Tag: Opinion

Iraq Quietly Fires Fraud Monitors

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Something tells me that this is going to be a challenge for the next Administration.

The New York Times is reporting:

The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here.

The dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American government officials on Sunday and Monday, have come as estimates of official Iraqi corruption have soared. One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials.

The moves have not been publicly announced by Mr. Maliki’s government, but word of them has begun to circulate through the layers of Iraqi bureaucracy as Parliament prepares to vote on a long-awaited security agreement.

That pact sets the terms for continued American presence here after the United Nations mandate expires Dec. 31, but also amounts to a framework for a steady reduction in that presence. Such a change will undoubtedly lessen American oversight of Iraqi institutions.

While some Iraqi officials defended the dismissals, saying there had been no political motivation, others pointed to the secrecy involved as supporting their view that those removed had lost their posts without good cause. Each of Iraq’s 30 cabinet-level ministries has one inspector general. These oversight officials are supported by varying budgets and staffing. – Read the Rest

As much as I would like to say that this is the first I have heard of this, it is not. CNN did an investigative piece on the corruption in Iraq a good long while back.

As a Paleo-Conservative, who felt that going into Iraq was not a very smart idea, and as someone who now is aware that the intelligence that United States had as a case to go into Iraq was in fact flawed; I believe that the smartest thing that the United States can do as this point is, leave well enough alone.  Because at this point, intervening in a situation such as this, can could cause more harm that good. It would be viewed by the Iraqi Government and to the people of Iraq, as the United States meddling in the affairs of the Iraqi Government. Let the Iraqi Government handle their own internal affairs.

Because honestly, it would reek of hypocrisy, if we began to meddle in the affairs of their internal Government, after all, we have corruption in our Government and you do not see Great Britain meddling in our affairs, do you? Of course not; So the United States should do likewise.  One of the worst mistakes and utter missteps that this Nation ever made, was when we started becoming the Policeman of the World. This happened in World War I, which led to the actions that caused Japan to bomb Pearl Harbor, which lead to World War 2.  This happened in Korea, and in Vietnam. It happened in the first gulf war and now in the second Iraq War. My question to my readers is this, when will the United States finally wake up and realize that they need to stop trying to not only rule their own country, but others as well. Until that happens, we will continue to have wars, that have no legal merit.

It is truly a sad commentary on the United States, but it is a true one, unless of course, you are some sort of Pro-War Neo-Conservative shill.

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Mrs. “Terrorist Fist Jab” E.D. Hill gets the ol’ Heave Ho!

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I must confess, I will not shed a tear over this, at all. Sorry, She knew what she was saying and truth is, she most likely wrote it.

Via TVNewser:

TVNewser has learned veteran Fox News Channel anchor E.D. Hill will not be renewed when her current contract expires. Hill, who has been with Fox News for more than 10 years, will continue with the network for the next few months until her current deal expires.

SVP of Programming Bill Shine tells TVNewser that he “chose not to renew E.D.’s latest contract” but noted that “Hill has been a valued contributor to the success of FNC over the years, and we wish her all the best.”

Hill has been without a regular Fox News program since June 16, when America’s Pulse was replaced by two hours of Live Desk. Ten days earlier Hill used the term terrorist fist jab when promoting an upcoming body language segment that was going to look into the primary night fist bump shared by Barack and Michelle Obama.

For most of her nearly 11 years at FNC Hill anchored Fox & Friends. In 2006 she moved to a late morning program then to the afternoons where, in the months leading up to the election, she’d been filling in on America’s Election HQ.

I think this was possibly the smartest move Fox News has ever made. E.D. Hill’s career is most likely over, unless she moves to a small market somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in freedom of speech, but there comes a responsibility with that freedom. I mean, it is one thing to make a snark filled comment on a blog, like this one here. But get on a National Network and parrot the mindless ramblings of the far, far, right on National Television, that is just totally inexcusable.

There are some who would say that she was tossed “Under the Bus”, as they put it. Perhaps she was; after all, she is not Bill O’Reilly nor Sean Hannity. She was just your typical teleprompter reading news anchor woman. Good looking, able to read, but short on intelligence and supposedly on opinion. She was not paid to express opinion. However, she choose to express her inner Redneck and she quickly became a liability for Fox News.

I say good on Fox News for making this decision. Hopefully, they will continue this sort of a policy and will hopefully apply it to some of the more “Higher Up” folk around that Network.

For once, I agree with something written at TownHall!

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I could not have said it better myself!

Filmmaker Michael Moore hailed an election night “landslide of hope in a time of deep despair. In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity.” Actually, Mr. Moore’s ignorance is shocking in its simplicity. The notions that America was founded on genocide, and built its wealth mostly on the labor of slaves, are big lies – two of “The 10 Big Lies About America” that I wrote my new book to rebut. The truth about America shows an imperfect country, to be sure, but one struggling to do right and blessing its own people, and the world at large, as no other nation. In a season of Thanksgiving, it’s more necessary than ever to confront the smears against our past and present – the big lies about America.

For once I happen to agree with Conservative author and Blogger, Michael Medved. It is not everyday that this happens, so mark a calendar. Even when I was a “Left of Center” type, I found Michael Moore’s tripe to be most silly. Truth be told, Moore is nothing more than a idiot opportunist, not to mention a fucking douche bag.

Thanks Michael for saying what I have been thinking for a long time.

Stepping back…..

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I’m going to take a few days to think about things, relax, and get away from this Blog. Might spend a little time reading the Bible…. and try and finish that book, that I’ve been meaning to finish…

I’m not quitting… I’m just a bit peeved.

This whole auto bailout thing has gotten me into an awful funk. I’m finding much of what’s being said about the unions grating against me personally and my family.

So, I think I’ll just go find something else to do, until this stupid story gets out of the headlines.

