Tag: Opinion

A textbook example of why I believe that Liberals hate America

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Because of stuff like this here….

Video via Gateway Pundit:

We use the phrase, gave their lives. But they didn’t give their lives, there lives were taken from them
There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity – war.
The goal of war is to cause death to other people.
Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good of course its for ourselves, the living
If this is not a classic example of Anti-American Liberal sentiment, I do not know what is. Honestly, I would never figured Andy Rooney to be like this at all. I would expect this sort of tripe from say, Rosie O’Donnell, Bill Ayes, Jeremiah Wright;  But not this guy. Guess you cannot judge a book by its cover.
Others Reporting: Examiner, Scared Monkeys

North Korea tests a nuke and a short range missile

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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)

Sunday Morning Short Takes

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Here’s the stuff that is burning up the Blogosphere on this wonderful Sunday morning……

1. Obama Says, “We’re out of Money“, Yeah, thanks there Mr. Bambi Teleprompter. Spend us into a hole the size of the grand canyon and then say, “Whoopsie! Were outta money!”  If that’s his idea of brilliance, we in deep trouble.

2. Nancy Pelosi “Pussy-gate” continues, I’m referring to this video; produced by the NRC:

At least one Republican is not happy about it.

3. Helene Cooper says that most of Obama Enemies are made of straw; of course, there are some who disagree. It is this writers opinion that Helene’s brain is made of straw.

4.  Robert J. Samuelson says we should let Social Security and Medicare got broke. I wonder what his Father thinks of that?

5. The Times of London has an interesting story on the terror plot that was broken up as of recent. Calls the terrorists dimwits. Could that not be used to describe all Muslims?

6. Tom Ridge vs Rush Limbaugh. Quick, get the popcorn! This is going to be very interesting to watch. Backpedaling in 5….4….3…2…

7. Jumping off a bridge? Here, let me help.

8. Trapped in space? Atlantis can’t come home, Thunderstorms loom.

….and finally:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been in the news a lot this week, attacking President Obama.

Cheney’s been making so many speeches lately I’m starting to think he’s not really dead.

– Jimmy Kimmel

The Far Left is now realizing the awful truth about President Obama

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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. Nerd

My first opinion piece at Freedom’s Phoenix is posted

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I am really beginning to wonder about the libertarians of today, especially those who come to this site.  When I first registered at Freedom’s Phoenix, a long while back and posted my first news link; my hits went to over a thousand in one day.  Now if I post a news link, I am lucky if I get a hundred hits or so.  My question is this.  Why is that?  Is it because I do not subscribe to the latest and greatest conspiracy theory that comes out of Alex Jones’s lair of paranoia?

I thought that Conservatives and Libertarians were a bit more tolerant, of those who did not agree with the mainstream, I am beginning to think that I was quite wrong about that.  I will give you another example, one time on here, there was a bit of uproar because I had the nerve to have ads on my blog.  Unless I am highly mistaken, do not libertarians believe that capitalism is what drives the American spirit? —- Go read the rest

No Maggie, The problem is Social Conservatism itself

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It is not everyday that I find myself talking back to the writers of the National Review‘s Blog “The Corner“.

But, I saw this entry, and I felt the need to let my feelings be known.

Maggie Gallagher, who, in typical cowardly Republican fashion, does not divulge her e-mail address in her profile; says the following:

Back a while ago, when I was complaining about Republicans who think the GOP has just too darn many religious voters (“funny, so do the Democrats”), I promised I would explain how social conservatives have contributed to this misimpression — and also to their oddly subordinated role within the GOP governing coalition.

It’s simple. Social conservatives have had bad models for political action. We’ve depended on two basic strategies, and neither of them work very well:

1. The Mass-Uprising Model. “The people will rise up and throw off their oppressors spontaneously.” Well, it’s nice when it happens, but it’s hardly a plan, is it?

2. The Secular-Messiah Model: Join with others in the GOP to elect a godly man to office and then expect him to solve all your problems for you. This last model resulted in me fielding calls from reporters about whether or not I thought Bush was responsible for failing to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment — at a time when the poor man was 33 percent in the polls. Gay-rights groups don’t behave like this. They understand it’s their job to make it easy for politicians to do what they ask, not the other way around.

