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. Nor that I disagree with them, of course.
Must Read. Mark Steyn: Learning the rules of an unengaged president
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/obama-255034-one-president.html
Excerpt: What do Gen. McChrystal and British Petroleum have in common? Aside from the fact that they're both Democratic Party supporters. Or they were. Stanley McChrystal is a liberal who voted for Obama and banned Fox News from his HQ TV. Which may at least partly explain how he became the first U.S. general to be lost in combat while giving an interview to Rolling Stone: They'll be studying that one in war colleges around the world for decades. The management of BP were unable to vote for Obama, being, as we now know, the most sinister duplicitous bunch of shifty Brits to pitch up offshore since the War of 1812. But, in their "Beyond Petroleum" marketing and beyond, they signed on to every modish nostrum of the eco-Left. Their recently retired chairman, Lord Browne, was one of the most prominent promoters of cap-and-trade. BP was the Democrats' favorite oil company. They were to Obama what Total Fina Elf was to Saddam. But what do McChrystal's and BP's defenestration tell us about the president of the United States? Barack Obama is a thin-skinned man and, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph, White House aides indicated that what angered the president most about the Rolling Stone piece was "a McChrystal aide saying that McChrystal had thought that Obama was not engaged when they first met last year." If finding Obama "not engaged" is now a firing offense, who among us is safe? Only the other day, Florida Sen. George Lemieux attempted to rouse the president to jump-start America's overpaid, overmanned and oversleeping federal bureaucracy and get it to do something on the oil debacle. There are 2,000 oil skimmers in the United States: Weeks after the spill, only 20 of them are off the coast of Florida. Seventeen friendly nations with great expertise in the field have offered their own skimmers; the Dutch volunteered their "super-skimmers": Obama turned them all down. Raising the problem, Sen. Lemieux found the president unengaged, and uninformed. "He doesn't seem to know the situation about foreign skimmers and domestic skimmers," reported the senator. He doesn't seem to know, and he doesn't seem to care that he doesn't know, and he doesn't seem to care that he doesn't care. "It can seem that at the heart of Barack Obama's foreign policy is no heart at all," wrote Richard Cohen in The Washington Post last week. "For instance, it's not clear that Obama is appalled by China's appalling human-rights record. He seems hardly stirred about continued repression in Russia. The president seems to stand foursquare for nothing much.
Obama May Bypass Congress to Let Illegals Stay
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/obama-fox-illegals-plan/2010/06/24/id/363021?s=al&promo_code=A28F-1
This may be just a trial balloon, after which they say, “You’re paranoid, of course not.” But, increasingly, this administration believes the law is whatever the Great One says it is. Trouble is coming. Excerpt: The Obama administration has been holding behind-the-scenes talks to determine whether the Department of Homeland Security can unilaterally grant legal status on a mass basis to illegal immigrants, according to Fox News. The source for this bombshell – which could ignite a national uproar given that a majority supports tougher laws against illegals – is an unidentified former Bush administration official who spoke with at least three people involved in those talks. The issue was raised publicly by eight Republican senators who wrote to the White House on Monday to complain that they had heard the administration was readying a "Plan B" in case a comprehensive immigration reform bill cannot win enough support to clear Congress, according to Fox. The White House would not confirm or deny the claim. But the former Bush official said the discussions are real.
It’s the Law
Speaking of the above, caught a guy on TV, an Evans, while dressing, pushing a book on McCarthy he recently wrote. (See: http://www.amazon.com/Blacklisted-History-Senator-McCarthy-Americas/dp/1400081068/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277606119&sr=1-
) He said that we should follow, “Evans’ law of inadequate paranoia.” No matter how bad you think things are, they’re worse! Seems about right.
An illegal immigrant -- doing a job Americans won't do!
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/06/an_illegal_immigrant_doing_a_j.html
Speaking of Public health laws…Excerpt: You've heard of trailer-park trash, right? This is a new twist on that -- a trailer park dentist! In this case, Eli Sandoval-Roda, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was practicing dentistry in a large "double-wide" trailer with primitive equipment, according to media reports from Cumming, Georgia. Captain Frank Huggins with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, told WSB News, a radio station: Mr. Sandoval-Rodas was using a five gallon gasoline can that was apparently being used to make molds of teeth. Hygienically speaking, he was using like a two liter bottle, gravity-fed bottle, looked like a Sprite or perhaps a Seven Up bottle of some type, to gravity feed water to wash the patient's mouth. According to WSB, Sandoval-Roda, 37, was charged with "practicing dentistry without a license and practicing medicine without a license because he was injecting birth control into females." WSB added that the trailer's landlord, "who happened to drive up during the arrest, was himself arrested, for driving without a license."
ADAMS: Inside the Black Panther case Anger, ignorance and lies
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/inside-the-black-panther-case-anger-ignorance-and-/
Speaking of the Rule of Law, this would have been a chance for BO and Holder to show they believed in it, regardless of the color of the defendants. They are no better than the Jim Crow officials of that era. Excerpt: On the day President Obama was elected, armed men wearing the black berets and jackboots of the New Black Panther Party were stationed at the entrance to a polling place in Philadelphia. They brandished a weapon and intimidated voters and poll watchers. After the election, the Justice Department brought a voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and those armed thugs. I and other Justice attorneys diligently pursued the case and obtained an entry of default after the defendants ignored the charges. Before a final judgment could be entered in May 2009, our superiors ordered us to dismiss the case. The New Black Panther case was the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career. Because of the corrupt nature of the dismissal, statements falsely characterizing the case and, most of all, indefensible orders for the career attorneys not to comply with lawful subpoenas investigating the dismissal, this month I resigned my position as a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney. The federal voter-intimidation statutes we used against the New Black Panthers were enacted because America never realized genuine racial equality in elections. Threats of violence characterized elections from the end of the Civil War until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Before the Voting Rights Act, blacks seeking the right to vote, and those aiding them, were victims of violence and intimidation. But unlike the Southern legal system, Southern violence did not discriminate. Black voters were slain, as were the white champions of their cause. Some of the bodies were tossed into bogs and in one case in Philadelphia, Miss., they were buried together in an earthen dam. Based on my firsthand experiences, I believe the dismissal of the Black Panther case was motivated by a lawless hostility toward equal enforcement of the law. Others still within the department share my assessment. The department abetted wrongdoers and abandoned law-abiding citizens victimized by the New Black Panthers. The dismissal raises serious questions about the department's enforcement neutrality in upcoming midterm elections and the subsequent 2012 presidential election. (So the people charged with protecting all of us, by making sure we act as a nation of laws, can now totally pervert their performance and act against their specific duties? This had to come down from Holder, who clearly sees his position as one he can use to do whatever he decides is a good thing, regardless of details like the law, the Constitution, etc. And this has not gotten 1/100th the publicity in the media that it would have gotten if some White Supremacists had pulled a stunt like this while Bush was in office. We need so desperately to change this Administration! –Del)
Two Census Bureau managers fired for creating at least 10,000 bogus questionnaires to meet deadlines
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/26/2010-06-26_2_census_bigs_axed_for_fakin_it.html
Adding phony jobs to the economy results in…phony people! Excerpt: Two Census Bureau managers from a Brooklyn field office were fired after their bosses found they faked household surveys to meet deadlines, the Daily News learned. Instead of pounding the pavement and knocking on doors, the corner-cutting people-counters mined the phone book and Internet to make up answers to questionnaires, regional director Tony Farthing said. The managers - turned in by whistleblower employees - were caught last week. Now, at least 10,000 surveys need to be done or redone, officials said. Census officials in Washington only admitted to a string of incomplete forms and poor tracking in disclosing the firings Friday afternoon. But Farthing corroborated worker accounts to the Daily News that managers Alvin Aviles and Sonya Merritt began dummying up responses in the final crush to finish the surveys, which field workers are supposed to compile from in-person household visits. "Basically, people were being asked to forge [questionnaires]," said one worker in the North East Brooklyn office, which covers 95,000 households. (This is only the beginning. --Steve)
Purifying the World
http://spme.net/library/pdf/PurifyingtheWorld.pdf Excerpt: The hope with which we entered the twenty-first century was that, whatever new specters we would have to confront, totalitarian ideologies would not be among them. Fascism, communism, and their variants would moulder in their political graveyards. Could it be that we hoped in vain? Could it be that that, from their putrefied bodies, another world transforming ideology has emerged? There is plenty of reason to think so. We are in the midst of the worldwide rise of a non-religious chiliastic movement, which preaches global human renewal and predicts apocalypse as its alternative. Like its twentieth century predecessors, the new ideology provides an intellectual formula through which to identify the present world’s depredations, imagines a pure new world that eliminates them, and mobilizes the disaffected and alienated for the sake of radical change. Like the followers of totalitarianisms past, the new ideologues also see themselves as the vanguard for the highest humanitarian ideals. If many of us have failed to recognize the rise of this new movement, the reason may be that we are still trapped in defunct ideological categories.
Obama Rattles Business
http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-rattles-business
Excerpt: Americans are fighting what Winston Churchill called “a Black Dog … on his back.” Americans are losing the fight, which is odd since the economy is finally gaining rather than losing jobs, and the manufacturing sector is growing nicely. The new Wall Street Journal-NBC poll shows that the Black Dog is the unwelcome household pet in most Americans’ homes. More than 60 percent say the country is on the wrong track, 48 percent disapprove and 45 percent approve of Obama’s job performance, and 50 percent disapprove of the way he is handling the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill (42 percent approve). The unhappiness is due to several factors. The Greek financial collapse, which ordinarily would be a yawner here, has focused Americans’ minds on the perilous state of our nation's finances. Lay the relevant fiscal facts of Greece and the U.S. side by side, and there isn’t much difference in such things as the deficit relative to the size of the respective economies. Of course, there is no prospect of an American default -- we can always print money -- but it has come home to many Americans that the large deficits being run up by the Obama administration bode ill not for our grandchildren, as we thought until recently, but for our children. That’s why a Democratic Congress last week turned down the president’s request for a second stimulus -- just as he was preparing to head for Toronto to try to sell his G20 colleagues on the need to spend and spend. (IMPORTANT NOTE: What Winston Churchill was referring to as a "Black Dog on his back" was the mental depression he suffered from his entire life. Ron P.)
The Blunt Truth
http://weeklystandard.com/articles/blunt-truth
Excerpt: Dennis Hastert, the former House speaker, is gone from Washington and pretty much forgotten. In February, his son lost a bid for his father’s old seat. The last we heard of ex-majority leader Tom DeLay, he was briefly a contestant on the TV show Dancing with the Stars. But former whip Roy Blunt, the third member of the Republican triumvirate that ruled the House of Representatives until 2005, has survived. He’s running for the Senate from Missouri, and more likely than not he’ll win. Missouri is a swing state, usually reflecting the national political mood. It’s a hodgepodge. “St. Louis is sometimes described as the westernmost eastern city,” Blunt says. “Kansas City is more like Denver. The Boot Heel [southeast Missouri] is like the Delta. Southwest Missouri is more like Oklahoma and even Texas. Northern Missouri is more like the upper Midwest.” So it’s no surprise the race here epitomizes Senate and House races across the country. Blunt, like Republicans nationwide, has been rejuvenated by the rise of his party’s fortunes and campaigns as an unswerving conservative. Like other Democrats, Robin Carnahan, the Missouri secretary of state, is also running sharply to the right—against Washington, big government, excessive spending—and concentrates on demonizing Blunt. She’s avoided contact with President Obama. When he came to Missouri in March, Carnahan’s excuse was she had to be in Washington for several fundraisers. She attended his speech in rural Macon in April, but stayed in the crowd and didn’t have her picture taken with him. Obama is scheduled to return in July to raise money for her. She’ll have to attend that event.
World Leaders Slam North Korea, Iran
http://www.aolnews.com/article/world-leaders-slam-north-korea-iran-at-g8-summit/19532235
Think a bit of a diplomatic win for BO. Excerpt: Briefly putting aside deep economic differences, top world leaders on Saturday condemned North Korea for the alleged sinking of a South Korean warship, set a five-year exit timeline for Afghanistan and said the standoff in Gaza was "not sustainable and must be changed." In a joint statement, the leading eight industrial democracies also criticized both Iran and North Korea for continuing their nuclear march and called on both to heed existing United Nations resolutions. The statement was not as strongly worded as some nations had hoped, including the United States, particularly in condemning North Korea in the March sinking of the warship. Russia was cited as a holdout against stronger language. Finding themselves at odds on economic policy, the G-8 leaders - representing the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia - focused Saturday on foreign policy, where it appeared easier to find common ground.
G8-G20 Police Protest Photos
http://cryptome.org/info/g8-police/g8-police.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The usual nihilists were out in force. Good photos.
Avertible catastrophe
http://www.financialpost.com/Avertible+catastrophe/3203808/story.html
The bureaucratic idiots are killing us. Excerpt: Some are attuned to the possibility of looming catastrophe and know how to head it off. Others are unprepared for risk and even unable to get their priorities straight when risk turns to reality. The Dutch fall into the first group. Three days after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, the Netherlands offered the U.S. government ships equipped to handle a major spill, one much larger than the BP spill that then appeared to be underway. "Our system can handle 400 cubic metres per hour," Weird Koops, the chairman of Spill Response Group Holland, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide, giving each Dutch ship more cleanup capacity than all the ships that the U.S. was then employing in the Gulf to combat the spill. To protect against the possibility that its equipment wouldn't capture all the oil gushing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch also offered to prepare for the U.S. a contingency plan to protect Louisiana's marshlands with sand barriers. One Dutch research institute specializing in deltas, coastal areas and rivers, in fact, developed a strategy to begin building 60-mile-long sand dikes within three weeks. The Dutch know how to handle maritime emergencies. In the event of an oil spill, The Netherlands government, which owns its own ships and high-tech skimmers, gives an oil company 12 hours to demonstrate it has the spill in hand. If the company shows signs of unpreparedness, the government dispatches its own ships at the oil company's expense. "If there's a country that's experienced with building dikes and managing water, it's the Netherlands," says Geert Visser, the Dutch consul general in Houston. In sharp contrast to Dutch preparedness before the fact and the Dutch instinct to dive into action once an emergency becomes apparent, witness the American reaction to the Dutch offer of help. The U.S. government responded with "Thanks but no thanks," remarked Visser, despite BP's desire to bring in the Dutch equipment and despite the no-lose nature of the Dutch offer --the Dutch government offered the use of its equipment at no charge. Even after the U.S. refused, the Dutch kept their vessels on standby, hoping the Americans would come round. By May 5, the U.S. had not come round. To the contrary, the U.S. had also turned down offers of help from 12 other governments, most of them with superior expertise and equipment --unlike the U.S., Europe has robust fleets of Oil Spill Response Vessels that sail circles around their make-shift U.S. counterparts. Why does neither the U.S. government nor U.S. energy companies have on hand the cleanup technology available in Europe? Ironically, the superior European technology runs afoul of U.S. environmental rules. The voracious Dutch vessels, for example, continuously suck up vast quantities of oily water, extract most of the oil and then spit overboard vast quantities of nearly oil-free water. Nearly oil-free isn't good enough for the U.S. regulators, who have a standard of 15 parts per million -- if water isn't at least 99.9985% pure, it may not be returned to the Gulf of Mexico.
Barack Obama's firing of Stanley McChrystal showed weakness and will backfire
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7856321/Barack-Obamas-firing-of-Stanley-McChrystal-showed-weakness-and-will-backfire.html
Interesting view from the UK. As I’ve said, I don’t think Obama had any choice after McC ran his mouth in front of a reporter. Interesting how Obama and his supporters have forgotten all their slashing of “General Betray-Us” now that BO had to crawl to him to try and save the situation. Excerpt: For the Washington cognoscenti, the appointment of General David Petraeus marked the crescendo of President Barack Obama's Wonderful Week. In firing General Stanley McChrystal, Mr Obama, the ultimate cool cat, was transformed into Mr Angry. The law professor finally became commander-in-chief. Obama, so the Beltway groupthink goes, turned a lose-lose situation into a political victory by asserting his authority over an insubordinate steely-eyed killer and replacing him with the ultimate warrior-scholar. He showed the doubters he was tough, and he traded up. How wrong the conventional wisdom can be. Obama's actions in dragging McChrystal back to Washington and personally sacking him in as dramatic a fashion as possible in fact displayed weakness. They also avoided the real problem - his confused Afghanistan policy and dysfunctional civilian team. No one would pretend that the profane, juvenile banter of McChrystal and his aides was clever or appropriate, never mind in the presence of an iconoclastic Rolling Stone reporter. The general, a legendary combat leader who engaged in fire fights in Iraq alongside SAS troopers while in his 50s, deserved to be reprimanded. Inartful and ill-advised as the words were, however, they also spoke to a justifiable deep frustration within the US military in Afghanistan and contained a degree of truth about Obama's civilian officials that made the famously thin-skinned President decidedly uncomfortable. McChrystal and his "Team America" vented about Ambassador Karl Eikenberry betraying them with a leak; portrayed special envoy Richard Holbrooke as an egotist in fear of losing his job; joked about Vice President Joe Biden being a bit of a blowhard; and suggested James Jones, National Security Adviser, was an ineffectual relic of the Cold War. These are hardly controversial opinions - even within the White House. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff and a man whose salty language would make a sailor blush, probably says worse things about his colleagues to a reporter before breakfast on most days of the week.
Tried to Boycott Israeli Ship, Blocked Chinese Ship Instead
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138178
Probably the same people who are boycotting Arizona Iced Tea, made in NY. What Stalin reportedly called “useful idiots.” Excerpt: Some 500 anti-Israel protestors arrived at the Oakland, California port early Sunday morning, hoping to block an Israeli ship from unloading its cargo. However, the ship did not arrive, and the crowd prevented workers from unloading a Chinese ship instead. The protestors say they were protesting the recent Israel-Turkey flotilla incident, though they displayed great ignorance about what actually happened; one of them even compared barely armed Israeli Defense Forces troops with Somali pirates. "My grandmother's Jewish. I'm not anti-Semitic," protestor Frank McClain told a local Oakland newspaper. "But what Israel's doing is murdering people. They staged a raid in international waters. If Somalis had done that, they'd be called pirates and we'd have punished and stopped them immediately. In fact, as videotapes have shown, Israeli soldiers warned the ships well in advance not to enter the waters under legitimate Israeli blockade; boarded the ship armed only with paintball guns and pistols in case of need; and were set upon and attacked as they rappelled down by lynch mobs armed with iron clubs, knives, and even their own pistols that the attackers took from them. Several of the soldiers were held captive for a while below deck. Ultimately, the Israelis were able to regroup, defend themselves, ward off the terrorist activists, tend to their wounded, and gain control of the boat that had been set on a near act-of-war course. Nearly all of the nine dead were identified as members of Turkish Islamist organizations, most of them of a radical and anti-Western nature. Four of them had previously declared their wish to die as martyrs.
Interesting comment on “I’m Tired”
I'm 35 and I'm tired too. I wonder what this country will be like for my own kids in a few years. The small college fund we had started to for our oldest, twins, is gone thanks to having to pay more taxes to support the druggies and junkies who like you state, are too lazy or too stupid to earn their own keep; the 'parents' of kids who get picked up by the system we also have to support. Or, in our case, the children who have been left at our home to care for because their lifestyle was more important to them. I immigrated into this country as a young child with my parents, and we were all starving and living in subhuman conditions when we left Mexico, but guess what? We never received a dime from the government! No sir, my parents worked and I held 3 jobs in high school, attended college with an honorable GPA & test scores, I RESENT affirmative action, EVERYONE should work just as hard as the next person, and I believe I worked harder than some. All I'm saying is, it can be done, it’s a choice, our freedom of choice. Thanks to people like you and several of my uncles, cousins, friends, we have that freedom. SADLY, and UNFORTUNATELY, people abuse this or they use this privilege for the wrong reasons. Your letter hits the nail right on! Thank you for your service, your time, and your integrity. There ought to be more like you. Thank you for putting into writing such insight and wisdom. God Bless you always. V.V, TX
Paris Metro's cheaters say solidarity is the ticket
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-paris-metro-20100623,0,4212836.story
Insurance to cover the fines for thieves. Why shouldn’t everything be free? Let “the rich” pay. Typical soft-brained leftists. And when the collapse comes in France, they’ll blame the capitalist, the rich and, of course, the USA. Excerpt: The answer, here in the land that gave the world the motto "All for one, one for all," is as typically French as it is ingenious: They've banded together to set up what are, essentially, scofflaw insurance funds, seasoned with a dollop of revolutionary fervor. For about $8.50 a month, those who join one of these raffish-sounding mutuelles des fraudeurs can rest easy knowing that, if they get busted for refusing to be so bourgeois as to pay to use public transit, the fund will cough up the money for the fine. It provides a little peace of mind, however ethically dubious, in a time of economic uncertainty. But for many of these fraudeurs, cheating the system and forming a co-op isn't just about saving money; it's about striking a blow against a capitalist state that favors the haves over the have-nots. Fare dodgers of the world, unite! "It's a way to resist together," declared Gildas, 30, a leader of the mutuelle movement. "We can make solidarity." He was speaking late one morning at a small Parisian cafe, where he fortified himself with orange juice but declined to give his last name or other personal details. ("We don't like this type of questions.") Free rides on the Metro may not have been exactly what the architects of the French Revolution had in mind when they rose up in the cause of "liberte, egalite, fraternite" more than two centuries ago. But for Gildas, a rebel whose unshaven cheeks, longish hair and John Lennon glasses seem straight out of French central casting, a straight line can be drawn from the left-wing principles and idealism of the 18th century to the present day. "There are things in France which are supposed to be free — schools, health. So why not transportation?" he said. "It's not a question of money.... It's a political question."
