A fitting tune for this fine Holiday, some of you might think this is campy, lame or silly. Let me be clear. I could honestly give a damn….:
Category: Politics
Quote of the Day
The great difference between our western Christian world and the atheistic Communist world is not political, gentlemen, it is moral. For instance, the Marxian idea of confiscating the land and factories and running the entire economy as a single enterprise is momentous. Likewise, Lenin’s invention of the one-party police state as a way to make Marx’s idea work is hardly less momentous.
Stalin’s resolute putting across of these two ideas, of course, did much to divide the world. With only these differences, however, the east and the west could most certainly still live in peace.
The real, basic difference, however, lies in the religion of immoralism . . . invented by Marx, preached feverishly by Lenin, and carried to unimaginable extremes by Stalin. This religion of immoralism, if the Red half of the world triumphs—and well it may, gentlemen—this religion of immoralism will more deeply wound and damage mankind than any conceivable economic or political system.
Karl Marx dismissed God as a hoax, and Lenin and Stalin have added in clear-cut, unmistakable language their resolve that no nation, no people who believe in a god, can exist side by side with their communistic state.
Karl Marx, for example, expelled people from his Communist Party for mentioning such things as love, justice, humanity or morality. He called this “soulful ravings” and “sloppy sentimentality.” . . .
Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of communism have selected this as the time, and ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down—they are truly down.
Lest there be any doubt that the time has been chosen, let us go directly to the leader of communism today—Joseph Stalin. Here is what he said—not back in 1928, not before the war, not during the war—but 2 years after the last war was ended: “To think that the Communist revolution can be carried out peacefully, within the framework of a Christian democracy, means one has either gone out of one’s mind and lost all normal understanding, or has grossly and openly repudiated the Communist revolution.” . . .
Ladies and gentlemen, can there be anyone tonight who is so blind as to say that the war is not on? Can there by anyone who fails to realize that the Communist world has said the time is now? . . . that this is the time for the show-down between the democratic Christian world and the communistic atheistic world?
Unless we face this fact, we shall pay the price that must be paid by those who wait too long.
A New Decleration of Independence?
This is by Warner Todd Hudson over at Stop the ACLU:
A New Declaration of Independence
When in the Course of human events it again becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with a failed authority and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God as well as our original, properly constituted laws entitle us, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that we should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of we the people; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to repair to their former Systems of Government. The history of the present President, his Congress, and our recalcitrant federal government is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
It has abused its role over the law and instituted fiat rules that are detrimental to the common good — welfare, cap and trade, oppressive taxes, onerous regulation on business are recent examples.
It has forbidden governors of states to pass laws useful to local needs and has interfered in state business.
It has refused the right of local government to govern at home and has as a matter of course caused local legislators to carelessly assume they have no power.
It has defacto dissolved the authority of state governments so that the representatives of the people constantly defer to rule from Washington.
It has refused to secure the borders so that all manner of foreigners of the lowest station might flood these shores without hesitation while refusing to allow those foreigners with useful skills and education to enter and apply for citizenship.
It has allowed capricious courts to usurp proper legislative duties and to rule from the bench.
It has seated judges with no opposition or investigation and has not required judicial candidates to express an interest in the true meaning of the law of the land.
It has erected a multitude of new regulatory offices few of which have any basis in the Constitution and has as a form of graft filled them with friends, lobbyists, and placemen.
It has refused to properly fund our armies in times of peace without including graft and monies unconnected to the needs of our armed forces.
It has therefore interfered with the military stopping it from operating at peak efficiency.
It has conspired with powers outside our duly constituted authority to take away our constitutional rights, to subvert our national laws, and has given assent to forces such as the UN to rule us from afar without accountability. These outside forces are hateful of our system and desire it’s end. Therefore we accuse our government of attacking us from inside.
For positing that UN forces are superior in authority to our own:
For signing treaties inimical to our national interests:
For cutting off free trade with worthy countries such as Colombia, yet opening trade with evil countries such as China:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us of our constitutional rights of property, life, and self-protection at every opportunity:
For creating rules that encroach on freedom of religion:
For increasing the size of government to never before seen size and power in a manner against our founding principles and for purposefully creating chaos in business, banking, and every other area of the private sector with never ending regulations that strangle, confuse, and stifle American growth:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
And for corrupting our legislatures with federal largess and assuming unto the federal government all powers to rule from Washington D.C.
