This blog is no longer active as of October 31, 2011
WOW! 😮 Me and Jack must be on the same Wavelength or something…
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Synopsis: Conservatives who still subscribe to neoconservative doctrine on Iran have learned nothing.
The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine
Update: Want to see a perfect example of Neo-Conservatives agreeing with liberals on Iran? Look no further than here. I would have thought that Ed Morrissey was a bit more smarter than that. I guess I was quite mistaken. Once a Neo-Conservative, always a Wilsonian Neo-Conservative.
"Is she looking at my boobs? Seriously? Is she looking at my Boobs?"
While I find some of the objections to the Healthcare plan by the right to be a bit silly. This one bugs me:
ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Tue Jun 16 2009 08:45:10 ET
On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care — a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!
Highlights on the agenda:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special — ‘Prescription for America’ — originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.
The Director of Communications at the White House Office of Health Reform is Linda Douglass, who worked as a reporter for ABC News from 1998-2006.
Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:
via DRUDGE REPORT: ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA 2009®.
Of course and rightfully so, the RNC is not amused:
Dear Mr. Westin:
As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC’s astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.
Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party’s views to those of the President’s to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party’s opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.
In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.
Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff
Well, ABC was having none of that; they responded:
June 16, 2009
Mr. Ken McKay
Chief of Staff
Republican National Committee
310 First Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003Dear Mr. McKay:
I am in receipt of your letter of June 15, 2009 and wanted to respond to a number of false premises you raise regarding our ongoing and upcoming coverage of health care.
I hope we can all agree that a robust debate of health care issues and potential policies is in order.
To that end, ABC News announced plans to broadcast a primetime hour from the White House devoted to exploring and probing the President’s position and the giving voice to questions and criticisms of that position. We hope that any American concerned about health care will find our efforts to be informative, fair and civil.
Second, ABC News prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers — of all political persuasions — even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABC News is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue. ABC News alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.
Third, there already has been extensive coverage of the upcoming health care debates, on ABC and elsewhere, and there will be much, much more. Indeed, we’ve already had many critics of the President’s health care proposals on the air – and that’s before a real plan has even been put before the country.
In the end, no one watching, listening to, or reading ABC News will lack for an understanding of all sides of these important questions.
Thank you for your interest.
Kerry Smith
SVP, ABC News
We are getting closer and closer to European socialism and closer to State-run media by the day. What’s next? Death squads for the those who oppose?
Sure looks like it.
Others on the case: Weekly Standard, Riehl World View, TVNewser, Doug Ross, Michelle Malkin, , Brutally Honest, Hot Air, The Other McCain, The Sundries Shack, , Macsmind, Blue Crab Boulevard, , Flopping Aces, Patterico’s Pontifications, Right Wing Nut House, Townhall.com, Right Wing News, and This ain’t Hell …
This an excellent video: (Via True Conservatives on Facebook)
Bill Anderson over at Lew Rockwell’s Blog asks the following:
Not long ago, some libertarians were hailing Keith Olbermann because he attacked George W. Bush (correctly) and his wars. Today, we do not see Olbermann complaining about these wars, now that his people are in the White House. Unfortunately, we libertarians are learning a hard lesson once again; the Left is not anti-war. Instead, the Left is against war when leftists believe that wars consume too many resources that could be used in the government’s war against peaceful, private exachange. However, we see that today, Obama’s government is engaged in war both at home and abroad. Olbermann is a big supporter (as is Michael Moore).
Bill, that’s because Olbermann is kind of green when it comes to politics. The dude is a sportscaster for Christ’s sake. What do you expect?
Has Olbermann uttered one word against Obama’s war?
Well, if you consider the heavy sighing and hand wringing that he’s now doing; as a word against the Obama Administration and the war that now belongs to them. Yes, He has. But seriously; Olbermann is quite the partisan. To her credit, Rachel Maddow is not. But Keith? Oh Yes, quite partisan. To his credit, Olbermann did his fair share of screaming about Bush Administration’s Wilsonian foreign policies. But now that the Obama Administration is in there. It’s a whole other ball game at MSNBC HQ. I mean, Tucker Carlson even left. What does that tell you?
I don’t thing so
Uh, you mean, I don’t think so? 😉 😛 😀
Some think so…
Israeli TV newscasters Tuesday night interpreted a photo taken Monday in the Oval Office of President Obama talking on
Insult or no? You decide.
the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “insult” to Israel.
They saw the incident as somewhat akin to an incident last year, when the Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at President Bush in Baghdad.
It is considered an insult in the Arab world to show the sole of your shoe to someone. It is not a Jewish custom necessarily, but Israel feels enough a part of the Middle East after 60 years to be insulted too.
Was there a subliminal message intended from the White House to Netanyahu in Jerusalem, who is publicly resisting attempts by Mr. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to force Israel to stop any kind of settlement activity in occupied territories once and forever?
Whether or not it is true, it shows the mood in Israel. They feel cornered. The reactions out of Israel reflect that feeling.
and then there’s this:
Israel’s Channel One TV reported that Netanyahu was told Tuesday by an “American official” in Jerusalem that, “We are going to change the world. Please, don’t interfere.” The report said Netanyahu’s aides interpreted this as a “threat.”