Quinn's debt bomb
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-borrow-20100625,0,6585930.story
Another leftist-run government facing the eventual collapse of the something-for-nothing mentality. Unfortunately, I live in this one. Excerpt: Friday night in London, these were the governments worldwide that CMA ranked as having the highest percentage probabilities of defaulting on payments to bondholders:
Greece: 67.93 percent
Venezuela: 58.05
Argentina: 48.15
Pakistan: 38.80
Ukraine: 35.69
Iraq: 29.29
Dubai/Emirate of: 29.20
Illinois/State of: 27.35
California/State of: 27.00
Portugal: 25.11
There's more than humiliation to ranking worse than left-for-dead California (and not much better than recuperating Iraq). The financial press has reported in recent days that bond buyers are so concerned about this state's reliability that they're demanding higher rates of interest from Illinois. From Illinois taxpayers, really.
Message to Tony Rezko has Obama's name all over it
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0627-20100627,0,805898.column
Funny column by John Kass. Has to be a und-raising letter, but you’d think Obama’s folks would e smart enough to have purged Rezko’s name from their begging lists. Apparently not. Excerpt: It's a letter with your name on it in big capital letters, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. It's postmarked June 16, 2010, and was mailed from Richmond, Va., with a 44-cent stamp. And, it's printed in soy ink on recycled paper, so it's eco-friendly. But the fascinating part is whom the letter from PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA is addressed to: Tony Rezko. Yes, that Tony Rezko. I'm not joking. This is a real letter. Remember Tony? The "That's not the Tony Rezko I knew" Tony? Your personal real estate fairy who helped you buy that dream house in Kenwood? The Tony of your "boneheaded" move? Yeah, that guy. Your letter was sent to one of Rezko's old business addresses in Chicago, and I got to take a look at it. I promised not to reveal the address if we could take a picture of it. Mr. President, the first thing I thought was, "What would Barack want us to do with this letter?" And the second thing I thought of was that I'd better write about it before Rahm sends the "Men in Black" to stun me with a ray gun that erases all memory. Tony's name keeps coming up day after day in the Blagojevich trial. It always involves money, including the campaign cash from those Democratic fundraisers at Tony's house with Illinois Republican bosses.
GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn Leading Congressional Effort to Stop Obama Admin From Deporting Son of Hamas Founder Who Spied for Israel, Converted to Christianity…
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=16066
Excerpt: Rep. Doug Lamborn is leading an effort in the House of Representatives to gather support for Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a founder of Hamas who converted to Christianity, became an anti-Hamas informer, and is now living in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security, incredibly, is opposing his application for political asylum. Yousef, himself once a member of Hamas, is not a jihadist. In fact, he’s quite the opposite, having had both a religious and a political conversion. He’s now living in San Diego, but his stay in America could end shortly (he’s been here around three years). It all hinges on whether he’s granted political asylum by American officials. Right now, the Department of Homeland Security is against this designation, in part it seems, because the government agency has misread his remarkable tell-all memoir, Son of Hamas. In the book, Yousef tells his story. He experienced a sort of epiphany, turning against Hamas and his family, to become a key informant for the Israeli intelligence agency the Shin Bet. The intelligence he provided allowed Israeli officials to prevent acts of terror, saving many innocent lives. The DHS interprets his book as proof that he has ties to terrorist organizations. If Yousef were to be deported, and returned to the West Bank, there’s little question that he would end up on a Hamas hit list.
'Genocidal' Israel will be put in its place – Chavez
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE65Q0DS20100627?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Barack’s Buddy. Excerpt: Hugely popular in the Arab world for his fierce "anti-imperialist" stance. Chavez received a hero's welcome when he visited Syria in 2006. He returned to Damascus on a tour last year. Assad arrived in Venezuela on Friday, the first stop on a rare Latin American tour. He is also due to visit Argentina, Brazil and Cuba. Syria has started to raise its international profile in recent years, shrugging off Western efforts to weaken it and developing ties with former foe Turkey, Russia and with Latin American nations. Assad, who faces a decline in domestic oil production and droughts that have hit agriculture, is looking to reinforce links with a rich Syrian expatriate community in the region and with economic power Brazil. His tour is expected to focus on bilateral issues and Syria's hopes to attract $44 billion in private foreign investment over five years to repair its infrastructure. He applauded Chavez's loud criticism of the United States and Israel. "Few politicians are brave enough to say no, when it is necessary to say no," Assad said as he arrived at the Miraflores presidential palace.
Obama's Washington: What Hath Harvard Wrought!
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/obamas_washington_what_hath_ha_1.html
Excerpt: It is time to put together an intervention. Form a new group, call it "Idiots Anonymous," and open it to anyone in the Obama administration with a diploma from an elite university. If you have an Ivy League degree, you get to attend meetings at no charge. And if you're from Harvard...well, you're large and in charge of the meetings. Of course, don't expect the meetings to accomplish much. Generally, self-anointed smart people succeed largely in making themselves comfortable at the expense of what the BP chairman recently described as "small people." Witness the White House entertainment budget and growth in government salaries. The people who tell you how smart they are talk and eat, talk and meet, talk and travel, talk and party...you get the picture. They do not do. Doing is for "small" people; transformation is for brilliant people. Meanwhile, we small people have our lives turned upside-down when others transform based on what elite-stamped smart people think. This is what happens when hubris is institutionalized and self-styled elites -- what David Brooks of the New York Times calls the "educated class" -- achieve critical mass in government, as they have in Obama's Washington. Barack Obama specifically set out to "fundamentally transform" the United States, using what William Kristol of the Weekly Standard describes as "the government schemes of pointy-headed intellectuals" to re-engineer a nation he views as foundationally flawed. The results have been predictable for anyone whose head does not come to a needle-sharp point. Record unemployment, a bloated federal government paralyzed by bureaucracy (Reuters headline: "Bureaucracy frustrates U.S. Gulf oil spill efforts"), and debt spiraling out of control even as those constitutionally charged with budgetary responsibilities do nothing.
Spiking Our Cannon on the Home Front
http://www.goldcoastchronicle.com/feature/our-cannon-on-the-home-front/
John Kerry’s buddies. Excerpt: Nearly four decades after my return to the United States I still recall the feelings of disgust I experienced upon my reception at Travis Air Force Base in 1969 when I was carried on a litter from the rear ramp of a C-141 Medical Evacuation Flight returning wounded soldiers from Vietnam. The tarmac was lined with anti-war protestors carrying signs that read, “BABY KILLERS” and “MURDERERS.” They were dressed in rags, the remnants of Army uniforms. They shouted curses and insults at each of us as we were carried one at a time down the ramp to waiting busses and ambulances parked on the tarmac to receive the wounded. We were shocked. We knew there was opposition to the war in America, but we were totally unprepared to be greeted with profane taunts and curses. We had given our country our most precious possessions – our lives, our youth, our health, and our buddies. And in return we were vilified by the only Americans who cared enough to show up and greet American soldiers the country and its elected leaders had sent off to war. And in that moment our priceless gift of service to our country was spat upon and cursed....One of the impressive leaders in the mobilization of the anti-war movement was John Kerry, a Yale graduate and former naval officer, who served in the brown water navy in the coastal waters of South Vietnam. Following his return to the United States and discharge from active duty, Kerry acted as co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans against the War in Vietnam (VVAW). The group organized protests and conducted an investigation into the conduct of the War, which led to allegations of torture and war crimes committed by Americans in Vietnam. Naval investigations of the charges found them to be without merit. Despite official denials of their claims the VVAW descended on Washington in 1971 to conduct anti-war demonstrations that received extensive media coverage. John Kerry appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on April 23, 1971. In his testimony Kerry repeated the VVAW claims of “…crimes committed on a day to day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.” He went on to detail alleged war crimes committed “…in a fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan.”[1] The televised testimony had a chilling impact upon support for the War, while galvanizing support for the anti-war movement. How did it all go wrong? And how did John Kerry’s academic studies influence his actions?
U.S. in Nepal reaching out to...Muslims (4.2% of population)
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/us-in-nepal-reaching-out-tomuslims.html
To misquote George Orwell, “All the animals are equal, but the animals with suicide bombs are more equal than the others.” Excerpt: According to the CIA World Factbook, Nepal is currently Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9%. That's from the 2001 census. And so the U.S. Government under the rule of Barack Obama is reaching out to...the Muslims.
Jihadists love Nazism: Turkish supporters of Jihad Flotilla fly swastika flag
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/jihadists-love-nazism-turkish-supporters-of-jihad-flotilla-fly-swastika-flag.html
Nice picture of our humanitarian friends.
Islamist hatefest should open Canadians' eyes
http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/Islamist%20hatefest%20should%20open%20Canadians%20eyes/3205147/story.html#ixzz0ryHHK49T
The writer will probably be hauled before a “Human Rights Commission” for this, free speech no longer being a right in Canada. Note that Tarek Fatah may be playing a double game to eliminate rival Jihadists. Excerpt: More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the Journey of Faith Conference in Toronto on July 2, 3 and 4. That may sound benign, but that fact alone should alarm this entire country. The conference, sold as one of the largest Islamic conferences in North America, headlines speakers with such vile and repugnant views, that to repeat them almost smacks of satire and farce. The big draw for the event was, until earlier this week, Dr. Zakir Naik, a popular Indian Muslim televangelist, who has -- thanks largely to the alarm raised by Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress -- been denied a visa to come to Canada. Naik, billed as an expert on the Qur'an on the conference website, has said "every Muslim should be a terrorist," that gays and lesbians should be sentenced to capital punishment, that a man has the right to beat his wife, though he warned his devoted followers to avoid leaving a mark or hitting her on the face, and, surprise, surprise, he says that Jews are the "staunchest enemy" of Muslims. He is, ironically and comically, the founder of Peace TV. You couldn't make this stuff up. It's as Orwellian as, well, Orwell's 1984 in which the Ministry of Truth promoted slogans like: "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," "Ignorance is Strength."
Former director of Islamic charity pleads guilty
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=NATIONAL&ID=565884399901868342
Didn’t get the memo. Excerpt: The former director of a Missouri Islamic charity admitted in federal court Friday that he sent more than $1 million to Iraq in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Mubarak Hamed, 53, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and a tax violation for misusing the charity's tax exempt status and lying to the Internal Revenue Service. Hamed served as executive director of the now-defunct Islamic American Relief Agency-USA from 1991 until October 2004, when federal agents raided the charity's Columbia, Mo., offices and carted off truckloads of documents and computers. The same day, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the charity's assets and said it was part of a global network of similarly named charities that supported terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, the Taliban and Hamas.
Dhimmitude doesn't pay: KFC ditches halal-only menu after poor sales
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/dhimmitude-doesnt-pay-kfc-ditches-halal-only-menu-after-poor-sales.html
They said they were switching to the halal menu to satisfy demand, but there didn't turn out to be that much demand after all. Dhimmitude doesn't pay: "KFC forced to ditch halal-only menus after disappointing sales," from the Daily Mail, June 26 (thanks to all who sent this in):
KFC has scrapped its policy of serving halal food only in some of its takeaways, following customer protests. One hundred of the fast food chain's restaurants removed non-halal items from their menus last year in an attempt to attract Muslim customers. But thousands of regular customers complained, including Alan Phillips, who was furious when the Burton-on-Trent branch refused to serve him his favourite Big Daddy chicken burger with bacon and cheese topping. He was told it was forbidden to keep bacon on the same premises as halal meat and he would have to travel five miles to the nearest non-halal restaurant.
Indonesian justice minister: Jihadists shouldn't attack in Indonesia, but should go set off bombs in Israel
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/indonesian-justice-minister-jihadists-shouldnt-attack-in-indonesia-but-should-go-set-off-bombs-in-is.html
Excerpt: Of course, he meant that they should go help in the "peace process."
Longtime Sen. Byrd in hospital, seriously ill
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100627/ap_on_go_co/us_byrd_hospital
Hopefully the KKK has enough class to send get well wishes to their former Democrat member. Excerpt: Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress, is seriously ill in a Washington-area hospital, his office said Sunday. The 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat has been in the hospital since late last week, his office said in a statement. At first Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, the statement said, but other medical conditions have developed. His condition was described as serious. The statement did not name the hospital. In November, Byrd broke the record for congressional service that had been set by Democrat Carl Hayden of Arizona, who served in the House and Senate from 1912 to 1969.
Wagon
Saturday we took a drive through some of the upscale towns on the North Shore of Lake Michigan. Nice places to live if you can afford it and if they weren’t part of the political cesspool of Crook County. We ended in Highwood, with a neat downtown, lots of al fresco places to eat. They were having an antique fair and a collectible car show.
The car that made me drool was a Bentley woody station wagon (or estate car).I never knew such existed. Big, right hand drive, brown/gray in color, leather bench seats (might have been jump seats in the far back.) Wood trim outside, wood panels inside. You could imagine it picking you and your steamer trunk up at the train and delivering you to an elegant country hotel in England. Alas, we didn’t have a camera.
Why do I mention this in a political blog? Because it was so neat I wanted to tell someone!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Blue Screen of Death and Perfect Optimizer
As anyone within two nautical miles of my condo knows from the swearing. I occasionally get a “Blue Screen of Death." Came soon after I bought this computer from Best Buy. Their Geek Squad said it was an embedded virus, despite running the “better” virus protection they sold me. When it did it again, they wiped my hard drive. Still does it, so I stopped shopping at Best Buy, just wait awhile and reboot, which often gives me a couple of days, sometimes weeks.
Then I found this site on the Internet:
http://windowsexpert.us/BlueScreenOfDeath.html
Where you can download a "free" program to fix it. So I downloaded the “free program” and ran it. It said it fixed minor errors, but if I wanted to fix registry errors, I needed to pay. Came to about $68.
I ran it again. Two days later: BSOD.
I’ve run the program, called “Perfect Optimizer,” when I log on. Today I ran it and it found—again—several hundred registry errors which it repaired. On a whim I ran it again. It again found 217 registry errors, though I had done nothing on the computer and wasn’t on line.
I’ve sent them a couple of messages, which they haven’t responded to.
So I conclude this is a rip off fake program. Any computer geeks with better info on the program, please comment.
Then I found this site on the Internet:
http://windowsexpert.us/BlueScreenOfDeath.html
Where you can download a "free" program to fix it. So I downloaded the “free program” and ran it. It said it fixed minor errors, but if I wanted to fix registry errors, I needed to pay. Came to about $68.
I ran it again. Two days later: BSOD.
I’ve run the program, called “Perfect Optimizer,” when I log on. Today I ran it and it found—again—several hundred registry errors which it repaired. On a whim I ran it again. It again found 217 registry errors, though I had done nothing on the computer and wasn’t on line.
I’ve sent them a couple of messages, which they haven’t responded to.
So I conclude this is a rip off fake program. Any computer geeks with better info on the program, please comment.
Political Digest June 27, 2010
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. Nor that I disagree with them, of course.
White House Picks Critic of Local Immigration Enforcement for Key Role at ICE
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/immigration/hurtt_immigration_customs_enforcement_06252010
He wonders why his poll numbers are tanking, but keeps putting leftwing fringe types in key positions. Duh. Excerpt: The Obama administration has tapped an outspoken critic of immigration enforcement on the local level to oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials on the issue. The Obama administration has tapped an outspoken critic of immigration enforcement on the local level to oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials on the issue. Harold Hurtt, a former police chief in Houston and Phoenix, has been hired as the director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of State and Local Coordination. Starting July 6, Hurtt will supervise outreach and communication between ICE, local law enforcement agencies, tribal leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations. "Chief Hurtt is a respected member of the law enforcement community (BULLSH*T!)and understands the concerns of local law enforcement leaders," said John Morton, the Homeland Security assistant secretary for ICE. "His experience and skills will be an invaluable asset to the ICEs outreach and coordination efforts." But as a police chief, Hurtt was a supporter of "sanctuary city" policies, by which illegal immigrants who don't commit crimes can live without fear of exposure or detainment because police don't check for immigration papers.
Petraeus Ready to Loosen Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/general-petraeus-ready-to-loosen-rules-of-engagement-in-afghanistan/
Excerpt: It looks like McChrystal’s resignation may be a blessing in disguise…General Petraeus will likely modify the controversial rules of engagement and make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy according to a source close to the general.
Does Congress have the guts to fix what court gutted? Honestly, no.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0625-20100625,0,7364095.column
John Kass is worth the price of my Tribune subscription. Excerpt: It's not every day that President Barack Obama and the Congress are handed an easy campaign issue by the Supreme Court on the touchy subject of political corruption. And who isn't against political corruption? On Thursday the Supreme Court gutted a key tool used by federal prosecutors to fight white-collar political corruption. It's known as the "honest services" clause. It deals with the tangible right of Americans to expect honest service from their elected officials. Even in Illinois. The court decided that the law was too vague. And since it was also used to convict business crooks like Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling and Chicago media baron Conrad Black, their lawyers are overjoyed. But the ruling will have its biggest impact on political prosecution cases, because the justices limited theft of honest services to direct bribery and extortion. Such thinking is simplistic. Big-time political corruption isn't about greasy envelopes stuffed with cash, passed in some alley behind a tavern. Rather, high-level corruption is circular, buffered and layered. Elected Official A helps Donor B to compensate Contractor D, who takes care of Regulator C as A's nephews get rich
Brewer: Most illegal immigrants smuggling drugs
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/25/20100625arizona-governor-says-most-illegal-immigrants-smuggle-drugs.html
Excerpt: Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday reiterated her assertion that the majority of illegal immigrants are coming to the United States for reasons other than work, saying most are committing crimes and being used as drug mules by the cartels. Brewer's remarks are an expansion of comments she made last week during a televised debate between the four Republican gubernatorial candidates. In the first exchange, she was responding to opponent Matt Jette of Apache Junction, who opposes the state's tough new immigration law and is pushing a moderate platform that includes calls for comprehensive immigration reform. In the debate, Jette said that most people who cross illegally into Arizona are "just trying to feed their families." Brewer disputed that, saying, "They're coming here, and they're bringing drugs. And they're doing drop houses, and they're extorting people and they're terrorizing the families." The governor, who has become a national media figure since signing Senate Bill 1070 into law on April 23, went further on Friday, saying that the "majority of the illegal trespassers that are coming (into) the state of Arizona are under the direction and control of organized drug cartels." (EDITOR: One of your headlines is, Brewer: Most illegal immigrants smuggling drugs. This may come as a shock, but I'm sure that the Governor has intelligence reports that verify that statement. It is no shock to me. From Nov 1974 to Oct 2001, I worked as a California Highway Patrol Officer in San Diego County. We worked closely with Customs and the Border Patrol. There was an often-repeated story. An Illegal would successfully get to a major California urban location. He would work his way up, and acquire symbols of achievement as he progressed. First, was a Stetson hat, then some $400+ western boots. The ultimate was a four wheel drive pickup. The man would then drive down into his hometown in Mexico to show the populace there that he had made it big in the US. Often, a cartel member would see this, and tell the man he was going to haul drugs. If he refused, his family would be butchered. –Dave H.)
Maywood to hire others to run the city
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/23/local/la-me-0623-maywood-20100623
My correspondent says they are a Sanctuary City. Is this the future of such? Excerpt: The L.A. County community, facing a $450,000 budget deficit, plans to lay off its employees, disband its Police Department and contract its operations to the Sheriff's Department and the neighboring city of Bell. Experts say it is the only city in the state to take such drastic action.
Mr. President, Do Your Job - Warning Signs Don't Secure the Border
http://www.securetheborder.org/email/email_1.php?ID=5
Must watch video by the AZ Governor. Forget Palin, Brewer in 2012! Excerpt: Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona’s southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security. Two weeks have come and gone and still it’s all talk and no action. Two days ago, Brewer sent a letter to the President outlining her Four-Point Border Surge Strategy.
Labor Dept. Offers to Assist Illegals
http://foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=22995&content=39905430&pageNum=-1
Just because they are breaking the law with impunity, no reason to let businesses break the law. Excerpt: Republican lawmakers are expressing shock over a Labor Department ad campaign that offers government assistance to illegal immigrants who think they're getting shortchanged for their work -- and at least one of them is planning to write to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for an explanation. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz says he wants to know why taxpayers are being asked to spend money to ensure that illegals get assistance for fair wages while millions of unemployed Americans struggle to find jobs. "That's insane," Chaffetz told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. "That's just unbelievable." But the Labor Department stood by the campaign, saying in a written statement to FoxNews.com that "through Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Labor has consistently held that the country's minimum wage and overtime law protects workers regardless of their immigration status."
