the Pentagon. In rapid succession, the three-employee technology firm, NanoSonix, filed its incorporation papers in Skokie, Ill., and hired a Washington lobbying firm, K&L Gates, which boasted to clients of its close relationship with Visclosky. A week later, Visclosky wrote a letter of support for a $2.4 million earmark for NanoSonix from the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee. (Buying re-election with our tax dollars.)
Let the Markets Regulate
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18597&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Excerpt: Washington's role in financial markets should be to create a level playing field through proper regulation, not to create unfair advantages through targeted control and support. The Obama Administration's announcement that it will slash and regulate pay at seven bailed-out financial and economic giants, including Citigroup and A.I.G., does the latter, not the former, harming economic recovery, says Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute. In a healthy economy: Failed private-sector firms go out of business. Bankruptcy allows good assets and workers to escape bad companies. It also enforces market discipline, as it shows shareholders and lenders that reward comes with commensurate risk.
The Limits of Transit: Costly Dead-End
http://www.newgeography.com/content/001123-the-limits-transit-costly-dead-end
Excerpt: The proposed Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) fare increase and service cuts for next year are indicative of transit’s recurring budgetary problems, and not only in Chicago but nationwide. But in the Windy City, these moves have elicited an understandably negative public reaction since the city of Chicago depends on transit about as much as any city besides New York. CTA, like other transit agencies around the nation routinely, claim that fare increases and service cuts are necessary due to under-funding. Transit budget crises seem to come as often as Presidents day in many places and more often than February 29 (every four years) virtually everywhere. If under-funding were the primary problem, then an examination of historic trends would indicate that the money available to transit had declined (after adjusting for inflation) relative to ridership. But in nearly all cases, including both the CTA and the national data, this is far from the truth. (But government-run systems have to reward the politically faithful. Coming soon to healthcare.)
White House attacks worry moderate Democrats
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28638.html
Excerpt: A White House effort to undermine conservative critics is generating a backlash on Capitol Hill — and not just from Republicans. “It’s a mistake,” said Rep. Jason Altmire, a moderate Democrat from western Pennsylvania. “I think it’s beneath the White House to get into a tit for tat with news organizations.” Altmire was talking about the Obama administration’s efforts to undercut Fox News. But he said his remarks applied just the same to White House efforts to marginalize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobby targeted for its opposition to climate change legislation. “There’s no reason to gratuitously piss off all those companies,” added another Democrat, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. “The Chamber isn’t an opponent.”
Abuse of Police Powers
http://patdollard.com/2009/10/waxman-abuse-of-police-powers-to-achieve-political-goals-fine-by-me/
Excerpt: Unfortunately, with House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman’s recent decision to subpoena 52 of the top insurance companies in the country — which demanded a sweeping array of documents and information (some of which are highly confidential and proprietary) — our government appears to be trying to punish these companies for speaking out on an issue of public interest and importance. Incredibly, Waxman (D-Calif.) wants more information from these companies — which are not accused of any wrongdoing and have never taken a penny in government bailout money — than he recently demanded from the banking and auto industries that received billions in taxpayer dollars from Uncle Sam. Considering that we are in the middle of a hotly contested debate about health care reform, it is no secret why Waxman wants these insurance companies to do opposition research on themselves., And nobody should be surprised when Democrats cherry-pick the most damaging subpoenaed information to leak to the media in order to help the party turn the insurance industry into a boogeyman.
U.S. tested 2 Afghan scenarios in war game
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502633.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Thank God none of the millions of jihadist extremists read the US press, or they’d know everything we planned. Excerpt: One of the exercise's key assumptions is that an increase of 10,000 to 15,000 troops would not in the near future give U.S. commanders the forces they need to take back havens from the Taliban commanders in southern and western Afghanistan, where shadow insurgent governors collect taxes and run court systems based on Islamic sharia law. "We were running out the options and trying to understand the implications from many different perspectives, including the enemy and the Afghan people," said a senior military official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the classified game. The Obama administration initiated a major review of its war strategy in late September after questions emerged about the legitimacy of the Aug. 20 Afghan elections, which were marred by allegations of widespread fraud, and a troubling update on the progress of the war by McChrystal. He warned that unless the United States moved quickly to wrest momentum from the Taliban, defeating the insurgency in Afghanistan might no longer be possible. What was intended to be two or three weeks of intensive White House meetings has stretched on for almost a month. Obama and his national security advisers have sorted through the military and civilian aspects of the war, building toward a decision that many on the outside have urged be made sooner rather than later. Last week, the president concluded the five planned review sessions, roughly 15 hours in all, with top advisers in the Situation Room. McChrystal's analysis suggests that 44,000 troops would be needed to drive Taliban forces from populated areas and to hold them until Afghan troops and government officials can take the place of U.S. and NATO forces. The extra troops would allow U.S. commanders to essentially triple the size of the American forces in the southern part of the country, where the Taliban movement originated and where the insurgents have their strongest base of support.
Afghanistan could turn into Vietnam. Let's hope so.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/20528
Excerpt: "If that day in the jungle, if that war long ago, teaches us anything," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden, "then surely it is this: If we send our men and women in uniform into harm's way, then it must be only when it is absolutely necessary. And when we do, we must back them up with the strategy and the resources and the support they need to get the job done." (If only he meant it.)….. Why the dramatic reversal? Time helped, certainly: Just as Americans will forget Mohammad Omar, eventually the images of tortured American POWs and massive bombing of the Vietnamese countryside began to fade on both sides. But more important, American war veterans publicly made peace with their old adversaries. In the Senate, vets John Kerry and John McCain pushed for the normalization of ties between the nations in the 1990s. And on the ground in Vietnam, groups of veterans met with civilians from the areas where they had served. These meetings had a profound impact on Vietnamese public opinion. (Not me. I still hate those murdering commie bastards and grieve for the Vietnamese for fought by our side, whom we abandoned to murder, torture and slavery.)
Obama’s 6-Month Performance Review
http://www.manlyrash.com/blog/obamas-6-month-performance-review
Pushed credibility in some areas, but the Alinsky stuff is interesting.
Quote:
"At the heart of the American idea is the deep distrust and suspicion the founders of our nation had for government, distrust and suspicion not shared as much by today's Americans. Some of the founders' distrust is seen in our Constitution's language such as Congress shall not: abridge, infringe, deny, disparage, violate and deny. If the founders did not believe Congress would abuse our God-given rights, they would not have provided those protections. After all, one would not expect to find a Bill of Rights in Heaven; it would be an affront to God. Other founder distrust for government is found in the Constitution's separation of powers, checks and balances and the several anti-majoritarian provisions such as the Electoral College and the requirement that three-quarters of state legislatures ratify changes in the Constitution. The three branches of our federal government are no longer bound by the Constitution as the framers envisioned and what is worse is American ignorance and acceptance of such rogue behavior. Look at the current debate over government involvement in health, business bailouts and stimulus packages. The debate centers around questions as whether such involvement is a good idea or a bad idea and whether one program is more costly than another. Those questions are entirely irrelevant to what should be debated, namely: Is such government involvement in our lives permissible under the U.S. Constitution? That question is not part of the debate. The American people, along with our elected representatives, whether they're Republicans or Democrats, care less about what is and what is not permissible under our Constitution. They think Congress has the right to do anything upon which they can secure a majority vote, whether they have the constitutional or moral authority to do so or not." --George Mason economics professor Walter E. Williams. "The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )"
Laugh of the day
I exchanged e-mails with Milton “Mac” McNeely, the Marine whose letter to President Wobbly I posted yesterday. Mac went through the siege of Khe Sanh. I told him it was a nice quiet place when I rotated home in September of ’67—what happened? His reply: “Your replacement was a troublemaker!”
Prognosis improves for public insurance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102304081.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Okay, government programs have always cost far more than predicted and been subject to the inefficiency of political interference, but this time will be different, we promise. Beside, when the crises hits in ten or twenty years, we’ll mostly be gone and it will be someone else’s problem. The folks who passed Medicare don’t have to fix it, now that it costs ten times what they claimed.
Public option revival not a sign of strength
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Public-option-revival-not-a-sign-of-strength-8437298-65944137.html
Excerpt: But while it may be cause to raise a glass of carbon-neutral pinot noir in Berkeley and on the Upper West Side, the renewed talk of a government-run insurance program is a sign of weakness, not strength, for President Obama's health plan. The president and his team have put the insurance industry at the top of their ever-lengthening list of enemies and are now threatening to cut them out of the great health care takeover. But the plan until recently was to turn the health insurance industry into a public utility: Americans would have no choice but to buy their products, but the feds would set rates and coverage rules. This was appealing to moderate Democrats in Congress who have rejected the idea of a government-run insurance program on the grounds that it would compete unfairly and wipe out private, employer-based insurance. Rather than risking the poor quality of care and debilitating expense of a single-payer system, the public option would be scrapped in favor of a deal with the devil of big insurance.
From the people who brought us the swine flu vaccine shortage - Government-run health care!
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/From-the-people-who-promised-swine-flu-shots---Government-run-health-care-65900377.html
Excerpt: President Obama's late-night declaration of a nationwide public health emergency last night shouldn't be allowed to obscure the most important lesson of the developing swine flu crisis - The same government that only weeks ago promised abundant supplies of swine flu vaccine by mid-October will be running your health care system under Obamacare. On Sept. 13, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, told ABC's This Week program that the government was on schedule to deliver an "ample supply" of swine flu vaccine by mid-October: "We're on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October. But we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls off the production line." But here we are five weeks later and news reports are coming in from across the nation of long waiting lines of people wanting the shot, but being turned away because of grossly inadequate supplies. The typical explanation from public health offiials is that the swine flu vaccine requires more time to be cultivated than seasonal flu vaccine. That's no doubt true, but did federal public health officials just discover that fact? These are the same government officials who will be in charge of your health care under the government-run health care system being sought by Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress. (Let’s be fair here. Blaming the BO administration for the swine flu response is like blaming the Bush administration for the Katrina response. Wait….that’s what they did! BO promised government competence on his watch.)
Next phase in health-care debate: The art of the deal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502630.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: In Washington, there are two ways to wage legislative war: fight to kill and fight to tweak. With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it. "We're very close to getting the 60 votes we need to move forward," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to request a cost estimate on the bill he has worked out behind closed doors, moving one step closer to debate in the full Senate, his spokesman said. Lawmakers, industry executives and lobbyists said over the weekend that this is the moment to exert maximum influence on legislation aimed at refashioning the $2.4 trillion health-care sector. From company-specific minutiae to far-reaching changes in the tax code, it is bargaining season.
Private Sector Socialism, Part II
http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/private-sector-socialism-part-ii/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-6238
Excerpt: The congressional leadership has been very vocal lately about the need for competition in health insurance. These are people who have previously never had a good word to say about “competition” in their entire political careers. They are the very same people who have previously resisted (and even ridiculed) proposals to allow health insurers to compete across state lines.
WHAT DOES MEDICAID EXPANSION MEAN FOR TEXAS?
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18602&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
And for every other state as well, to varying degrees. Excerpt: Under Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' still-developing plan, the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009," the Texas Health and Human Services Commission estimates that: The program's costs will rise by more than $20 billion over the next decade. The number of people enrolled in the program will grow by more than 2.5 million. Dumping these state and federal resources into the Medicaid program is not the right answer. Already the system consumes an enormous amount of public resources. Adding to it would only worsen the burden on states, enlarge the pool of health care recipients dependent on government aid, and worsen a growing problem of fraud, says the Foundation. (Create a program, buy votes, let someone else figure out how to pay for it.)
If you build a coverage mandate, will they come?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502607.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: As the proposed $900 billion health-care legislation inches toward the finish line, a critical unknown is whether people would comply with a mandate on individuals to carry insurance, one of the Democrats' primary tools to significantly increase the number of Americans who have coverage. The Senate Finance Committee, whose bill has dominated much of the recent debate, set its maximum penalty for noncompliance at $750 per year, at the same time creating subsidies to help low-income Americans buy coverage. In the House, the penalty is based on income, but works out to about the same for a middle-class family.
Electronic medical records not seen as a cure-all
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/24/AR2009102400967.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: When President Obama designated $19.5 billion to expand the use of electronic medical records, former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said it was one of only "two good things" in February's stimulus package. But such bipartisan enthusiasm has obscured questions about the effectiveness of health information technology products, critics say. Interviews with more than two dozen doctors, academics, patients and computer programmers suggest that computer systems can increase errors, add hours to doctors' workloads and compromise patient care. "Health IT can be beneficial, but many current systems are clunky, counterintuitive and in some cases dangerous," said Ross Koppel, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who published a key study on electronic medical records in 2005.
A congressman, a lobbying firm and a swift path to earmarks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502640.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: It takes a while for most start-up companies to gain the confidence of a U.S. congressman and the promise of federal funds. But last year, a small Illinois company accomplished its goal in 16 days with the help of Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, a little-known Indiana Democrat who sits on the House committee that funds the Pentagon. In rapid succession, the three-employee technology firm, NanoSonix, filed its incorporation papers in Skokie, Ill., and hired a Washington lobbying firm, K&L Gates, which boasted to clients of its close relationship with Visclosky. A week later, Visclosky wrote a letter of support for a $2.4 million earmark for NanoSonix from the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee. (Buying re-election with our tax dollars.)
Let the Markets Regulate
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18597&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Excerpt: Washington's role in financial markets should be to create a level playing field through proper regulation, not to create unfair advantages through targeted control and support. The Obama Administration's announcement that it will slash and regulate pay at seven bailed-out financial and economic giants, including Citigroup and A.I.G., does the latter, not the former, harming economic recovery, says Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute. In a healthy economy: Failed private-sector firms go out of business. Bankruptcy allows good assets and workers to escape bad companies. It also enforces market discipline, as it shows shareholders and lenders that reward comes with commensurate risk.
The Limits of Transit: Costly Dead-End
http://www.newgeography.com/content/001123-the-limits-transit-costly-dead-end
Excerpt: The proposed Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) fare increase and service cuts for next year are indicative of transit’s recurring budgetary problems, and not only in Chicago but nationwide. But in the Windy City, these moves have elicited an understandably negative public reaction since the city of Chicago depends on transit about as much as any city besides New York. CTA, like other transit agencies around the nation routinely, claim that fare increases and service cuts are necessary due to under-funding. Transit budget crises seem to come as often as Presidents day in many places and more often than February 29 (every four years) virtually everywhere. If under-funding were the primary problem, then an examination of historic trends would indicate that the money available to transit had declined (after adjusting for inflation) relative to ridership. But in nearly all cases, including both the CTA and the national data, this is far from the truth. (But government-run systems have to reward the politically faithful. Coming soon to healthcare.)
White House attacks worry moderate Democrats
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28638.html
Excerpt: A White House effort to undermine conservative critics is generating a backlash on Capitol Hill — and not just from Republicans. “It’s a mistake,” said Rep. Jason Altmire, a moderate Democrat from western Pennsylvania. “I think it’s beneath the White House to get into a tit for tat with news organizations.” Altmire was talking about the Obama administration’s efforts to undercut Fox News. But he said his remarks applied just the same to White House efforts to marginalize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobby targeted for its opposition to climate change legislation. “There’s no reason to gratuitously piss off all those companies,” added another Democrat, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. “The Chamber isn’t an opponent.”