It has abdicated its Constitutional role and essentially come to see the people as an enemy and waged philosophical war against us.
It has plundered our businesses with overweening regulations, capriciously outlawed entire fields of business, and burdened the lives of the people with oppressive taxes.
It has created an army of police, taxmen and regulators to fan out across the land to assault and imprison our citizens, to confiscate lands to federal ownership and to lay waste the economy and bring our people into a form of dependency akin to slavery.
It has often sent our armed forces to foreign nations without a proper mission, held back necessary funding, and burdened it with untenable “rules of engagement” which has limited our troop’s ability to fight to win, and has allowed barbarous enemies to gain the upper hand on the battle field.
It has attempted to separate the citizenry into warring factions yet has allowed our enemy to easily enter the country and perpetrate a merciless Muslim warfare which is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, religions and American institutions and intends enslavement of us all.
In every stage of these violations millions of citizens have gathered in the streets to protest these government outrages yet no heed has been paid to the agony of the people in its hallowed halls.
Nor have we been heard by our Democrat brethren. We have warned them of the destruction of the American rule of law, yet they are uninterested in this plight. We have appealed to their love of country and we have reminded them of the glorious history of our great nation to no avail. They have turned a deaf ear to Constitutionality, a cold shoulder to our American character, and our law and we find their sympathies lie with Europeans instead of their fellow Americans. We must, therefore, consider them enemies of our national interests, safety, health, and welfare.
We, therefore, the representatives of the American tradition and character assemble as citizens proud of our history and institutions, and in the tradition of our national power being held in the hands of the people, assert our loyalty to our true American system. We hold this government to be illegitimate by its usurpation of power and its obviation of our laws. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence that has been rejected by our enemies, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
WOW! 😯
A Special Independence Message from Ronald Wilson Reagan
These words may be a bit dated. But in this day of war against Jihadists who want to destroy our way of life; against socialists who want to change our very nation, from one of a free people, to one of a socialist nation — where no one is free. The words in this speech should resonate with every American.
Pictures from San Juan Capistrano Tea Party
See more at American Power and MAinfo here and here
Quote of the Day
“RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s comments about the war in Afghanistan were deeply disappointing and wrong. The chairman of the Republican party must be unwavering in his support for American victory in the war on terror — a victory that cannot be accomplished if we do not prevail in Afghanistan. I endorse fully Bill Kristol’s letter to Chairman Steele. It is time for Chairman Steele to step down.”
In case you are still on the fence politically…
This comes via Wizbang, which got it from Bookworm Room:
Go Figure: Ron Paul supports Michael Steele
Shocker? Perhaps Not: (H/T to the Daily Paul)
LAKE JACKSON, Texas–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Congressman Ron Paul today issued the following statement on Michael Steele’s recent comments that Afghanistan is a war of President Obama’s choosing:
“The American people are sick and tired spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year, draining our economy and straining our military. Michael Steele has it right and Republicans should stick by him.”
“I would like to congratulate Michael Steele for his leadership on one of the most important issues of today. He is absolutely right: Afghanistan is now Obama’s war. During the 2008 campaign, Obama was out in front in insisting that more troops be sent to Afghanistan. Obama called for expanding the war even as he pretended to be a peace candidate.
“Michael Steele should not resign. Smart policies make smart politics. He is guiding the party in the right direction and we are on the verge of victory this fall. Chairman Steele should not back off. He is giving the country, especially young people, hope as he speaks truth about this war.
“I have to ask myself, what is the agenda of the harsh critics demanding this resignation? Why do they support Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama’s war?
via Ron Paul Congratulates Michael Steele | EON: Enhanced Online News.
Big shocker there…. NOT!
These two ought to run together….on a Democratic Party ticket!
Fox News resident Republican water-carrier gets dumped by a radio station.. in UTAH
Could not have happened to a better guy, if you ask me.
Sean Hannity - Republican Water Carrier
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – KSL Radio announced that they will no longer air Sean Hannity’s syndicated national talk show.
The last KSL broadcast of the Sean Hannity show will air on October 1, 2010.
The announcement comes after speculation that Hannity’s on-air style was not in line with Deseret Media Company’s mission statement that calls for civility and other ethical stances.
Deseret Media Companies (DMC) is a for-profit arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and manages KSL radio and other media outlets.
