Happy Veterans Day!

To all Military, active and otherwise! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service.

I never served a day in my life in the armed forces. They will not take me, I do not have a high school diploma. I have learning disabilities and I never did finish high school.  Therefore I was ineligible.  However, I am eternally grateful for anyone who served in the Military in any capacity.

Here are some videos from a pretty cool new site:

and this:

Also, I want to give credit, where credit is due…

You did well Google, thank you for honoring our Nation's best.

Again, let me be clear — I never served a day in my live, ever. However, I know from whence our freedoms doth come. They do not come from the Government; they come from the Lord God above and they are bought and paid for, by the blood of brave soldiers, who have fought and died in battlefields in our own Country of old and in battlefields abroad….. and for that, they have my deepest respect.

What happens when a Beltway Neo-Con and Rockafeller Conservative crosses horns with a Grassroots Conservative?

This….: (H/T)

I voted

Yes, I did.

Here’s my sticker to prove it:

My Sticker

Another shot:

Good spot for that sticker! 🙂

I do hope that you would do the same, because honestly, those who do not vote — have no right to complain.

Yes, I voted Republican. Because no libertarian has ever won an election that meant anything and because I believe that the Republican Party learned its lesson with the mistakes of Bush and is now working to get back to its true principles.

I love this Country and I want to see the America; that I grew up in, preserved. My vote was an effort to do just that.

I will be blogging about the returns later tonight. Hopefully, we can right this ship.

May I go on the record as saying that this here is straight up BULLCRAP?

I am referring to this here:

Not only is this stupid as hell, it is HIGHLY ILLEGAL!

Don’t believe me? See for yourself:

No employer or his agent or a corporation shall print or authorize to be printed upon any pay envelopes any statements intended or calculated to influence the political action of his or its employees; or post or exhibit in the establishment or anywhere in or about the establishment any posters, placards, or hand bills containing any threat, notice, or information that if any particular candidate is elected or defeated work in the establishment will cease in whole or in part, or other threats expressed or implied, intended to influence the political opinions or votes of his or its employees.

That, by the way, is Ohio Revised Code regarding elections.

I am not Democrat; I am a Independent Conservative — more libertarian than anything else. The reason why this steams me, is because it is nothing more than straight up fascism and it is wrong as hell.

The idiot that did this,  has apologized:

As an independent business owner, my employees are a top priority for me. I work hard to create a positive restaurant environment for everyone. I greatly value my employees and the contributions they make to my business, each and every day. Without a doubt it’s my employees’ right and his or her choice, if they decide to vote, and if so, for whom. I strive to comply with all laws, including state and federal election laws. Distributing this communication was an error of judgment on my part. Please know, it was never my intention to offend anyone. For those that I have offended, I sincerely apologize.

If I were the head-honchos at McDonald’s corporate, I would jerk this idiot’s franchise right out from under him. He has zero and I do mean ZERO business telling any person that works for him, how to vote,  at all, period, end of story. It is not only against the law, it is just bad business. That would be like me, owning some business and telling my people, “You vote Democrat and I will fire you!” It is against the law.

Now before any idiot, who happens to be a Republican or a Conservative tries to tell me that I am wrong. Save your damned breath; I know the law and I also happen to be someone who believes in rule of law. This here violates that all over the place. The only type of Conservative that would disagree with me, is the idiot Neo-Conservatives, who are not much into upholding the rule of law. The last 8 years prior to Obama’s Presidency was living proof of that.

Video: Gold and Silver Manipulation Exposed by GATA

An interesting video:

Get this DVD by clicking here

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President George W. Bush talks about his book Decision Points

(H/T HotAir.com)

You can buy President George W. Bush’s Book here:

Disclosure: A percentage of the purchase cost of this book goes to me, at not additional cost to the customer.

Also, please note; I did not always agree with the decisions that George W. Bush made while he was in office. However, considering what we have now for a President — I have to respect this man. He was, for all of his faults, a leader. Again, I did not agree with everything he did — especially his decision to go to war in Iraq — I also disagree with his idea of exporting democracy to other countries; which is a hallmark of Wilsonian foreign policy. However, I will give the man the respect and honor he does the deserve. That is what separates me from the left — they steadfastly refuse to respect the man and the office. I respect the man and the office; I just do not agree on the policies. I can separate the two, liberals cannot.

Here is a perfect reason why I will never vote Democrat again, ever

Some video clips, but first a little housekeeping —- sorry for the lack of posts. I passed out asleep and didn’t wake up till 12:00 midnight.

Anyhow, here are three video clips, all of which I saw over at HotAir.com:

The first one is where Bill O. is on the view and he makes the fetal mistake of ID’ing who actually attacked us on 9/11:

My friends, after 10 years, if we cannot say Muslim’s attacked us on 9/11 without having to add the radical part, then something is seriously wrong. We usually do not say, radical Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor, nor do we say that Germany under Hitler was radical Germany —- we just call them Germans. I ask you people, why the hell do we have to give the god damned Muslims in this Country some sort of god damned special treatment!?!?!?! Now the argument here is, that if you do not use the term “Radical Muslims”, that you imply that ALL Muslims are terrorists; to which I say, ever read their Koran? I am just saying….

Now this next clip is beyond belief, to add insult to injury, Joy Behar invites Jesse Ventura; Yes, Jesse “I think Bush and Cheney caused 9/11” Ventura:

Finally, here is the clip of Bill O. talking with Laura Ingraham ripping on Behar and Whoopie on the walkout and basically saying what I said; Now I know that I have ripped on Ingraham on here in the past, calling her a shrieking Harpy, when I thought it was due, I have also made fun of her, when she has done silly stuff, case and point, see here —  But this time, Bill O’Reilly and yes, Laura Ingraham are both right, the damned liberals, as usual, are straight up wrong and are trying to play some sort of political correctness game with 9/11, which I happen to know is straight up BULLSHIT. Anyhow, here’s the clip of Bill O and Ingraham:

Again, let me say, I agree with both of these people 100 percent; it was Muslims that attacked us on 9/11, it was not Christians, it was not Jews, it was not Hindus; it was Muslims. To say anything other than this, excuses the group that attacked us. What about so-called peace loving Muslims? Well, to that I say this, when the Muslim Community decides to confront, head on, the radical element within their own religion abroad and here in America —- then I might start making that distinction, until that starts happening, all bets are off.

Further more, let me get into something else here. This whole idea, by some, on the liberal left, that Bush did 9/11. Now to normal sane Americans; this idea that President George W. Bush caused or ordered the attacks on 9/11 is pure insanity. But to some of the left, it is a true fact. Honestly, only about 1% actually believe that Bush caused 9/11. The rest of the left, use that little line, out of anger — over losing the 2000 and 2004 elections. I ought to know, I used to vote Democrat, up until 2007, when I decided that the Democratic Party had went too far to the left for even my liking.

This whole idea that Bush caused 9/11 and Democrats calling for a formal investigation into events surrounding 9/11, and also the lead up to the Iraq War is nothing more than political retribution towards the Republican Party and towards George W. Bush —- because the Democrats lost 2000 and 2004. As you all know, in 2000, the Democrats ran an unelectable buffoon named Al Gore. In 2004, Same deal, different person. Losing both of those elections have burned Democrats for years. Hence the continued inferring that Bush caused 9/11. Plus, on top of that, there was the Iraq War; which was the liberal “cause” here, up until someone within the liberal establishment decided that the Iraq War was no longer worth making the entire liberal movement look stupid and they dropped it as a whole. Then there is the afghan war; which the opposition to it, has been rather muted. Because the liberal establishment knows that if they turn on that War that the Democratic Party to the rest of America, will look like the biggest bunch of hypocrites ever. Which they are, but I digress. Either way, these videos just show you; one, the hypocrisy of the liberals and two, how bad that the liberal movement has become, when it comes to freedom of speech.

Come November 2, I will either be voting for Libertarians or Republicans. I have no really decided which; at this point, I am most likely pulling the lever for the Republicans. Because we need to right the ship and the libertarians have never won anything at all, and I want to vote for a winner this time; especially here in Michigan. We have had enough of Democratic failure, me especially, being out of work since 2005, it does really suck. Instead of doing the normal blaming of the Republicans, like some people I know around here do, I am facing reality and saying that Granholm and her polices failed and am voting different.

…and I hope you will do the same….

Not that it is a big surprise, but Fox News is murdering MSNBC in ratings

I happen to know why too… but first:

Via Politico:

More people are getting their news about the upcoming election from cable television than any other source, and from Fox News more than any other cable channel, according to a POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll released Monday.

The poll found that 81 percent of those polled get their news about the midterm elections from cable channels, like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or their websites, compared with 71 percent from national network news channels, such as ABC, NBC or CBS, and their websites.

Among cable news channels, Fox was the clear winner, with 42 percent of respondents saying it is their main source, compared with 30 percent who cited CNN and 12 percent who rely on MSNBC.

The results show the growing influence that 24-hour cable news has on shaping the political consciousness, despite the fact that network newscasts still draw many multiples of the number of viewers of even the highest-rated cable news shows.

“Because people can tune into cable at any time of day, I think the cumulative audience is probably larger than the cumulative audience for the three network news shows,” said Chris Arterton, dean of the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.

The real funny part about this, is the following:

Fox’s opinionated personalities were also rated as having the greatest positive impact on the political debate in the country. Bill O’Reilly was rated as having, by far, the greatest positive impact, with 49 percent of respondents rating him positively, and 32 percent negatively.

Glenn Beck was the second most-positively rated personality, with 38 percent of respondents saying he had a positive impact, and 32 percent saying he had a negative impact.

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was the third-most-positively ranked, with 36 percent saying he has a positive impact on the discourse, but his negatives far outweighed his positives, with 52 percent saying he has a negative impact.

“To some extent, Limbaugh has become almost a caricature in a way, so I don’t know how much influence he has beyond entertainment value,” Arteron said. “Whereas, in some way, the other people on Fox are seen as more legitimate news operations.”

MSNBC’s personalities were largely ranked as unknown by respondents: 70 percent said they had never heard of Ed Schultz, 55 percent said they had never heard of Rachel Maddow and 42 percent said they had never heard of Keith Olbermann.