Abuse of Police Powers
http://patdollard.com/2009/10/waxman-abuse-of-police-powers-to-achieve-political-goals-fine-by-me/
Excerpt: Unfortunately, with House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman’s recent decision to subpoena 52 of the top insurance companies in the country — which demanded a sweeping array of documents and information (some of which are highly confidential and proprietary) — our government appears to be trying to punish these companies for speaking out on an issue of public interest and importance. Incredibly, Waxman (D-Calif.) wants more information from these companies — which are not accused of any wrongdoing and have never taken a penny in government bailout money — than he recently demanded from the banking and auto industries that received billions in taxpayer dollars from Uncle Sam. Considering that we are in the middle of a hotly contested debate about health care reform, it is no secret why Waxman wants these insurance companies to do opposition research on themselves., And nobody should be surprised when Democrats cherry-pick the most damaging subpoenaed information to leak to the media in order to help the party turn the insurance industry into a boogeyman.
U.S. tested 2 Afghan scenarios in war game
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502633.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Thank God none of the millions of jihadist extremists read the US press, or they’d know everything we planned. Excerpt: One of the exercise's key assumptions is that an increase of 10,000 to 15,000 troops would not in the near future give U.S. commanders the forces they need to take back havens from the Taliban commanders in southern and western Afghanistan, where shadow insurgent governors collect taxes and run court systems based on Islamic sharia law. "We were running out the options and trying to understand the implications from many different perspectives, including the enemy and the Afghan people," said a senior military official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the classified game. The Obama administration initiated a major review of its war strategy in late September after questions emerged about the legitimacy of the Aug. 20 Afghan elections, which were marred by allegations of widespread fraud, and a troubling update on the progress of the war by McChrystal. He warned that unless the United States moved quickly to wrest momentum from the Taliban, defeating the insurgency in Afghanistan might no longer be possible. What was intended to be two or three weeks of intensive White House meetings has stretched on for almost a month. Obama and his national security advisers have sorted through the military and civilian aspects of the war, building toward a decision that many on the outside have urged be made sooner rather than later. Last week, the president concluded the five planned review sessions, roughly 15 hours in all, with top advisers in the Situation Room. McChrystal's analysis suggests that 44,000 troops would be needed to drive Taliban forces from populated areas and to hold them until Afghan troops and government officials can take the place of U.S. and NATO forces. The extra troops would allow U.S. commanders to essentially triple the size of the American forces in the southern part of the country, where the Taliban movement originated and where the insurgents have their strongest base of support.
Afghanistan could turn into Vietnam. Let's hope so.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/20528
Excerpt: "If that day in the jungle, if that war long ago, teaches us anything," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden, "then surely it is this: If we send our men and women in uniform into harm's way, then it must be only when it is absolutely necessary. And when we do, we must back them up with the strategy and the resources and the support they need to get the job done." (If only he meant it.)….. Why the dramatic reversal? Time helped, certainly: Just as Americans will forget Mohammad Omar, eventually the images of tortured American POWs and massive bombing of the Vietnamese countryside began to fade on both sides. But more important, American war veterans publicly made peace with their old adversaries. In the Senate, vets John Kerry and John McCain pushed for the normalization of ties between the nations in the 1990s. And on the ground in Vietnam, groups of veterans met with civilians from the areas where they had served. These meetings had a profound impact on Vietnamese public opinion. (Not me. I still hate those murdering commie bastards and grieve for the Vietnamese for fought by our side, whom we abandoned to murder, torture and slavery.)
Obama’s 6-Month Performance Review
http://www.manlyrash.com/blog/obamas-6-month-performance-review
Pushed credibility in some areas, but the Alinsky stuff is interesting.
Quote:
"At the heart of the American idea is the deep distrust and suspicion the founders of our nation had for government, distrust and suspicion not shared as much by today's Americans. Some of the founders' distrust is seen in our Constitution's language such as Congress shall not: abridge, infringe, deny, disparage, violate and deny. If the founders did not believe Congress would abuse our God-given rights, they would not have provided those protections. After all, one would not expect to find a Bill of Rights in Heaven; it would be an affront to God. Other founder distrust for government is found in the Constitution's separation of powers, checks and balances and the several anti-majoritarian provisions such as the Electoral College and the requirement that three-quarters of state legislatures ratify changes in the Constitution. The three branches of our federal government are no longer bound by the Constitution as the framers envisioned and what is worse is American ignorance and acceptance of such rogue behavior. Look at the current debate over government involvement in health, business bailouts and stimulus packages. The debate centers around questions as whether such involvement is a good idea or a bad idea and whether one program is more costly than another. Those questions are entirely irrelevant to what should be debated, namely: Is such government involvement in our lives permissible under the U.S. Constitution? That question is not part of the debate. The American people, along with our elected representatives, whether they're Republicans or Democrats, care less about what is and what is not permissible under our Constitution. They think Congress has the right to do anything upon which they can secure a majority vote, whether they have the constitutional or moral authority to do so or not." --George Mason economics professor Walter E. Williams. "The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )"
Laugh of the day
I exchanged e-mails with Milton “Mac” McNeely, the Marine whose letter to President Wobbly I posted yesterday. Mac went through the siege of Khe Sanh. I told him it was a nice quiet place when I rotated home in September of ’67—what happened? His reply: “Your replacement was a troublemaker!”
Monday, October 26, 2009
Political Digest October 26, 2009
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Obamadrama
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/obamadrama.html
Excerpt: Don't be deceived by the honeyed baritone voice and big smile. Bluffs, bully plays, and head fakes are the means by which President Obama tries to get his way. He learned the technique from Saul Alinsky. The best answer is to use Alinsky against them. We know their rule book, and we can use their rules just as well as they can. The aggressor sets the rules. Obama constantly uses Alinsky's principle of head-faking: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." For Obama, "the enemy" is us, the American people. We have to understand -- that's the way they use the language. Read Alinsky's Rules for Radicals if you don't believe it. We are the enemy.
Congress despairs when slaves can read
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=113304
Excerpt: In the early colonial history of this country, it was illegal to teach a slave or a "free person of color" to read and write. Slave owners believed if a slave was taught to read and write they would no longer listen and obey their master and would then be worthless. They also believed that the education of slaves could lead to revolts. Well, informed voters might not like what's in the legislation if they have 72 hours to read it, and we might not listen to or obey our congressional masters. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats would rather for us to remain in the dark, ignorant and stupid. I pray that someone will get the following message to Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat-led Congress: We are not slaves. We can read, and this is our declaration. (The increasing willingness of black writes like this one to speak out is heartening.)
Generous pay for new Freddie Mac CFO
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9B3HEI00.htm
Excerpt: The pay package given to Freddie Mac's new chief financial officer should have sent a message from Washington to corporate America about how executive compensation standards must change. Instead, it did just the opposite. The government-controlled mortgage finance company is giving CFO Ross Kari compensation worth as much as $5.5 million. That includes an almost $2 million cash signing bonus and a generous salary that could top $2.3 million. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac, approved the pay package. A spokeswoman pointed to a statement that justified the agency's approval of the pay, which was done in part because the amount was comparable to what others in the financial services industry make. That way of thinking is exactly what helped feed the surge in executive pay over the last decade. Everyone wants to make at least as much, or more, than their peers. (Didn’t Freddie Mac get a bailout? Didn’t President Wobbly promise to cut the pay of execs of companies that got bailouts by 90%? Or is he tied in political to the Chicago/Obama machine?)
GOP's New Lightning Rod
http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2009/10/25/gops_new_lightning_rod
Excerpt: After six years in the state Legislature, she ran for Congress and now, in her second term, has become such a burr under Democrats' saddles that recently The New York Times profiled her beneath a Page One headline: "GOP Has a Lightning Rod, And Her Name Is Not Palin." She is, however, a petite pistol that occasionally goes off half-cocked. For example, appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball" 18 days before last year's election, she made the mistake of taking Chris Matthews' bait and speculating about whether Barack Obama and some other Democrats have "anti-American" views. In the ensuing uproar -- fueled by people who were not comparably scandalized when George W. Bush was sulfurously vilified -- her opponent raised nearly $2 million and her lead shrank from 13 points to her winning margin of 3. Some of her supposed excesses are, however, not merely defensible, they are admirable. For example, her June 9 statement on the House floor in which she spoke of "gangster government" has been viewed on the Internet about 2 million times. She noted that, during the federal takeover of General Motors, a Democratic senator and one of her Democratic House colleagues each successfully intervened with GM to save a constituent's dealership from forced closure. One of her constituents, whose dealership had been in the family for 90 years, told her that the $15 million dealership had been rendered worthless overnight and, Bachmann said, "GM is demanding that she hand over her customer list," probably to give it to surviving GM dealerships that once were competitors.
Polling Polls: Americans Independent and Irate
http://townhall.com/columnists/SalenaZito/2009/10/25/polling_polls_americans_independent_and_irate
Excerpt: A poll of opinion polls shows that Americans are undergoing rapidly changing attitudes. RealClearPolitics, a national polling aggregator, shows that Americans are becoming less and less thrilled about the direction of the country and with the job Congress is doing. Support has been peeling off steadily, says RealClearPolitics executive editor Tom Bevan.
America’s Obama Obsession
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzYzZTY2ZmM1MjFmNGU3MjhmZmIxZjJmOTNiYjU0ZDg
Excerpt: For 30 months the nation has been in the grip of a certain Obama obsession, immune to countervailing facts, unwilling to face reality, and loath to break the spell. But like all trances, the fit is passing, and we the patient are beginning to appreciate how the stupor came upon us, why it lifted, and what its consequences have been.
To Republicans, Libertarians & America's Enemies
http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/bendell/2009/10232009.htm
Excerpt: If republicans continue to whine, spend all their energies trying to prove Barack Obama is an illegal alien, cry out “The sky is falling!” with every email rumor that comes along, act apathetic about who represents us, or switch to the libertarian party, which can only weaken our vote again, then we will once again hand the election to the democrats.
Treasury Finds IRS Employees Abused Homebuyer Tax Credit
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/treasury-finds-irs-employees-abused-homebuyer-tax-credit/
Excerpt: The Treasury Department has uncovered more than 50 instances where employees of the Internal Revenue Service illegally or inappropriately claimed credits for first-time homebuyers. In an interview with FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, J. Russell George, the inspector general for tax administration at Treasury, said there are 53 cases involving IRS employees and that number could rise. “In all honesty this is an interim report,” George said. “I expect that the number would be much larger than that number.” (when the guy in charge is a tax cheat, is this a surprise? Can’t want to see what they do with health care.)
Obama a tough guy, at least with Fox News
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/obama-news-president-2620879-chicago-bring
Excerpt: Benjamin Disraeli's most famous advice to aspiring politicians was: "Never complain and never explain." For the greatest orator of our time, a man who makes Churchill, Lincoln and Henry V at Agincourt look like first-round rejects on "Orating With The Stars," Barack Obama seems to have pretty much given up on the explaining side. He tried it with health care with speech after speech after exclusive interview for months on end, and the more he explained the more unpopular the whole racket got. So he declared that the time for explaining is over, and it's time to sign on or else. Meanwhile, to take the other half of the Disraeli equation, Obama and his officials and their beleaguered band of surrogates never stop complaining. If you express concerns about government health care, they complain about all these "racists" and "domestic terrorists" obstructing his agenda. If you wonder why the president can't seem to find time in his hectic schedule of international awards acceptance speeches to make a decision about Afghanistan, they complain that it's not his fault he "inherited" all these problems. And, if you wonder why his "green jobs" czar is a communist 9/11 truther, and his National Endowment for the Arts guy is leaning on grant recipients to produce Soviet-style propaganda extolling Obama policies, they complain about Fox News…. You can take the community organizer out of Chicago, but you can't take the Chicago out of the community organizer.(Obama compares himself to Lincoln. Haven’t read much in Lincoln’s writings about his blaming Buchanan for the much bigger mess he inherited, or the press for much worse attacks than those of Fox commentators.)
It's His Rubble Now
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704224004574489530713762884.html?mod=djemITP
Excerpt: President Obama, in office a month longer than Bush was when 9/11 hit, now owns his presidency. Does he know it? He too stands on rubble, figuratively speaking—a collapsed economy, high and growing unemployment, two wars. Everyone knows what he's standing on. You can almost see the smoke rising around him. He's got a bullhorn in his hand every day. It's his now. He gets the credit and the blame. How do we know this? The American people are telling him. You can see it in the polls. That's what his falling poll numbers are about. "It's been almost a year, you own this. Fix it." The president doesn't seem to like this moment. Who would? He and his men and women have returned to referring to what they "inherited." And what they inherited was, truly, terrible: again, a severe economic crisis and two wars. But their recent return to this theme is unbecoming. Worse, it is politically unpersuasive. It sounds defensive, like a dodge. The president said last week, at a San Francisco fund-raiser, that he's busy with a "mop," "cleaning up somebody else's mess," and he doesn't enjoy "somebody sitting back and saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.'" Later, in New Orleans, he groused that reporters are always asking "Why haven't you solved world hunger yet?" His surrogates and aides, in appearances and talk shows, have taken to remembering, sometimes at great length, the dire straits we were in when the presidency began. This is not a sign of confidence. Nor were the president's comments to a New York fund-raiser this week. Democrats, he said to the Democratic audience, are "an opinionated bunch." They always have a lot of thoughts and views. Republicans, on the other hand—"the other side"—aren't really big on independent thinking. "They just kinda sometimes do what they're told. Democrats, y'all thinkin' for yourselves." It is never a good sign when the president gets folksy, dropping his g's, because he is by nature not a folksy g-dropper but a coolly calibrating intellectual who is always trying to guess, as most politicians do, what normal people think. When Mr. Obama gets folksy he isn't narrowing his distance from his audience but underlining it. He shouldn't do this.
NPR analyst compares Obama to Nixon, issues full apology
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4857
Excerpt: It’s pretty unremarkable to describe the Obama White House’s growing enemies list — the insurance companies, Chamber of Commerce, Fox News — as “Nixonian.” But there’s one place where, if you venture such an opinion, you’d better be prepared to apologize — quickly and profusely. On National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” Wednesday, NPR political editor Ken Rudin said the White House campaign against Fox News is a bad idea. “It’s not only aggressive, it’s almost Nixonesque,” Rudin said. “I mean, you think of what Nixon and Agnew did with their enemies list and their attacks on the media; certainly Vice President Agnew’s constant denunciation of the media. Of course, then it was a conservative president denouncing a liberal media, and of course, a lot of good liberals said, ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous. That’s an infringement on the freedom of press.’ And now you see a lot of liberals almost kind of applauding what the White House is doing to Fox News, which I think is distressing.”
Democrats Vote To Give ACORN Regulatory Authority Over Financial Institutions
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369624/posts
Excerpt: During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages" to join Federal banking regulators in advising the Director on the consistency of proposed regulations, and strategies and policies that the Director should undertake to enforce its rules. By making representatives of ACORN and other consumer activist organizations eligible to serve on the Oversight Board, the amendment creates a potentially enormous government sanctioned conflict of interest. ACORN-type organizations will have an advisory role on regulating the very financial institutions from which they receive millions of dollars annually in direct corporate contributions and benefit from other financial partnerships and arrangements. These are the same organizations that pressured banks to make subprime mortgage loans and thus bear a major responsibility for the collapse of the housing market.
The real climate change catastrophe
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6425269/The-real-climate-change-catastrophe.html
Excerpt: One who voted against it was Peter Lilley who, just before the vote was taken, drew the Speaker’s attention to the fact that, outside the Palace of Westminster, snow was falling, the first October snow recorded in London for 74 years. As I observed at the time: “Who says that God hasn’t got a sense of humour?” By any measure, the supposed menace of global warming – and the political response to it – has become one of the overwhelmingly urgent issues of our time. If one accepts the thesis that the planet faces a threat unprecedented in history, the implications are mind-boggling. But equally mind-boggling now are the implications of the price we are being asked to pay by our politicians to meet that threat. More than ever, it is a matter of the highest priority that we should know whether or not the assumptions on which the politicians base their proposals are founded on properly sound science. This is why I have been regularly reporting on the issue in my column in The Sunday Telegraph, and this week I publish a book called The Real Global Warming Disaster: Is the obsession with climate change turning out to be the most costly scientific delusion in history?.
