This is the real cost of war.
NBC in Philly has the whole story
Tag: Obama
White House is screwing the War in Afghanistan to hell
Not a big surprise, considering the President’s middle name; I mean after all, The President does not even want the words “War on Terror” used anymore.
This comes via the AP:
President Barack Obama is prepared to accept some Taliban involvement in Afghanistan‘s political future and appears inclined to send only as many more U.S. troops as needed to keep al-Qaida at bay, a senior administration official said Thursday.
The sharpened focus by Obama’s team on fighting al-Qaida above all other goals, while downgrading the emphasis on the Taliban, comes in the midst of an intensely debated administration review of the increasingly unpopular eight-year-old war.
Though aides stress that the president’s final decision on any changes is still at least two weeks away, the emerging thinking suggests that he would be very unlikely to favor a large military increase of the kind being advocated by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
McChrystal’s troop request is said to include a range of options, from adding as few as 10,000 combat troops to — the general’s strong preference — as many as 40,000.
Obama’s developing strategy on the Taliban will “not tolerate their return to power,” the senior official said in an interview with The Associated Press. But the U.S. would fight only to keep the Taliban from retaking control of Afghanistan’s central government — something it is now far from being capable of — and from giving renewed sanctuary in Afghanistan to al-Qaida, the official said.
[….]
There now are no more than 100 al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Instead, the U.S. fight in Afghanistan is against the Taliban, now increasingly being defined by the Obama team as distinct from al-Qaida. While still dangerous, the Taliban is seen as an indigenous movement with almost entirely local and territorial aims, less of a threat to the U.S. than the terrorist network.
Obama’s team believes some elements in the Taliban are aligned with al-Qaida, with its transnational reach and aims of attacking the West, but probably not the majority and mostly for tactical rather than ideological reasons, the official said.
“They’re not the same type of group,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “It’s certainly not backed up by any of the intelligence.”
That leaves the primary aim in Afghanistan to deny al-Qaida any ability to regroup there as it did when the Taliban was in power before the 2001 invasion that ousted them. And this points to a smaller military increase in Afghanistan and a bigger focus on surgical strikes against terrorists in Pakistan and elsewhere — essentially the approach being advocated by Biden as an alternative to the McChrystal recommendation for a fuller counterinsurgency effort inside Afghanistan.
Biden has argued for keeping the American force there around the 68,000 already authorized, including the 21,000 extra troops Obama ordered earlier this year, but significantly increasing the use of unmanned Predator drones and special forces that have been successful in Pakistan, Somalia and elsewhere.
[….]
Clinton has not tipped her hand as to how she is leaning in the sessions, according to aides. While she is broadly supportive of building up troop levels — although not necessarily in the numbers favored by McChrystal — she also believes the military cannot be the only focus, said the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to detail her views.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, long wary of a large troop presence in Afghanistan, appears to have grown more comfortable with the prospect of a moderate, middle-path increase.
Many lawmakers from Obama’s own Democratic Party do not want to see additional U.S. troops sent to Afghanistan. According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, public support for the war has dropped to 40 percent from 44 percent in July.
Republicans, meanwhile, are urging Obama to heed the military commanders’ calls soon or risk failure. “Unnecessary delay could undermine our opportunity for success,” House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said Thursday.
So, while President Obama and Hillary Clinton are playing political chess and trying not to offend one another; our troops are dying on the battlefield. Terrific.
AllahPundit over at HotAir.com, who was in New York during the 9/11 attacks; is quite livid:
They’re looking for any way they can to avoid giving McChrystal the troops he says he needs to secure the country, so they’ve come up with a way out. If the people we’ve been fighting for eight years aren’t the enemy, then the country no longer needs to be secured from them, does it?
[…]
In other words, rather than eat crap by forthrightly admitting he’s prepared to abandon huge swaths of the country to Islamist fascists rather than invest another 40,000 troops, he’s going to create an artificial distinction between the Taliban and Al Qaeda to let him save face by claiming he’s focused on “the real enemy.” Much like how he was focused during the campaign on “the good war” in Afghanistan rather than “the bad war” in Iraq. I wonder how long it’ll be before he decides that not everyone who’s in Al Qaeda is an enemy either — or, better yet, that AQ’s been “substantially defeated” or something, which has been the unstated thrust of all those WH-leaked pieces in the press lately about how weak Bin Laden’s gang has become. Why, I’ll bet in a year or so we’ll be told that they’re so weak that we can start pulling out of Afghanistan altogether. Things sure have improved over there since Bush was president, huh?
I would not want to be in the United States Military right now for no amount of money in the world. Not with that idiot buffoon running the Military. The man has zero, and I do mean ZERO clue how to fight a war. I feel for our boys over there right now; because, quite frankly, they are trapped. Just like in Vietnam.
The real sick and sad part is; that the Republican and the Democrats both are taking this whole, “Whatever you decide to do boss! We’ll support you, all the way!” attitude; because none of them have the damn guts to stand up and tell this jack assed idiot to either damn lead or resign and let someone else lead for him. That is what makes me so damned angry.
Update: Video: (H/T to reader Stephanie)
As Stephanie said, this is going to be tough one. But he does need to stand up and lead and quit putting it off.
Others: Atlas Shrugs, The Long War Journal, Flopping Aces, Stop The ACLU, theblogprof, War in Context and Pajamas Media
The Obama Administration cannot handle real press
The is just too damned rich; Ol’ Big ears and his Administration cannot handle Roger Alies and Co. over at Fox News.
Via the Obama Magazine AKA Time:
There was never a single moment when White House staff decided the major media outlets were falling down on the job. There were instead several such moments.
For press secretary Robert Gibbs, the realization came in early September, when the New York Times ran a front-page story about the bubbling parental outrage over President Obama’s plan to address schoolchildren — even though the benign contents of the speech were not yet public. “You had to be like, ‘Wait a minute,'” says Gibbs. “This thing has become a three-ring circus.” (See who’s who in Barack Obama’s White House.)
For deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer, the more hyperbolic attacks on health-care reform this summer, which were often covered as a “controversy,” flipped an internal switch. “When you are having a debate about whether or not you want to kill people’s grandmother,” he explains, “the normal rules of engagement don’t apply.”
And for his boss, Anita Dunn, the aha moment came when the Washington Post ran a second op-ed from a Republican politician decrying the “32” alleged czars appointed by the Obama Administration. Nine of those so-called czars, it turned out, were subject to Senate confirmation, making them decidedly unlike the Russian monarchs. “The idea — that the Washington Post didn’t even question it,” Dunn says, still marveling at the decision.
All the criticism, both fair and misleading, took a toll, regularly knocking the White House off message. So a new White House strategy has emerged: rather than just giving reporters ammunition to “fact-check” Obama’s many critics, the White House decided it would become a player, issuing biting attacks on those pundits, politicians and outlets that make what the White House believes to be misleading or simply false claims, like the assertion that health-care reform would establish new “sex clinics” in schools. Obama, fresh from his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, cheered on the effort, telling his aides he wanted to “call ’em out.”
The take-no-prisoners turn has come as a surprise to some in the press, considering the largely favorable coverage that candidate Obama received last fall and given the President’s vows to lower the rhetorical temperature in Washington and not pay attention to cable hyperbole. Instead, the White House blog now issues regular denunciations of the Administration’s critics, including a recent post that announced “Fox lies” and suggested that the cable network was unpatriotic for criticizing Obama’s 2016 Olympics effort.
White House officials offer no apologies. “The best analogy is probably baseball,” says Gibbs. “The only way to get somebody to stop crowding the plate is to throw a fastball at them. They move.”
There is a whole bunch of stuff to say here; much of which I have written before. It is quite obvious to anyone who has been following this President and his White House staff since day one; and has not been drinking the damn Kool-Aid, knows that this President Administration, much like the last one, is still running in campaign mode. I believe it was not until the very bitter end, that Bush realized that he was doing wrong and stopped the campaign mode, this is why Karl Rove and Donald Rumsfield were tossed overboard.
Just as well, this President is making the same mistakes as the last one. The difference is this; it took George W. Bush six years for his poll ratings to plummet and it has taken this President six months. That my friends, is the astounding fact.
The glaring fact of this Administration is that they seem to have this glaring sense of entitlement. It seems that they are caught up in this whole mentality of, “This is a black President and you must treat him special!” The problem with is, that may work in the city of Chicago; but just does not cut it in American or more specifically beltway politics. Does this Presidential Administration actually believe that Sean Hannity is just not going to say anything at all about President Obama socialist agenda?
The way I see it, Fox News has been extremely fair to the President, they have given him all of the benefit of the doubt. But they have not went into the tank for the President, at all. Something that I am extremely grateful for. As a result of this; Fox News’s rating have soared over every other networks; and I know why. It is because the American people, like me, do not want apologists for the Administration; we want hard factual news and critical reporting. If the President is screwing up, I want to know about it. If what the President is doing is not good for the Country, the American people have a right to know.
What the American people do not need; is someone like that sniveling four-eyed punk Robert Gibbs dictating to them, what they can and cannot report. Personally, I think Robert Gates is a asshole; and he is not doing much for the White House and President Obama’s image, he needs to be replaced. But I do not see that coming, unless Gibbs makes a major blunder.
Others: JustOneMinute, NewsBusters.org, Townhall.com, RedState, Riehl World View, Left Coast Rebel, Jules Crittenden, , Hot Air, Pajamas Media, JammieWearingFool,Gateway Pundit and TVNewser
The White House of Unoriginality
Via Malkin:
Pathetic. Of course, I have never known African-Americans to ever do anything original at all. I mean, look at rap music; How unoriginal can you get? Talking over music, made by other people. They very fact that they even call that tripe music, is an insult to musicians like myself.
Others: Althouse, Ruby Slippers,
Updated: BREAKING NEWS: President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize Liberals even shocked
My first question is, For what?
Via the NYT:
OSLO — In a stunning surprise, the Nobel Committee announced Friday that it had awarded its annual peace prize to President Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
“He has created a new international climate,” the committee said in its announcement. President Obama’s name had not figured in speculation about the likely winner until minutes before the prize was announced here.
Likely candidates had been seen here as including human rights activists in China and Afghanistan and political figures in Africa.
The committee said it wanted to enhance Mr. Obama’s diplomatic efforts. “We are awarding Obama for what he has done,” the committee said. “Many other people and leaders and nations have to respond in a positive way” to President Obama’s diplomacy.
The announcement noted the special importance the committee attached to President Obama’s vision of a world without nuclear weapons. “Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play,” the committee said.
I have been watching twitter since this news broke and boy are the Conservative blogger angry. Wow! 😮
Anyhow, I do not think he deserves it; he has done nothing. But, that is your liberal world for you. Reward you for doing nothing. Just look at all these bailouts and such.
It is a bit of a shock, but hardly a surprise.
Update: Memeorandum has the roundup.
Update #2: Even Liberals are asking themselves, “Why?” Rob Kall, Who runs Op Ed News; which is about as Liberal, as I am Conservative, Writes:
I woke up to a text message from CNN that Obama had won the Nobel peace prize. First thought– “Why? What did he do to earn it? Extend the Afghan war? Send thousands of storm trooper police to Pittsburgh for G-20?
[…]
But maybe Josh is right. Maybe it will inspire Obama, who’s proven to be a disappointment so far, to live up to the honor. Maybe it will give him an attitudinal boost so he finds more spine to represent the people who voted for him. Maybe it will get the right wing blowhards to STFU. Maybe it will give him the spine it takes to tell his DLC, right wing Dem advisors to STFU and maybe even leave.