The DMC “Mission Statement” calls for the dissemination of “light and knowledge” along with the promotion of “integrity, civility, morality, and respect for all people.”
via Utah radio station dumps Sean Hannity – ABC 4.com – Salt Lake City, Utah News.
Could not have happened to a better person, if you ask me. Although, I do not dislike Hannity for the same reasons that most liberals dislike him. The Liberals hate him because he is a Conservative period. I dislike him because he carries water for the Republican Party. Hannity also like to repeat old dead crap that is well beyond its expiration date. His Fox News Channel show is a perfect example of that.
My biggest issue is his silly ego. I mean, Christians are supposed to be about humility, right? Ever watch his show, Hannity’s America? I mean, how narcissistic is it, to have a show, with your last name and America in it? Not to mention the fact that he literally lied his way in the broadcast business. I can stomach Bill O’Reilly; but this guy? He is just a bit too much. Hannity, in my opinion, is just a long list of “Johnny Comes Lately’s” in the Conservative talk radio world. There is a bunch more. I’m sure you can figure out who I mean.
In short; I do not like this douche nozzle one bit, and I will not cry one tear when his time in the spotlight is over.
The Truth about President Barack Obama’s Birth Records?
I present this with no commentary. Make your own decisions.
Via God-like Productions:
Horrible News: UN says at least 220 dead in oil explosion in Congo
This is just damned awful:
SANGE, Congo – A tanker truck hauling fuel on a rural eastern Congo highway overturned, gushing oil and exploding in a massive fireball that killed at least 220 bystanders, including many who had been watching the World Cup in flimsy roadside shacks, officials and witnesses said Saturday.
Among the dead were 61 children and 36 women, the Red Cross said. Also killed were villagers who had descended on the truck to siphon fuel illegally from the wreckage, apparently unaware of the danger, the U.N. said.
U.N. peacekeepers rushed to evacuate more than 200 wounded from the scene by helicopter and ambulance, while Red Cross teams carried the charred bodies from the scene in body bags and buried them in two mass graves a few miles (kilometers) away.
The truck overturned as it was trying to pass a minibus late Friday near the village of Sange, around 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Uvira, a town on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika near the Burundi border, said Mana Lungwe, manager of the Congolese oil company that owns the truck. The vehicle began gushing oil, then burst into flames an hour later, he said.
Lungwe said the driver was injured in the accident and taken to a local clinic before the blast occurred. Sange is located between Uvira and the Congolese provincial capital, Bukavu, further to the north.
via Congo: UN says at least 220 dead in oil explosion – Yahoo! News.
This is just awful news; I would never make stupid jokes about it either. My thoughts and Prayer are with the victims; and yes, damn it they were victims of this most awful accident.
But yet, assholes like Steve Gilbert write idiotic tripe like this:
Because of their ‘addiction to oil.’
[…]
Is this really a time for levity?
[….]
Which sounds like the domicile of Mr. Obama’s brother.
[…]
Just wait until all of our cars run on safe electricity — and pixie dust.
Mocking people’s deaths, and mocking blacks in Congo! How farking quaint! HAW HAW HAW! 🙄
If this is what the Republicans mean by reaching more people; they’re screwed. Not only was this not funny, it is highly offensive and quite stupid. Freedom of Speech? Oh Sure, fine. The SAME damned freedom of speech that Steve Gilbert is given, is also given to me to slam dunk the farking bastard and say that he ought to be frog marched into the damn street and shot in the damned head for making jokes like that! So there, there’s MY first amendment right! Damned idiot.
The sick part is; this is ANN COULTER’s friend. She makes friends with idiots like this? Egad. 😯 🙄 Now I know I don’t want anything to do with that idiotic shrieking harpy.
Living proof that spending the way out of a recession does not work
Well, looks like my job prospects just got worse:
The train that is the nation’s economic recovery has slowed noticeably, unable to generate enough jobs in the last two months to keep pace with population growth, much less reduce the vast numbers of unemployed Americans.
The United States added just 83,000 private sector jobs in June, according to the monthly statistical snapshot released by the Labor Department. The unemployment rate declined to 9.5 percent, from 9.7 percent in May. But that was a largely illusory decline, as 652,000 Americans left the work force.
Over all, the nation lost 125,000 jobs in June, but those losses came as temporary federal Census workers headed for the exits.