I’ll post a link or something, that I find interesting. But for now, I Just need a bit of a break.

David Frum Leaves National Review

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A bit of a shocker, David Frum, one of National Review’s biggest writers is leaving the National Review.

This comes via the New York Times:

Now David Frum, a prominent conservative writer who enmeshed himself in a minor dustup during the campaign by turning negative on Governor Palin, is leaving, too. In an interview, he said he planned to leave the magazine, where he writes a popular blog, to strike out on his own on the Web.

“The answers to the Republican dilemma are not obvious and we need a vibrant discussion,” he said. “I think a little more distance can help everybody do a better job of keeping their temper.”

[…]

Mr. Frum said deciding to leave was amicable, but distancing himself from the magazine founded by his idol, Mr. Buckley, was not a hard decision. He said the controversy over Governor Palin’s nomination for vice president was “symbolic of a lot of differences” between his views and those of National Review’s.

“I am really and truly frightened by the collapse of support for the Republican Party by the young and the educated,” he said.

Mr. Frum witnessed the upbraiding his fellow conservative, the columnist Kathleen Parker, received when she wrote in her syndicated column on the National Review’s Web site arguing that Governor Palin was unfit to be vice president. Ms. Parker received nearly 11,000 e-mail messages, one of which lamented that her mother did not abort her.

“Who says public discourse hasn’t deteriorated?” she wrote in a followup column that ran on the Web site. (National Review, as Mr. Lowry pointed out, can hardly be held responsible for a reader’s nasty e-mail messages.)

Of course, the best thing that the NRO staff can say are:

“I’ll miss David too and wish him luck (though I have some possibly misinformed misgivings about his project. Time will tell). But there is a personal irony for me in that David counselled me not to sign up to become NRO’s first editor over a decade ago. He thought another idea I had for a stand-alone website made more sense. I rejected the (appreciated) advice and started working on NRO. I think I made the right call and was much amused when David joined our ranks a few years later. Now he’s off to start a stand-alone project. We’ll see how it turns out. I really do wish him luck.” – Jonah Goldberg

“I’ve been a Frum fan long before he wrote for NRO and I’m sorry to see him go. He contributed to the constructive realtime debates that have always been a part of NRO, debates NRO will continue to have going forth.” – Kathryn Jean Lopez

Wow, do you think you guys could get just a little bit more condescending in your well wishes? Oy.  The truth is that David Frum has seen what many other Conservatives and Libertarians alike have known for years. That the current message of the Republican Party is just simply wrong. The the so-called “Bush Doctrine” was a flawed state of mind; Which that took the classic Conservative position of resolution of conflict by peaceful means, to a warmongering position of domination of the world by Military might.

Further more, the whole idea of Bush wanting to spread American style democracy by Military might was a very flawed idea. One that assumed that people from the middle east would welcome such a thing. It now turns out that we were very wrong about that one too.

Now we have Republicans who want to see the Automotive companies here in Detroit collapse, thereby allowing employees, like this writers Father; pensions go into jeopardy.  Something of which this writer takes very personally.  Why should my damn Father suffer for the gross incompetence of the management of General Motors?  I could go on an on about this, but the bail-out is another subject for another Blog posting.

I wish Frum the best and I hope he is able to make it on his own. It’s tough to be an independent writer. He has the name recognition, so, I think he will do very well. Good Luck David. 😀

President-Elect Obama, you need to do something about this….

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(Thanks to Captain Ed, of which I have no quarrel with, at least not yet, for this story)

Let me simply preface this entry by saying the following. Yes, I am a Christian, I do not consider myself a protestant Christian. I am, in fact, an Independent Baptist. We Independent Baptists reject the notion that we are a part of the Protestant reformation, as most of the Denominations from that reformation still hold to much of the formal doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

Further more, I reject the notion that the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church are even remotely Christian, or the notion that Roman Catholics are even remotely Christians. Any denomination that teaches that Salvation comes by Works, by the Church and by Christ is NOT a Christian Church, nor are it’s doctrines even remotely Christian. Salvation comes by Christ Alone, and NOT by a Church or by any Works.  That is not hate, that is Bible.

Having said all that, I bring an article of where a so-called “priest” is trying to break the laws of Separation of Church and State and is getting the support of the local Catholic “Big-wigs” in the area. The State has more:

A Greenville priest who told parishioners those who cast ballots for President-elect Barack Obama risk placing themselves “outside of the full communion of Christ’s church” is simply enunciating church teaching and has the full support of the Diocese of Charleston, a spokesman said Thursday.

The provocative letter from the Rev. Jay Scott Newman to members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church has sparked some controversy and yet another conversation about faith and public policy.

“Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil,” Newman said in the letter posted on the Greenville church’s Web site, www.stmarysgvl.org, “and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the judgment of divine law.”

Newman said that those who did not choose the anti-abortion candidate, in this case U.S. Sen. John McCain, “should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.”

Calling Obama “the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate,” Newman went on to say Catholics must pray for the newly elected chief executive.

“Let us hope and pray that the responsibilities of the presidency and the grace of God will awaken in the conscience of this extraordinarily gifted man an awareness that the unholy slaughter of children in this nation is the greatest threat to the peace and security of the United States and constitutes a clear and present danger to the common good,” Newman said in the letter.

St. Mary’s was established in 1852 and is considered the mother church for Upstate Roman Catholics. The church has 7,500 members and operates a parish school for 300 students.

While Newman has been the most outspoken of South Carolina priests in the wake of the election, the administrator of the diocese of Charleston, Msgr. Martin T. Laughlin, supports him fully, said diocese spokesman Steve Gajdosik.

“I think it’s fair to say that Father Newman’s letter echoes the sentiments of Father Laughlin,” he said.