The Law? How Quaint
http://article.nationalreview.com/437133/the-law-how-quaint/victor-davis-hanson
We are well into revolutionary times, but perhaps not in the way we traditionally think of political upheaval. Instead, insidiously, the law itself is becoming negotiable — or rather, it is becoming subservient to what elite overseers at any given time determine is a higher calling of social change. Of course, progressive federal judges have been creating, rather than interpreting, law for decades. Yet seldom in memory have we seen such a systematic attack on our framework of laws as the present assault from the executive branch. Federal immigration statutes mandate a clearly defined American border, which aliens may not cross without authorization. Yet the Obama administration not only does not fully enforce those statutes (in this regard, it is not behaving much differently from the prior administration), but also is preparing to sue the state of Arizona for implementing enforcement that follows the intent of neglected federal laws on the books. Apparently, the president believes that enforcement of existing law is a bargaining chip that can be used to obtain “comprehensive immigration reform” — a euphemism for blanket amnesty. Other states and even cities are now marching in lockstep to boycott Arizona. Meanwhile, the president of Mexico recently blasted Arizonans from the White House Rose Garden, no less, apparently counting on the president of the United States to go along with this demonization of one of his own states. All this is eerie; it has a whiff of the climate of the late 1850s, when the federal government was in perpetual conflict with the states, which in turn were in conflict with one another, and which often appealed to foreign nations for support. Recently, as if on cue, the secretary of labor, Hilda Solis, produced a video advising workers to contact her office should they feel that they have been shorted wages by their employers. Fair enough. But then she goes on to explicitly include workers who are not documented and to promise them confidentiality, i.e., de facto federal protection for their illegality: “Every worker has a right to be paid fairly, whether documented or not.”
Teen shot by Border Patrol had arrests
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/teen-shot-border-patrol-had-smuggling-arrests/
Excerpt: A 15-year-old Mexican boy shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was among El Paso's most wanted juvenile immigrant smugglers, according to federal arrest records reviewed by The Associated Press. The records show Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca had been arrested at least four times since 2008 and twice in the same week in February 2009 on suspicion of smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. Hernandez was repeatedly arrested along the U.S. side of the border near downtown El Paso, not far from where he was killed, but was never charged with a crime by federal prosecutors. A Border Patrol agent shot and killed Hernandez June 7 while trying to arrest illegal immigrants crossing the muddy bed of the Rio Grande. Some witnesses said a group of people on the Mexican side were throwing rocks at the agents. Agents are generally permitted to use lethal force against rock throwers. The records show that in at least one case Hernandez was to be paid $50 a person for smuggling four people into the U.S.
Widow of Houston Officer Killed by Illegal Immigrant 'Shocked' at ICE Appointment
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/203072.php
Excerpt: The widow of a Houston police officer killed by an illegal immigrant was "shocked" to learn that the city's former police chief has landed a top immigration job with the Obama administration, her lawyer told FoxNews.com on Friday. That's because Joslyn Johnson, whose husband, Rodney Johnson, was killed in 2006, is suing former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt for failing to enforce federal immigration laws. She claims her husband would be alive today if the city had bothered to check up on the gunman's immigration status. Now that Hurtt is taking a job to oversee partnerships between federal and local officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Johnson -- and other critics -- say they're concerned the official who resisted immigration enforcement in Houston will now be in charge of promoting it.
Lawmakers on the local level take matters into their own hands
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/24/lawmakers-on-the-local-level-take-matters-into-their-own-hands/#ixzz0rz1MBmmj
Excerpt: In Virginia, the chairman of Prince William Board of County Supervisors, Corey A. Stewart, is pushing what he calls the “Virginia Rule of Law Campaign.” The campaign is an effort to get the state legislature to adopt a law that is already on the books in Prince William — a law that is similar to Arizona’s. The county’s proposed law requires police officers to inquire into the immigration status of all those arrested or suspected of a crime. Last month, a California town did something similar. In May, Costa Mesa passed a resolution to call itself a “Rule of Law City.” The resolution is Costa Mesa’s way of officially declaring it does not condone illegal immigration. And in Oklahoma, state Rep. Randy Terrill is preparing to introduce a bill similar to the one in Arizona, making it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant. But Terrill’s bill would crack down even harder, punishing illegal immigrants with asset-seizure and forfeiture provisions. Further still, state lawmakers in Utah, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Texas and Georgia are pushing for legislation that mirrors Arizona’s immigration policy. The trend is clear: The impetus for implementing immigration law is the local response to the failure of the federal government.
Family of US Army Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Slams Obama Over Strict ROE, “They Couldn’t Return Fire, the Taliban is Laughing at us”…
http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/25/family-of-us-army-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan-slams-obama-over-strict-roe-they-couldnt-return-fire-the-taliban-is-laughing-at-us/
Video.
Gun grabbers treat criminals as victims
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/gun-grabbers-treat-criminals-as-victims/
Excerpt: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center (VPC) are peddling the notion that concealed-handgun permit holders are a danger to society. Last month, the center released a report claiming that in the past three years, 166 people were killed by holders of concealed-weapon permits. A closer look at the evidence suggests that many of the so-called victims of gun violence were criminals. Because more than 6 million Americans hold permits, it is important to set the record straight. As one of the most populous states with a right-to-carry law, Florida has the most concealed-handgun permits. Between Oct. 1, 1987, and May 31, the state issued them to 1.8 million individuals. So far, just 167 permits have been revoked over any type of firearms-related violation. Most of those involved trivial, nonviolent infractions. To put that figure into perspective, the annual revocation rate is a minuscule 0.00017 percent, with just three revocations since January 2008. More people are killed every year by falling vending machines than by holders of a concealed-weapon permit.
What Is “Negrophilia” and Why Does It Matter?
http://texasfred.net/archives/6988
If this book gets any traction, it will create a fire storm. Excerpt: I recently finished reading the book “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal–America’s Racial Obsession,” by Erik Rush, a black American author whose articles sometimes appear on ChronWatch. I thought it worth sharing what this term means in the context of what is happening in America. The information in Rush’s book needs to be disseminated throughout the country if we are to survive Barack Hussein Obama. If I may paraphrase, the condition of negrophilia, spawned from political correctness (PC), is the irrational state of refusing to see evil in some blacks and attributing to all blacks a mythical “holiness.” Sort of a twisted reasoning that blacks can do no wrong because they have suffered so much. Never mind that other races and groups have suffered as much or more, whites (even the sane ones) have been so indoctrinated through PC that they can’t see the idiocy in this thinking. That is deadly.
Pakistan offers Karzai a separate peace, including Al-Qaeda ally
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pakistan-offers-karzai-a-separate-peace-including-al-qaeda-ally.html
Excerpt: Seeing Obama's weakness, Pakistan sheds its mask yet again and offers Karzai a deal including one of his chief rivals, a key al-Qaeda ally. And since Karzai himself has spoken about joining the Taliban, and making peace with it in a power-sharing arrangement, it is hard to see what the downside would be for him. "As US falters, Pak plays Haqqani card in Kabul," by Jane Perlez, Eric Schmitt and Carlotta Gall in the Times of India, June 26 (thanks to Puneet): ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is exploiting the troubled United States military effort in Afghanistan to drive home a political settlement with Afghanistan that would give Pakistan important influence there but is likely to undermine American interests, Pakistani and American officials said. The dismissal of Gen Stanley McChrystal will almost certainly embolden the Pakistanis in their plan as they detect increasing American uncertainty, officials said. Pakistan is presenting itself as the new viable partner for Afghanistan to President Hamid Karzai, who has soured on the Americans. Pakistani officials say they can deliver the network of Sirajuddin Haqqani, an ally of al-Qaida, who runs a major part of the insurgency in Afghanistan, into a power-sharing arrangement. In addition, Afghan officials say, the Pakistanis are pushing various other proxies, with Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani personally offering to broker a deal with the Taliban.
UK jihadist misunderstands Islam, says it's not a Religion of Peace™
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/uk-jihadist-misunderstands-islam-says-its-not-a-religion-of-peace.html
Didn’t get the memo.
Hooded gunmen kill 4 commuters in Philippines
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37889299
Didn’t get the memo. Excerpt: About 30 hooded attackers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their lives in the southern Philippines, police said Thursday. Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a village road. The suspected al-Qaida-linked militants apparently were trying to divert government troops from a weekslong offensive in a nearby town, said Antonio Mendoza, police chief for the island province of Basilan.
"Moderate" Palestinian Authority TV host to children: Jews are "our enemies"
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/moderate-palestinian-authority-tv-host-to-children-jews-are-our-enemies.html
Gee, even the moderates didn’t get the memo. Excerpt: But deep down, they really, really want peace! Note that this is Fatah TV. Fatah is the "moderate" Palestinian Authority faction that the U.S. government favors with money and even military training. "PA TV host to children: Jews are 'our enemies' - Israeli soldiers are 'wild animals,'" by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook for Palestinian Media Watch, June 25: The host of a program about prisoners on official Palestinian Authority television described Jews as "our enemies" and Israeli soldiers as "wild animals" when she interviewed young children.
Talk of consensus, but little change
http://www.theage.com.au/national/talk-of-consensus-but-little-change-20100624-z3i2.html
Down under. Excerpt: In April, the government delayed its emissions trading scheme until at least 2013, sparking a massive collapse in public support for Labor and Mr Rudd in opinion polls. In his final statement as Prime Minister yesterday, Mr Rudd said he was proud of the fact the government tried three time to pass an emissions trading scheme, ''although we failed.'' ... His comments are being interpreted as a parting shot at the ALP's New South Wales right-wing faction, led by Senator Mark Arbib, who pushed for the government to dump the emissions trading scheme. Senator Arbib and the NSW Right were also instrumental in bringing down Mr Rudd's leadership. A final decision to shelve the emissions trading scheme until 2013 was made in April by a cabinet subcommittee made up of Mr Rudd, Ms Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and outgoing Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner. Ms Gillard and Mr Swan - now Deputy Prime Minister - both actively campaigned within the government to defer the emissions trading scheme. Ms Gillard said yesterday she did not want to ''in any way seek to diminish my role in making that decision. I came to that decision because I fundamentally believe that if you are going to restructure our economy so that we can deal with a carbon price and deal with all of the transformations in our economy that requires, then you need community consensus.''
Shocker! ABC says UHI making cities hotter!
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/26/shocker-abc-says-uhi-making-cities-hotter/#more-21075
Excerpt: So reads the headline on the ABC website, as if it’s something we don’t know. Obviously, as cities increase in size, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect will also increase. However, the latest “research” bolts this on to the IPCC’s incorrectly exaggerated warming predictions, to give some even scarier scenarios.... Unfortunately, this is another GIGO [Garbage In, Garbage Out] case, where the results from the IPCC’s incomplete models, which vastly overstate the sensitivity of the climate, are plugged into further models of UHI effects (which may or may not be accurate). However, satellite temperatures are continuing to diverge from the IPCC’s predictions, which means that research based on them is the stuff of fairytales. (This is linked through WUWT because they have some pictures and graphs that make it easier to understand. Also, there are several links to the original material. –Ron. P)
The Chaos Factor
http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2010/06/26/the_chaos_factor
Excerpt: With apologies to Rod Serling and his classic "Twilight Zone" TV series, there is a signpost up ahead in America, and it reads, "The Chaos Zone." The firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal is just one piece of a jumbled public policy puzzle that now threatens the presidency of Barack Obama.
Sen. Harry M. Reid building war chest by tapping donors beyond Nevada
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062503340.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics&?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
The connected kick in. Excerpt: Harry M. Reid needed money, and lots of it. Last spring, the Senate majority leader was looking ahead to a tough reelection fight. Polls showed that the voters back home in Nevada who sent him to Washington four times had tired of him. Republican Party fundraisers had all but declared him their No. 1 target for defeat. Taking them on would be expensive, and he wasn't drawing nearly enough cash from contributors inside Nevada. So Reid did what politicians in his position do: He picked up the phone. The senator began dialing old and new friends across the country, asking for their help. Many had one thing in common: They had a financial stake in legislation that Reid, as the most powerful member of the Senate, helps control. One of the calls Reid placed seeking cash was to trial lawyer John Morgan. At a party held at his home near Orlando in March, Morgan raised about $96,000 for Reid's reelection battle.
What the Obama administration has wrought: the world's first "Oilcane."
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-obama-administration-has-wrought.html
Excerpt: Art Horn, writing at OilPrice.com, describes the catastrophic potential of an oil-infused hurricane in the Gulf. Consider the series of missteps by the White House that has led up to this point, wherein the entire Gulf waits on pins and needles for the impending "Oilcane": The "Obama administration knew about Deepwater Horizon['s] 35,000-foot well bore, green-lighted [it] and fast-tracked the project"...Disregarded and underestimated the impact of the tragic explosion and spill for over a month...As of last week, had deployed only 20 of 2,000 skimmer (clean-up) vessels...Fought Louisiana's use of sand berms to prevent damage to the Gulf coast tidal region...Forced Louisiana to stop using 16 barges that were sucking up thousands of gallons of oil daily out of the Gulf...Refused to waive the Jones Act, which prevented foreign vessels and crews from cleaning up the Gulf, even though "American shippers who generally support the ban said they wouldn’t object to lifting it to fight the spill"...
North Korea to hold rare party meet 'to elect leaders'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10422809.stm
Excerpt: North Korea's ruling communist party is to hold a rare meeting of its political bureau, state media have said. The session will be held in September to select new leaders for the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the North Korean Central News Agency said. Analysts say the move may signal a transition of power in the secretive country. Leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be in ill health and grooming one of his sons, Kim Jong-un, to succeed him. The meeting is "for electing [the party's] highest leading body reflecting the new requirements of the WPK", the announcement said.
White House Picks Critic of Local Immigration Enforcement for Key Role at ICE
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/immigration/hurtt_immigration_customs_enforcement_06252010
He wonders why his poll numbers are tanking, but keeps putting leftwing fringe types in key positions. Duh. Excerpt: The Obama administration has tapped an outspoken critic of immigration enforcement on the local level to oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials on the issue. The Obama administration has tapped an outspoken critic of immigration enforcement on the local level to oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials on the issue. Harold Hurtt, a former police chief in Houston and Phoenix, has been hired as the director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of State and Local Coordination. Starting July 6, Hurtt will supervise outreach and communication between ICE, local law enforcement agencies, tribal leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations. "Chief Hurtt is a respected member of the law enforcement community (BULLSH*T!)and understands the concerns of local law enforcement leaders," said John Morton, the Homeland Security assistant secretary for ICE. "His experience and skills will be an invaluable asset to the ICEs outreach and coordination efforts." But as a police chief, Hurtt was a supporter of "sanctuary city" policies, by which illegal immigrants who don't commit crimes can live without fear of exposure or detainment because police don't check for immigration papers.
Petraeus Ready to Loosen Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/06/general-petraeus-ready-to-loosen-rules-of-engagement-in-afghanistan/
Excerpt: It looks like McChrystal’s resignation may be a blessing in disguise…General Petraeus will likely modify the controversial rules of engagement and make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy according to a source close to the general.
Does Congress have the guts to fix what court gutted? Honestly, no.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0625-20100625,0,7364095.column
John Kass is worth the price of my Tribune subscription. Excerpt: It's not every day that President Barack Obama and the Congress are handed an easy campaign issue by the Supreme Court on the touchy subject of political corruption. And who isn't against political corruption? On Thursday the Supreme Court gutted a key tool used by federal prosecutors to fight white-collar political corruption. It's known as the "honest services" clause. It deals with the tangible right of Americans to expect honest service from their elected officials. Even in Illinois. The court decided that the law was too vague. And since it was also used to convict business crooks like Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling and Chicago media baron Conrad Black, their lawyers are overjoyed. But the ruling will have its biggest impact on political prosecution cases, because the justices limited theft of honest services to direct bribery and extortion. Such thinking is simplistic. Big-time political corruption isn't about greasy envelopes stuffed with cash, passed in some alley behind a tavern. Rather, high-level corruption is circular, buffered and layered. Elected Official A helps Donor B to compensate Contractor D, who takes care of Regulator C as A's nephews get rich
Brewer: Most illegal immigrants smuggling drugs
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/25/20100625arizona-governor-says-most-illegal-immigrants-smuggle-drugs.html
Excerpt: Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday reiterated her assertion that the majority of illegal immigrants are coming to the United States for reasons other than work, saying most are committing crimes and being used as drug mules by the cartels. Brewer's remarks are an expansion of comments she made last week during a televised debate between the four Republican gubernatorial candidates. In the first exchange, she was responding to opponent Matt Jette of Apache Junction, who opposes the state's tough new immigration law and is pushing a moderate platform that includes calls for comprehensive immigration reform. In the debate, Jette said that most people who cross illegally into Arizona are "just trying to feed their families." Brewer disputed that, saying, "They're coming here, and they're bringing drugs. And they're doing drop houses, and they're extorting people and they're terrorizing the families." The governor, who has become a national media figure since signing Senate Bill 1070 into law on April 23, went further on Friday, saying that the "majority of the illegal trespassers that are coming (into) the state of Arizona are under the direction and control of organized drug cartels." (EDITOR: One of your headlines is, Brewer: Most illegal immigrants smuggling drugs. This may come as a shock, but I'm sure that the Governor has intelligence reports that verify that statement. It is no shock to me. From Nov 1974 to Oct 2001, I worked as a California Highway Patrol Officer in San Diego County. We worked closely with Customs and the Border Patrol. There was an often-repeated story. An Illegal would successfully get to a major California urban location. He would work his way up, and acquire symbols of achievement as he progressed. First, was a Stetson hat, then some $400+ western boots. The ultimate was a four wheel drive pickup. The man would then drive down into his hometown in Mexico to show the populace there that he had made it big in the US. Often, a cartel member would see this, and tell the man he was going to haul drugs. If he refused, his family would be butchered. –Dave H.)
Maywood to hire others to run the city
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/23/local/la-me-0623-maywood-20100623
My correspondent says they are a Sanctuary City. Is this the future of such? Excerpt: The L.A. County community, facing a $450,000 budget deficit, plans to lay off its employees, disband its Police Department and contract its operations to the Sheriff's Department and the neighboring city of Bell. Experts say it is the only city in the state to take such drastic action.
Mr. President, Do Your Job - Warning Signs Don't Secure the Border
http://www.securetheborder.org/email/email_1.php?ID=5
Must watch video by the AZ Governor. Forget Palin, Brewer in 2012! Excerpt: Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona’s southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security. Two weeks have come and gone and still it’s all talk and no action. Two days ago, Brewer sent a letter to the President outlining her Four-Point Border Surge Strategy.
Labor Dept. Offers to Assist Illegals
http://foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=22995&content=39905430&pageNum=-1
Just because they are breaking the law with impunity, no reason to let businesses break the law. Excerpt: Republican lawmakers are expressing shock over a Labor Department ad campaign that offers government assistance to illegal immigrants who think they're getting shortchanged for their work -- and at least one of them is planning to write to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for an explanation. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz says he wants to know why taxpayers are being asked to spend money to ensure that illegals get assistance for fair wages while millions of unemployed Americans struggle to find jobs. "That's insane," Chaffetz told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. "That's just unbelievable." But the Labor Department stood by the campaign, saying in a written statement to FoxNews.com that "through Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Labor has consistently held that the country's minimum wage and overtime law protects workers regardless of their immigration status."
The Law? How Quaint
http://article.nationalreview.com/437133/the-law-how-quaint/victor-davis-hanson
We are well into revolutionary times, but perhaps not in the way we traditionally think of political upheaval. Instead, insidiously, the law itself is becoming negotiable — or rather, it is becoming subservient to what elite overseers at any given time determine is a higher calling of social change. Of course, progressive federal judges have been creating, rather than interpreting, law for decades. Yet seldom in memory have we seen such a systematic attack on our framework of laws as the present assault from the executive branch. Federal immigration statutes mandate a clearly defined American border, which aliens may not cross without authorization. Yet the Obama administration not only does not fully enforce those statutes (in this regard, it is not behaving much differently from the prior administration), but also is preparing to sue the state of Arizona for implementing enforcement that follows the intent of neglected federal laws on the books. Apparently, the president believes that enforcement of existing law is a bargaining chip that can be used to obtain “comprehensive immigration reform” — a euphemism for blanket amnesty. Other states and even cities are now marching in lockstep to boycott Arizona. Meanwhile, the president of Mexico recently blasted Arizonans from the White House Rose Garden, no less, apparently counting on the president of the United States to go along with this demonization of one of his own states. All this is eerie; it has a whiff of the climate of the late 1850s, when the federal government was in perpetual conflict with the states, which in turn were in conflict with one another, and which often appealed to foreign nations for support. Recently, as if on cue, the secretary of labor, Hilda Solis, produced a video advising workers to contact her office should they feel that they have been shorted wages by their employers. Fair enough. But then she goes on to explicitly include workers who are not documented and to promise them confidentiality, i.e., de facto federal protection for their illegality: “Every worker has a right to be paid fairly, whether documented or not.”
Teen shot by Border Patrol had arrests
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/teen-shot-border-patrol-had-smuggling-arrests/
Excerpt: A 15-year-old Mexican boy shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was among El Paso's most wanted juvenile immigrant smugglers, according to federal arrest records reviewed by The Associated Press. The records show Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca had been arrested at least four times since 2008 and twice in the same week in February 2009 on suspicion of smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. Hernandez was repeatedly arrested along the U.S. side of the border near downtown El Paso, not far from where he was killed, but was never charged with a crime by federal prosecutors. A Border Patrol agent shot and killed Hernandez June 7 while trying to arrest illegal immigrants crossing the muddy bed of the Rio Grande. Some witnesses said a group of people on the Mexican side were throwing rocks at the agents. Agents are generally permitted to use lethal force against rock throwers. The records show that in at least one case Hernandez was to be paid $50 a person for smuggling four people into the U.S.