With the economy slowing — housing sales plummeted, while earnings and hours worked ticked downward last month — the stakes grow larger, economically and politically. The next few monthly unemployment reports will unfold during the run-up to the midterm Congressional elections this fall. Incumbents feel particularly precarious, and major economic decisions about financial reform, unemployment benefits, and aid to states still sit on their desks.
via Recovery Slows With Weak Job Creation in June – NYTimes.com.
Think maybe now the Democrats will finally get it? Guess again. (h/t The Other McCain)
Quote:
“Now, let me say that unemployment insurance, we talk about it as a safety net and the rest — this is one of the biggest stimuluses [sic] to our economy. Economists will tell you, this money is spent quickly. It injects demand into the economy and it’s job-creating. It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name because, again, it is money that is needed for families to survive, and it is spent. So it has a double benefit — it helps those who have lost their jobs, but it also is a job-creator and so, uh, for that reason — for those two reasons at least — it should be passed, and I’m optimistic that it will.”
– Nancy Pelosi, July 1, 2010
Democrats, clueless as usual.
Noted Stalker and Smear Blogger now begging for money
No, this is not about Charles Johnson. 😛
Hurricane GOP? Perhaps….
Hmmmmm….:
Imagine sitting in Washington’s Verizon Center, listening blissfully to Carole King and James Taylor, thanks to a fast-thinking friend who managed to score four floor seats. For 50-somethings, it’s a nice place to be. Then, as the concert is winding down, four pages of poll tables of a just-released survey pop up in your BlackBerry. They are jaw-dropping numbers, not inconsistent with what you had been thinking — if anything more a confirmation of it. But the dramatic nature of the numbers brings the real world of politics crashing through what had been a most mellow evening.
The numbers were from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted June 17-21 among 1,000 adults by pollsters Peter Hart (a Democrat) and Bill McInturff (a Republican). Among the registered voters in the survey, Republicans led by 2 points on the generic congressional ballot test, 45 percent to 43 percent. This may not sound like a lot, given that Democrats now hold 59 percent of House seats. When this same poll was taken in June 2008, however, Democrats led by 19 points, 52 percent to 33 percent.
That drop-off should be enough to sober Democrats up, but the next set of data was even more chilling. First, keep in mind that all registered voters don’t vote even in presidential years, and that in midterm elections the turnout is about one-third less. In an attempt to ascertain who really is most likely to vote, pollsters asked registered voters, on a scale of 1 to 10, how interested they were in the November elections. Those who said either 9 or 10 added up to just over half of the registered voters, coming in at 51 percent.
Hart and McInturff then looked at the change among the most-interested voters from the same survey in 2008. Although 2010 is a “down-shifting” election, from a high-turnout presidential year to a lower-turnout midterm year, one group was more interested in November than it was in 2008: those who had voted for Republican John McCain for president. And the groups that showed the largest decline in interest? Those who voted for Barack Obama — liberals, African-Americans, self-described Democrats, moderates, those living in either the Northeast or West, and younger voters 18 to 34 years of age. These are the “Holy Mackerel” numbers.
While this may be nice. As John Hawkins points out:
Keep in mind that the GOP has gotten its behind handed to it for two straight elections. That has given the Democrats a huge cushion. We’d need to take 39 seats to take over the House. Can this be done? Yes. Will it be done? I want to say “yes,” but I have to tell you, not every factor is leaning in our favor. For example, the GOP is behind in the money game. There will undoubtedly be seats we could win in November that will be left on the table because the money’s not there for advertising. I’d also add that there’s very little that I’ve seen from the people in charge of the Republican Party in DC that gives me confidence that they can mastermind a perfect victory strategy to take advantage of their limited resources.
Not only that; but right about this moment, the G.O.P. has a complete dolt as a chairman. I mean, the man is basically handing the Democratic Party its talking points and really, really needs to go. How are the Republicans supposed to win elections like that?
Others: The Moderate Voice, , Outside the Beltway, Right Wing News, Blue Crab Boulevard, Riehl World View, and The Corner on National …
Quote of the Day
It annoys me that neo-conservative Kristol now sees fit to grandstand on this Steele gaffe, which actually isn’t as bad as it seems, see below, after having not paid attention to so much else. Point being, suddenly it’s his favorite ox being gored, so he takes the pulpit.
RedState Update on Obama firing General McChrystal
I’m a little slow on this one, but… here you go:
The New N-Word?
Hmmmmmm…:
The reality of racial relations in America is clearly in black and white – but not in ways most people realize, says the author of a brand-new book on the subject that’s scorching the airwaves, blogosphere and best-selling categories.