Social conservatives simply have not been in politics. We lack institutions that can defeat our enemies and directly assist our friends.

After a while, threatening to leave the coalition unless the coalition does what you want gets old. And tiring. And ineffective. It makes your allies not like you very much. Social conservatives talk like that because it’s our one lever of power.

Time to get some new levers.

No Megan, what it is time for; is this, it is time for the social Conservatives to leave the Republican Party and make alliances with a new Party, like the “America First” Party or something similar.  I am going to be perfectly blunt, the Social Conservatism movement is, essentially a very bad joke.  A perfect example would be no other than Sarah Palin.  That is correct, Sarah Palin.  I mean this woman, who before the 2008 election was a little known Governor outside of the state of Alaska.  John McCain selects her, on a whim, and attempts to steal Hillary’s voters away from Barack Obama.  We see how well that worked out, did we not?  It is quite the buzz kill and sobering dose of reality to point this out.  Nevertheless, because I believe in the truth; even when it is not considered popular or even politically correct; I will state the obvious.

Sarah Palin came charging to the forefront of the Republican scene, like an Alaska Buffalo on the prairie farm.  She was to come in, riding on the White Horse of Social Conservatism, she was the evangelical Church’s new female Messiah, and she was going to wrangle the victory away from those who were going to try to expand the Government to Anti-Christ-like Levels.  Again, as I wrote a minute ago, we all see how that worked out, did we not?

Instead, Sarah Palin became the poster woman of everything that is essentially wrong with the Evangelical Christian movement as a whole.  One of the biggest and most grotesque problems with the movement as a whole is just innate and abject hypocrisy.  Sarah Palin came into the 2008 election as the beacon of moral pureness.  By the time, the people had come to vote, Palin was exposed as someone; who preached moral values, but her own children were not even listening.  In fact, her own daughter said that abstinence was unrealistic.

To add insult to injury, instead of Sarah Palin leaving the McCain campaign taking her family back to Alaska and salvaging what little of a political career that she actually had left.  Instead she continues to bring a black mark to the campaign of John McCain and allows his campaign to be trounced by one the most unqualified candidates ever.  Further, instead of actually owning up to her daughters mistakes and basically admitting that she lied about her daughter and also admitting that her accepting the offer John McCain was a mistake; Palin then spins her daughters sexual promiscuity into this sister souljah moment.  Frankly, it was quite sickening to watch.

Meggie, the Religious do-gooders do not need levers.  They need to stop trying to pull levers, because every time they do.  The secular world sees them for exactly for what they are.  You would have thought the Conservative Christian world would have learned this lesson in the 1980’s.  I suppose some dogs are not trained as quickly as others are.

Others: Politics Daily and AmSpec Blog

The Southern Avenger says “Just Say No” to Government

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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.

Terrorist plot to blow up Jewish Synagogues in the Bronx thwarted

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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:

  1. There’s no proof at all, that these guys were connected to any sort of formal terrorist group
  2. They never were able to obtain any sort of real weapons

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.

The Southern Avenger on “Lindsey Graham Republicans”

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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.

HEH!: Liberal Columnist rips off Liberal Blogger

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Gee, I wonder; would this be the 21 century equilivant of “Dog eat Dog?” 😛 or Dog Bites man…. or Dog something… 😀

Oh, it’s funny and you know it! 🙄

It seems that Liberal Columnist ripped off a Liberal Blogger. Talking Points Memo reports:

Maureen Dowd in today’s NY Times:

“More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when the Bush crowd was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/opinion/17dowd.html?_r=1

Uh-oh.....

Uh-oh.....

(click image for bigger pic)

TPM’s Josh Marshall on Thurs:

“More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when we were looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq.”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/05/bubbling.php

Doh!

D'oh!

(click image for bigger pic)

All Dowd did was change “we were” to “the Bush crowd was”.

Now, I’m all for cutting & pasting. As a blogger I do it all the time, but I always give credit.

So, if this isn’t outright plagiarism by a top NY Times Editorialist, than I’m a happily married, straight man with 4 kids, 2 dogs, a lovely 2nd wife of 15 years with a girl half my age on the side.

Which I assure you all, I am not.

