Video: Representative Ron Paul on Wikileaks “Lying is not Patriotic”

Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on The Conservative Case for WikiLeaks

(Via The American Conservative)

Transcript:

Lovers necessarily keep or share secrets. Being in a healthy relationship means achieving a certain level of intimacy, where shared knowledge of each others’ weaknesses and insecurities is protected by a bond of mutual trust. Sometimes lovers might do devilish things that outsiders wouldn’t understand, or shouldn’t be privy to, and this is fine. But by and large, what they do is simply no one else’s business.

But imagine that the man in the relationship kept it a secret that he had other women on the side, kids, a criminal record, venereal disease, and basically betrayed his lover in every way imaginable, unbeknownst to her?

Now imagine a third party felt it was their moral duty to reveal it?

No one questions that governments must maintain a certain level of secrecy, including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told Time that “Secrecy is important for many things … [but it] shouldn’t be used to cover up abuses.” The entire premise of Assange’s whistleblower organization is this: To what degree is government secrecy justified? And when particular secrets could be damaging to the other partner in the United States government’s relationship — the American people — should these secrets be revealed in the name of protecting the public?

How often does our government use “national security” simply as an excuse to cover up questionable dealings? Reports Time: “in the past few years, governments have designated so much information secret that you wonder whether they intend the time of day to be classified. The number of new secrets designated as such by the U.S. government has risen 75% … . At the same time, the number of documents and other communications created using those secrets has skyrocketed nearly 10 times…”

To say that government must keep secrets is not to say that all government secrets must be kept.

As admitted even by Pentagon officials and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, none of WikiLeaks’ revelations do anything to compromise national security or endanger American lives — but they have wreaked havoc on political life in Washington, D.C. Americans are not supposed to know, for example, that their government bullied and threatened individuals and other governments that might have undermined the Copenhagen climate change summit in 2009. The federal government attempting to squelch anyone who might undermine global-warming dogma? Do WikiLeaks’ conservative critics believe revealing this is a “national security” risk?

Americans are not supposed to know, apparently, that behind the scenes Saudi Arabia has been encouraging the U.S. to take military action against Iran. But if we end up going to war with Iran shouldn’t it be in America’s national interest, and not simply as a subcontractor for another country? Asks Fox News’ Judith Miller: “Why should Americans not know that Arab states, often at the top level, have been urging Washington to take military or other drastic action against Iran, while they publicly oppose such action?”

And when did conservatives become so protective of Hillary Clinton? What happened to the days of the “Stop Hillary Express,” when right-wing talk radio portrayed the former first lady as Satan and theorized about all the devious ways in which, if in power, she might conspire to bring down the country? When WikiLeaks revealed that Secretary of State Clinton tried to obtain DNA, fingerprints, credit-card numbers, and other private information belonging to United Nations officials, we learned that Clinton’s style was every bit as mafia-esque as her conservative critics once warned. Yet conservatives now attack WikiLeaks for revealing what they once feared. It should also be remembered that the same conservatives now calling for Assange’s head either ignored or were sympathetic to Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame allegedly at the Bush administration’s behest — a revelation arguably far riskier to our national security than anything ever released by WikiLeaks.

But the worst hypocrisy throughout this controversy has been in conservatives reflexively defending the government and attacking WikiLeaks. Since when have conservatives believed that Washington should be able to shroud any action it likes in secrecy and that revealing government’s nefarious deeds is tantamount to treason? Isn’t it government officials who might secretly work for corporate, ideological or transnational interests — and against the national interest — who are betraying their country?

Interestingly, Wikileaks’ founder espouses the traditionally conservative, Jeffersonian view that America’s constitutional structure limits and lessens government corruption. Reported Time: “Assange appears to believe that the U.S. has not become ‘a much-worse-behaved superpower’ because its federalism, ‘this strength of the states,’ has been a drag on the combination of the burgeoning power of the central government and a presidency that can expand its influence only by way of foreign affairs.”

Decentralizing government power, limiting it, and challenging it was the Founders’ intent and these have always been core conservative principles. Conservatives should prefer an explosion of whistleblower groups like WikiLeaks to a federal government powerful enough to take them down. Government officials who now attack WikLleaks don’t fear national endangerment, they fear personal embarrassment. And while scores of conservatives have long promised to undermine or challenge the current monstrosity in Washington, D.C., it is now an organization not recognizably conservative that best undermines the political establishment and challenges its very foundations.

—-

The “Southern Avenger” Jack Hunter is a conservative commentator on WTMA 1250 AM talk radio and columnist for the Charleston City Paper in South Carolina.

Gold & Stock Trading Advice: Is The Herd Trading Gold & SP500?

Over the past 2 weeks we have seen the market sentiment change three times from extreme bullish to bearish and back to bullish as of today. Normally we don’t see the herd (average Joe) switch trading directions this quickly. Over the past 10 years I found that the average time for the herd to reach an extreme bullish or bearish bias takes between 4-6 weeks in length. It is this herd mentality which makes for some excellent trend trading opportunities. But with the quantitative easing, thinner traded market, and lack of trading participants (smaller herd) I find everyone is ready to change directions at the drop of a hat.