NATO backs McChrystal
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4860
Excerpt: NATO defense ministers Friday gave “broad support” to the counterinsurgency strategy proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, but sidestepped the difficult question of how many forces would be required to implement that plan. The top UN special envoy for Afghanistan also backed McChrystal’s strategy at the NATO meeting. “We have come to a point where I believe McChrystal is right,” said Kai Eide here Friday, adding bluntly, “If we continue the way we’ve done so far, both with regard to the military effort, the civilian effort, and the behavior of the Afghan government, this project will not work.”
Counterinsurgency Doctrine and the Global Jihad
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/counterinsurgency_doctrine_and.html
Excerpt: There have been some phony arguments put forth for another "surge" in Afghanistan. We need not a surge of troops, we merely need to let our forces there do what needs to be done - kill the enemy. There is this misconception about Afghanistan in particular (and Islam in general) that somehow we can bring Central Asia (and the rest of the Islamic world) kicking and screaming into the 21st Century through good will. This is simply not the case. There is no amount of money to spend, infrastructure to build, schools to provide, hospitals to heal, or good will that Americans can display toward the Afghan people that will produce a lasting effect. I was once told by an accomplished Afghan intelligence analyst that, "you can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy him." The hard fact is that the "hearts and minds" of the Afghan "people" are not for sale! The descendants of "The Great Khan" and their tribal cousins have no interest in being Westernized in any way. And, the human sewers that serve as their political leadership can only be rented. Americans are interlopers in a land where interlopers generally have their heads lopped off.
Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.96323f483e0be9f6a793eaa215ad708a.211&show_article=1
Excerpt: The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world. The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds. The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.
Politically correct counter-terrorism
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/23/politically-correct-counter-terrorism/?source=newsletter_opinion_headlines
Excerpt: Do counter-terrorism measures targeting bombers who dress as women offend the rights of transexuals? This is one of the pressing questions addressed in a new United Nations report on "Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism." The 23-page document is the ultimate politically correct guide to combating terrorism. It is based on the work of U.N. special rapporteur Martin Scheinin, who notes that "immigration controls that focus attention on male bombers who may be dressing as females to avoid scrutiny make transgender persons susceptible to increased harassment and suspicion." The impact on transvestites (cross-dressers) and "intersex" individuals (those in the midst of a sex change) is even more dramatic.
White House on Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing--Can't Remember Who Murdered 241 Americans
http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2009/10/white-house-on-beirut-marine-barracks.html
Excerpt: All of these forces, however, are left anonymous. No one is named for involvement in that "horrific terrorist attack." And, of course the attack was not "senseless" but part of an Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah campaign to take over Lebanon and drive U.S. influence out of the region. In fact, it was counted as a great victory for these forces since it showed America's vulnerability to being hit by terrorism--an inspiration for September 11?--and did succeed in paralyzing the U.S. effort in Lebanon. Ultimately, this led to the withdrawal of the peace-keeping forces altogether, paving the way for Syria's turning Lebanon into a satellite state for two decades at a great financial and strategic profit. .None of these attacks were perpetrated by al-Qaida, the only group that remains a target of this administration's version of a war on terrorism, a phrase which is no longer used. It is bad enough the administration doesn't say any of this. Is it aware of these factors at all? Indeed, the president's advisor on terrorism is on record as saying that Hizballah is no longer a terrorist group, which opens the door for U.S. contacts in future.
Muslim accused in Boston terror plot is son of former Muslim American Society leader
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/muslim-accused-in-boston-terror-plot-is-son-of-former-muslim-american-society-leader.html
The jihad is here and it wants your freedoms.
Bangladesh bans jihadist group; Obama adviser appeared on the same group's TV show
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/bangladesh-bans-jihadist-group-obama-adviser-appeared-on-the-same-groups-tv-show.html
Excerpt: On Obama adviser Dalia Mogahed's appearance on Hizb ut-Tahrir's TV show, see here. She says now that she was "misled." In any case, the Bangladeshi government has done well. If only the U.S. government would follow suit.
Saudi journalist sentenced to 60 lashes
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/24/saudi.sex.braggart.journalist/
Excerpt: CNN) -- A Saudi court sentenced a female journalist Saturday to 60 lashes for her work on a controversial Arabic-language TV show that aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life, two sources told CNN. The court in Jeddah also imposed a two-year travel ban on Rosanna Al-Yami, according to a Saudi Information Ministry official, who could not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The ban prevents her from traveling outside Saudi Arabia. This official identified Al-Yami as a fixer, who helps journalists obtain stories, and a coordinator for Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., the network that aired "A Thick Red Line," a popular show on social taboos. On one episode, a Saudi man, Mazen Abdul Jawad, bragged about sex and got into trouble with Saudi authorities for his boasts. Abdul Jawad was put on trial and sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes. Suleiman Al-Jumeii, the attorney who represents Abdul Jawad, also confirmed the sentence against Al-Yami, saying he believes she is the first Saudi journalist ever to be sentenced to lashes. (Freedom of the Press, Shari’a style. Bet this gives Chris Mathews a tingle up his leg.)
Mass arrests during prayer service for activists in Iran
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4804
Excerpt: The Iranian authorities must immediately release dozens of people arrested on Thursday during a prayer service in support of activists detained following protests after June’s presidential election, Amnesty International has said. The prayer service was organized by the family of Shahaboddin Tabatabaei, a prominent supporter of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was jailed for five years earlier this week for state security offences relating to the post-election unrest. According to media reports, up to 68 people were arrested on Thursday and, in most cases, taken to Evin Prison in Tehran. Some have since been released, but most remain in detention. Some are relatives of activists who were jailed over the protests after unfair trials. “People peacefully gathering to protest unjust prison sentences should not themselves end up in jail,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Bomb hits outside suspected Pakistani nuclear-weapons site
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091023/wl_mcclatchy/3339941
Matter of time until the Jihad gets nukes.
Sweden in Grip of Islam
http://vodpod.com/watch/1428923-sweden-in-grip-of-islam
We’re next
Message To Al Qaeda From Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nxm2v1owLc
Telling them. Funny.
Goodbye U.S Sovereignty... Hello One World Government!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddQvhdCyhe4
Lord Monckton on the climate change treaty.
The witch is dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ayK694PZI&feature=email
Funny
Khe Sanh vet speaks out
I received this by e-mail. I don’t have a contact with Col. Pipes or Sgt. McNeely, but I know Pipes is the real deal. Since it’s circulating on the net as an open letter, I’m taking the liberty of publishing it on my blog.
Headquarters Cadre
Bravo Company, First Battalion, 26th Marines
Fallbrook California, 92088
24 October 2009
FROM: Lieutenant Colonel, Kenneth W. Pipes, USMC, (Retired), Officer Commanding Bravo Company, First Battalion, 26th Marines, Khe Sanh, Republic of Vietnam, 1967/1968.
TO: Sergeant Milton L. McNeely, 2340173, USMC, Bravo Company, 26th Marines, Khe Sanh, RVN, 1967/1968
SUBJECT: Commendation, Case of Sergeant Milton L. McNeely, 2340173, Bravo Company, USMC
1. In as much as Sergeant McNeely was present with his unit, Bravo Company, 1/26 before, during and after the Battle of Khe Sanh and in recognition of his Staunch, Resolute, Determined and Forthright desire to, at all times, step forward to speak in behalf of his Marine Companions at Arms, he is here by Commended for once again, going into the breach in their behalf and in behalf of our Service Members currently battling our country's enemies in Afghanistan.
2. It is strongly recommended that the current President of the United States take the advice and sage counseling of Sergeant McNeely's powerful observation and strongly worded recommendation; noting that those that fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
3. It is directed that a copy of this Commendation be attached to Sergeant McNeely's letter and that both documents be framed and prominently displayed in his home or office in recognition of his courageous action.
Captain, Kenneth W. Pipes
Officer Commanding
Bravo Company, 1/26
Khe Sanh Combat Base, 1967/1968
October 24, 2009
SUBJ: Open letter to President Obama --- Regarding Afghanistan
President Obama In your inaugural speech you said, "For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh."
While men and women that have served our country so well in the past should be honored and held in the highest regard, it is absolutely necessary and your moral obligation and responsibility to prioritize the safety and welfare of those that serve now and risk their lives on today's battlefields.
Mr. President, I being one of those many veterans that served at Khe Sanh during the 77 day siege in 1968, recall a situation that is somewhat similar to the one in which you presently find yourself, regarding Afghanistan. The request for 40,000 additional troops for Afghanistan is much like the request that President Johnson received in 1968, for additional troops for Vietnam.
On March 30, 1968, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines defeated a heavily fortified enemy battalion just outside of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in one of the few bayonet charges of the Vietnam war and for all practical purposes the Siege was coming to an end with the enemy defeated.
On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced that he would not send the additional troops requested and he committed the US to a non-military solution of the war by ordering a bombing halt over 75% of North Vietnam. During the Siege, Bravo Company had sustained over 50% causalities killed or wounded and, unless there with me, one cannot imagine the anger and contempt I felt toward a president who would play politics with the lives of men that had already given so much.
Halting or reducing the bombing of the North would allow the enemy to bring more ordinance to bear in the Siege or to divert elsewhere. We later learned that the NVA were defeated and would have capitulated, if we would have pressed the attack at this point. Respite from bombing afforded the enemy opportunity to more easily withdraw and regroup. It lead to several additional years of war, thousands of additional American causalities, and eventually the defeat of South Vietnam.
Having extended my tour in Vietnam, the middle of April found me in the Da Nang airport finding transportation for a 30 day leave in the US before I would return to B/1/26. Given an opportunity, I spoke out to an Australian news correspondent challenging President Johnson for playing "Political Football" with the war in Vietnam and with lives of military personal serving there.
Returning from leave I found myself standing tall in the Battalion Headquarters answering to officers from Division Headquarters wanting to know if I had actually said the words that I had been credited with by the Australian press. I proudly agreed that the words were mine but I was a little put off that the newspaper failed to use the exact verbiage that would have better expressed my disdain and anger toward an administration that would not give our troops the same loyalty and support that was expected of them.
Of course they told me that I should not have made these comments to any newspaper much less a foreign one and that I needed to keep my mouth shut. I suppose they could tell by my attitude that I had more to say and would say it publicly given any opportunity. They eventually threatened me with the possibility of a court martial but not being swayed I was soon sent on my way and heard no more about it. Still, I have often wondered what discussions were held and what conclusions were drawn concerning this 19 year old Marine Corporal publicly criticizing the President of the United States about his decision to not support the troops on the ground in Vietnam.
President Obama, I believe that you have had sufficient time to determine if our continued military presence in Afghanistan is, or is not, in the best interest of the United States. If the determination has not yet been made, then as Commander-in-Chief, please do so with all haste. If it is not in our national interest, then please withdraw our troops immediately; but if it is or as long as they are in harm's way and for as long as necessary, support our troops with all the financial, logistical and human resources that are required. It makes no difference which legitimate or illegitimate group governs Afghanistan. Our moral imperative, responsibility and commitment is to our troops and none other.
Milton McNeely
Obamadrama
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/obamadrama.html
Excerpt: Don't be deceived by the honeyed baritone voice and big smile. Bluffs, bully plays, and head fakes are the means by which President Obama tries to get his way. He learned the technique from Saul Alinsky. The best answer is to use Alinsky against them. We know their rule book, and we can use their rules just as well as they can. The aggressor sets the rules. Obama constantly uses Alinsky's principle of head-faking: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." For Obama, "the enemy" is us, the American people. We have to understand -- that's the way they use the language. Read Alinsky's Rules for Radicals if you don't believe it. We are the enemy.
Congress despairs when slaves can read
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=113304
Excerpt: In the early colonial history of this country, it was illegal to teach a slave or a "free person of color" to read and write. Slave owners believed if a slave was taught to read and write they would no longer listen and obey their master and would then be worthless. They also believed that the education of slaves could lead to revolts. Well, informed voters might not like what's in the legislation if they have 72 hours to read it, and we might not listen to or obey our congressional masters. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats would rather for us to remain in the dark, ignorant and stupid. I pray that someone will get the following message to Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat-led Congress: We are not slaves. We can read, and this is our declaration. (The increasing willingness of black writes like this one to speak out is heartening.)
Generous pay for new Freddie Mac CFO
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9B3HEI00.htm
Excerpt: The pay package given to Freddie Mac's new chief financial officer should have sent a message from Washington to corporate America about how executive compensation standards must change. Instead, it did just the opposite. The government-controlled mortgage finance company is giving CFO Ross Kari compensation worth as much as $5.5 million. That includes an almost $2 million cash signing bonus and a generous salary that could top $2.3 million. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac, approved the pay package. A spokeswoman pointed to a statement that justified the agency's approval of the pay, which was done in part because the amount was comparable to what others in the financial services industry make. That way of thinking is exactly what helped feed the surge in executive pay over the last decade. Everyone wants to make at least as much, or more, than their peers. (Didn’t Freddie Mac get a bailout? Didn’t President Wobbly promise to cut the pay of execs of companies that got bailouts by 90%? Or is he tied in political to the Chicago/Obama machine?)
GOP's New Lightning Rod
http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2009/10/25/gops_new_lightning_rod
Excerpt: After six years in the state Legislature, she ran for Congress and now, in her second term, has become such a burr under Democrats' saddles that recently The New York Times profiled her beneath a Page One headline: "GOP Has a Lightning Rod, And Her Name Is Not Palin." She is, however, a petite pistol that occasionally goes off half-cocked. For example, appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball" 18 days before last year's election, she made the mistake of taking Chris Matthews' bait and speculating about whether Barack Obama and some other Democrats have "anti-American" views. In the ensuing uproar -- fueled by people who were not comparably scandalized when George W. Bush was sulfurously vilified -- her opponent raised nearly $2 million and her lead shrank from 13 points to her winning margin of 3. Some of her supposed excesses are, however, not merely defensible, they are admirable. For example, her June 9 statement on the House floor in which she spoke of "gangster government" has been viewed on the Internet about 2 million times. She noted that, during the federal takeover of General Motors, a Democratic senator and one of her Democratic House colleagues each successfully intervened with GM to save a constituent's dealership from forced closure. One of her constituents, whose dealership had been in the family for 90 years, told her that the $15 million dealership had been rendered worthless overnight and, Bachmann said, "GM is demanding that she hand over her customer list," probably to give it to surviving GM dealerships that once were competitors.
Polling Polls: Americans Independent and Irate
http://townhall.com/columnists/SalenaZito/2009/10/25/polling_polls_americans_independent_and_irate
Excerpt: A poll of opinion polls shows that Americans are undergoing rapidly changing attitudes. RealClearPolitics, a national polling aggregator, shows that Americans are becoming less and less thrilled about the direction of the country and with the job Congress is doing. Support has been peeling off steadily, says RealClearPolitics executive editor Tom Bevan.
America’s Obama Obsession
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzYzZTY2ZmM1MjFmNGU3MjhmZmIxZjJmOTNiYjU0ZDg
Excerpt: For 30 months the nation has been in the grip of a certain Obama obsession, immune to countervailing facts, unwilling to face reality, and loath to break the spell. But like all trances, the fit is passing, and we the patient are beginning to appreciate how the stupor came upon us, why it lifted, and what its consequences have been.