The reason?

So True....

(Borrowed from Weasel Zippers)

There is a personal angle to this story and I am going to share it with you.  During the 1990’s, I was a watcher of CNN, mainly because that was about the only cable news outlet out there at the time.  Please keep in mind that back on those days, I was very unaware or unconcerned about media bias.  I always knew that the media, which I referred to, at the time, as the “secular media”; always had a bias against Christianity, Christians and the Church World as a whole.

However, I really do not know when it started really, most likely, after the election of George W. Bush; but it seemed like the bias and antagonistic mentality towards Christians, Christianity, and the Church World began to come to a feverish pitch around 2006 or so.  At least, that is when I began to notice it with any somewhat real cognizant effort.   The straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, is when CNN did a special called “What is a Christian?”  Which I felt was a purposeful attack on Christianity in general.  However, when they did a special on Muslims, it was titled “God’s Warriors.”  That is when I decided that CNN had “Crossed the Rubicon” in my book.  So, I switched to MSNBC.  I knew that MSNBC would be a bit like CNN, but they had tucker Carlson on there.  Therefore, that would balance it out.  I remembered tucker from the CNN days —- I also remember him being a bit of an asshole as well. I knew about his background, which admittedly made me cringe a bit. However, when I began watch his show, I found that I actually began agreeing with what he was saying.  I should also point out, that this was around the time, that I began blogging.  I was inspired, mainly by Lou Dobbs and with an utter frustration with what the Bush Administration was doing in Iraq.

However, things over at MSNBC began to change; first off, Tucker’s show was cancelled, that just flat out angered me.  I thought Tucker’s show balanced out the other opinions, like Olbermann. Then the jockeying of talent around, all of whom had one thing in common — They were all liberal.  That bothered me a bit. Therefore, I did what any sane, reasoned person would do.  I began to watch Fox News — in a very limited fashion at first.  I would watch Keith Obermann’s show at eight o’clock and then I would catch the repeat of Bill O’Reilly’s show at Eleven o’clock.

I should also mention that around this time, is when I began to see the writing on wall, so to speak, in the Democratic Party.  The Party that once stood for middle class people and people like me, who were held back, due to personal circumstances, was becoming the party of identity politics. I also began to see that the Democratic Party was much biased and geared against middle class and above white people —- like me.  Yes, I am aware, that identity politics and gender entitlement always was a faction within the Democratic Party.  However, until the 2007 Primary, I do not believe that it was the “mainstay” of that party.  In 2007, that all changed, with the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama; it was the blacks against the feminists and that was when I decided that enough was enough.  Also around this time, my blog was hacked and I had to start over from scratch and I decided that cheering for the left; even though I was a left-of-center and not really ever a fully-fledged Democrat — was an exercise in abject folly.  Therefore, I began blogging from an Independent standpoint and as time went on, I found myself agreeing more and more with the right on most, if not all issues.

Now there are some issues that I am in disagreement with, however, they are nothing worth totally separating me from the right.  Most of them are on the framing of arguments against the left.  Example: Socialism and Unions —- I believe it to be a credible argument to say that socialism has contributed to the downfall of Michigan and the Detroit area.  Further, I believe it to be a legitimate argument to say that the Unions have added to the cost of vehicles offered by the auto companies.  The problem is that the right needs to work on the polish and verbiage of those legitimate arguments.  Casting unions in the light of some covert Communist operation does nothing but make the right look like total buffoons.

Finally, my viewing of MSNBC finally stopped, after a woman by the name of Janeane Garofalo took to the airwaves on MSNBC and declared on Keith Olbermann’s show that the Tea Party movement was nothing more than a bunch of racist white people and racist rednecks.  It was at that point, when I decided, that Keith Olbermann and his show were not something that I felt that I needed to watch any longer.  I am sorry, but when you use your show and one of your guests as a proxy to insult a particular ethnic group of people — especially one that I happen to be involved in — you are practicing the politics of exclusion; and that is, I am afraid, not something that I can and will ever support.  The Bush Administration tried this back in 2003, during the run up to and after the start of the Iraq War.  Those that were opposed to the war in Iraq were labeled by the Bush Administration and its supporters as Anti-American.  Conversely, it is believed by some, that certain persons within the Bush Administration purposely derailed the career of a covert C.I.A. agent of whom husband did criticize the decision to go to war.

This all again, is the practice of derisive politics, something I thought that the left detested; however, it seems that the left engaged in the same sorts of folly themselves — Not only in just the general politics itself, but also in the media coverage — but also in the actually reporting of news as well.  I remember well how Keith Olbermann and many of his fellow liberals liked and still do like to blast Fox News for allow opinion to seep into the normal news programs in the morning.  However, I have watched MSNBC, and have seen liberal bias in the morning news reporting there as well.  Therefore, to this writer, that nullifies any argument that the left has against Fox News or any other sort of Conservative outlet.  I mean, it only makes sense that you cannot criticize someone for doing something that you do yourself.  Then again, common sense does not seem to be in great abundance in liberal Democrat circles these days.  Just look at whom the Democratic Party installed as President — that ought to speak volumes as to the condition of liberalism, and the Democratic Party in general in this modern day and age.  I mean a perfect example of the elite liberal establishment can be seen, when Bill Maher calls those who do not want the nationalized heathcare, as stupid.  This is the attitude of the liberal populace and establishment as a whole; that most Americans are uneducated stupid people, who must have the enlightened ones makes the decisions, because most Americans are too stupid to know what it good for them — that is essentially liberalism distilled to its basic parts.  This is why I sided against them.  They do not trust people like me, to be able to make our own decisions.  Further, they wish to quell my free will, which is given to me, by God himself, to accept or reject what it is that they wish to foist upon me.

In closing of this rather long article — I am quite the windbag, when I want to be — the reason for these dismal ratings for MSNBC is that that network has and is continuing to engage in intellectual dishonesty.  This began right after the election of President Barack Obama.  This should be proof that you just cannot propagandize the American people — not for very long anyhow.  Americans are just smarter than the liberal elite and some elite among the Conservative establishment, give them credit for being.  Americans just have that uncanny ability to know when they are being sold a line of tripe.

This friends, is what makes us a great Nation and for this, I am eternally grateful.

The G.O.P’s “Pledge to America” is nothing more retread Neo-Conservative, Theocracy nonsense

This is pretty rich; The Republican Party is trotting out the same old George W. Bush style of Governence, with some new promises. Promises that the Republican Party actually expect the American people to believe that they will actually keep.

Let us go through this thing, shall we?

This comes Via CBS NEWS:

CBS News has obtained a final draft of House Republicans’ legislative agenda for the next Congress, a 21-page "Pledge to America" that they will formally unveil Thursday morning at a Virginia hardware store.

"The need for urgent action to repair our economy and reclaim our government for the people cannot be overstated," the introduction says.

It continues: "With this document, we pledge to dedicate ourselves to the task of reconnecting our highest aspirations to the permanent truths of our founding by keeping faith with the values our nation was founded on, the principles we stand for, and the priorities of our people. This is our Pledge to America."

Let look at this thing shall we? I mean, I need a good laugh! I will spare you the hum drum, "Patriot" sounding nonsense and puffery, and I will get to the meat and point out the crap.

We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.
We pledge to make government more transparent in its actions, careful in its stewardship, and honest in its dealings.
We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America, knowing that to whom much is given, much is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.
We make this pledge bearing true faith and allegiance to the people we represent, and we invite fellow citizens and patriots to join us in forming a new governing agenda for America.

Hmmm, Sounds like they want to turn America into a theocracy. 

Continuing:

Permanently Stop All Job-Killing Tax Hikes: We will help the economy by permanently stopping all tax increases, currently scheduled to take effect January 1, 2011. That means protecting middle-class families, seniors worried about their retirement, and the entrepreneurs and family-owned small businesses on which we depend to create jobs in America.

• Give Small Businesses a Tax Deduction: We will allow small business owners to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their business income. This will provide entrepreneurs with a much-needed infusion of capital for investment and new hiring.

• Rein In the Red Tape Factory in Washington, DC: Excessive federal regulation is a de facto tax on employers and consumers that stifles job creation, hampers innovation and postpones investment in the economy. When the game is always changing, small businesses cannot properly plan for the future. To provide stability, we will require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more. This is the threshold at which the government deems a regulation “economically significant.” If a regulation is so “significant” and costly that it may harm job creation, Congress should vote on it first.

• Repeal Job-Killing Small Business Mandates: One of the most controversial mandates of the Democrats’ government takeover of health care requires small businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service any purchases that run more than $600. This 1099 reporting mandate is so overbearing that the IRS ombudsman has determined that the agency is ill-equipped to handle all the resulting paperwork.. We will repeal this job-killing small business mandate.

This was all promised before and never was enacted.

Act Immediately to Reduce Spending: There is no reason to wait to reduce wasteful and unnecessary spending. Congress should move immediately to cancel unspent “stimulus” funds, and block any attempts to extend the timeline for spending “stimulus” funds. Throwing more money at a stimulus plan that is not working only wastes taxpayer money and puts us further in debt.

• Cut Government Spending to Pre-Stimulus, Pre-Bailout Levels: With common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops, we will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to begin paying down the debt, balancing the budget, and ending the spending spree in Washington that threatens our children’s future.

• Establish a Hard Cap on New Discretionary Spending: We must put common-sense limits on the growth of government and stop the endless increases. Only in Washington is there an expectation that whatever your budget was last year, it will be more this year and even more the next. We will set strict budget caps to limit federal spending on an annual basis. Budget caps were used in the 1990s, when a Republican Congress was able to bring the budget into balance and eventual surplus. By cutting discretionary spending from current levels and imposing a hard cap on future growth, we will save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

• Cut Congress’ Budget: This year, Congress increased its own budget by 5.8 percent at a time when families and small businesses across the country are cutting back. We will make Congress do more with less by significantly reducing its budget.

• Hold Weekly Votes on Spending Cuts: Earlier this year, House Republicans launched the YouCut initiative to combat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. Over the course of nine weeks, YouCut produced proposals to save taxpayers more than $120 billion. We will continue to hold weekly votes on spending cuts.