Racial confusion, tension and division are the outgrowths of conditions foisted on the country to keep blacks “obedient,” whites “silent” and “political control” secure, says Erik Rush.
Released Tuesday by WND Books, Rush’s “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal – America’s Racial Obsession” already has claimed No. 1 spots on Amazon categories covering African-Americans, Discrimination & Racism and Interpersonal Relations.
The author will appear on Sean Hannity’s Fox News Channel show at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and on “Fox & Friends” at 6:20 a.m. Thursday.
Tuesday, Sean Hannity exclusively interviewed Rush – the first person to introduce the nation to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the nature of the sermons taught in President Obama’s 20-year church of choice.
Interesting indeed.
Get the Book Here or get the Kindle Version
UPDATED:The G.O.P’s Resident Harlem Globetrotter once again steps in it
I haven’t seen the clip, so I am giving it to you cold, as I am getting it here:
The Story:
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was caught on video at a fundraiser in Connecticut on Thursday raising doubts about the war in Afghanistan.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) pushed out the video, which shows Steele saying that the war is of “Obama’s choosing” and that it is nearly impossible to win a land war in the Central Asian country.
“Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in,” he said. “But it was the president who was trying to be cute by half by building a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should be in Afghanistan. Well, if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?”
Democrats pounced on the statement, saying it was Steele’s latest gaffe in a long line of misstatements.
“This clip puts him at odds with about 100 percent of the Republican Party,” DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse said
via RNC chairman: Obama pursued Afghanistan war ‘trying to be cute’ – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room.
Um, Did Chairman Steele have a brain relapse and forget about Bush? Wow. 😯
Bill Kristol over at the Weekly Standard sets it out:
Dear Michael,
You are, I know, a patriot. So I ask you to consider, over this July 4 weekend, doing an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican party.
Your tenure has of course been marked by gaffes and embarrassments, but I for one have never paid much attention to them, and have never thought they would matter much to the success of the causes and principles we share. But now you have said, about the war in Afghanistan, speaking as RNC chairman at an RNC event, “Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.” And, “if [Obama] is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?”
Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not “a war of Obama’s choosing.” It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. Republicans have consistently supported the effort. Indeed, as the DNC Communications Director (of all people) has said, your statement “puts [you] at odds with about 100 percent of the Republican Party.”
And not on a trivial matter. At a time when Gen. Petraeus has just taken over command, when Republicans in Congress are pushing for a clean war funding resolution, when Republicans around the country are doing their best to rally their fellow citizens behind the mission, your comment is more than an embarrassment. It’s an affront, both to the honor of the Republican party and to the commitment of the soldiers fighting to accomplish the mission they’ve been asked to take on by our elected leaders.
Unconfirmed report, there was fax sent to Weekly Standard offices from the GOP Headquarters that read:
Dear Bill Kristol,
F*** You Honkey Jew-Boy…
I got this bitch and ain’t a damn thing you can do about it cracker!
Signed,
Michael Steele
Wow. Just….Wow….
Update: Okay, first off, the crack above about the Fax, is a joke. I’m posting this before some idiot media person sees this and runs with it. Second of all. I watched the Steele clip; and admittedly, he does have a point about Afghanistan, because historically other countries HAVE tried to fight there and had to pull out. However, this goes against the Bush doctrine and the talking points of the G.O.P.; not to mention the talking points of the Wilsonian Conservative crowd, like Bill Kristol and Co. So, yeah. ouch. Steele is going to get nailed on this one hard. Also, he was quite DUMB for saying that Afghanistan was Obama choice war or whatever. It was actually Bush’s war, that Obama inherited. So, Kristol saying he should resign is quite spot on, as he is making the G.O.P. look like a group of dolts at this point. Between Steele, John Boehner and Lindsey Graham, the G.O.P. has a big image problem on its hands.
Update#2 : G.O.P. Spins:
The RNC said that Steele did not say the troops should not be in Afghanistan, instead that he was calling for a better war strategy.
“The chairman clearly supports our troops but believes that success of the war effort in Afghanistan requires the ongoing support of the American people,” RNC Communications Director Doug Heye said. “The responsibility for building and maintaining that strategy falls squarely on the shoulders of the president. Like so many Americans, Chairman Steele wants to hear an explanation from President Obama on what his strategy is for winning the war in Afghanistan. The Petraeus hearings were an opportunity – a missed opportunity – to do that. Instead, all we hear from the president is criticism of his predecessor for doing exactly the same thing.”