The old school traders/investors who don’t use real-time data or charts, and who dabbled in stock picks, and options trades here and there have mostly exited the trading arena from frustration or losing to much money. This group accounted for a decent chuck of liquidity in the market and was also the slowest of the herd to change directions.

The new school, today’s smaller herd is much more aggressive and quicker to act on market gyrations. I think this is because the only people left in the market are those who make a living pulling money from the market and those who feel they are really close to mastering the stock market. It is these individuals who are using trading platforms with real-time data, charts and scanners to help get a pulse on the market so they can change directions when the big boys do. I feel this is the reason why the market is able to turn on a dime one week to another over the past 8 months… The easy prey (novice and delayed data traders) are few and far between and the fight to take money for other educated traders seems to be getting a little more interesting to say the least.

Anyways, enough about the herd already…

It’s been an interesting week thus far with stocks and commodities. The week started with a large gap up only for strong selling volume to step in and reverse direction the following day. It is this negative price action that starts to put fear into the market triggering a downward thrust in the market. During an up trend which we are in now, I look for these bearish chart patterns to form as they tend to trigger more selling the following days which cleanses the market of weak positions. Once a certain level of traders have been shaken out of their positions and are entering positions in order to take advantage of a falling market, that’s when we get the next rally, catching the majority of traders off guard as they panic to buy back their short positions. It’s this short covering which sparks a strong multi day rally and kicks off the new leg up in the market.

Currently we getting some mixed signals. The market sentiment is the most bullish it has been since 2007, just a little higher than the Jan & March highs this year. This makes me step back and think twice about taking any sizable long positions. Any day now the market could roll over. Another bearish signal is the fact that we just had a very strong reversal day for stocks and metals to the down side. That typically leads to more selling.

But if we look at the positive side of things, the trend is still up, this is typically a strong time for stocks as we go into Christmas/Holiday season, also the market breadth is really strong with the number of stocks hitting new highs has really taking off.

SP500 – Daily Chart

Below you can see the reversal candles along with short term and intermediate support levels. Although the market sentiment is screaming a correction is near, we must realize that sentiment can remain at this level for an extended period of time while the market continues to trend. This is one of the reasons why we say “The Trend Is Our Friend”.

I am hoping for a pullback and would like to see market sentiment shift enough on an intraday basis to give us a low risk entry point.

Gold – Daily Chart

A reversal candle is seen as a sell signal or a profit taking pattern. Short term aggressive trades use these to lock in quick price movements. With so many traders watching gold, it caused a flood of sell orders to push gold down today.

Mid-Week Conclusion:

In short, each time we see some decent selling in the market its get bought back up. Today was another perfect example as we had an early morning sell off, then a light volume rally for the second half of the session and a end of day short squeeze during the last 30 minutes. Gold has pulled back to the first short term support level. Because of the large following in gold I would like to see if there will be another day of follow through selling before possibly looking to take a trade.

—–

For more stock and gold trading advice, please, check out The Oil and Gold Guy’s website!

Yes Please: Ron Paul says Wikileak the Fed!

Via Alternative Right:

Update: Thank you to voters at Reddit! You all are amazing… 😀

Here’s my stats screen as of a few hours ago:

Thanks so much you all. I will try to continue to post stuff like this, that everyone over at Reddit can enjoy. 🙂

Stock, Gold and Oil Trading Advice: Gold/Silver – Controlling Your Trades, Money & Emotions

Last week we had typical pre-holiday light volume trading going into US Thanksgiving. The previous week I warned every one to trade with extreme caution because of the light volume and the fact that the market is on the verge of a sizable drop for both stocks and commodities. Any price action could not be taken seriously because of the light volume. We will not know until later this coming week what the big money wants to do… Buy or Sell, also what the manipulators will do… Seems like there are a lot of wild cards out there with Europe issues and both unemployment and payroll numbers out on Friday morning.

Below are a few charts showing my intermediate term outlook for gold and silver.

Gold & Silver Futures – Daily Chart
You can see both metal are showing a possible reversal head and shoulders pattern. While they have yet to confirm and close below the neck line we must be aware of this pattern and the risk/potential it provides us with. Both metals are still in an uptrend but showing signs of weakness.

US Dollar Index – Weekly Chart
This chart is not really that helpful for trading stocks, commodities or options right now but I wanted to post it because it allows me to show you how I analyze the market and my trades.

As you can see, the past 3 weeks have been in a strong uptrend reaching the first resistance level. The point of this chart is to show you that if you step out to the next longer time frame you can get a solid feeling of where an investment will find major support and resistance levels. Any investment not matter if it’s a stock, commodity or currency, if the price is trading in the middle of a large range like this chart you should not be taking large positions because it almost becomes a 50/50 bet on the market which is not a good winning strategy unless you are very experienced at managing your trades and money.