In October, Laughlin wrote a letter on faith and citizenship to the state’s Roman Catholics that urged the faithful to be “moral voters.”

“It was more of a positive exhortation to do good, to do the right thing,” Gajdosik said.

In the 2004 election, a controversy erupted when some Roman Catholic bishops suggested Democratic presidential contender John Kerry should be denied Communion because his public votes went against church teachings.

If Newman’s letter is an indication, that struggle over public policy and faith will go on. Many Roman Catholics supported Obama and did not believe their vote was in conflict with their faith.

“Personally, I think it is valuable to have this discussion in the secular media because, many times, many Catholics don’t go to Mass, and so they come at this issue from a secular viewpoint,” Gadjosik said.

“I think to Father Newman’s credit, he isn’t afraid to tackle tough issues. And sometimes there is a lot of pressure to conform and just be nice and go along.”

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said she had not heard of other churches taking this position in reaction to Obama’s win. A Boston-based group that supports Catholic Democrats questioned the move, saying it was too extreme.

“Father Newman is off-base,” said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. “He is acting beyond the authority of a parish priest to say what he did. … Unfortunately, he is doing so in a manner that will be of great cost to those parishioners who did vote for Senators Obama and Biden. There will be a spiritual cost to them for his words.”

Let me remind my readers that the Roman Catholic Church has a clear track record of persecuting those who did not agree with their Biblically corrupt doctrines. In the 1230’s a group of Christians, who rejected the Doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church were persecuted, that would be a group, that we Baptists can trace our linage to; the Waldensians. Another group of Christians, who were friends with this group, The Albigenses, were brutally slaughtered and their property stolen, by the Roman Catholic Church; all because they refused to accept the fact that the Roman Catholic Church was the “true” Church; this happened in the 1300’s.

President-Elect Obama, this is nothing more than a full bore violation of the concept of the Separation of Church and State. Further more, it is nothing more than outright voter intimation. There is but one way to stop this sort of meddling in the electoral process, and that is to demand a retraction of this so-called “Priests” statement to his Church. If that so-called “Priest” does not retract his statement; then as President of the United States of America, you, President-Elect Obama should, by an executive order, should remove the Tax-Exempt Status of the ENTIRE Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Do so on the basis that the Roman Catholic Church has not only violated the separation of Church and State, but has also used the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrines to commit voter intimidation.

There are a couple of books that I highly recommend that people read, especially Catholics, who want to the truth about that so-called Church and it’s bloody history. Here are those books:

Now, I realize that I might lose a reader or two, because I wrote this, but if that is the price that I must pay to present the truth to the people that read this blog, then it is one that I will take. I realize also, that Ed or someone over at HotAir.com will most likely yank this trackback. I’ve always said Republicans were, in fact, fascists. But that’s the price one must be for being a true Bible-Believer, I suppose, such as life, I guess.

We as Americans and as Christians need to guard against Religious persecution from any sort of Christian Domination. That is why the pilgrims fled Great Britain, because the Church of England’s meddling in the affairs of the Government. We should not stand for it here in America.

Guest Voice: Welcome To Obamaburger. May I Take Your Money

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Welcome To Obamaburger.  May I Take Your Money?
By: J.J. Jackson

Behind the counter is an Obamaburger employee busily filing her fingernails and who barely looks up as a young man approaches her, bypassing a longer line at another register which does not seem to be moving. “Welcome to Obamaburger.  May I take your money?” she asks listlessly.

The perplexed customer responds, “Don’t you mean take my order?”

Her response, without so much as a look is, “Sir, you’re holding up the line.  Don’t make me call security.”

The customer, looks behind him and notices that he is the only one in this particular line but not wanting to cause a fuss replies hastily, “Geez, ok.  Uh … let’s see.  I will have –”

“Sir, I need your Social Security Number first.”

“Excuse me?” the customer asks.

“Your Social Security Number sir.  You’re holding up the line again.”

“What line?”  Now, very confused the customer asks again, “What do you need my Social Security Number for?”

Finally looking up from her “work” the employee gets very testy at the delay and the line of questioning.  “That’s it, I’m calling security –”

“What? No …” scared at what is going on the customer finally concedes to her demands, “Alright my number is 123-45-6789.”

Sighing at the thought of having to finally do something productive, the lady behind the counter starts punching numbers into her register, “One moment while I pull up your tax return for last year.”

“My tax return?  What the hell are you doing?”

Read More …

President-Elect Obama chooses another Clinton-era lawyer for White House Counsel

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What is this new administration going to be, Clinton 2.0?

According to Politico, it appears so:

Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who quarterbacked President Bill Clinton’s impeachment defense, has been chosen White House counsel by President-elect Obama, according to Democratic officials.

Craig is intimately familiar with the president-elect’s record because he played the role of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in debate preparations.

The officials said Obama has settled on Craig, but were not sure when it would be announced.

The choice gives the president-elect both experience and loyalty. During the primaries, Craig was an early Clinton alumni defector to Obama. Columnist Robert D. Novak reported back in the winter of 2007 that Craig had told him he “was impressed with Obama when he first met him at the home of investment banker Vernon Jordan, an intimate friend and supporter of the Clintons.”

Craig was an Obama foreign policy adviser during the campaign. At the start of the Clinton administration, he had been the State Department’s Director of Policy Planning, the head of State’s in-house think tank. He also was senior adviser on defense, foreign policy and national security to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

So much for all that Hope and Change and new Government. Sounds more like an old and quite familiar Government to me. Between this and the Lobbyists that Obama is bringing in to run his Administration, it just looks like the Clinton era all over again.

Captain Ed at HotAir.com observes the following:

There is nothing inherently wrong with lobbying.  There is plenty wrong with hypocrisy, especially on the grand scale committed by Barack Obama during this campaign.  He regularly indulged in the populist demonization of lobbyists and claimed to lead a new movement to purify Washington of their eeeeevil influences.  Now that he has the power, Obama has no problem working with lobbyists for fraudulently run mortgage giants and drug makers, smear artists, and asbestos-lawsuit defenders.