• End TARP Once And For All: Americans are rightly outraged at the bailouts of businesses and entities that force responsible taxpayers to subsidize irresponsible behavior. We will cancel the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a move that would save taxpayers roughly $16 billion.

• End Government Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Since taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies that triggered the financial meltdown by giving too many high risk loans to people who couldn’t afford them, taxpayers were billed more than $145 billion to save the two companies. We will reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by ending their government takeover, shrinking their portfolios, and establishing minimum capital standards. This will save taxpayers as much as $30 billion.

• Impose a Net Federal Hiring Freeze of Non-Security Employees: Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the engine of our economy and should not be crowded out by unchecked government growth. We will impose a net hiring freeze on non-security federal employees and ensure that the public sector no longer grows at the expense of the private sector.

• Root Out Government Waste and Duplication: Once created, federal programs almost never go away, even if the problem they were created to address is no longer relevant. More than 20 states have addressed this problem by requiring that programs end – or “sunset” – by a date certain. We will adopt this requirement at the federal level to force Congress to determine if a program is worthy of continued taxpayer support.

• Reform the Budget Process to Focus on Long-Term Challenges: We will make the decisions that are necessary to protect our entitlement programs for today’s seniors and future generations. That means requiring a full accounting of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, setting benchmarks for these programs and reviewing them regularly, and preventing the expansion of unfunded liabilities.

Again, this was all promised before in the past; and was never done. In fact, spending increased under the previous President.

My favorite so far…:

There is literally no aspect of our economy or our society that the federal government doesn’t tax, regulate or subsidize, and often it does all three at the same time. The most recent edition of the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance listed 2,050 different assistance programs available to states, local governments, for-profit and non-profit organizations, groups, and individuals. Taxpayers are literally funding programs from cradle to grave…

Yes, let’s defund programs for the actual needy, and the Handicapped — like my aunt. Let’s allow them starve. What idiots. 🙄

Here’s the REAL knee slapper!

• Read The Bill: We will ensure that bills are debated and discussed in the public square by publishing the text online for at least three days before coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. No more hiding legislative language from the minority party, opponents, and the public. Legislation should be understood by all interested parties before it is voted on.

• Adhere To The Constitution: For too long, Congress has ignored the proper limits imposed by the Constitution on the federal government. Further, it has too often drafted unclear and muddled laws, leaving to an unelected judiciary the power to interpret what the law means and by what authority the law stands. This lack of respect for the clear Constitutional limits and authorities has allowed Congress to create ineffective and costly programs that add to the massive deficit year after year. We will require each bill moving through Congress to include a clause citing the specific constitutional authority upon which the bill is justified.

• Make It Easier to Cut Spending: By forbidding amendments on spending bills, Democrats have denied lawmakers the opportunity to tighten Washington’s belt and slash wasteful and duplicative programs. Structure dictates behavior, so we will let any lawmaker — Democrat or Republican — offer amendments to reduce spending.

• Advance Legislative Issues One at a Time: We will end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with “must-pass” legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time.

However, they wish to do this too:

* Pass Clean Troop Funding Bills: When asked to provide our troops with the resources they need, we will do so without delay. That means no more troop funding bills held up by unrelated policy changes, or extraneous domestic spending and pork-barrel projects.

• Keep Terrorists Out of America: We will prevent the government from importing terrorists onto American soil. We will hold President Obama and his administration responsible for any Guantanamo Bay detainees they release who return to fight against our troops or who have become involved in any terrorist plots or activities.

• Demand an Overarching Detention Policy: Foreign terrorists do not have the same rights as American citizens, nor do they have more rights than U.S. military personnel. We will work to ensure foreign terrorists, such as the 9/11 conspirators, are tried in military, not civilian, court. We will oppose all efforts to force our military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel operating overseas to extend “Miranda Rights” to foreign terrorists.

• Fully Fund Missile Defense: There is real concern that while the threat from Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles could materialize as early as 2015, the government’s missile defense policy is not projected to cover the U.S. homeland until 2020. We will work to ensure critical funding is restored to protect the U.S. homeland and our allies from missile threats from rogue states such as Iran and North Korea.

• Require Tough Enforcement of Sanctions Against Iran: The Iranian regime is a state-sponsor of terrorism, has actively worked to harm our deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and violates the rights and will of its own people. It has declared its determination to acquire a nuclear capability, which threatens its neighbors and the security of the United States. We will work to ensure the government aggressively and effectively implements the sanctions tools Congress has provided.

• Establish Operational Control of the Border: We must take action to secure our borders, and that action starts with enforcing our laws. We will ensure that the Border Patrol has the tools and authorities to establish operational control at the border and prohibit the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture from interfering with Border Patrol enforcement activities on federal lands.

• Work with State and Local Officials to Enforce Our Immigration Laws: The problem of illegal immigration and Mexican drug cartels engaged in an increasingly violent conflict means we need all hands on deck to address this challenge. We will reaffirm the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of all federal immigration laws.

• Strengthen Visa Security: To stop terrorists like Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day bomber, we will require the Department of Homeland Security to review all visa applications at high-risk consular posts and prevent aliens from attempting to avoid deportation after having their visas revoked.

As for immigration; how about we try this novel idea? END ALL IMMIGRATION FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS! Then, using the Government’s already vast resources, we round up, and DEPORT ALL Illegal immigrants in this damn country and BAR THEM from returned to the United States, FOREVER!

Yes, we want to stick to the constitution; but we also want to keep funding the Military industrial complex! This one was really one that makes me ill:

Require Tough Enforcement of Sanctions Against Iran: The Iranian regime is a state-sponsor of terrorism, has actively worked to harm our deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and violates the rights and will of its own people. It has declared its determination to acquire a nuclear capability, which threatens its neighbors and the security of the United States. We will work to ensure the government aggressively and effectively implements the sanctions tools Congress has provided.

Oh yes, let’s antagonize the hell out of Iran, until they strike one of our interests overseas; like Iraq and we end up having to go into that Country or some other one, with our interests in it. Which would lead to more War…….again!

Here is a novel idea. How about ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now? Because Iraq is done; let them people deal with their own Country. Afghanistan is basically lost. The Russians tried rebuilding that god-forsaken wilderness and failed. Why do we think that we can do it any better? Al-Qaeda is basically in Pakistan and so damned well protected; that we will never get them, unless we keep hitting civilian targets. Which only inspires more terrorists. Why not just use CIA Drones and bring out troops home? That or just admit that the United States purposefully let down it’s guard; and end the lie, in the first damned place!  That way, we can usually save some money for defending America from Terrorism here; seeing that we have created this situation of possible blow back from those wanting to hurt America, because of our stupid invasion of Iraq, which had zero to do with 9/11. How is that for a novel idea?

However, no, we would rather continue with the same old Neo-Conservative, Israel-appeasing, polices that caused 9/11 in the first damned place. In the process, we want to bankrupt the Country, by continuing to fund crap like that. Plus, we continue to fund other Countries, like Israel and their healthcare plan, which includes a public option; which America does not even have. Until this stops. America will continue to be in debt for a long time to come.

For what it is worth, I am not the only person that thinks this is crap. Even the folks at RedState hate it.

Memeorandum thread is here.

UPDATED: On the Bob Woodward Book

I am poking my head back in again — to comment on the big Bob Woodward story, that is the top story on Memeorandum.

I am referring to this:

President Obama urgently looked for a way out of the war in Afghanistan last year, repeatedly pressing his top military advisers for an exit plan that they never gave him, according to secret meeting notes and documents cited in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.

Frustrated with his military commanders for consistently offering only options that required significantly more troops, Obama finally crafted his own strategy, dictating a classified six-page “terms sheet” that sought to limit U.S. involvement, Woodward reports in “Obama’s Wars,” to be released on Monday.

According to Woodward’s meeting-by-meeting, memo-by-memo account of the 2009 Afghan strategy review, the president avoided talk of victory as he described his objectives.

“This needs to be a plan about how we’re going to hand it off and get out of Afghanistan,” Obama is quoted as telling White House aides as he laid out his reasons for adding 30,000 troops in a short-term escalation. “Everything we’re doing has to be focused on how we’re going to get to the point where we can reduce our footprint. It’s in our national security interest. There cannot be any wiggle room.”

Obama rejected the military’s request for 40,000 troops as part of an expansive mission that had no foreseeable end. “I’m not doing 10 years,” he told Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a meeting on Oct. 26, 2009. “I’m not doing long-term nation-building. I am not spending a trillion dollars.”

Woodward’s book portrays Obama and the White House as barraged by warnings about the threat of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and confronted with the difficulty in preventing them. During an interview with Woodward in July, the president said, “We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”

But most of the book centers on the strategy review, and the dissension, distrust and infighting that consumed Obama’s national security team as it was locked in a fierce and emotional struggle over the direction, goals, timetable, troop levels and the chances of success for a war that is almost certain to be one of the defining events of this presidency.

Obama is shown at odds with his uniformed military commanders, particularly Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command during the 2009 strategy review and now the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

Woodward reveals their conflicts through detailed accounts of two dozen closed-door secret strategy sessions and nearly 40 private conversations between Obama and Cabinet officers, key aides and intelligence officials.

Tensions often turned personal. National security adviser James L. Jones privately referred to Obama’s political aides as “the water bugs,” the “Politburo,” the “Mafia,” or the “campaign set.” Petraeus, who felt shut out by the new administration, told an aide that he considered the president’s senior adviser David Axelrod to be “a complete spin doctor.”

During a flight in May, after a glass of wine, Petraeus told his own staffers that the administration was “[expletive] with the wrong guy.” Gates was tempted to walk out of an Oval Office meeting after being offended by comments made by deputy national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon about a general not named in the book.

Suspicion lingered among some from the 2008 presidential campaign as well. When Obama floated the idea of naming Clinton to a high-profile post, Axelrod asked him, “How could you trust Hillary?”

Okay, first off, has everyone forgotten that 90% of what Bob Woodward writes is just straight up, sensationalized Bullshit? The Neo-Cons sure did say that, when Bob Woodward wrote his book about Bush.  However, now the Neo-Cons are treating this book like the Gospel truth; because it is about a Democratic Party President. Of course, the warmongering Neo-Cons are eating the whole bit about the terrorist attack up and basically saying that President Obama wants another attack on America. Which is, of course, straight up bullshit.