To Republicans, Libertarians & America's Enemies
http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/bendell/2009/10232009.htm
Excerpt: If republicans continue to whine, spend all their energies trying to prove Barack Obama is an illegal alien, cry out “The sky is falling!” with every email rumor that comes along, act apathetic about who represents us, or switch to the libertarian party, which can only weaken our vote again, then we will once again hand the election to the democrats.
Treasury Finds IRS Employees Abused Homebuyer Tax Credit
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/treasury-finds-irs-employees-abused-homebuyer-tax-credit/
Excerpt: The Treasury Department has uncovered more than 50 instances where employees of the Internal Revenue Service illegally or inappropriately claimed credits for first-time homebuyers. In an interview with FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, J. Russell George, the inspector general for tax administration at Treasury, said there are 53 cases involving IRS employees and that number could rise. “In all honesty this is an interim report,” George said. “I expect that the number would be much larger than that number.” (when the guy in charge is a tax cheat, is this a surprise? Can’t want to see what they do with health care.)
Obama a tough guy, at least with Fox News
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/obama-news-president-2620879-chicago-bring
Excerpt: Benjamin Disraeli's most famous advice to aspiring politicians was: "Never complain and never explain." For the greatest orator of our time, a man who makes Churchill, Lincoln and Henry V at Agincourt look like first-round rejects on "Orating With The Stars," Barack Obama seems to have pretty much given up on the explaining side. He tried it with health care with speech after speech after exclusive interview for months on end, and the more he explained the more unpopular the whole racket got. So he declared that the time for explaining is over, and it's time to sign on or else. Meanwhile, to take the other half of the Disraeli equation, Obama and his officials and their beleaguered band of surrogates never stop complaining. If you express concerns about government health care, they complain about all these "racists" and "domestic terrorists" obstructing his agenda. If you wonder why the president can't seem to find time in his hectic schedule of international awards acceptance speeches to make a decision about Afghanistan, they complain that it's not his fault he "inherited" all these problems. And, if you wonder why his "green jobs" czar is a communist 9/11 truther, and his National Endowment for the Arts guy is leaning on grant recipients to produce Soviet-style propaganda extolling Obama policies, they complain about Fox News…. You can take the community organizer out of Chicago, but you can't take the Chicago out of the community organizer.(Obama compares himself to Lincoln. Haven’t read much in Lincoln’s writings about his blaming Buchanan for the much bigger mess he inherited, or the press for much worse attacks than those of Fox commentators.)
It's His Rubble Now
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704224004574489530713762884.html?mod=djemITP
Excerpt: President Obama, in office a month longer than Bush was when 9/11 hit, now owns his presidency. Does he know it? He too stands on rubble, figuratively speaking—a collapsed economy, high and growing unemployment, two wars. Everyone knows what he's standing on. You can almost see the smoke rising around him. He's got a bullhorn in his hand every day. It's his now. He gets the credit and the blame. How do we know this? The American people are telling him. You can see it in the polls. That's what his falling poll numbers are about. "It's been almost a year, you own this. Fix it." The president doesn't seem to like this moment. Who would? He and his men and women have returned to referring to what they "inherited." And what they inherited was, truly, terrible: again, a severe economic crisis and two wars. But their recent return to this theme is unbecoming. Worse, it is politically unpersuasive. It sounds defensive, like a dodge. The president said last week, at a San Francisco fund-raiser, that he's busy with a "mop," "cleaning up somebody else's mess," and he doesn't enjoy "somebody sitting back and saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.'" Later, in New Orleans, he groused that reporters are always asking "Why haven't you solved world hunger yet?" His surrogates and aides, in appearances and talk shows, have taken to remembering, sometimes at great length, the dire straits we were in when the presidency began. This is not a sign of confidence. Nor were the president's comments to a New York fund-raiser this week. Democrats, he said to the Democratic audience, are "an opinionated bunch." They always have a lot of thoughts and views. Republicans, on the other hand—"the other side"—aren't really big on independent thinking. "They just kinda sometimes do what they're told. Democrats, y'all thinkin' for yourselves." It is never a good sign when the president gets folksy, dropping his g's, because he is by nature not a folksy g-dropper but a coolly calibrating intellectual who is always trying to guess, as most politicians do, what normal people think. When Mr. Obama gets folksy he isn't narrowing his distance from his audience but underlining it. He shouldn't do this.
NPR analyst compares Obama to Nixon, issues full apology
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4857
Excerpt: It’s pretty unremarkable to describe the Obama White House’s growing enemies list — the insurance companies, Chamber of Commerce, Fox News — as “Nixonian.” But there’s one place where, if you venture such an opinion, you’d better be prepared to apologize — quickly and profusely. On National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” Wednesday, NPR political editor Ken Rudin said the White House campaign against Fox News is a bad idea. “It’s not only aggressive, it’s almost Nixonesque,” Rudin said. “I mean, you think of what Nixon and Agnew did with their enemies list and their attacks on the media; certainly Vice President Agnew’s constant denunciation of the media. Of course, then it was a conservative president denouncing a liberal media, and of course, a lot of good liberals said, ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous. That’s an infringement on the freedom of press.’ And now you see a lot of liberals almost kind of applauding what the White House is doing to Fox News, which I think is distressing.”
Democrats Vote To Give ACORN Regulatory Authority Over Financial Institutions
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369624/posts
Excerpt: During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages" to join Federal banking regulators in advising the Director on the consistency of proposed regulations, and strategies and policies that the Director should undertake to enforce its rules. By making representatives of ACORN and other consumer activist organizations eligible to serve on the Oversight Board, the amendment creates a potentially enormous government sanctioned conflict of interest. ACORN-type organizations will have an advisory role on regulating the very financial institutions from which they receive millions of dollars annually in direct corporate contributions and benefit from other financial partnerships and arrangements. These are the same organizations that pressured banks to make subprime mortgage loans and thus bear a major responsibility for the collapse of the housing market.
The real climate change catastrophe
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6425269/The-real-climate-change-catastrophe.html
Excerpt: One who voted against it was Peter Lilley who, just before the vote was taken, drew the Speaker’s attention to the fact that, outside the Palace of Westminster, snow was falling, the first October snow recorded in London for 74 years. As I observed at the time: “Who says that God hasn’t got a sense of humour?” By any measure, the supposed menace of global warming – and the political response to it – has become one of the overwhelmingly urgent issues of our time. If one accepts the thesis that the planet faces a threat unprecedented in history, the implications are mind-boggling. But equally mind-boggling now are the implications of the price we are being asked to pay by our politicians to meet that threat. More than ever, it is a matter of the highest priority that we should know whether or not the assumptions on which the politicians base their proposals are founded on properly sound science. This is why I have been regularly reporting on the issue in my column in The Sunday Telegraph, and this week I publish a book called The Real Global Warming Disaster: Is the obsession with climate change turning out to be the most costly scientific delusion in history?.
NATO backs McChrystal
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4860
Excerpt: NATO defense ministers Friday gave “broad support” to the counterinsurgency strategy proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, but sidestepped the difficult question of how many forces would be required to implement that plan. The top UN special envoy for Afghanistan also backed McChrystal’s strategy at the NATO meeting. “We have come to a point where I believe McChrystal is right,” said Kai Eide here Friday, adding bluntly, “If we continue the way we’ve done so far, both with regard to the military effort, the civilian effort, and the behavior of the Afghan government, this project will not work.”
Counterinsurgency Doctrine and the Global Jihad
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/counterinsurgency_doctrine_and.html
Excerpt: There have been some phony arguments put forth for another "surge" in Afghanistan. We need not a surge of troops, we merely need to let our forces there do what needs to be done - kill the enemy. There is this misconception about Afghanistan in particular (and Islam in general) that somehow we can bring Central Asia (and the rest of the Islamic world) kicking and screaming into the 21st Century through good will. This is simply not the case. There is no amount of money to spend, infrastructure to build, schools to provide, hospitals to heal, or good will that Americans can display toward the Afghan people that will produce a lasting effect. I was once told by an accomplished Afghan intelligence analyst that, "you can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy him." The hard fact is that the "hearts and minds" of the Afghan "people" are not for sale! The descendants of "The Great Khan" and their tribal cousins have no interest in being Westernized in any way. And, the human sewers that serve as their political leadership can only be rented. Americans are interlopers in a land where interlopers generally have their heads lopped off.
Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.96323f483e0be9f6a793eaa215ad708a.211&show_article=1
Excerpt: The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world. The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds. The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will "catalyze and facilitate private sector investments" throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.
Politically correct counter-terrorism
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/23/politically-correct-counter-terrorism/?source=newsletter_opinion_headlines
Excerpt: Do counter-terrorism measures targeting bombers who dress as women offend the rights of transexuals? This is one of the pressing questions addressed in a new United Nations report on "Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism." The 23-page document is the ultimate politically correct guide to combating terrorism. It is based on the work of U.N. special rapporteur Martin Scheinin, who notes that "immigration controls that focus attention on male bombers who may be dressing as females to avoid scrutiny make transgender persons susceptible to increased harassment and suspicion." The impact on transvestites (cross-dressers) and "intersex" individuals (those in the midst of a sex change) is even more dramatic.
White House on Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing--Can't Remember Who Murdered 241 Americans
http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2009/10/white-house-on-beirut-marine-barracks.html
Excerpt: All of these forces, however, are left anonymous. No one is named for involvement in that "horrific terrorist attack." And, of course the attack was not "senseless" but part of an Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah campaign to take over Lebanon and drive U.S. influence out of the region. In fact, it was counted as a great victory for these forces since it showed America's vulnerability to being hit by terrorism--an inspiration for September 11?--and did succeed in paralyzing the U.S. effort in Lebanon. Ultimately, this led to the withdrawal of the peace-keeping forces altogether, paving the way for Syria's turning Lebanon into a satellite state for two decades at a great financial and strategic profit. .None of these attacks were perpetrated by al-Qaida, the only group that remains a target of this administration's version of a war on terrorism, a phrase which is no longer used. It is bad enough the administration doesn't say any of this. Is it aware of these factors at all? Indeed, the president's advisor on terrorism is on record as saying that Hizballah is no longer a terrorist group, which opens the door for U.S. contacts in future.
Muslim accused in Boston terror plot is son of former Muslim American Society leader
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/muslim-accused-in-boston-terror-plot-is-son-of-former-muslim-american-society-leader.html
The jihad is here and it wants your freedoms.
Bangladesh bans jihadist group; Obama adviser appeared on the same group's TV show
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/bangladesh-bans-jihadist-group-obama-adviser-appeared-on-the-same-groups-tv-show.html
Excerpt: On Obama adviser Dalia Mogahed's appearance on Hizb ut-Tahrir's TV show, see here. She says now that she was "misled." In any case, the Bangladeshi government has done well. If only the U.S. government would follow suit.
Saudi journalist sentenced to 60 lashes
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/24/saudi.sex.braggart.journalist/
Excerpt: CNN) -- A Saudi court sentenced a female journalist Saturday to 60 lashes for her work on a controversial Arabic-language TV show that aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life, two sources told CNN. The court in Jeddah also imposed a two-year travel ban on Rosanna Al-Yami, according to a Saudi Information Ministry official, who could not be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The ban prevents her from traveling outside Saudi Arabia. This official identified Al-Yami as a fixer, who helps journalists obtain stories, and a coordinator for Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., the network that aired "A Thick Red Line," a popular show on social taboos. On one episode, a Saudi man, Mazen Abdul Jawad, bragged about sex and got into trouble with Saudi authorities for his boasts. Abdul Jawad was put on trial and sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes. Suleiman Al-Jumeii, the attorney who represents Abdul Jawad, also confirmed the sentence against Al-Yami, saying he believes she is the first Saudi journalist ever to be sentenced to lashes. (Freedom of the Press, Shari’a style. Bet this gives Chris Mathews a tingle up his leg.)
Mass arrests during prayer service for activists in Iran
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=4804
Excerpt: The Iranian authorities must immediately release dozens of people arrested on Thursday during a prayer service in support of activists detained following protests after June’s presidential election, Amnesty International has said. The prayer service was organized by the family of Shahaboddin Tabatabaei, a prominent supporter of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was jailed for five years earlier this week for state security offences relating to the post-election unrest. According to media reports, up to 68 people were arrested on Thursday and, in most cases, taken to Evin Prison in Tehran. Some have since been released, but most remain in detention. Some are relatives of activists who were jailed over the protests after unfair trials. “People peacefully gathering to protest unjust prison sentences should not themselves end up in jail,” said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Bomb hits outside suspected Pakistani nuclear-weapons site
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091023/wl_mcclatchy/3339941
Matter of time until the Jihad gets nukes.
Sweden in Grip of Islam
http://vodpod.com/watch/1428923-sweden-in-grip-of-islam
We’re next
Message To Al Qaeda From Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nxm2v1owLc
Telling them. Funny.
Goodbye U.S Sovereignty... Hello One World Government!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddQvhdCyhe4
Lord Monckton on the climate change treaty.
The witch is dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5ayK694PZI&feature=email
Funny
Khe Sanh vet speaks out
I received this by e-mail. I don’t have a contact with Col. Pipes or Sgt. McNeely, but I know Pipes is the real deal. Since it’s circulating on the net as an open letter, I’m taking the liberty of publishing it on my blog.
Headquarters Cadre
Bravo Company, First Battalion, 26th Marines
Fallbrook California, 92088
24 October 2009
FROM: Lieutenant Colonel, Kenneth W. Pipes, USMC, (Retired), Officer Commanding Bravo Company, First Battalion, 26th Marines, Khe Sanh, Republic of Vietnam, 1967/1968.
TO: Sergeant Milton L. McNeely, 2340173, USMC, Bravo Company, 26th Marines, Khe Sanh, RVN, 1967/1968
SUBJECT: Commendation, Case of Sergeant Milton L. McNeely, 2340173, Bravo Company, USMC
1. In as much as Sergeant McNeely was present with his unit, Bravo Company, 1/26 before, during and after the Battle of Khe Sanh and in recognition of his Staunch, Resolute, Determined and Forthright desire to, at all times, step forward to speak in behalf of his Marine Companions at Arms, he is here by Commended for once again, going into the breach in their behalf and in behalf of our Service Members currently battling our country's enemies in Afghanistan.
2. It is strongly recommended that the current President of the United States take the advice and sage counseling of Sergeant McNeely's powerful observation and strongly worded recommendation; noting that those that fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
3. It is directed that a copy of this Commendation be attached to Sergeant McNeely's letter and that both documents be framed and prominently displayed in his home or office in recognition of his courageous action.
Captain, Kenneth W. Pipes
Officer Commanding
Bravo Company, 1/26
Khe Sanh Combat Base, 1967/1968
October 24, 2009
SUBJ: Open letter to President Obama --- Regarding Afghanistan
President Obama In your inaugural speech you said, "For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh."
While men and women that have served our country so well in the past should be honored and held in the highest regard, it is absolutely necessary and your moral obligation and responsibility to prioritize the safety and welfare of those that serve now and risk their lives on today's battlefields.
Mr. President, I being one of those many veterans that served at Khe Sanh during the 77 day siege in 1968, recall a situation that is somewhat similar to the one in which you presently find yourself, regarding Afghanistan. The request for 40,000 additional troops for Afghanistan is much like the request that President Johnson received in 1968, for additional troops for Vietnam.
On March 30, 1968, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines defeated a heavily fortified enemy battalion just outside of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in one of the few bayonet charges of the Vietnam war and for all practical purposes the Siege was coming to an end with the enemy defeated.