While I am not a big fan of the large influence of the various Israeli Lobbies in Washington D.C.; I think that angering some of our stanchest allies in the world is nothing short of a bonehead move on the part of this President. It would cost him in the ratings.
Others: Don Surber, Jihad Watch, This ain’t Hell …, Mondoweiss and normblog
The problem is, the only people that are surprised are the in-the-tank media and possibly some of Obama’s loyal followers.
It’s looking more and more like Barack Obama’s pledge to usher in a new era of openness in government may well go unfulfilled.
Yesterday, administration lawyers cited national security concerns to argue that Bush-era documents detailing the videotaped interrogations of detainees should not be released. And in the wake of that news, open-government advocates are reluctantly acknowledging that, despite Obama’s campaign promises, his approach to secrecy on issues of national security will likely not depart significantly from that of George Bush.
“The Obama administration is not going to represent an abrupt departure from Bush-era policy,” Steven Aftergood, who runs the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy, told TPMmuckraker. “If we thought they were, we were mistaken.”
He added that it’s no longer realistic to think that Obama’s administration will take a strong stand in favor of openness on national security issues. “We have to recalibrate our expectations.”
The above is why I believe that Blogs, especially Independent bloggers; like myself, play important role in our Nation’s political process. Because I blogged long ago, on this blog and on my previous blog; that whomever was elected President, would end up not fulfilling all of the campaign promises. As long as our Government is controlled by outside forces, I.E. The UN and others; promises like that ones that President Obama made during his campaign, will go unfulfilled. It is a plain and sobering fact. The President just does not control as much as people are lead to believe.
However, I will make this observation. I do not believe that Obama is totally to blame for some of the reversals. I believe that some of them were forced, because of National Security concerns. Again, more of that “big Government” that the Democrats and Neo-Conservatives just love and what true or Paleo-Conservatives and Libertarians loathe. We must protect our own misdeeds in the interest of National Security. It has been practice of our Government for years, to cover up. There are a great deal of examples of this.
So, while it might be convenient of the Liberal grass roots to go after Obama on this, I believe doing so masks the true issue at heart here, and that’s our already oversized and quite centralized Government.
But of course, is that not what Democrats always do? When a problem arises, they throw more money at a problem and exert more Governmental Control over it; thinking that will fix it?
Anyhow, here is the story; The Voice of America reports:
The White House says America’s employment picture is worse than the Obama administration had anticipated just a few months ago. The somber admission follows the latest jobless report showing the highest unemployment rate the United States has seen in more than 25 years.
U.S. unemployment jumped a half percent in May, to 9.4 percent prompting this comment by Austan Goolsbee, a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors:
“The economy clearly has gotten substantially worse from the initial predictions that were being made, not just by the White House, but by all of the private sector,” said Austan Goolsbee.
Economists point out that the current jobless rate is already higher than the hypothetical rate that was used to calculate the health of banks and other financial institutions in so-called “stress tests” earlier this year. And, the upward unemployment trajectory is expected to continue in coming months, even if the overall economy begins to recover.
But never fear your Government is on the case! They are going to do, what Government has always done; especially Liberal Governments. They going to throw money at the problem! Woo Hoo! 🙄
The Barack Obama Apologist, Politico reports:
President Barack Obama is announcing Monday that he is ramping up stimulus spending exponentially in the next three months, allowing the administration to “save or create” 600,00 jobs — four times as many as during the first 100 days since he signed the bill.
The spending plans include National Parks, summer youth jobs, veterans’ medical centers, police and teachers.
Obama will make the announcement during a late-morning Cabinet meeting, when Vice President Joe Biden will present a Roadmap to Recovery, which the White House calls “an Administration-wide effort to accelerate implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in its second 100 days.”
“As a result of this accelerated pace of activity, over 600,000 jobs are expected to be created or saved by the Recovery Act in the second 100 days,” compared with roughly 150,000 in the first 100 days, the White House said.
While the administration is sensitive to criticism that stimulus spending has been too slow, a new Gallup Poll shows danger in the other direction. For the first time, a majority of respondents disapprove of Obama on the issue of “controlling federal spending” (51 percent to 45 percent), compared to the 67 percent who view him favorably overall.
Here’s what the “Magic One” is going to do with all that money:
Here’s the problem; The President or more specifically our wonderful Government is going do all these wonderful things with money that we don’t even have; because we are barrowing it all from China. After all, did not the President say that we are broke? Yes, he did!
Quotable Quote:
In a sobering holiday interview with C-SPAN, President Obama boldly told Americans: “We are out of money.”
C-SPAN host Steve Scully broke from a meek Washington press corps with probing questions for the new president.
SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?
OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we’ve made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we’ve seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades.
So we’ve got a short-term problem, which is we had to spend a lot of money to salvage our financial system, we had to deal with the auto companies, a huge recession which drains tax revenue at the same time it’s putting more pressure on governments to provide unemployment insurance or make sure that food stamps are available for people who have been laid off.
