Category: Government

Video: What the Neo-Conservatives created in Iraq

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First some very disturbing video from Fox News:

Now the story via Fox News Channel:

On April 8th, the same day Defense Secretary Robert Gates was visiting leaders in Baghdad, a 2,500-man Iraqi Army unit raided a compound occupied by Iranian dissidents in Iraq, killing 34 people and injuring 325 others. Eight of those killed were women, according to the United Nations.

The attack occurred just hours after members of the same group in Washington revealed what they said was a previously undisclosed Iranian centrifuge production facility near Tehran — part of Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program.

Camp Ashraf has long served as a sanctuary for members of the anti-Iranian government group known as the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (MEK) — a place the U.S. military vowed to protect shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

But with only 47,000 U.S. troops still in the country, and a new Shiite-led government in Iraq looking to bolster relations with Iran, the camp is threatened.

A 12-minute video released by the MEK documents the nighttime attack, beginning with images of Iraqi soldiers driving through crowds of civilians and running men over with trucks and armored Humvees. It shows soldiers firing on and killing groups of unarmed men and women. Gaping wounds suffered by survivors are displayed in detail along with images of the dead laid side by side and covered to the neck by white sheets.

The Iraqi general who led the raid claims the shootings came in response to residents pelting his troops with rocks and throwing themselves in front of his military vehicles.

MEK say those same soldiers are still preventing the wounded from getting proper medical treatment.

MEK was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. after it carried out an assassination campaign targeting American military leaders in Tehran in the 70’s, as well as later attacking Iranian government targets. Since then the group has become better known for revealing secret production facilities related to the Iranian nuclear program, as it did with uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in 2002.

Sen. John Kerry, head of the Foreign Relations Committee, wants the Iraqis to conduct a full investigation and the called the raid “deeply disturbing” and “simply unacceptable.”

Gates commented on the incident while he was in Iraq, saying he was “concerned” with the reports of deaths and injuries.

And State Department spokesman Mark Toner later condemned the attack, but called it a “sovereign” matter for the Iraqis. By law, the U.S. security agreement with Iraq prohibits the U.S. military from intervening.

A number of former U.S. government officials spoke out about the raid during a conference at the Mayflower hotel in Washington Thursday, many of them calling on the State Department to remove the MEK from its list of terrorist groups.

Michael Mukasey, an attorney general under George W. Bush, called the Iraqi’s guarantee in 2003 to protect the group, “worthless.” He said that unless the U.S. removes the MEK from its terror list the killings will continue.

“What has enabled the Iraqi government — acting in the behest of the Iranian regime — and what enables the Iranian regime itself is this continued designation,”

Mukasey said.

Gen. Wesley Clark, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, linked the incident at Camp Ashraf to current Arab uprisings in the region.

“How can we hope to help those inside Iran who are seeking a more open and liberated government if we can’t help those in Camp Ashraf who are simply asking for protection and an opportunity to live their lives in peace,?” he asked.

Critics say Iran is seizing on distractions in Libya by backing a Shia uprising in Bahrain and helping Syrian President Bashar Assad crack down on government protesters.

Alireza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the MEK and the National Council of Resistance Iran, says the Iranians encouraged the Iraqis to attack Camp Ashraf.

“This is a pure crime committed intentionally by the Iraqi government against the Iranian dissidents to do the bidding for Tehran,” Jafarzadeh said.

The last portion of the video provided by MEK shows a 29 year-old Iranian woman, named Isiyeh Rakhshani, delivering a video message to Congress in 2010. Flash to April 8th where she’s shooting cell phone video of the attack on Ashraf. In the final frame Rakhshani’s mother is seen mourning over her dead body.

I really hated to quote that all; but friends, I wanted you all to see it for yourselves; just what Bush and the Neo-Conservative warmongers in the G.O.P. created. My friends, if that does not sicken you to your core, you do not have a damned soul. In 2003, after the euphoria and outrage over 9/11, the United States of America went into a sovereign nation and invaded it; based on the lies of a man, who they call “Curveball.”

America then proceeded to take a Nation, who’s army had, at best, soviet-era tanks and equipment; and proceeded to give them our very best equipment; and now, they are using it on their own damned people. Anyone who believes that Iraq is a free nation; is either lying to themselves or worse. The United States of America basically ousted one dictator and installed a new one in Iraq. Even now the most pro-war Conservative admits that.

It was indeed “Mission Accomplished.” But this mission that we accomplished, was not what Bush and his Neo-Conservative friends had in mind. Now, there are people in Iraq this day, who have lost family; all because a group of Jacobin Democrats decided to invade a Country and further their warped foriegn policy fantasies.

For every action, there is a reaction. For every action taken by the United States Government and its military there is “blowback.” It is an CIA term, and it is very real. Welcome to the middle east 2011; brought you by internationalist Democrats and Neo-Conservatives. We have no one to blame, but ourselves.

Democrats have no love for Obama, Part Two

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Continuing with this theme…

Coming from The Nation:

President Obama cut a budget deal with congressional Republican leaders that outlined draconian cuts to needed programs while doing little if anything to address a supposed fiscal crisis. As such, it was a classic austerity agreement that served the special interests that dominate the upper ranks of both parties while ill-serving the great mass of Americans.

Congress has approved the deal that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders says “moves America in exactly the wrong direction. It cuts programs for struggling working families, the elderly, children and the poor while preserving tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.” But Sanders and a majority of House Democrats opposed it.

That represents a significant break with Obama and his attempt to get congressional Democrats to buy into the austerity agenda — and the false premise that America has the resources for wars and bank bailouts but not for health care, education and meaningful investments in community renewal and job creation.

The House vote was especially telling.

Poor man can’t do nothing right. Continuing:

Sanders captured the sentiment of progressives in Congress and across the country when he said, “There is no question that we must reduce soaring deficits, but it must be done in a way that is fair, which protects the most vulnerable people in our country, and which requires shared sacrifice.”

Roughly translated: “But it must be done in a way that is fair, that protects my special interests; like those old fools who voted me into office.” It must be kept in mind, that Sanders is a socialist. I mean, this guy left the Democratic Party, because it was not liberal enough. 

However, I will say this; like I told Karl Rove on twitter, all of this talk about cuts; without making any Military Cuts and ending the wars, especially Iraq and also end the war and more importantly, end the nation building in Afghanistan — is nothing more than a well-planned ruse on the American people. Heck, even Lew Rockwell agrees that making cuts on the back of the poor is just damned immoral. I have to agree, my parents are in their sixties; why should they have to suffer, because a bunch of idiots want to defend an empire?

Further more, why should my parents suffer, because a group of beltway thugs, of both parties, got drunk on spending? It makes no sense to me at all. End these wars, The Afghanistan War has outlived it’s mission, we’re simply nation building there, to make Bush happy. Iraq is done, let’s get the heck out of there! Libya is another mess. We should have never gotten involved with that, at all.  

