Year: 2009

The DC Examiner challenges President Obama:

“After a relentless expansion of big government for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the nation’s economy is finally buckling under the load. In his inauguration address, President Barack Obama blamed “greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” But Obama’s $825 billion stimulus plan contains few “hard choices”- just lots more government spending.
“The hardest choice off all is to scale back government at the local, state and federal levels and stop the seemingly inexorable growth of entitlement programs that are bankrupting the nation. But is the Obama administration up to this kind of real change?”

I hate to say it, but it’s just not going to happen.

Welcome to the new nationalized USA!

(Via the Libertarian Party Blog) (H/T IPR Blog)

Strange People

Some real weirdos out there….

Via Law.com:

Here’s where things get bizarre. Blalock drove to the Seventh District Police Station on Alabama Avenue S.E. in Washington, D.C., in May 2007. He pulled a handgun from the trunk and started firing, shooting in the air outside the station. Five shots. He shouted, according to court records, “The police should leave us alone and let us sell our weed!”
Blalock complied with demands to drop his gun—and he did not stop there. He dropped his pants, standing naked before officers wrapped him up in a towel. Police seized 23 bags of marijuana. Blalock told police he wanted to “throw weed” and shoot the gun to get recognition from a record label.

Uhhh…. I’m all for the debate of legalized marijuana. But not like this! 😮

(H/T Reason)

Quote of the Day

Like Rabin in 1994 and Ehud Barak in 2000, two of the most decorated soldiers in Israel’s history, Olmert had concluded, late in life, that it is either land for peace, with all its risks, or endless war for Israel.
Yet, after that interview, he launched the December blitz and invaded Gaza, killing and wounding 5,000 Palestinians, making of the Strip a zone of permanent hatred and making Hamas, whom he sought to dethrone and undeniably wounded, even stronger.
Enraged that Hamas was not destroyed or disarmed, Israelis are leaning toward the Likud Party of “Bibi” Netanyahu, who opposed the withdrawal from Gaza, opposes a withdrawal from the West Bank, will never share Jerusalem and calls Gaza “Hamastan.”
Should he win, a Bibi-Barack collision appears inevitable. Backing Bibi will be the Israeli lobby, the Evangelicals, the neocons and a Congress that could find only five members to oppose a resolution endorsing all the Israelis had done and were doing to the people of Gaza.
Where there is no solution there is no problem.

Finally – The history of the Internet

….and no, sorry, Al Gore was not involved.

From the “Awesomeness” Stack

Posted onJanuary 28, 2009January 28, 200916 Comments

Earlier today, I received a tweet from John Hawkings over at Right Wing News. Which pointed to a posting over on his Blog. John Hawkings also runs the Conservative Ads over on BlogAds; which you can get great ad prices over there, might want to check that out.

Anyhow, there was this e-mail that John was talking about, that I guess he saw over at DailyKos, that was attributed a Michael Crowley , however Mr. Crowley says he did not write it, but just the same, the posting is quite awesome.

Check it out:

Read More …

The Obligatory Sarah Palin PAC posting

Seems that ol’ Carabou Barbie has her own PAC now, so says New York Post and at The Fix. Oh Joy.

Chris Cillizza shells out the dope:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has started a federal political action committee — called Sarahpac — that will allow her to raise money for and donate cash to candidates for office over the coming years, a move that should be seen as a precursor to a run for president in 2012.
The PAC has a website and a post office box in Arlington, Virginia but has not yet formally filed its incorporation papers with the Federal Election Commission. According to an official with Sarahpac, papers were filed last night around 5 pm with the FEC and the PAC should be official by later today.
Sarahpac is “dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation,” according to a statement on the PAC’s website.

I suspect she’ll do better than McCain on her PAC, as people amongst the grass roots Republican Base. Much to the consternation of the Liberal left; where McCain was seen as a RINO and a sellout.

Some have asked me whether I think Palin really was a dolt or if she was painted by the far left and the MSM as much. Honestly, I believe it was a combination of both. Plus, she just wasn’t handled properly. Not to mention all of the other issues surrounding the 2008 campaign, and believe me, there are many.