So we have a short-term problem and we also have a long-term problem. The short-term problem is dwarfed by the long-term problem. And the long-term problem is Medicaid and Medicare. If we don’t reduce long-term health care inflation substantially, we can’t get control of the deficit.
So, one option is just to do nothing. We say, well, it’s too expensive for us to make some short-term investments in health care. We can’t afford it. We’ve got this big deficit. Let’s just keep the health care system that we’ve got now.
Along that trajectory, we will see health care cost as an overall share of our federal spending grow and grow and grow and grow until essentially it consumes everything…
But yet, we are going to throw more money at the jobless problem. But we’re broke? Does anyone else see the problem with this picture?
An examination of the U.S. schizophrenic policies toward communist regimes in light of North Korea’s recent testing of nuclear weapons.
Finally, something to draw me out of my funk. Yeah, I know, I’ve been slipping. I’m just bored of the whole damn thing.
Seems ol’ Barry’s Stimulus horseshit, is just that…. Horseshit.
Via Innocent Bystanders:
So much for that stimulus eh? (click to make bigger)
Of interest….: (H/T The Strata-Sphere)
of the 2009 deficit by $481 billion, to $1.7 trillion (see Table 1-3). Much of that change stems from lower esti mated revenues and the increased costs attributable to the TARP. Over the 2010–2019 period, CBO has increased its estimate of the cumulative deficit by $1.3 trillion—mostly because of recently enacted legislation. Nearly half of that projected increase occurs in 2010 and 2011, largely as a result of the 2009 stimulus legislation (ARRA)
Lovely. Of course, that’s what the people voted for. All I can say is; Welcome to my world folks. It was bad back when I became unemployed, it is now worse.I guess I will be blogging for a while. That is if I can get back into the swing of it. It would help if people would donate and I could get readers. It gets old blogging to myself. I guess because I do not suck up to the idiot Neo-Cons and do not placate the Military-Hating so-called “libertarians”; nobody wants to read my site. I say screw ’em. I don’t need their readership anyhow.
So, yeah, it is going to be an interesting new few years around these damned parts.
Others Covering: Stop The ACLU, BizzyBlog, QandO, Fausta’s Blog, Politics and Critical Thinking, Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere, Cold Fury, Conservatives4Palin.com and protein wisdom
I hate to say it, but there are some seriously stupid people on the so called “Right”. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock; you most likely already know about the newest internet Meme that’s blazing around the political Blogosphere right now. It’s basically the accusation that Obama is now exposing himself as a Muslim President.
You can view a sampling of all the craziness of the Blogosphere, by clicking here. It all started when Jack Tapper wrote a rather poorly written piece about Obama’s Muslim roots. Which took a quote and parsed it and twisted it slightly to reflect something that was not said.
The quote, which originated over at the NYT:
In an interview with Laura Haim on Canal Plus, a French television station, Mr. Obama noted that the United States also could be considered as “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.”
Well, naterally, the Conservative Bloggers went to Defcon 1 status and you could almost hear the tortured screams of some of those who are of the “Obama is a Muslim” mindset. Well the problem is, Obama did not say that; actually he said this:
“Now, the flip side is I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslims Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. And so there’s got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.”
Steve Brennon weighs in here:
Greg Sargent explained, “Hard-core rhetoricians will note that Obama was employing an obscure tense known as the ‘conditional,’ and an arcane rhetorical device known as a ‘hypothetical.’ He said that ifcould see America as ranking up there with other Muslim countries — in numerical, hypothetical terms.” you were to take the number of Muslims in America, then one
This really isn’t complicated. In fact, given the size of the U.S. population, and the rich diversity of our spiritual landscape, you can pick practically any faith tradition, plug it into the president’s sentence, and it’d be true, too. If you took the number of Christians in the U.S., we’d be one of the largest Christian countries in the world. If you took the number of Jews in the U.S., we’d be one of the largest Jewish countries in the world. If you took the number of Hindus in the U.S., we’d be one of the largest Hindu countries in the world. If you took the number of Buddhists in the U.S., we’d be one of the largest Buddhist countries in the world.
That doesn’t mean we’re a Hindu country, or a Jewish Country, or a Christian Country, or a Muslim country, or a Buddhist country.
Another thing as well, is that Obama assumption is basically wrong, because according to a 2008 Pew Research Center poll:
More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion – or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.
The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.
The Landscape Survey confirms that the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country; the number of Americans who report that they are members of Protestant denominations now stands at barely 51%. Moreover, the Protestant population is characterized by significant internal diversity and fragmentation, encompassing hundreds of different denominations loosely grouped around three fairly distinct religious traditions – evangelical Protestant churches (26.3% of the overall adult population), mainline Protestant churches (18.1%) and historically black Protestant churches (6.9%).