If you are going to trade then you want to focus on the underlying trend and you do that by looking at the next larger time frame. For example: if you focus on trading the daily chart, then you must step back each week and review the weekly chart to be sure you are trading with the underlying trend which is up for the dollar right now.

Weekend Trading Ideas:
Tuesday morning we saw the SP500 gap lower and continue to sell off. Traders started panicking out of their long positions and we could see it using the intraday market internals charts, which I cover each morning in the pre-market trading videos. Me being a contrarian (buying into market fear, selling into market strength) I used that high level of fear in the market along with the expected light volume holiday week ahead as an excuse to book profits near the lows on SP500 using the SDS bear fund allowing us to profit from the falling market. I feel we are going to have some crazy moves on the markets going into year end and it should be a lot of fun if done correctly.

Trading in general is a very difficult task especially if you are doing it for a living and planning on using your monthly income to pay bills, salaries etc… We all know the stress which comes with trading and if do not have a solid trading strategy, rules and cannot properly manage yourself (emotions) then you are most likely running into problems like over-trading, getting shaken out of trades easily, and taking bigger risks than your account can handle. Each of these cause more traders to blow up their accounts and big up on trading.

I am giving away my book on how you can control your trades, money and emotions. This short and to the point guide is full of my trading techniques, tips and thoughts which will help you get a handle of your emotions turning the market noise into music.

For great stock, gold and oil trading tips; Please, click here to sign up for this great service for the day trader!

Video: Max Keiser’s Call: Crash JP Morgan Buy Silver

This comes via GoldSilver.com:

Quote:

Mike Maloney was recently in Europe working on his next top-secret project. While passing through France, Mike got the chance to visit with the one and only Max Keiser.

Intelligent, witty, and never bashful, Max Keiser is pure financial entertainment. With over 25 years of experience with markets and finance, Max often draws from first hand experiences when providing his listeners explicit insights on how the financial markets truly operate.

He has been described as a film producer, a journalist, and as JP Morgan and friends are now finding out, an activist investor with powerful ideas on how the masses can help themselves in taking their financial power back.

The Video:

The time in invest in gold and silver is now! Click here to find out how!

MarketWatch engages in Federal Reserve propaganda

This is pretty sad considering who owns the website:

Then there is this:

Gold has become highly prized bling, as anxious and astute buyers alike, from hedge-fund players to central bankers, flock to the “currency of fear.” Gold at around $1,400 an ounce is almost double what it commanded two years ago, and gold’s price is up almost 25% so far this year alone.

It’s been a great ride. Except gold is a bad investment.

Gold’s feverish run has made a lot of people a lot of money, and though the rally has taken a breather in the last few days, there’s no shortage of flag-waving supporters who claim gold is on a march to $1,600, $1,800, $2,000 and beyond. After all, gold is still well below its 1980 peak, when it was worth around $2,300 an ounce in today’s dollars.

….and this:

“Mercury poisoning,” is the answer from Barry Ritholtz, the very outspoken CEO and director of equity research at Fusion IQ, when asked where Zoellick’s idea might have come from.

Zoellick, also a former Treasury official in the Reagan administration and managing director at Goldman Sachs, made his suggestion in an op-ed in the Financial Times last Sunday, just days ahead of the Group of 20 major countries meeting in Seoul.

The suggestion was made to world leaders in order to address “global imbalances,” the diplomatic expression being used to refer to the impact of China’s vastly undervalued renminbi on other countries’ competitiveness.

All of the above is pure garbage. Gold is a hedge against inflation and the dollar. Do not listen to the Statists who want to seize all of the gold and give you a worthless dollar.

By the way, here is some SOUND investment advice pertaining to Gold:

There have been some major trend changes recently and it looks as though more investments are about to follow. The real question though is… Are You Ready To Take Advantage Of It?

It has been an exciting ride to say the least with the equities and metals bull market and the plummeting dollar. But it looks as though their time is up, or at least for a few weeks. Traders and investors will slowly pull money off the table to lock in gains or cut losses and re-evaluate the overall market condition before stepping back up to the plate and taking another swing.

Below are a few charts showing some possible money making trade ideas in the weeks ahead.

TBT 20+ Treasury Note Inverse Fund

This fund moves inverse to the price of the 20yr T.N’s also known as bonds. Looking at the chart you can see the recent reversal which took place. We had a great entry point shortly after this reversal took place using my low risk setup strategy.

Falling bond prices are considered to have a negative impact on equities because it implies that interest rates may start rising which means more investors will pull money out of stocks and put that money into a safe interest earning investment. You will typically see bonds change direction before equities. That being said the chart below is an inverse fund, so when this bond fund goes up, it means actually indicates bond yields are falling. I will admit these inverse funds really throw my brain for a loop at time… I prefer the good old days, buying long and selling short… so simple and clean… —- Read the rest Here

I ask you, go read the rest of that; listen to people, like the man at this link, who want to see you make and keep your money. Not force you to trust in an unsound money system, like the United States Dollar.  If you are not interested in FTS’s and would to buy actual Gold, then try this link here.