Ironically, I feel little pride in this awarding of the Nobel. I don’t think he deserves it. Sure, it’s a nice image boost for the US and the Democrats, but it is a failure by the Nobel committee. If they had waited until Obama made his decision on Afghanistan, and he did the right thing– stand up to a General with a hard-on for un-ending war, and all his backers, then Obama would have deserved it. I pray the Nobel committee knows something we don’t know about Obama and Afghanistan.
Now, we have a “peace price winning” president about to commit tens of thousands more troops to a never ending war in a country that has never been defeated.
[…]
Let’s hope the prize inspires Obama, not just to be a peace maker but also to be a stronger president who stands up to the corporations which have waged war against humanity. Maybe he’ll pay attention to Justice Sotomayor’s questions about corporate personhood and wage the good war, ending the longest war of human history– and kill the right of corporations to be treated as persons.
Awarding the prize to someone who is older, whose work with war and the possibilities for peace is done is a passive act. Awarding the price to someone who has the potential to make a difference, well that’s a bold step to take, a gamble. I still have a little hope that Obama will find his inner strength, cast off the corporate enablers rife throughout his administration and do the right things, maybe with Michelle Obama’s inspiration. Maybe this award will help. Maybe it will remind him of what he could become– a great man who goes down in history for standing up to the powerful tides and forces within and outside his party which pushed him to do more of the same. Maybe he will reject the garbage the corpsestream media spews, the pressure the lobbyists apply and the corruption and sold out humanity within the beltway.
Sometimes extraordinary things result from extraordinary acts are done. This could be one of those times. Let us hope.
Now, while I disagree with some of the thoughts articulated here; as they are from a Liberal standpoint; I must commend Rob for having the boldness to express his true feelings about this President. I wonder. are the Obama-Bots going to call Rob a racist bigot? I wonder. As they sure do love to call me that, quite a bit.
As for his feelings about Obama being a disappointment; That is because he overreached so horribly bad, and now, people are having a case of buyers remorse.
Cartoons of the Day
Just I think that nobody cares about me or what I do….. I get a shout out. Thanks Zack, you make a great product buddy! 😀
Broken Dreams.....25 cents?
For more fun visit the website/blog at www.diversitylane.com or go directly to the blog at www.diversitylane.wordpress.com.
For more fun, Check out Baloo’s Cartoon Blog.
Owning an AK-47 is a hangable offense…..In Kenya
Hmmmmmm… A vision of things to come in America? 😮
(Thanks to Say Uncle, Who also runs the awesomely Awesome Gun Blogger’s Network on BlogAds)
RedState Update on Healthcare and The Olympics
Enjoy these two, because man, they are funny!
A text book example of why Keynesian economics does not work
I have said it a thousand times on this blog. Pumping excessive currency into the money supply results in a devalued currency.
Well, this is the fall out from our President pumping currency into the money supply. Now those who trade oil want to stop using the dollar as their currency.
The Story Via the U.K. Independent:
In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.
The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have taken place – although they have not discovered the details – are sure to fight this international cabal which will include hitherto loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against the background to these currency meetings, Sun Bigan, China’s former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. “Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable,” he told the Asia and Africa Review. “We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security.”
Ron Paul, of whom I have some disagreements on Foreign policy, has said since he was running for President and even prior to that; that what we are doing to our Economy is the moral equivalent of economic Jones-town massacre mass suicide —- and it turns out that the man was and still is absolutely correct.
Of course, the oil traders are denying that this is taking place; but of course! The last thing that they want is a mass panic by market investors!
Via Fox News:
The world’s oil producers will continue using the U.S. dollar as the currency for buying and selling crude, high-ranking oil and finance officials in the Gulf said on Tuesday, denying a report in a British newspaper.
Earlier, The Independent reported that Gulf Arab states, as well as China, Russia, Japan and France, are in secret talks to end the use of the U.S. dollar to trade oil, causing the American currency to fall in overseas trading Tuesday.
Qatar’s oil minister, Kuwait’s finance minister and sources in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi central banks all denied the report.
The Independent report is “absolutely incorrect” and there has been “absolutely nothing” of that nature discussed between Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and other countries, Saudi Central Bank Governor Muhammad al-Jasser told reporters in Istanbul.
We did not discuss this at all,” Russia’s deputy finance minister Dmitry Pankin said on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund meeting.
The newspaper report said, “Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.”
Lew Rockwell‘s Reaction to the story was not entirely surprising at all:
Though conservatives call this important story “Arabs Plot to Drop the Dollar,” it’s simply self-defense. Or are other peoples just supposed to be kicked in the teeth by the Fed and like it? China, Russia, Japan, France, and Gulf Arab states seek to substitute for the dollar in oil transactions a basket of currencies including the yen, the yuan, the euro, and gold. Heroic. I’d like to use that myself. In fact, why isn’t the Fed’s crazed monetary expansion called a plot to harm others and regular Americans, to the benefit of the US state and its bankster and corporate allies? And if it does indicate another step in “The Demise of the Dollar,” all the fault is in Washington, DC–as usual.
UPDATE From Ryan Cowles:
In light of this, see Ron Paul’s 2006 article on Dollar Hegemony
I could not have said it better myself. 🙂
A funny reaction from Vinnie over at the Jawa Report:
Oh well, I’m good. It takes me 3 minutes to drive to work in traffic. If they go off the dollar in the Scotch industry though, I’m taking up arms.
Heh. In my case, if they go off the dollar in steaks or in coffee; it’s on baby. You can ream my butt for Gas… Hell, I usually just put in five or so bucks to get me around town. Considering the fact, that I drive a piece of crap clunker. But we start fiddling around with my caffeine jolt, or my monthly or so splurge on a good steak; there will be war.