While those Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular religion have seen the greatest growth in numbers as a result of changes in affiliation, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration. The Landscape Survey finds that among the foreign-born adult population, Catholics outnumber Protestants by nearly a two-to-one margin (46% Catholic vs. 24% Protestant); among native-born Americans, on the other hand, the statistics show that Protestants outnumber Catholics by an even larger margin (55% Protestant vs. 21% Catholic). Immigrants are also disproportionately represented among several world religions in the U.S., including Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Although there are about half as many Catholics in the U.S. as Protestants, the number of Catholics nearly rivals the number of members of evangelical Protestant churches and far exceeds the number of members of both mainline Protestant churches and historically black Protestant churches. The U.S. also includes a significant number of members of the third major branch of global Christianity – Orthodoxy – whose adherents now account for 0.6% of the U.S. adult population. American Christianity also includes sizeable numbers of Mormons (1.7% of the adult population), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.7%) and other Christian groups (0.3%).
Like the other major groups, people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion (16.1%) also exhibit remarkable internal diversity. Although one-quarter of this group consists of those who describe themselves as either atheist or agnostic (1.6% and 2.4% of the adult population overall, respectively), the majority of the unaffiliated population (12.1% of the adult population overall) is made up of people who simply describe their religion as “nothing in particular.” This group, in turn, is fairly evenly divided between the “secular unaffiliated,” that is, those who say that religion is not important in their lives (6.3% of the adult population), and the “religious unaffiliated,” that is, those who say that religion is either somewhat important or very important in their lives (5.8% of the overall adult population).
Even smaller religions in the U.S. reflect considerable internal diversity. For instance, most Jews (1.7% of the overall adult population) identify with one of three major groups: Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Judaism. Similarly, more than half of Buddhists (0.7% of the overall adult population) belong to one of three major groups within Buddhism: Zen, Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism. Muslims (0.6% of the overall adult population) divide primarily into two major groups: Sunni and Shia.
So, while I can understand the anger that some Conservatives are feeling about this statement; I believe it is much ado over nothing. Not only is the President wrong, he simply made another one of his many verbal gaffes. What really troubles me is the extremist rhetoric being uttered by people such as Ann Coulter-Wanna-be and noted Jewish Race Baiter and Jewish Identity Politics shill; Debbie Schlussel and long discredited Conservative blogger Pamela Geller. Together these two continue to bring a bad name to, and cause those in the main stream to disregard the Republican Party. There are some who Believe Michelle Malkin is the worst. I disgree, read Debbie and Pamela’s Blog for a week, and then go read Michelle’s. Michelle has nothing on these two at all. In fact, Michelle, I can stand to read; Pamela and Debbie, not so much.
The point I am trying to make here is this; if The Republican Party is going to win this battle of ideas, against the Liberals. We need to do it with factual information and legitimate criticisms. Not with false information and rheortic that is borderline racist, and with retoric that makes the Republican Party look like a bunch of Alex Jones crazies.
Yes, I know about the bankruptcy of General Motors. No, I will not be commenting on it. As I have a policy, as a blogger not to comment on issues that I personally am involved in and biased towards or against.
Here’s the facts, Via Keith Hennessey:
Process
* GM’s bankruptcy filing was expected to be at 8 AM EDT in NY Southern District in Manhattan. (CNBC)
* Obama and GM CEO Fritz Henderson are scheduled to hold back-to-back press conferences beginning at noon today. (CNBC)
* They are using the same Section 363 process that Chrysler used. The new GM buys the good parts of the old GM. The old parts are liquidated. (White House fact sheet)
* “… would allow a much smaller GM to emerge from court protection in as little as 60 to 90 days.” (CNBC) (This is a guess/spin. How optimistic is it? GM is much harder than Chrysler. –kbh)
* “Al Koch, a managing director at advisory firm AlixPartners, will be appointed chief restructuring officer in charge of liquidating those GM assets” (CNBC)
* “Autos task force will stay in business – shifting to an investment manager role”(CNBC)In “the new GM,” ownership is:
* 60% of equity goes to the U.S. Government. USG also gets $8.8B in debt and preferred stock.
* UAW’s retiree pension/health plan (the “Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association”) gets 17.5% of equity, plus:
o warrants to buy another 2.5% of equity;
o a $2.5 B note (three installments, ending in 2017); and
o $6.5 B in perpetual preferred stock (9% coupon).
* Approximately 12% of equity goes to the Canadian (and Ontario?) governments. They also get about $1.7 B in debt and preferred stock.
* Bondholders of old GM get about 10% of the equity, for giving up $27.1 B in unsecured debt. This was approved by bondholders representing 54% of unsecured debt. The other 46% are the biggest risk for the bankruptcy filing. (CNBC, WSJ)
* “Bondholders could take up to 25 percent of GM if it recovers to be worth what it was in 2004, before it began round after round of cost-cutting in what proved to be a failed bid to make up for lost sales.” (I need to understand this better.)