On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced that he would not send the additional troops requested and he committed the US to a non-military solution of the war by ordering a bombing halt over 75% of North Vietnam. During the Siege, Bravo Company had sustained over 50% causalities killed or wounded and, unless there with me, one cannot imagine the anger and contempt I felt toward a president who would play politics with the lives of men that had already given so much.
Halting or reducing the bombing of the North would allow the enemy to bring more ordinance to bear in the Siege or to divert elsewhere. We later learned that the NVA were defeated and would have capitulated, if we would have pressed the attack at this point. Respite from bombing afforded the enemy opportunity to more easily withdraw and regroup. It lead to several additional years of war, thousands of additional American causalities, and eventually the defeat of South Vietnam.
Having extended my tour in Vietnam, the middle of April found me in the Da Nang airport finding transportation for a 30 day leave in the US before I would return to B/1/26. Given an opportunity, I spoke out to an Australian news correspondent challenging President Johnson for playing "Political Football" with the war in Vietnam and with lives of military personal serving there.
Returning from leave I found myself standing tall in the Battalion Headquarters answering to officers from Division Headquarters wanting to know if I had actually said the words that I had been credited with by the Australian press. I proudly agreed that the words were mine but I was a little put off that the newspaper failed to use the exact verbiage that would have better expressed my disdain and anger toward an administration that would not give our troops the same loyalty and support that was expected of them.
Of course they told me that I should not have made these comments to any newspaper much less a foreign one and that I needed to keep my mouth shut. I suppose they could tell by my attitude that I had more to say and would say it publicly given any opportunity. They eventually threatened me with the possibility of a court martial but not being swayed I was soon sent on my way and heard no more about it. Still, I have often wondered what discussions were held and what conclusions were drawn concerning this 19 year old Marine Corporal publicly criticizing the President of the United States about his decision to not support the troops on the ground in Vietnam.
President Obama, I believe that you have had sufficient time to determine if our continued military presence in Afghanistan is, or is not, in the best interest of the United States. If the determination has not yet been made, then as Commander-in-Chief, please do so with all haste. If it is not in our national interest, then please withdraw our troops immediately; but if it is or as long as they are in harm's way and for as long as necessary, support our troops with all the financial, logistical and human resources that are required. It makes no difference which legitimate or illegitimate group governs Afghanistan. Our moral imperative, responsibility and commitment is to our troops and none other.
Milton McNeely
45 Years Ago Today
I had to shrink the photo to get it to load. I'm in the front row, center, just left of the DI, holding God know what--probably some medal the platoon won. The DIs are Sgt. W. H. Harris, Sgt. E. Owens Jr & Sgt. M.P. Martin.We had less than a week to graduation, to being called "Marine."
Two members of the platoon were dead in a couple of years, in Vietnam. About half were reservists, so didn't get to go to 'Nam.
Best thing I ever did. I'm sorry to be too old to serve again.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Political Digest for October 24, 2009
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Public Option
If we have a public option in health insurance, will it follow the different health insurance mandates of each of the 50 different states? Will it thus cost more in a high-mandate state, or will taxpayers in low-mandate states pay for those in high-mandate states? Or will there be one level of mandated coverage for the country? If so, will it be low in mandates, making the public option cheaper than private insurance in the expensive states, or will it have a lot of mandates, making the public option expensive in low-mandate states?
Kyl on Medical Liability Reform: “We All Work For The American People, Not The Trial Lawyers.”
http://kyl.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=319155
Excerpt: “A goal shared by all of us in the Senate is making healthcare more affordable for Americans. “So why hasn’t there been more bipartisan support for medical liability reform, a popular, cost-free measure that would unquestionably yield significant savings for patients and doctors? “The most honest answer to this question came from former Vermont governor and national Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean, who said at an August town hall meeting in Virginia, that medical liability reform has not been included in any of the Democrats’ bills because they don’t want to take on the trial lawyers. “Protecting trial lawyers should not be a goal of healthcare reform. Their multi-million dollar ‘jackpot justice’ lawsuits drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone and are a big reason Americans’ healthcare premiums have soared.
Constitutional
CNSNews.com asked the only truly relevant question in the health care debate: Where in the Constitution is the authority to mandate that Americans buy health insurance?
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was befuddled and deflected:
CNSNews.com: Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?
Leahy: We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?
CNSNews.com: I'm asking-
Leahy: Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there's no question there's authority, nobody questions that. The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )
Czar Trouble
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204015.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: "The title 'czar' has been used more in Washington in recent years than anywhere, anytime since 1917, when Czar Nicholas II of Russia came to his unhappy ending," Chairman Lieberman said after his duma was gaveled to order. "The main questions raised in what might be called the current anti-czarist uprising seem to be one, have presidents of both parties, including President Obama, consolidated power excessively in the White House through the appointment of these officials, and, if so, is there anything Congress can or should do about it?"
Md. scientist tried to spy, indictment says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102202767.html?wpisrc=newsletter
If convicted, shot. Simple.
Palin Endorses Hoffman
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/morning-fix-10.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: Sarah Palin's decision to endorse the Conservative party candidate over the Republican nominee in a special House election in upstate New York is the latest example that the former Alaska governor's allegiance is to her conservative principles rather than the edicts of the party. "Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual," wrote Palin on her Facebook page.
Nobody remembers Obama at Columbia
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2009/10/nobody-remembers-obama-at-columbia.html
Excerpt: don't have a classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia . Ever! Nobody recalls him. I'm not exaggerating, I'm not kidding."Root adds that he was also, like Obama, "Class of '83 political science, pre-law" and says, "You don't get more exact or closer than that. Never met him in my life, don't know anyone who ever met him. At the class reunion, our 20th reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who's kind of the, as we say in New York, the macha who knows everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him. Is that not strange?
The Chicago Way
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704224004574489563238177126.html?mod=djemITP
Excerpt: When Barack Obama promised to deliver "a new kind of politics" to Washington, most folk didn't picture Rahm Emanuel with a baseball bat. These days, the capital would make David Mamet, who wrote Malone's memorable movie dialogue, proud. A White House set on kneecapping its opponents isn't, of course, entirely new. (See: Nixon) What is a little novel is the public and bare-knuckle way in which the Obama team is waging these campaigns against the other side.
WH tries to muzzle media
http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/10/22/white-house-tries-to-muzzle-media-draws-back-a-bloody-stump/
Excerpt: So this administration had what passes for a brainstorm among that group: now that they’ve made it clear that they disapprove of one particular news network, why, there would be nothing stopping them from stepping up their attempts to marginalize said network. So the White House announced today that a specific White House Press Pool access - Ken Feinberg, who is one of the myriad ‘czars’ so beloved of this administration - would explicitly exclude Fox News. Despite the fact that the Press Pool is supported in part by Fox News. And the media refused to play along.
Saudi concern rises over Al Qaeda activity in Yemen
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1019/p06s10-wome.html
Excerpt: The men, one of whom spent several years in the US detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had been sent to Saudi Arabia by an Al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen, according to a Saudi Interior Ministry statement. Their foiled attack was the second close call for Saudi security forces in less than two months involving Saudi militants from the Yemen-based group, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). (Another Gitmo Grad in the killing fields.)
An Inconvenient Rebuttal
http://townhall.com/columnists/SuzanneFields/2009/10/23/an_inconvenient_rebuttal
Excerpt: Ann McElhinney's low-budget documentary refuting the global warming hype and hysteria arrives in Washington just in time to break Al Gore's crystal ball. "Not Evil Just Wrong," the feature-length film she made with her husband Phelim McAleer, coolly reveals how Al's disguise of hot fanaticism as cold fact arrives as the Senate begins to gear up for debate on "climate change" legislation. "We know you can't teach religion in school," McElhinney says. "But there is a religion being enforced, a green religion." Her film illustrates just how schoolchildren have been indoctrinated with fear, loathing and foreboding, as Al's film attempts to recruit them as tiny prophets of doom. Her camera shows children in Northern Ireland describing how the sea level rises when the ice caps melt and polar bears drown. "It may (happen) here, and we will all die," says a little girl on the verge of tears, trying hard to look as though she understands what she has been taught. Pipes up an earnest little boy: "And most of us can't even swim."
The Rule of Law
http://posuerpresident.blogspot.com/
Excerpt: Of late there has been some reporting and much talk of an Administration "campaign" or "war" against Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and others who believe less government automatically creates more freedom. At the moment, the attacks appear to be limited to smear tactics, rumor - mongering and planting false quotations. One is left to wonder, though, how long it will be before the White House slips into full Nixonian mode, attempting to use the IRS and other agencies to crush its opponents.
Ayann Hirsi Ali: Feminism’s Freedom Fighter
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison17-2009oct17,0,4356705,full.story
Excerpt: For five years she's lived under the threat of death from Islamic radicals, and in those five years, she has become an acclaimed and provocative author on matters about Islam and the West. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born into a Somali Muslim family and eventually made her way to the Netherlands as a refugee. There she wrote a screenplay for a short film about women's treatment under Islam. Just over two months after it aired, the filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated. A letter threatening Ali's life has meant she has lived under guard ever since -- most recently thanks to a fund set up by private donors. (Her book “Infidel” is an inspiring must read.)
Quote
"We get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money because they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults-only, no-limit game. We kind of agree with Mao [Tse-tung] that political 'power comes largely from the barrel of a gun.'" --Comrade Ron Bloom, the White House manufacturing czar, in February 2008 when he was president of the United Steelworkers Union. The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )
Public Option
If we have a public option in health insurance, will it follow the different health insurance mandates of each of the 50 different states? Will it thus cost more in a high-mandate state, or will taxpayers in low-mandate states pay for those in high-mandate states? Or will there be one level of mandated coverage for the country? If so, will it be low in mandates, making the public option cheaper than private insurance in the expensive states, or will it have a lot of mandates, making the public option expensive in low-mandate states?
Kyl on Medical Liability Reform: “We All Work For The American People, Not The Trial Lawyers.”
http://kyl.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=319155
Excerpt: “A goal shared by all of us in the Senate is making healthcare more affordable for Americans. “So why hasn’t there been more bipartisan support for medical liability reform, a popular, cost-free measure that would unquestionably yield significant savings for patients and doctors? “The most honest answer to this question came from former Vermont governor and national Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean, who said at an August town hall meeting in Virginia, that medical liability reform has not been included in any of the Democrats’ bills because they don’t want to take on the trial lawyers. “Protecting trial lawyers should not be a goal of healthcare reform. Their multi-million dollar ‘jackpot justice’ lawsuits drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone and are a big reason Americans’ healthcare premiums have soared.
Constitutional
CNSNews.com asked the only truly relevant question in the health care debate: Where in the Constitution is the authority to mandate that Americans buy health insurance?
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was befuddled and deflected:
CNSNews.com: Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?
Leahy: We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?
CNSNews.com: I'm asking-
Leahy: Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there's no question there's authority, nobody questions that. The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )
Czar Trouble
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204015.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: "The title 'czar' has been used more in Washington in recent years than anywhere, anytime since 1917, when Czar Nicholas II of Russia came to his unhappy ending," Chairman Lieberman said after his duma was gaveled to order. "The main questions raised in what might be called the current anti-czarist uprising seem to be one, have presidents of both parties, including President Obama, consolidated power excessively in the White House through the appointment of these officials, and, if so, is there anything Congress can or should do about it?"
Md. scientist tried to spy, indictment says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102202767.html?wpisrc=newsletter
If convicted, shot. Simple.
Palin Endorses Hoffman
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/morning-fix-10.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: Sarah Palin's decision to endorse the Conservative party candidate over the Republican nominee in a special House election in upstate New York is the latest example that the former Alaska governor's allegiance is to her conservative principles rather than the edicts of the party. "Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual," wrote Palin on her Facebook page.
Nobody remembers Obama at Columbia
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2009/10/nobody-remembers-obama-at-columbia.html
Excerpt: don't have a classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia . Ever! Nobody recalls him. I'm not exaggerating, I'm not kidding."Root adds that he was also, like Obama, "Class of '83 political science, pre-law" and says, "You don't get more exact or closer than that. Never met him in my life, don't know anyone who ever met him. At the class reunion, our 20th reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who's kind of the, as we say in New York, the macha who knows everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him. Is that not strange?
The Chicago Way
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704224004574489563238177126.html?mod=djemITP
Excerpt: When Barack Obama promised to deliver "a new kind of politics" to Washington, most folk didn't picture Rahm Emanuel with a baseball bat. These days, the capital would make David Mamet, who wrote Malone's memorable movie dialogue, proud. A White House set on kneecapping its opponents isn't, of course, entirely new. (See: Nixon) What is a little novel is the public and bare-knuckle way in which the Obama team is waging these campaigns against the other side.
WH tries to muzzle media
http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/10/22/white-house-tries-to-muzzle-media-draws-back-a-bloody-stump/
Excerpt: So this administration had what passes for a brainstorm among that group: now that they’ve made it clear that they disapprove of one particular news network, why, there would be nothing stopping them from stepping up their attempts to marginalize said network. So the White House announced today that a specific White House Press Pool access - Ken Feinberg, who is one of the myriad ‘czars’ so beloved of this administration - would explicitly exclude Fox News. Despite the fact that the Press Pool is supported in part by Fox News. And the media refused to play along.
Saudi concern rises over Al Qaeda activity in Yemen
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1019/p06s10-wome.html
Excerpt: The men, one of whom spent several years in the US detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had been sent to Saudi Arabia by an Al Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen, according to a Saudi Interior Ministry statement. Their foiled attack was the second close call for Saudi security forces in less than two months involving Saudi militants from the Yemen-based group, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). (Another Gitmo Grad in the killing fields.)
An Inconvenient Rebuttal
http://townhall.com/columnists/SuzanneFields/2009/10/23/an_inconvenient_rebuttal
Excerpt: Ann McElhinney's low-budget documentary refuting the global warming hype and hysteria arrives in Washington just in time to break Al Gore's crystal ball. "Not Evil Just Wrong," the feature-length film she made with her husband Phelim McAleer, coolly reveals how Al's disguise of hot fanaticism as cold fact arrives as the Senate begins to gear up for debate on "climate change" legislation. "We know you can't teach religion in school," McElhinney says. "But there is a religion being enforced, a green religion." Her film illustrates just how schoolchildren have been indoctrinated with fear, loathing and foreboding, as Al's film attempts to recruit them as tiny prophets of doom. Her camera shows children in Northern Ireland describing how the sea level rises when the ice caps melt and polar bears drown. "It may (happen) here, and we will all die," says a little girl on the verge of tears, trying hard to look as though she understands what she has been taught. Pipes up an earnest little boy: "And most of us can't even swim."
The Rule of Law
http://posuerpresident.blogspot.com/
Excerpt: Of late there has been some reporting and much talk of an Administration "campaign" or "war" against Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and others who believe less government automatically creates more freedom. At the moment, the attacks appear to be limited to smear tactics, rumor - mongering and planting false quotations. One is left to wonder, though, how long it will be before the White House slips into full Nixonian mode, attempting to use the IRS and other agencies to crush its opponents.
Ayann Hirsi Ali: Feminism’s Freedom Fighter
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-morrison17-2009oct17,0,4356705,full.story
Excerpt: For five years she's lived under the threat of death from Islamic radicals, and in those five years, she has become an acclaimed and provocative author on matters about Islam and the West. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born into a Somali Muslim family and eventually made her way to the Netherlands as a refugee. There she wrote a screenplay for a short film about women's treatment under Islam. Just over two months after it aired, the filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated. A letter threatening Ali's life has meant she has lived under guard ever since -- most recently thanks to a fund set up by private donors. (Her book “Infidel” is an inspiring must read.)