Some of the other highlights are:

— Obama told Woodward in the July interview that he didn’t think about the Afghan war in the “classic” terms of the United States winning or losing. “I think about it more in terms of: Do you successfully prosecute a strategy that results in the country being stronger rather than weaker at the end?” he said.

— The CIA created, controls and pays for a clandestine 3,000-man paramilitary army of local Afghans, known as Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams. Woodward describes these teams as elite, well-trained units that conduct highly sensitive covert operations into Pakistan as part of a stepped-up campaign against al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban havens there.

— Obama has kept in place or expanded 14 intelligence orders, known as findings, issued by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The orders provide the legal basis for the CIA’s worldwide covert operations.

— A new capability developed by the National Security Agency has dramatically increased the speed at which intercepted communications can be turned around into useful information for intelligence analysts and covert operators. “They talk, we listen. They move, we observe. Given the opportunity, we react operationally,” then-Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell explained to Obama at a briefing two days after he was elected president.

— A classified exercise in May showed that the government was woefully unprepared to deal with a nuclear terrorist attack in the United States. The scenario involved the detonation of a small, crude nuclear weapon in Indianapolis and the simultaneous threat of a second blast in Los Angeles. Obama, in the interview with Woodward, called a nuclear attack here “a potential game changer.” He said: “When I go down the list of things I have to worry about all the time, that is at the top, because that’s one where you can’t afford any mistakes.”

— Afghan President Hamid Karzai was diagnosed as manic depressive, according to U.S. intelligence reports. “He’s on his meds, he’s off his meds,” Woodward quotes U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry as saying.

Again, I have to ask; how much of this is actual truth and how much of it is sensationalized bullshit?

Liberal Blogger No more Mister Nice Blog puts it correctly:

“It’s in our national security interest” “I am not spending a trillion dollars.” At least he understand that endless war is bad for America.

And the reason that’s important is that, if we’re still deeply mired in Afghanistan as of January 20, 2013, we’ll still be just as deeply mired four years later, because President Palin/Pence/Daniels/Thune/Huckabee/Barbour/Christie sure as hell ain’t gonna withdraw. But this semi-rationality on Obama’s part is going to be lost, and the bullet-point version of this entire book is going to be “Obama plans to surrender in Afghanistan to appease the evil traitorous voters in his party.”

I hate to say it; but he is absolutely correct. Because you all know that the Neo-Conservatives are all about perpetual war. But they call me a Neo-Nazi for pointing that out; and because I refuse to do the “Identity politics” for that particular warmongering class of people. I despise identity politics on the left and the right. That, according to the protected class, is being a Neo-Nazi. Which, like most of Bob Woodward’s writings, is just straight up bullshit.

Memeorandum Thread Here.

Update: But of course. That is the same idiot that said that Iraq was an imminent danger to America and the rest of the free world back in 2003. Which of course, like Bob Woodward’s books; was straight up bullshit. 🙄

Townhall questioner to President Obama: ‘I’m Exhausted Of Defending You’

This comes via Real Clear Politics:

Quote:

“I’m one of your middle class Americans. And quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for,” a woman told President Obama at a town hall.

“My husband and I have joked for years that we thought we were well beyond the hot dogs and beans era of our lives, but, quite frankly, it’s starting to knock on our door and ring true that that might be where we’re headed again, and, quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer this honestly. Is this my new reality?,” she added.

The response from the President can be found right here. I listened to about five seconds of it. The President started giving one of his, “I feel your pain” answers; which basically was nice talk for, “You voted for me lady; now deal with what you got and get back on the reservation were you belong!” 😛

However, to address the issue which you are seeing here. This is a classic example of buyer’s regret, and it is a classic textbook example of Democratic Party overreach. They promoted this man, as the “Messiah of Progressivism.” Now that elections are over, the stimulus, that was supposed to created all these jobs; has essentially flopped. Now that the healthcare bill, that nobody really wanted, has passed and the Democrats see that there is no public option; they are now feeling like that might have just been played like a fiddle. Which they were, by Marxists, who were masters at propaganda.

Now that the propaganda phase is over and the newness of a black president has worn off, and the American people see that absolutely nothing has change,including the fact that everyone is still struggling; people are beginning, on the Democratic Party side, to feel like they have been lied too. Which they were and they fell for it — hook, line and sinker. This happened during the Carter era, this happened during the Clinton Era and now it is happening during the Obama era of “Hope and Change.”

Memo to the Democrats: Those people in the White House do not give two flips about you or your problems! They only care about their careers in politics. You are only a means to an end. So, stop your whining and get to the ballot box come November and vote different!

To be fair, and because I am not some Neo-Conservative Blogger, who is simply cashing in on some trending topic. I will say this: Bush did do some of same stuff, when he was elected in 2000. Bush was elected on the promise that he would be a peacetime President. However, 9/11 happened; and the game changed, and the Neo-Conservative warmongers approached him and convinced him that invading Iraq was necessary. Which we all know now was a lie. So, just to show you. I do know that Conservatives have done the same thing.   As much as I am glad that Iraq did turn out well; I will not sit here and lie to you all and say it was needed. Iraq was a mistake, that turned out reasonably well. However, the situation is not stable in Iraq and many are praying for divine intervention there.

Memeorandum Thread Here.

Video: REALITY REPORT #60 – Obama’s Iraq Bushism

In this edition of the Reality Report:

Gary Franchi points out Obama’s latest Iraq War Bushism and welcomes We Are Change Founder Luke Rudkowski to the show.

Nina breaks down the headlines including Homeowners Associations restricting Gadsden Flags, the Blogger Shakedown of Righthaven LLC, the recent Emergency Declaration in North Carolina that suspended the 2nd Amendment and how Blackwater Security used shell corporations to acquire tax payer money.

The viewers answer whether or not the World Trade Center was a Controlled demolition in the mailbag and keep watching to see the viewer pick for this week’s Enemy of the State.

Two Sites to check out: http://RealityReport.TV | http://RestoreTheRepublic.com |

…and now the video:

UPDATED: I hate to say it: Nicholas Kristof makes a very good point

Rarely do I ever concede a point to a liberal. However, in this case; it is fair to do so.

This morning Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times, about the Mosque Controversy:

For a glimpse of how venomous and debased the discourse about Islam has become, consider a blog post in The New Republic this month. Written by Martin Peretz, the magazine’s editor in chief, it asserted: “Frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims.”

Mr. Peretz added: “I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment, which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse.”

Thus a prominent American commentator, in a magazine long associated with tolerance, ponders whether Muslims should be afforded constitutional freedoms. Is it possible to imagine the same kind of casual slur tossed off about blacks or Jews? How do America’s nearly seven million American Muslims feel when their faith is denounced as barbaric?

This is one of those times that test our values, a bit like the shameful interning of Japanese-Americans during World War II, or the disgraceful refusal to accept Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe.

It would have been natural for this test to have come right after 9/11, but it was forestalled because President George W. Bush pushed back at his conservative ranks and repeatedly warned Americans not to confuse Al Qaeda with Islam.

As much as I hate to say it; Mr. Kristof is absolutely right. It should noted that Martin Peretz is, in fact Jewish and is, in fact, a rabid Zionist. In fact, Martin Peretz is known for the following comments:

Frankly, I couldn’t quite imagine any venture like [the Iraq War] in the Arab World turning out especially well. This is, you will say, my prejudice. But some prejudices are built on real facts, and history generally proves me right. Go ahead, prove me wrong. — Source

and:

But, frankly, Muslim life is cheap, most notably to Muslims. And among those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf there is hardly one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges [sic] of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse. — Source

Like Kristof said; could you imagine if the above were uttered about the Jews or about the black race? There would a media frenzy about it. Believe me, I know; I have been attacked by those who are of the protected class and all for speaking my mind about them and how they attack those of whom they disagree.

The fact is, that this whole Mosque situation boils down to this; Islam versus Christian Nativists and Jews, Arabs versus Americans, whites versus non-whites. Am I calling those who oppose this mosque racists? Well, my question for you is this; do you feel that burning pages of the Koran normal acceptable practice? Would you feel the same way, if some Muslim took a page out of the  Christian Bible and began burning it? How about the Tanakh, the Torah, or The ?umash, the Siddur, the Piyutim or even the Zohar?

The point I am trying to make here is this; I realize that radicalized Muslims attacked the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and Flight 93. However, when you punish an entire religion for the actions of a few, you are practicing a forum of collectivism. That is not anything remotely Conservative, nor is it anything remotely American. Being vigilant against terrorism is one thing; but being idiotic is another, this situation with this Mosque is well beyond that — on both sides.

Update: On the Other hand… these are videos from 9/11:

There are two sides to every argument; one would suppose. There is also this here.

Bush on 9/11 – The only speech that Bush gave that was worth a damn

(H/T to Sister Toldjah)

Nine years out; this looks campy, even staged.

However, it was one of Bush’s finer moments. Possibly his only fine moment.

I did not vote for the man; and, at the time, I did not agree with his politics. Needless to say; that has all very much changed.

Whether you voted for him or not — you have to admit. President George W. Bush showed leadership on a very tragic day in America.

Which begs the question —- Could Obama do something like this?

I very much highly doubt it.

The Obligatory Obama will not extend Bush Tax Cuts Posting

Well, duh, he is a liberal and a Democrat. He does believe in class warfare. Remember you Republicans and Libertarians that voted for him. (You know who you are…)

Via the NYT:

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, officials said, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package that is otherwise designed to entice support from big businesses and their Republican allies.

Mr. Obama’s opposition to allowing the high-end tax cuts to remain in place for even another year or two would be the signal many Congressional Democrats have been awaiting as they prepare for a showdown with Republicans on the issue and ends speculation that the White House might be open to an extension. Democrats say only the president can rally wavering lawmakers who, amid the party’s weakened poll numbers, feel increasingly vulnerable to Republican attacks if they let the top rates lapse at the end of this year as scheduled.