So, as I said, when Democrats and Republicans both want to get real on spending, then I will commend them and vote for a Republican President; until then, it is just all Hot Air.

 

Democrats on the Hill have zero love for President Obama

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First there is this from The Hill:

President Obama needs to start acting like a Democrat by not caving for a second time and allowing the George W. Bush-era tax rates on the wealthy to expire, according to a founding member of the House Progressive Caucus.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said on MSNBC Monday night that he and other liberal Democrats are hoping to apply enough pressure on Obama to make him “act like a Democrat.”

He also said the last Democratic-controlled Congress made a mistake in not pushing Obama more.

“Well, in my opinion that’s what the House did wrong in the last Congress, and in part why we lost is we never pushed back no matter how wrong he was or how off-base he was; we never pushed back,” DeFazio said.

Obama caved in December by breaking a campaign promise to let the Bush-era tax rates on the wealthy expire, DeFazio said.

“Remember, the president did run on that, and he did cave on it in December,” DeFazio said.

As a result, if Obama calls for an end to the Bush tax rates on the wealthy in a Wednesday speech on the deficit, DeFazio said it would be a small step.

To really bring down the deficit, “it’s got to be more — honestly — than just the top-bracket tax cuts,” DeFazio said.

The 13-term Democrat said all of the Bush tax rates should be allowed to expire, including those on the middle class. He said this would mean a significant tax hike for wealthier people and a more moderate tax increase for the middle class that would return the nation to Clinton-era tax rates, when he said the government balanced the budget.

Obama supports ending Bush tax rates on families with income above $250,000, but would extend the lower tax rates on people under that threshold. The White House has said Obama will lay out new plans for tackling the deficit in a Wednesday speech.

Funny how Democrats acts like spoiled rotten children, when they are not holding the ball anymore.

Then there is this via New York Daily News:

New York’s congressional delegation trashed President Obama’s budget compromise Monday, calling it “irresponsible,” “dangerous” and “immoral.”

“What [Obama has] done politically does not fit what I think should be done morally,” said Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem), who signaled plans to vote against the budget this week. “My community got a lousy deal in view of the resources that this great nation has.”

Obama reached an 11th-hour compromise late Friday that narrowly averted a government shutdown by slashing $38.5 billion in federal spending over the next six months.

It’s not clear how much of that cut will affect New York – but local pols say the city will suffer more than most.

“The budget…will hurt New York City terribly,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan). “Many of the things hurt like mass transit and public housing funds are particularly New York oriented.”

The MTA is likely to get slammed, which could mean even more fare hikes or service cuts, Nadler warned.

Money also getting slashed: Economic development, help feeding the poor, elderly in nursing homes, child care and Pell grants for college students.

The cuts “would be an outright disaster for our communities,” Nadler said.

The whacks come as the city struggles to absorb the impact of state budget cuts – and as congressional Dems brace for even deeper cuts as talks start this week on the 2012 federal budget.

Hey Charlie, I got one thing to say bud…..:

Cue the Music!

Cry me a freakin’ river dude. 🙄

It is so funny how when Democrats hold the majority; they are civilized people. But the minute they lose the majority, due to overreach; they turn into spoiled rotten children. The hard truth is this; the President’s policies have failed this asinine idea of “tax and spend” utterly failed and the economy is still stalled and now President Obama has lost the “great majority” that he once had and now he has to play by the Republicans rules and also has to do something “Grown Up” to salvage our economy and get the United States out of debt. Now that this is happening, cookie jar robbers like Rangel are acting like the President is a crook or something. It is all quite humorous to watch.

Cross-posted Here

On the budget deal and the liberal left’s reaction

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So about this so-called budget deal, which many a blogger on the right has reminded us, is not a real deal at all. Conservatives are not too keen on it; but the liberals —- my God! — they are in sackcloth and ashes!

Consider some of the reactions…..

Melissa McEwan over at shakesville is not a happy camper:

We’ve sure come a long way (no we haven’t) from Barack the Feminist (LULZ). I guess he’s just one of those “pragmatic feminists” who understands that sometimes women’s reproductive rights need to get thrown under the bus in order to make way for Important Democratic Politics, like empowering the most rightwing elements in the Republican Party.

To understand how thoroughly the Dems caved to the GOP on this deal, it was struck with “historic” cuts about which that nincompoop Reid is actually bragging, as if misogyny, Social Darwinism, and allowing infrastructure to fester until people die on collapsing bridges are radically brave progressive ideas.

Obama’s a fucking disaster. We needed FDR; instead we got FML.

Richard (RJ) Eskow at HuffPo says a whole bunch, a snippet:

Say what you will about Rep. Ryan’s budget proposal, it’s a vision. By proposing to dismantle Medicare for people retiring in 2021 and afterwards, he’s laid out a radical alternative to today’s policies. By slashing taxes for the wealthy and proposing deregulation for all industries, the Ryan plan envisions a future America: one where the environment is despoiled, the poor go unfed, and the middle class faces a lifetime of financial insecurity following by an old age of sickness and penury.

It may not be a good vision, but it’s a vision.

Where’s the progressive vision for 2021? Where’s the dream people can seize upon and make their own? Where’s the ideal that can energize activists? Where’s the extreme position from which the Democrats can be “bargained down” so that they, too, can only get 20% more than they asked for when the negotiations began? If they’re not going to do it, we have to do it for them.

Here’s a start: First increase Social Security retirement benefits by 15%, across the board, by lifting the payroll tax cap and imposing a financial transactions tax. Second, increase income taxes on a sliding scale that goes up to 60% for the highest earners in the country. (It’s been as high as 90% during periods of our greatest prosperity.) Third, add $500 billion to our stimulus spending over the next two years, and keep adding it until unemployment is down to 4%. Fourth, immediately add a public option, “Medicare For All” plan that’s voluntarily available to Americans of all age brackets.

Have fun. Add your own visions. Dream. Then demand your dream. It’s working for the Tea Party, and it can work for you.

One thing’s for sure: The old definition of insanity, “doing the same thing and expecting different results,” still holds. Whatever the progressive movement’s doing right now, it’s not working as well as it should. It’s frustrating, but it’s no reason to give up. Like a guy with a guitar said a century ago: Don’t mourn, organize.

Benintn over at DailyKos, is surprisingly reasonable:

There’s understandable frustration about President Obama’s deal with the devil Speaker Boehner and House Republicans to pass the 2011 budget and fund government for the rest of this fiscal year.  After all, with a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate, why couldn’t Democrats protect the budget from these job-killing, growth-slowing, economy-damaging budget cuts?

But as President Obama said to the Republicans in 2009: “I won.”  And now, in 2011, the tables are turned.  Republicans eager to show off their newly discovered fiscal sobriety are trying to roll back not only the stimulative impact of the Recovery Act, but also the legislative and political progress of the last two years.