(via Memeorandum)

Another example of why Neo-Conservatism failed in this election

Amazon.com: The Widows of Eastwick

Check out this interview of former McCain blogger and editor of the Weekly Standard Michael Goldfarb.

The Money Quote:

“It’s unbelievable the way the media has covered this and the way has been played — which is partly from the bullshit inside the campaign. When you have The New Yorker write a story about how Sarah Palin was selected… well, that was like Jane Goodall going in and writing about fucking apes mating in the jungle–they don’t know what’s going on. They’re writing from another planet. I like Sarah Palin, I think she was a very attractive candidate, but I think she made a lot of mistakes. But so did Biden.”

Jeffery Goldberg thinks that Goldfarb is crazy. I disagree, I do not see crazy there, I see something that was a hallmark of the Bush Administration, and that’s cocky arrogance. Which seems to be what McCain’s biggest downfall was. Goldfarb’s arrogance and his refusal to admit that Bush was wrong about his convictions is what totally turns me off.

Oh, and by the way, I know what I wrote here, okay? Goldfarb made a good point. That’s all I am saying. I didn’t say that I like the guy. You can be right and still be a feckless prick.

(via Memeorandum)

John Updike has died

Posted onJanuary 27, 2009

Sad news via the NYT:

John Updike, the kaleidoscopically gifted writer whose quartet of Rabbit Angstrom novels highlighted so vast and protean a body of fiction, verse, essays and criticism as to earn him comparisons with Henry James and Edmund Wilson among American men of letters, died today at a hospice outside Boston. He was 76 and lived in Beverly Farms, Mass.
The cause was cancer, according to a statement by Alfred A. Knopf, his publisher.

I usually feature this sort of stuff, because I consider myself a writer. Anytime that writer dies, that world becomes a darker place.

May he rest in peace.

His works:

Amazon.com: Due Considerations

Amazon.com: Terrorist

The Rest

Cartoon of the Day

Posted onJanuary 27, 2009

Paving the Way?

(via)

Not Good: Jewish Rabbi distributes hate leaflet

Yikes!

The Israeli army’s chief rabbinate gave soldiers preparing to enter the Gaza Strip a booklet implying that all Palestinians are their mortal enemies and advising them that cruelty is sometimes a “good attribute”.
The booklet, entitled Go Fight My Fight: A Daily Study Table for the Soldier and Commander in a Time of War, was published especially for Operation Cast Lead, the devastating three-week campaign launched with the stated aim of ending rocket fire against southern Israel. The publication draws on the teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, head of the Jewish fundamentalist Ateret Cohanim seminary in Jerusalem.
In one section, Rabbi Aviner compares Palestinians to the Philistines, a people depicted in the Bible as a war-like menace and existential threat to Israel.
In another, the army rabbinate appears to be encouraging soldiers to disregard the international laws of war aimed at protecting civilians, according to Breaking the Silence, the group of Israeli ex-soldiers who disclosed its existence. The booklet cites the renowned medieval Jewish sage Maimonides as saying that “one must not be enticed by the folly of the Gentiles who have mercy for the cruel”.
Breaking the Silence is calling for the firing of the chief military rabbi, Brigadier-General Avi Ronzki, over the booklet. The army had no comment on the matter yesterday.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the executive director of the Rabbis for Human Rights group, called the booklet “very worrisome”, adding “[this is] a minority position in Judaism that doesn’t understand the … necessity of distinguishing between combatants and civilians.”
via Army rabbi ‘gave out hate leaflet to troops’ – Middle East, World – The Independent.

Let me simply say this, extremism, on both sides of this conflict, is not a good thing. Hamas is a extremist Muslim group. Just as well, this Rabbi is promoting a extremist view of Judaism. This does nothing to solve this conflict. The scary part is that he is a Rabbi in the Israel Army. Not a good thing, at all.

(H/T Anti-War.com) (Via Lew Rockwell)

Is Bernard Madoff’s Wife an accessory to a crime?