It is not clear that Mr. Obama can prevail given his own diminished popularity, the tepid economic recovery and the divisions within his party. But by proposing to extend the rates for the 98 percent of households with income below $250,000 for couples and $200,000 for individuals — and insisting that federal income tax rates in 2011 go back to their pre-2001 levels for income above those cutoffs — he intends to cast the issue as a choice between supporting the middle class or giving breaks to the wealthy.

In a speech in Cleveland on Wednesday, Mr. Obama will also make a case for the package of roughly $180 billion in expanded business tax cuts and infrastructure spending disclosed by the White House in bits and pieces over the past few days. He would offset the cost by closing other tax breaks for multinational corporations, oil and gas companies and others.

While the speech will be centrist in its policy prescriptions other than the Bush tax cuts, Mr. Obama’s language will be partisan as he seeks to sharpen the contrasts between Republicans’ record and efforts by Democrats to create more jobs, aides said.

As much as I would like to jump up, holler and raise a fuss about this; I cannot. We all knew that this was coming. This should be a lesson to the Republican Party. That is, do not run weak or moderate Conservatives during elections. Because when you do; Conservatives, and I mean hardcore Conservatives will not vote — and this is what you get. I know that I, personally, will not be affected by this; neither will my family.

However, I am sure that there will be some families affected by this —  not to mention a myriad of business owners out there. This will, I am sure, cause a downtown in hiring by businesses; which will add to the huge downturn in the economy. It is all a domino effect, starts at the top and goes to the bottom.

Another thing to think about; we do have to eventually pay for these two wars. I believe that those who profited off of both of these wars ought to be targeted for taxing. I believe that a special “War Tax”, ought to be appended to anyone making over $500.000 or more a year. I would target multinational companies, like oil companies and so forth. Especially those in Iraq. Perhaps next time, the warmongering class will not be so eager to start a war next time. This taxing would reinforce the idea that those wanting said war, should they actually have to pay for it. Foreign Policy has a price tag; and those who want follow Woodrow Wilson’s steps, should be required to pay that price tag.

Memorandum Thread.

Want Living Proof that Nation-Building does not work?

Here you go, a video of New York Times reporter John Burns, who, by the way, was the best person covering the Iraq War.

The Video: (H/T HotAir.com)

Ed Morrissey makes a very important point:

On Iraq, it’s hard to see how Obama could have improved the situation. He followed the SOFA pact that George W. Bush negotiated with Nouri al-Maliki, and the Iraqi government made it clear they wanted us to stick to that schedule. If the Iraqis want us out entirely by the end of next year, we have little choice but to comply; to do otherwise would be a de facto reoccupation that will not fly well here at home or abroad.  However, I’d say it’s entirely likely that Baghdad will rethink that final phase and ask us to remain for logistics, training, and air and sea protection for the next several years, and then the question will be whether Obama will agree to it or insist on a full withdrawal, even if it means the collapse of the nascent democracy in Iraq.

Afghanistan is a different problem, but one with potentially the same result.  Obama owns Afghanistan more than he does Iraq, having made the decision himself to add more troops and get more aggressive, which means a failure there can’t be left on the doorstep of his predecessor.  If Obama starts withdrawing from both fronts as they deteriorate, he will at least be the man who lost Afghanistan, if not Iraq as well, just as he has to prepare to convince Americans to give him another four years as Commander-in-Chief.  For that reason, I doubt we’ll see a significant drawdown in either theater, and Obama will just have to remind the Left that they have nowhere else to go in 2012.

Ever notice how Neo-Conservatives will never say Bush screwed up with Iraq, at all? They will never admit, that there was an intelligence error — never. That is what Party loyalty does to a person.

Anyhow, some good reading about Nation-Building over at The American Conservative:

“Nation-building is the most prominent — and most important — part of the neocon doctrine,” wrote Jed Babbin in the American Spectator. “And the decision to pursue it is the principal reason that we are losing in Afghanistan, Iraq is falling apart, and the real enemy — the terror-sponsoring nations — have grown stronger.”

None of these writers can accurately be described as a budding noninterventionist. But most conservatives who opposed the Iraq War from the beginning and favored no more than a limited mission in Afghanistan can agree with them on the following: neither Islam nor foreign lands can easily be reformed by either bureaucrats or the force or the force of arms; our interventions have produced something closer to sharia states than Switzerland’s; Iran is now more powerful in the region rather than less.

There have l0ng been three main foreign-policy tendencies on the American Right: old-style conservatives who agree with Randolph Bourne that war is the health of the state and therefore favor less military intervention abroad; neoconservatives who want to preserve the United States’ global hegemony and engage in armed proselytizing for democracy; and defense-minded conservatives who believe the U.S. should strike forcefully at its enemies whenever it perceives itself, its interests, or its allies to be threatened.

Roughly speaking, these groups can be described as the Jeffersonians, the Wilsonians, and the Jacksonians. Among rank-and-file conservatives, the Jacksonians are by far the largest group. In the postwar era, the Jacksonians have tended to align with the Wilsonians. But there is no reason why that conjunction is inevitable.

With the exception of Ron Paul and some Ron Paul Republicans, the Jeffersonians have no major political figure to speak for them. Yet the popularity of the Wilsonians was always greatly exaggerated. The invasion of Iraq and the mass conservative acceptance of the Bush Doctrine were made possible by al-Qaeda’s act of mass murder on 9/11.

Throughout the 1990s, Wilsonian neoconservatives called for regime change in Iraq, but they did not succeed in rallying the grassroots Right to the cause. The conservative base tuned out the PNAC crowd. Millions of conservatives voted for Pat Buchanan, who opposed even the first war with Iraq, in the 1992 and 1996 Republican presidential primaries—even as neoconservative commentators were writing essays attempting to purge Buchanan from conservative movement.

Grassroots conservatives were repulsed by American bloodshed during our humanitarian intervention in Somalia. They opposed using our armed forces to deliver groceries to Third World countries and restoring a dubious left-wing character to power in Haiti. They objected to the bombing of Serbia and canceled their subscriptions to the Weekly Standard when that magazine sided with the Clinton administration on military action in the Balkans.

The years after 9/11 were a Jacksonian moment hijacked by neoconservatives. While most American conservatives liked the idea that the we could increase others’ freedom by defending our own against despots overseas, very few of them wanted to go to war to build schools in Iraq or promote democracy. They wanted to pay back the people who murdered their countrymen and make sure that such an attack never happened again.

They trusted that George W. Bush was the man for the job and were patient when he talked about lighting a fire in the minds of men. But ordinary conservatives nevertheless agreed with the following sentiment expressed by John Derbyshire: “What matters most is not the fire in the minds of men, which will burn at some level for as long as there are men, but the fire that results when fissionable material undergoes a fast chain reaction.”

You see the problem is that the very same people that stood behind George W. Bush and cheered him, as he charged off to war in Iraq and Afghanistan; are the same one who stand and in unison blame President Obama for any failures for the war in both Countries.  The truth is that President Obama DID inherit BOTH of these wars for President Bush and it is because of utter incompetence of the Pentagon and State Department under President Bush, not to mention the entire intelligence community, is why we are in this mess in the first place!

So, instead of being noble and honest men, and admitting that they actually made mistakes, one being electing a President that was about as Conservative, as I am damned atheist; they would rather navel graze the whole thing and try and deflect the blame onto the Democrats, as much as they possibly can.  The problem is with that little idiotic plan is this; thinking Americans, like this writer are just smarter than that, we know what happened and we know who was responsible for the actions of the President.  I am fully aware of who goaded the President into declaring war with Iraq.  I have no forgotten and neither have the American people.  This is, one of a myriad of reasons, why John McCain lost the election.  Because the American people did not want someone, who would take marching orders from the Neo-Conservatives.

So far, Obama has been showing his independence of the warmongering class in the Republican Party. Thankfully, under Michael Steele the warmongering class have been pushed aside; which is why people like William Kristol want him to resign so badly, that being because Michael Steele will not march to their orders and is expressing his own views, and not those who wish the United States to fight a perpetual war.  I commend Michael Steele for that.

Another thing I think I need to be clear on; as you know, I did post a video, that was a warning to America.  Some would look at that and say, “Are you not talking about of both sides of your mouth?” to that I would say no. That is because that video essentially validates what I have believed all along; that the notion of, “We must fight the terrorists there, so we do not have to fight them here” is idiotic at best.  That is because there are radical Islamic terrorists that are already here now! That video proves as much.  My personal issue with George W. Bush was not with fighting terrorism, which he began in Afghanistan.  He however, was goaded by the warmongering class in the Republican Party to go to war with Iraq, which, for what it is worth, is what this class of people wanted to do during the Clinton years, but was rebuffed repeatedly.  This caused, I feel, a distraction, as those who planned had this strange idea, that the invasion would be a cakewalk.  I believe it would be understood that we all know now that this was a very flawed idea.

Much of what I said above, would be considered, what I like to call, “rearview mirror quarterbacking.”  We all know this now, the problem is, where do he go from here?  The best thing that can happen is Obama follow through with his promises to follow Bush’s pull out timetable in Iraq.  We cannot continue to be the World’s police officer.  If Iraq has an upheaval over there, let them.  We did our part over there; we rooted the major player in the insurgency.  We toppled Saddam.  What happens after we have left is not our concern.  As for Afghanistan, if we can catch or kill Osama Bin Laden, fine do so.  However, if the Afghan Government and the Pakistani Government is that corrupt and does not want to be partner against the war on terror.  I say cut our losses and pull out the troops and leave.  Then send in specialized CIA assassins in there to hunt Osama Bin Laden down and kill him that way.  I just do not see the justification for our Military personnel dying for a Government that is corrupt to its core.  It just does not make any sort of sense to me at all.

Bottom Line:  President Obama should not be blame for any of the failures of any of these wars.  The President who started them should be blamed.  President Obama should continue the turnkey plan given him by Bush, and should implement a better strategy in the Afghan theater.  If the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan will not work with the United States on the capture or killing of Osama Bin Laden, then President should use the CIA to kill him.

Video: RedState Update on “Murfreesboro vs. Muslims”

Redstate Update HQ

UPDATED: Memo to Fareed Zakaria: Overreact this you jackwad twit

Speaking of stupidity….