In 2008, we won.  In 2010, we lost.  (Badly.)  This is what happens when you lose elections.

[…]

But if Progressives are really interested in redrawing the map in 2012, the way to do it is outside of electoral politics.  Let’s face it: redistricting in 2012 will reduce the number of safe progressive districts in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Arizona.  And with 23 seats to defend in the US Senate, we’ll have to play defense more than offense in 2012.  And if elected officials are forced by Citizens United to run to the middle, then the real solution is something that will happen outside of the push-pull of Republican v. Democrat.  The real issue comes down to a massive voter education campaign that will take place in coffee shops, libraries, churches, schools, and neighborhoods all over the country.

So, you can blame Obama, blame me, shake your fist, write a blog, or…

What if we started doing what we do best on Daily Kos?  What if we got back to the kind of high-quality opposition research, candidate profiles, policy papers, and community-building diaries that make this community the most interesting online political forum out there?  What if we let go of the need to change Obama and got refocused on effective netroots organizing strategies?  What if we acknowledged the harsh reality that we got our asses handed to us in 2010, and took that lesson as an opportunity to stop doing things that don’t work?

Or we could just have more pie fights.

It’s up to you.

Cenk Uygur at DailyKos:

These budget negotiations were a giant win for the Republican Party. President Obama initially cut $40 billion from his own budget proposal — and he got absolutely no credit for that. It was a very typical preemptive concession by the president. It was so typical, you wonder if he recognizes what an indisputably terrible strategy it is or if he has a different agenda.

So, after getting no credit for his original $40 billion concession, then the negotiations began at square one. The Republicans claimed in February that they wanted $32 billion in cuts from that point on. About a week ago, the president came out an announced that they had given the Republicans another $33 billion in cuts — a billion more than they originally asked for. And still the Republicans wanted more.

Why not? They’re dealing with the world’s worst negotiator, why not ask for more? After February they came up with a brilliant good cop-bad cop strategy with the Tea Party, where they had the Tea Party force them to go to $61 billion in demands. Which pushed the spectrum out further to the right. They know President Obama will go to the middle of any spectrum, no matter how radical. And then once they had baited Obama out to the $33 billion number, which was past their original goal, they baited him out even further. Finally, they got him to $38.5 billion in cuts an hour before the deadline.

[…]

I didn’t write this to rub it in the face of the feckless Democrats who always wind up playing the role of the Washington Generals to the Republican Globetrotters (remember the Democrats have the White House and the Senate — but they let the GOP run the place like they are totally in charge). I wrote it to tell you how incredibly important it is that you put real pressure on the president from the left. He will move to the middle of any spectrum!

If you don’t help push the spectrum to the left, the Republicans will move it massively to the right — and the president will fall for it.

The whole point of the insane, draconian, ridiculous Paul Ryan budget proposal for next year was to move the spectrum all the way to the radical right, so that they can lure Democrats to a false middle, that is in reality the far right.

It’s time to stop playing nice with Democrats. Good cop-good cop doesn’t work. We need a bad cop. We need a strong progressive wing to keep shouting “no deal!” every time the White House wants to concede (which will be every time).

You can ignore this, blame me and go hug the president one more time, but you won’t be doing your side any favors. If you actually care about policy and progressive priorities, you must get tough with the president right now. There is no next time.

Which did not go over too well with joelgp over at DailyKos at all:

Cenk, I’m just about sick of you bashing the president with your unrealistic, bombastic crap.  You my friend, have become Sean Hannity by day and Bill O’reilly by night.  You don’t want or need a president, you need a servant who will do exactly what’s in your head.

After all, Obama is the president of 300 million, not just you.

I rejected your stuff way before today after I watched the most despicable segment you ever produce on Obama in some time.  You know what, the Republicans loved you for it.

[..]

Do you simply ignore the fact that conservatives and independents make up nearly 60% of the electorate and Obama should completely reject them?

Of course I’m not happy with everything Obama does but I feel the same way about my wife and kids.

I support him because there has never been another man in U.S. history who inherited a great depression, two wars, a jacked-up banking system, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, a totally transforming Middle East and a bunch of freakin’ tea party nuts who believe he’s from Mars.

What Obama need’s most is our help–our voices, our support.  The last thing he needs is another cable-news loud-mouth whose eating ice cream and candy on his fat Comcast salary while the president is battling for middle America.

Cenk, today you need to decide, either join us in helping the president or apply for the chalkboard vacancy on Fox at five.

I thought you should know.

Finally, there is this here, by DailyKos Diarist teacherken:

Here I am doing my civic duty, working on my taxes.  I am paying my fair share.

My wife and I gave you money when you ran for President.  We supported you.

But now?   Blow, after blow, after blow.

The ‘deal’ about which you bragged is perhaps the final straw for this camel, whose back is breaking at the same time as his heart is shattered.

Dear readers, I apologize for what I am now writing.  It will not be coherent, because I am responding to the policy and actions of an administration that are not coherent.

It is an expression of …  what?  Disappointment to be sure, anger, almost despair.

Mr. President, with what you have just done, on top of all else your administration has done – and failed to do – you have destroyed the hopes of millions, and shifted power and wealth in the direction of those who are fueled by hatred and anger.

And you expect us to continue to support you?

Perhaps you had better ignore this.  Because you will not be happy with what I have to offer.

[…]

This is a screed, I admit.  I am sitting here just letting it hang out.

I claim no wisdom.  I claim no original insight.  None of my arguments are original.

That is something that should concern you.  I am borrowing from what I hear and 4ead from others.  That includes members of your own party who hold federal elective office.  It includes party officials in states and local organizations.  It includes key voices in the progressive wing of the Democratic party.  You know, those nasty types who remember that it was unions and progressives who have helped create the social safety net that built the American middle class, the social safety net the that Republicans are now dismantling a piece at a time, as they simultaneously impose a vision of this nation that should horrify you.

So go ahead Mr. President.  Ignore me.  Ignore all the voices that have been trying to explain to you, trying to help you help this country.

You might as well.

It seems as if you have been ignoring us all along.

But just one question, Mr. President.   One that perhaps you need to consider.

What happens if we decide we have had enough?  What if we return the favor?

What if we decide we will ignore you?

Sorry, that was a good deal of quoting; but I wanted to give you a feel for what is happening within liberal progressive Democrat circles. The truth is folks, that progressives put way too much stock in Barack Obama. They projected themselves on him; their dreams, their hopes and yes, even their wishes for progressive policy change in Washington D.C. and ultimately, President Barack Obama gave them some good old-fashioned lip service and laughed all the way to the White House. Now, this is not anything new to politics; President Ronald Reagan did the same very thing to the Religious Christian Conservative right back in the 1981 election. He had them believing that he was going to outlaw Abortion and put prayer back in schools; none of which he did at all. Instead he ran up deficits, shipped arms to Iran, and basically played much of the Republican Party and the far right for a fool. 