Posted onJanuary 27, 2009

That is what is being reported.

Since the Bernard Madoff scandal broke in December, two overarching questions have been raised. What if anything did other family members know about the Ponzi scheme? And when did it begin—was he a legitimate investor who ran into trouble or was it all a ruse from the beginning? Now, key players I spoke to in the multipronged investigation into the Madoff scheme say they are beginning to piece together answers to those questions.
While she has not been charged with any wrongdoing, authorities now believe Ruth Madoff, Bernard’s wife of almost half a century, played a larger role than previously thought. Until now, the assumption has been—as Madoff himself told FBI agents—that his investment-advisory business was separate from other, legitimate Madoff businesses; it was housed on a different floor and operated, he has said, without knowledge of others in his family.
via Partners in Crime? – The Daily Beast.

I do believe before it is over with, that whole family is going to end up in jail.

I was afraid of this

Posted onJanuary 27, 2009January 27, 20091 Comment

Last night I blogged about this and warned the far right not to do it, but naturally, because I am such a small blog, no one listens.

Anyhow, Huffington Post has the complete transcript of President Obama’s interview with Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network. Head on over and read it, because it is a bit much to quote here. Of course, the reaction amongst the far-right blogs was quite predictable.

However, Michael Goldfarb over at the Neo-Conservative Weakly Standard (:P) makes a valid point:

Reacting to this quote here:

Q Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran.
Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful.
But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.

Mr. Goldfarb comments:

Wouldn’t a simple ‘no, a nuclear Iran is unacceptable to the United States and our allies’ have sufficed? Instead Obama says that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon is “unhelpful,” that it’s “not conducive to peace.” When Obama was in Israel, he said that “a nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” He added that he would “take no options off the table in dealing with this potential Iranian threat.” In the first debate of the general election, Obama reiterated that the United States “cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran.” But when Obama has the chance to speak directly to the Muslim world, he can only muster retread rhetoric from his inaugural address about clenched fists and open hands.
President Bush was incapable of engaging the Muslim world with his own words, but neither was it possible for the Muslim world to confuse his view of American interests in that region. President Obama has the potential to secure real progress through his skill as a communicator, but there’s always been a fear that some portion of his success in negotiating difficult issues was the result of a willingness, or perhaps a compulsion, to tell his audience whatever it is he thinks they want to hear.

I must say, he does have a valid point. One cannot use flowers and anvils at the same time. It tends to confuse people. Hats off to Goldfarb for bringing up this point.

Family Planning money…..under the bus!

Obama finally capitulates.

WASHINGTON – House Democrats are likely to jettison family planning funds for the low-income from an $825 billion economic stimulus bill, officials said late Monday, following a personal appeal from President Barack Obama at a time the administration is courting Republican critics of the legislation.
Several officials said a final decision was expected on Tuesday, coinciding with Obama’s scheduled visit to the Capitol for separate meetings with House and Senate Republicans.
The provision has emerged as a point of contention among Republicans, who criticize it as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy.
Under the provision, states no longer would be required to obtain federal permission to offer family planning services — including contraceptives — under Medicaid, the health program for the low-income.
via Officials: Family planning money may be dropped – Yahoo! News.

I must say, I cannot criticize Obama for this one. Because I feel abortion is murder, I am glad to see that Obama is telling Democrats in Congress to dump this. This is one that I will give him credit for. The Economy can be recovered without paying for abortions or handing out condoms. I find it quite shocking that the Democrats would use a economic situation like this, to further a murderous agenda.Which furthers my belief that the Democratic Party has become the communist party and an Anti-Christian, Anti-Life party.

(Via Memeorandum)

The G.O.P. grows a pair

It is about damned time.

President Barack Obama is coming to the Capitol this afternoon to curry favor with congressional Republicans. But it appears GOP leaders have already made up their minds to oppose his $825 billion stimulus plan.
House Republican Leader John A. Boehner and his No. 2, Whip Eric Cantor, told their rank-and-file members Tuesday morning during a closed-door meeting to oppose the bill when it comes to the floor Wednesday, according to an aide familiar with the discussion. Boehner told members that he’s voting against the stimulus, and Cantor told the assembled Republicans that there wasn’t any reason for them to support the measure, according to another person in the room. Cantor and his whip team are going to urge GOP members to oppose it.
via Boehner to GOP: Vote against stimulus – Patrick O’Connor and Jonathan Martin – Politico.com.