Via this Nimrod:

I do not minimize Al Qaeda’s intentions, which are barbaric. I question its capabilities. In every recent conflict, the United States has been right about the evil intentions of its adversaries but massively exaggerated their strength. In the 1980s, we thought the Soviet Union was expanding its power and influence when it was on the verge of economic and political bankruptcy. In the 1990s, we were certain that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear arsenal. In fact, his factories could barely make soap…

Some 30,000 people are now employed exclusively to listen in on phone conversations and other communications in the United States. And yet no one in Army intelligence noticed that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had been making a series of strange threats at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he trained. The father of the Nigerian “Christmas bomber” reported his son’s radicalism to the U.S. Embassy. But that message never made its way to the right people in this vast security apparatus. The plot was foiled only by the bomber’s own incompetence and some alert passengers.

Such mistakes might be excusable. But the rise of this national-security state has entailed a vast expansion in the government’s powers that now touches every aspect of American life, even when seemingly unrelated to terrorism.

No, you nimrod, terrorist-supporting, idiot. We did not overreact. We had information that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We acted on it. Yes, the intelligence was bad. So what? It happens. The truth is, once we weeded out the jack-wads, who did not know shit from shinola about running a fucking war; (Hello Rummy!) we were able to stabilize that Country and put leadership in there, that did not terrorize it’s own people.

So, yes, Iraq WAS worth it; and no we did NOT overreact.

Further more, once we break the back of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, it too will be worth it as well! People will die; that is the price you pay, when you fight a god-damned war. But in the end, when Afghanistan is free and clear of Al-Qaeda and their radical Muslim idiotic nonsense, it will be worth it.

I apologize in advance for the harsh tone of this posting. But I am about god-damned tired of these terrorist-appeasing, asshole, liberal retards telling me, that going to war against terrorists is not worth the god-damned hassle. Anytime, that the United States of America goes on the defensive, and also on the offensive, in the name of liberty and freedom, it is ALWAYS worth it! It was worth it in Germany, It was worth it in Japan, It was worth it in Korea, it was worth it in Grenada AND it was worth it in Iraq too, both god-damned times — and once the job is done in Afghanistan, it will be worth it there too.

So, on the behalf of all the Soldiers —- American and Coalition; both who died and especially those who came back in one piece and even those who did not — to Mr. Fareed Zakaria I say:

SHUT THE HELL UP!

That is all…..

Update: I suppose that I should explain something here. The reason why this article provoked such a strong reaction out of me is this; I watched 9/11 unfold on TV. At the time I was a CNN watcher. All of it played out in front of me. I remember being paralyzed with fear, when the report came out, that there was a plane headed to the White House. Watching those buildings fall and seeing those images over and over and over; drove me into one of the worst depressions, that I have ever experienced. It, honestly, took me about 2 good years to get over that stuff. It took much prayer and some good old fashioned Bible reading to pull me out of that mess. Al-Qaeda caused that; and for that, I want them to pay, and pay dearly. Now you understand why it is, that I feel the way that I do.

Update #2: ….and of course, some terrorist supporting asshole links here; talking out his ass, as always. 🙄

This is one of those times, when you could not pay me to work in the White House

That’s right folks, the President and his Administration are in one hell of a huge bind. If they do not do something fast; they are going to be sunk come the midterms and possibly come 2012.

Here’s your video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now, for the Stories….

Via the New York Times:

American businesses added more jobs in the last three months than originally estimated, but the wheels of the economic recovery are still spinning in place.

The private sector added 67,000 jobs in August, according to the Department of Labor, higher than consensus forecasts, and the government upwardly revised its numbers for June and July, suggesting that job creation was slightly stronger over the summer than originally reported.

But the continuing wind-down of the 2010 Census, as well as state and local government layoffs, led to an overall loss of 54,000 jobs in August.

With businesses adding about half the number of positions needed simply to accommodate population growth — much less dent the ranks of the jobless — the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.6 percent, from 9.5 percent.

“The overall picture is one where the labor market is still kind of treading water,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR Inc. “It’s better than sinking, but it’s certainly not surging ahead.”

Given the continuing addition of private jobs — albeit at a tepid pace — Friday’s monthly snapshot of the labor market seemed to calm fears of a double-dip recession. But the numbers are likely to do little to assuage political pressure on the Obama administration in the run-up to the midterm elections.

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on Friday morning, Mr. Obama called the latest job report “positive news,” but said he would be unveiling “a broader package of ideas next week,” to shore up the flagging economy, although he declined to give specifics. The president once again urged Congress to pass a stalled bill that would offer tax breaks to small businesses and create a $30 billion program to encourage community banks to lend.

“There’s no quick fix for this recession,” he said. “The hard truth is that it took years to create our current economic problems, and it will take more time than any of us would like to repair the damage.”

Responding to the higher-than-expected private sector numbers and revisions, investors pushed up the major stock gauges. By early afternoon, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up 1 percent. Market reaction to the jobs data was tempered somewhat by a report that said growth in the services sector had slowed in August.

The Labor Department revised its private sector number for July, raising the number of jobs added to 107,000 from the 71,000 originally reported. And private sector hiring in June, originally reported at 83,000 and lowered to 31,000, was raised again to 61,000.

This is not making Democrats happy at all… Jack Tapper Reports:

Flanked by members of his economic team – including outgoing Council of Economic Advisers Dr. Christina Romer, whose replacement has yet to be named – President Obama chose to look at the silver lining in the economic clouds of today’s jobs report – not even mentioning that August saw a net job loss of 54,000 jobs.

“In the month I took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month,” the president said. “This morning, new figures show the economy produced 67,000 private sector jobs in August, the eighth consecutive month of private job growth. Additionally, the numbers for July were revised upward to 107,000. Now that’s positive news, and it reflects the steps we’ve already taken to break the back of this recession.”

The net job loss for August is largely because of the layoffs of 114,000 Census temporary workers.

….and from David Corn:

Democrats are spooked by recent polls and predictions indicating the GOP may slam the Dems so badly that the D’s lose the House and possibly the Senate. The Republicans need to gain 39 seats to seize the House, and it’s not difficult these days to find nonpartisan handicappers who predict the R’s could gain 40 to 50 seats. The conventional wisdom in D.C.: A tsunami is heading toward the Democrats. A Democratic strategist toiling on the party’s House efforts refers to working on the “Titanic” (though he claims there may be some hidden life rafts). “The president keeps saying it’s a tough environment,” says a Democratic House staffer. “We know that. We want to know what he’s going to do about it.”…

“He still wants to be seen as post-partisan and bipartisan,” says a House Democratic leadership aide. “But we’re in a fight here.” Democrats expect Obama to come out swinging nonstop — bashing the R’s repeatedly and proposing economic initiatives that actually register with voters. At the same time, members of the House Democratic leadership are worried that Obama will cave and yield to GOP demands that George W. Bush’s expiring tax cuts for the wealthy be extended. “If he doesn’t do something immediately, our members will be livid,” says a House Democratic aide. “And when there’s fear of a bloodbath, it’s never too early to start the blame game.”

I just blogged about how the Democrats can fix this mess. However, knowing them like they do; they would rather let the Nation suffer and blame the Republicans for the entire mess, while living large on the taxpayers dime —- than to actually do something to fix the problem. FDR did this, to a certain extent as have many other Democrat Party Presidents; I mean, it is not like Obama is going to be affected by any of this economic downturn.

One there is very certain, the tide is turning, Democrats had the chance to actually fix things and they have failed at it miserably. The Tea Party has now crystallized into a political force to be reckoned with — even among Republicans. RINO’s are being flushed out and true-blue Conservatives are being brought to the battle. It is so bad that the liberal media is gone to terrible spinning facts, an example:

It is possible that coming at the end of the summer an uptick in people looking for work is not as positive as it appears. This is the time of year, after two hot months, when recent graduates start to actually think about their future and send out resumes. And you can image many other out of work people deciding to take off looking for a job in the summer. In August, with the summer ending, some of those people started looking again in earnest. But you would expect the big uptick in post-summer people searching for work to come in September. So the fact that it is coming early is a good sign.

Oh Yes, it is that bad on that that side of the political aisle. When you start reading that sort of idiotic spin in a liberal publication, you know that things are horrifically bad right now for the Democrats. This midterm election and possibly in the general election; will most likely go down as the worst ever failure of the Democrat Party ever. The Democratic Party roared into power in 2006 to take the keys away from the Bush Administration, then they won the General election in 2008. They then got the entire key chain of the Country —- and proceeded to drive the Country as a whole over a cliff!  Because of that and because of this economic that we are in, which was, in fact, created by the Carter and Clinton Administrations; whom were, Democratic Party Administrations — we are about to see a major collapse of a party’s authority in the political realm. I have written here, time and time again; that the Democratic Party has horribly overreached…..again. This happens just about every time the Democrats get into power. To be fair and as non-partisan as I can be; Republicans have done it too — Nixon did it, Bush did it and some others. However, this administration took it to another more frightening level.  Because of this; they are about to do what many call, “Paying the Piper.”

The ship is sinking and the rats are jumping. It should be very interesting to watch. 2010 looms and they have no answers.

Welcome to the meltdown. Get popcorn. Hold on tight and enjoy the show.

(H/T to HotAir on the story leads for this posting. Good show AP! 😀 )

Glenn Beck launches The Blaze

I have mixed feelings on this and I will explain that:

Via Mediaite:

Having conquered TV, radio, book publishing and now live events, Glenn Beck is looking to expand his media empire into a new arena – the web (obviously GlennBeck.com is thriving too).

Mediaite has the exclusive details about a news and opinion website Beck is launching tonight. Here’s what to expect.

Beck’s new site is called TheBlaze.com, and will be edited by Scott Baker, formerly of Breitbart TV and host of “The B-Cast”. In an exclusive statement, he tells Mediaite:

Our hope is that everyone who comes to The Blaze finds original reporting, insightful opinions and engaging videos about the stories that matter most. We are excited to launch and I look forward to keeping Scott and his team busy by sending countless ideas at 3am every morning.