So, while all of this sadness and naval grazing might be humorous to watch; it is a little silly. Did the liberals actually expect Obama to cater to their every whim?

Now, as for the Republicans, I think all of this belly aching is a bit silly; we all wanted cuts. We should be glad we got anything at all. Sure, we all want more. But anything is better than nothing.

 

 

Quotes of the Day

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Bastard. Graham is the sort of scum you get when you blindly vote for Republicans just because there is an R after their name.

Reid, who hates America and her liberties, him I expect to act this way. But Graham likes to call himself a “conservative,” and then, out of that same mouth, say that America might need to “limit” the First Amendment to appease Muslim barbarian savages.

He’s even worse than Reid, because ignoramuses think that Graham actually loves his country and our freedoms, even though his words and actions demonstrate exactly the opposite.

Yet there is a certain segment of “conservatives” who would expect me to vote for Graham no matter what, because he isn’t a Democrat.

I spit on that notion. I will never, ever vote for a candidate who espouses this sort of America-hating, anti-liberty, constitution-loathing crap, no matter what nominal party tag is dangling around his neck.


Video: Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on Liberals and Libya

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Via Jack Hunter on Facebook:

Charles Johnson is right and here is why

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First, go read — I will wait.

Are you finished?  Good.

What is my point?  This:

This right here above, is why I have my comments section on lock down.  Not only do I require people to register, but I also moderate all comments — meaning, I personally read every comment; because of stuff like this right here.  Uncontrolled discussion on blogs leads to things being said, like what Charles Johnson quoted.

However, I do wholeheartedly reject the accusation or at least the inferring that all Conservative blogs have become a swamp of hate against Muslims and or Arabs.  Furthermore, I reject the inferring that all Conservatives/Classic Liberals/Republicans and Christians hate all Muslims and Arabs.  That is collectivism, and it is crap; and I think Johnson is smart enough to know this, I think he is backhanding the blogs mentioned due to his dispute with the persons mentioned.

Having said of that, I do truly believe that there is a minority of persons in the Republican/Conservative/Classic Liberal crowd — who are frankly, bigoted towards Muslims and ultimately Arabs.  Unlike some of the empty-headed idiots on the left, I am not going to make the asinine inferring that they are this way by design.  What I will do is tell you the truth; what has caused this small but very vocal minority to become this way, is because of the attacks on American soil on September 11, 2001.

President George W. Bush, much to his credit did make the much vital distinction between the war on Terrorism and the war on Islam or Muslims or even Arabs.  Not everyone within the conservative circles agreed with him and still does not agree with that mindset to this day; and now that President George W. Bush is out of the picture that vocal minority is becoming louder and much more accepted.  I do not like myself; because it just makes the rest of us look bad.

This of course, is what the C.I.A. calls “Blowback.”  It is the unintended consequences of actions taken by the United States Government.  Most people think of “Blowback” as the angering of the Arab people to cause them to take up arms and commit terrorism against the United States of America – and in fact, it is just that.  However, that is just the one side of “Blowback.”  The other, more tragic and sinister side of “blowback” is the incitement of racial hatred towards Arabs and the religious hatred towards Muslims in General — including those here in the United States of America.

This reason, along with the laundry list of reasons; is why people like myself, Jack Hunter, Ron Paul, Rand Paul and an ever-growing list of Conservatives and Republicans are beginning to question the role of the United States Government involvement on foreign entanglements in foreign lands.

Of course, anyone with a good knowledge of the history of the United States of America and of American politics can tell you, that this is nothing new at all.  In the 1940’s President Franklin Roosevelt, badly wanting to enter into the conflict against the Empire of Japan and against Germany, ordered a blockade of oil from South America that was headed to Japan.  This act by the President plunged Japan into desperation caused Japan to fly across the Atlantic and attack America’s interests in the Republic of Hawaii.  At the time however, Americans were not made aware of the fact that President Roosevelt had done this, as it was kept quiet by the Government.  However, there were people who did know about it.  Winston Churchill was one of those people, and in fact, Churchill warned FDR that doing such things would cause some sort of backlash from the Japanese and, as history shows, he was correct.  The sick and sad part is; to this very day, there are people who still believe that the Empire of Japan attacked the United States for no reason at all.

How this ties into the modern-day events is this; back in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Government set up internment camps throughout the United States for the Japanese people.  It is very widely believed that the decision to do this, by the United States Government was brought on by or at the very least fueled Anti-Japanese sentiment in this Country for years, even after the war.  Sadly, there are Conservatives, of whom I will not name; that actually advocated the interment of Muslims and Arab Americans — after the attacks on 9/11.  Thankfully, the Bush Administration did not listen to the foolish ranting of the people who wrote those books.

My point is the following: Conservatives who believe that foreign policy interventionism is wrong, need to take a stand against the internationalist Democrats and the Neo-Conservative foreign policy interventionists and take control of the Republican Party and possibly the Democratic Party away from these warmongers.  Because as long as the United States continues to wage war against Nations that have never really attacked it, this sort of hatred and bigotry will continue.  It is simply the doctrine of “Cause and Effect.”  Nothing ever happens for any reason at all.  It is tragically sad, that the United States and its political parties and their legions of sheep followers, have not figured that simple kernel of truth out.

You say, “What about protecting the Republic?”  I do not have a problem with that.  However, there is a Grand Canyon difference in protecting the Republic and protecting the empire of America; and wise is the person who knows the difference between the two.  Declaring unconstitutional wars and military actions against Nations who have not attacked us; is not defending or protecting the Republic; but rather defending the empire of America and playing useful idiot to foreign lands.  I hope that someday, the grassroots of both of these parties will wrestle control away from these people.  However, if one is to base his hopes on the Republican Party — their recent actions — make that hope, nothing more than a pipe-dream.

 

Video:Guest Voice Jack Hunter on Stereotyping the Old South, Plus Tea-O-Cons

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More Great Commentary from Jack Hunter:

And as a Bonus:

When I am wrong, I am wrong and I was

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Here I go, eating crow again! I wrote this on back on November 15, 2008:

Okay, here’s what is wrong with that up there. To infer that George W. Bush’s Administration and the Administration of President-Elect Barack Obama will be exactly the same, as much as I hate to say this about Mr. Rockwell; is just beyond crazy. Because we are talking about two totally different people; politically, ideologically and personally. I regret to say this, but for all of George W. Bush’s faults; the war, the scandals, everything — I have a real hard time sitting here and believing that he was an Imperialist, yes, he did have a very flawed vision of what he wished to accomplish in the middle east. Yes, he did take some advice from the likes of John and Neil Podhoretz. Yes, it was advice that ended up doing the President more harm that it did good in the end, politically. But to infer that he was a blind imperialist, is borderline Alex Jones sounding.