Sammy over at Yid with A Lid quips:
But wait a second this cant happen, don’t they know that Barack Obama is our president, they love him.
Yeah, They love him alright; with that knife behind their backs. If ol’ Big “O” thinks because he’s black and got a funny middle name, is going to stop the Arab Nations from royally screwing America. The President has another thing coming. The Arab nations have hated us; for taking their resources for decades, that goes back to before the President; and myself for that matter, were even born. So, the socialist liberals cannot scream BOOOOSH on this one. This even predates him too.
William Jacobson over at Legal Insurrection writes:
I would like to think someone in the Obama administration would be concerned, but honest reflection leads only to the conclusion that the lowering of U.S. international power will be music to Obama’s ears. He never misses an opportunity to lecture the world about the evils of domination by any one country, by which he means the United States.
A fiddler who is not oblivious to the fire, by any means.
So true, I mean, I have followed politics with some sort of interest since I started voting when I was 18 and I never, ever heard a President apologize for America, Ever. In another time period, President Obama would have been impeached for treason for saying something like that in another Country. But in this day of socialistic rule; nothing happens at all.
I guess time will tell on this one; if it happens, the results will be devastating to our economy. Let us home, for the sake of America, that this is nothing more than poorly sourced rumor story.
The Round Up: Fox News, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Left Coast Rebel, Credit Writedowns, naked capitalism, Another Black Conservative, ParaPundit, Mish’s Global Economic …, YID With LID, RedState, Townhall.com, The Jawa Report, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and LewRockwell.com Blog (via Memeorandum)
Obama not happy with General McChrystal
Oy, this is not good.
According to sources close to the administration, Gen McChrystal shocked and angered presidential advisers with the bluntness of a speech given in London last week.
The next day he was summoned to an awkward 25-minute face-to-face meeting on board Air Force One on the tarmac in Copenhagen, where the president had arrived to tout Chicago’s unsuccessful Olympic bid.
Gen James Jones, the national security adviser, yesterday did little to allay the impression the meeting had been awkward.
Asked if the president had told the general to tone down his remarks, he told CBS: “I wasn’t there so I can’t answer that question. But it was an opportunity for them to get to know each other a little bit better. I am sure they exchanged direct views.”
An adviser to the administration said: “People aren’t sure whether McChrystal is being naïve or an upstart. To my mind he doesn’t seem ready for this Washington hard-ball and is just speaking his mind too plainly.”
In London, Gen McChrystal, who heads the 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan as well as the 100,000 Nato forces, flatly rejected proposals to switch to a strategy more reliant on drone missile strikes and special forces operations against al-Qaeda.
He told the Institute of International and Strategic Studies that the formula, which is favoured by Vice-President Joe Biden, would lead to “Chaos-istan”.
When asked whether he would support it, he said: “The short answer is: No.”
He went on to say: “Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support
via Barack Obama furious at General Stanley McChrystal speech on Afghanistan – Telegraph.
I’m with Jimmie over at the Sundries Shack; If I were serving in the Military right now and I were in the Afghan Theater. I would be just a wee bit worried.
GrayHawk over at Mudville Gazette says:
Seriously, I can think of several alternatives to General McChrystal’s plan for carrying out the administration’s Afghan strategy, but certainly none I’d want my name associated with in any way, shape, or form. In D.C., no one in the administration (or the Pentagon) is willing to have their name associated with any alternative plan, but apparently many are willing to whisper to reporters that there is one and Biden thinks it’s great.
Just something to think about.
Oh Yeah,this is not going to end well, at all. Kind of like watching a train wreak. You hate to look; but curiosity just will not let you look away.
My Prediction: General McChrystal will tell ol’ big ears Bambi, to puff a damn root and will resign, which will leave the President and his staff twisting in the wind; let THEM be responsible for one of the biggest screw ups, since Vietnam. I mean, seriously, would you want this whole debacle on your shoulders, and have on your conscience the lives of all those men; because the President is more interested in making himself look good; than he is actually interested in being the commander in chief? I think not.
Others Covering: JustOneMinute, American Spectator, And So it Goes in Shreveport, protein wisdom, Flopping Aces and Weasel Zippers (Via Memeorandum)
Call me strange but….
When I see Michelle Malkin and Lew Rockwell’s Blog writing the same funny stuff. I really have to wonder. 😮
Michelle Writes:
Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad’s lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis, and others for their brilliance and perfection.”
Um. Ew. Oof.
Mrs. Obama was 20 years old when Lewis first competed in the Olympics in 1984.
Senior White House adviser and Chicago slumlord overseer Valerie Jarrett promised earlier this week that “there wouldn’t be a dry eye in the room” after FLOTUS spoke.
She probably wasn’t expecting tears of…laughter.
Karen De Coster at Lew Rockwell’s Blog Writes:
A reader, Sal, pointed out that she said (starting at about the 1:00 point) some of her best memories were “sitting on her father’s lap, cheering on Olga, Nadia, and Carl Lewis…..” Her speechwriter needs to do much better. Carl Lewis first competed in the Olympics in 1984 when Michelle was twenty years old. She was bouncing on her father’s lap? Nadia Comaneci competed in 1976, when Michelle was twelve, and Olga Korbut in 1972, when Michelle was eight years old.
Heh… Well, I thought it was funny! Hmmm, Maybe there’s hope that the Libertarian and Republican Party rift can be healed after all! 😀 😉
…..well, a guy can dream, can’t he? 😛
Breaking News: Chicago eliminated from the 2016 Olympics, In the First Round!
Oh, this is too good. Mr. President Entitlement and his white hating wife went to Olympics; to basically demand that the Olympics come to Chicago.
…..and they were denied.
The Story via New York Times who is feeling is Heart-Ache:
The Olympics were awarded to a South American city for the first time, when the International Olympic Committee voted Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Games on Friday.