In fact, here is a video that explain why you should own Gold and Silver:

Is it not just good common sense to have a backup plan? Do not delay, invest in Gold and Silver today.

Please Note: In the interest of full disclosure — There are links in this blog posted that if click on and product bought or signed up for, will result in the compensation of myself. This will come with no price increase to the customer at all.  Think of it, as an easy way to support this blog and yours truly.


Bill O’Reilly interviews President George W. Bush

I have to give the man credit where it is due. Bill O’Reilly really gave Bush a good grilling here. Although, to his credit also, President Bush did stick to his guns.

Here part one and part two of the interview: (H/T Bill O’Reilly online)

Get the book:

Disclosure: I do make a little bit of money, if you order one of these books. You won’t pay any extra for it. It is capitalism, and I like capitalism, don’t you? 😉

Video: Gold and Silver Manipulation Exposed by GATA

An interesting video:

Get this DVD by clicking here

Invest in Silver and Gold, by Clicking Here

Video: Juan Williams responds to his firing by NPR

Well, there seems to be push back from Juan Williams and his supporters in response to his firing by NPR.

Video:

Needless to say, Bill O’Reilly is out for blood….. NPR’s Blood! 😯

Media Bistro has the story:

As we reported early this morning, Juan Williams was fired from his news analyst role at NPR for comments he made on Fox News Channel earlier in the week. Williams, who’s been an FNC contributor for 13 years, was back on the network this morning.

In a taped soundbite during “Happening Now,” Williams explained how his NPR firing went down during a cell phone conversation with the head of news at NPR: “I said, ‘you mean I don’t get the chance to come in and do this eyeball-to-eyeball?’ I’ve been there for more than 10 years.” TVNewser has learned from a Fox insider that SVP of News Michael Clemente conducted the interview.

I would be willing to bet; that the O’Reilly Factor is going to be some majorly hot TV to watch tonight! I’ll be there… 😀

UPDATED! — Unbelievable: Juan Williams FIRED from NPR, for speaking the truth Juan Williams responds!

MAJOR UPDATE! Juan Williams responds to the firing! CLICK HERE!

——–

This is unreal and must have broken after I went to bed. Juan Williams who is a contributor at Fox News, was fired from NPR and for what? This:

Video: (Update: Now with the FULL video clip, thanks to my friends over at HotAir.com)

Guess who stirred the pot? No other than Think Progress and the Huffington Post.

You should also click on the video and go read the comments over at the video site. It will make your stomach turn.

The Story via NYT:

NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.

NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.

So True....

Mr. Williams said he concurred with Mr. O’Reilly.

He continued: “I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

Mr. Williams also made reference to the Pakistani immigrant who pleaded guilty this month to trying to plant a car bomb in Times Square. “He said the war with Muslims, America’s war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don’t think there’s any way to get away from these facts,” Mr. Williams said.

NPR said in its statement that the remarks “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

The public radio organization said it thanked him for many years of service. Mr. Williams did not immediately respond on Wednesday night to an e-mail seeking comment.

Mr. Williams’s contributions on Fox raised eyebrows at NPR in the past. In February 2009, NPR said it had asked that he stop being identified on “The O’Reilly Factor” as a “senior correspondent for NPR,” even though that title was accurate.

Alicia C. Shepard, the NPR ombudswoman, said at the time that Mr. Williams was a “lightning rod” for the public radio organization in part because he “tends to speak one way on NPR and another on Fox.”

Ms. Shepard said she had received 378 listener e-mails in 2008 listing complaints and frustrations about Mr. Williams.

The real sick part is? We fund that intolerance; yes, with our hard earned tax dollars. That is the part that really cheeses me off, NPR is a Government funded enterprise. It is also bastion of liberalism and has been, for years. That needs to stop.

There is a big Memeorandum thread on this one; the reaction is pretty much huge in the Blogosphere. Also at Mediagazer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…and I hope you will do the same….

UPDATED: What in the hell was this meatball James O’Keefe thinking?

From the “Seriously, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!?” file:

The Video:

The Story via CNN:

Lusby, Maryland (CNN) — A conservative activist known for making undercover videos plotted to embarrass a CNN correspondent by recording a meeting on hidden cameras aboard a floating “palace of pleasure” and making sexually suggestive comments, e-mails and a planning document show.

James O’Keefe, best known for hitting the community organizing group ACORN with an undercover video sting, hoped to get CNN Investigative Correspondent Abbie Boudreau onto a boat filled with sexually explicit props and then record the session, those documents show.

The plan apparently was thwarted after Boudreau was warned minutes before it was supposed to happen.