Believe me when I say this, I am about as a non-Bush fan as it comes, but I just cannot buy into the whole idea that Bush is some sort of Imperialist, being driven by some evil machine. Nor can I, with my normal functioning brain, sit here and believe that Barack Obama will do the exact same things as Bush. I just cannot do that. Because Barack Obama and the Democrats follow a totally different Political ideology than the Republicans. Now before anyone screams about the bailouts, I am fully aware of how Bush basically tossed fiscal Conservatism under the bus. I was not very happy about that. I also noticed that the bailout plan that he signed unto, has failed. But the truth is, he was forced into that, because he was told by the “so-called” experts, that it would work. Now it seems that the “experts” were wrong.

What I am basically trying to get at here is this. If the old school Conservatives or Paleo-Conservatives, and the Libertarians want to be taken serious by the rest of the Conservative movement and the Republican Party as a whole, they need to seriously look into stopping with the Alex Jones material and stick with policy and reality. Because not everyone buys into some of the sillier nonsense that I have seen within them circles. Not only this, but they need to really get away from the abject racism that I have, in fact, seen posted on some of their Blogs.

via Political Byline » Blog Archive » Lew Rockwell jumps the shark.

I do not believe that I was totally wrong about President Bush. But it is very clear now that I and a good number of other people; were wrong about President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. It made sense to me at the time. I really did not think President Obama to be a “warmonger” President. However, it does sadden me; that President Obama has basically done what Bush did, listening to the Neo-Conservatives and followed their advice.

Unlike the Jacobin Democrats who have invaded the Republican Party and that flatly refuse to be held responsible for their actions in the Arab World. I do accept mine and I apologize for even doubting for a minute that a Neo-Liberal would be any different from the previous Neo-Conservative President. So, yeah, I screw the pooch here; in a very big way.

Again, I do not claim to be an absolute authority on anything at all; least of all politics. In fact, I never really claimed to be an authority. Just an opinion guy.

Two very interesting articles

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Two Authors that I happen to enjoy, have put two articles out, that I thought my readers would enjoy reading…

They are:

Chuck Baldwin – THE AMERICAN REDOUBT

James Wesley – Move to the Mountain States–The American Redoubt

Yes, I am fully aware, that there are some people who happen to believe, that these two people are on the “Third Rail,” when it comes to American Conservative Politics. That might be so; but I would rather read them and be informed, than to read mainstream sources and be totally unprepared for what might happen.

Some people say that Chuck Baldwin and James Wesley peddle paranoia.  I like to think that they both of them promote Preparedness and Christian values. Which is more than I can say for some blog out there, that promote big Government Conservatism.

Enjoy the Articles.

 

Video: Obama’s Libyan War

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Seeing that things are changing with Libya; I thought this to be a be very appropriate video: (Via Reason Hit and Run, and Reason TV)

Video: Police State: This right here is why people kill police officers

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This video is unbelievable.

There is a story behind this, and I very highly suggest that you head over to HotAir.com and follow the links for the back story.

The Video:

Eric Holder wonders why there has been an uptick in police shootings? I can tell you exactly why; because of crap like this right here.

I very humbly submit to you; that if this homeowner had decided to use lethal force against this woman and these police officers, it would be have been entirely justified.

This is not freedom, this is tyranny.

Wake up America; wake.the.hell.up….

In case you would like to contact these bastards; here is the contact information for the Department involved:

Headquarters
1441 N. DuPont Highway
P.O. Box 430
Dover, Delaware 19903-0430
(302) 739-5901

Call them and let your rage be known to them. This is not Communist Russia; this is America and we do not sit idly by and allow the police to run roughshod over us.

Somebody somewhere in Washington D.C. ought to be shouting from the rooftops over this one. Ron Paul? Where the hell are you? Why is not someone raising a royal stink about this? Investigation? Yeah right. It will be more like a self-justification. 🙄

Again, this is America and we just do not do this. Something must be done. 😡

Could the DOW Could Fall 6,000 Points??!?!

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Someone thinks so… (H/T GoldSilver.com)

Video:

The Story via Business Insider:

There’s a distinct possibility the U.S. stock market could plunge as much as 6,000 points if the U.S. continues to rack up record amounts of debt, causing the dollar to lose its reserve currency status, says Daily Ticker favorite Howard Davidowitz. (See video below)

“The dollar has never been at greater risk,” he tells Henry in the accompanying clip. Davidowitz is confident that if Washington doesn’t cool its spending habits, interest rates will spike and inflation will soar. Look at the value of the dollar, and the crisis is already brewing, with foreigners and sovereign nations diversifying away from dollar-denominated assets, he says.

What’s an investor to do in this scenario?

Buy hard assets, he suggests. Davidowitz says investors should own physical gold, silver and diamonds. He also thinks land is a winning bet, even suggesting young adults buy and work farmland. “I think investment in farmland with water on it is a great investment. Finance will be less important,” in the future, he says.

Sounds like a good time to buy gold to me!

Video: Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on Mark Levin’s Constitution

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Once again, Jack Hunter outs a slime ball Neo-Conservative for what he really is; a warmongering pig. Notice in this video, that Jack Hunter points out the differences between Neo-Conservatives —– and Paleo-Conservatives or American Conservatives who are against interventionist foriegn policy. Something that the Republican Party was for prior to the mass exodus from the Democratic Party in 1964. Then these Jacobin Democrats brought their foreign policy with them. That, my friends, is the problem and what brought us George W. Bush.

Video:

Jack Hunter HQ

Religion of Peace?: Is Holy Islamville a terrorist front group?

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(H/T to World Threats)

This is a very interesting story, and there’s some video and audio clips that I high recommend that everyone who reads this blog check out.

Go Read FrontPage Mag – Sweet-Talking the Christians

As much as I know that there are peace-loving Muslims; I also know that there are Muslims who are terrorists. This might be one of those cases.

Again, go read and check it out.

 

 

Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on Obama’s Libyan War

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Jack Hunter’s website

Jack Hunter on facebook

Jack Hunter on YouTube

Open Question to the Pro-Choice Crowd: Does this really help your cause?

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(H/T to Steve Ertelt of lifenews,com on twitter for this story…)

A homemade incendiary device was thrown at one of the participants of the 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer vigil at an abortion business in Kalispell, Montana on Thursday night.The woman walked on the public sidewalk near the abortion business when an unidentified person threw the device — akin to a “Molotov cocktail” — in her direction. The woman did not see either the firebomb nor the assailant it exploded on the sidewalk behind her, making a loud popping noise like a big firecracker as it burst into flame. Fortunately, the woman was not hurt in the incident.After she regained her composure, the victim called Karen Trierweiler, coordinator of the 40 Days prayer vigils in Kalispell at the Karen Trierweiler, coordinator of the 40 Days prayer vigils in Kalispell over to her.After a lengthy delay, a Kalispell police officer arrived. However, according to officials with the Thomas More Society, a pro-life legal group that is helping the participants, instead of inspecting the bomb debris or calling evidence technicians to the scene, the officer remarked that police could never get prints or other evidence from the bomb’s remains and said he would call the city’s garbage service to dispose of all the debris.The officer then said that the 40 Days prayer vigil participants should expect this kind of reaction if they’re protesting at the abortion business. Questioning Officer Hoover’s assessment of the attack, Trierweiler called the Kalispell desk sergeant to complain, where she was unable to get further assistance.

via Firebomb Thrown at Elderly Woman at Pro-Life Prayer Event | LifeNews.com.