Rio de Janeiro was voted the winner over Madrid in the final round of voting, the I.O.C. having already delivered the an unexpectedly early knockout blow to Chicago, which was eliminated in the first round. Tokyo was ousted in the second.
I.O.C. president Jacques Rogge made the announcement the send crowds in Rio de Janeiro into celebration.
Tens of thousands of people began partying early in Rio on the Copacabana beach. Musicians played samba music from a main stage flanked by large screens, as people danced, held towering cones of cotton candy, and showed off the national colors of Brazil by donning yellow and green wigs or skimpy yellow and green bikinis. A big beach ball bounced around the crowd, marked with the words: “It’s Rio’s time.”
The scene had been entirely different in Chicago, where throngs in Daley Plaza gasped in disappointment when Rogge announced Chicago had been eliminated. It was a surprisingly early exit, especially because of President Barack Obama’s whirlwind trip to boost the bid of his adopted city. Mr. Obama was the first American president to make an in-person appeal for a bid city and first lady Michelle Obama had also come earlier this week to lobby I.O.C. members for votes.
Chicago’s bid leaders had worked for nearly four years and spent close to $50 million to bring the Summer Olympics to the United States for the first time in 20 years. Chicago had been considered among Olympic insiders as a favorite to win the Games, along with Rio.
Instead, the I.O.C. delivered a crushing blow to American hopes for the second straight time. New York’s bid was eliminated in the second round of voting for the 2012 Olympics.
United States Olympic Committee leaders appeared stunned by the news and had no comment as they left the voting hall. Mr. Obama was flying back to Washington at the time of the vote.
The In God We trust Blog reports that Glenn Beck predicted that it would not go to Chicago. Which really is not much of a surprise.
This video is just too freakin’ funny. One of CNN’s black Anchors has a breakdown because his black President got told no: (H/T AllahPundit)
Speaking of funny…. David Axlerod blames the G.O.P. Politics for Chicago getting passed over:
Top White House adviser David Axelrod says "politics" played a key role in the International Olympic Committee’s decision to reject President Obama’s appeal in support of Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
In an interview moments ago on CNN, Axelrod said, "I don’t view this as a repudiation of the president or the first lady. I think that there are politics everywhere, and there were politics inside that room." Axelrod said that a former head of the IOC was leading Madrid’s effort for the games, and others involved in other Olympic bids also had connections with the IOC. "As with any process like this, there are all kinds of crosscurrents in the room, there are relationships," Axelrod said.
Asked for details, Axelrod said, "I’m not suggesting anything nefarious…I’m not suggesting anything untoward happened. There are politics around every process, and there were here as well…There were relationships that paid off for some of the other cities."
Can you say, Heart-Ache???? The Bottom line is, you try and exploit; sometimes you get burned!
Here’s Axlerod crying in his… um, Beer:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Boo Freakin’ Hoo. I guess the "One" isn’t as all powerful as they thought. 😛
Does President Obama want to impose a VAT tax?
Great, that is all we need. 🙄
(H/T to Reason)
Does President Obama have a secret plan to raise taxes on middle-class Americans — and,well, pretty much everybody else — with a European-style, value-added tax? Actually, it’s not such a big secret. Connect the dots:
1) The joint statement from the just-concluded G20 Summit in Pittsburgh called for balanced global growth — which means Americans must spend less and save more and reduce its budget deficit.
2) That same weekend, John Podesta, co-chairman of Obama’s presidential transition team and an outside White House adviser, tells a Bloomberg reporter that a value-added tax is “more plausible today” than ever, adding that “there’s going to have to be revenue in this budget.” A VAT is a kind of consumption tax.
3) Yesterday, the Center for American Progress, the liberal think tank with close White House ties, holds a conference on the rising national debt. While speaker after speaker — Paul Krugman, Roger Altman, CAP President Podesta (again), Laura Tyson — admits entitlement spending must be reduced, they also agree that taxes must be raised. Altman suggests $400 billion in new tax revenue is needed almost immediately to calm financial market fears, and a VAT would be a great way of doing it. That’s $400 billion a year, by the way, not over ten years.
4) Also, yesterday was the first meeting of President Obama’s tax reform panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. In a two-part interview with Charlie Rose airing yesterday and today, Volcker says that if Washington can’t get spending under control, either a VAT or a carbon tax would be effective revenue raisers. “Those are two big ones,” he says.
5) As they used to say in the Soviet Union, “It’s no coincidence.” This is also the conclusion of one Washington insider with ties to the White House economic team: “Does this all add up to a trial balloon? Of course, it’s a trial balloon. And I expect the administration will propose major tax reform, including a VAT.”
via James Pethokoukis – Obama’s not-so-secret plan to raise taxes
Terrific. First Obama wants to shove healthcare down our throats and then he wants to tax the living hell out of us; to pay for it. Fantastic. 🙄
Somewhere, John McCain is smiling. Because he warned America, that if they elected Obama to be President; that this would be the result. Did America listen? Of course not. Because of mean ol’ Bush; people wanted change. While I can understand the desire for change. But did America want this sort of change? Of course not. However, elections have consequences; and this is one of them.
Realistically however, I doubt that the White House would be able to get something of this nature. It just does not seem feasible. The reason being that Congress knows that they are on borrowed time. The midterms are coming; and I highly doubt that anyone in Congress would be that crazy to try and pass anything of this nature. Heck, there already is great infighting over the “Public Option” in that healthcare bill. So, this would even lead to more that.
So, while it would not hurt to be vigil for something of this nature. I highly doubt that the Democrats are going to attempt to do something this hair-brained.
Andy Williams tells it like it is
I have to admit; I like ol’ Andy Williams:
Williams, a lifelong Republican whose hits include Moon River and Music To Watch Girls By, told the Radio Times he thought Mr Obama wanted to turn the US into a “socialist country”.