“I never intended to become part of the story,” Boudreau said. “But things suddenly took a very strange turn.”

Here is another quote, and I realize that I might just catch grief for linking and quoting this; but at this point, I personally do not give two flips. Over at the liberal Media Matters for America, the following was said:

Riding a motorcycle on a wire stretched across the Grand Canyon is a “stunt.” Wearing a chicken suit to mock a political candidate for refusing to debate is a “stunt.” Unscrewing the cap on a salt shaker so your dining companion over-salts his soup is a “prank.”

Lying to a reporter in order to lure her onto a boat under false pretenses, then secretly recording her reaction to being confronted in an enclosed, unfamiliar environment by a strange man with handcuffs and sex toys, all while disparaging her as a “bubble-headed-bleach-blonde,” is not a “stunt.” It is the vicious, misogynist act of a twisted person whose 15 minutes should have expired long ago.

Let me officially go on the record saying that I agree with this one hundred percent.  James O’Keefe should be chased out of the damned Conservative movement and ran out of it on a damned rail. This idiot is not doing a fucking thing for the Republican Party, for Conservatism, or any other damned thing related to it at all.

Of course, Sir-Idiot-Much, has this to say for his defense:

The document states it was written by “Ben.” According to the e-mail chain obtained by CNN, Ben Wetmore sent the document to O’Keefe and Santa. In a statement e-mailed to CNN, O’Keefe wrote: “That is not my work product. When it was sent to me, I immediately found certain elements highly objectionable and inappropriate, and did not consider them for one minute following it.”

He did not respond to follow-up questions. Wetmore did not respond to our questions about the document. Instead, he posted a YouTube video criticizing CNN’s coverage of the ACORN story.

What a lying piece of crap! This moronic tool got busted and now, he is trying to lie his way out of it. Here is hoping that CNN and this poor woman, sues the living crap out of this idiot and his so-called organization or that the Maryland Attorney General Office files charges against this moron. I mean, could you imagine the charges that this guy would faced; if he had actually went through with this and succeeded? Holy Hell! 😯

This goes well beyond your liberal versus conservative argument; this veers off into the misogynistic area. I notice that the Conservative Blogosphere is strangely silent about this too. I cannot for the life of me, understand why any conservative would even remotely defend this moron’s actions at all. There is no defense, he is a creep and ought to be blacklisted from the Conservative movement once and for all.

Please, folks, do not misunderstand me here, at all. I am all for arguing against the idea of big Government, entitlement of racial and gender type, and even protesting the Governmental take over of healthcare — hell, I even understand the liberals have basically overtaken the media and I am all for exposing their double standards. But not only do I think that this quite stupid, not to mention illegal.  This is just straight up wrong and immoral, not to mention folks; it is just downright destructive to our cause. I mean, seriously, what the hell is doing something idiotic like this, going to do for our cause? Nothing! —-But make us even more stupid looking, that we already look to the left now.

In short and the bottom line: This was ill-conceived and the people behind it ought to be ostracized out of the movement…. for good.

Memeorandum Roundup Here

Update: True to form, the Conservative media has turned out to denounce O’Keefe:

Brent Bozell III of Media Research Center:

The MRC unequivocally denounces James O’Keefe for his attempted assault on CNN. It isn’t just childish and immature; it’s ugly, dishonest and filthy. There is no place in the conservative movement for this type of behavior and that’s exactly what I warned about in a commentary piece I submitted to CNN.com just two days ago.

“Could the Citizen Journalist abuse the public trust?” I wrote in this piece that should run in the next few days. “Hypothetically, of course. Conservatives must all guard against this. Let there be scrutiny, by all means.” And I repeat: there must be scrutiny.

Bottom line: We want nothing to do with O’Keefe or his dirty antics.

If an enterprising citizen can expose media bias with a video camera and good idea, that’s a good thing. But I fail to see how luring a lone female reporter to a remote location and isolating her on a boat, surrounding her with sex toys and pornography, and trying to convince her that the virtual stranger sitting next to her is coming on to her, possibly in front of a “sex tape machine,” does that. That’s not a recipe for a gotcha video, it’s more like a step-by-step instruction on how to cause discomfort and fear. What an ugly and potentially traumatic situation to create on purpose. It’s not clever or funny, it’s sick.

There will no doubt be more details and, one assumes from the reporting, emails, that will fully establish who wrote what and whether O’Keefe was going to go through with the plan or not. Those details will probably be reported by Boudreau, an actual journalist.

So no, I don’t think “stunt” or “prank” are the right words. I think the one I would use is “despicable.”

Oh and Izzy Santa? Good for you.


Well put gentlemen, good form.

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

I happen to know why too… but first:

Via Politico:

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

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

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

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

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

The real funny part about this, is the following:

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

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

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

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

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

The reason?

So True....