Widow of Houston Officer Killed by Illegal Immigrant 'Shocked' at ICE Appointment
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/203072.php
Excerpt: The widow of a Houston police officer killed by an illegal immigrant was "shocked" to learn that the city's former police chief has landed a top immigration job with the Obama administration, her lawyer told FoxNews.com on Friday. That's because Joslyn Johnson, whose husband, Rodney Johnson, was killed in 2006, is suing former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt for failing to enforce federal immigration laws. She claims her husband would be alive today if the city had bothered to check up on the gunman's immigration status. Now that Hurtt is taking a job to oversee partnerships between federal and local officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Johnson -- and other critics -- say they're concerned the official who resisted immigration enforcement in Houston will now be in charge of promoting it.
Lawmakers on the local level take matters into their own hands
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/24/lawmakers-on-the-local-level-take-matters-into-their-own-hands/#ixzz0rz1MBmmj
Excerpt: In Virginia, the chairman of Prince William Board of County Supervisors, Corey A. Stewart, is pushing what he calls the “Virginia Rule of Law Campaign.” The campaign is an effort to get the state legislature to adopt a law that is already on the books in Prince William — a law that is similar to Arizona’s. The county’s proposed law requires police officers to inquire into the immigration status of all those arrested or suspected of a crime. Last month, a California town did something similar. In May, Costa Mesa passed a resolution to call itself a “Rule of Law City.” The resolution is Costa Mesa’s way of officially declaring it does not condone illegal immigration. And in Oklahoma, state Rep. Randy Terrill is preparing to introduce a bill similar to the one in Arizona, making it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant. But Terrill’s bill would crack down even harder, punishing illegal immigrants with asset-seizure and forfeiture provisions. Further still, state lawmakers in Utah, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Texas and Georgia are pushing for legislation that mirrors Arizona’s immigration policy. The trend is clear: The impetus for implementing immigration law is the local response to the failure of the federal government.
Family of US Army Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Slams Obama Over Strict ROE, “They Couldn’t Return Fire, the Taliban is Laughing at us”…
http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/25/family-of-us-army-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan-slams-obama-over-strict-roe-they-couldnt-return-fire-the-taliban-is-laughing-at-us/
Video.
Gun grabbers treat criminals as victims
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/25/gun-grabbers-treat-criminals-as-victims/
Excerpt: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center (VPC) are peddling the notion that concealed-handgun permit holders are a danger to society. Last month, the center released a report claiming that in the past three years, 166 people were killed by holders of concealed-weapon permits. A closer look at the evidence suggests that many of the so-called victims of gun violence were criminals. Because more than 6 million Americans hold permits, it is important to set the record straight. As one of the most populous states with a right-to-carry law, Florida has the most concealed-handgun permits. Between Oct. 1, 1987, and May 31, the state issued them to 1.8 million individuals. So far, just 167 permits have been revoked over any type of firearms-related violation. Most of those involved trivial, nonviolent infractions. To put that figure into perspective, the annual revocation rate is a minuscule 0.00017 percent, with just three revocations since January 2008. More people are killed every year by falling vending machines than by holders of a concealed-weapon permit.
What Is “Negrophilia” and Why Does It Matter?
http://texasfred.net/archives/6988
If this book gets any traction, it will create a fire storm. Excerpt: I recently finished reading the book “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal–America’s Racial Obsession,” by Erik Rush, a black American author whose articles sometimes appear on ChronWatch. I thought it worth sharing what this term means in the context of what is happening in America. The information in Rush’s book needs to be disseminated throughout the country if we are to survive Barack Hussein Obama. If I may paraphrase, the condition of negrophilia, spawned from political correctness (PC), is the irrational state of refusing to see evil in some blacks and attributing to all blacks a mythical “holiness.” Sort of a twisted reasoning that blacks can do no wrong because they have suffered so much. Never mind that other races and groups have suffered as much or more, whites (even the sane ones) have been so indoctrinated through PC that they can’t see the idiocy in this thinking. That is deadly.
Pakistan offers Karzai a separate peace, including Al-Qaeda ally
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pakistan-offers-karzai-a-separate-peace-including-al-qaeda-ally.html
Excerpt: Seeing Obama's weakness, Pakistan sheds its mask yet again and offers Karzai a deal including one of his chief rivals, a key al-Qaeda ally. And since Karzai himself has spoken about joining the Taliban, and making peace with it in a power-sharing arrangement, it is hard to see what the downside would be for him. "As US falters, Pak plays Haqqani card in Kabul," by Jane Perlez, Eric Schmitt and Carlotta Gall in the Times of India, June 26 (thanks to Puneet): ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is exploiting the troubled United States military effort in Afghanistan to drive home a political settlement with Afghanistan that would give Pakistan important influence there but is likely to undermine American interests, Pakistani and American officials said. The dismissal of Gen Stanley McChrystal will almost certainly embolden the Pakistanis in their plan as they detect increasing American uncertainty, officials said. Pakistan is presenting itself as the new viable partner for Afghanistan to President Hamid Karzai, who has soured on the Americans. Pakistani officials say they can deliver the network of Sirajuddin Haqqani, an ally of al-Qaida, who runs a major part of the insurgency in Afghanistan, into a power-sharing arrangement. In addition, Afghan officials say, the Pakistanis are pushing various other proxies, with Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani personally offering to broker a deal with the Taliban.
UK jihadist misunderstands Islam, says it's not a Religion of Peace™
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/uk-jihadist-misunderstands-islam-says-its-not-a-religion-of-peace.html
Didn’t get the memo.
Hooded gunmen kill 4 commuters in Philippines
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37889299
Didn’t get the memo. Excerpt: About 30 hooded attackers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their lives in the southern Philippines, police said Thursday. Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a village road. The suspected al-Qaida-linked militants apparently were trying to divert government troops from a weekslong offensive in a nearby town, said Antonio Mendoza, police chief for the island province of Basilan.
"Moderate" Palestinian Authority TV host to children: Jews are "our enemies"
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/moderate-palestinian-authority-tv-host-to-children-jews-are-our-enemies.html
Gee, even the moderates didn’t get the memo. Excerpt: But deep down, they really, really want peace! Note that this is Fatah TV. Fatah is the "moderate" Palestinian Authority faction that the U.S. government favors with money and even military training. "PA TV host to children: Jews are 'our enemies' - Israeli soldiers are 'wild animals,'" by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook for Palestinian Media Watch, June 25: The host of a program about prisoners on official Palestinian Authority television described Jews as "our enemies" and Israeli soldiers as "wild animals" when she interviewed young children.
Talk of consensus, but little change
http://www.theage.com.au/national/talk-of-consensus-but-little-change-20100624-z3i2.html
Down under. Excerpt: In April, the government delayed its emissions trading scheme until at least 2013, sparking a massive collapse in public support for Labor and Mr Rudd in opinion polls. In his final statement as Prime Minister yesterday, Mr Rudd said he was proud of the fact the government tried three time to pass an emissions trading scheme, ''although we failed.'' ... His comments are being interpreted as a parting shot at the ALP's New South Wales right-wing faction, led by Senator Mark Arbib, who pushed for the government to dump the emissions trading scheme. Senator Arbib and the NSW Right were also instrumental in bringing down Mr Rudd's leadership. A final decision to shelve the emissions trading scheme until 2013 was made in April by a cabinet subcommittee made up of Mr Rudd, Ms Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and outgoing Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner. Ms Gillard and Mr Swan - now Deputy Prime Minister - both actively campaigned within the government to defer the emissions trading scheme. Ms Gillard said yesterday she did not want to ''in any way seek to diminish my role in making that decision. I came to that decision because I fundamentally believe that if you are going to restructure our economy so that we can deal with a carbon price and deal with all of the transformations in our economy that requires, then you need community consensus.''
Shocker! ABC says UHI making cities hotter!
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/26/shocker-abc-says-uhi-making-cities-hotter/#more-21075
Excerpt: So reads the headline on the ABC website, as if it’s something we don’t know. Obviously, as cities increase in size, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect will also increase. However, the latest “research” bolts this on to the IPCC’s incorrectly exaggerated warming predictions, to give some even scarier scenarios.... Unfortunately, this is another GIGO [Garbage In, Garbage Out] case, where the results from the IPCC’s incomplete models, which vastly overstate the sensitivity of the climate, are plugged into further models of UHI effects (which may or may not be accurate). However, satellite temperatures are continuing to diverge from the IPCC’s predictions, which means that research based on them is the stuff of fairytales. (This is linked through WUWT because they have some pictures and graphs that make it easier to understand. Also, there are several links to the original material. –Ron. P)
The Chaos Factor
http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2010/06/26/the_chaos_factor
Excerpt: With apologies to Rod Serling and his classic "Twilight Zone" TV series, there is a signpost up ahead in America, and it reads, "The Chaos Zone." The firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal is just one piece of a jumbled public policy puzzle that now threatens the presidency of Barack Obama.
Sen. Harry M. Reid building war chest by tapping donors beyond Nevada
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062503340.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics&?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
The connected kick in. Excerpt: Harry M. Reid needed money, and lots of it. Last spring, the Senate majority leader was looking ahead to a tough reelection fight. Polls showed that the voters back home in Nevada who sent him to Washington four times had tired of him. Republican Party fundraisers had all but declared him their No. 1 target for defeat. Taking them on would be expensive, and he wasn't drawing nearly enough cash from contributors inside Nevada. So Reid did what politicians in his position do: He picked up the phone. The senator began dialing old and new friends across the country, asking for their help. Many had one thing in common: They had a financial stake in legislation that Reid, as the most powerful member of the Senate, helps control. One of the calls Reid placed seeking cash was to trial lawyer John Morgan. At a party held at his home near Orlando in March, Morgan raised about $96,000 for Reid's reelection battle.
What the Obama administration has wrought: the world's first "Oilcane."
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-obama-administration-has-wrought.html
Excerpt: Art Horn, writing at OilPrice.com, describes the catastrophic potential of an oil-infused hurricane in the Gulf. Consider the series of missteps by the White House that has led up to this point, wherein the entire Gulf waits on pins and needles for the impending "Oilcane": The "Obama administration knew about Deepwater Horizon['s] 35,000-foot well bore, green-lighted [it] and fast-tracked the project"...Disregarded and underestimated the impact of the tragic explosion and spill for over a month...As of last week, had deployed only 20 of 2,000 skimmer (clean-up) vessels...Fought Louisiana's use of sand berms to prevent damage to the Gulf coast tidal region...Forced Louisiana to stop using 16 barges that were sucking up thousands of gallons of oil daily out of the Gulf...Refused to waive the Jones Act, which prevented foreign vessels and crews from cleaning up the Gulf, even though "American shippers who generally support the ban said they wouldn’t object to lifting it to fight the spill"...
North Korea to hold rare party meet 'to elect leaders'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10422809.stm
Excerpt: North Korea's ruling communist party is to hold a rare meeting of its political bureau, state media have said. The session will be held in September to select new leaders for the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the North Korean Central News Agency said. Analysts say the move may signal a transition of power in the secretive country. Leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be in ill health and grooming one of his sons, Kim Jong-un, to succeed him. The meeting is "for electing [the party's] highest leading body reflecting the new requirements of the WPK", the announcement said.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Political Digest June 26, 2010
I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.
Anniversary
I write this on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Thanks to the courage of American Troops, 38,000 of whom died in the effort, and our allies, including the ROK troops, South Korea today is a democracy with a vibrant, free economy and high standard of living. North Korea, protected by Communist China, is a communist hell hole of starvation and repression, and a constant nuclear threat to peace and stability. But no matter how many examples of murder and poverty you show leftists, they insist that, next time, they will do Marxism and central planning “right.” Thanks to all who served in this cause.
Why McChrystal and the Military Should Be Able to Speak Up
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68369
Speaking up internally to the President is one thing. Speaking derisively to Rolling Stone is quite another. Excerpt: Most of all, the Obama administration and its friends trotted out that old meme, “distraction,” to explain why it had to get rid of McChrystal. “We’re distracting from an enormously important mission,” said Gibbs. In fact, said Gibbs, the distraction was actually President Obama’s top concern with McChrystal’s comments. This seems unlikely. Then-Sen Obama made a career out of bashing the U.S. war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq in ways that were guaranteed to distract from the missions. For example, he accused American troops in Afghanistan of “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.” He stated that American troops who had given the fullest measure in Iraq had “wasted” their lives. Distraction from the war effort isn’t exactly a foreign concept to President Obama. No, this wasn’t about McChrystal’s violation of military protocol. McChrystal was fired because he made it clear to President Obama that he would no longer allow himself to be used as a scapegoat for America’s failings in Afghanistan. McChrystal may be in charge of active operations in Afghanistan, but President Obama is the man responsible for the overarching policy failures in Afghanistan—particularly, his short and unrealistic timeline for withdrawal.
McChrystal had to go by George Will
http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/inf/infomo?view=opinion+article&feed:a=chi_trib_10min&feed:c=opinion&feed:i=54544292
Excerpt: In 1932, during a lunch in Albany with Rexford Tugwell, an adviser, New York Gov. Franklin Roosevelt paused to take a telephone call from Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. When the call ended, FDR referred to Long as the second-most dangerous man in America. Who, Tugwell asked, is the most dangerous? FDR answered: Douglas MacArthur. As Army chief of staff, MacArthur had just flamboyantly conducted the violent dispersal of the bedraggled "bonus army" in Washington. Nearly 19 years later, he was to become most dangerous to himself, as another commanding general has now done. But Stanley McChrystal is no MacArthur. MacArthur had some of the genius and much of the egomania of a former artillery captain, Napoleon. This made MacArthur insubordinate and got him cashiered by a former artillery captain, Harry Truman. Although McChrystal is a fine soldier who rendered especially distinguished service in Iraq, there is no reason to ascribe to him either egomania or insubordination. He did, however, emphatically disqualify himself from further military service and particularly from service in Afghanistan. There the military's purely military tasks are secondary to the political and social tasks for which the military is ill-suited, and for which McChrystal is garishly so. The American undertaking in Afghanistan is a fool's errand, and McChrystal is breathtakingly foolish. Even so, he and it were badly matched. This, even though the errand is of the president's careful devising and McChrystal was the president's choice to replace the four-star general who had been commanding there. It may be said that McChrystal's defect is only a deficit of political acumen. Only? Again, the mission in Afghanistan is much more political than military. Counterinsurgency, as defined by McChrystal's successor, Gen. David Petraeus, and tepidly embraced by Barack Obama for a year or so, does not just involve nation-building, it is nation-building. This does not require just political acumen; it requires the wisdom of Aristotle, the leadership skills of George Washington and the analytic sophistication of de Tocqueville. But, then, the grinding paradox of nation-building is this: No one with the aptitudes necessary for it would be rash or delusional enough to try it.
Hey, Remember When Harry Reid Called Petraeus A Liar?
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=15957
Excerpt: And insisted that the surge engineered by Petreaus had failed? And Reid calls Sharron Angle crazy?
Obama changes his tune
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/06/026599.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29
Excerpt: I'm glad that President Obama has appointed Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. McChrystal, but I can't help wondering whether Obama himself feels any discomfort at turning to the hero of the Iraq surge to try to bail the administration out in Afghanistan. After all, Obama opposed the Iraq surge before it happened, and after the fact claimed that it had made only modest gains and was not responsible for the most significant improvements in Iraq. This video from September 2007 reminds us that before Obama became a lousy President, he was a lousy Senator. Watch as he badgers Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and belittles their efforts in Iraq; almost eight minutes go by before either witness gets a word in. Petraeus never does talk.
Reduced overtime stymies Border Patrol
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/23/reduced-overtime-stymies-border-patrol/
This will fix Arizona. Excerpt: The U.S. Border Patrol has quietly reduced its current force of available agents along the U.S.-Mexico border by cutting the overtime hours they can work even as the Obama administration is asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to hire 1,000 new agents, and Congress and the public are clamoring for beefed-up border security. Several rank-and-file and senior agents told The Washington Times that a new overtime directive issued at the agency's Washington headquarters will limit their ability to get their jobs done, reduce coverage during peak smuggling periods and allow more criminals to avoid apprehension.
Federal Agencies Still Failing to 'Connect the Dots'
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=68352
Excerpt: President Obama’s national security agencies “do not always share relevant information with their national security partners,” according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report shows that more than eight years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, federal agencies were still failing to "connect the dots" on intelligence pointing to security threats to the United States. The GAO findings come approximately six months after President Obama acknowledged that the intelligence community failed to share information that could have properly identified the attempted Christmas Day bomber as a dangerous extremist, adding he would “insist on accountability at every level” for such a failure.
Obama Knew of Blagojevich Deal
http://blogsforvictory.com/2010/06/24/obama-knew-of-blagojevich-deal/
Excerpt: Rod Blagojevich’s chief-of-staff testified that he believed Obama “knew of Blagojevich’s plot to win himself a presidential Cabinet post in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to the U.S. Senate.” John Harris, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff, testified Wednesday in the former governor’s corruption trial that three days after the Nov. 4, 2008, presidential election, the ex-governor told Harris he felt confident Obama knew he wanted to swap perks. “The president understands that the governor would be willing to make the appointment of Valerie Jarrett as long as he gets what he’s asked for. . . . The governor gets the Cabinet appointment he’s asked for,” Harris said, explaining a recorded call.
US jails Cambodia coup plotter Chhun Yasith for life
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10386342.stm
Excerpt: A Cambodian-born accountant has been jailed for life in the US for plotting a failed coup attempt against the Cambodian government 10 years ago. Chhun Yasith, 53, was found guilty by a court in Los Angeles in 2008 of four charges relating to the failed attack. Dozens of armed men attacked government buildings in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, in a bid to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen. Chhun is a naturalised US citizen who fled Cambodia as a refugee in 1982. He grew frustrated with the lack of free elections under Hun Sen, a former member of the Khmer Rouge under dictator Pol Pot, said Chhun's lawyer Richard Callahan. "He saw Hun Sen as on an even par with Pol Pot," Mr Callahan said. Chhun also wanted to avenge the death of his father, whom he witnessed being beheaded by Khmer Rouge soldiers, Mr Callahan added. (This is his reward for trying to overthrow a corrupt, murderous, former Khmer Rouge Vietnamese puppet. --Mike)
House approves campaign finance bill in 219-206 vote
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/105403-house-approves-campaign-finance-bill-in-219-206-vote
Excerpt: The House voted 219-206 Thursday to approve a campaign finance bill to tighten disclosure requirements for corporate and union spending on political campaigns. The bill, a response to the January Supreme Court decision that overturned spending limits for corporations and unions, now heads to the Senate, where it faces a perilous path to passage. The vote on the Disclose Act came after weeks of aggressive lobbying by supporters and critics. Democratic leaders were forced to pull it from the House schedule last week after liberals revolted over an exemption tailored for the National Rifle Association.
Parolees disappear after being released early
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxPwXvGMIwq0yLZ74v9IZsUybbZgD9GH6CBO5
Excerpt: Dozens of parolees, including one imprisoned for his part in a 2008 murder, have disappeared after they were set free as part of a secret early release program, according to documents acquired by The Associated Press. The parolees were let go as part of the "MGT Push" plan that Gov. Pat Quinn shut down in December after The Associated Press revealed it. The program has embarrassed Quinn as he runs for re-election, although the Democratic governor has tried to blame Corrections Director Michael Randle, saying he didn't know Randle was going to release violent offenders. The administration ordered parole agents in January to begin "intensive compliance" checks on the released prisoners. More than 50 MGT Push parolees are currently on the lam, according to documents from Corrections obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and analyzed by The Associated Press. While many who go astray are picked up within days, some absconders have been gone for months. Those currently on the list have been missing an average 136 days, or 4.5 months, according to the AP analysis.
Gilad Shalit is not the only hostage
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0624-nasatir-20100624-14,0,6048664.story
Excellent column. Excerpt: Shalit was attacked while guarding a place called Kerem Shalom (Vineyard of Peace), one of half a dozen border crossings that enable commerce between Israel and Gaza. For years, facilities like Kerem Shalom have been attacked repeatedly by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terror groups precisely because they foster exchanges between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas and other radicals have perpetrated such attacks not because they desire peace or a better life for the people they rule. They do so because they violently oppose any activity that might lead to a peaceful end of conflict—something they consistently reject in word and deed on religious grounds. Earlier this month, a Hamas preacher said on the group's Al-Aqsa TV that "[The Jews'] annihilation and the destruction of their state will only be achieved through Islam, by those who bow before Allah." Why have none of those involved in the recent, so-called humanitarian efforts to aid the residents of Gaza raised their voices — on behalf of Shalit or about the deep and vexing issues he symbolizes? Why did the organizers of the recent flotilla refuse to deliver a letter to Shalit from his family? Why, I wonder, were their voices of condemnation and outrage not heard when Hamas forced the closure of the border crossings by launching countless terror attacks and thousands of rockets at Israeli border towns like Sderot, where I experienced such a barrage in 2007?
Federal Bailout for States?