Andy Willaims
The 81-year-old was a friend of the Kennedy family during the 1960s and was present at the Los Angeles rally where Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.
“I was very close to Bobby and he asked me to be a delegate for him when he ran for president,” he said.
“He knew about me being a Republican, but just laughed and said, ‘Sign yourself in as a Democrat and then change back afterwards’. Sadly, I never got to do that.
“I was very close to Teddy Kennedy, too, and his death recently brought it all back. What a tragedy. Had he lived, I think Bobby would have been a great president.”
But Williams had a less favourable opinion of the current president.
“Don’t like him at all,” he said, “I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very Left-wing. One is registered as a Communist.
“Obama is following Marxist theory. He’s taken over the banks and the car industry. He wants the country to fail
via Andy Williams accuses Barack Obama of following Marxist theory – Telegraph.
I give Andy Williams credit; He has been around many a Democrat in his day; and he knows a damn Saul Alinsky socialist type, when he sees one. At this point in Andy’s career, he can say what he wishes and will not suffer for it. Saying this, however, will not endure him to the Hollywood crowd and he will most likely face scorn for it. But I give the man credit; Andy Williams sees what Obama is all about, and I think that is a good thing. Now if we could just get the rest of America to see what Andy and I see; then we would be getting somewhere.
Andy Williams is not the only Hollywood Conservative out there; there are many, in fact; there were a group of them in Hollywood. They were meeting and calling themselves the “Friends of Abe”. The list of Conservative Hollywood Stars is astounding; It includes: Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck, James Woods, Patricia Heaton, Andy Garcia, Gary Sinise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, LL Cool J, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dennis Miller, Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Catherine Bell, Danny Aiello, James Earl Jones, Ron Silver, Kelsey Grammer, Morgan Brittany, Ben Stein, Pat Boone, Kathy Ireland, Rick Schroeder and Bo Derek.
So, to say that Andy is alone is a fallacy. There are Hollywood actors that still love America. It is a pity that there is not more of them. I believe persecuting Hollywood stars for their political views is akin to McCarthyism. It should be outlawed and those who do it brought before Congress and forced to held accountable for their actions. To blacklist someone for their political views is treasonous; it was when Senator McCarthy did it and it still is now.
May God Bless these Hollywood actors who dare to stand for something, that is morally right.
A must read for all Conservatives and, Yes, Blacks too!
I read this article, and the first thing I thought was, “I wish there were about couple hundred more of him!”
The rules set by the Left are extremely clear. Racist images of black conservatives and negative images of Bush are fair game. Even a play about murdering President Bush was called “harmless art”. Meanwhile, all unflattering images of Obama are racist, and constitute dangerous, potentially violent hate speech.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called Congressman Joe Wilson a racist for saying, “You lie” to president Obama. Using her psychic powers, Dowd said Wilson was really saying in his mind, “You lie, BOY!” And yet, liberal commentator Julianne Malveaux, saying she hopes black conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife “feeds him a lot of fatty foods so he will die early from heart disease like many black men”, was not considered racist. I am a black conservative singer, songwriter, entertainer and columnist. Liberals have posted comments all over YouTube and C-SPAN freely using and calling me the “N” word. Because they are libs and I am an uppity, off the liberal plantation, run-away black, all tactics to restore me to my owners are acceptable.
Here is another example of the Left setting the rules. “Take Back America!” is now on their list of racist terms we protesters are not allowed to use. Again using their psychic powers, the Left claims the protesters are really saying, “Because the president is black, lets take America back”! This is totally absurd. “Take Back America” refers to the hijacking of our freedoms, liberty and culture by an out of control administration.
via American Thinker: Stop Allowing The Left To Set The Rules.
Lloyd Marcus is throwing down the gauntlet and letting the Liberals know, that they’re on notice. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone read this one. WOW! 😮
Let me be clear, This is NOT cool at all Poll Yanked, Secret Service Investigating
(H/T Allen Colmes)
Some idiot tool has put up on facebook; a poll asking if the President should be killed or not.
If you have a facebook account; head on over and click on the “report” button.
If course, Colmes and the people over that the blog linked are trying to blame everyone on the right for the actions of this idiot. This of course, is collectivism and quite stupid.
I do hope, however, that the idiot that did this, is reported the secret service and ends up spending quality time in prison.
Update: AP Reports:
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Secret Service is investigating an online survey that asked whether people thought President Barack Obama should be assassinated, officials said Monday.
“We’re working with the U.S. Secret Service, but they’ll need to provide any details of their investigation,” Schnitt said.
Because the application was disabled, the responses to the nonscientific polls are not available.
“The third-party application that enabled an individual user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning,” said Barry Schnitt, Facebook’s spokesman for policy.
The question was not created by Facebook, but by an independent person using an add-on application that has been suspended from the site.
The poll asked respondents “Should Obama be killed?” The choices: No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.
The poll, posted Saturday on Facebook, was taken off the popular social networking site quickly after company officials were alerted to its existence. But, like any threat against the president, Secret Service agents are taking no chances.
“We are aware of it and we will take the appropriate investigative steps,” said Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman. “We take of these things seriously.”
Good. I hope that they catch this idiot and put him UNDER the damn jail. Anyone that does something like this; does not deserve to be free! It is one thing to dislike the President’s policies. But to wish death on someone; is just fucking wrong. Good on facebook for their cooperation and the Secret Service for their prompt action!
Video: The Day Obamacare Died
I saw this one on Twitter, and man is it funny!
Although, I believe the celebratory tone is a wee bit premature. But that face! Oh my goodness! 😆
Obama double talks on Iran
I did not think that I would be posting anymore about the Iran situation; but it appears that our feckless fearless leader is talking out of both sides, of his rather large bazoo about Iran.