“There is no question that America must win the war on terror,” Steele said. “During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made clear his belief that we should not fight in Iraq, but instead concentrate on Afghanistan. Now, as President, he has indeed shifted his focus to this region. That means this is his strategy. And, for the sake of the security of the free world, our country must give our troops the support necessary to win this war.
AllahPundit makes a darned good point:
Two grand ironies to this clusterfark. One: It’s high-larious to see the idiots at the DNC turning super-hawk on Steele for wanting to “walk away from the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban without finishing the job” and for daring to “undermine the morale of our troops when what they need is our support and encouragement.” After year upon year of screeching at Bush over every setback in Iraq, with Democrats as prominent as Harry Reid declaring the war lost, the sheer balls needed to call him out in those terms are astounding. And am I mistaken or aren’t there an awful lot of liberals who oppose the war and might not care to have the DNC describing them in those same terms? Good work, hypocrites: You’ve done your job of distracting attention today from our pitiful president’s pitiful economy. Make sure to bookmark their statement too, because we’ll be revisiting it — repeatedly — next year when The One inevitably gives his order to start a massive drawdown.
Two: This is actually a rare case of Steele saying something stupid that arguably — I stress, arguably — makes the public better disposed to the GOP. Hawks may hate it, but (a) 58 percent of the public supports Obama’s withdrawal timeline next year and (b) prominent conservatives are growing bolder about speaking up against the war. George Will has been against it forever, of course, and just this morning Byron York hint-hinted that it’s time to go; in Congress, Ron Paul (of course) and Jason Chaffetz are big-name Republicans who oppose continuing the mission. It’ll be awfully interesting to see who else comes out of the woodwork in December, when the Pentagon conducts its review of operations, and then again next July, when Obama has to decide on his next step.
I hate to admit it; but when AllahPundit is on point; he is really on point Amazing how Democrats can turn on a dime. It almost gives a man whiplash.
I guess I should have titled this, “Michael Steele channels his inner Ron Paul.” 😯 😮
Update #3: Erick Erickson is a bit more direct:
I have heard Michael Steele’s comments regarding Afghanistan and the President.
I have read the RNC’s statement on the matter.
The RNC statement is indecipherable in the context of what Michael Steele actually said.
The war in Afghanistan is not a war of Barack Obama’s choosing. It is a war of Al Qaeda and the Taliban’s choosing. We responded.
Michael Steele must resign. He has lost all moral authority to lead the GOP.
Update #4: This here is the reason why Conservatives and Republicans are so steamed over this. This from Democrats.com:
A number of Democrats and “liberal” pundits are smugly attacking GOP chairman Michael Steele for telling the “inconvenient truth” about Afghanistan:
“Keep in mind again, [GOP] federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.”…
“It was the president who was trying to be cute by half by flipping the script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should be in Afghanistan. Well, if he’s such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? All right, because everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history, has failed. And there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan without committing more troops…”
Steele is exactly right.
[..]
The cheapest form of counter-terrorism is drone missile strikes, where targeting relies on cameras in the drones. Unfortunately those cameras often mistake wedding parties for terrorist gatherings, resulting in bloody massacres that undermine Afghan and allied support for the pointless U.S. occupation.
The next step up in counter-terrorism is “special forces” – boots on the ground – who theoretically collect human intelligence from locals so their targeting of terrorists is more precise, resulting in fewer wedding party massacres.
The problem with “boots on the ground” is the heads and hearts attached to them, which die when hit with bullets, which in turn produce casualty reports in U.S. newspapers, which undermines U.S. public support for the pointless U.S. occupation.
Apart from “counter-terrorism,” the “other way to engage” in Afghanistan is through regional diplomacy. That means working out a deal among all interested parties so all the fighting stops.
The inconvenient truth for the U.S. is that we simply cannot afford $100 billion per year forever in a futile effort to “stop the Taliban’s momentum.” Sooner or later we will need to find “other ways to engage,” as Michael Steele said.
So Michael Steele is right. And the sooner we begin a serious discussion of those “other ways to engage,” the sooner we will find a way to bring our troops safely home and end the pointless, disasatrous, unaffordable occupation of Afghanistan.
Steel is giving the Democrats their talking points and very sadly agreeing with them as well. He needs to go.
Barack Obama is among best presidents ever, but why?