That’s change that 63 million suckers believed in.

Couldn’t have said it better myself! 😀

This is why I voted my principles and not with my emotions. I would be willing to bet there’s a bunch of Conservatives and Libertarians who are feeling mighty stupid right now. Glad I was not one of them. 🙂

Sen. Barbara Boxer does kiddie porn! Sort of.

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Wow! This is a real shocker to see in your headlines first thing when you wake up! 😮

Via Washington Post:

Jeffrey P. Rosato, an aide to Boxer and a senior policy adviser on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was arrested last Friday, the same day he was fired from Boxer’s office, and charged with one count each of receipt and distribution of child pornography. He appeared in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, but he is forbidden to have access to children or computers.

According to an FBI affidavit, an unnamed person “distributed more than 600 files containing graphic images and movies of child pornography to an undercover detective that [the person] believed was a 13-year-old boy” over the course of more than 15 online chats during a three-week period in January. In that person’s computer, the FBI found information suggesting the person had exchanged pornography with Rosato.

Investigators also found pornographic photos and movies of children on Rosato’s laptop computer during a Nov. 4 search of his Alexandria home, according to the affidavit. “Many of the images and videos depict prepubescent boys engaged in sexual acts,” it said.

Rosato’s attorney, Patrick N. Anderson of Alexandria, did not return a call seeking comment.

Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Boxer’s personal office, said: “On Friday, the Justice Department informed our office of criminal charges made against a Senate employee. Senator Boxer has zero tolerance for crimes against children, and the employee was immediately terminated.”

Rosato had worked for Boxer since 2005, according to Senate payroll records on the LegiStorm Web site, and had drawn a paycheck from the environment panel since 2007. Boxer is chairwoman of the Environment Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

Before joining Boxer’s staff, Rosato worked as an aide to then-Sen. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.).

The FBI’s investigation of Rosato and subsequent forensic analysis of his computer found that he had been using Google Hello, a photo-sharing service discontinued by the Internet giant earlier this year, allegedly to exchange pornographic images. Investigators were able to link Rosato to his online username by demanding records from Google and Comcast.

Not to do the pile on here, but I am frankly not surprised at all. However, there are corrupt Republicans too, so, I am not going to sit here and act like some self-righteous asshole and say that the Republicans are guilt free of this sort of a thing. I mean there’s a list of them, lets review, shall we?

2008

  • Bruce Barclay, former Cumberland County commissioner, videotaped hundreds of sexual encounters — many with male escorts — using cameras hidden throughout his Monroe Township home.[1]
  • Matthew Joseph Elliott, former aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child.[2]
  • Vito Fossella, the only Republican member of Congress from New York City, admitted to police to having a child out-of-wedlock when stopped for drunk driving.[3]
  • Robert McKee, Republican delegate from Western Maryland, announced his resignation after authorities seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials from his Hagerstown home in a child pornography investigation. McKee also resigned his position as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County.[4]
  • Daniel Dean Thompson, 31, a Utah retailer of “family-friendly” tapes and DVDs (Hollywood films with the “dirty parts” cut out of them), arrested and booked into the Utah County jail on charges of sexual abuse and unlawful sexual activity with a 14-year-old.[5]
  • Derek Walker, former Eagle Scout and candidate seeking the GOP nomination in a race for north-central Pennsylvania district, was charged with felony burglary and criminal trespass stemming from an encounter last year with an ex-girlfriend, during which he allegedly broke into her home and used his cell phone to videotape her engaged in an intimate moment with another man.[6]

2007

  • Robert “Bob” Allen, Florida state Rep. Arrested in the afternoon at a Veteran’s Memorial Park for solicitation of prostitution from an undercover male officer inside a restroom. According to the papers Bob “offer[ed] to perform oral sex for $20”. Bob Later claimed that his offer had something to do with his being afraid of black people.[7]
  • John David Roy Atchison, Republican prosecutor, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 5-year old girl, then killed himself three weeks later. At the time of his arrest, Atchison was an “assistant U.S. attorney” appointed by President Bush’s attorney general.[8]
  • E. Ozwald Balfour, chairman of the Utah Republican Black Assembly and elected to the Republican State Central Committee in 2007, even though he was awaiting trial on four felony counts of forcible sex abuse dating back to his arrest in February, 2005.[9]
  • John Bryan, Republican city councilman, killed himself after police began investigating allegations that he had molested three girls, including two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and 15.[10]
  • Larry Craig Republican Senator for Idaho, was arrested on July 11, 2007, by plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport airport men’s room. On August 8 in Hennepin County Municipal Court in Bloomington, Minnesota, Craig entered a guilty plea and paid a $500 fine.[11]. On September 1st, Craig subsequently announced his retirement from the Senate[12]. Five days later, Craig changed his mind, renounced his retirement and began a battle to have his guilty plea overturned.[13]
  • John R. Curtin, Monroe County state Republican committeeman, was convicted of molesting an underage teenage boy and sentenced to serve six to 18 months in prison.[14]
  • Richard Curtis, Washington State Rep., resigned from the House after reports of his sexual encounter with a male escort became public.[15]
  • Donald Fleischman, Brown County, WI, Republican Party Chairman, resigned his post after he was charged with two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and a single charge of exposing himself to a child.[16]
  • Larry Dale Floyd, Republican Constable in Denton County, Texas Precinct Two. Arrested for allegedly crossing state lines to have sex with an 8-year old child and was charged with 7 related offenses. Age 62 at time of arrest.[17]
  • Ted Klaudt, former South Dakota State Rep., found guilty of four counts of second-degree rape of two teenage foster daughters.[18][19]
  • Ronald C. Kline, Republican Judge in Orange County, CA, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer after six years of legal wrangling. In 2002, charged with child molestation and under house arrest on federal charges of possessing child pornography, political analysts still gave him a 50-50 chance of winning the March 5 primary for the Orange County Superior Court seat. He lost the election to a write-in candidate.
  • Joseph M. McDade, 75, was issued a summons on a charge of exposure of sexual organs, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The longtime Pennsylvania Republican congressman who served for 36 years in the House and now works for a Washington lobbying firm, has been accused of exposing his private parts to two women at a beach resort on Sanibel Island. [20]
  • Patrick Lee McGuire, former former Flagler County Commissioner, surrendered to police after allegedly molesting girls between the ages of 8 and 13.[21]
  • Jon Matthews, Republican talk show host in Houston, was indicted for indecency with a child, including exposing his genitals to a girl under the age of 17.[22]
  • Joseph Monteleone Jr., Elyria city councilman, was found guilty of fondling underage girls and asking them, to have sex with him.[23]
  • Glenn Murphy Jr., chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation, resigned both posts, after the Clark County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct. A 22-year-old man claimed that Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative’s Jeffersonville home. During the investigation, a similar accusation from 1998 came to light.[24]
  • Armando Tebano, Schenectady County Republican Chairman, pleaded guilty to fondling a 14-year-old girl.[25]
  • David Vittner, junior Senator from Louisiana, became one of the few high-profile politicians to be implicated as a client of “D.C. Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey.[26]