(Borrowed from Weasel Zippers)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Late-Night Thoughts

It is 4:00am and I cannot sleep.  I went to bed earlier, I was just wiped out; ate a big meal and got the old heavy eye thing going on; happens to me all the time.  On a bit of no-so-pleasant note: I woke up at 2:30 feeling like I had half of my supper coming up into my throat.  It was nasty!   A good bottle of water and I am much better now.

On a good note, this might help me out a bit, and I say might, because my sleeping habits as of late, have been totally jacked up.  Anyhow, I am up early and in a bit of a mood to write.  Yesterday was just not good.  I had a bit of headache, and I just was not in the mood for politics, much less anything else.  I get like that, this whole thing gets to be a bit mundane at times; and I just have to push it away for a few days.

Blogger Happenings

As you can most likely tell; No, I did not go to BlogCon that is being held up in Washington D.C.  For one, I am not a big fan of Dick Army; furthermore, I am not a big fan of the “Beltway” or the “Beltway Crowd.”  I will be the first to admit to you, that there were some bloggers there, that I am just not a big fan of, at all.  One in particular is a GOP operative, although, he likes to deny this, at all time.  This same moronic jackass; outright accused me of being a racist bigot on his blog; and then not long after that, made a rather unfunny “Osama Obama” reference on his own blog.  He promptly removed it, when I and several other bloggers complained about it. Robert Stacy McCain has a video of the jackass, if you really can stomach looking at the hypocritical asshole. Personally, I would not want to be in the same room with that asshole.

There is another blogger up there, who I am not a big fan of; she is referenced in that link.  I never liked her.  She publishes like 10 million photos of herself on that blog of hers.  I mean, I have heard of being narcissistic and all — but good grief.  One would assume that if she actually had something to be narcissistic about; I would understand that.  However, she seems to be lacking in that area.  I mean, if you like looking at pictures of fatty beached whales, more power to you, I suppose. (Yes, I can do Ann Coulter snark too. I tend a bit harsher about it than Ann does though.)

I also see that despite not having a car; Robert Stacy McCain found a way up to the BlogCon event, despite the fact that the harpies who put on that event refused to invite him.  I think I know why.  You see, a while back, I laid the smack down on two far-right wing zealots, who felt the need to attack Megan McCain.  Well, in the process of doing this, I went a bit overboard.  I did apologize, which was not good enough for the Semite-Baiting, Identity Politics trafficking crowd.  Having said that, these traffickers engage in what could be called McCarthy or Nazi-style tactics of intimidating other bloggers into not linking to me.  So far, Robert Stacy McCain has not given in to their demands that I am banished from the Conservative movement and be put on terminal ignore.  However, the lack of invite from the BlogCon group was somewhat obvious to me, as to why that happened. These people have some serious power and influence in the Blogosphere.  If you do not cave to their demands, they will destroy you.  They have gotten to a few bloggers that I actually do speak with; the not answering of e-mails was obvious that I was on blackout in the Blogosphere.

None of this really matters to me one lousy iota.  I did not get into this game to have to kiss up to anyone.  The original reason I began blogging was that I was angry with George W. Bush and the blatant incompetent handling of the Iraq War back in 2006.  Yes, I started in this game; as angry “Left of Center,” although I will admit that the far left totally turned me off.  As time when on, and as I continued to blog; I found myself disagreeing with more and more of the far left and even the not so far left as well;  especially when it came to the Military.  It was during this time also, that my blog was hacked.  I did start this blog, shortly afterward.  Finally, during the primary, I just decided that enough was enough; and during the general election, I voted Libertarian.

I will be very honest with you all.  I am not am not a Republican; I will most likely never be.  I find the majority of the people that hang in those circles to be arrogant people, especially the beltway crowd.  I have little or nothing in common with them.  Robert Stacy McCain is a very rare exception to that rule.  I find their attitudes towards blacks to be disgusting.  I saw a perfect example of that on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News last night.  The completely condescending attitude towards the representative for the NAACP was vomit provoking at best.  Bill O’Reilly and that shrieking harpy Laura Ingraham both said that the NAACP has double standard, when it comes to race.  Newsflash Mr. O’Reilly and Miss Ingraham —- Just in case you forgot white people in America and yes, in England as well, used blacks as slaves!  I think that might just give them the right to be a bit biased against white people.  I dislike identity politics just as much as the next person does.  However, that display on Fox News last night burned my ass. I say this, not as some white person of grew up in the rich, white, Suburbs; but as someone who grew up in southwest Detroit.  I also say this as someone who grew up in a middle class family as well —- someone who grew up around whites, blacks, Latinos, and every other sort of race.

This is why I feel a bit uncomfortable being associated with the whole “Angry Rich White Crowd.”  I do not fit that damned mold at all.  I might be a white person; but I am nowhere near being “rich” or even having a lot of money.  Neither am I angry with Obama for being a black President.  I do not agree with all of his polices; but the disagreement with me, has never been about racism.  Sadly, it is with the majority of those on the far right.  Oh, they nuance it to death, and dodge and spin it.  However, it is there; I see the postings on Facebook and it sickens me to my core.