Stupid liberals…:
George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be.
That’s the verdict of 238 of the nation’s leading presidential scholars, who – for a fifth time – rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt the best president ever in the latest Siena College Research Institute poll.
In office for barely two years, Obama entered the survey in the 15th position – two spots behind Bill Clinton and three spots ahead of Ronald Reagan.
Obama got high marks for intelligence, ability to communicate and imagination, but his score was dragged down by his relative lack of experience and family background.
“Most of the presidents came from elite backgrounds, and he certainly did not,” said professor Douglas Lonnstrom, who crunched the numbers. “He grew up without a father.”
By contrast, Bush’s dad was our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, who came in 22nd in the poll.
And yet, the scholars rated Dubya a dud as a president, ranking him in the bottom five at 39th place.
That’s a steep drop from 23rd place, which is where Bush ranked when he entered the survey after his first year in office.
via Barack Obama is among best presidents ever – George W. Bush not so much, say scholars in Siena poll.
Hmmmmm… Could it be….Because…. He’s Black? 😯
Just saying…. George W. Bush was an evil White man. Obama, he’s the socialist black savior.
This bears repeating:
Oil Spill Timeline from RightChange on Vimeo.
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Orly Taitz continues to prove that she is a couple fries short of a happy meal
This is one seriously crazy woman:
From Orange County News: “Irvine real-estate guy Damon Dunn [pictured far left] beat Laguna Niguel dentist/birther lawyer Orly Taitz [pictured left] by a margin of roughly three-to-one in this month’s primary election to determine the Republican candidate for Secretary of State. But though the election is finished, Taitz has persisted in insisting that Dunn is as ineligible for office as she thinks Barack Obama to be. She has taking her beef with Dunn to an Orange County courtroom.
More: “As we’ve addressed in the past, Taitz’s accusations against Dunn center around the fact that he registered more than 10 years ago as a Democrat in Florida. California election law says that you can’t run in a party primary if you were a member of another party within a year of filing. She also alleges in her complaint that Dunn falsified the signatures of supporters and willfully omitted information about his past registration on official documents. But Dunn’s Florida registration expired in 2005, and Dunn’s lawyers argue that even if it didn’t, Dunn would be fine because of the way the law treats out-of-state parties.”
via California: Orly Taitz “Birther Lawyer” Continues Jihad Against Damon Dunn – Hip Hop Republican.
Sad part is, she’s Jewish. She makes all Jews everywhere look just horrible. Not to mention Conservatives and Republicans.
But then again, the Democrats do have Allen Grayson. 😉
Big Suprise there (not!): DOJ slimes Whistleblower
But of course, The DOJ is going to slime the guy who blew the whistle on Obama sacking of the Black Panther case. Roger L. Simon of Pajama’s Media has more: (H/T to InstaPundit)
Call it Panthergate, call it what you will. The Department of Justice (or its minions) is already attempting to slime its whistleblower J. Christian Adams — the attorney who recently resigned from the Department over its abandonment of the New Black Panther case.Now Adams has struck back, telling Pajamas Media that the DOJ’s smears were a “blatant lie.”
Adams appeared on Megyn Kelly’s Fox News show to tell his story Tuesday, following which a “source familiar with the case” came forward, trying to tarnish the lawyer’s reputation. Pajamas Media was informed by a Fox producer:
The person said that any story should include the fact that Adams only left DOJ after being put into a job he disliked, and that he has long been an advocate of conservative views. Source also says Adams’ claims are “willfully inaccurate.”
This battle had been brewing for several days since Adams — using the Panther case as an example — asserted in the Washington Times, and then in more detail in Pajamas Media, that institutionalized bias had infiltrated Eric Holder’s Justice Department. Civil rights complaints would only be pursued when initiated by people of color against white people.
When it was the other way around, the complaints, even when well-substantiated as with the New Black Panthers, would disappear in a bureaucratic morass.
The attacks on Adams — whether from the “anonymous source” or from DOJ spokesperson Tracy Schmaler — were of surprising ferocity, indicating nervousness on the part of the Department. — Via Roger L. Simon » DOJ Slimes Whistleblower Adams in Panthergate Case
I’d head over and read this one; as it is very interesting. The Presidential Administration will stop at nothing to keep from the truth being exposed about it. I would honestly say that President Barack Obama is slowly becoming the Richard Nixon of the Democratic Party.
Remember this come 2010 and 2012.