First up, here’s this “Dear Leader’s” weakly weekly address; skip to the 3:05 point to the part about Iran: (H/T to AllahPundit for posting the video and giving me something to work with here!)
Something to note here; the audio on this video is very low; looks like someone’s a bit too drunk on Hope and Change to check the stupid mic level. Does not matter any damned way; nobody can understand the guy anyhow. 🙄
..and now for the other side of his rather large bazoo….: (H/T Jim)
Transcript: (Via HotAirPundit)
Reid: Thank you Mr. President, you just mentioned sanctions that have bite, what kinds of sanction, and I know you can’t get into details but what kind of sanctions at all would have bite with Iran, do you really think that any kind of sanctions would have any effect on somebody like Ahmadinejad, secondly some of your advisers today said that this announcement was a victory, do you consider it a victory and if so why didn’t you announce it earlier since you have known since you were President elect?..
Obama: “I’m not interested in victory, I’m interested in solving the problem”
Of course, I do not expect the main stream media to question this little double talk; because anyone who dares to question “The One” is smeared as a RAAAACIST!
But you pretty much get the picture here. It is going to be a long four to eight years with this idiot. Wow. Just….WOW. That is if the G.O.P does not dust the Democrat’s britches in the 2010 election; which I high suspect is going to happen.
Enough is Enough!
I guess that you can consider this my “It’s on, Motherfucker!” Posting. I have sat back on the god-damned sidelines long enough. I have watched as Charles Foster Johnson has continued to slime a fellow Georgia Brother, A fellow Conservative, and a fellow brother in Jesus Christ. I am referring to none other Robert Stacy McCain.
I guess you could say; that I have just fucking flat out had it “Up to here!” with the fucking bullshit accusations against us on the right, that are against the fucking bullshit communist foreign policies of the Obama Administration, as being racist. I guess you could say that I am just fucking flat tired of the fucking collectivist bullshit tripe, that flows out of the mouth of those who want blame every last god damned fucking person under the planet, that has Conservative leanings; for the actions of a few idiots who want to try and discredit this movement of humanity against this administration.
I had some anti-LGF ads up here, that I ran for free. I removed them; because I had some questions that I really felt had not been answered good enough for my liking. Well, they were answered and it seems that Charles Foster Johnson is in full on smear mode. Well, I’ve fucking had just about god damn enough of it. 😡
Hold on to your hats, this might get a bit ugly.
It just so happens that we Conservatives were basically Anti-Slavery, and Anti-Racist for many years. Hell, Abraham Lincoln fought the civil war over the issue. However, the side that is not told about it is this; The Confederation Army did NOT go to war with the union over this; it was over CENTRALIZED Government! The Confederates knew that if the Union instituted a centralized Government, that freedoms would be lost and they decided to go to war. What is also not told, is that fact that Lincoln’s army basically committed what would be known today as acts of terrorism. That is what this song here is all about. Abraham Lincoln knew god-damned well, that he could not win the war against the south by fighting a war, by the rule book. So, he fought it dirty and won. Some people say this is a fallacy, but I call bullshit; I have read the writings of the confederates and believe me, it was a nasty war, fought by fucking cowards who could not win any other way.
….and then there’s the issue of the Negros……
After the war was fought and won; Slavery was abolished. A good thing, I might add. Holding people against their will and using them for labor and profit, is not only stupid, it is ungodly as hell. For this one thing; I will give Abe Lincoln credit for. But everything he did to the South was just fucking rotten and I still consider the fucking bastard a god damned traitor. The truth is; Lincoln was forced into the position, because of political issues, NOT because he wanted to:
“I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races—that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race.”
— 4th Lincoln-Douglas debate, September 18th, 1858; COLLECTED WORKS Vol. 3, pp. 145-146
Yes, that is a real quote, here’s another:
“What I would most desire would be the separation of the white and black races.”
— Spoken at Springfield, Illinois on July 17th, 1858; from ABRAHAM LINCOLN: COMPLETE WORKS, 1894, Vol. 1, page 273
“See our present condition—the country engaged in war! Our White men cutting one another’s throats! And then consider what we know to be the truth. But for your race among us there could not be war, although many men engaged on either side do not care for you one way or another.
“Why should the people of your race be colonized, and where? Why should they leave this country? This is, perhaps, the first question for proper consideration. You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If this be admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated. It is better for both, therefore, to be separated.”
— Spoken at the White House to a group of black community leaders, August 14th, 1862, from COLLECTED WORKS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Vol 5, page 371
So, Abraham Lincoln; putting his personal feelings aside, pushed for and got; the outlawing of slavery in the south. Not long after that, the group known as a the “Radical Republicans” fought for and got a commission in the south to restore the South’s economy. Later, this was stopped by the Democrats of the day and as a result, many blacks and poor whites in the south ended up being sharecroppers. Still, the Slaves were freed.
But they still were not satisfied.
After slavery, some white men in the south were not too keen on the idea of black men roaming freely around in their towns; decided that the two races should be separated. Because they felt that the Negro man was not exactly known his civility. Now honestly — I do not agree with this; and I believe that it was a flawed mentality. However, I believe that it was the personal right of those, who chose to do this, to do it. Senator Barry Goldwater agreed with me; and refused to sign that unconstitutional so called “Civil Rights Act” of 1964.
The Negros fought and won against the Southern racist Democrats; however, they did trample on Constitutional rights to do so. But the fact is; they won. None of them are in chains, and they can now roam free as they wish, they cannot be arrested for eating in a “White” restaurant anymore. Those days are over and yet, some of them act like it is still 1945.
…and now, Today.
It can be said with the most confidence; that the age of “Jim Crow” and that of the mentality of the Klansman is officially dead. Oh, sure; there are those who are of the depraved, unenlightened mindset that still believe that the Negro man is not of the same elevated mindset of the white race. But those people have been long marginalized and largely discredited. America has elected a half Negro President; I refuse to call him “African-American”, either your American or African, make up your god damned mind! I say half Negro, because many forget, President Obama is half a White man too.