Quote
"We get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money because they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults-only, no-limit game. We kind of agree with Mao [Tse-tung] that political 'power comes largely from the barrel of a gun.'" --Comrade Ron Bloom, the White House manufacturing czar, in February 2008 when he was president of the United Steelworkers Union. The Patriot Post (www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ )
Friday, October 23, 2009
Political Digest October 23 2009
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Torture songs spur a protest most vocal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103743.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Militant adherents to Islam-the-Religion-of-Peace cut the heads off of every prisoner they take, stone girls to death for being raped, and throw acid in the face of girls for going to school. When we capture them, we play them songs—and the world is indignant at us. Would that I could live to see how these musicians fare under the coming of Shari’a law. Excerpt: "I think every musician should be involved," said Rosanne Cash in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It seems so obvious. Music should never be used as torture." The singer-songwriter (and daughter of Johnny Cash) said she reacted with "absolute disgust" when she heard of the practice. "It's beyond the pale. It's hard to even think about." (Buy a burka, Roseanne, you’re going to need it.)
Tiny bat pits green against green
Wind farm could cut carbon, but could it also kill endangered species?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102101282.html?wpisrc=newsletter
The revolution eats its children.
Subsidies for News?
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=509812
Excerpt: Media: As newspapers and TV networks struggle and the administration presumes to define a proper news organization, what does the journalism establishment demand? No fair if you guessed a government bailout. The dead giveaway answer came this week as Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor and current vice president at large of the Washington Post, along with Michael Schudson, a professor at the mission-fatigued Columbia Journalism School, debuted their role-playing as cash-strapped bankers and auto execs. The news business' tenuous hold on profitability, they lamented, has threatened its sustainability. They demanded massive government involvement. (For President Wobbly and the League of Leftwing Lawyers, owning the media would be even better than owning car companies. Want to bet Hannah Giles of ACORN fame doesn’t get a government subsidy for her next project?)
To Cut Your Health Insurance Costs, Move
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/10/21/to_cut_your_health_insurance_costs_move_97463.html
Excerpt: If you live in New York State and don't have health insurance but earn too much money to qualify for subsidized state insurance, you can always reduce your costs sharply by moving to Connecticut. There, you'll pay $7,750 a year for a family policy that would cost you $12,250 in New York State. If you are in the same boat in New Jersey, you can decamp next door to Pennsylvania and reduce your insurance bite from nearly $10,500 a year for family coverage to $6,500. Or, if you prefer a bare-bones high deductible policy, you can pay a mere $800 a year in Pennsylvania for your family coverage. All of this talk of health reform in Washington has created the illusion that we have a single health care system in America with prices that are roughly similar once adjusted for local costs of living. But in fact we have 50 different health care systems. Our states, through their insurance commissioners and legislatures, exercise enormous influence over the shape of health insurance by mandating to residents and businesses what kind of coverage they must have, and to insurance companies what kind of illnesses and therapies they must cover. The result is sharply different rates across the country. In a study, the trade group for the nation's insurers, America's Health Insurance Plans, estimated that the average premium for family coverage in the individual market nationally was $5,800. But the study found wide disparities in costs, ranging from average premiums north of $12,000 in New York and Massachusetts to premiums costing on average only $3,000 to $5,000 in more than a dozen states. Some states have even allowed insurers to introduce low-cost, high-deductible policies that can cost under $1,000 a year.
Millions of federal employees might be exempt from health benefits tax
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Millions-of-federal-employees-might-be-exempt-from-health-benefits-tax--65293422.html
Excerpt: Democrats are looking for ways to exclude a bevy of big groups from their proposal to tax so-called Cadillac health insurance plans. So far the list of groups seeking exclusions include labor unions, firefighters, coal miners and other high risk occupations. At this point, is there anyone else left to tax who has one of those big insurance policies? Oh right. Federal employees. Well, now some members of Congress want to carve out an exclusion for them as well.
President Obama has something important in common with Edward I, aka "Longshanks"
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/President-Obama-has-something-in-common-with-King-Edward-I-AKA-Longshanks-65297762.html
Excerpt: It has received far less notice than it deserves, but last week the United States joined with Egypt in sponsoring a resolution appoved by the UN Human Rights Council that could blow a gaping hole in the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and other civil liberties most of us take for granted. The resolution encourages member nations to define as criminal "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence." Who defines what constitutes "national, racial or religious hatred?" Why, the government, of course. Who decides whether any given statement "constitutes incitement?" You guessed it. In other words, if you live in a country that adopts this approach to freedom of speech, be very careful what you say about any other nation, racial group or religious faith. And you better not make anybody in power mad because you would be amazed what can be construed by governments as "incitement" to "hatred." If you are an American with the notion that the First Amendment will protect your right to say whatever you want whenever you want about whomever you want, be advised that this resolution embodies exactly the conceptual assumptions about law and rights that lead directly to those speech codes that restrict civil liberties on hundreds of U.S. college campuses at this very moment
America’s Debt Paranoia
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/americas-debt-paranoia/
Good history of credit. Excerpt: The headlines are alarming. The New York Times panicked that Americans are “Running in Debt” and just a few years later warned that Americans were “Borrowing Trouble.” Business Week asked, “Is the Country Swamped with Debt?” and U.S. News and World Report worried that “Never Have So Many Owed So Much.” Harper’s even expressed fear that “Debt Threatens Democracy.” A labor leader bemoaned the improvidence of America’s consumers: “Has not the middle class its poverty? Very few among them are saving money. Many of them are in debt; and all they can earn for years, is, in many cases, mortgaged to pay such debt.” An academic report concluded that consumers’ promiscuous borrowing has “‘lured thousands to ruin’ encouraging people to buy what they could not pay for and making debt ‘the curse of countless families.’” And not merely the poor and improvident were lured into ruin, but upstanding middle-class families as well, as they engaged in a heated rivalry of conspicuous consumption with their neighbors. An indictment of our times? Not exactly. The first headline from The New York Times, as well as the labor leader’s concerns, were both from 1873, and the latter Times headline from 1877. The academic report appeared in 1899 and criticized the availability of installment credit, or the practice of buying consumer goods “on time.” Thorstein Veblen voiced his concerns about “conspicuous consumption” and Americans’ willingness to go into hock to fund it in 1899. The Business Week and U.S. News and World Report headlines ran in 1959. And Harper’s fretted that “Debt Threatens Democracy” in 1940.
You can fool some of the people….
President Obama's job approval dropped from 62 percent in the second quarter (April 20-July 19) of the year to 53 percent in the third quarter (July 20-Oct. 19) in Gallup data released last night. That nine-point drop is the largest between the second and third quarters for any president since Gallup began tracking job approval in 1953.
War on Fox News diminishes the White House
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1009/croberts.php3
Excerpt: By Cokie and Steve Roberts (!!!). Presidents usually turn to their secretaries of state for foreign-policy advice. But Barack Obama must have been channeling Hillary Clinton when he decided to attack Fox News. It was Clinton, of course, who blamed her husband's troubles during Monica Madness on a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Now White House communications director Anita Dunn is accusing Fox of operating as "a wing of the Republican Party. Every White House, in every age, has blamed the press for its problems. In 1798, at the urging of President John Adams, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, making it a crime to publish "any false, scandalous and malicious writing." Opposition editors were arrested, and their papers shuttered. Compared to Adams, even Richard Nixon, who kept an enemies list and wiretapped journalists, was a piker. So Obama is no different than his predecessors when it comes to mauling the media. But that's the problem. He said he WOULD be different. He would rise above the petty partisan bickering that has flooded the capital with verbal acid rain for years now. Apparently, those claims of civility are "no longer operable" (to quote another White House operative, Ron Ziegler, in the middle of Watergate).
Thug politics
http://patriotroom.com/article/tapscott-obama-s-thug-politics-dirty-health-care-endgame
Excerpt: So this is what "change we can believe in" done the Chicago way really looks like - Barack Obama and his White House capos muscling recalcitrant opponents and promising to crush those who don't get in line. Obama has zeroed in on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fox News and doctors. There's nothing coincidental about this trio of targets, either: They are, respectively, the nation's most powerful business lobby, the television voice for Middle Americans worried about where Obama is taking the country, and the professional group with the greatest potential power to kill Obamacare.
Enriching Iran's Uranium: Obama Gives Iran's Nuke Program a Helping Hand
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/10/enriching-irans-uranium-obama-gives-irans-nuke-program-a-helping-hand.html
Excerpt: Thus, the Obama administration's offer to have the Iranians' impure 3.5% UF6shipped to Russia where it can be enriched to 19.75% in that nation's modern, high-capacity radio-chemical plants may not be of merely incremental assistance to the raving anti-Semitic military junta that runs Iran. It may be essential for the continuation of their own independent bomb program (independent, that is, from whatever of North Korea's bomb program they're sharing).
A Wisconsin Icon Pursues Tough Questions
http://www.wecnmagazine.com/2007issues/may/may07.html#1
Excerpt: Bryson is a believer in climate change, in that he’s as quick as anyone to acknowledge that Earth’s climate has done nothing but change throughout the planet’s existence. In fact, he took that knowledge a big step further, earlier than probably anyone else. Almost 40 years ago, Bryson stood before the American Association for the Advancement of Science and presented a paper saying human activity could alter climate. “I was laughed off the platform for saying that,” he told Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News. In the 1960s, Bryson’s idea was widely considered a radical proposition. But nowadays things have turned almost in the opposite direction: Hardly a day passes without some authority figure claiming that whatever the climate happens to be doing, human activity must be part of the explanation. And once again, Bryson is challenging the conventional wisdom. “Climate’s always been changing and it’s been changing rapidly at various times, and so something was making it change in the past,” he told us in an interview this past winter. “Before there were enough people to make any difference at all, two million years ago, nobody was changing the climate, yet the climate was changing, okay?” “All this argument is the temperature going up or not, it’s absurd,” Bryson continues. “Of course it’s going up. It has gone up since the early 1800s, before the Industrial Revolution, because we’re coming out of the Little Ice Age, not because we’re putting more carbon dioxide into the air.”….. This begs questions about the widely publicized mathematical models researchers run through supercomputers to generate climate scenarios 50 or 100 years in the future. Bryson says the data fed into the computers overemphasizes carbon dioxide and accounts poorly for the effects of clouds—water vapor. Asked to evaluate the models’ long-range predictive ability, he answers with another question: “Do you believe a five-day forecast?” Bryson says he looks in the opposite direction, at past climate conditions, for clues to future climate behavior. Trying that approach in the weeks following our interview, Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News soon found six separate papers about Antarctic ice core studies, published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 1999 and 2006. The ice core data allowed researchers to examine multiple climate changes reaching back over the past 650,000 years. All six studies found atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations tracking closely with temperatures, but with CO2 lagging behind changes in temperature, rather than leading them. The time lag between temperatures moving up—or down—and carbon dioxide following ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand years.
Toronto imam preaching 'hate instead of harmony'
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/archive/2009/10/21/toronto-imam-calls-for-destruction-of-christians-jews.aspx
A Imam who didn’t get the message that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.
Father runs down daughter in Peoria parking lot
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/news/daughter-9687-down-year.html
Attempted honor killing…in Arizona. Didn’t get the memo about Islam. Excerpt: Peoria police are searching for a man they say ran down his 20-year-old daughter in a parking lot for becoming “too 'westernized’ and ... not living according to their traditional Iraq values.” Noor Faleh Almaleki of Surprise was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. Another woman, Amal Edan Khalaf, 43, of Surprise also was struck and is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Massachusetts Man Accused of Plotting ‘Violent Jihad’
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=an5XrmiSaGoc
Didn’t get the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace memo.
Toledo man gets 20 years in terror case
http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=365772
Didn’t get the memo. Sigh.
Regulating the Internet
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=509810
Coming soon—the Blog Police.
74-year-old N.C. state senator shoots, wounds intruder at his home
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/national/article/74-year-old_n.c._state_senator_shoots_wounds_intruder_at_his_home/287987/P10/
This is a bit old. The e-mail I was sent claimed he was an anti-gun senator, but the story doesn’t say that. Interesting.
Epilogue for a lost Marine
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/22/epilogue_for_a_lost_marine/?s_campaign=8315
Excerpt: Billy Lynch left Dorchester 72 years ago, and they’re pretty sure they’ve finally found him, a long way from home, deep in the ground in China. Staff Sergeant Billy Lynch was a Marine. He grew up on Victory Road, and if you go to the corner of Victory and Neponset Avenue, you’ll see the black street sign with the gold star that commemorates William Joseph Lynch Square. It is a place of honor for a Marine who disappeared 67 years ago. He left Neponset for the Marines in 1937, right out of high school, and never came back. He was stationed in China when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and then went to the Philippines and was there when the Japanese invaded. After the battle of Corregidor in 1942, the Japanese took him prisoner.
Torture songs spur a protest most vocal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103743.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Militant adherents to Islam-the-Religion-of-Peace cut the heads off of every prisoner they take, stone girls to death for being raped, and throw acid in the face of girls for going to school. When we capture them, we play them songs—and the world is indignant at us. Would that I could live to see how these musicians fare under the coming of Shari’a law. Excerpt: "I think every musician should be involved," said Rosanne Cash in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It seems so obvious. Music should never be used as torture." The singer-songwriter (and daughter of Johnny Cash) said she reacted with "absolute disgust" when she heard of the practice. "It's beyond the pale. It's hard to even think about." (Buy a burka, Roseanne, you’re going to need it.)
Tiny bat pits green against green
Wind farm could cut carbon, but could it also kill endangered species?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102101282.html?wpisrc=newsletter
The revolution eats its children.
Subsidies for News?
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=509812
Excerpt: Media: As newspapers and TV networks struggle and the administration presumes to define a proper news organization, what does the journalism establishment demand? No fair if you guessed a government bailout. The dead giveaway answer came this week as Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor and current vice president at large of the Washington Post, along with Michael Schudson, a professor at the mission-fatigued Columbia Journalism School, debuted their role-playing as cash-strapped bankers and auto execs. The news business' tenuous hold on profitability, they lamented, has threatened its sustainability. They demanded massive government involvement. (For President Wobbly and the League of Leftwing Lawyers, owning the media would be even better than owning car companies. Want to bet Hannah Giles of ACORN fame doesn’t get a government subsidy for her next project?)
To Cut Your Health Insurance Costs, Move
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/10/21/to_cut_your_health_insurance_costs_move_97463.html
Excerpt: If you live in New York State and don't have health insurance but earn too much money to qualify for subsidized state insurance, you can always reduce your costs sharply by moving to Connecticut. There, you'll pay $7,750 a year for a family policy that would cost you $12,250 in New York State. If you are in the same boat in New Jersey, you can decamp next door to Pennsylvania and reduce your insurance bite from nearly $10,500 a year for family coverage to $6,500. Or, if you prefer a bare-bones high deductible policy, you can pay a mere $800 a year in Pennsylvania for your family coverage. All of this talk of health reform in Washington has created the illusion that we have a single health care system in America with prices that are roughly similar once adjusted for local costs of living. But in fact we have 50 different health care systems. Our states, through their insurance commissioners and legislatures, exercise enormous influence over the shape of health insurance by mandating to residents and businesses what kind of coverage they must have, and to insurance companies what kind of illnesses and therapies they must cover. The result is sharply different rates across the country. In a study, the trade group for the nation's insurers, America's Health Insurance Plans, estimated that the average premium for family coverage in the individual market nationally was $5,800. But the study found wide disparities in costs, ranging from average premiums north of $12,000 in New York and Massachusetts to premiums costing on average only $3,000 to $5,000 in more than a dozen states. Some states have even allowed insurers to introduce low-cost, high-deductible policies that can cost under $1,000 a year.