On the Koran burning

I think that the idiot who was planning on this; is not a Christian; at least not in sense that I believe Christians to be.  I also believe that Fred Phelps and his cult ought be rounded up and jailed.  I am all for freedom of speech; but when your speech or actions incites people to commit acts of violence towards our Military, I believe that is where your freedom ends.

On “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”

I believe that this overruling is a good thing.  I believe someone sexual preference is no one’s business.  I fear Muslims in the Military more than I would homosexuals.  I do not believe that Homosexuals would want to kill fellow Military personnel; which is more than I can say for the Muslims at this point.

On Palin’s Endorsement on O’Donnell

I do not much care for Palin; however, this might have been a good move.  The Republican Party needs to get the crooks, phonies, and warmongers out of that party.  If Sarah Palin can help do that, I am all for it.  Of course, some who believe that Sarah Palin is a part of that warmongering class.

The Obligatory Obama will not extend Bush Tax Cuts Posting

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

Via the NYT:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Memorandum Thread.

Want Living Proof that Nation-Building does not work?

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

The Video: (H/T HotAir.com)

Ed Morrissey makes a very important point:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video: RedState Update on “Murfreesboro vs. Muslims”

Redstate Update HQ

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

Speaking of stupidity….

Via this Nimrod:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SHUT THE HELL UP!

That is all…..

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

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

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

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

Here’s your video:

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

Now, for the Stories….

Via the New York Times:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

….and from David Corn:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REALITY REPORT #59 – DOJ Defines Constitutionalists as Terrorists

The Reality Report
Restore the Republic

Hey, that speech was not so bad says William Kristol?!?!

Calling all cars, Calling all cars, be on the lookout for a Neo-Conservative William Kristol; he has wandered off of the reservation again:

President Obama opposed the war in Iraq. He still thinks it was a mistake. It’s therefore unrealistic for supporters of the war to expect the president to give the speech John McCain would have given, or to expect President Obama to put the war in the context we would put it in. He simply doesn’t believe the war in Iraq was a necessary part of a broader effort to fight terror, to change the Middle East, etc. Given that (erroneous) view of his, I thought his speech was on the whole commendable, and even at times impressive.

[…..]

The close, was, I thought, well done. The president located those who fought in Iraq in the unbroken line of those who, from Lexington to Kandahar, “gave their lives for the values that have lived in the hearts of our people for over two centuries” and who “have fought to see that the lives of our children are better than our own.” There was a welcome implicit repudiation of Neville Chamberlain and appeasement, as President Obama praised our troops for having “fought in a faraway place for people they never knew.”

And at the end: “Our troops are the steel in our ship of state. And though our nation may be traveling through rough waters, they give us confidence that our course is true, and that beyond the pre-dawn darkness, better days lie ahead.” Not a bad tribute to the troops, and not a bad statement of the importance and indispensability of hard power.

And, on the whole, not a bad speech by the president.

First of all, I highly recommend that you go read the rest of that entry.  It is a very fairly well written piece by someone of whom, I disagree with highly on foreign policy. The reason why I say this is because, quite frankly, last night, I watched Fox News channel, I listened to Steven Hayes and Monica Crowley tear President Obama’s speech to pieces. Plus, I sat and read the far-right wing blogs; and I actually sat and wondered, “Do these people actually get an order from somewhere to criticize everything that President Obama says and does?” Frankly, I find that to be absolutely ridiculous. But, I guess that is partisan politics anymore; criticize your opponent no matter what he does. That is why I am a bit different than the rest of these Bloggers who identify with the right. I only criticize Obama when he actually does something that I feel is wrong.  Not because he is a Democrat and I am not and not because it happens to be the sporting thing to do among Bloggers and pundits on the right.

In closing: Kudos to Kristol for at least giving the President a little credit and not going along with the swine pack and doing what comes naturally to Conservatives of his stripe.

Quote of Day

Glenn Beck’s big rally at the Lincoln Memorial a couple days ago is the talk of the news media and the internet. Liberals are denouncing it, conservatives are walking on air, while tens of millions of people are completely mystified. And with good reason — if Seinfeld was a show about nothing, this massive gathering was a rally about nothing. And while it may have looked impressive, in reality it shows just how impotent and adrift the mainstream conservative movement has become.

Nobody is really sure what it was even about. Beck, who is only famous because he has spent hours a day for the last decade ranting about politics, says it had nothing to do with politics, even though Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker.

It was about “restoring honor” or something, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Or it was a way of “supporting the troops,” depending on which day you talked to Beck.

[………….]

And Palin? She was asked what Martin Luther King would’ve thought of the rally. This was a great opportunity to tell it like it is for all of America to hear. She could’ve said something like: “Martin Luther King? I’m white – why would I give a damn what Martin Luther King would’ve thought about this rally? At any rate, he no doubt would have disapproved, as he was a radical left wing socialist whose movement was all about increasing the size and power of the federal government, and using it to take rights and resources from white people and give them to non-whites. Hell no he wouldn’t have approved, and I couldn’t be more proud of that fact.