On federal bailouts, Marine Sam Skogstad (an economist) says: “At the risk of pounding on the obvious, let me comment on a single issue … Federal bailouts for states….. Despite its being obvious, I have seen little or no comment in the media on the absurdity of the concept of a ‘Federal Bailout of States.’ Its correct name is ‘Federal transfers of income and wealth from residents of some states to residents of some others.’ It is fully understandable that the Obama Administration is supportive of the fiction that funds arriving from the federal government represent a net gain to ‘states.’ It is one more non-transparent method of redistributing income and wealth from groups you do not like to groups you do like. Like ‘Healthcare Reform.’ Like ‘Carbon Credits.’ Like ‘affordable housing.’ Like ‘college loans.’ Like forcing mortgage ‘restructuring.’ Each is crafted in such a way that people for whom Obama feels ‘empathy’ get stuff that is taken from people for whom he does not feel ‘empathy.’….. Forgive me for daring to tell your readers, generally a very intelligent group as I see it, how the ‘Federal Bailout of States’ works its redistributional ‘magic’. First, my assumptions: (1) ‘the states’ and ‘the United States of America,’ are one and the same thing. (2)The ‘Federal Government’ is the government of the United States of America or of ‘the states in the aggregate.’ Thus (3) all funds in the possession of the ‘Federal Government’ were supplied by ‘the states.’…. In fact, they could very well and correctly be called ‘the states'’ funds. So a Federal bailout of the states is identically the same thing as ‘the states’ bailout of ‘the states.’ So as far as the aggregates, ‘the states’ and ‘The United States of America’ there is no such thing as a gift from one to the other. But of course that is not so when we think of the individual states. And if the concept of Federal aid to ‘the states’ is to be anything other than meaningless gibberish, it must mean resources taken from states in one pattern, and distributed to states in a different pattern. In short, it is simply redistribution of resources. I would love to see a national referendum on a state-by-state basis on the question: ‘shall the United States Government seize resources from your state, return a smaller amount to your state and send the difference to, say, California?’…. Isn't it just a comic opera unfolding in Washington these days?” (Posted with his permission.)
MacArthur Defeats Truman: The Real McChrystal Message
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/24/macarthur-defeats-truman-the-r
Some wishful thinking here, I fear. (And I thought it was Matthew Ridgway who took over from MacArthur, not Mark Clark.) Excerpt: Harry Truman was no dove. But Douglas MacArthur made him look like one. And the political consequences for Democrats of Truman's legendary dismissal of the iconic hero of World War II -- at the height of the Korean War -- were both dramatic and long-lasting. In fact, those consequences are part of the political baggage of the American left -- and the Obama administration -- to this day. It is a history that stirs yet again with the decision of President Obama to fire General Stanley McChrystal in the wake of the now infamous Rolling Stone interview with the General and his aides.
The Antidrilling Commission
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575320892241446242.html
Excerpt: The White House choices seem to have made up their minds.
"Under my Administration, the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over. . . To undermine scientific integrity is to undermine our democracy. . . I want to be sure that facts are driving scientific decisions, and not the other way around." —President Obama, April 27, 2009 The President has appointed a seven-person commission to take what he says will be an objective look at what caused the Gulf spill and the steps to make offshore drilling safe. But judging from the pedigree of his commissioners, we're beginning to wonder if his real goal is to turn drilling into a partisan election issue. Mr. Obama filled out his commission last week, and the news is that there's neither an oil nor drilling expert in the bunch. Instead, he's loaded up on politicians and environmental activists. One co-chair is former Democratic Senator Bob Graham, who fought drilling off Florida throughout his career. The other is William Reilly, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H.W. Bush but is best known as a former president and former chairman of the World Wildlife Fund, one of the big environmental lobbies. (I have to say this is really sad. And yet very telling. To appoint a slate of commissioners loaded up almost totally with antidrilling activists who have no technical expertise whatsoever is a blatant political act totally focused on a preset agenda. I am actually surprised that Mr. Obama would do this, it is simply too obviously political for anyone to even attempt to present it as a sincere and appropriate effort to investigate the situation and come up with an impartial report about it. As is demonstrated by this editorial appearing so quickly in a major newspaper not known for being especially conservative. Hopefully it will reveal to even more people how bad this Administration really is. November, November..... I wish it were here now. –Del)
Obama's Approval Rating Dips to New Low
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-6084818-503544.html
This from a BO-friendly media outlet. But see the gap between “strongly approve” and “strongly disapprove” in the Rasmussen polls below. “Strong” voters vote. Excerpt: President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll. That rating is Mr. Obama's lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Forty-one percent now say they disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance as president.
Rasmussen Daily Poll
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
Excerpt: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends). Forty-eight percent (48%) say the government today is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector of rights. Also, most say it’s more important for the government to protect individual rights than to promote economic growth.
County Supervisor Who Supports Boycott Doesn’t Know Arizona Borders Mexico…
http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/24/county-supervisor-who-supports-boycott-doesnt-know-arizona-borders-mexico/
Jay walking for stupid public officials. Unbelievable.
Delay in Delivery of S-300 Missiles to Iran Impairs Russia's Face
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8904030461
Excerpt: Any delay in the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system to Tehran will impair Russia's face and will make it difficult for Moscow to find new trade partners in the world, an Iranian legislator warned. Head of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Committee Mehdi Sanae'i elaborated on the agreement between the two countries, signed in 2005, arguing that Russia's delay in the delivery of the S-300 air-defense missiles to Tehran is resulted from outside pressure. "The delivery of S-300 missile defense system to Iran is part of Moscow's definite obligation and no excuse to dodge the responsibility is acceptable," Sanae'i told MNA.
Saving Obama From Himself
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0610/hanson062410.php3
Excerpt: Do you remember candidate Barack Obama offering his hope-and-change platitudes in front of the fake Greek columns during the Democratic convention? Or earlier pontificating at the Victory Monument in Berlin? Why didn't an old cigar-chomping Democratic pro take him aside and warn him about offending Nemesis? She is the dreaded goddess who brings divine retribution in ironic fashion to overweening arrogance. Or maybe a friend could have whispered to Senator Obama to tone it down when he was merciless in damning the Bush administration for its supposedly slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Obama railed that Bush showed "unconscionable ineptitude." Obama further charged that Bush's response was "achingly slow," a result of "passive indifference," and that his team was rife with "corruption and cronyism." Those adjectives now apply to Obama himself, as he seems lost amid his own disaster -- eerily in about the same Gulf environs. Adding insult to injury, a recent poll revealed that Louisiana residents thought Bush had done a better job with Katrina than Obama has with BP. Couldn't one of Obama's many handlers have warned him to ignore the media's tingling-leg gaga worship, or their nonsense that Obama is "a god"?
Conservatives on the rise?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/1-2-3-11.html
Excerpt: After two election cycles in the political wilderness, conservatives appear to be rallying in advance of the 2010 midterm election. In new Gallup numbers released this morning, 42 percent of Americans describe themselves as conservative while 35 percent say they are moderates and 20 percent call themselves liberals. The 42 percent of self-described conservatives would be a record high for Gallup, which has been asking the question since 1992, if the trend continued through the final six months of the year. (The data for the first six months of 2010 was culled from eight national surveys conducted by Gallup.) The last time four in ten Americans (or more) identified themselves as conservatives was 2004 when Republicans re-elected President George W. Bush and made gains in the House and Senate.
Generation Gap: The Kerry-Lieberman energy bill would enervate America.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629804575325263787161900.html
Excerpt: A year ago the Waxman-Markey energy regulation bill passed the House. Now before the Senate is the Kerry-Lieberman energy regulation bill, which includes many of the same damaging provisions--government control of many aspects of energy generation, distribution and prices. The debate on this bill is of course colored and influenced by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion, fire and collapse in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. In response, the federal government has suspended drilling deeper than 500 feet in the Gulf for six months, suspended exploratory drilling off Alaska's coast and canceled oil leases off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf--significant decisions that will reduce our oil supplies in the years ahead. All work has been suspended on 33 previously inspected and approved Gulf deepwater drilling rigs. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana reports that will mean 3,000 to 6,000 immediate job losses and perhaps 10,000 more in the months ahead. As noted in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, beyond jobs there will be significant economic consequences from the shutdowns. According to the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, 1,400 jobs will be lost for each platform shut down, for a total of some $330 million a month in lost wages. So with this current catastrophe influencing our energy policies, where is America going? The Kerry-Lieberman bill is a bit less bad than the Waxman-Markey legislation, but only a bit.
Dems Pass Bank Bill, Admit They Don’t Know How It Works
http://www.thefoxnation.com/barney-frank/2010/06/25/dems-pass-bank-bill-admit-they-don-t-know-how-it-works
Lets muck around with the financial system and see what happens. Excerpt: "It's a great moment. I'm proud to have been here," said a teary-eyed Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee led the effort in the Senate. "No one will know until this is actually in place how it works. But we believe we've done something that has been needed for a long time. It took a crisis to bring us to the point where we could actually get this job done."
Iran will not send aid ship to Gaza
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/24/iran.gaza.aid.boat/index.html?hpt=T2&fbid=HoDMKai9_PK&om_rid=Mqh-D0&om_mid=_BMJKPhB8MeL24r&=undefined
Excerpt: Iran will not send a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as it had planned to do on Thursday, according to a report from the official news agency of Iran. The Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Hossein Sheikholeslam, secretary-general of the International Conference for the Support of the Palestinian Intifada, as saying: "The Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aid will not go to Gaza." IRNA said that Sheikholeslam told reporters in the northern city of Rasht that the ship had originally been scheduled to depart for Gaza on Thursday, but that its departure was postponed until Sunday because of restrictions imposed by Israel. He added that officials then decided instead to cancel the trip altogether, shipping to Gaza the goods by other means, IRNA said. (Hard to believe this is in response to diplomatic pressure; more likely, the presence of US ships and the Israeli Air Force had an influence on this decision. Also possible it is nothing more than theater and they'll send it two weeks from now, when things quiet down. –Ron P.)
General Madness
http://townhall.com/columnists/OliverNorth/2010/06/25/general_madness#
Excerpt: Set aside for a moment how inconceivable it is that an article in Rolling Stone magazine could be the cause of anyone's being fired -- much less a U.S. commanding general in the midst of a war. But that is what happened this week. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is a tough, combat-experienced officer who knows how to fight. He knows how to kill the enemy. But he clearly doesn't get it when it comes to the media. His staff let him down -- badly -- by allowing Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone to hang around with a tape recorder. That the Pentagon, Central Command and Gen. McChrystal's staff granted unfettered, prolonged access to this publication reflects ignorance, arrogance or both. Everyone involved in approving this "embed" ought to be fired for egregious lack of judgment. They apparently believed they could win over Hastings. They were dead wrong. I don't disagree with much of what Gen. McChrystal and his staff are quoted as saying about the O-Team in the article. I have used many of the same terms to describe the present administration -- albeit with fewer expletives. It also should be noted that despite claims of "several lengthy interviews" with McChrystal, there are very few lines of text in the offending article directly attributable to the general. On our most recent Fox News trip to Afghanistan, we reported that many of the troops were concerned about new rules of engagement, cuts in night operations, and limits on raids and airstrikes making them more vulnerable to Taliban attacks and improvised explosive devices. Rolling Stone looked for and found troops who were unhappy with the rules of engagement in order to support its contention that the war in Afghanistan is "unwinnable." That refrain is increasingly prevalent because President Barack Obama refuses to use the words "win" and "victory." McChrystal's firing has been likened to President Abraham Lincoln's replacing George McClellan during the Civil War and President Harry Truman's sacking Douglas MacArthur in the midst of the Korean War. Not accurate. Both McClellan and MacArthur vocally opposed the stated policies and strategies of their presidents. That's not what happened here. In announcing he had "accepted" his battlefield commander's resignation, Obama acknowledged that he and McChrystal "are in full agreement about our strategy." This week's firing was simply political theater designed to enhance Obama's stature as a "leader" in the eyes of his supporters and critics. Obama suffers from decision-deficit disorder. He routinely is described as detached, disengaged, ambivalent and uncertain in everything from the economy to securing our borders to the Gulf oil spill to the war itself. He has been unable or unwilling to name our radical Islamist enemies or define victory. He is the only commander in chief to announce a deadline for withdrawing troops while committing more Americans to combat.
Interesting quotes from the CIC
In 2007, Barack Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois with only two years of national political experience (and zero years of military experience) under his belt, accused American troops in Afghanistan of "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians." Furthermore, according to the community organizer from Chicago, American troops who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in Iraq had "wasted" their lives. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
Hope 'n' Change: Obama Now Says Mandate is a Tax
After Barack Obama went on the record to "absolutely reject this notion" that the individual health insurance mandate is a tax, his administration is now arguing exactly the opposite in court. The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss a Florida-based lawsuit seeking to overturn the health care overhaul and, according to American Spectator, "cited the Anti-Injunction Act, which restricts courts from interfering with the government's ability to collect taxes." A DoJ memo argues that "no suit for the purposes of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person." So for those wondering if Obama's "no individual tax" promise would stand in a court of law, you should soon get your answer. Meanwhile, with mid-term elections fast approaching, the Obama camp is putting insurance companies on notice not to raise rates artificially because of the new law. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the following Orwellian warning: "We want to caution insurance companies that rate increases would be watched very closely." As Aetna CEO Ronald Williams noted regarding the health care bill, however, "I think there was a recognition that consumers are going to get more. When you get more, you pay more." Apparently, this administration has yet to acknowledge basic economics. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
BO Highway
Your tax dollars at work. Excerpt: Is it too soon yet to judge Barack Obama as our worst president? Perhaps. But it's certainly too soon to name roads after him, though that's just what's happening in Orlando, Florida. Pres Barack Obama Pkwy is being constructed using stimulus cash, creating 200 jobs for the first $10.5 million phase. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
Ghetto Racism
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/06/25/ghetto-racism/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_campaign=43a9c60856-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
Asians aren’t a big voting bloc. Excerpt: The presidency of Barack Obama was supposed to bring about racial progress and reconciliation. From San Francisco to New York, the rough and tumble of America’s urban centers have steadfastly refused to succumb to his message of hope and change. Instead, they have showed, through numerous recent examples, that hatred and cowardice – as delivered from African-Americans to Asians – is not only alive and kicking, but heinous and potentially lethal. In April, two black teenagers punched 59-year-old Tian Sheng Yu in the mouth in downtown Oakland, California. He fell on his head, spent the next few days in critical care and subsequently died. Between late March and early April, five black teenagers assailed five different older Asian women, including one who was 71, on separate occasions in or near a public housing project on the Lower East Side of New York City. In late March, five black teenagers surrounded a 57-year-old Asian woman at a light rail bus stop in San Francisco; one of them grabbed her and threw her from the platform onto the rails before he proceeded to beat her. In January, black teenagers kicked and beat 83-year-old Huan Chen after he got off the same bus stop. He, too, died from his injuries. Last fall, two young black men grabbed 64-year-old Rongshi Chen on his way to a convenience store in San Francisco, threw him onto the concrete, kicked his ribs and broke his collarbone before they took his cash, credit cards and identification. The criminals target not just the old and the weak but also the young and vibrant. In late March in San Francisco, a group of black teenagers beat a 29-year-old Asian man. Similarly, the two teenagers who attacked Tian Sheng Yu in Oakland assaulted his 27-year-old son before and after they assaulted the father. Some of the perpetrators, like those who attacked the 83-year-old Huan Chen, wanted money before they ran off laughing. Many, however, acted for no apparent reason than just the satisfaction of perpetrating a beating itself. After the attacks, the uncomfortable issue of race stared everyone in the face, but local officials and the media have bent over backwards to look away.
Landmark shift in the Gallup enthusiasm readings
http://www.redstate.com/neil_stevens/2010/06/24/landmark-shift-in-the-gallup-enthusiasm-readings/
Excerpt: National Journal noticed an event in the Gallup voter enthusiasm polling: Republicans have gone off the scale, while Democrats have fallen far off from 2006. Since 1994 the numbers have tracked with victory and defeat, with the party ahead in enthusiasm winning the House, but this scale is… well, just look. Voters of each party were asked if they are More or Less enthusiastic about voting this year. In 1994 the Republicans were at 42 More/43 Less for -1 net. 40/41 in 1998. 42/42 in 2002. 40/41 in 2006. But in 2010, the Republicans have shifted to 59/31 for a +28 net enthusiasm rating, 29 points higher than 1994, which set the trend for every midterm since. Democrats were terribly unenthusiastic in 1994, hitting a -18 net rating, which climbed to -10 and -8 before hitting +10 in 2006. Now though, they’ve dropped back to -0.
The Democrats' Vision Problem
http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2010/06/25/the_democrats_vision_problem
Excerpt: We are constantly told that the American working man is so much worse off than he used to be. And if you measure income one way, you can make that case. Indeed, the Democratic Party in recent years has become obsessed in looking at the economy only in that one negative way to justify its avocation: giving more stuff to the poor and middle class because they are "falling behind." The wealth of nations, according to Adam Smith, the founding father of the market economy, is not measured in GDP or cash reserves. Rather, it "consists in the cheapness of provision and all other necessaries and conveniences of life." By that standard, American wealth in general, and the wealth of poor Americans, has skyrocketed in the last half-century, and the government had relatively little -- though certainly not nothing -- to do with it. And it's not just that consumer items are cheaper than ever, they're also better than ever. An iPhone today isn't just better than yesterday's phones, it's better than yesterday's cameras, calculators, portable stereos and computers. Many of the standard features on a 2010 Honda Accord were considered luxury items 10 years ago and almost unimaginable 20 years ago.
Bringing Nazism back in Germany: Muslims stone Jewish dance group
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/bringing-nazism-back-in-germany-muslims-stone-jewish-dance-group.html
Excerpt: "Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82. "Youths" at it again in Europe. At least this time AP manages to summon up a shred or two of integrity, and identifies them as "Arab" -- although that in itself is not quite accurate, since one was evidently a German Muslim. "Youths attack Jewish dance group in Germany," by Kirsten Grieshaber for Associated Press, June 24. BERLIN - Arab youths threw stones at a Jewish dance group during a street festival in Hannover, injuring one dancer and forcing the group to cancel its performance, German police and dance officials said Thursday. The teenagers also used a megaphone to shout anti-Semitic slurs during the attack Saturday, Hannover police spokesman Thorsten Schiewe said. "I don't remember such a dramatic attack in Germany in recent times," said Michael Fuerst, the head of the Jewish community of the state of Lower Saxony.
The All Mighty
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3025558/Religious-knifeman-beats-off-nine-cops-dog-and-police-van.html#ixzz0rfAi5nKw
A ZOMBIE-like fanatic with "superhuman" strength fought off NINE cops and a police ROTTWEILER as he chanted the name of Allah, a court was told yesterday. The religious maniac - clad in Islamic garb - shrugged off baton blows and CS gas as he marched down a street with a 12-inch carving knife. Cops fearing he was on a deadly mission resorted to "potentially lethal force" by ramming him with a police van but STILL he stayed on his feet, a jury heard. Barefoot Alderrahim El-Harti, 42, finally had to be battered unconscious by frantic officers raining blows on his head. By then he had plunged his knife into one constable - who was saved by his body armour.
Another 2 mortar shells fired from Gaza, 9 total
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=179465
Gee, they must be running low. Better send another boatload of humanitarian supplies. I mean, 9 shells can hardly kill that many kids.
Is a religious bus ban on my dog right?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7847571/Is-a-religious-bus-ban-on-my-dog-right.html
Increasingly, there is a newly discovered “right not to be offended” for one religion, but not others. The art work, “Piss Christ,” of a crucifix in a jar of urine, funded with tax dollars, was fine in the US. Excerpt: O n two occasions last week my dog was barred from London buses, not because she's particularly fierce or big, but on religious grounds. A friend and I had taken her to the park, and as I went across to the grocer, my friend took Daisy, a Manchester terrier, to the bus stop. As they tried to board the bus, the driver stopped her and told her that there was a Muslim lady on the bus who "might be upset by the dog". As she attempted to remonstrate, the doors closed and the bus drew away. When a second bus arrived, she again made to embark, but was stopped again – this time because the driver said he was Muslim. I know that Muslims consider dogs to be unclean, but last time I looked this wasn't a Muslim country and London Transport was a non-denominational organisation. I'm a Catholic, but I'm hardly likely to start insisting that no divorced people should be allowed on my bus. I have no intention of causing upset with my dog and I wouldn't allow her to brush against anyone who was at pains to avoid her. None the less, I instinctively cavil at this creeping intolerance, masquerading as pious devotion, whatever its origins
Sharia in Minnesota: free speech under fire as man faces hearing for "anti-Islam" posters
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/sharia-in-minnesota-free-speech-under-fire-as-man-faces-hearing-for-anti-islam-posters.html
Are they fining others who put posters, say for a lost cat, on the poles? Excerpt: Dhimmi pseudo-journalist Dave Aeikins doesn't mention in this story that the attorneys in Benton and Stearns counties declined to file criminal charges against Elyea because they recognized that what he did -- no matter how obnoxious it may have been, and I have not seen the material he posted -- was protected on First Amendment grounds. That fact in itself gives the lie to the St. Cloud City Attorney Matt Staehling's claim that he is being prosecuted only for violating the city's ordinance against posting items on city poles. Elyea's attorney says, "Our basic argument is, we live in a country where you should be able to say what you want. Even controversial statements about political or religious views are protected by the First Amendment." Staehling appears to be pandering to Hamas-linked CAIR and to the Muslim community in Minnesota, and catering to its distaste for the freedom of speech.