Before I pose my question to the pro-choice crowd, let me make the following things clear:

As a Conservative Christian:

I feel that abortion is a murder. end of discussion. “Thou Shalt not Kill” was a commandment for God Himself.

I feel that life begins at conception, and I do not believe that man has to right to kill, what God has created.

However, As a Libertarian Conservative and as a Federalist:

I feel that the United States Federal Government should NOT be in the business of telling woman what to do with their bodies.

I feel that if the Pro-Life crowd wants to stop the barbaric practice of abortion; that these people should appeal to their STATE Government and demand that they outlaw the practice of Abortion.

Having Said all of the above. I pose the following question to the “Pro-Choice” crowd:

Does committing acts of terrorism toward those of whom you disagree, really help your cause? I mean, has the pro-choice, liberal left in this Country gotten to the point of being so intolerant, that they now resort to acts of violence?

As a former, “Left of Center” and Former Democratic Party voter; it very highly disheartens me to see that now the liberal left, is now resorting to violence to reinforce their message. This is directly in opposition to the message of peace; which the Democratic Party was about, at least when I was voting for them. I mean, I quite vividly remember the liberal left literally going to pieces over the Iraq War and basically screaming “Peace!” at the top of their lungs.  But then, they do this? Someone needs to reexamine their message, quite a bit.

Now Listen.

Please, do not misunderstand me; I do not blame the entire Democratic Party, for the actions of a few. But, I believe that activists on the left need to really think about the message that they are sending to America and to the World. Do you encourage violence to get your message across? Do you believe in hurting those of which you disagree?

My Point to all of this is…..:

Those are the questions I want to see answered. Because I will give the Democratic Party a warning; from this writer. As someone who once voted for your party —- If this is the message that you are sending to America; that we plan on using force against those who dare dissent; you can forget about this independent ever voting for you again, ever. Because I simply know, that this is what Communist Russia AND Hitler’s Nazi Party did to those who dared to dissent. Does anyone on the left, remember the White Rose Society?  Does anyone remember what they stood for? Instead, it seems that the Left has come to want a top down style of rule, that oppresses with violence those who dissent. This is not what the founding principles of the Democratic Party ever were, ever.

 

 

Rep. Anthony Weiner said What?!?!?!

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Hoo Boy! 😯

Oh no he did not.

Oh yes he did.

This from Amanda Terkel, who, in this writers opinion is a very pretty lady — for a liberal. 😛

Headline:Anthony Weiner: Obama Is ‘Not A Values Guy’

Needless to say; my eyes did bug out over that one! 😯

The Story:

WASHINGTON — Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and a handful of other House Democrats expressed deep frustration with President Barack Obama’s leadership on Wednesday, saying he needs to do more to set the direction for the progressive movement.

Across the aisle, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has struggled to wrangle the various wings of his conference and pass budget measures through the lower chamber. Weiner told a group of journalists and bloggers on Capitol Hill that the Republican leader has a tough job of trying to hold “a coalition of crazies and completely crazies together.”

But Republicans, Weiner said, have nonetheless long done a better job of making their case — “smaller government, smaller deficits, lower taxes” — to the public and each other. The Democratic Party remains unclear as to its core policy principles, Weiner said, and part of the problem is Obama.

“On our side is this weird squishy affirmative sense of what government should do and how we’re opposed to this cut and that cut, rather than saying, ‘Here are the things: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, environment and education. We’re not cutting those. Those are off the table. That’s non-negotiable,'” said Weiner, adding, “We haven’t really done that very well. That’s because the president fundamentally — he’s not a values guy. He wants to try to get the best deal for the American people and that’s virtuous in its own right, but it becomes very difficult to make a strategy. There’s been much greater global strategy thinking on [progressive media] outlets, frankly, than at 1600 Pennsylvania.”

(****)

Continued Weiner: “It is now pretty clear to me — I’m not saying this is pejorative — the president, he doesn’t animate his day by saying, ‘All right, what is the thing that has me fired up today? I’m going to out and try to move the ball on it.’ He kind of sees his job as to take this calamitous noise that’s going on on the left with people like us and on the right on Fox News, and his path to being a successful president, in his view, is taking that cacophony and trying to make good, level-headed, smart policy out of it and moving it incrementally down the road. That’s nice. That’s a good thing. We need that, obviously. The problem is there’s no substitute for someone really leaning into these values questions. “

I have to hand it to Rep. Anthony Weiner, he is not afraid to speak his mind. After all, this is the same guy, who went ape over a vote for 9/11 recovery workers. That little performance was a piece of work. 😛

I will refrain from the whole “rats jumping from ship” analogy. But, I do find the whole thing quite ironic. What happened to unity, and the whole “Hope and Change” idea?

I guess even “The One” is not even immune to the old “Party Backlash” syndrome. I have one thing to say about that:

It’s about friggin’ time!

I just wonder when someone of the “Black Left” will holler “RAAAACIST!” and complain that the joooos are picking on Obama?

 

 

 

It all goes back to the Federal Reserve

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I thought I would share this one with you all.

It seems that food prices are going up. I spotted this blog posting over at HotAir.com; which is, a Neo-Conservative Blog. Anyhow, Ed Morrissey points out that food prices are going up. Ed points to this story by the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices jumped last month by the most in nearly two years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years. Excluding those volatile categories, inflation was tame.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the Producer Price Index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in February — double the 0.8 percent rise in the previous month. Outside of food and energy costs, the core index ticked up 0.2 percent, less than January’s 0.5 percent rise.

Food prices soared 3.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since November 1974. Most of that increase was due to a sharp rise in vegetable costs, which increased nearly 50 percent. That was the most in almost a year. Meat and dairy products also rose.

Energy prices rose 3.3 percent last month, led by a 3.7 percent increase in gasoline costs.

Separately, the Commerce Department said home construction plunged to a seasonally adjusted 479,000 homes last month, down 22.5 percent from the previous month. It was lowest level since April 2009, and the second-lowest on records dating back more than a half-century.

The building pace is far below the 1.2 million units a year that economists consider healthy.

There was little sign of inflationary pressures outside of food and energy. Core prices have increased 1.8 percent in the past 12 months.

Still consumers are paying more for the basic necessities.

Why is it that prices are going up? Well, I can tell you why…. It’s called inflation. Something this guy here has been talking about for years:

Of course, Ed Morrissey, tries to credit the shrieking harpy and two bit phony Sarah Palin for this; but we thinking Americans know better. Sarah Palin most likely cannot even program her own VCR, much less understand the workings of the Federal Reserve. Ron Paul was saying this sort of stuff, when Sarah Palin was still playing with dolls and dreaming of being someone in politics as a child.