We talked to Baker today about what readers can expect from the new site, the team behind it and more. “It’ll be news and information,” he told Mediaite. “Some commentary and opinion stories we’re interested in that are being under-covered or not covered.”

People will inevitably make the comparison to Arianna Huffington – whether Beck’s role as figurehead behind the site will make The Blaze into a conservative Huffington Post. “The one thing pretty clear around Mercury [Beck’s company] is that Glenn is not short on ideas or hesitant on input,” Baker said. “His input is already evident in how the site looks, and that’s what will continue. It will be a continual flow of tips and suggestions and encouragement.”

As I said above, I do have mixed feelings about this; let me explain. My hope is, that Glenn Beck’s team will do hard reporting and critical thinking pieces about the players in the Conservative movement. My fear and realist intuition tells me, however, that this site will most likely be; and I do hope that I am wrong — just another Conservative echo chamber for the right.  I think one of the biggest issues with the Conservative Blogosphere, is that there just is not any critical thinkers or intellectuals anymore. All you have are these people on the far-right, who stick to the normal talking points. There are exceptions to this rule, such as this site here. But the majority are just a part of the echo chamber.  Interestingly enough, the site that I just referenced, is considered by some, not to be Conservative enough for their liking. Which I find personally to be quite strange.

Speaking of that echo chamber, let me say this; some of you might have noticed that this site’s tone has changed a bit. I will explain that. When I first switched sides politically after basically “Waking and smelling the coffee” on the Democratic Party; I began blogging as a Conservative. At first I was a strict Paleo-Conservative. Because I just did not agree with President Bush at all. In fact, he was the reason why I started blogging in the first place. Did I suffer from BDS or Bush Derangement Syndrome? Not as bad as you would think. I simply could not stand the man’s arrogance. But was not as whacked out about it as some were and still are on the left and some in Paleo-Right circles.

Anyhow, as I went along, I began to see; like I did with the Democrats, that there were just things in the Paleo-Conservative arena that took me aback a bit. I mean, it is one thing to not like the identity politics of the left. But it is an entirely different thing to look at black people as intellectually inferior to white people. It is one thing to dislike the Identity Politics, when it comes to the Jewish Race, on the right and disagree with Wilsonian Foreign Policy. However, it is another thing entirely to believe that there is some sort of Jewish cabal to overthrow the United States Government and refer to that as the “Zionist Occupational Government” or ZOG as it is called by many Paleo-Cons.

Continuing; After coming the realization that the Paleo-Con right was not much about anything other than bitterness and resentment of those who kicked them to the sidelines for being the true bigots that they are. I basically decided to become a part of that “Echo Chamber.” I tried that for a while and for I while I was content with it. However, as I went along; I simply began to grow frustrated with what I saw as just straight up propaganda by the right. Especially when it came to President Obama. I mean, I do not like his Socialist nonsense anymore than anyone else. But there is just some of that “Shrieking Harpy” nonsense that I just do not agree with. Further more, I still remain convinced that Wilson foreign policy is just wrong. I have always vowed on this blog, that I would tell you want I think. Even if it means that someone calls me a “Neo-Con”, a “fake Conservative” or whatever else that any of this mindless sheep want to hang on me. I would rather be truthful and straight with you all, than to push a damned MeMe on a blog to suit everyone else. My feelings are SCREW EVERYONE ELSE. Because they are not me; and I will not publish propaganda here to appease anyone else. I have never done that, and I never will.

In Closing: I hope Glenn Beck’s new site is an independent Conservative Voice that speaks for itself; and not the talking points of the Right. More of that is needed, and that is what I will do here on this Blog, no matter the cost.

The Feckless Far-Right: Exhibit S for Stupidity

You know, I hate to be the one to mock my friends on the far-right. But this one here is a classic example of why the Republican tent is getting smaller by the day.

Over at Neo-Conservative owned NewsRealBlog, you have this big dose of lame ass tripe:

Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain is scheduled for release on August 31. But you don’t have to wait until Tuesday to see what didn’t make the final editorial cut. NewsReal Blog has obtained exclusive excerpts from the chapters rejected by Meggie Mac’s editors.

1. How Dare People Gawk At My Boobs When I Posted Them Publicly On Twitter

Meghan McCain infamously posted a picture of her, shall we say, “cups over-flowing” on Twitter the very same day that the Balloon Boy hoax went down. Presumably because, as a publicity hound extraordinaire, she couldn’t stand the focus being on some icky kid. From fly-over country, no less. As such, she tried to insert herself, and her massive ta-tas, in the mix. And then feigned indignation when people looked at the picture — that she posted publicly on the Internet. She attempted to make this a pop-up chapter in her book.

OMG! All those meany pantser, objectifiers on twitter didn’t understand that picture was code and a public service! I’m a giver! I was trying to let them know balloon boy was safely hidden, tucked away in my cleavage. Hello? I was holding a book! Everyone knows reading is hard. The purty picture on the book was code, too, obvy. Andy Warhol – a sign that the balloon boy people were just trying to steal MY 15 minutes of fame thunder.

The Andy Warhol book was relevant, seeing that Meghan McCain is well past her 15 minutes. However, sadly, the chapter was omitted because while CNN did not fact check the Balloon Boy story prior to setting the nation in a tizzy, they did fact check Meggie Mac’s ta-tas. Endlessly. Proving once again that journalism is, in fact, as dead as Janeane Garofalo’s career.

As for the Balloon Boy scam and the totally empty hot air balloon?  STILL more substantive than Meghan McCain.

Ah, yes, how supportive of a fellow Republican, than to mock her, because she’s blond, because she’s not a foreign policy wonk, because she is fat. How farking lame can you get? What is Megan McCain’s horrible offense for this sort of hatred and stupidity? Because she is a moderate. Because she is not some sort of far-right wing hatemonger idiot that’s what!

My Public question is this: Hey, Lori Ziganto and Jenn Q. Public! How’s it feel to be pimped out, by one of the biggest and most well-financed Neo-Conservatives that influenced George W. Bush to pursue his Wilsonian foreign policy? Which, by the way, is a PROGRESSIVE foreign Policy stance — which caused the Republican Party to lose the election of 2008, because Americans were weary of the idiotic foreign policy of George W. Bush —- and before you even say it, that’s not Bush derangement syndrome, that is reality folks. But yet, Conservative still flock to these idiots and then wonder why we cannot win elections.

Also, to those of you, who might not like it, because I choose not to embrace the idiotic nonsense of the far right. I have one thing to say to you: Try winning the 2010 and 2012 elections without us. It will never happen. You really want to put a another Democrat in the White House? Then keep on cranking out stupidity and hatred like this here towards Moderate Republicans. Because quite frankly, and very bluntly; I would rather vote for a Libertarian candidate and at least I would know for a fact, that this person would intend on sticking with his principles; which is honestly more than I can say for the previous Republican President, which threw his principles into the wind for the sake of supposedly keeping the bankers rich “Saving America.”

Ask the people that worked with Senator Barry Goldwater Sr.’s election campaign, how embracing the far-right idiotic nonsense worked for them. Ask the people that run George H.W. Bush campaign, when he ran for a second term, after taking us into a war, how easy it was to get reelected. But yet, Republicans just keep on flocking back to these Wilsonian idiots. I will never, ever, understand it.

Countdown to the Semite-Card playing, Wilsonian, Neo-Conservatives attacking me for being a hater in…..5…..4…..3….2

Update: Removed all references to a particular ethnic group. Because I do not want to give the Semite-Baiting twits any more ammo, than they actually need.

The Feckless Far Christian Right: Exhibit GH for Gay Hatred

I hate to even place these buffoons in with the Christian Right for two reasons. For one, in the past; they have supported Democrats and For two; these idiots are beyond just your typical nutty far right wingers. They are just straight up hatemongers.

Pictures:

Via CNN:

(CNN) — A motorist fired pepper spray Saturday at a group of demonstrators and counter-protesters outside a funeral for a U.S. Marine in Omaha, Nebraska, police said.

The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) as members of a small Kansas church that protests at military funerals and counter-protesters stood nearly a block away from First United Methodist Church during services for Staff Sgt. Michael Bock, 26, who died August 13 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

A man in a Ford-150 pickup truck drove by, extended his arm and sprayed with a large can, police said. His vehicle was stopped a few minutes later.

“Initial indications are he was probably targeting the Westboro Baptist Church” protesters, said officer Michael Pecha, a spokesman for Omaha police.

George Vogel, 62, who lives just north of Omaha, was booked for 16 counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony assault on a police officer for the pepper-spray exposure, police said. Vogel also faces one count of child neglect because his child was in the truck, Pecha told CNN.

[….]

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of Westboro Baptist Church, said Omaha police did not adequately control roughly 30 counter-protesters, who she said jostled with church members. She also challenged Knudsen’s and Pecha’s account, saying a few Patriot Guard members were among the counter-protesters.

The group was about 1,000 feet from the church when the driver came by. “Of course it was directed at us,” Phelps-Roper, who is Fred Phelps’ daughter, said of the pepper spray.

None of the 16 Westboro members on the corner were affected because they raised signs to shield themselves or turned away, Phelps-Roper said. The group returned home shortly afterward.

Extra officers were on hand for any possible altercations, but there were only verbal exchanges before the truck drove up, police said.

They should be glad it was just mace. Because folks, they are jacking with our United States Military. They are militant haters who have, like the terrorists on 9/11, have hi-jacked a Religion to further their religion of hate. I am all for having a Religious opinion; I too believe that Homosexuality is a sin. But to protest the funerals of dead United States Soldiers? That my friends is an act of terrorism.

In the past, I have tried to at least explain these people and their thinking. No more. I am done trying to explain them. Baptist? Calvinist? Absolute Predestination? Meh. Screw them — They just haters, hiding behind theology. They are no different than Al-Qaeda; they are Terrorists, Christian Terrorists, who are using our first amendment for protection. Just like Revolution Muslim does; and the only thing that a true-blue, dyed in the wool terrorists understands —- is the end of gun. They are also Anti-American Zealots, who rail against everything that America stands for. They should be arrested on terrorism charges, that Church seized and sold and the funds given to families of dead United States Soldiers.