* Secured bondholders expect to be paid face value. (WSJ)Governance of the new GM
* UAW’s VEBA can select one independent director, but cannot vote its shares or other governance rights(!) (White House fact sheet)
* “Canadian government will have the right to select one initial director.” (White House fact sheet)
* “The U.S. Treasury will also have the right to appoint the initial directors other than those that will be selected by the VEBA and the Canadian government.” (White House fact sheet)GM gets about $40 B of new cash to help pay its bills during bankruptcy. This is called debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
* U.S. Government: $30.1 B in new debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. (WH fact sheet, CNBC)
* Governments of Canada & Ontario: $9.5 BNewCo / OldCo
* “Today GM is announcing its intention to close 11 facilities and idle another 3 facilities.” (White House fact sheet)
* “[GM] has not provided an update target for job cuts but had been looking to cut 21,000 factory jobs from the 54,000 UAW workers it now employs in the United States.” (CNBC)
* “While the “new GM” is expected to emerge quickly from court protection, the automaker’s shuttered plants, stranded equipment and other spurned assets would be left to liquidation in bankruptcy.” (CNBC)
* Previously announced: “closing more than a dozen factories and shedding the Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands.” (WSJ)
* GM will “shutter 2,600 dealers.” (WSJ)
* “The new GM will also pursue a commitment to build a new small car in an idled UAW factory.” (WH fact sheet)
* GM will shed more than $79B in debt. (WSJ)
* “GM at the last minute also found buyers for some unwanted subsidiaries, including German-based Opel, which is being acquired by a consortium led by Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc., and the Hummer brand, whose buyer remained undisclosed.”Future
* “The U.S. Treasury does not anticipate providing any additional assistance to GM beyond this [new $30.1 B] commitment.” (White House fact sheet)
* “As a result of this restructuring, GM will lower its breakeven point to a 10 million annual car sales environment. Before the restructuring, GM’s breakeven point was in excess of 16 million annual car sales.” (White House fact sheet)
* “The administration said the goal of the restructuring was to help GM be profitable in a year when the industry sells 10 million vehicles, versus the 16 million it sold in 2007.” (CNBC)
* “GM will continue to honor consumer warranties.” (WH fact sheet)
* GM is being removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 (“the Dow”), along with Citigroup. They will be replaced by Cisco and Travelers. (CNBC)
As you all can well guess; there is a great deal of sadness and a great deal of anger in this household today. I will give you all a fair warning. ANY sort of stupid or abusive or troll-like comments left in the comment section will result in your comment being deleted and your IP address being blocked from even viewing this blog. You just don’t insult my family. Period.
Others covering this story, their color codes should clue you into their political stances:
The Atlantic Business Channel, The New Republic, Above the Law, Gawker, The Stimulist, protein wisdom, Daniel W. Drezner, Wake up America, Mainstream Texas Conservative, Colorado Independent ,Gateway Pundit, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, DownWithTyranny!, The Big Picture, Kausfiles, Runnin’ Scared, The Caucus, ProPublica, The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Say Anything, Wonk Room, Hot Air, USA Today, Reason, CFR.org, The BLT, RedState, Ben Smith’s Blog, The Politico, TPMCafe, Democracy in America, The New Republic, Crooks and Liars, DealBook, The Nation, Law Blog, The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, Boston Globe, Libertarian Republican, The Foundry and Betsy’s Page
Yeah, I know what I wrote here, But Jack does bring up some vary valid points.
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How President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, will place identity politics and liberal ideology above the Constitution.
Obama picks Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Newt Gingrich say she’s a racist– but what do Jackie and Dunlap think?
In the ongoing debate between President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney on torture, former CIA terrorism expert Michael Scheuer points out how both leaders’ refusal to address U.S. interventionism as the primary catalyst for terrorism makes us all “less safe.”
Here we go again!
This comes via the NYT:
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced on Monday that it had successfully conducted its second nuclear test, defying international warnings and drastically raising the stakes in a global effort to get the recalcitrant Communist state to give up its nuclear weapons program.
The North’s official news agency, KCNA, said “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25 as part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defense in every way as requested by its scientists and technicians.”
The test was safely conducted “on a new higher level in terms of its explosive power and technology of its control,” the agency said. “The results of the test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology.”
Word of the test sent a shudder through Asian financial markets and clearly caught South Korea and the United States off guard. The news hit just as South Korea’s government and people were mourning the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun. And hours after the test was reported, South Korean state media reported that the North had fired a short-range missile.
The nuclear test also came against a backdrop of uncertainty about North Korea’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, and speculation about who might succeed him. Mr. Kim suffered a stroke last August, which prompted him to step up preparations to transfer power to one of his three known sons. Analysts believe the favorite son is his youngest, Kim Jong-un, who is in his mid-20s.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on Oct. 9, 2006, which was considered something of a bust by South Korean and American officials. If the North’s second test was more of a success, it could mean that North Korea has bolstered its atomic weapons capabilities — and its leverage over the United States, which has sought to denuclearize the North.
In Washington, the Obama administration had a cautious initial reaction to the news early Monday. “We are aware of the reports of a nuclear test by North Korea,” said a senior State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the department was still gathering information. “We are consulting with our allies. Once we have established the facts, we will have more to say.”
Looks like Mr. Jong-il is looking for another handout; and if our United Nations’s track record is any indication. He will get it.