Scott Johnson over at Powerline, smartly and very accurately points to the federal reserve bank for this rise in food costs, he also points to a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed that warned of this sort of a thing happening. Yes, I know, Powerline Blog is decidedly Neo-Conservative; but when it comes to this sort of stuff, those guys are in the right frame of mind. I just wish I could convince them that imperialism is a sad mistake —- As are unconstitutionally declared wars.

It also turns out, that the Federal Reserve Bank is not the only part of the Federal Government that is a danger to it’s citizens. There is also other things that we should be, as citizens, worried about; like the ill-conceived and improperly named “Patriot Act.” As this video shows, that act is being used against citizens in a very bad way: (H/T RTR.Org)

The part about the raid on Walter Reddy, the founder of the modern Committees of Safety is in this video. I do encourage you all to watch it. If this man’s story is true. If someone does not like you; they can go to your local police department and makes up actual lies about you and cause the police to conduct a raid on your home. That my friends, is insanity.

As you might expect, I post this video with a disclaimer; Just because I post this, does not mean that endorse the products being sold or the overall conspiratorial tone of the video. I simply post this for informational purposes only.

Update: Mark this on your calendars; this one of the rare times, when I actually agree with Lew Rockwell.

Stupid: Federal Court rules that Colorado Man Can Sue Secret Service

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My God, how stupid can the leftist fools be?

DENVER — A Colorado man can sue two Secret Service agents who arrested him after he touched former Vice President Dick Cheney on the arm in 2006 and told him his Iraq War policies were “disgusting,” a federal appeals court ruled Monday.The ruling means Steven Howards can try to subpoena Cheney to testify about the incident, said David Lane, Howards’ attorney.”I fully intend on deposing the former vice president,” Lane told The Associated Press.Lane has been trying for years to subpoena Cheney, but his motion has been delayed as judges weighed the question of whether the Secret Service agents were immune in the case. He has said he wants to subpoena the former vice president because he’s “the best eyewitness to the case.”

via Federal Court: Colorado Man Can Sue Secret Service – FoxNews.com.

This is why this strikes me as incredibly stupid; for one, this man made a choice to break the law and try to grab the former Vice President — to make a political statement. For two; now he is trying to capitalize on this incident and sue the Secret Service and the Government by proxy. In short; the man is nothing more than some leech, who wants to make a quick buck on the backs of the American people. Not to mention make a stupid political point.

Either way, I hope like hell that the courts toss this idiot’s case out. Because he does not deserve anything at all. Except maybe a swift kick in the butt. 😡

So, the next time some idiot liberal Democrat tries to tell you how horrible we Capitalist Conservative Christians are; show ’em this, please. I mean, I would rather be some money grubbing capitalist, than to be trying to make a quick buck on the back of the American people; and for what? To make a rather idiotic political point? How stupid. 🙄

….and I say this, as someone who was not too keen on Bush and Co’s polices either…..

 

 

Where the Itamar killers trained by the US?

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That is the story according to this report: (H/T to Tim Graham on Facebook)

JERUSALEM – Two members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ official security forces were arrested in conjunction with this past weekend’s bloody massacre in which five family members were brutally stabbed to death inside their home in the Jewish village of Itamar, WND has learned.The names of the apprehended suspects will be released to the Israeli media within hours but were revealed to WND by security officials working on the murder.Two cousins are now in Israeli custody and are suspected in the slayings. Ahmed Awad is an officer in Abbas’ Preventative Security Services in the northern West Bank city of Nablis. Iyad Awad is an officer in Abbas’ General Intelligence services in Ramallah.Both the Preventative and General Intelligence services of Fatah are armed, trained and funded by the U.S.The duo did not personally carry out the murders, but rather they assisting in the planning and logistics, informed security sources told WND.Since the late 1990s, the U.S. has run training bases for PA militias. The U.S. also has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid and weapons to build up the PA militias. Since 2007, the U.S. has stepped up its efforts at training the PA, including a new, advanced program for Palestinian police to train 500 to 600 cadets at a time at the American bases. The U.S. currently operates training bases for the PA police and other militias, such as Force 17 and the Preventative Security Services in the West Bank city of Jericho and the Jordanian village of Giftlik.

via WorldNetDaily: U.S.-trained forces arrested in bloody slaying of kids.

Like I wrote yesterday; this murder is the continuation of a very long war, that dates back to Biblical times. However, the very idea that our Armed Forces trained these people; changes the ballgame. I wonder what President Obama would think about such things? Of course, based upon what I have been reading; he really does not care about Israel (or anything else for that matter, including America) at all.

Update: Thanks to the people at Rotter.net for linking in! (Hebrew to English Machine translation here.) If anyone happens to have an account there and can speak Hebrew; please let them know that I cannot Independently verify the claims made by WND in that story above, thanks!


Video: Jack Hunter on Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano

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Here is Jack Hunter and the judge discussing the G.O.P’s pathetic attempt at a budget proposal.

Jack Hunter’s website

Excellent Job Jack! 😀

Speaking of “WTF?!?!?!”

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Oy… this stuff comes in waves.

Via JSonline.com:

Madison — The Senate – without Democrats present – abruptly voted Wednesday to eliminate almost all collective bargaining for most public workers.

The bill, which has sparked unprecedented protests and drawn international attention, now heads to the Assembly, which is to take it up at 11 a.m. Thursday. The Assembly, which like the Senate is controlled by Republicans, passed an almost identical version of the bill Feb. 25.

The new version passed the Senate 18-1 Wednesday night, with Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) casting the no vote. There was no debate

Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) said Democrats who have been boycotting the Senate for three weeks would return to Wisconsin once the bill passes the Assembly, although he declined to be more specific.

From Feb. 17 until Wednesday, the Senate Democrats were able to block a vote on the bill because 20 senators were required to be present to vote for it. Republicans control the house 19-14.

Late Wednesday, a committee stripped fiscal elements from the bill that they said allowed them to pass it with a simple majority present. The most controversial parts of the bill remain intact.

That committee, formed just hours earlier, quickly approved the bill as the lone Democrat at the meeting screamed that Republicans were violating the state’s open meetings law.

The law requires most public bodies to give 24 hours notice before they meet. The conference committee met with about two hours notice.

and of course, batty crazy broke out! 😯

Jeeez…. and they call Conservatives crazy? 🙄

The problem I have with all of this; is this, these knuckleheads make better money and get better benefits, than my dad and he is a retired General Motors employee! (He worked as a Hi-Low driver for 31 years…Union too!) President Obama told everyone and I mean everyone; that they had to take a haircut; and these public sector unions are acting like children that do not want to go to barber! 🙄

The private sector unions have to take and have been taking massive “haircuts”, so, why not these people? It just makes not sense at all to me. Also what gets me, is all the nuttiness! Is it really helping the cause of the Democratic Party to have senators fleeing the state? I mean, can you imagine the political ads come 2012? Holy Moses! The Republicans are going to eat the Democratic Party for lunch come 2012. Does anyone over in Wisconsin think beyond the end of their nose?