Millions of federal employees might be exempt from health benefits tax
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Millions-of-federal-employees-might-be-exempt-from-health-benefits-tax--65293422.html
Excerpt: Democrats are looking for ways to exclude a bevy of big groups from their proposal to tax so-called Cadillac health insurance plans. So far the list of groups seeking exclusions include labor unions, firefighters, coal miners and other high risk occupations. At this point, is there anyone else left to tax who has one of those big insurance policies? Oh right. Federal employees. Well, now some members of Congress want to carve out an exclusion for them as well.
President Obama has something important in common with Edward I, aka "Longshanks"
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/President-Obama-has-something-in-common-with-King-Edward-I-AKA-Longshanks-65297762.html
Excerpt: It has received far less notice than it deserves, but last week the United States joined with Egypt in sponsoring a resolution appoved by the UN Human Rights Council that could blow a gaping hole in the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and other civil liberties most of us take for granted. The resolution encourages member nations to define as criminal "any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence." Who defines what constitutes "national, racial or religious hatred?" Why, the government, of course. Who decides whether any given statement "constitutes incitement?" You guessed it. In other words, if you live in a country that adopts this approach to freedom of speech, be very careful what you say about any other nation, racial group or religious faith. And you better not make anybody in power mad because you would be amazed what can be construed by governments as "incitement" to "hatred." If you are an American with the notion that the First Amendment will protect your right to say whatever you want whenever you want about whomever you want, be advised that this resolution embodies exactly the conceptual assumptions about law and rights that lead directly to those speech codes that restrict civil liberties on hundreds of U.S. college campuses at this very moment
America’s Debt Paranoia
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/americas-debt-paranoia/
Good history of credit. Excerpt: The headlines are alarming. The New York Times panicked that Americans are “Running in Debt” and just a few years later warned that Americans were “Borrowing Trouble.” Business Week asked, “Is the Country Swamped with Debt?” and U.S. News and World Report worried that “Never Have So Many Owed So Much.” Harper’s even expressed fear that “Debt Threatens Democracy.” A labor leader bemoaned the improvidence of America’s consumers: “Has not the middle class its poverty? Very few among them are saving money. Many of them are in debt; and all they can earn for years, is, in many cases, mortgaged to pay such debt.” An academic report concluded that consumers’ promiscuous borrowing has “‘lured thousands to ruin’ encouraging people to buy what they could not pay for and making debt ‘the curse of countless families.’” And not merely the poor and improvident were lured into ruin, but upstanding middle-class families as well, as they engaged in a heated rivalry of conspicuous consumption with their neighbors. An indictment of our times? Not exactly. The first headline from The New York Times, as well as the labor leader’s concerns, were both from 1873, and the latter Times headline from 1877. The academic report appeared in 1899 and criticized the availability of installment credit, or the practice of buying consumer goods “on time.” Thorstein Veblen voiced his concerns about “conspicuous consumption” and Americans’ willingness to go into hock to fund it in 1899. The Business Week and U.S. News and World Report headlines ran in 1959. And Harper’s fretted that “Debt Threatens Democracy” in 1940.
You can fool some of the people….
President Obama's job approval dropped from 62 percent in the second quarter (April 20-July 19) of the year to 53 percent in the third quarter (July 20-Oct. 19) in Gallup data released last night. That nine-point drop is the largest between the second and third quarters for any president since Gallup began tracking job approval in 1953.
War on Fox News diminishes the White House
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1009/croberts.php3
Excerpt: By Cokie and Steve Roberts (!!!). Presidents usually turn to their secretaries of state for foreign-policy advice. But Barack Obama must have been channeling Hillary Clinton when he decided to attack Fox News. It was Clinton, of course, who blamed her husband's troubles during Monica Madness on a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Now White House communications director Anita Dunn is accusing Fox of operating as "a wing of the Republican Party. Every White House, in every age, has blamed the press for its problems. In 1798, at the urging of President John Adams, Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, making it a crime to publish "any false, scandalous and malicious writing." Opposition editors were arrested, and their papers shuttered. Compared to Adams, even Richard Nixon, who kept an enemies list and wiretapped journalists, was a piker. So Obama is no different than his predecessors when it comes to mauling the media. But that's the problem. He said he WOULD be different. He would rise above the petty partisan bickering that has flooded the capital with verbal acid rain for years now. Apparently, those claims of civility are "no longer operable" (to quote another White House operative, Ron Ziegler, in the middle of Watergate).
Thug politics
http://patriotroom.com/article/tapscott-obama-s-thug-politics-dirty-health-care-endgame
Excerpt: So this is what "change we can believe in" done the Chicago way really looks like - Barack Obama and his White House capos muscling recalcitrant opponents and promising to crush those who don't get in line. Obama has zeroed in on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Fox News and doctors. There's nothing coincidental about this trio of targets, either: They are, respectively, the nation's most powerful business lobby, the television voice for Middle Americans worried about where Obama is taking the country, and the professional group with the greatest potential power to kill Obamacare.
Enriching Iran's Uranium: Obama Gives Iran's Nuke Program a Helping Hand
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/10/enriching-irans-uranium-obama-gives-irans-nuke-program-a-helping-hand.html
Excerpt: Thus, the Obama administration's offer to have the Iranians' impure 3.5% UF6shipped to Russia where it can be enriched to 19.75% in that nation's modern, high-capacity radio-chemical plants may not be of merely incremental assistance to the raving anti-Semitic military junta that runs Iran. It may be essential for the continuation of their own independent bomb program (independent, that is, from whatever of North Korea's bomb program they're sharing).
A Wisconsin Icon Pursues Tough Questions
http://www.wecnmagazine.com/2007issues/may/may07.html#1
Excerpt: Bryson is a believer in climate change, in that he’s as quick as anyone to acknowledge that Earth’s climate has done nothing but change throughout the planet’s existence. In fact, he took that knowledge a big step further, earlier than probably anyone else. Almost 40 years ago, Bryson stood before the American Association for the Advancement of Science and presented a paper saying human activity could alter climate. “I was laughed off the platform for saying that,” he told Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News. In the 1960s, Bryson’s idea was widely considered a radical proposition. But nowadays things have turned almost in the opposite direction: Hardly a day passes without some authority figure claiming that whatever the climate happens to be doing, human activity must be part of the explanation. And once again, Bryson is challenging the conventional wisdom. “Climate’s always been changing and it’s been changing rapidly at various times, and so something was making it change in the past,” he told us in an interview this past winter. “Before there were enough people to make any difference at all, two million years ago, nobody was changing the climate, yet the climate was changing, okay?” “All this argument is the temperature going up or not, it’s absurd,” Bryson continues. “Of course it’s going up. It has gone up since the early 1800s, before the Industrial Revolution, because we’re coming out of the Little Ice Age, not because we’re putting more carbon dioxide into the air.”….. This begs questions about the widely publicized mathematical models researchers run through supercomputers to generate climate scenarios 50 or 100 years in the future. Bryson says the data fed into the computers overemphasizes carbon dioxide and accounts poorly for the effects of clouds—water vapor. Asked to evaluate the models’ long-range predictive ability, he answers with another question: “Do you believe a five-day forecast?” Bryson says he looks in the opposite direction, at past climate conditions, for clues to future climate behavior. Trying that approach in the weeks following our interview, Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News soon found six separate papers about Antarctic ice core studies, published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 1999 and 2006. The ice core data allowed researchers to examine multiple climate changes reaching back over the past 650,000 years. All six studies found atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations tracking closely with temperatures, but with CO2 lagging behind changes in temperature, rather than leading them. The time lag between temperatures moving up—or down—and carbon dioxide following ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand years.
Toronto imam preaching 'hate instead of harmony'
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/archive/2009/10/21/toronto-imam-calls-for-destruction-of-christians-jews.aspx
A Imam who didn’t get the message that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.
Father runs down daughter in Peoria parking lot
http://www.yourwestvalley.com/news/daughter-9687-down-year.html
Attempted honor killing…in Arizona. Didn’t get the memo about Islam. Excerpt: Peoria police are searching for a man they say ran down his 20-year-old daughter in a parking lot for becoming “too 'westernized’ and ... not living according to their traditional Iraq values.” Noor Faleh Almaleki of Surprise was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. Another woman, Amal Edan Khalaf, 43, of Surprise also was struck and is in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Massachusetts Man Accused of Plotting ‘Violent Jihad’
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=an5XrmiSaGoc
Didn’t get the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace memo.
Toledo man gets 20 years in terror case
http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=365772
Didn’t get the memo. Sigh.
Regulating the Internet
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=509810
Coming soon—the Blog Police.
74-year-old N.C. state senator shoots, wounds intruder at his home
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/national/article/74-year-old_n.c._state_senator_shoots_wounds_intruder_at_his_home/287987/P10/
This is a bit old. The e-mail I was sent claimed he was an anti-gun senator, but the story doesn’t say that. Interesting.
Epilogue for a lost Marine
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/22/epilogue_for_a_lost_marine/?s_campaign=8315
Excerpt: Billy Lynch left Dorchester 72 years ago, and they’re pretty sure they’ve finally found him, a long way from home, deep in the ground in China. Staff Sergeant Billy Lynch was a Marine. He grew up on Victory Road, and if you go to the corner of Victory and Neponset Avenue, you’ll see the black street sign with the gold star that commemorates William Joseph Lynch Square. It is a place of honor for a Marine who disappeared 67 years ago. He left Neponset for the Marines in 1937, right out of high school, and never came back. He was stationed in China when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and then went to the Philippines and was there when the Japanese invaded. After the battle of Corregidor in 1942, the Japanese took him prisoner.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Political Digest October 22 ,2009
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Here’s my plan. Sell Fox News to al Qaeda. Then President Wobbly will have the backbone to go after them. BO has no trouble to committing more troops to the war on Fox.
Americans split on Afghanistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003780.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: As President Obama and his war cabinet deliberate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, Americans are evenly and deeply divided over whether he should send 40,000 more troops there, and public approval of the president's handling of the situation has tumbled, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has recommended the substantial increase in troop strength, and 47 percent of those polled favor the buildup, while 49 percent oppose it. Most on both sides hold their views "strongly." The survey also found that a large majority of Americans say the administration lacks a clear plan for dealing with the problems in Afghanistan. The troop decision is one of the most complex and fateful strategic security choices of Obama's presidency. It also carries great political risk, whichever way he goes. Ordering more U.S. forces to Afghanistan could open a rift with Obama's fellow Democrats, most of whom call the battle "not worth fighting" and adamantly oppose the idea. But the Republicans polled take diametrically opposed views on the war, and a decision not to accept the commander's recommendation probably would heighten their opposition to the president. (President Wobbly frets about what he called a “war of necessity” as recently as August. Notice the Leftstream media is worried about the political risks to BO, not the risks to our troops or to America.)
Mass. man planned terror attacks on malls
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102101088.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Excerpt: A Massachusetts man has been arrested on charges of conspiring to support terrorists in a long-running investigation into Americans seeking military-style training overseas, federal authorities announced Wednesday morning. Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, a small town west of Boston, allegedly conspired from 2001 to May 2008 with Ahmad Abousamra and others to support and carry out attacks abroad, including on U.S. and allied soldiers in Iraq, the Justice Department announced. (I just hope they didn’t listen in on his phone calls to terrorists in other countries. Better thousands of Americans should die than that!)
All not kosher in halal slaughterhouse in Illinois: FBI raids with 100 agents, cops, 50 govt vehicles, helicopter, more
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/all-not-kosher-in-halal-slaughterhouse-in-illinois-fbi-raids-with-100-agents-cops-50-govt-vehicles-h.html
Excerpt: Federal agents conducted a raid Sunday afternoon at a goat meat processing plant near Morris, Illinois. The secretive operation was led by the Chicago FBI office, the Feds are being very tight-lipped on what they found and why they were even there…The trouble is the FBI isn't saying much about what happened at this rural Grundy County plant. A spokesman confirms that the plant, which has a Muslim prayer room, was raided as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. (Probably saw the goats and thought it was a brothel)
Oprah to interview Sarah Palin
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/10/oprah-sarah-palin.html
Palin goes on Oprah, sure to be a hostile reception, but Obama doesn’t have the balls to go on Fox. Tells you something.
The State of Joblessness
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477363965641226.html
Excerpt: State lawmakers will soon face large budget deficits again, perhaps as much as $100 billion across the U.S. Here's some free budget-balancing advice: Steer clear of the Michigan model. The Wolverine state is once again set to run out of money, and it is once again poised to raise taxes even as jobs and businesses disappear. In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%. The tax money was dedicated to the likes of education, public works, job retraining and corporate subsidies. Ms. Granholm and her union allies called these "investments," and the exercise was widely applauded as a prototype of "progressive" budgeting. Some prototype. Every state has seen a big jump in joblessness since 2007, but with a 15.2% unemployment rate Michigan's jobs picture is by far the worst. Some 750,000 private-sector payroll jobs have vanished since the start of the decade. For every family that has moved into Michigan since 2007, two have sold their homes and left. (I read recently that the median home price in Detroit is $7,100. No, I didn’t leave out a zero. But then you'd live in…Detroit.)
If it's so urgent, why would two elections pass before health reform takes effect?
http://www.heritage.org//Press/Commentary/ed101909a.cfm
Excerpt: The debate over health-care reform has sparked all sorts of controversy over costs, regulations and choices. But one 'feature' seems to have escaped notice: the built-in lack of accountability of our elected leaders for what health care will be like after the plan is implemented. Proponents claim we need reform now to solve an immediate health care "crisis." "If we don't act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day," President Obama claimed on July 22. Yet the bills he urges us to support will not actually provide any health care until 2013 -- by which time, if the president's claim is correct, an additional 17 million Americans will have lost their insurance. Why the delay? The best way the people have to hold their elected leaders accountable for results is by threatening to withhold their votes. But this bill seems expressly designed to eliminate that source of accountability. By the time Americans experience the effects of this health care bill (except for the tax increases), not only will President Obama have run for re-election, but so will two-thirds of the senators -- and every House member will have been up for re-election twice.
A Better Way to Health Reform
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100703048.html
Excerpt: Here's a better alternative. Let's scrap the $220 billion annual health insurance tax subsidy, which is often used to buy the wrong kind of insurance, and use those budget dollars to provide insurance that protects American families from health costs that exceed 15 percent of their income. Specifically, the government would give each individual or family a voucher that would permit taxpayers to buy a policy from a private insurer that would pay all allowable health costs in excess of 15 percent of the family's income. A typical American family with income of $50,000 would be eligible for a voucher worth about $3,500, the actuarial cost of a policy that would pay all of that family's health bills in excess of $7,500 a year. The family could give this $3,500 voucher to any insurance company or health maintenance organization, including the provider of the individual's current employer-based insurance plan. Some families would choose the simple option of paying out of pocket for the care up to that 15 percent threshold. Others would want to reduce the maximum potential out-of-pocket cost to less than 15 percent of income and would pay a premium to the insurance company to expand their coverage. Some families might want to use the voucher to pay for membership in a health maintenance organization. Each option would provide a discipline on demand that would help to limit the rise in health-care costs.
The Democrats' fickle-and-dime health strategy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003211.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Excerpt: "Iwill not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future -- period," President Obama told Congress in a health-care address last month. (I don’t think even Democrats believe it won’t add to the deficit. I think they know it’s a lie and don’t care.)