Here is the Official Statement from President Bambi Teleprompter:
Text of statement by President Barack Obama on nuclear and short-range missile tests conducted by North Korea.
Today, North Korea said that it has conducted a nuclear test in violation of international law. It appears to also have attempted a short range missile launch. These actions, while not a surprise given its statements and actions to date, are a matter of grave concern to all nations. North Korea’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security.
By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community. North Korea’s behavior increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia. Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolation. It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.
The danger posed by North Korea’s threatening activities warrants action by the international community. We have been and will continue working with our allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead.
Yeah, that’ll show ’em! Slap ’em on the wrist another good time and make ’em feel bad, that’ll really put them in their place. 🙄
Another day, another dumb liberal response to a serious problem.
Others Covering: Michelle Malkin, Stop The ACLU, Don Surber
(H/T Memeorandum)
I have said many times on this blog; in no way, shape, form or another that Obama would never change any polices of George W. Bush.
Well, outside of a few “window dressing” changes; nothing has changed at all.
Here’s proof: ( H/T to Freedom’s Phoenix)
I don’t agree with all of her positions. But I humbly submit this as proof that I was correct and as state’s Evidence of my vindication. I also present this as a humorous view at the utter breakdown of the left, as their personal black progressive Messiah lets them down from the election induced stupor.
It is truly a site to behold. 
When South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was attacked by Republican state leaders for not accepting federal stimulus dollars, it was worth pointing out the utter uselessness of GOP politicians who refuse to follow through on their conservative rhetoric.
This news broke last night, but I was not in any mood to write about it.
Video Report, showing NY’s Mayor Bloomberg:
Four men were arrested Wednesday night in what the authorities said was a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y.
The men, all of whom live in Newburgh, about 60 miles north of New York City, were arrested around 9 p.m. after planting what they believed to be bombs in cars outside the Riverdale Temple and the nearby Riverdale Jewish Center, officials said. But the men did not know the bombs, obtained with the help of an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were fake.
The arrests capped what officials described as a “painstaking investigation” that began in June 2008 involving an F.B.I. agent who had been told by a federal informant of the men’s desire to attack targets in America. As part of the plot, the men intended to fire Stinger missiles at military aircraft at the base, which is at Stewart International Airport, officials said.
“This latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor was expected to appear at 6:45 a.m. Thursday at the Riverdale Jewish Center morning services, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
The charges against the four men represent some of the most significant allegations of domestic terrorism in some time, and come months into a new presidential administration, as President Obama grapples with the question of how to handle detainees at the Guantánamo Bay camp in Cuba.
Rabbi Jonathan I. Rosenblatt, the senior rabbi at the Riverdale Jewish Center, a modern Orthodox congregation, said the police informed him on Wednesday evening that his synagogue was a target of the plot, as well as the Riverdale Temple, a Reform synagogue that is a short distance away, on Independence Avenue. The two buildings are about six blocks apart, each with a brick facade. Outside the synagogues on Wednesday night, the streets were eerily quiet.
Rabbi Rosenblatt said in a phone interview that he took the news with “shock, surprise — a sense of disbelief that something which is supposed to belong to the world of front pages and the evening news had invaded the quiet world of our synagogue.”
via 4 Accused of Bombing Plot at Bronx Synagogues – NYTimes.com.
Of course, the Neo-Conservative Blogs are all over this one. A couple of things to point out:
So, what we have here is a group of wanna-be’s who got caught. This is what, the second time? The first was the much hyped Fort Dix plot; which turned out to be a great deal of nothing. I am sure that the Conservative media and blogs are going to hype this for all it is worth. The liberal-controlled media; hopefully, will take a more reasoned approach to the situation and report the facts, and shy away from the hype.
Do not misunderstand me here. I personally believe that the war on terrorism, as George W. Bush rightfully called it, is quite real. However, I have a hard time believing that this group of bumbling idiots were a part of it formally. If anything, these guys were a group of morons who could not even make a pipe bomb; much less a damn bomb capable of causing any sort of real damage.
As to why they did it. These guys were upset about our involvement in Afghanistan. We can expect to see this sort of a thing, as that War progresses. Now the idiots on the far liberal left will try and say that this is why we should leave Afghanistan. Which any sane, rational person knows is foolish. We should not leave until Osama and his henchmen are dead and Al-Qaeda is formally defeated. Some say this is impossible. I believe nothing is impossible, if it is done correctly. The far left likes to bring up that Russia tried to fight a war in this region and ended up pulling out. I say; apples and oranges. Different kind of a war, and the Russians did not have nearly the Military that we have and the technology that we have today.
The good thing about all this is, that this terrorist cell was broken up and these idiots are going to jail. Thanks to the fine work of our men at the F.B.I. Good show guys, keep up the good work.
Update: …and then there’s the Libertarian conspiracy theorist angle. No wonder the Republicans think that most libertarians are kooks.
When Lindsey Graham denounced Ron Paul-style libertarianism and advocated for George W. Bush-style neoconservatism during a speech at the South Carolina Republican Convention, it was worth pointing out that Graham’s suggested GOP path is the road to nowhere.