I could go on and on, but I think you know what I mean. So, unlike some of my fellow Conservative Bloggers. I will admit, the Republican Party has just as many sex scandals in it’s closet as the Democrats.

Anyone that says anything other than this, is trying to rewrite history. Period.

Others, mainly those doing the Pile-on: Scared Monkeys, Clayton Cramer’s BLOG, JammieWearingFool and The Other McCain

Lew Rockwell jumps the shark

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I am generally not a critic of those who agree with me on politics, much less conservatism. But every once and while something gets posted somewhere, and me being the opinionated person that I am, I just cannot let it get past me.

I happened to be looking at my RSS feeds and I happened to see a posting by Lew himself, and alarm bells starting going off. Yes, it was that bad.

Before I get into this, let me just say that I harbor no malice towards Lew and his friends at his Blog and website, in fact, there is a good deal of stuff that he and his crew, write over on his blog and website, that I agree with, but this one here just jumped the shark, badly.

From Lew’s Blog:

bush-obama-s

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

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

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

Update April 1, 2011: Boy was I ever wrong here! 😯 My apologies to Lew Rockwell. My feelings on race remain unabated. Please, See here. Thanks.

Wanna see some real Liberal Stupidity?

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Go here to read.

Anyone who says that Abortion is NOT murder, has got a severe mental problem.

Then again, we are talking about Liberals. 🙄

For the record, it is the opinion of this Libertarian Conservative writer that Abortion IS murder; however, I do NOT believe this moral issue should corrected by legislation.  Like I do not believe ANY moral issue should be corrected by legislation.

Quotes of the Day

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The U.S. dollar, tied to gold, was to become the world’s reserve currency. The pound, the franc and other currencies were to be tied to the dollar at fixed rates of exchange. An International Monetary Fund was established to lend to nations with balance of payments problems. An International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) was created to provide loans for rebuilding war-torn Europe.

America provided most of the financing for the new institutions and assumed the lion’s share of control. Though the most famous economist of the age, J.M. Keynes, led the British delegation, his ideas — for a new world central bank and new world currency — were brushed aside by Harry White and the Americans.

The Bretton Woods system endured until Richard Nixon. With his country hemorrhaging gold in 1971, Nixon slammed the gold window shut, cut the dollar loose and let it float against other currencies.

Nixon’s was an act of necessity. The Europeans, with more dollars than they needed or wanted, were coming to cash them in and clean out Fort Knox.

To suggest that Europeans possess anything like the hegemonic power of America in 1944 is delusion.

……

I now officially pronounce the Rockefeller wing of the Republican Party as dead as its namesake, the late Gov. Nelson Rockefeller of New York, who assumed room temperature nearly 30 years ago.

This is a good thing – a very hopeful, even promising, eventuality for a potential rebirth of the Republican Party as a party of ideas.

It had to happen. As the first Republican president told us, “A house divided cannot stand.” Neither can a party – at least not when it is divided the way the Rockefeller Republicans divided the GOP.

But, why do I proclaim the Rockefeller wing of the Republican Party dead?

Because, John McCain was the personification of that wing – at least in the last 10 years.

He got the nomination. He did it his way, as Frank Sinatra would say. And he got beat by a guy three years out of the Illinois Legislature, a radical with tempestuous associations, no executive experience, little experience with elective office of any kind and little professional experience of any kind.

McCain got his butt kicked. He not only lost his bid for the White House, but he also lost many Republican seats once thought safe in Congress.

McCain may still be the titular head of his party as the presidential nominee, but his influence on its future will be considerably diminished as a result of his utter failure. McCain is not considered even a remote possibility for another bid at the big prize.

He’s done, finished, over, completed.


Memo to the G.O.P….. Please, Please, Please…. elect this man as your party chairman!

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If the G.O.P. passes this man up, it will be the BIGGEST mistake that they will have ever made!

Via TownHall.com:

Promising this would be “the first of a series of conversations” with bloggers, former Maryland LG Michael Steele held a blogger conference call today regarding his bid for RNC Chairman.

Regarding bloggers, Steele said, “we have under-utilized a tremendously valuable resource.”  He also added that he’s usually up at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, online.