It is absolutely amazing that now, after the fact; that the G.O.P. bungled the most important election, that now the G.O.P. is going to grow a pair of stones. Gee, where was that bravery and fortitude during the election?

Of course, when you run a pseudo-Conservative and a self-proclaimed “War Hero”; What do you expect?

(via Memeorandum)

Yes, I know what your thinking…

Posted onJanuary 27, 2009January 28, 2009

“He changed the damned look again!?!?!”

Well, hey it is my blog after all. 😛

The old theme or template was nice, but there were a couple of thingamabobs that didn’t work with this version of wordpress; which will work with this one.

Plus, this one is much wider, more real estate to the edges of the screen, it looks better on my laptop. 😀

Plus the old one was too, uhm, Red? I’m a Conservative-minded person, but the color is associated with Republicans and Republicanism (is that even a word??) I’m a bit more independent than that.

Anyhow, this theme has a crap-load of stuff that can be configured, I mean who ever did this theme went whole hog. (So to speak…)

Anyhow, hope you like my new look. 😀

Is President Obama trying to play the far right?

Posted onJanuary 27, 20099 Comments

It is to wonder….

As special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell heads off to the region to begin work on negotiating a cease fire between Israel and the Palestinians, President Obama has sat for his first formal TV interview with the Arabic cable TV network Al-Arabiya, ABC News has learned.
The interview was taped this evening and is set to air at 11 pm ET, as Mitchell is in the air and on his way to the region.
Based in Dubai, Al-Arabiya estimates that it has a potential audience exceeding 23 million in the Gulf region.
via Political Punch: President Obama Does First Formal TV Interview as President with Al-Arabiya.

I have a theory about this and looking around at the Blogosphere, I can see that my theory might be correct.

I will simply say this, I have a theory that President Obama might be just trying to play the far right and the main stream conservative media for a fiddle. Because if you click the links that I just pointed to, you will see where the far right is basically flipping their collective cork over Obama going to Al-Arabiya for his first interview.

The reason why I say this is because it seems like just about every other day, President Obama says or does something that causes the far “rabid” right, as they are so called by the Liberal left; to basically go totally insane. Which makes the far right do a collective group jump up and down session, while frothing at the mouth and screaming, “He’s a terrorist! He is an Al-Qaeda Plant! He is going to destroy us all!” For perfect examples of this, click here and here. (The second link being more rabid than the first, if I do say so myself.)

To be clear, I do believe that Conservatives should be the loyal opposition and likewise criticize him for anything he does that goes against what true Conservative principles. But have a collective conniption fit over something as benign as this does nothing to further the cause of Conservatism.

Others: The Moderate Voice, Eunomia, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, AmSpecBlog and Riehl World View

(via Memeorandum)

Liberal Democrat John Conyers starts Liberal Witch-Hunt against Bush Administration

This ought to be very interesting.

via Politico.com:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has subpoenaed Karl Rove, the former top political advisor to President George W. Bush, to question what Rove knows about “politicization” of the Justice Department.
The Senate Judiciary Committee had subpoenaed Rove during the last Congress, but relying on an executive privilege claim by Bush, Rove refused to appear.
Conyers had previously subpoenaed former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, Bush former White House chief of staff, seeking any information they had. Conyers is also seeking White House documents related to the firing of nine U.S. attorneys.
After the White House refused to comply with the subpoenas, and Miers refused to even appear before the committee to answer the subpoena, the House Judiciary Committee sued. A federal judge backed the committee in a major win for Conyers and House Democrats, but resolution of the case has been delayed by the changeover in administrations. President Obama has vowed to comply with congressional subpoenas.
“I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today’s action is an important step along the way,” Conyers said.
Rove has until Feb. 2 to respond to the subpoena.