How support for both “financial security” and “national security” reveal partisan hypocrisy and make us less safe.
That’s correct, you read that headline right. Enough is enough, the deception and lies needs to stop. I am sure that most of you have been following the internet Meme floating around right now about Nancy Pelosi’s saying that the CIA lied to her about the enhanced interrogations. Well, the accusations just got some serious merit and I do mean huge serious merit.
The Huffington Post is now reporting:
In testimony that could bolster Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claim that the CIA misled her during briefings on detainee interrogations, former Senator Bob Graham insisted on Thursday that he too was kept in the dark about the use of waterboarding, and called the agency’s records on these briefings "suspect."
In an interview with the Huffington Post, the former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman said that approximately a month ago, the CIA provided him with false information about how many times and when he was briefed on enhanced interrogations.
"When this issue started to resurface I called the appropriate people in the agency and said I would like to know the dates from your records that briefings were held," Graham recalled. "And they contacted me and gave me four dates — two in April ’02 and two in September ’02. Now, one of
the things I do, and for which I have taken some flack, is keep a spiral notebook of what I do throughout the day. And so I went through my records and through a combination of my daily schedule, which I keep, and my notebooks, I confirmed and the CIA agreed that my notes were accurate; that three of those four dates there had been no briefing. There was only one day that I had been briefed, which was September the 27th of 2002."
As for the one briefing he did attend, the Florida Democrat said that he had "no recollection that issues such as waterboarding were discussed." He was not, per the sensitive nature of the matters discussed, allowed to take notes at the time. But he did highlight what he considered to be pretty strong proof that the controversial technique was not discussed.
"What struck me…was the fact that in that briefing, there were also two staff members," he said. "As you know, the general rule is that the executive is to brief the full committees of the House and Senate Intelligence committees about any ongoing or proposed action. The exception to that is what is called "covert action," where the president…only briefs the Gang of Eight, which is the four congressional leaders and the four intelligence committee leaders. Those sessions are generally conducted at an executive site, primarily at the White House itself. And they are conducted with just the authorized personnel, not with any staff or any other member of the committee…. Which leads me to conclude that this was not considered by the CIA to be a Gang of Eight briefing. Otherwise they would not have had staff in the room. And that leads me to then believe that they didn’t brief us on any of the sensitive programs such as the waterboarding or other forms of excessive interrogation."
The remarks made by Graham bolster the comments offered by Pelosi on Thursday. The Speaker told reporters that during her briefing session in the fall of 2002 she was not just kept in the dark about the issue of waterboarding, she was assured that it had not been used.
[….]
"The irony," said Graham, "is that the whole series of events in late September of ’02 were concurrent with the CIA’s release of the first classified version of the National Intelligence Estimate, which was one of the key factors that led me to vote against the war in Iraq because I thought that their case was so weak. And they were making to the public these very bold statements about how we were in extreme danger if we didn’t move quickly to eradicate Saddam Hussein. The whole, ‘a smoking gun may appear in the form of a mushroom cloud’ kind of argument."
I know some Conservatives that read this blog are going to say something to the effect of, “Oh, that’s the Huffington Post, you cannot trust what they say.” Well, to that I say; Unsinn! (nonsense!) While I may have a personal problem with the way that the comment sections are handled over there and I may have some issues with the political ideology behind that website. I am quite sorry to say it, but news is news; and this my friends is big news.
Since I began blogging back in the winter of 2006; first as a populist and then when my site was hacked, and which at the time this happened; I had began to change my views, and I finally came out as a “Right of Center” or a Traditional Conservative or if you will, a Paleo-Conservative. (As opposed to a Wilsonian, Neo-Conservative; like George W. Bush) I made it quite clear for my disdain of the Wilsonian, Neo-Conservatism of George W. Bush and his Administration. Having said this, I believe it is time that I be the first “Right of Center” blogger to say this:
It is time that the United States of America actually used it’s systems of “Check and Balances.” It is time for a formal investigation into the Bush Administration.
I realize that the Obama Administration wants to avoid a “partisan witch-hunt.” I can respect this, but at this point, this whole mess has gone way beyond the bounds of partisanship, and to the point of an outright betrayal of the American values and of the United States Constitution that the now former President was supposed to swear to uphold. It is quite obvious to this writer that the now former President of the United States and his Administration fully instructed the C.I.A. to lie to the Democrats in office about the techniques used in the enhanced interrogations that took place after the invasion of Iraq.
Lying to the Congress of the United States of America under the orders of the President of the United States of America for the sole purpose of achieving a political goal, in this case the Iraq War and the supposed “War on terror,” in this writers opinion, amounts to treason of the worst kind. Lying to Congress in order to skirt around the agreements signed by the United States of America and many other Nations, under the accord of the United Nations is a crime and should be dealt with immediately. I am not a huge fan of the United Nations, but agreements are agreements and laws are laws, and it is quite obvious, to this writer, that this previous Administration was not interested in upholding those laws or the United States Constitution or the Geneva Conventions. Instead the President of the United States ordered the C.I.A. to lie to Congress on it’s use to waterboarding in the enhanced interrogations. This, my friends, is treason. It is wrong, and it should be prosecuted.