Steele promised a full-fledged communications operation that includes many forms of contact, including mail, the internet, and text-messaging.  He promised a “full-blown internet strategy which will raise money but also raise interest.”  He also noted:  “That’s going to mean tackling some of the old taboos in politics…what we saw with the Obama campaign was a phenomenal operation.”

In response to one of my questions, Steele also promised to sign-on to RebuildtheParty.com.

On his reason for running, Steele said he opposed the GOP becoming Democratic Lite:  “If I wanted to be a Democrat — having grown up in Washington, DC…then I would have joined the Democratic Party.”

He also went out of his way to stress his pro-Life credentials.  He also said he wanted to attract new members to join the Republican Party, and that he believes in a “government that is efficient.”

Steele also warned that Republicans shouldn’t “soft-pedal” our attacks on Barack Obama, “just because the President of the United States happens to be a Black man.” This, of course, presents the argument that Steele — an African-American — could be a more effective critic of Obama than could his white Republican colleagues.

Regarding a follow-up question I asked him, Steele responded that “the Obama campaign played the race card beautifully.” He said it hurt Bill Clinton and that it also hurt John McCain because he wouldn’t mention Reverend Wright.  Steele argued that in taking Rev. Wright off the table, McCain surrendered the one issue that might have helped him win.

This man is exactly what the G.O.P. needs right now, like yesterday! He would be able to steer that party in the proper direction and also be able to counter much of what Obama has thrown at the G.O.P.

I think that this would be a MAJOR step in the right direction. (no pun intended…)

Update: Irk! Judging from some of the comments, I guess some within the G.O.P. don’t like this guy… It figures. 🙄

Ron Paul for 2012?

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Possibly says Campaign for Liberty press guy and Ron Paul grandson-in-law Jesse Benton.

Via Reason Magazine:

Last week, Campaign for Liberty press guy and Ron Paul grandson-in-law Jesse Benton was driving to a constituent event with his boss and the subject of 2012 came up.

“He hasn’t closed out the idea of another run,” said Benton today. “We have some time to decide whether he runs again, or whether he gets behind somebody else. But we don’t have tons of time. By the middle of 2009, the decision needs to be made.”

Benton isn’t pushing Paul one way or the other. “I could get behind either decision, but it needs to be made in the next six months or so,” he said. “One thing we learned is that those voters in New Hampshire and Iowa expect, to see their candidates early and often.” Paul entered the 2008 primaries in January 2007, about 11 months and two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

I asked about the rumor that former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson might jump into the race (unclear in which party yet). “If he were to decide that he wanted to do that, he’d be a great guy to take the reins. But I don’t think that what Dr. Paul captured was 100 percent transferable to anyone else. I think the Bob Barr campaign assumed that and it didn’t pan out.”

Would Paul run as a Republican again or as a Libertarian? “We try not to ever deal in absolutes in politics,” Benton said carefully. “But he would be very likely to be running as a Republican again.” It’s not just that “working within the system” gets more exposure for a candidate. It’s that several Republican primary states include the caveat that candidates cannot run in their primaries and go third party if they lose. “To be frank, I got tired of the ‘third party’ question getting asked time after time, and I know that Ron did too.”

Paul is almost exactly a year older than John McCain, and turned 73 in August.

Now personally, I would like to see Ron Paul or someone of his kind to run in 2012. Because I personally believe that by 2012, the American people are going to be quite disgusted by the tax and spend polices of Obama. This will be fueled by all of the broken promises of the Obama administration. Quite possibly by then the Economy will be in a full-tilt state of ruin and Obama just will not be able to fix it; this will open the door for a Ron Paul type of Conservatism, which will allow that person to come in, get rid of the Federal Reserve and get America back on the gold standard.

Of course, that person will have a uphill battle, he would have to battle the establishment Republican AND Democrats who want to keep America on the collision course that it is on now. It will not be an easy battle. But it is one that can be fought and won with the right kind of campaign staff and message.

Say what? Michelle Malkin defends……Rep. Dennis Kucinich?!?!?!?!?!

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I do believe that politics just entered a another level of nutty crazy.  Silly

Michelle Malkin is defending, supporting, agreeing with, of all people, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Senator Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the UFO chaser!  Raised Eyebrow

Quote:

Believe it or not, I am going to say something nice about Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich. He voted against the bailout every time. In a ready-for-YouTube exchange, he snorted when Kashkari said, (paraphrasing here) “taxpayer money shouldn’t be poured into businesses that are going to fail.” Kucinich retorted that Kashkari would be hearing that line played back to him for the rest of his career.

Now I agree with what Michelle said, but Michelle  Malkin saying nice stuff about Dennis Kucinich?!?! DENNIS FREAKIN’ KUCINICH?!?!?!  Surprise

Hey Jesse! Could you kindly check Michelle’s Coffee mug please? I think she might have gotten slipped a mickey! 😉

….Come to think of it, I might just check my coffee mug…. 😛

Another Young Conservative Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee!

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Finally, another young Conservative has awakened and smelled the coffee brewing.

Go read

Quote:

Mr. D — As a ‘young intellectual conservative’ mulling over factions in the coming Big Conservative Brouhaha, I’m thinking of jumping the USS GOP in favor of the Libertarian party. 3 quick reasons

  • It’s ideologically coherent. Or, at least, built on a strong foundation of promoting individual liberty and, y’know, actually deferring to the Constitution.
  • It’s ‘cool’. Libertarians are generally viewed as either uncompromising personal freedoms/open market zealots, or in the case of those just looking for a political party that justifies their bad behavior, party animals. Both are preferable to the ‘sexually repressed bigoted fundamentalist freakshow’ image the Republican party now engenders, thanks largely to the media and, well, Republicans in general lately.
  • Compassionate conservatism sucks. I don’t want a holy-roller welfare state any more than I want a degenerate welfare state.