Josh has a valid point. When we bloggers use content from other sites, or we copy something, we ALWAYS; well unless someone’s being an prick or something like that, credit the original source and link to that source article. Like I did this piece. What Dowd did was totally unprofessional and just plain rude. Of course, when called on it; Dowd is in full backward cat crawl mode:

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, in an email to Huffington Post, admits that a paragraph in her Sunday column was lifted from Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall’s blog last Thursday.

Dowd claims that she never read his blog last week but was told the line by a friend of hers. In a follow-up email, she forwarded her desire to apologize to Marshall, writing that had she known, she would have gladly credited Marshall.

josh is right. I didn’t read his blog last week, and didn’t have any idea he had made that point until you informed me just now. i was talking to a friend of mine Friday about what I was writing who suggested I make this point, expressing it in a cogent — and I assumed spontaneous — way and I wanted to weave the idea into my column. but, clearly, my friend must have read josh marshall without mentioning that to me. we’re fixing it on the web, to give josh credit, and will include a note, as well as a formal correction tomorrow.

Oh Yeah, the old “I got it from a Friend” line…. Josh chimes in here:

Indeed. Dowd got busted and now she’s trying to walk it back. She’ll be either fired or will take vacation till the heat blows over…. or at wost, end up as lackey over at MSNBC with the rest of the Plagiarizing idiots. (You know who I mean… I hope.)

Boy. Take a break from Blogging and all the cool stuff happens. Wow! 😮

Others on both sides of the political asle blogging about this one: HotAir, NewsBusters.org, Townhall.com, TBogg, theblogprof, skippy the bush kangaroo, Shakesville, Hullabaloo, The TrogloPundit, Crooks and Liars, RedState, the nytpicker, PoliBlog,Grasping Reality …, At-Largely, Roger Ailes, The Other McCain, TalkLeft, Hullabaloo, The Sundries Shack, Balloon Juice, Tim Blair and Lawyers, Guns and Money,Pajamas Media, Redhot,Don Surber, Daily Kos, Founding Bloggers, The Greenroom, ATTACKERMAN, Campaign Silo, JustOneMinute and Commentary

The Southern Avenger says “Partisans Make Us Less Safe”

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How support for both “financial security” and “national security” reveal partisan hypocrisy and make us less safe.

President Obama, The time is now.

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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 s-GRAHAM-large 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.

The Southern Avenger on “Ron Paul Republicans”

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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.

The Southern Avenger’s Blog

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

President Obama decides not to release prison abuse photos, Left is not happy

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I figure if I am going to keep some sort of readership here; that I should try to post at least one blog posting a day. Sorry for the lapse in posts. I just haven’t been much in the mood. Plus, I was playing a little Ham Radio, and then I discovered my rig has an issue, one that I thought was fixed, and it turns out, either it didn’t fix the problem or the rig needs a tweaking. It sucks, but eh, such is life; I guess.

—-

It seems that President Obama has basically stood up to his base and decided that the photos that were taken during some of the prison abuse that went on in Afghanistan and Iraq, would not be released.

Jack Tapper at ABC NEWS has more:

President Obama defended his decision to fight the release of photos showing detainee abuse Wednesday afternoon, saying it would only put American troops in harms way and create a backlash against Americans.

“The most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger,” the president said before departing on his trip to Arizona. “Moreover, I fear the publication of these photos may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse.”

The move is a complete 180. In a letter from the Justice Department to a federal judge on April 23, the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would turn over 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration.

But in a letter sent this afternoon to the District Court Judge in the case, Alvin Hellerstein of the US District Court in the Southern District of New York, acting US Attorney Lev Dassin, writes that while his previous April 23 letter informed the court that the Obama administration had decided not to seek certiorari of the Second Circuit Court’s ruling to force the release of the photographs, his office had “been informed today that, upon further reflection at the highest levels of Government, the Government has decided to pursue further options regarding that decision, including but not limited to the option of seeking certiorari.”

The deadline for that decision is June 9.

The photographs are part of a 2003 Freedom of Information Act request by the ACLU for all information relating to the treatment of detainees — the same battle that led to President Obama’s decision to release memos from the Bush Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel providing legal justifications for brutal interrogation methods, many of which the International Committee of the Red Cross calls torture.