To me, this looks like a partisan witch-hunt. Because no proof that Karl Rove or anyone else at the White House knew about it. Just Liberal accusations.

Update: This is not to say there was no bad conduct at the Justice Department, Monica Goodling basically admitted that she made some very unethical decisions. But to attempt to tie it to Karl Rove and to George W. Bush by Proxy; is basically a stretch. I mean, because there is no proof of it, at all. All there is, are E-mails that have been parsed to extract Liberal talking points. I mean, do the Liberals really believe that Karl Rove, of all people, is going to sing like a bird? I mean, the man’s a Bush Loyalist. He is just not going to give the Democrats what they want.

The problem is, Obama is not going to enforce this at all:

Obama and Eric Holder, the administration’s nominee for attorney general, have both said they will not try to “criminalize policy differences” with the Bush administration, especially controversial policies like authorization by the Justice Department of waterboarding.

So, it looks like Mr. Conyers is going a have a bit of trouble of getting the support of the White House on this. However, there’s this:

But many prominent Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have said they want to pursue Bush administration officials whom they believe misled Congress.

There two ways one can look at this. It could be that Conyers will be on his own, because Pelosi won’t support it. However, on the other hand; Pelosi, Leahy and possibly other, like Wexler, might get behind this and pursue it and not have the support the White House; thereby creating a rift between Congress and the White House.

Either way, it will be an interesting story to follow, as you know, as well as I, that this will spark an outrage among the far right, especially amongst the Neo-Conservative media. Somehow, I just do not think that the Democrats in Congress want to risk a fierce blowback in the media from the Conservatives. Because any way you attempt to paint this, it will be viewed by some, as a partsian witch hunt. I just do not believe that the Democrats have the stomach for a backlash that would follow something of this nature.

More Progressives on TV?!?!

I know what you’re thinking and I thought the same thing.

Open Left seems to think that we need more Progressive Voices in the Mainstream Media.

Seriously?

Let’s see here:

CNN = Liberal/Hillary Supporter, then Obama
MSNBC = Liberal as hell/In the tank for Obama as hell
ABC = Liberal
CBS = Liberal
PBS = Liberal
NPR = Liberal
FOX NEWS = Conservative

Now, someone tell me what is wrong with this picture?

From the “WTF?!?!?!?!” Stack

I cannot believe I am posting this.

(Via Glenn, which makes me wonder, WTF has Glenn been smoking!?!?!)

Liberals whine about Fox News asking Jackass Murtha’s constituents “Would want these people in your backyard”

This pretty sad, and a bit stupid.

Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) said last week that the U.S. could hold the detainees in federal prisons, just like we hold thousands of other dangerous inmates. This morning, Fox and Friends responded by sending a reporter to Murtha’s district to flash photos of suspected terrorists — their only identification being Muslim headgear — and ask residents, “Would you want a guy like this living in your backyard?”
via Think Progress » Fox Shows Photos Of Muslim Men: ‘Would You Want A Guy Like This Living In Your Backyard?’.

Of course, my fellow Conservatives have a better idea.

Fox News Reports:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday shrugged off Republican suggestions that the federal government reopen Alcatraz prison in her San Francisco district to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
President Obama this week signed an executive order calling for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo within the year. Republican Rep. Bill Young then suggested to White House counsel Greg Craig that the prisoners who could not be released back to their home countries or sent to a third country be put up in “the Rock,” the famous military installation and prison that closed down in 1963 and is now part of the National Park Service.
Asked whether that was a serious proposal, Pelosi said, “It is — no.”

Hey, here’s a better idea, how about putting them all on a nice barge, in a cage; where they cannot escape. Tow the barge out to say the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific ocean , far enough away from land, where nobody will get hurt from the radiation and nuke the damned thing. Will save taxpayers money. I know, I really do not want my tax dollars being used to house, feed, and cloth a bunch of cold-blooded murders.

Of course, this will never happen, seeing that the Moonbat Liberals are terrorist appeasers and all.

Kristol gets the boot from the New York Times