I’m not under the illusion that we’re somehow going to see the end of the two-party system, and of course I take pause with some of the nuttier Libertarian policies, but what on earth is nuttier than Republicans nationalizing swaths of the economy hither and thither?

Right now, the Republican brand is in shambles, mainly having ignored its own principles. The party that most unabashedly protects those principles I hold paramount — individual liberties, respect for the Constitution, and free markets — is the Libertarian party. Either way, I suspect conservatives will be out in the wilderness for a while, and if you’re going to be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly.

Of course, I disagree with some of Derbyshire’s responses, but I think it is a very positive thing to see, that finally some of the young people within the Republican Party are waking up to the fact that G.O.P. No longer represents them any longer. That, in itself, it is a step in the right direction.

Say What? Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?

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I’m a bit late to the press here on this one. My apologies.

But it appears that little miss cackle-a-lot might be our next secretary of state. So, says the Washington Post:

There’s increasing chatter in political circles that the Obama camp is not overly happy with the usual suspects for secretary of state these days and that the field might be expanding somewhat beyond Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and maybe former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.

There’s talk, indeed, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may now be under consideration for the post. Her office referred any questions to the Obama transition; Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment.

The pick of the former presidential contender and Senate Armed Services Committee member would go a long way toward healing any remaining divisions within the Democratic Party after the divisive primaries. Also, Clinton has long been known for her work on international women’s issues and human rights. The former first lady could also enhance Obama’s efforts to restore U.S. standing amongst allies worldwide.

And Obama could put her in his speed-dial for a 3 a.m. phone call every morning.

So much for all that talk of Hope and Change eh? Instead we’re getting left overs from the last Democratic Administration; Wonderful. 🙄

I guess Obama did not defeat the Clinton political machine after all.

The Children that parished at the Waco compound siege were unavailable for comment. 😡

…..and here I thought *I* was grumpy!

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Remember that little piece written by P.J. O’Rourke that I blogged about here recently?

Well, it appears that some of my fellow Paleo-Con’s are having none of it, at all; and BOY have the swords come out! 😮

Red Philips over at the Conservative Heritage Times writes:

P.J. O’Rourke’s lasted screed was referenced below. He does make some good points re. spending, fiscal responsibility and lost opportunities, but the good points are lost among his anti-Southern, anti-traditionalist, anti-Christian bigoted spit-flecked rants.

In the article he supports open borders (nothing could be more inherently unconservative), abortion, gay marriage, unconstitutional Civil Rights laws, and wars to spread democracy. What, prey tell, is he supposedly trying to conserve?

O’Rourke is a “libertarian leaning conservative,” my a**. He is an elitist, centrist, establishment shill.

Ouch!

Not to be outdone, John Zmirak over a Taki’s Magazine writes:

P.J. O’Rourke is now officially senile. Pour a stiff glass of bourbon before wading into this farrago of parrot-sh*t. The problem with conservatism, for P.J. as for Frumbag, is conservatives. They should learn to put up with forced desegregation and worthless public schools, gay marriage, abortion, colonization by hostile, nationalistic foreigners, and the use of the U.S. military to fight other country’s wars. In return they might, just might get… drumroll please: fiscal responsibility.  Yeah, we’ve never spent a dime on all that federal equality micromanagement and foreign conquest, or all those uninsured unskilled laborers. That’s funded by pennies from heaven.

Good Godfrey, I thought I was an grumpy old so and so! I can see their point. Of course, I tend to believe that this being directed at this man, because he’s a Neo-Con more than anything else. But still, Senile? Ouch!

Lose an election and start the circular firing squad. Egad, if I have to suffer through blogging about this for the next four to possibly eight years; I don’t know what I am going to do. 🙄

Just sayin’!

Glenn Reynolds can be such a moron at times

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Our damn economy is swirling the toilet, bailouts are going every damn where and best this pea-brained penis nibbler can do, is blog about flippin‘ far away planets and old cars.

Dude, if you wanna Blog about science, start a damned science blog, if you wanna blog about old rusted 1970’s cars, start a damn blog for it. But if you want to Blog about politics, which is why I signed up on your damned RSS feed in the first place, do it on the blog that you are supposed to be blogging politics on sir.

Can someone remind me again, just why the hell everyone fawns over Glenn Reynolds like he is some sort of fucking Blog God for, again, Please?

Just sayin’…..

Ruh Roh!: Mormon exposed by Campaign Finance Laws

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(This comes via Reason Hit and Run)

As reported by the NYT:

SACRAMENTO — The artistic director of the California Musical Theater, a major nonprofit producing company here in the state’s capital, resigned on Wednesday in the face of growing outrage over his support for a ballot measure this month that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.

The artistic director, Scott Eckern, came under fire recently after it became known that he contributed $1,000 to support Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to recognize only male-female marriages. The measure was approved by 52 percent of California voters on Election Day. (Same-sex marriages had been performed in California since June.)

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Mr. Eckern said that his donation stemmed from his religious beliefs — he is a Mormon — and that he was “deeply saddened that my personal beliefs and convictions have offended others.”

His donation was brought to light by online activists angry about the measure’s success at the polls.

“I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings, maybe even betrayal,” Mr. Eckern said. “It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction.”

Of course for some, his resignation is not enough:

But the swift resignation was not met with cheers by those on either side.

Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer (“Hairspray”), called Mr. Eckern last week and said that he would not let his work be performed in the theater. “I was uncomfortable with money made off my work being used to put discrimination in the Constitution,” Mr. Shaiman said. He added, however, that the entire episode left him “deeply troubled” because of the potential for backlash against gays who protested Mr. Eckern’s donation.

“It will not help our cause because we will be branded exactly as what we were trying to fight,” said Mr. Shaiman, who is gay. “But I do believe there comes a time when you cannot sit back and accept what I think is the most dangerous form of bigotry.”