Yet today, you have the people of the very same party, that fought to keep the Negro race in chains; the very same party that fought to keep the negro race segregated; accusing the very people who agree with the political ideology, that freed the slaves in the first place — of being racist! —- and this after an Black President has been elected! President Obama is a a Democrat, he is a socialist! Therefore he is prone to critique by those of us, who disagree with the ideology of the Democratic Party!
What really ticks me off, is the collectivist mindset among these Socialist Democrats, who seek to blame the entire Conservative movement; for the actions of a few protesters. This is just absolutely asinine and smacks of that collectivist mindset, that the Socialist Liberal Democrats are known for; herding the cattle onto the plantation.
So, in solidarity of my Southern Brother Robert Stacy McCain, I present this song. May the spirit of the Southern Conservative never die and may we always be known as those who stood and fought against those who would try and destroy our Country.
Update: Video was removed, I guess Charles Foster Johnson’s trolls are lurking about. No matter; I still feel the same way and I will NOT submit or surrender to socialist assholes who want to smear those of us, who fight for freedom and against Islamic Jihad. (Fixed typo…. d’oh!)
and I still say to Johnson, Bring it on prick, because I can dish it out, as much as I can take it. 😡
The obligatory Iran has a second nuke facility posting
I have finally got around to posting about this. Sorry, I’ve been napping in the afternoons now. Seeing I got my body-clock somewhat straightened out.
Yes, It is official, according to The New York Times and others, that Iran is making weapons grade nukes:
PITTSBURGH — President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France accused Iran on Friday of building a secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel, saying the country has hidden the covert operation from international weapons inspectors for years.
Appearing before reporters in Pittsburgh, Mr. Obama said that the Iranian nuclear program “represents a direct challenge to the basic foundation of the nonproliferation regime.” President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said that Iran had a deadline of two months to comply with international demands or face increased sanctions.
“The level of deception by the Iranian government, and the scale of what we believe is the breach of international commitments, will shock and anger the entire international community,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said. “The international community has no choice today but to draw a line in the sand.”
The extraordinary and hastily arranged joint appearance by the three leaders — and Mr. Obama said that Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany had asked him to convey that she stood with them as well — adds urgency to the diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its suspected ambition to build a nuclear weapons capacity. The three men demanded that Iran allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct an immediate inspection of the facility, which is said to be 100 miles southwest of Tehran, near the holy city of Qum.
American officials said that they had been tracking the covert project for years, but that Mr. Obama decided to disclose the American findings after Iran discovered, in recent weeks, that Western intelligence agencies had breached the secrecy surrounding the complex. On Monday, Iran wrote a brief, cryptic letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying that it now had a “pilot plant” under construction, whose existence it had never before revealed.
[….]
The newly discovered enrichment plant is not yet in operation, American officials said, but could be by next year. A senior Western official characterized the facility as “excavation, tunneling, infrastructure for centrifuges.”
Mr. Obama’s announcement will probably overshadow the meeting of the Group of 20, whose leaders have gathered to plan the next steps in combating the global financial crisis. Instead, here and during the opening of the United Nations in New York, senior officials from several of the countries were pulled aside for briefings on the new intelligence and for strategy sessions about the first direct talks with Iran in 30 years — set for Thursday — that will include the United States.
American officials said they expected the announcement to make it easier to build a case for international sanctions if Iran blocked inspectors or refused to halt its nuclear program.
“They have cheated three times,” one senior administration official with access to the intelligence said of the Iranians late on Thursday evening. “And they have now been caught three times.”
I said this yesterday when Israel’s President Netanyahu basically called the U.N. to the carpet; that this would lead to Military action in Iran. It appears that I might be actually right. There are some that are saying that the sanctions will not work. Well, let me assure you; sanctions are just the first step. I look for this to ratcheted up to a full bore; either you all drop the nukes, or we bomb the piss out of you; type of a matter —— in a matter of weeks.
President Obama might have a great deal of flaws, but enjoying being lied to, is not one of them; and with Russia and many others on board, I believe Iran will either do one of two things. They will either back down and dismantle this new site and do some major ass kissing to the international community. If not that; Iran will dig its heels in and remain defiant, and keep on producing the nukes. I can tell you, right now that those actions will prove to be fetal to the people of Iraq; because Israel is highly pissed, and the rest of the G20 gang are quite ticked as well.
Iran may have very well played its last hand at deception with the rest of the world.
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Rush Limbaugh does Jay Leno
Possibly one of the funniest Rush Limbaugh clips in a long time:
The interview:
(H/T NewsBusters and Consevatweet via The Freepers)
President Obama speaks at the U.N.
I guess the President delivered a “Humdinger” of a speech at the U.N. today. I would know I did not watch it. But from what I hear it was pretty much anti-Israel; and basically your typical socialist liberal bluster.
You can read the roundup of Opinions here.
Living Proof that Our President hates America
Put this one in the “If Bush had done this Catagory”:
U.S. flags over Capitol Hill were flying tattered, torn and neglected, according to an investigation by The Washington Times.
A team of reporters and photographers this month found such flags over three House office buildings in which 435 U.S. representatives and six nonvoting members report to work each day. Reporter Amanda Carpenter broke the story on The Washington Times America’s Morning News radio show Wednesday morning.
The tasks of raising, flying and replacing the flags is shared among a few administrative offices, but the responsibility of changing out damaged flags resides with U.S. Capitol Police.
Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a department spokeswoman, said if police officers see or learn that a flag over a Capitol Hill building needs to be replaced, the department gets a new one from the Architect of the Capitol.
via EXCLUSIVE: Congress flew tattered, neglected flags – Washington Times.
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.