Dozens of Americans believed to have joined terrorists
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/24/dozens-from-us-on-list-of-targets-as-terrorists/?page=1
"There are, in my mind, dozens of U.S. persons who are in different parts of the world, and they are very concerning to us," said John O. Brennan, deputy White House national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism. In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Times, Mr. Brennan said he would not talk about lists of targeted American terrorists. However, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been tracking down U.S. nationals and U.S. passport holders who pose security threats, like the Yemen-based al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, he said. "They are concerning to us, not just because of the passport they hold, but because they understand our operational environment here, they bring with them certain skills, whether it be language skills or familiarity with potential targets, and they are very worrisome, and we are determined to take away their ability to assist with terrorist attacks," Mr. Brennan said.
Questions for Elena Kagan
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/25/1522916/questions-for-elena-kagan.html#ixzz0ru47mHO5
Excerpt: Given Elena Kagan's aversion to "vapid and hollow" confirmation hearings devoid of "legal analysis," beginning Monday she might relish answering these questions: It would be naughty to ask you about litigation heading for the Supreme Court concerning this: Does Congress have the right, under its enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce, to punish the inactivity of not purchasing health insurance? So, instead answer this harmless hypothetical: If Congress decides that interstate commerce is substantially affected by the costs of obesity, may Congress require obese people to purchase participation in programs such as Weight Watchers? If not, why not? The government having decided that Chrysler's survival is an urgent national necessity, could it decide that Cash for Clunkers is too indirect a subsidy and instead mandate that people buy Chrysler products? If Congress concludes that ignorance has a substantial impact on interstate commerce, can it constitutionally require students to do three hours of homework nightly? If not, why not? Can you name a human endeavor that Congress cannot regulate on the pretense that the endeavor affects interstate commerce? If courts reflexively defer to that congressional pretense, in what sense do we have limited government?
I Fought For You By The Sound Tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTb6qdPu8JE
Worth watching
We need more than a change in parties
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/06/we_need_more_than_a_change_in.html
Excerpt: Inflation seems on the horizon yet prices have remained flat for over a year and wages are actually down. Inflation is a factor of the amount of money in circulation and the velocity of the money- how fast it circulates. Trillions of dollars are sitting in very low yield money market funds and other low risk vehicles because of the political uncertainty from radical new legislation and pending tax increases in various forms. Another factor limiting inflation is the currency scares in Greece and Europe, and some concern in China. Sometimes you do not have to be good; you just have to not be the worst. Investors and business people are taking profits this year because of the announced tax increases next year. No one is hiring, no one is investing, and no one is lending. No one want to make a long term loan if interest rates are expected to climb, and when interest rates are near zero there is really only one direction to go. We face the toxic blend of dramatically increasing inflation and regulation. Businesses are frozen in a bunker mentality.
Democrat 'Suicide Bombers'
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/democrat_suicide_bombers.html
Excerpt: Both the Cap-and-Trade bill and a VAT imposition would raise taxes on everyone in the country. Allow me to say that again -- they would raise taxes on everyone in the country. Rich, poor and middle class, union members, entrepreneurs and welfare recipients, young and old, white, black, and Hispanic, gay and straight, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, atheists, Evangelicals, Muslims, and Buddhists, those here legally and illegally. No one would be able to escape paying these taxes. There are no obvious supporters who might benefit from governmental largess that might be funded by these taxes. We're in too much debt to generate any support for yet another huge government giveaway program. So these new taxes (or fees, as they might try to label them) would simply be punitive. Democrats would be punishing the entire country for not buying into their grand plans to transform America as we know it. These new taxes are not the type that can be withheld from a paycheck, or tacked discreetly on everyone's phone bill. They are the type that will be paid every day.
The Leftist 'Purification' Movement
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/the_leftist_purification_movem.html
Excerpt: Even more disturbing is the increasing coalition between progressivism and radical Islam. Steinberg's piece includes a quote from George Galloway, a progressive British parliamentarian, when asked if Muslims and progressives could unite in a common cause: (")Not only do I think it's possible but I think it is vitally necessary and I think it is happening already. It is possible because the progressive movement around the world and the Muslims have the same enemies... They have the same interest in opposing savage capitalist globalization which is intent upon homogenizing the entire world turning us basically into factory chickens which can be forced fed the American diet of everything from food to Coca-Cola to movies and TV culture... So on the very grave big issues of the day -- issues of war, occupation, justice, opposition to globalization -- the Muslims and the progressives are on the same side.(") To me, this sounds like a coalition between factory chickens and poultry butchers. But it exemplifies the unreality in the strategic thinking of progressives. They visualize a world of communities living in perfect harmony with nature and each other, with minimal industrial activity, no profit motive, and no greed. Everyone is tolerant of others' beliefs (unless they are capitalists or conservatives). How they intend to deal with the violent intolerance of Islam toward other religions and cultures is not considered.
Chávez Loses in Colombia
http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/chavez-loses-colombia-0
Excerpt: Mockus also committed a disastrous unforced error on April 26, when he told a Colombian radio interviewer, “I admire Chávez,” noting that the Venezuelan leader was democratically elected. This comment caused a media frenzy, and Mockus had to walk it back. “I used the word ‘admire’ inappropriately,” he told another radio station the next day. “I think nobody would have paid attention to this issue if I had just said that I respect the government of President Chávez, who was democratically elected, anyway.” But the damage had been done. Anti-Mockus signs reading “I admire Hugo Chávez” began appearing. There’s no question that the initial statement did major damage to his election hopes. On May 30, Mockus received only 21.5 percent of the vote, while Santos garnered 46.7 percent. In the runoff election on June 20, Santos routed Mockus by a margin of 69.1 percent to 27.5 percent. To be sure, Chávez was not the only reason that Santos triumphed. The outgoing president, Alvaro Uribe, whom Santos served under as defense chief from 2006 to 2009, is hugely popular for making Colombia a much safer and more prosperous country. Santos is a fierce advocate of Uribe’s “democratic security” policies, which have been tremendously successful, and which voters continue to support. Yet the campaign momentum didn’t swing in Santos's favor until Chávez intervened and Mockus made his ill-advised comment. By my count, this is the third Latin American presidential election in which the Venezuelan strongman has played a significant role in driving voters toward a conservative candidate.
The EPA has gone mad cow disease
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/24/epa-has-gone-mad/#comment-417126
Excerpt: Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a hard time seeing how spilled milk can be labeled the same kind of environmental hazard. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is classifying milk as oil because it contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil. The Hesperia farmer and others would be required to develop and implement spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. The rules are set to take effect in November, though that date might be pushed back. “That could get expensive quickly,” Konkel said. “We have a serious problem in the Gulf. Milk is a wholesome product that does not equate to spilling oil.” But last week environmentalists disagreed at a Senate committee hearing on a resolution from Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, calling for the EPA to rescind its ruling. “The federal Clean Water Act requirements were meant to protect the environment from petroleum-based oils, not milk,” he said. “I think it is an example of federal government gone amuck.” But Gayle Miller, legislative director of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said agricultural pollution probably is the nation’s most severe chronic problem when it comes to water pollution. (This is a perfect example of the hazards of allowing the bean-counters to define exactly what constitutes a bean. Since many (if not most) of the current controls on our lives are now via “regulation” rather than by “laws,” the citizens at large need to keep a much closer eye on the regulators. –Ron P.)
Taliban Commanders See Victory in the Sacking of U.S. General
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-25/taliban-mcchrystal-sacking-a-victory/
Excerpt: The Afghan Taliban has a saying: “Americans may own the watches. But we’ve got the time.” As President Obama sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal this week, replacing him with Gen. David Petraeus, Taliban commanders watched events unfold from afar, and then declared that this was yet another victory. The change of leadership, they said, gives them even more time in their fight against U.S. forces. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said that sending Gen. McChrystal home in the middle of the war, in such an inglorious way, was good news as it proved how troubled and divided the U.S. political and military leadership had become. (One of the great divides in all branches of uniformed service is the one between "parade (or barracks) soldiers" (think of Dwight Eisenhower) and "field soldiers" (think of George Patton). During peacetime, the field soldiers are likely to be found in the brig or stockade; during wartime, they are the indispensible ingredient that brings victory. At times, like these, when there is neither war nor peace, knowing exactly how to deal with field soldiers--especially senior ones--becomes problematic. Leaders are supposed to be able to put the square pegs into the square holes, after all. As much as you need the field soldiers' expertise to accomplish the mission, you must to insulate them from the upper leadership and press. The field soldier has both courage and convictions to go with his focus on accomplishing the mission. Where the parade soldier will properly exercise caution in speaking out, the field soldier may well see it as a duty to raise his voice. Yes, McChrystal was insubordinate in that he failed to keep these issues behind the doors of leadership (where he actually did have a duty to speak up privately). The greater sin, it seem to me, is the failure of the leadership that put a field soldier by temperament, training, and experience into a parade (political) soldier's position. Ron P.)
Reports Finds Negative Correlation Between Immigration And Education Levels
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/reports-finds-negative-correlation-between-immigration-and-education-levels-19830954/
Excerpt: A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has found that California has the least-educated labor force of any state in the United States, and this may be due to the high levels of immigration in recent decades. According to the study, 9 percent of California’s population was comprised of immigrants in 1970, but by 2008 it was 27 percent. Forty years ago, the state had the 7th most educated workforce of all U.S. states in terms of the share of workers who had completed high school, but by 2008 it ranked 50th. The researchers now estimate that one in six workers in the Golden State have not graduated high school. The report, titled A State Transformed: Immigration and the New California, concludes with the warning that without a comprehensive immigration reform and enforcement, other parts of the country may follow in California’s path.
Strip club employees say tougher regulations are bad for the economy
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/strip-club-employees-say-tougher-regulations-are-bad-for-the-economy
More government interference in the economy. Excerpt: Strip club owners and employees are urging Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to veto a bill the puts more regulations on their businesses. They say it is could force adult businesses to close which would be bad for the economy.
“You are going to put a lot of people out of work,” says one dancer who did not want to be identified. The bill would ban nudity and alcohol, prohibit partially nude employees from touching customers and force the clubs to close by midnight.
“I own my home. If the law passed I would lose my home. I have a daughter getting ready to go to college. I've worked here 15 years. I couldn't send my daughter to college,” the employee says.
Calif couple tried to sell baby at Walmart
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100625/ap_on_re_us/us_baby_for_sale
Attention Walmart Shoppers! Blue Light Special in the Parking lot! Excerpt: A California couple faces child endangerment charges after police say they tried to sell their 6-month-old baby for $25 outside a Walmart store.
When the Levee Breaks
http://www.mccookgazette.com/blogs/1461/entry/35643/
Link wasn’t working, so I’m taking the liberty of including the full article. Excerpt: Last Monday morning I was at the United States - Mexico border at Nogales Arizona. I was delivering right to the Mariposa Port of Entry, and following my directions, I turned my rig into the construction sight. The site was "guarded" by a pickup with the word SECURITY stenciled on the side of the vehicle. A distinguished looking Hispanic man in his forties approached me, "Documentos por favor." At first, I was a bit freaked out. I thought I had made a wrong turn and somehow had ended up in Mexico. I asked the guard several times, "Am I in the United States or Mexico?" Finally he understood what I was trying to say, "Si, United States". He pointed to a block wall and brown building about thirty yards away, "Mexico", he said. Since I stay on Central time no matter where I travel, I was about two hours early, so he gestured for me to park along the fence. I took this time to look around the construction site and observe the border crossing, close up. I watched as the US trucks entered into Mexico. All vehicles were searched by the Mexican Border Patrol. Drivers had to show papers, and have their cabs and trailers searched. I watched as Mexican trucks entered into the US. During the entire time I was at this site, about four hours, I did not see our Border Patrol search a single vehicle. Not one. Does that seem strange to you? I watched as several men from Mexico walked right through this port, and enter the construction site and begin working. One of the men unloading my truck spoke English, and I asked what they were building. "A new border station." Is it just me, or is it odd that we have true unemployment in this country of 14% to 20%, and yet Mexican nationals are walking across the border to work on our new border station? I-19 is the highway that leads from Tucson to Nogales. The first thing you notice is that this highway is marked in kilometers, not miles. Why? Who knows. Perhaps it will make it easier for Mexican citizens to use as the Obama Administration cedes parts of Arizona to Mexico. You will also notice that many many homeowners have had to resort to putting up tall chain link fences, some even have barbed wire atop the fences, to protect their homes! There are already hundred of square miles of Arizona that are deemed unsafe by local Law Enforcement, and signs are posted in various parts of Arizona stating this very thing. The Obama Administration says that they are investing more money and manpower to secure the border, but this is totally bogus. The money is being spent alright, but not to secure the border. Building this new border station is a perfect example. For the sake of an example, let's say that our town has a huge crime problem, so we elect a new Sheriff who promises to restore law and order. After his election, the new Sheriff announces that before he can begin to clean up the crime, he needs us to build him a new Sheriff's office. Also, the Border Patrol has several checkpoints, to check for illegals or drugs, but, hang on, these checkpoints are not on the border. They are 50 - 100 miles away from the border on US highways. I have been through many of these so called checkpoints, and the checkpoints are not about stopping the invasion of the United States by Mexico. On the contrary, all they do is photograph, record, and harass American citizens. You drive up to the officer, and the officer asks, "Are you an American Citizen?" Then the drug dog sniffs your vehicle, and you are on your way...if your lucky. I have seen them searching some elderly white couples RV, while bus load after bus load of Mexican citizens pass on by. Crazy. Again, to use our local example, if our local police knew that there was a meth lab in downtown McCook, wouldn't they be silly to set up checkpoint roadblocks 10 miles outside of town, stopping vehicles and asking, "Are you high?" Of course it would be silly. Go in and crush the meth lab. These Border Patrol agents need to be AT THE FREAKIN' BORDER, not Alamogordo, some seventy miles north of the border. Get down to the border. Arizona Senator John Kyl, shed some light on what is really happening. Obama told him that he will not secure the border because the Democrats want Immigration Reform. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is code for amnesty, and the Democrats are hoping to use amnesty as the single largest Democrat voter registration drive in history. The Tuscon sector, which includes this border station in Nogales, is where half of all the illegals, the invaders, come through. Senator Kyl says that with 2 billion dollars, they could secure the border. Two billion. That is how much Obama sent to George Soros as a payback for election skullduggery and market manipulation to help get Obama elected. Soros took our two billion, stolen from our grandkids, and is now in Brazil, using this money to help Brazil drill offshore, and rake in billions in profits. Meanwhile elderly American citizens are having their vehicles searched, they are being photographed and documented on American highways at these phony border inspection stations inside the US. It's nuts. The environmentalists, who control Obama like a puppet on a string, should be outraged at the environmental destruction caused by the invaders, look at the picture above. How would you like that outside your home? But they are not, instead the environmental wackos are upset when we put up a fence. You must remember that the modern day environmental movement has nothing to do with the environment, and everything to do with turning the United States into a third world Socialist nation, and controlling you. One of these so called Border Inspection Station in Texas is near the I-20 and I-10 junction. Look at a map. This station is at least a hundred miles from the border. Does that make sense to you? The fact is, the current administration has no desire to guard and secure our border. The administration works to make the problem worse, to force a radical political agenda, just like they are doing with the Gulf oil spill. Some Democrat Senators are pushing Obama to simply make an Executive Order granting amnesty to illegals. If Obama is crazy enough to try such a move, he will tear this country apart. But then again, that is Obama. He has come to divide, he has come to destroy. I wish it were not so. I wish we had a President that loved his country instead of Socialism and himself. God Help Us. I am a fan of the Mexican people. They are being used as pawns to enact a radical agenda, and they are suffering. Some businesses are using illegals as de facto slaves, it is not right. At a manufacturing plant south of Minneapolis, I noticed that almost all of the employees were Spanish speaking Hispanics. I asked the foreman about it. He told me that they could not find Americans willing to work. I replied that that was BS. He said "Why?" "Please don't treat me like a dummy," I said. "The truth is you cannot find Americans that will work for the wages these guys will work for." He smiled. "Exactly".
Anniversary
I write this on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Thanks to the courage of American Troops, 38,000 of whom died in the effort, and our allies, including the ROK troops, South Korea today is a democracy with a vibrant, free economy and high standard of living. North Korea, protected by Communist China, is a communist hell hole of starvation and repression, and a constant nuclear threat to peace and stability. But no matter how many examples of murder and poverty you show leftists, they insist that, next time, they will do Marxism and central planning “right.” Thanks to all who served in this cause.
Why McChrystal and the Military Should Be Able to Speak Up
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68369
Speaking up internally to the President is one thing. Speaking derisively to Rolling Stone is quite another. Excerpt: Most of all, the Obama administration and its friends trotted out that old meme, “distraction,” to explain why it had to get rid of McChrystal. “We’re distracting from an enormously important mission,” said Gibbs. In fact, said Gibbs, the distraction was actually President Obama’s top concern with McChrystal’s comments. This seems unlikely. Then-Sen Obama made a career out of bashing the U.S. war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq in ways that were guaranteed to distract from the missions. For example, he accused American troops in Afghanistan of “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.” He stated that American troops who had given the fullest measure in Iraq had “wasted” their lives. Distraction from the war effort isn’t exactly a foreign concept to President Obama. No, this wasn’t about McChrystal’s violation of military protocol. McChrystal was fired because he made it clear to President Obama that he would no longer allow himself to be used as a scapegoat for America’s failings in Afghanistan. McChrystal may be in charge of active operations in Afghanistan, but President Obama is the man responsible for the overarching policy failures in Afghanistan—particularly, his short and unrealistic timeline for withdrawal.
McChrystal had to go by George Will
http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/inf/infomo?view=opinion+article&feed:a=chi_trib_10min&feed:c=opinion&feed:i=54544292
Excerpt: In 1932, during a lunch in Albany with Rexford Tugwell, an adviser, New York Gov. Franklin Roosevelt paused to take a telephone call from Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. When the call ended, FDR referred to Long as the second-most dangerous man in America. Who, Tugwell asked, is the most dangerous? FDR answered: Douglas MacArthur. As Army chief of staff, MacArthur had just flamboyantly conducted the violent dispersal of the bedraggled "bonus army" in Washington. Nearly 19 years later, he was to become most dangerous to himself, as another commanding general has now done. But Stanley McChrystal is no MacArthur. MacArthur had some of the genius and much of the egomania of a former artillery captain, Napoleon. This made MacArthur insubordinate and got him cashiered by a former artillery captain, Harry Truman. Although McChrystal is a fine soldier who rendered especially distinguished service in Iraq, there is no reason to ascribe to him either egomania or insubordination. He did, however, emphatically disqualify himself from further military service and particularly from service in Afghanistan. There the military's purely military tasks are secondary to the political and social tasks for which the military is ill-suited, and for which McChrystal is garishly so. The American undertaking in Afghanistan is a fool's errand, and McChrystal is breathtakingly foolish. Even so, he and it were badly matched. This, even though the errand is of the president's careful devising and McChrystal was the president's choice to replace the four-star general who had been commanding there. It may be said that McChrystal's defect is only a deficit of political acumen. Only? Again, the mission in Afghanistan is much more political than military. Counterinsurgency, as defined by McChrystal's successor, Gen. David Petraeus, and tepidly embraced by Barack Obama for a year or so, does not just involve nation-building, it is nation-building. This does not require just political acumen; it requires the wisdom of Aristotle, the leadership skills of George Washington and the analytic sophistication of de Tocqueville. But, then, the grinding paradox of nation-building is this: No one with the aptitudes necessary for it would be rash or delusional enough to try it.
Hey, Remember When Harry Reid Called Petraeus A Liar?
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=15957
Excerpt: And insisted that the surge engineered by Petreaus had failed? And Reid calls Sharron Angle crazy?
Obama changes his tune
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/06/026599.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29
Excerpt: I'm glad that President Obama has appointed Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. McChrystal, but I can't help wondering whether Obama himself feels any discomfort at turning to the hero of the Iraq surge to try to bail the administration out in Afghanistan. After all, Obama opposed the Iraq surge before it happened, and after the fact claimed that it had made only modest gains and was not responsible for the most significant improvements in Iraq. This video from September 2007 reminds us that before Obama became a lousy President, he was a lousy Senator. Watch as he badgers Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and belittles their efforts in Iraq; almost eight minutes go by before either witness gets a word in. Petraeus never does talk.
Reduced overtime stymies Border Patrol
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/23/reduced-overtime-stymies-border-patrol/
This will fix Arizona. Excerpt: The U.S. Border Patrol has quietly reduced its current force of available agents along the U.S.-Mexico border by cutting the overtime hours they can work even as the Obama administration is asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to hire 1,000 new agents, and Congress and the public are clamoring for beefed-up border security. Several rank-and-file and senior agents told The Washington Times that a new overtime directive issued at the agency's Washington headquarters will limit their ability to get their jobs done, reduce coverage during peak smuggling periods and allow more criminals to avoid apprehension.