Supporters of the marriage ban said that critics of Mr. Eckern were attacking freedom of expression, and they chastised the theater’s board for subjecting Mr. Eckern to a political litmus test.

“No matter your opinion on Prop. 8, we should all agree that it is wrong to intimidate or harass anyone for exercising their constitutional rights,” said a letter to the theater’s board president on Tuesday by Frank Schubert, campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind the ballot measure.

For its part, the theater disavowed Mr. Eckern’s donation and issued only a brief statement on Wednesday accepting his resignation, while emphasizing that it would not “impinge on the rights of its employees to engage in political activities.” A longtime employee, Mr. Eckern had been artistic director since 2002.

The outrage over Mr. Eckern and the subsequent dismay voiced by Mr. Shaiman are the most recent evidence of the tension running through the entertainment industry since Election Day, particularly in California.

This is why I am against the idea of Church meddling the affairs of the Government. I will say, at least it is on a state level and not at the federal level. One cannot legislate morality. If the Governor of California wants to save his skin, he’d better strike this law from the books. But because he is a Republican, he will not.

While I do personally believe that Homosexuality, from a Christian viewpoint is immoral, I think it would be and is a tragic mistake to attempt to use the Government, of any sort; as a means to try and legislate morality. It is a tragic mistake and will cost our Nation and divide it’s people in the long run.

Good News: Warren Jeffs indicted on new charges

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In some very good news, the kooky leader of the FDLS cult is going to be brought up on additional charges.

Via WOAI Radio in Texas:

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ‘prophet’ Warren Jeffs was indicted on felony charges for a second time today in connection with the April raid on the FLDS compound in Schleicher County, 1200 WOAI news reports.

Jeffs was indicted on a second first degree felony county of aggravated sexual assault. Jeffs was indicted in July on charges of sexual assault of a child. Both are first degree felonies which carry punishment of up to 99 years in prison.

Jeffs, 53, is already in prison….in Utah…where is is serving a ten year sentence on charges of arranging an underaged marriage at an FLDS compound there. He is awaiting trial on similar charges in Arizona.

Three other FLDS members were also indicted on Wednesday. One if facing a felony charge of conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor. A second was charged with thre counts of third degree bigamy. The third was charged with three bigamy counts and one county of tampering with physical evidence.

Let just say this, that while I was none too pleased about the handling of that raid on the Texas FLDS ranch in Texas; which had many people, like those over at WorldNetDaily.com and NewsWithViews.com freaking out. I am quite happy to see that this sick, demented piece of human waste is going to remain behind bars for a  very long time.

While I am quite the advocate of freedom of Religion in this Country, when that Religion finds one at odds with the State and Federal laws in this country, something needs to change with that religion! Polygamy is a sick and disgusting practice, underage Polygamy is even worse, and I, for one, am happy that Warren Jeffs is going to be spending a very long time in a jail cell, where he cannot hurt anyone any longer.

Sorry, but I do not buy the whole persecuted Church people line. You don’t see the Government arresting Baptist Pastors for Polygamy, do you?

Memo to Michelle Malkin – Move on, please….

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(H/T to HotAir.com)

I knew this was going to happen… I am again forced to criticize Michelle Malkin. (or say the stuff that Ed and Allah want to say, but will not, because they do not want to get fired!)

In this Video Michelle is carping about the way that the Sarah Palin was treated and because John McCain didn’t jump on the sofa like Tom Cruise and scream to the top his lungs, “The EVIL Liberal destroyed my changes of being President! and My former campaign staffers are trashing her now, shame shame shame!”

Here’s the nail scratching the chalk board video:

However, this is what I heard the whole time I watched it:

I think if women, Conservative or Liberal want to be taken seriously in Politics, at least by this writer; they need to act like adults and not crybabies when things really don’t go their way.

I mean Michelle criticizes the homosexuals over prop 8 and tells them to move on. So, why doesn’t she practice what she preaches?  🙄

Just sayin’

Creepy, Freaky and quite deaky!: Obama to appoint an “auto czar?”

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(H/T to Michelle)

Full Disclosure: My Dad is a retired G.M. Employee and Union member.

You know, living here in the middle of all things Liberal, being a Libertarian Conservative is a bit, well; Odd. It does have it’s advantages. I tend to be a bit more Moderate about things. However, this one here spooks me.

This one’s via US News and World Report:

The troubles of the ailing auto industry are quickly becoming a major focus for President-Elect Barack Obama’s young administration. As Congress and President Bush debate an industry bailout, sources indicate that Obama may favor creating a White House office, headed by an “auto industry czar,” to oversee reforming the troubled American auto industry.

The Detroit News reports that both “Bush and Obama are signaling they may favor appointment of an auto czar to oversee the government’s efforts to funnel emergency assistance to automakers.” Congressional leaders and members of both the outgoing and incoming administrations have all said that automakers might receive federal aid only on certain dictions, including efforts “to further improve fuel efficiency and show that they have a plan to return to profitability. Automakers could also be required to give the government preferred stock in the companies and accept government representatives as board members. As in the 1979-80 Chrysler bailout, workers may have to make wage concessions.”

The press was unable to get direct confirmation of the plan yesterday. John Podesta, the former Clinton administration official heading Obama’s transition team, told the Washington Post “When we have an announcement about that, we’ll raise it.”

While I am bit happy to see that my dad’s 31 years will not be basically flushed down the toliet, because of incompetent managers.  The word Czar being used in the relation to Business, gives me the willies.  Least I be accused to trying to channel McCarthy; I think it reaks of Communism myself.

Could not they use another word? Like Commission, or Overseer, or something? Anything but Czar. 😮

I may just be a old paranoid weirdo, but Czar conjures up images of concentration camps, Nazi’s and all that sort of stuff.