[….]

Clearly, Beck’s rally was a vague, confused jumble of meaninglessness. Or, if you prefer, a hot ghetto mess. Yet many conservatives are excited and thrilled, and think that 8/28/10 will forever be remembered as some kind of turning point, as the day when the huge task of “taking America back” formally got underway. In reality, it was the exact opposite. I’m convinced that one of these days, we’ll look back on this as the nadir of the mainstream conservative movement, as its death rattle, as the day the conservative movement gave up the ghost. Hundreds of thousands of white conservatives spent millions of dollars to travel to DC, to stand around and do nothing, after being ordered not to bring any signs to express themselves, while Beck and Palin lectured them on the glories of The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., and the importance of getting back to the fundamentals of the Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Hindu-Sikh-Mormon faiths.

[….]

The demographic changes that have transformed Orange County are also transforming the rest of America. The process may be further along in Orange County, but it’s happening everywhere. Thanks to immigration, sixty percent of the babies being born in Texas are non-white, and it’s only a matter of a few more elections before Texas’s electoral votes go to the Democrats, and when that happens, the GOP can forget about putting one of their own in the White House ever again. And there are many other cities and states that are right behind Texas, and lots more where the process will take a few more decades to have the same effect, but all of America is on its way to turning into Orange County, California.

That’s why the Beck Heads and Tea Partiers are losing their country. Not because they don’t attend their local mosque often enough. But they can’t admit that, because that would be “racist”, and losing your country is a lot better than being called “racist.”

But a conservative movement as willingly impotent as the crowd that came to DC on Saturday can’t go on much longer. At some point it’s going to dawn on them that no matter how much they grovel to MLK and praise his holy name, or how many “conservative” imams they pack their podium with, they still get called racists and Nazis, and their country just keeps slipping further down the tubes.

When that finally sinks in with conservatives, and it may be sooner than we think, things will start to get interesting.

My Follow Conservatives: We must help this man

My Fellow Conservatives, if we are the people that we claim to be; a group of people that does distinguish between moderate Muslims and radical Muslims who wish to destroy America. It is time to put our money, where our mouths are.

This man was a victim; A victim of someone who, although intoxicated, was caught up in the euphoria surrounding the Mosque that the backers of park51 want to build. While I feel that the backers of park51 project ought to be covering this man’s bills. I also feel that we, as Conservatives, ought to take the higher plane and ought to at least contribute to this man’s cause and help him cover his bills until he can get back to work. Because, whether we want to admit it or not; there are some on our ranks, that actually created this mess. We ought to be the honorable ones, and help this man. He is an innocent bystander in a war, between those who want to destroy America and those who wish to preserve it.

From CNN:

(CNN) — New York cab driver Ahmed Sharif cannot bring himself to talk about the young man who allegedly cut his throat and nearly killed him last week, a taxi union representative said Sunday.

“Ahmed is a strong man, but mentally he has limits,” said Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “The trauma he’s experienced will last for a long time.”

Desai spent time this weekend with Sharif. She said his most pressing worry is how he’ll provide for his wife and four children — including a 10-month-old –without a job. Sharif is receiving 2/3 of his salary, about $30,000 a year, in workers’ compensation. Union members do not get health insurance or disability payments, Desai said.

“My guess is that he’ll be unable to work for at least four months,” Desai said. “He can’t even pick up his baby because of the wounds to his arms. He can’t turn his neck.”

There’s been so little money raised over the past few days for Sharif that it would “barely cover baby formula,” said Desai who, along with Sharif, held a widely publicized press conference Friday announcing the union was creating a fund for the family. The union’s website indicates how to mail a donation or give online.

There is also an address that you can send your checks and money orders to, it is:

Ahmed Sharif
c/o New York Taxi Workers Alliance
250 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310
NY, NY 10001

Further more, I do not want to hear any idiotic griping about how this place is some sort of a union or progressive organization. Who cares? They are helping this man, and that my friends is all that matters. In fact, when this posting goes live. I will be sending a small donation, along with the link to this posting. Because I do want to show, that unlike some people out there, calling themselves Conservatives, I am not ate up with hatred of those of another race. I want to show, that my battle is not against those of the Islamic Faith or those of Arab decent; but that my battle is against radical Islam and Jihad — against those who have hijacked a religion to further an agenda of hate. Sort of like these guys here.

I encourage my fellow Conservatives to for once, to put aside our feelings of mistrust; and help someone, who was quite honestly, caught in the crossfire. If we do this, we can rebuild an image that was tarnished the day this man was stabbed. Do it now; go, give and give abundantly.

Other Great Americans, who feel this is just the right thing to do: Alan Colmes’ Liberaland, New York Magazine, Suburban Guerrilla and Gawker