I realize that some Conservatives are going to disagree, that is their prerogative. However, those Conservatives and those who are non-partisan who believe that the rule of law in this Country should be upheld, not just for Conservative Presidents, but also for Democratic Party Presidents; will agree with me in saying that the current attorney should open a full an unbiased investigation into this situation forthwith. The future of this Constitutional Republic depends on it.
Mr. President, The time is now.
While the GOP establishment continues to debate how the party lost its way, Republicans should consider the best path out of the wilderness – by following the one man who has always remained loyal to his party’s conservative roots.
Looks like there was a correspondents dinner for those who cover the White House and supposedly bring us hard news from there.
There was some seriously funny stuff at that dinner and of course, there is video of it. First up is the President of the United States of America; who actually can be a pretty funny person. Some of the funnier stuff of his appearance was the humor about the Teleprompter. Obviously, his staff are reading the blogs and know about the whole “President TelePrompter” bit. Because the President really went out of his way to do a sight gag on that. The President also did a little of the funny stuff about him being the Massiah. Which I’m sure will offend some; I found to be funny myself.
Here’s the Video:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Then were was the comedy routine by Wanda Sykes. I am sure that this is going to create some controversy. But it was all in fun. Obvious strikeouts were when she goofed on Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, which, the part about limbaugh, He would have laughed too. The Sarah Palin was not funny at all, and think Sykes knew that, this is why she quickly moved on. The best line of the whole routine, I thought, was the one about how the first lady was patting on the Queen of England like she was sliding into home plate. The First Lady was loving it! As She should have, it was very funny. The other funny part was the Ipod joke; that was great.
Here’s the Wanda Sykes Video, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Part 1:
Part 2:
All in all, I think the stuff was mostly pretty funny. I could sit here and critically of the dinner and lambast them for the jokes told. But even I am not that much of a fuddy duddy…
Honestly, I would rather be getting a root canal without any anesthesia, than to have to blog about this. But everyone else is, so, here goes!
ABC NEWS Blog “The Note” reports the following:
ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence’s office and obtained by ABC News.
The report, submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee and other Capitol Hill officials Wednesday, appears to contradict Pelosi’s statement last month that she was never told about the use of waterboarding or other special interrogation tactics. Instead, she has said, she was told only that the Bush administration had legal opinions that would have supported the use of such techniques.
The report details a Sept. 4, 2002 meeting between intelligence officials and Pelosi, then-House intelligence committee chairman Porter Goss, and two aides. At the time, Pelosi was the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee.
The meeting is described as a “Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of particular EITs that had been employed.”
EITs stand for “enhanced interrogation techniques,” a classification of special interrogation tactics that includes waterboarding.
Of course, everyone on the right is jumping up and down and saying, “See we told you so!” Don’t count me in with that crowd, please. When it comes to this entire issue; I am a fence sitter. On one hand, I hate to know that a fellow human being is being tortured. But on the other hand, I also know what happened on September 11, 2001, and please; do not come in here and spout that stupid Alex Jones bullcrap about 9/11 being an inside job, okay? I am just not that simple-minded to believe that idiotic nonsense. The truth is that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by Muslim extremists who hate our Country and for what we stand for; they also happened because of our interventionist foreign policy and because of our occupation of parts of Arab peninsula. Further, the attacks were a revenge attack on United States because of the actions of the United States in the 1980’s. Osama Bin Ladin said that in one of his many tapes. This is NOT to say that the United States had it coming or anything of that sort. It is simply the bare, and sometimes ugly; truth.
Now back to the story at hand, there are some, mostly liberals who have problems with this story. Emptywheel, for example seems to believe that the CIA is lying about the briefings. I won’t quote here, what’s being said there. Because there is just so much to read. I’d advise everyone to just go over and read what is being said there.
The truth is folks, I do not believe we will ever know the truth about what happened, and who knew what when. I am sorry if that busts any balloons or anything of that sort. Our Government has a very good track record of covering up secrets and quite frankly covering it’s backside to the point of burying the truth. So for those who were hoping that Bush and Co. would be prosecuted. I hate to be the one to say this, but you are in for a big letdown. I knew this was coming; I blogged about a great deal of times. Obama will not go after the former President and his staff and cabinet. Obama just will not burn the political capital. President Obama would rather risk being a one-term President, than try and go after a former President and his staff. It just never has been done. Nor will it ever.
If the Obama Administration told holder to open an investigation as to “Who knew what, when…” when it came to the 9/11 attacks, The Iraq War, and the torture stuff. Both Parties; Democratic and Republican would be utterly destroyed and stripped void of any credibility that they still have now. That is something that the Obama Administration is simply not going to allow to happen. Because both of these political parties want to maintain their grip on a two party system in this Country. One Party may talk about wanted to see the other destroyed. But they know how long their leash is, and when it reaches it max length, the parties that be know when to get back into line.
So, I feel that this all just a big witch hunt, to distract us from the real issues. Like the state of our economy and so forth.