Economics in the Red Zone
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18584&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Excerpt: The U.S. debt is now higher relative to our national income than it was for the typical middle-income country that defaulted on its debt in the 31 years of the sample. The U.S. total external debt has reached 94 percent, while public external debt is 24 percent, of GNP this year. This puts the United States in the company of Latin American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador (other countries outside of Latin America include Jordan and Egypt); these are all countries that defaulted on their debt during the period under consideration. The United States is now in worse shape than was the typical Latin American country that defaulted.
Obama-Mao tee shirts for sale in DC
http://www.theodoresworld.net/
Small surprise. Why not Trotsky too?
Voting Present is Not an Option
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDY0MDMwYzNkYTZkNzI2NGU5ODRmZDM1MjBkZmNhYWM=#
Excerpt: While our Narcissus-in-Chief is frozen gazing at his perfect image in his private pool, choices have to be made in Afghanistan. Consider the following: (a) We have a Democratically controlled Congress that by and large has supported, since 2004, the Kerry-Obama-Hillary Clinton narrative of a "good" war in Afghanistan, supposedly shamefully neglected by George Bush's neo-con adventure in Iraq, but absolutely vital to the security of the United States, and one entirely winnable — if only we allot sufficient resources….. Given the above, and given that George Bush made a far more difficult choice that saved Iraq, it is hard to figure out why Obama can not make a simple decision to send troops requested by commanders on the ground. (Yeah, but the left no longer believes it’s a “good war”—that was just to bash Bush.)
Degrees in Dishonesty – by Walter Williams
http://frontpagemag.com/2009/10/21/degrees-in-dishonesty-by-walter-williams/
Excerpt: College education is a costly proposition with tuition, room and board at some colleges topping $50,000 a year. Is it worth it? Increasing evidence suggests that it’s not. Since the 1960s, academic achievement scores have plummeted, but student college grade point averages (GPA) have skyrocketed. In October 2001, the Boston Globe published an article entitled “Harvard’s Quiet Secret: Rampant Grade Inflation.” The article reported that a record 91 percent of Harvard University students were awarded honors during the spring graduation. The newspaper called Harvard’s grading practices “the laughing stock of the Ivy League.” Harvard is by no means unique. For example, 80 percent of the grades given at the University of Illinois are A’s and B’s. Fifty percent of students at Columbia University are on the Dean’s list. At Stanford University, where F grades used to be banned, only 6 percent of student grades were as low as a C. In the 1930s, the average GPA at American colleges and universities was 2.35, about a C plus; today the national average GPA is 3.2, more than a B. Today’s college students are generally dumber than their predecessors. An article in the Wall Street Journal (1/30/97) reported that a “bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 may not be the equal of a graduation certificate from an academic high school in 1947.” The American Council on Education found that only 15 percent of universities require tests for general knowledge; only 17 percent for critical thinking; and only 19 percent for minimum competency. According a recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the percentage of college graduates proficient in prose literacy has declined from 40 percent to 31 percent within the past decade. Employers report that many college graduates lack the basic skills of critical thinking, writing and problem-solving and some employers find they must hire English and math teachers to teach them how to write memos and perform simple computations.
Hard Choices for the Environmental Movement
http://www.greenspirit.com/key_issues/the_log.cfm?booknum=12&page=1
Interesting piece from the past, from a founder of Greenpeace. Excerpt: More than twenty years ago I was one of a dozen or so activists who founded Greenpeace in the basement of the Unitarian Church in Vancouver. The Vietnam war was raging and nuclear holocaust seemed closer every day. We linked peace, ecology, and a talent for media communications and went on to build the world's largest environmental activist organization. By 1986 Greenpeace was established in 26 countries and had an income of over $100 million per year…. Two profound events triggered the split between those advocating a pragmatic or "liberal" approach to ecology and the new "zero-tolerance" attitude of the extremists. The first event, mentioned previously, was the widespread adoption of the environmental agenda by the mainstream of business and government. This left environmentalists with the choice of either being drawn into collaboration with their former "enemies" or of taking ever more extreme positions. Many environmentalists chose the latter route. They rejected the concept of "sustainable development" and took a strong "anti-development" stance. Surprisingly enough the second event that caused the environmental movement to veer to the left was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Suddenly the international peace movement had a lot less to do. Pro-Soviet groups in the West were discredited. Many of their members moved into the environmental movement bringing with them their eco-Marxism and pro-Sandinista sentiments. These factors have contributed to a new variant of the environmental movement that is so extreme that many people, including myself, believe its agenda is a greater threat to the global environment than that posed by mainstream society. Some of the features of eco-extremism are:
Quotes
I'm busy, Nancy's busy with our mops cleaning up somebody else's mess. We don't want somebody sitting back saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.' Why don't you grab a mop? Why don't you help clean up? 'You're not mopping fast enough. That's a socialist mop.' Grab a mop. Let's get to work." --Barack Obama (Nancy grabbed the mop in January of 2007. Things looked pretty good with the economy then, I thought.)
All promise outruns performance.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here’s my plan. Sell Fox News to al Qaeda. Then President Wobbly will have the backbone to go after them. BO has no trouble to committing more troops to the war on Fox.
Americans split on Afghanistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003780.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: As President Obama and his war cabinet deliberate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, Americans are evenly and deeply divided over whether he should send 40,000 more troops there, and public approval of the president's handling of the situation has tumbled, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has recommended the substantial increase in troop strength, and 47 percent of those polled favor the buildup, while 49 percent oppose it. Most on both sides hold their views "strongly." The survey also found that a large majority of Americans say the administration lacks a clear plan for dealing with the problems in Afghanistan. The troop decision is one of the most complex and fateful strategic security choices of Obama's presidency. It also carries great political risk, whichever way he goes. Ordering more U.S. forces to Afghanistan could open a rift with Obama's fellow Democrats, most of whom call the battle "not worth fighting" and adamantly oppose the idea. But the Republicans polled take diametrically opposed views on the war, and a decision not to accept the commander's recommendation probably would heighten their opposition to the president. (President Wobbly frets about what he called a “war of necessity” as recently as August. Notice the Leftstream media is worried about the political risks to BO, not the risks to our troops or to America.)
Mass. man planned terror attacks on malls
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102101088.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Excerpt: A Massachusetts man has been arrested on charges of conspiring to support terrorists in a long-running investigation into Americans seeking military-style training overseas, federal authorities announced Wednesday morning. Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, a small town west of Boston, allegedly conspired from 2001 to May 2008 with Ahmad Abousamra and others to support and carry out attacks abroad, including on U.S. and allied soldiers in Iraq, the Justice Department announced. (I just hope they didn’t listen in on his phone calls to terrorists in other countries. Better thousands of Americans should die than that!)
All not kosher in halal slaughterhouse in Illinois: FBI raids with 100 agents, cops, 50 govt vehicles, helicopter, more
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/all-not-kosher-in-halal-slaughterhouse-in-illinois-fbi-raids-with-100-agents-cops-50-govt-vehicles-h.html
Excerpt: Federal agents conducted a raid Sunday afternoon at a goat meat processing plant near Morris, Illinois. The secretive operation was led by the Chicago FBI office, the Feds are being very tight-lipped on what they found and why they were even there…The trouble is the FBI isn't saying much about what happened at this rural Grundy County plant. A spokesman confirms that the plant, which has a Muslim prayer room, was raided as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. (Probably saw the goats and thought it was a brothel)
Oprah to interview Sarah Palin
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/10/oprah-sarah-palin.html
Palin goes on Oprah, sure to be a hostile reception, but Obama doesn’t have the balls to go on Fox. Tells you something.
The State of Joblessness
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477363965641226.html
Excerpt: State lawmakers will soon face large budget deficits again, perhaps as much as $100 billion across the U.S. Here's some free budget-balancing advice: Steer clear of the Michigan model. The Wolverine state is once again set to run out of money, and it is once again poised to raise taxes even as jobs and businesses disappear. In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%. The tax money was dedicated to the likes of education, public works, job retraining and corporate subsidies. Ms. Granholm and her union allies called these "investments," and the exercise was widely applauded as a prototype of "progressive" budgeting. Some prototype. Every state has seen a big jump in joblessness since 2007, but with a 15.2% unemployment rate Michigan's jobs picture is by far the worst. Some 750,000 private-sector payroll jobs have vanished since the start of the decade. For every family that has moved into Michigan since 2007, two have sold their homes and left. (I read recently that the median home price in Detroit is $7,100. No, I didn’t leave out a zero. But then you'd live in…Detroit.)
If it's so urgent, why would two elections pass before health reform takes effect?
http://www.heritage.org//Press/Commentary/ed101909a.cfm
Excerpt: The debate over health-care reform has sparked all sorts of controversy over costs, regulations and choices. But one 'feature' seems to have escaped notice: the built-in lack of accountability of our elected leaders for what health care will be like after the plan is implemented. Proponents claim we need reform now to solve an immediate health care "crisis." "If we don't act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day," President Obama claimed on July 22. Yet the bills he urges us to support will not actually provide any health care until 2013 -- by which time, if the president's claim is correct, an additional 17 million Americans will have lost their insurance. Why the delay? The best way the people have to hold their elected leaders accountable for results is by threatening to withhold their votes. But this bill seems expressly designed to eliminate that source of accountability. By the time Americans experience the effects of this health care bill (except for the tax increases), not only will President Obama have run for re-election, but so will two-thirds of the senators -- and every House member will have been up for re-election twice.
A Better Way to Health Reform
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100703048.html
Excerpt: Here's a better alternative. Let's scrap the $220 billion annual health insurance tax subsidy, which is often used to buy the wrong kind of insurance, and use those budget dollars to provide insurance that protects American families from health costs that exceed 15 percent of their income. Specifically, the government would give each individual or family a voucher that would permit taxpayers to buy a policy from a private insurer that would pay all allowable health costs in excess of 15 percent of the family's income. A typical American family with income of $50,000 would be eligible for a voucher worth about $3,500, the actuarial cost of a policy that would pay all of that family's health bills in excess of $7,500 a year. The family could give this $3,500 voucher to any insurance company or health maintenance organization, including the provider of the individual's current employer-based insurance plan. Some families would choose the simple option of paying out of pocket for the care up to that 15 percent threshold. Others would want to reduce the maximum potential out-of-pocket cost to less than 15 percent of income and would pay a premium to the insurance company to expand their coverage. Some families might want to use the voucher to pay for membership in a health maintenance organization. Each option would provide a discipline on demand that would help to limit the rise in health-care costs.
The Democrats' fickle-and-dime health strategy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003211.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
Excerpt: "Iwill not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future -- period," President Obama told Congress in a health-care address last month. (I don’t think even Democrats believe it won’t add to the deficit. I think they know it’s a lie and don’t care.)
Economics in the Red Zone
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18584&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Excerpt: The U.S. debt is now higher relative to our national income than it was for the typical middle-income country that defaulted on its debt in the 31 years of the sample. The U.S. total external debt has reached 94 percent, while public external debt is 24 percent, of GNP this year. This puts the United States in the company of Latin American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador (other countries outside of Latin America include Jordan and Egypt); these are all countries that defaulted on their debt during the period under consideration. The United States is now in worse shape than was the typical Latin American country that defaulted.
Obama-Mao tee shirts for sale in DC
http://www.theodoresworld.net/
Small surprise. Why not Trotsky too?
Voting Present is Not an Option
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDY0MDMwYzNkYTZkNzI2NGU5ODRmZDM1MjBkZmNhYWM=#
Excerpt: While our Narcissus-in-Chief is frozen gazing at his perfect image in his private pool, choices have to be made in Afghanistan. Consider the following: (a) We have a Democratically controlled Congress that by and large has supported, since 2004, the Kerry-Obama-Hillary Clinton narrative of a "good" war in Afghanistan, supposedly shamefully neglected by George Bush's neo-con adventure in Iraq, but absolutely vital to the security of the United States, and one entirely winnable — if only we allot sufficient resources….. Given the above, and given that George Bush made a far more difficult choice that saved Iraq, it is hard to figure out why Obama can not make a simple decision to send troops requested by commanders on the ground. (Yeah, but the left no longer believes it’s a “good war”—that was just to bash Bush.)
Degrees in Dishonesty – by Walter Williams
http://frontpagemag.com/2009/10/21/degrees-in-dishonesty-by-walter-williams/
Excerpt: College education is a costly proposition with tuition, room and board at some colleges topping $50,000 a year. Is it worth it? Increasing evidence suggests that it’s not. Since the 1960s, academic achievement scores have plummeted, but student college grade point averages (GPA) have skyrocketed. In October 2001, the Boston Globe published an article entitled “Harvard’s Quiet Secret: Rampant Grade Inflation.” The article reported that a record 91 percent of Harvard University students were awarded honors during the spring graduation. The newspaper called Harvard’s grading practices “the laughing stock of the Ivy League.” Harvard is by no means unique. For example, 80 percent of the grades given at the University of Illinois are A’s and B’s. Fifty percent of students at Columbia University are on the Dean’s list. At Stanford University, where F grades used to be banned, only 6 percent of student grades were as low as a C. In the 1930s, the average GPA at American colleges and universities was 2.35, about a C plus; today the national average GPA is 3.2, more than a B. Today’s college students are generally dumber than their predecessors. An article in the Wall Street Journal (1/30/97) reported that a “bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 may not be the equal of a graduation certificate from an academic high school in 1947.” The American Council on Education found that only 15 percent of universities require tests for general knowledge; only 17 percent for critical thinking; and only 19 percent for minimum competency. According a recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the percentage of college graduates proficient in prose literacy has declined from 40 percent to 31 percent within the past decade. Employers report that many college graduates lack the basic skills of critical thinking, writing and problem-solving and some employers find they must hire English and math teachers to teach them how to write memos and perform simple computations.
Hard Choices for the Environmental Movement
http://www.greenspirit.com/key_issues/the_log.cfm?booknum=12&page=1
Interesting piece from the past, from a founder of Greenpeace. Excerpt: More than twenty years ago I was one of a dozen or so activists who founded Greenpeace in the basement of the Unitarian Church in Vancouver. The Vietnam war was raging and nuclear holocaust seemed closer every day. We linked peace, ecology, and a talent for media communications and went on to build the world's largest environmental activist organization. By 1986 Greenpeace was established in 26 countries and had an income of over $100 million per year…. Two profound events triggered the split between those advocating a pragmatic or "liberal" approach to ecology and the new "zero-tolerance" attitude of the extremists. The first event, mentioned previously, was the widespread adoption of the environmental agenda by the mainstream of business and government. This left environmentalists with the choice of either being drawn into collaboration with their former "enemies" or of taking ever more extreme positions. Many environmentalists chose the latter route. They rejected the concept of "sustainable development" and took a strong "anti-development" stance. Surprisingly enough the second event that caused the environmental movement to veer to the left was the fall of the Berlin Wall. Suddenly the international peace movement had a lot less to do. Pro-Soviet groups in the West were discredited. Many of their members moved into the environmental movement bringing with them their eco-Marxism and pro-Sandinista sentiments. These factors have contributed to a new variant of the environmental movement that is so extreme that many people, including myself, believe its agenda is a greater threat to the global environment than that posed by mainstream society. Some of the features of eco-extremism are:
Quotes
I'm busy, Nancy's busy with our mops cleaning up somebody else's mess. We don't want somebody sitting back saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.' Why don't you grab a mop? Why don't you help clean up? 'You're not mopping fast enough. That's a socialist mop.' Grab a mop. Let's get to work." --Barack Obama (Nancy grabbed the mop in January of 2007. Things looked pretty good with the economy then, I thought.)
All promise outruns performance.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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