1.3 unemployed won’t get unemployment, Democrats grandstand the issue
I got four words for ’em — Cry Me a River:
WASHINGTON – More than 1.3 million laid-off workers won’t get their unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on a weeklong break for Independence Day.
And hundreds of thousands more will lose their benefits in the coming weeks.
The House voted 270-153 Thursday to extend jobless benefits for people who have been laid off for long stretches, but the gesture was made futile by the Senate’s inability to pass the bill. For the third time in as many weeks, Republicans in the Senate successfully filibustered a similar measure Wednesday night before senators adjourned for vacation.
A little more than 1.3 million people have already lost benefits since the last extension ran out at the end of May, according to the Labor Department. By the end of the week, the number will jump to 1.7 million. By the end of July, it would top 3 million.
“It is hard to understand how anybody can come to this floor and say, for 1.7 million people and their families, this is not an emergency,” said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “There is no excuse for voting no.”
The bill would extend unemployment payments for up to a total of 99 weeks, for people whose state-paid benefits have run out. The benefits would be available through the end of November, at a cost of $33.9 billion. The money would have been borrowed, adding to the budget deficit.
via 1.3 million unemployed won’t get benefits restored – Yahoo! News.
Steve Gilbert over at Sweetness and Light points out:
This is political grandstanding of the worst kind. The Republicans have repeatedly said that they would extend unemployment benefits if the Democrats would strip out all the other things they have larded up the bill with. That is to say, the Republicans have said they would vote for a stand-alone unemployment extension.
But the Democrats refuse present such a bill because they think they can score political points by claiming that the GOP opposes extending benefits for those out of work.
As for me; I have no pity for those people who have been on the Government dole and are now losing the dole. Why? Because when I became unemployed back in 2005. I was not eligible for unemployment, at all. Why? Because I quit my job. The job was making me physically sick and I could not take it anymore and I quit. So, that automatically disqualifies me from getting any benefits. (Looking back on it, I MIGHT have been able to collect… But, at the time, I thought I had another job lined up. Needless to say, that never happened…)
So, since 2005; I have been having to basically live off my folks and making whatever little this blog brings in for cash. Which really is not much at all, when you get right down to it. But I do much enjoy writing about politics and the idiotic Democrats! 😉 You think the Government would push aside its rules and regulations for this white boy? Yeah Right! Now maybe if I was some sort of an oppressed minority or something. But, I am just another evil white man and the Government hasn’t established a fund for the evil poor white man yet.
You would think that the condition that the Country is in that the Democrats would just say, “Okay, Unemployment Benefits only.” But, no, they would rather grandstand an issue, all just to try secure votes come November. Which to be truly honest, is not going to guarantee the Democrats anything at all. Heck, if I were a Republican or a Democrat right now; I would be very worried, because there is a good deal of anti-incumbent sentiment in American right now.
This, in a long list of issues, is why I will never, ever vote Democratic Party again, ever.
Unemployment continues to go through the roof, Obama’s heads in the clouds
The pie in the sky from Bambi Teleprompter:
We had to take some tough steps to pull the country out of the freefall we faced when I took office. Back then, the economy was shrinking faster than it had in decades. Today, it’s growing again. Back then, we were losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month. Today, we’ve added private sector jobs for five months in a row.
So now the economy is headed in the right direction.
The Goodyear meets the asphalt reality of the situation on the ground:
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending June 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 472,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 459,000. The 4-week moving average was 466,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 463,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending June 19, unchanged from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.6 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 19 was 4,616,000, an increase of 43,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,573,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,567,500, a decrease of 25,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,592,750.
The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.077 million.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 438,305 in the week ending June 26, an increase of 14,867 from the previous week. There were 559,857 initial claims in the comparable week in 2009.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent during the week ending June 19, unchanged from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,311,264, an increase of 3,471 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 4.5 percent and the volume was 6,078,254.
Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin during the week ending June 12.
Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 2,083 in the week ending June 19, a decrease of 64 from the prior week. There were 2,381 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 118 from the preceding week.
There were 18,082 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending June 12, an increase of 245 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 34,334, a decrease of 2,589 from the prior week.
States reported 4,515,499 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending June 12, a decrease of 217,513 from the prior week. There were 2,503,379 claimants in the comparable week in 2009. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
via ETA Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.
Heckuva Job Berry!
This right here ought to be text book proof that you just do not spend your way out of a recession.
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