Federal Agencies Still Failing to 'Connect the Dots'
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=68352
Excerpt: President Obama’s national security agencies “do not always share relevant information with their national security partners,” according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report shows that more than eight years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, federal agencies were still failing to "connect the dots" on intelligence pointing to security threats to the United States. The GAO findings come approximately six months after President Obama acknowledged that the intelligence community failed to share information that could have properly identified the attempted Christmas Day bomber as a dangerous extremist, adding he would “insist on accountability at every level” for such a failure.
Obama Knew of Blagojevich Deal
http://blogsforvictory.com/2010/06/24/obama-knew-of-blagojevich-deal/
Excerpt: Rod Blagojevich’s chief-of-staff testified that he believed Obama “knew of Blagojevich’s plot to win himself a presidential Cabinet post in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to the U.S. Senate.” John Harris, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff, testified Wednesday in the former governor’s corruption trial that three days after the Nov. 4, 2008, presidential election, the ex-governor told Harris he felt confident Obama knew he wanted to swap perks. “The president understands that the governor would be willing to make the appointment of Valerie Jarrett as long as he gets what he’s asked for. . . . The governor gets the Cabinet appointment he’s asked for,” Harris said, explaining a recorded call.
US jails Cambodia coup plotter Chhun Yasith for life
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10386342.stm
Excerpt: A Cambodian-born accountant has been jailed for life in the US for plotting a failed coup attempt against the Cambodian government 10 years ago. Chhun Yasith, 53, was found guilty by a court in Los Angeles in 2008 of four charges relating to the failed attack. Dozens of armed men attacked government buildings in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, in a bid to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen. Chhun is a naturalised US citizen who fled Cambodia as a refugee in 1982. He grew frustrated with the lack of free elections under Hun Sen, a former member of the Khmer Rouge under dictator Pol Pot, said Chhun's lawyer Richard Callahan. "He saw Hun Sen as on an even par with Pol Pot," Mr Callahan said. Chhun also wanted to avenge the death of his father, whom he witnessed being beheaded by Khmer Rouge soldiers, Mr Callahan added. (This is his reward for trying to overthrow a corrupt, murderous, former Khmer Rouge Vietnamese puppet. --Mike)
House approves campaign finance bill in 219-206 vote
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/105403-house-approves-campaign-finance-bill-in-219-206-vote
Excerpt: The House voted 219-206 Thursday to approve a campaign finance bill to tighten disclosure requirements for corporate and union spending on political campaigns. The bill, a response to the January Supreme Court decision that overturned spending limits for corporations and unions, now heads to the Senate, where it faces a perilous path to passage. The vote on the Disclose Act came after weeks of aggressive lobbying by supporters and critics. Democratic leaders were forced to pull it from the House schedule last week after liberals revolted over an exemption tailored for the National Rifle Association.
Parolees disappear after being released early
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxPwXvGMIwq0yLZ74v9IZsUybbZgD9GH6CBO5
Excerpt: Dozens of parolees, including one imprisoned for his part in a 2008 murder, have disappeared after they were set free as part of a secret early release program, according to documents acquired by The Associated Press. The parolees were let go as part of the "MGT Push" plan that Gov. Pat Quinn shut down in December after The Associated Press revealed it. The program has embarrassed Quinn as he runs for re-election, although the Democratic governor has tried to blame Corrections Director Michael Randle, saying he didn't know Randle was going to release violent offenders. The administration ordered parole agents in January to begin "intensive compliance" checks on the released prisoners. More than 50 MGT Push parolees are currently on the lam, according to documents from Corrections obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and analyzed by The Associated Press. While many who go astray are picked up within days, some absconders have been gone for months. Those currently on the list have been missing an average 136 days, or 4.5 months, according to the AP analysis.
Gilad Shalit is not the only hostage
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0624-nasatir-20100624-14,0,6048664.story
Excellent column. Excerpt: Shalit was attacked while guarding a place called Kerem Shalom (Vineyard of Peace), one of half a dozen border crossings that enable commerce between Israel and Gaza. For years, facilities like Kerem Shalom have been attacked repeatedly by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terror groups precisely because they foster exchanges between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas and other radicals have perpetrated such attacks not because they desire peace or a better life for the people they rule. They do so because they violently oppose any activity that might lead to a peaceful end of conflict—something they consistently reject in word and deed on religious grounds. Earlier this month, a Hamas preacher said on the group's Al-Aqsa TV that "[The Jews'] annihilation and the destruction of their state will only be achieved through Islam, by those who bow before Allah." Why have none of those involved in the recent, so-called humanitarian efforts to aid the residents of Gaza raised their voices — on behalf of Shalit or about the deep and vexing issues he symbolizes? Why did the organizers of the recent flotilla refuse to deliver a letter to Shalit from his family? Why, I wonder, were their voices of condemnation and outrage not heard when Hamas forced the closure of the border crossings by launching countless terror attacks and thousands of rockets at Israeli border towns like Sderot, where I experienced such a barrage in 2007?
Federal Bailout for States?
On federal bailouts, Marine Sam Skogstad (an economist) says: “At the risk of pounding on the obvious, let me comment on a single issue … Federal bailouts for states….. Despite its being obvious, I have seen little or no comment in the media on the absurdity of the concept of a ‘Federal Bailout of States.’ Its correct name is ‘Federal transfers of income and wealth from residents of some states to residents of some others.’ It is fully understandable that the Obama Administration is supportive of the fiction that funds arriving from the federal government represent a net gain to ‘states.’ It is one more non-transparent method of redistributing income and wealth from groups you do not like to groups you do like. Like ‘Healthcare Reform.’ Like ‘Carbon Credits.’ Like ‘affordable housing.’ Like ‘college loans.’ Like forcing mortgage ‘restructuring.’ Each is crafted in such a way that people for whom Obama feels ‘empathy’ get stuff that is taken from people for whom he does not feel ‘empathy.’….. Forgive me for daring to tell your readers, generally a very intelligent group as I see it, how the ‘Federal Bailout of States’ works its redistributional ‘magic’. First, my assumptions: (1) ‘the states’ and ‘the United States of America,’ are one and the same thing. (2)The ‘Federal Government’ is the government of the United States of America or of ‘the states in the aggregate.’ Thus (3) all funds in the possession of the ‘Federal Government’ were supplied by ‘the states.’…. In fact, they could very well and correctly be called ‘the states'’ funds. So a Federal bailout of the states is identically the same thing as ‘the states’ bailout of ‘the states.’ So as far as the aggregates, ‘the states’ and ‘The United States of America’ there is no such thing as a gift from one to the other. But of course that is not so when we think of the individual states. And if the concept of Federal aid to ‘the states’ is to be anything other than meaningless gibberish, it must mean resources taken from states in one pattern, and distributed to states in a different pattern. In short, it is simply redistribution of resources. I would love to see a national referendum on a state-by-state basis on the question: ‘shall the United States Government seize resources from your state, return a smaller amount to your state and send the difference to, say, California?’…. Isn't it just a comic opera unfolding in Washington these days?” (Posted with his permission.)
MacArthur Defeats Truman: The Real McChrystal Message
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/24/macarthur-defeats-truman-the-r
Some wishful thinking here, I fear. (And I thought it was Matthew Ridgway who took over from MacArthur, not Mark Clark.) Excerpt: Harry Truman was no dove. But Douglas MacArthur made him look like one. And the political consequences for Democrats of Truman's legendary dismissal of the iconic hero of World War II -- at the height of the Korean War -- were both dramatic and long-lasting. In fact, those consequences are part of the political baggage of the American left -- and the Obama administration -- to this day. It is a history that stirs yet again with the decision of President Obama to fire General Stanley McChrystal in the wake of the now infamous Rolling Stone interview with the General and his aides.
The Antidrilling Commission
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575320892241446242.html
Excerpt: The White House choices seem to have made up their minds.
"Under my Administration, the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over. . . To undermine scientific integrity is to undermine our democracy. . . I want to be sure that facts are driving scientific decisions, and not the other way around." —President Obama, April 27, 2009 The President has appointed a seven-person commission to take what he says will be an objective look at what caused the Gulf spill and the steps to make offshore drilling safe. But judging from the pedigree of his commissioners, we're beginning to wonder if his real goal is to turn drilling into a partisan election issue. Mr. Obama filled out his commission last week, and the news is that there's neither an oil nor drilling expert in the bunch. Instead, he's loaded up on politicians and environmental activists. One co-chair is former Democratic Senator Bob Graham, who fought drilling off Florida throughout his career. The other is William Reilly, who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H.W. Bush but is best known as a former president and former chairman of the World Wildlife Fund, one of the big environmental lobbies. (I have to say this is really sad. And yet very telling. To appoint a slate of commissioners loaded up almost totally with antidrilling activists who have no technical expertise whatsoever is a blatant political act totally focused on a preset agenda. I am actually surprised that Mr. Obama would do this, it is simply too obviously political for anyone to even attempt to present it as a sincere and appropriate effort to investigate the situation and come up with an impartial report about it. As is demonstrated by this editorial appearing so quickly in a major newspaper not known for being especially conservative. Hopefully it will reveal to even more people how bad this Administration really is. November, November..... I wish it were here now. –Del)
Obama's Approval Rating Dips to New Low
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-6084818-503544.html
This from a BO-friendly media outlet. But see the gap between “strongly approve” and “strongly disapprove” in the Rasmussen polls below. “Strong” voters vote. Excerpt: President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll. That rating is Mr. Obama's lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Forty-one percent now say they disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance as president.
Rasmussen Daily Poll
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
Excerpt: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends). Forty-eight percent (48%) say the government today is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector of rights. Also, most say it’s more important for the government to protect individual rights than to promote economic growth.
County Supervisor Who Supports Boycott Doesn’t Know Arizona Borders Mexico…
http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/24/county-supervisor-who-supports-boycott-doesnt-know-arizona-borders-mexico/
Jay walking for stupid public officials. Unbelievable.
Delay in Delivery of S-300 Missiles to Iran Impairs Russia's Face
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8904030461
Excerpt: Any delay in the delivery of the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system to Tehran will impair Russia's face and will make it difficult for Moscow to find new trade partners in the world, an Iranian legislator warned. Head of Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Committee Mehdi Sanae'i elaborated on the agreement between the two countries, signed in 2005, arguing that Russia's delay in the delivery of the S-300 air-defense missiles to Tehran is resulted from outside pressure. "The delivery of S-300 missile defense system to Iran is part of Moscow's definite obligation and no excuse to dodge the responsibility is acceptable," Sanae'i told MNA.
Saving Obama From Himself
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0610/hanson062410.php3
Excerpt: Do you remember candidate Barack Obama offering his hope-and-change platitudes in front of the fake Greek columns during the Democratic convention? Or earlier pontificating at the Victory Monument in Berlin? Why didn't an old cigar-chomping Democratic pro take him aside and warn him about offending Nemesis? She is the dreaded goddess who brings divine retribution in ironic fashion to overweening arrogance. Or maybe a friend could have whispered to Senator Obama to tone it down when he was merciless in damning the Bush administration for its supposedly slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Obama railed that Bush showed "unconscionable ineptitude." Obama further charged that Bush's response was "achingly slow," a result of "passive indifference," and that his team was rife with "corruption and cronyism." Those adjectives now apply to Obama himself, as he seems lost amid his own disaster -- eerily in about the same Gulf environs. Adding insult to injury, a recent poll revealed that Louisiana residents thought Bush had done a better job with Katrina than Obama has with BP. Couldn't one of Obama's many handlers have warned him to ignore the media's tingling-leg gaga worship, or their nonsense that Obama is "a god"?
Conservatives on the rise?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/1-2-3-11.html
Excerpt: After two election cycles in the political wilderness, conservatives appear to be rallying in advance of the 2010 midterm election. In new Gallup numbers released this morning, 42 percent of Americans describe themselves as conservative while 35 percent say they are moderates and 20 percent call themselves liberals. The 42 percent of self-described conservatives would be a record high for Gallup, which has been asking the question since 1992, if the trend continued through the final six months of the year. (The data for the first six months of 2010 was culled from eight national surveys conducted by Gallup.) The last time four in ten Americans (or more) identified themselves as conservatives was 2004 when Republicans re-elected President George W. Bush and made gains in the House and Senate.
Generation Gap: The Kerry-Lieberman energy bill would enervate America.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629804575325263787161900.html
Excerpt: A year ago the Waxman-Markey energy regulation bill passed the House. Now before the Senate is the Kerry-Lieberman energy regulation bill, which includes many of the same damaging provisions--government control of many aspects of energy generation, distribution and prices. The debate on this bill is of course colored and influenced by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion, fire and collapse in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. In response, the federal government has suspended drilling deeper than 500 feet in the Gulf for six months, suspended exploratory drilling off Alaska's coast and canceled oil leases off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf--significant decisions that will reduce our oil supplies in the years ahead. All work has been suspended on 33 previously inspected and approved Gulf deepwater drilling rigs. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana reports that will mean 3,000 to 6,000 immediate job losses and perhaps 10,000 more in the months ahead. As noted in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, beyond jobs there will be significant economic consequences from the shutdowns. According to the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, 1,400 jobs will be lost for each platform shut down, for a total of some $330 million a month in lost wages. So with this current catastrophe influencing our energy policies, where is America going? The Kerry-Lieberman bill is a bit less bad than the Waxman-Markey legislation, but only a bit.
Dems Pass Bank Bill, Admit They Don’t Know How It Works
http://www.thefoxnation.com/barney-frank/2010/06/25/dems-pass-bank-bill-admit-they-don-t-know-how-it-works
Lets muck around with the financial system and see what happens. Excerpt: "It's a great moment. I'm proud to have been here," said a teary-eyed Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee led the effort in the Senate. "No one will know until this is actually in place how it works. But we believe we've done something that has been needed for a long time. It took a crisis to bring us to the point where we could actually get this job done."
Iran will not send aid ship to Gaza
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/24/iran.gaza.aid.boat/index.html?hpt=T2&fbid=HoDMKai9_PK&om_rid=Mqh-D0&om_mid=_BMJKPhB8MeL24r&=undefined
Excerpt: Iran will not send a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as it had planned to do on Thursday, according to a report from the official news agency of Iran. The Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Hossein Sheikholeslam, secretary-general of the International Conference for the Support of the Palestinian Intifada, as saying: "The Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aid will not go to Gaza." IRNA said that Sheikholeslam told reporters in the northern city of Rasht that the ship had originally been scheduled to depart for Gaza on Thursday, but that its departure was postponed until Sunday because of restrictions imposed by Israel. He added that officials then decided instead to cancel the trip altogether, shipping to Gaza the goods by other means, IRNA said. (Hard to believe this is in response to diplomatic pressure; more likely, the presence of US ships and the Israeli Air Force had an influence on this decision. Also possible it is nothing more than theater and they'll send it two weeks from now, when things quiet down. –Ron P.)
General Madness
http://townhall.com/columnists/OliverNorth/2010/06/25/general_madness#
Excerpt: Set aside for a moment how inconceivable it is that an article in Rolling Stone magazine could be the cause of anyone's being fired -- much less a U.S. commanding general in the midst of a war. But that is what happened this week. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is a tough, combat-experienced officer who knows how to fight. He knows how to kill the enemy. But he clearly doesn't get it when it comes to the media. His staff let him down -- badly -- by allowing Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone to hang around with a tape recorder. That the Pentagon, Central Command and Gen. McChrystal's staff granted unfettered, prolonged access to this publication reflects ignorance, arrogance or both. Everyone involved in approving this "embed" ought to be fired for egregious lack of judgment. They apparently believed they could win over Hastings. They were dead wrong. I don't disagree with much of what Gen. McChrystal and his staff are quoted as saying about the O-Team in the article. I have used many of the same terms to describe the present administration -- albeit with fewer expletives. It also should be noted that despite claims of "several lengthy interviews" with McChrystal, there are very few lines of text in the offending article directly attributable to the general. On our most recent Fox News trip to Afghanistan, we reported that many of the troops were concerned about new rules of engagement, cuts in night operations, and limits on raids and airstrikes making them more vulnerable to Taliban attacks and improvised explosive devices. Rolling Stone looked for and found troops who were unhappy with the rules of engagement in order to support its contention that the war in Afghanistan is "unwinnable." That refrain is increasingly prevalent because President Barack Obama refuses to use the words "win" and "victory." McChrystal's firing has been likened to President Abraham Lincoln's replacing George McClellan during the Civil War and President Harry Truman's sacking Douglas MacArthur in the midst of the Korean War. Not accurate. Both McClellan and MacArthur vocally opposed the stated policies and strategies of their presidents. That's not what happened here. In announcing he had "accepted" his battlefield commander's resignation, Obama acknowledged that he and McChrystal "are in full agreement about our strategy." This week's firing was simply political theater designed to enhance Obama's stature as a "leader" in the eyes of his supporters and critics. Obama suffers from decision-deficit disorder. He routinely is described as detached, disengaged, ambivalent and uncertain in everything from the economy to securing our borders to the Gulf oil spill to the war itself. He has been unable or unwilling to name our radical Islamist enemies or define victory. He is the only commander in chief to announce a deadline for withdrawing troops while committing more Americans to combat.
Interesting quotes from the CIC
In 2007, Barack Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois with only two years of national political experience (and zero years of military experience) under his belt, accused American troops in Afghanistan of "just air-raiding villages and killing civilians." Furthermore, according to the community organizer from Chicago, American troops who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in Iraq had "wasted" their lives. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
Hope 'n' Change: Obama Now Says Mandate is a Tax
After Barack Obama went on the record to "absolutely reject this notion" that the individual health insurance mandate is a tax, his administration is now arguing exactly the opposite in court. The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss a Florida-based lawsuit seeking to overturn the health care overhaul and, according to American Spectator, "cited the Anti-Injunction Act, which restricts courts from interfering with the government's ability to collect taxes." A DoJ memo argues that "no suit for the purposes of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person." So for those wondering if Obama's "no individual tax" promise would stand in a court of law, you should soon get your answer. Meanwhile, with mid-term elections fast approaching, the Obama camp is putting insurance companies on notice not to raise rates artificially because of the new law. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the following Orwellian warning: "We want to caution insurance companies that rate increases would be watched very closely." As Aetna CEO Ronald Williams noted regarding the health care bill, however, "I think there was a recognition that consumers are going to get more. When you get more, you pay more." Apparently, this administration has yet to acknowledge basic economics. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
BO Highway
Your tax dollars at work. Excerpt: Is it too soon yet to judge Barack Obama as our worst president? Perhaps. But it's certainly too soon to name roads after him, though that's just what's happening in Orlando, Florida. Pres Barack Obama Pkwy is being constructed using stimulus cash, creating 200 jobs for the first $10.5 million phase. The Patriot Post www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/
Ghetto Racism
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/06/25/ghetto-racism/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_campaign=43a9c60856-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
Asians aren’t a big voting bloc. Excerpt: The presidency of Barack Obama was supposed to bring about racial progress and reconciliation. From San Francisco to New York, the rough and tumble of America’s urban centers have steadfastly refused to succumb to his message of hope and change. Instead, they have showed, through numerous recent examples, that hatred and cowardice – as delivered from African-Americans to Asians – is not only alive and kicking, but heinous and potentially lethal. In April, two black teenagers punched 59-year-old Tian Sheng Yu in the mouth in downtown Oakland, California. He fell on his head, spent the next few days in critical care and subsequently died. Between late March and early April, five black teenagers assailed five different older Asian women, including one who was 71, on separate occasions in or near a public housing project on the Lower East Side of New York City. In late March, five black teenagers surrounded a 57-year-old Asian woman at a light rail bus stop in San Francisco; one of them grabbed her and threw her from the platform onto the rails before he proceeded to beat her. In January, black teenagers kicked and beat 83-year-old Huan Chen after he got off the same bus stop. He, too, died from his injuries. Last fall, two young black men grabbed 64-year-old Rongshi Chen on his way to a convenience store in San Francisco, threw him onto the concrete, kicked his ribs and broke his collarbone before they took his cash, credit cards and identification. The criminals target not just the old and the weak but also the young and vibrant. In late March in San Francisco, a group of black teenagers beat a 29-year-old Asian man. Similarly, the two teenagers who attacked Tian Sheng Yu in Oakland assaulted his 27-year-old son before and after they assaulted the father. Some of the perpetrators, like those who attacked the 83-year-old Huan Chen, wanted money before they ran off laughing. Many, however, acted for no apparent reason than just the satisfaction of perpetrating a beating itself. After the attacks, the uncomfortable issue of race stared everyone in the face, but local officials and the media have bent over backwards to look away.
Landmark shift in the Gallup enthusiasm readings
http://www.redstate.com/neil_stevens/2010/06/24/landmark-shift-in-the-gallup-enthusiasm-readings/
Excerpt: National Journal noticed an event in the Gallup voter enthusiasm polling: Republicans have gone off the scale, while Democrats have fallen far off from 2006. Since 1994 the numbers have tracked with victory and defeat, with the party ahead in enthusiasm winning the House, but this scale is… well, just look. Voters of each party were asked if they are More or Less enthusiastic about voting this year. In 1994 the Republicans were at 42 More/43 Less for -1 net. 40/41 in 1998. 42/42 in 2002. 40/41 in 2006. But in 2010, the Republicans have shifted to 59/31 for a +28 net enthusiasm rating, 29 points higher than 1994, which set the trend for every midterm since. Democrats were terribly unenthusiastic in 1994, hitting a -18 net rating, which climbed to -10 and -8 before hitting +10 in 2006. Now though, they’ve dropped back to -0.