Of course there are some on the liberal left or see this as a direct betrayal of the promises made by the President during his campaign. Chris over at “The Fix” reports:

President Barack Obama’s reversal on the release of detainee photos has angered the liberal left, a perceived poke in the eye that has left some questioning Obama’s commitment to progressive policies.

In brief remarks before heading to Arizona to deliver a commencement speech at Arizona State University, Obama argued that “the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals” and, in fact, the most likely effect would be “to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.”

Liberals — particularly in the blogosphere — immediately expressed their displeasure with the decision.

“Since he’s been inaugurated, Barack Obama has demonstrated a remarkable desire to keep evidence of Bush crimes generally, and Bush’s torture regime specifically, concealed,” said Jane Hamsher, the founder of the Fire Dog Lake blog in an email exchange with the Fix. “Some of his supporters won’t care. But others believe he is betraying promises he made on the campaign trail about transparency, and there is a growing sense that he is becoming complicit in the crimes he is attempting desperately to shield from public scrutiny.”

On several liberal blogs, the reaction was similar.

Talking Points Memo is leading its site with the headline “Obama Admin Falls Back On Bushism: Abuse Pics’ Release Would Hurt Troops”.

On Daily Kos, Joan McCarter, a contributing editor to the site, described the move as “an unwelcome and probably futile policy reversal” by Obama; the post had already drawn more than 500 comments less than two hours since it was posted.

And Digby, another prominent liberal blogger, called White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ explanation of why the Administration is reversing position as rising to “Fleischeresque levels of fatuousness”.

To be clear: it’s not immediately clear that liberals are abandoning the president in droves. Rather, as happens with almost every president, elements of the base are coming to grips with the idea that Obama may not be the liberal hero that people thought he was when he was first elected.

Of course, the greatest liberal organization of them all; the communist ran, funded, and supported ACLU is not happy about this either:

The Obama administration’s adoption of the stonewalling tactics and opaque policies of the Bush administration flies in the face of the president’s stated desire to restore the rule of law, to revive our moral standing in the world and to lead a transparent government. This decision is particularly disturbing given the Justice Department’s failure to initiate a criminal investigation of torture crimes under the Bush administration.

“It is true that these photos would be disturbing; the day we are no longer disturbed by such repugnant acts would be a sad one. In America, every fact and document gets known – whether now or years from now. And when these photos do see the light of day, the outrage will focus not only on the commission of torture by the Bush administration but on the Obama administration’s complicity in covering them up. Any outrage related to these photos should be due not to their release but to the very crimes depicted in them.

Of course, the ACLU does not care about the fact that this photos could cause grave danger to our Military officers serving in the war. Because they do not care about them! They hate the Military! All of the far left sees the Military as an extention of the empire of America, which all far left Communists hate with a passion.

Ed Morrissey weighs in on the reason why President Obama did this huge reversal:

What changed? The decision angered the military, which recalled the hysterics over the Abu Ghraib photos. Even Obama’s allies on the decision admitted that the release would damage security and put American troops in more danger, including John Kerry, who said they made great propaganda for our terrorist enemies. With the CIA already battling the White House after the release of the OLC memos, the last thing Obama needed was a war with the Pentagon.

Ed’s right on the money there. Because if you lose your intellegence agency and you lose your Military; you may as well hang it up as President. Obama knew this, the President is not stupid. The President will score some political capital with the right and with the independents, but he will lose it badly with the far left. I do not know, at this point, if it will cost him the election or not in 2012. But the short term will be a little rough. I expect to see a little push back from the far left. As to whether or not it will have any serious impact or not, remains to be seen.

I would suppose that the ACLU will take this to the SCOTUS, it will be quite interesting to see how this plays out and if the court agrees with Obama or not.

Video: They’re Shutting Detroit Down

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In this music video, which features Mickey Rourke and Kris Kristofferson, you will see the plight of many in this area.  In this Video are actors, But the situation being portrayed in this movie, is the reality of many in this area.

How anyone can watch this, and still say to themselves, let them fail. Does not have a damned soul.

They say, politics is local; That does not even begin to cover it. 😡

Enjoy the Video:

The White House Corespondents Dinner Comedy Hour

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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…

Liberal Bloggers target Christian School for enforcing it’s rules.