I guess the only way I can put it, is this way; I am 38 years old. I have seen much politics and much strange stuff in my days. But this sort of nonsense just takes the cake; and it is not helping the Democrats cause, at all.

I do truly believe, that the way this is all going; that Democrats are not going to be able to be elected for Mayor’s of cities; much less State Senate —- and as someone who believes in divided Government, it makes me a bit sad. 🙁

Are Conservatives finally waking up to the realities of war?

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This all comes via Little Miss Whatsherface.

Kenneth Anderson writing over at The Volokh Conspiracy says:

It’s heartbreaking, if you’ve spent a lot of time and energy over years of your life, figuring out how to deal with the local village elders and try and start development projects and improve governance and send Afghan girls to school, to realize that the institutions that one believes one has started and got off the ground are far more likely to blow away like a Potemkin village.  You have these hard-won skills and these small, on the ground achievements, and it looks like maybe you’ve started something that might someday bear fruit.  You’ve actually done remarkable things, by any ordinary measure.  But then it doesn’t bear fruit, because it isn’t rooted, not culturally or institutionally, and the belief that it will have a life after your funding is gone is illusion.

But it’s not an unusual story, if one looks beyond Afghanistan and indeed beyond war.  It’s actually the oldest story in the world in development work.  In development, we believe we need to develop institutional governance capacities so that the efforts that shelter and take root under those institutions will not be in vain.  No doubt that’s true.  But unfortunately we don’t have a clue how to do that — and even less of a clue how to do that in war.

I highly recommend that you go read that whole quote. Because if this is broadening feeling among Conservatives; we could be looking at a total change in attitude among the right.

Mark Steyn over at National Review puts it in more plain terms:

Before I got into the Derb/Andy discussion, I was reading an obituary in The Daily Telegraph of Anthony Brooke, former Rajah Muda of Sarawak, whose family reigned over much of the Borneo jungle for over a century until 1946, when the kingdom lost its independence and was formally incorporated into the British Empire. As often with flotsam and jetsam (Flintstone and Jetson?) from the imperial byways, you’re struck by how much London accomplished with so little. By contrast, we’ve spent a fortune in Afghanistan and have nothing to show for it.

I think the difference is this: When America goes into Afghanistan, it doesn’t think it’s prosecuting American interests. Quite the opposite: Regardless of whether it’s officially UN- or Nato-sanctioned, America goes in as the expeditionary force of “world opinion” or “the global commons”. It doesn’t believe it has a national interest in Afghanistan, and indeed assumes that it would be a kind of transnational faux pas to be seen to have one, so it’s hardly surprising that the “nation” it winds up “building” doesn’t look much like anywhere any American would want to have anything to do with. Even nation-building requires the builder to build it in what he perceives as his national interest – as the British did in India and the Americans in post-war Japan. If you have disinterested, transnational nation-building, you wind up as we have in Kabul.

To go back to Sarawak, it was ceded to His Britannic Majesty in 1946 and became independent in 1963, when it joined the new Federation of Malaysia: Seventeen years from colony to statehood – versus a decade spent presiding over Take Your Catamite To Work Day in Kandahar. And, as a New Jersey reader wrote to me the other day, “Does anybody really think we’re leaving anytime soon?” In Afghanistan and elsewhere, transnational nation-building is like a mangled Hotel California: We never seriously check in, and yet we never leave.

Now, if I were a rabid Ron Paul or Pat Buchanan type; I would say something to the effect of, “See? Now that the Neo-Conservatives are not controlling the war, they want to stop it!” Well, rest assured I am not a rabid anything at all. I think that it is encouraging to see that the Conservative Blogosphere is finally starting to figure out, what the rest of the America already knows; that we went into Afghanistan to hunt down, and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden and destroy Al-Qaeda. Now that has become like the secondary mission and defeating the Taliban and setting up Government there is now this goal, which is essentially “Nation Building.” Something that never works, ever. Especially in the middle east, where some, if not all, of the Governments are inherently corrupt.

Either way, it is good to now see writers question the very thing, that back in 2003, they were mindlessly cheerleading.

 

 

So much for Democracy in Iraq

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Next time some stupid moron Neo-Conservative tells you that Bush brought Democracy to Iraq, by invading it — show ’em this:

BAGHDAD – Among the revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, Iraq’s has been an exception: Here, protesters are seeking to reform a democratically elected government, not to topple an autocrat.But protesters, human rights workers and security officials say the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has responded to Iraq’s demonstrations in much the same way as many of its more authoritarian neighbors: with force.Witnesses in Baghdad and as far north as Kirkuk described watching last week as security forces in black uniforms, tracksuits and T-shirts roared up in trucks and Humvees, attacked protesters, rounded up others from cafes and homes and hauled them off, blindfolded, to army detention centers.Entire neighborhoods – primarily Sunni areas where residents are generally opposed to Maliki – were blockaded to prevent residents from joining the demonstrations. Journalists were beaten.In most cases, regular soldiers and police officers simply stood aside, with one saying the matter was “beyond us.” In all, 29 people were killed.”Maliki is starting to act like Saddam Hussein, to use the same fear, to plant it inside Iraqis who criticize him,” said Salam Mohammed al-Segar, a human rights activist who was among those beaten during a sit-in. “The U.S. must feel embarrassed right now – it is they who promised a modern state, a democratic state. But in reality?”He shook his head.Last Friday, the U.S. Embassy here issued a statement saying that security forces appeared to have followed Maliki’s directive to allow peaceful protests. As reports emerged Saturday of the beaten journalists, the White House issued a statement saying that U.S. officials were “deeply troubled.” The U.S. Embassy has declined to comment further.

via Protesters say Maliki is using special security forces to shut down demonstrations in Iraq.

So much for that little pipe dream, eh? Iraq is no more a damned Democracy than North Korea. The elections over there were nothing more than a smoke screen to fool the American people into believing that the invasion in Iraq in 2003 was justified.  Which thinking Conservatives, like me, knew was a pack of damned lies. As was the whole WMD story.

Nice work Dubya! 🙄

Conservatives of all stripes should really be following this coming 2012 election. If whomever the Republican Party chooses to be our next President; starts talking about “exporting Democracy” to foriegn lands, that Conservative should not vote or vote for a third party. Forget the Democrats, they do the same stuff as Neo-Conservatives. Vote different, because America cannot afford no more General’s wars. Just that simple. Exporting Democracy does not work people and this story here is living proof of that.

Fixed rather funny typo. I meant WMD’s, not WND’s… More coffee!