My Name is Patrick and I am the owner of this blog and I endorse this message. Because nothing is worse than stupid Christians and than is, Hate-mongering Stupid Christians. Terrorists they are; and they should be stopped.

President Obama, is there is one thing you COULD do right and that would be to end this group and end them now. America would be so much better off. However, If I know Shrimpy McWaffle like I do; he would rather have them around to use as a prop to campaign against the Right. Which is about par for the course for this President. However, to be fair, President Bush did excatly nothing about these idiots and I really do not expect President Obama to either. Cowardice in Government is such a tragic thing.

Quote of the Day

The future of Iraq will hinge on its security forces after the Americans officially hand them control on September 1st. The forces are much better than they were a few years ago; buckling under pressure is no longer a certainty. Yet even their own generals say they are not really ready. The Iraqi army chief of staff wants American help until 2020. Privately, American officers agree their job is not done. Iraqi intelligence work is poor, extremist infiltrators are common, the air force is in its infancy, some commanders follow nakedly political agendas and initiative in the lower ranks is lacking, as is equipment. Prisoners are widely abused.

It is clear that Iraqis will for many years be plagued by corruption, insurgents, meddling neighbours, and their own stubborn politicians. Ending America’s “combat mission” is a gamble—and gambles can be lost.

65 Years Ago: John Birch went to be with the Lord.

I am very sorry that I allowed this to slip by me.

On August 25, 1945, one the greatest men to ever walk the face of this earth died. I am of course, referring to Missionary John Birch.

Here is a short video detailing John Birch’s life:

Synopsis:

John Birch, missionary and American intelligence officer in China during WWII, spreads a message of hope while risking his life behind enemy lines.

During a chance meeting, he is led to Colonel James H. Doolittle and members of the World War II raiding party that had just completed the dramatic and legendary bombing raid on Tokyo, in April, 1942.

This accidental meeting behind enemy lines proved to be the rescue the airmen had hoped for. With his encyclopedic knowledge of the language, customs, and geography of China, Birch was able to convey Doolittle and the crews of many of the other American bombers to safety in free China.

Birch, an American Baptist missionary serving in China since 1940, then became an intelligence analyst as a second lieutenant with the China Air Task Force of the American Army—General Claire Chennault’s legendary “Flying Tigers.” He was the first American to live and work in the field with a Chinese army fighting against the Japanese. Performing high-risk intelligence-gathering missions on the ground, Birch earned the reputation as “the eyes of the 14th Air Force,” devising an early warning system that enabled U.S. air units to come to the aid of Chinese units under enemy attack. He also organized a rescue system for pilots who were shot down by the Japanese. Chennault credited Birch with the fact that 90 percent of his downed flyers were rescued.

The story of Birch is not as well-known as Doolittle’s raid, but plays an integral role in leading the downed airmen to safety. Without Birch, many more of the raid may not have survived to tell their story nor perhaps would victory come as quickly as it did in then free China. Ten days after the war, Birch was killed by Chinese Communists as he was on his way to rendezvous with small pockets of Japanese soldiers, who were to surrender to him.

Birch would never know the fact that details of his death were kept from the American people. Nor would he know of Robert Welch, who would found an organization bearing his name and who would continue Birch’s quest to spread the message of freedom. He also would not know that his parents would proudly accept life memberships into the organization.

Of course, I am sure most of you know, that the John Birch Society was named after the man. It was, in fact, started by Robert Welch.

What a life, what a man, if only we had men like this today. Sadly, most people today, take for granted our freedoms.

John Birch Society’s official website

The Republican Party, The Tea Party, Bloggers, and YOU

Well, we lost another one!

Looks like Dan Amato, better known as Digger has called it quits with the Republican Party:

To all of you ignorant Tea Party people out there who are continuing to think that you can somehow co-opt the GOP and turn it in the right direction, John McCain is your answer from the Republican National Committee and the top echelons of this corrupt and unfixable party. Their continued support of candidates like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins is an abomination.

As for the Tea Party movement, it has been wholly co-opted by the likes of Dick Armey, a fiercely pro-amnesty for illegal aliens proponent who will never change his ways. And the Tea Partiers stand at the sidelines as he speaks for them. They are the equivalent of the “moderate Muslims” who stand by and do nothing while the extremists take over their “religion”. Let Armey lead you down into the doldrums of the continued bottomless cesspool that is our political system – for it will never right itself. You sheep out there who are supporting the parties and the Armey backed Tea Party – being steered by FreedomWorks – should be disgusted with yourselves. You should have denounced Armey from day one, yet you did nothing as those of us who see what he truly is have been shouting it for more than a year. I see no action from any of you as he gallivants around the country talking for you. Silence is acceptance.

At one point I thought I would go independent for years and maybe the Republicans would turn themselves around and see the light, but that is not happening and it is not going to happen. There is no going back and I will never support the Republicans or the GOP again. The shortest straw has been pulled and placed on the camel’s back that is our country. I urge you to permanently declare your separation from the GOP – for life.

[….]

I will now actively work against the GOP in any manner that I can. I will actively work against the Democrats in any way that I can. As a matter of fact at this point I am seriously thinking of supporting Democrats. I will scream from the mountaintops the pure disgust that both parties have become and convince anyone I can to turn against them. I am of the mind that we need more Democrats in power, more progressives, more John McCains to leave our borders wide open and to allow our citizens to continue to be abused. For what else will wake them up but mass raping, pillaging and murderous attacks?

He is referring, of course, to the reelection of John McCain. Even AllahPundit was not happy about it:

I can’t believe, in this year of all years, we couldn’t find a better challenger for McCain than this guy. It’s 60/29 as I write this. What a travesty.

I can really understand the feelings of both of these guys; I really can. I have to confess something here —- I was, from day one, extremely skeptical of the Tea Party Movement. At first, it sounded like an awesome idea and at first, it was. The problem is this, it was co-oped by movers and shakers within the Republican establishment; people like Dick Army and yes, Sarah Palin.  Sarah Palin might be a good motivator; but like it or not, but she is one of the Party faithful within the Republican Party. Like it or not; but the Tea Party was never a “Republican” or even a “Conservative” movement. It was simply a movement of people who were disgusted by what was happening in the Government. The tragic thing that happened was that it was co-oped by special interest groups with the Republican establishment and more tragically, within the beltway. The Tea Party movement was also feasted upon, by people wanting to make a quick buck on the emotions of the American people.

Some would say, “Did you not do this?” To this, I say, No. I did not. I simply wrote about the movement and gave my feelings on it. I also reported the true account of one of the biggest Tea Party protests in Washington D.C. —- for that I did receive a donation from many readers. Of which I was very shocked that I received them. However, I was very grateful for it. Hopefully, those people are still reading here.

The main question in many minds of many people is:

Where do we go from here?

The answer to that question is this; we keep electing candidates that represent Tea Party values: Low Taxes, Responsible Government and so forth.

I think one of tragedies of the Tea Party was that there was some assumption within the ranks of the Tea Party Movement itself, that this group of unaffiliated activists were going to coalesce into this organized Third Party that was going to unseat the Republican Party as the Party of Conservatism or at least, be this alternative to the Democratic Party in the United States of America. I am afraid that this just was not a feasible goal. The Republican Party is controlled by very well financed and well heeled contributors. Not to mention the fact that there are legions of special interest groups and political action committees, that are loyal to the Republican cause. Basically, without over simplifying it; the Tea Party Movement was outgunned by the one thing, that these activists were protesting against the misuse of in Washington D.C. ——– Money.

Let me be clear, (Thank you Mr. President, for making the best statement of clarity, into a punchline! You Bastard! 😉 ) this should not be considered my “Tea Party – Rest in Peace” posting, as it is not. I believe that the Tea Party did and still is accomplishing what it set out to do. The Tea Party, along with social media, has changed the game for politics; especially Conservative politics. I believe that the Tea Party, along with the election of Barack Obama and also the huge economic crash of 2008; has for the most part, united the Conservative movement — at least on fiscal issues —- now, foreign policy, and social issues, that is another story! —-  The Party was sorely divided under President George W. Bush. This became very apparent in 2006, when the Iraq War got very uglyOh, there are some who continue to hold out, and point at everyone who disagrees with them, as “Neo-Cons.”  (Yes, I know I used the term in a previous entry!) But this group is a very small minority within the Conservative movement. I would dwell on that subject more, but I just do not see wasting any space on them. They call themselves “Alternative Right”, I have a name for them; it is called Neo-Nazi. Hate, not matter how intellectualized or nuanced —- is still hate. This is why I broke away from the Paleo-Conservative camp. The hardcore Paleo-Conservative camp is simply reactionary politics distilled down to it’s simplest forms. Contrary to what they might like to publish, Paleo-Conservatives disdain for Identity Politics on the Left and Right is NOT about the disliking of the Identity Politics itself; but rather for the sole purpose of hating anyone, who is of a different color, race or creed than the majority of Paleo-Conservatives, who are, in fact, mostly older White, well-educated, Americans. There is a word for it, it is called Nativism.

However, this is not to say that the Wilsonian sect of the Republican Party is not a real thing; oh it is, and it is very real and very powerful and quite well financed.  They even have their own magazine. However, the influence of the Wilsonian sect, within the Republican Party is waning. The Republican Party has had a “Come to Jesus” moment on Foreign Policy and even War. The notable exception is this idiotic Park 51 situation. Like it or not; but there are some Wilsonian Conservatives who are milking that little issue for every political bit that it is worth. Further more, they are using tactics right out of Adolf Hitler’s handbook. Propaganda is evil, I do not give a damn who is doing it or why. It is wrong and it needs to stop.

In closing, let me say this to whomever Conservative or Republican happens to read this Blog entry. We as Conservatives and yes, as Republicans —- can do two things. We can take the path of extremism and we can die is a political party. Which would be the absolute delight of the Neo-Liberal left — or we can take the sensible path. We can ignore the Wilsonians and we can take a path of moderation, understanding, and measurement. We can also take a path of integrity —- and we can live and exist as a Party, as a people and as a movement.

We must make this choice.

We must choose Righteousness and not foolishness.

We must make that choice very quickly.

Because darkness is upon us and a time will come — when no man can work.