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This is absolutely amazing and quite disgusting.

Via the AP:

FINDLAY, Ohio – A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School’s prom Saturday.

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school’s rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an “incomplete” on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.

Frost’s stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school’s rules should not apply outside the classroom.

“He deserves to wear that cap and gown,” Johnson said.

Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.

“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”

England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music “is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people’s hearts and minds.”

England said Frost’s family should not be surprised by the school’s position.

“For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous,” he said. “It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to.”

The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School’s view of prom.

“I don’t see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts,” Craig Kupferberg said.

Of course, the liberal Blogosphere is going crazy over there. But here’s the little problem. The boy’s parents knowingly signed an agreement; stating that their kid would not partake in any activities that the school found to be unacceptable. I have news for the Liberals; this sort of thing is absolutely normal for most Christian schools. As someone who basically grew up in those sort of schools, I ought to know this. The media also goes out of it’s way to mention the fact that the school is run by a group of Fundamental Baptists. That’s more of the Liberal attack on Christians.

The point is this; the child’s step father is now complaining about something that the parents signed an agreement to uphold and the School, legally has the right to tell the kid, that he will get into trouble, if he breaks the agreement.   If I were this school, I would expel this troublemaker and further more; I would sue, in court, the step father of the senior in question.

This is nothing more, than another attack by the Liberals on Christians. I trust that Bill O’Reilly will be featuring this on his show. I am also surprised that other Conservative bloggers are not standing up for this school.

The list Liberal Bloggers attacking this poor Christian School: Lance Mannion, Alan Colmes’ Liberaland, Comments from Left Field, Pharyngula, Washington Monthly, Liberty Street and The Huffington Post

The Obligatory “Nancy Pelosi supposedly knew about Torture” Posting

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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.

Quote of the Day

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It is for good reason that many Christians (and non-Christians, for that matter) are looking twice at modern military service. In fact, a retired high-ranking military officer (whose name I will not divulge) recently told me, “Chuck, there is no way I could recommend that anyone volunteer in the U.S. military today.”

Obviously, we have a host of honorable men and women of sound character and conviction still serving in both the U.S. military and in various law enforcement agencies. Thank God!

It is also obvious, however, that the powers that be are quickly “remaking” (to use Barack Obama’s word) our military and law enforcement agencies into an image never desired or designed by America’s Founding Fathers. Thus, the conflict between good men and bad policies will only worsen. And many will continue to question the wisdom of giving their sons and daughters to modern military service.

On the other hand, an argument could be made that it is at such a time as this that good men are all the more needed in the U.S. military and in law enforcement. That is a very valid argument, by the way: as long as those good men realize what they will be required to risk when their superiors order them to surrender allegiance to the Constitution or to sacred principle. But then again, we are all required to share in that risk, are we not?

….

In 21st century America, race discrimination endures.

All we have done is switch the color of the victims with the color of the beneficiaries. Today it is white males applying for jobs and promotions as cops, firemen, government workers, who are held back because their color does not comport with the desired “diversity.”

What New Haven has done to Frank Ricci is like the U.S. Olympic Committee throwing out all the trial heat results in the 100- and 200-meter races because not a single white runner qualified.

New Haven contends the “disparate impact” of the test hurts the black community, proving discrimination. But does the relative absence of blacks in the National Hockey League prove discrimination?

If the Republican Party wants a future, it will become again the party that stands on the principle that “No discrimination means no discrimination,” that stands with the victims of state bigotry, and that stands up to hypocrites like the Jim Crow liberals of New Haven.

Affirmative action began as a mandate to cast a wider net and ensure all had an equal shot. It has become a mighty engine of state injustice that seeks to remedy the consequences of past racial sins and crimes, by committing new ones.

In Michigan, Washington and California, none of them red states, majorities have voted to abolish affirmative action. Only Colorado failed in a dead heat last fall. A Republican drive to write into federal law an end to all race and gender preferences, as well as to all race and gender discrimination, is a cause whose time has
come.

This is a winning issue for the GOP, for it is rooted in principle and comports with what is written on the human heart. Down deep, even liberals know that what is being done to Frank Ricci is not right.