The Democrats' Vision Problem
http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2010/06/25/the_democrats_vision_problem
Excerpt: We are constantly told that the American working man is so much worse off than he used to be. And if you measure income one way, you can make that case. Indeed, the Democratic Party in recent years has become obsessed in looking at the economy only in that one negative way to justify its avocation: giving more stuff to the poor and middle class because they are "falling behind." The wealth of nations, according to Adam Smith, the founding father of the market economy, is not measured in GDP or cash reserves. Rather, it "consists in the cheapness of provision and all other necessaries and conveniences of life." By that standard, American wealth in general, and the wealth of poor Americans, has skyrocketed in the last half-century, and the government had relatively little -- though certainly not nothing -- to do with it. And it's not just that consumer items are cheaper than ever, they're also better than ever. An iPhone today isn't just better than yesterday's phones, it's better than yesterday's cameras, calculators, portable stereos and computers. Many of the standard features on a 2010 Honda Accord were considered luxury items 10 years ago and almost unimaginable 20 years ago.
Bringing Nazism back in Germany: Muslims stone Jewish dance group
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/bringing-nazism-back-in-germany-muslims-stone-jewish-dance-group.html
Excerpt: "Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews..." -- Qur'an 5:82. "Youths" at it again in Europe. At least this time AP manages to summon up a shred or two of integrity, and identifies them as "Arab" -- although that in itself is not quite accurate, since one was evidently a German Muslim. "Youths attack Jewish dance group in Germany," by Kirsten Grieshaber for Associated Press, June 24. BERLIN - Arab youths threw stones at a Jewish dance group during a street festival in Hannover, injuring one dancer and forcing the group to cancel its performance, German police and dance officials said Thursday. The teenagers also used a megaphone to shout anti-Semitic slurs during the attack Saturday, Hannover police spokesman Thorsten Schiewe said. "I don't remember such a dramatic attack in Germany in recent times," said Michael Fuerst, the head of the Jewish community of the state of Lower Saxony.
The All Mighty
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3025558/Religious-knifeman-beats-off-nine-cops-dog-and-police-van.html#ixzz0rfAi5nKw
A ZOMBIE-like fanatic with "superhuman" strength fought off NINE cops and a police ROTTWEILER as he chanted the name of Allah, a court was told yesterday. The religious maniac - clad in Islamic garb - shrugged off baton blows and CS gas as he marched down a street with a 12-inch carving knife. Cops fearing he was on a deadly mission resorted to "potentially lethal force" by ramming him with a police van but STILL he stayed on his feet, a jury heard. Barefoot Alderrahim El-Harti, 42, finally had to be battered unconscious by frantic officers raining blows on his head. By then he had plunged his knife into one constable - who was saved by his body armour.
Another 2 mortar shells fired from Gaza, 9 total
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=179465
Gee, they must be running low. Better send another boatload of humanitarian supplies. I mean, 9 shells can hardly kill that many kids.
Is a religious bus ban on my dog right?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7847571/Is-a-religious-bus-ban-on-my-dog-right.html
Increasingly, there is a newly discovered “right not to be offended” for one religion, but not others. The art work, “Piss Christ,” of a crucifix in a jar of urine, funded with tax dollars, was fine in the US. Excerpt: O n two occasions last week my dog was barred from London buses, not because she's particularly fierce or big, but on religious grounds. A friend and I had taken her to the park, and as I went across to the grocer, my friend took Daisy, a Manchester terrier, to the bus stop. As they tried to board the bus, the driver stopped her and told her that there was a Muslim lady on the bus who "might be upset by the dog". As she attempted to remonstrate, the doors closed and the bus drew away. When a second bus arrived, she again made to embark, but was stopped again – this time because the driver said he was Muslim. I know that Muslims consider dogs to be unclean, but last time I looked this wasn't a Muslim country and London Transport was a non-denominational organisation. I'm a Catholic, but I'm hardly likely to start insisting that no divorced people should be allowed on my bus. I have no intention of causing upset with my dog and I wouldn't allow her to brush against anyone who was at pains to avoid her. None the less, I instinctively cavil at this creeping intolerance, masquerading as pious devotion, whatever its origins
Sharia in Minnesota: free speech under fire as man faces hearing for "anti-Islam" posters
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/sharia-in-minnesota-free-speech-under-fire-as-man-faces-hearing-for-anti-islam-posters.html
Are they fining others who put posters, say for a lost cat, on the poles? Excerpt: Dhimmi pseudo-journalist Dave Aeikins doesn't mention in this story that the attorneys in Benton and Stearns counties declined to file criminal charges against Elyea because they recognized that what he did -- no matter how obnoxious it may have been, and I have not seen the material he posted -- was protected on First Amendment grounds. That fact in itself gives the lie to the St. Cloud City Attorney Matt Staehling's claim that he is being prosecuted only for violating the city's ordinance against posting items on city poles. Elyea's attorney says, "Our basic argument is, we live in a country where you should be able to say what you want. Even controversial statements about political or religious views are protected by the First Amendment." Staehling appears to be pandering to Hamas-linked CAIR and to the Muslim community in Minnesota, and catering to its distaste for the freedom of speech.
Dozens of Americans believed to have joined terrorists
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/24/dozens-from-us-on-list-of-targets-as-terrorists/?page=1
"There are, in my mind, dozens of U.S. persons who are in different parts of the world, and they are very concerning to us," said John O. Brennan, deputy White House national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism. In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Times, Mr. Brennan said he would not talk about lists of targeted American terrorists. However, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been tracking down U.S. nationals and U.S. passport holders who pose security threats, like the Yemen-based al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, he said. "They are concerning to us, not just because of the passport they hold, but because they understand our operational environment here, they bring with them certain skills, whether it be language skills or familiarity with potential targets, and they are very worrisome, and we are determined to take away their ability to assist with terrorist attacks," Mr. Brennan said.
Questions for Elena Kagan
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/25/1522916/questions-for-elena-kagan.html#ixzz0ru47mHO5
Excerpt: Given Elena Kagan's aversion to "vapid and hollow" confirmation hearings devoid of "legal analysis," beginning Monday she might relish answering these questions: It would be naughty to ask you about litigation heading for the Supreme Court concerning this: Does Congress have the right, under its enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce, to punish the inactivity of not purchasing health insurance? So, instead answer this harmless hypothetical: If Congress decides that interstate commerce is substantially affected by the costs of obesity, may Congress require obese people to purchase participation in programs such as Weight Watchers? If not, why not? The government having decided that Chrysler's survival is an urgent national necessity, could it decide that Cash for Clunkers is too indirect a subsidy and instead mandate that people buy Chrysler products? If Congress concludes that ignorance has a substantial impact on interstate commerce, can it constitutionally require students to do three hours of homework nightly? If not, why not? Can you name a human endeavor that Congress cannot regulate on the pretense that the endeavor affects interstate commerce? If courts reflexively defer to that congressional pretense, in what sense do we have limited government?
I Fought For You By The Sound Tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTb6qdPu8JE
Worth watching
We need more than a change in parties
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/06/we_need_more_than_a_change_in.html
Excerpt: Inflation seems on the horizon yet prices have remained flat for over a year and wages are actually down. Inflation is a factor of the amount of money in circulation and the velocity of the money- how fast it circulates. Trillions of dollars are sitting in very low yield money market funds and other low risk vehicles because of the political uncertainty from radical new legislation and pending tax increases in various forms. Another factor limiting inflation is the currency scares in Greece and Europe, and some concern in China. Sometimes you do not have to be good; you just have to not be the worst. Investors and business people are taking profits this year because of the announced tax increases next year. No one is hiring, no one is investing, and no one is lending. No one want to make a long term loan if interest rates are expected to climb, and when interest rates are near zero there is really only one direction to go. We face the toxic blend of dramatically increasing inflation and regulation. Businesses are frozen in a bunker mentality.
Democrat 'Suicide Bombers'
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/democrat_suicide_bombers.html
Excerpt: Both the Cap-and-Trade bill and a VAT imposition would raise taxes on everyone in the country. Allow me to say that again -- they would raise taxes on everyone in the country. Rich, poor and middle class, union members, entrepreneurs and welfare recipients, young and old, white, black, and Hispanic, gay and straight, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, atheists, Evangelicals, Muslims, and Buddhists, those here legally and illegally. No one would be able to escape paying these taxes. There are no obvious supporters who might benefit from governmental largess that might be funded by these taxes. We're in too much debt to generate any support for yet another huge government giveaway program. So these new taxes (or fees, as they might try to label them) would simply be punitive. Democrats would be punishing the entire country for not buying into their grand plans to transform America as we know it. These new taxes are not the type that can be withheld from a paycheck, or tacked discreetly on everyone's phone bill. They are the type that will be paid every day.
The Leftist 'Purification' Movement
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/the_leftist_purification_movem.html
Excerpt: Even more disturbing is the increasing coalition between progressivism and radical Islam. Steinberg's piece includes a quote from George Galloway, a progressive British parliamentarian, when asked if Muslims and progressives could unite in a common cause: (")Not only do I think it's possible but I think it is vitally necessary and I think it is happening already. It is possible because the progressive movement around the world and the Muslims have the same enemies... They have the same interest in opposing savage capitalist globalization which is intent upon homogenizing the entire world turning us basically into factory chickens which can be forced fed the American diet of everything from food to Coca-Cola to movies and TV culture... So on the very grave big issues of the day -- issues of war, occupation, justice, opposition to globalization -- the Muslims and the progressives are on the same side.(") To me, this sounds like a coalition between factory chickens and poultry butchers. But it exemplifies the unreality in the strategic thinking of progressives. They visualize a world of communities living in perfect harmony with nature and each other, with minimal industrial activity, no profit motive, and no greed. Everyone is tolerant of others' beliefs (unless they are capitalists or conservatives). How they intend to deal with the violent intolerance of Islam toward other religions and cultures is not considered.
Chávez Loses in Colombia
http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/chavez-loses-colombia-0
Excerpt: Mockus also committed a disastrous unforced error on April 26, when he told a Colombian radio interviewer, “I admire Chávez,” noting that the Venezuelan leader was democratically elected. This comment caused a media frenzy, and Mockus had to walk it back. “I used the word ‘admire’ inappropriately,” he told another radio station the next day. “I think nobody would have paid attention to this issue if I had just said that I respect the government of President Chávez, who was democratically elected, anyway.” But the damage had been done. Anti-Mockus signs reading “I admire Hugo Chávez” began appearing. There’s no question that the initial statement did major damage to his election hopes. On May 30, Mockus received only 21.5 percent of the vote, while Santos garnered 46.7 percent. In the runoff election on June 20, Santos routed Mockus by a margin of 69.1 percent to 27.5 percent. To be sure, Chávez was not the only reason that Santos triumphed. The outgoing president, Alvaro Uribe, whom Santos served under as defense chief from 2006 to 2009, is hugely popular for making Colombia a much safer and more prosperous country. Santos is a fierce advocate of Uribe’s “democratic security” policies, which have been tremendously successful, and which voters continue to support. Yet the campaign momentum didn’t swing in Santos's favor until Chávez intervened and Mockus made his ill-advised comment. By my count, this is the third Latin American presidential election in which the Venezuelan strongman has played a significant role in driving voters toward a conservative candidate.
The EPA has gone mad cow disease
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/24/epa-has-gone-mad/#comment-417126
Excerpt: Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a hard time seeing how spilled milk can be labeled the same kind of environmental hazard. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is classifying milk as oil because it contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil. The Hesperia farmer and others would be required to develop and implement spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. The rules are set to take effect in November, though that date might be pushed back. “That could get expensive quickly,” Konkel said. “We have a serious problem in the Gulf. Milk is a wholesome product that does not equate to spilling oil.” But last week environmentalists disagreed at a Senate committee hearing on a resolution from Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, calling for the EPA to rescind its ruling. “The federal Clean Water Act requirements were meant to protect the environment from petroleum-based oils, not milk,” he said. “I think it is an example of federal government gone amuck.” But Gayle Miller, legislative director of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said agricultural pollution probably is the nation’s most severe chronic problem when it comes to water pollution. (This is a perfect example of the hazards of allowing the bean-counters to define exactly what constitutes a bean. Since many (if not most) of the current controls on our lives are now via “regulation” rather than by “laws,” the citizens at large need to keep a much closer eye on the regulators. –Ron P.)
Taliban Commanders See Victory in the Sacking of U.S. General
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-25/taliban-mcchrystal-sacking-a-victory/
Excerpt: The Afghan Taliban has a saying: “Americans may own the watches. But we’ve got the time.” As President Obama sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal this week, replacing him with Gen. David Petraeus, Taliban commanders watched events unfold from afar, and then declared that this was yet another victory. The change of leadership, they said, gives them even more time in their fight against U.S. forces. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said that sending Gen. McChrystal home in the middle of the war, in such an inglorious way, was good news as it proved how troubled and divided the U.S. political and military leadership had become. (One of the great divides in all branches of uniformed service is the one between "parade (or barracks) soldiers" (think of Dwight Eisenhower) and "field soldiers" (think of George Patton). During peacetime, the field soldiers are likely to be found in the brig or stockade; during wartime, they are the indispensible ingredient that brings victory. At times, like these, when there is neither war nor peace, knowing exactly how to deal with field soldiers--especially senior ones--becomes problematic. Leaders are supposed to be able to put the square pegs into the square holes, after all. As much as you need the field soldiers' expertise to accomplish the mission, you must to insulate them from the upper leadership and press. The field soldier has both courage and convictions to go with his focus on accomplishing the mission. Where the parade soldier will properly exercise caution in speaking out, the field soldier may well see it as a duty to raise his voice. Yes, McChrystal was insubordinate in that he failed to keep these issues behind the doors of leadership (where he actually did have a duty to speak up privately). The greater sin, it seem to me, is the failure of the leadership that put a field soldier by temperament, training, and experience into a parade (political) soldier's position. Ron P.)
Reports Finds Negative Correlation Between Immigration And Education Levels
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/reports-finds-negative-correlation-between-immigration-and-education-levels-19830954/
Excerpt: A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has found that California has the least-educated labor force of any state in the United States, and this may be due to the high levels of immigration in recent decades. According to the study, 9 percent of California’s population was comprised of immigrants in 1970, but by 2008 it was 27 percent. Forty years ago, the state had the 7th most educated workforce of all U.S. states in terms of the share of workers who had completed high school, but by 2008 it ranked 50th. The researchers now estimate that one in six workers in the Golden State have not graduated high school. The report, titled A State Transformed: Immigration and the New California, concludes with the warning that without a comprehensive immigration reform and enforcement, other parts of the country may follow in California’s path.
Strip club employees say tougher regulations are bad for the economy
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/strip-club-employees-say-tougher-regulations-are-bad-for-the-economy
More government interference in the economy. Excerpt: Strip club owners and employees are urging Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to veto a bill the puts more regulations on their businesses. They say it is could force adult businesses to close which would be bad for the economy.
“You are going to put a lot of people out of work,” says one dancer who did not want to be identified. The bill would ban nudity and alcohol, prohibit partially nude employees from touching customers and force the clubs to close by midnight.
“I own my home. If the law passed I would lose my home. I have a daughter getting ready to go to college. I've worked here 15 years. I couldn't send my daughter to college,” the employee says.
Calif couple tried to sell baby at Walmart
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100625/ap_on_re_us/us_baby_for_sale
Attention Walmart Shoppers! Blue Light Special in the Parking lot! Excerpt: A California couple faces child endangerment charges after police say they tried to sell their 6-month-old baby for $25 outside a Walmart store.
When the Levee Breaks
http://www.mccookgazette.com/blogs/1461/entry/35643/
Link wasn’t working, so I’m taking the liberty of including the full article. Excerpt: Last Monday morning I was at the United States - Mexico border at Nogales Arizona. I was delivering right to the Mariposa Port of Entry, and following my directions, I turned my rig into the construction sight. The site was "guarded" by a pickup with the word SECURITY stenciled on the side of the vehicle. A distinguished looking Hispanic man in his forties approached me, "Documentos por favor." At first, I was a bit freaked out. I thought I had made a wrong turn and somehow had ended up in Mexico. I asked the guard several times, "Am I in the United States or Mexico?" Finally he understood what I was trying to say, "Si, United States". He pointed to a block wall and brown building about thirty yards away, "Mexico", he said. Since I stay on Central time no matter where I travel, I was about two hours early, so he gestured for me to park along the fence. I took this time to look around the construction site and observe the border crossing, close up. I watched as the US trucks entered into Mexico. All vehicles were searched by the Mexican Border Patrol. Drivers had to show papers, and have their cabs and trailers searched. I watched as Mexican trucks entered into the US. During the entire time I was at this site, about four hours, I did not see our Border Patrol search a single vehicle. Not one. Does that seem strange to you? I watched as several men from Mexico walked right through this port, and enter the construction site and begin working. One of the men unloading my truck spoke English, and I asked what they were building. "A new border station." Is it just me, or is it odd that we have true unemployment in this country of 14% to 20%, and yet Mexican nationals are walking across the border to work on our new border station? I-19 is the highway that leads from Tucson to Nogales. The first thing you notice is that this highway is marked in kilometers, not miles. Why? Who knows. Perhaps it will make it easier for Mexican citizens to use as the Obama Administration cedes parts of Arizona to Mexico. You will also notice that many many homeowners have had to resort to putting up tall chain link fences, some even have barbed wire atop the fences, to protect their homes! There are already hundred of square miles of Arizona that are deemed unsafe by local Law Enforcement, and signs are posted in various parts of Arizona stating this very thing. The Obama Administration says that they are investing more money and manpower to secure the border, but this is totally bogus. The money is being spent alright, but not to secure the border. Building this new border station is a perfect example. For the sake of an example, let's say that our town has a huge crime problem, so we elect a new Sheriff who promises to restore law and order. After his election, the new Sheriff announces that before he can begin to clean up the crime, he needs us to build him a new Sheriff's office. Also, the Border Patrol has several checkpoints, to check for illegals or drugs, but, hang on, these checkpoints are not on the border. They are 50 - 100 miles away from the border on US highways. I have been through many of these so called checkpoints, and the checkpoints are not about stopping the invasion of the United States by Mexico. On the contrary, all they do is photograph, record, and harass American citizens. You drive up to the officer, and the officer asks, "Are you an American Citizen?" Then the drug dog sniffs your vehicle, and you are on your way...if your lucky. I have seen them searching some elderly white couples RV, while bus load after bus load of Mexican citizens pass on by. Crazy. Again, to use our local example, if our local police knew that there was a meth lab in downtown McCook, wouldn't they be silly to set up checkpoint roadblocks 10 miles outside of town, stopping vehicles and asking, "Are you high?" Of course it would be silly. Go in and crush the meth lab. These Border Patrol agents need to be AT THE FREAKIN' BORDER, not Alamogordo, some seventy miles north of the border. Get down to the border. Arizona Senator John Kyl, shed some light on what is really happening. Obama told him that he will not secure the border because the Democrats want Immigration Reform. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is code for amnesty, and the Democrats are hoping to use amnesty as the single largest Democrat voter registration drive in history. The Tuscon sector, which includes this border station in Nogales, is where half of all the illegals, the invaders, come through. Senator Kyl says that with 2 billion dollars, they could secure the border. Two billion. That is how much Obama sent to George Soros as a payback for election skullduggery and market manipulation to help get Obama elected. Soros took our two billion, stolen from our grandkids, and is now in Brazil, using this money to help Brazil drill offshore, and rake in billions in profits. Meanwhile elderly American citizens are having their vehicles searched, they are being photographed and documented on American highways at these phony border inspection stations inside the US. It's nuts. The environmentalists, who control Obama like a puppet on a string, should be outraged at the environmental destruction caused by the invaders, look at the picture above. How would you like that outside your home? But they are not, instead the environmental wackos are upset when we put up a fence. You must remember that the modern day environmental movement has nothing to do with the environment, and everything to do with turning the United States into a third world Socialist nation, and controlling you. One of these so called Border Inspection Station in Texas is near the I-20 and I-10 junction. Look at a map. This station is at least a hundred miles from the border. Does that make sense to you? The fact is, the current administration has no desire to guard and secure our border. The administration works to make the problem worse, to force a radical political agenda, just like they are doing with the Gulf oil spill. Some Democrat Senators are pushing Obama to simply make an Executive Order granting amnesty to illegals. If Obama is crazy enough to try such a move, he will tear this country apart. But then again, that is Obama. He has come to divide, he has come to destroy. I wish it were not so. I wish we had a President that loved his country instead of Socialism and himself. God Help Us. I am a fan of the Mexican people. They are being used as pawns to enact a radical agenda, and they are suffering. Some businesses are using illegals as de facto slaves, it is not right. At a manufacturing plant south of Minneapolis, I noticed that almost all of the employees were Spanish speaking Hispanics. I asked the foreman about it. He told me that they could not find Americans willing to work. I replied that that was BS. He said "Why?" "Please don't treat me like a dummy," I said. "The truth is you cannot find Americans that will work for the wages these guys will work for." He smiled. "Exactly".
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