Are the Democrats jumping from the ship?

It is a plausible question, and an interesting one at that.  Are the Democrats now jumping from the bloated ship of socialist waste ever known to humankind?  Are Democrats preparing themselves for the “Nuclear Option” on healthcare?  The questions abound, the speculation is running rampant, and internet meme’s are burning up the bandwidth.  I, on the other hand, will tell you what I do know.

First off, let us start with the local story; Michigan Lt Governor John Cherry was expected to be the person to succeed Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm at the helm of Michigan Governorship.  However, Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm’s performance as Governor of this state has been less than stellar.  I ought to know this, I have lived here all of my life.  Double-digit unemployment, a one state recession that towered over the national recession for many years now; put quite bluntly, there are no jobs here in Michigan. Sure, there are jobs, if you want to work in a fast food joint, making minimum wage.  However, if you happen to be a 37-year-old man, looking for a decent paying, full time job, with health insurance — you are frankly out of luck.

However, to be fair, some of Michigan’s woes cannot be laid at the feet of the Democratic leadership.  GM’s credit crisis cannot be blamed entirely on the Democrats, at least not the current ones in office here in Michigan.  GM and Chrysler’s troubles are a direct result of the mortgage crisis, which was caused by President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton and that idiotic piece of legislation that opened up the mortgage market to high-risk individuals.  When the credit markets froze up, due to the stock market crash and subsequent credit freeze, the big three found themselves in the middle of it.  This is my biggest issue that I have with the “Republicans” or those within the Conservative movement.  They always, without fail, blame the unions for the troubles of the big three; when in all honesty, unions had zero to do with the meltdown or its effect on the automakers.  The entire mess was, in fact, lack of proper regulation in the mortgage industry and the stock market in regards to credit swaps that caused this whole mess in the first place.  Sorry to my fellow Conservatives, but I am just not buying that talking point.

However, it would be fair to mention that the unions did play a role in the financial woes of the big three, as did the big three’s failure to listen to the automotive experts, who saw what Japan was doing in the 1970’s and their arrogant attitudes.  The big three could have saved themselves much heartache, by building smarter, higher quality vehicles.  However, by the time the big three got around to embracing the ISO standards, it was too little, too late.  As for the talking point of Union workers making too much money, I find it amazing how many Conservatives have axe to grind with those who simply want to make a decent working wage.  Most of the people that make these idiotic claims are those who are making more than two hundred and fifty thousand a year and have no financial worries at all; but they want to rip away the comfortable living of others.  Do you see now why I have not voted “Republican” yet?

Another point that I feel that is important to make, is the fact that the big three are just designing some of the most god-awful looking car nowadays.  Heck, even the trucks are now getting just plain butt-ugly.  Does it make any damned sense to build cars for every day Americans that look like they taken from the pages of a twenty fifth century comic book?  Whatever happened to graceful, classic designs from the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s?  Those were real cars back then, now all the big three can produce is glorified garbage — and do not even get me started on the idea of an electric car, now that is a idea that is going to go right straight were the Chevy EV1 went, right straight into the scrap heap.

Now back on the subject of politics, it seems that Chris Dodd, going to retire.  Getting sweetheart deals on a house mortgage can do that to a fellow, especially when people in your district are losing their houses left and right.  I also notice that Bryon Dorgan is also retiring; he supported Obama’s healthcare plan, which made him damaged goods.  I also notice that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is withdrawing from that race — corruption will do that to a fellow.

Now what is my personal take on these retirements and how it affects the 2010 elections?  My take is this; I believe that there are going to be some very big upsets come election time.  Now, I do not necessarily see a Republican wave or anything like that.  However, I do see a drastic change in Washington D.C.  I do also see a “defanging” of the socialist monster that exists on Capitol Hill right now.  As for the Governor’s race here in Michigan, I believe that the Republicans can win Michigan, but they are going to have to work to earn the trust of the American people.  It would take some very hard work and some massive breaking of some very established political rules to do it.  However it can be done.  The people of Michigan want real answers, real results, not political grandstanding, and platitudes.

It is going to be a very interesting 2010.  I look forward to writing about it and giving you my take.

BREAKING NEWS: Michael Yon arrested at Seattle airport

(H/T Ed @HotAir)

That’s right, Michael Yon, famed independent war corespondent was detained at the airport, handcuffs and all.

For not disclosing how much money he makes…. 🙄

From his facebook fan page:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eve…ntually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

and…:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

and….:

When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.

Jazz Shaw asks, “WTF??!?!”:

Very strange. Even if you’re into profiling, Yon would hardly fit one you’d be interested in. Of course, his passport, by now, doubtless has a list of countries stamped into it which could give an inspector pause, but that’s no excuse. Very, very strange. I expect this one will be high profile enough that you’ll see an apology coming from the government.

Ed Morrissey weighs in:

Unless there is more to this story, an apology would be the least owed to Yon.  When an American citizen with a valid passport presents himself for travel, there should be some reasonable screening to verify identity and to determine whether there is a physical risk, ie, weapons and the like.  Why should border security be interested in Yon’s annual income?  How does that relate to national security and border protection?  Unless this is an arm of the Internal Revenue Service, it doesn’t, and Yon was right to refuse to answer the question.

Instead of hassling American citizens about their income or watching the ice melt, how about paying attention to actual security and intelligence issues?  Please?

I must say that I agree with both of these assessments, and I personally believe those responsible for detaining Mr. Yon, ought to be fired. I honestly have to ask this question, that neither Jazz nor Ed would even ask. If Michael Yon had been, say, Arabic or even black; would he have been detained? I somehow doubt it. But, because he’s a White American, he gets asked a stupid question and because he refuses to answer it, which was well within his rights; he gets detained. Welcome to Obama’s America people. Where white men are oppressed, interrogated and harassed; by the black power establishment. You say this isn’t about race? I disagree. This is all about race and as long as Barack Hussein Obama is President, you will continue to see this sort of nonsense happening in America. Bank on it.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Outside The Beltway, Gateway Pundit, Mudville Gazette, The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, JammieWearingFool, Moonbattery

Breaking News: At Least Six Americans Killed in American Afghanistan Base Attack

In Case anyone has forgotten; Yes, we are still at war:

KABUL — At least six Americans were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest made his way into an American base in Khost Province in southeastern Afghanistan, according to NATO military officials.

The bomber managed to elude security and reach the base’s gym, said one official, who did not want to be identified because the official was not authorized to speak about the incident.

The official said the attack took place at Forward Operating Base Chapman, which one official described as “not a regular base,” meaning that it was used by American intelligence agencies. It was unclear exactly where on the base the explosion occurred.

The suicide bomber died in the blast and six Americans were also wounded, some of them seriously, suggesting that the death toll could climb, the officials said.

Khost Province borders Pakistan and has been prime operating ground for insurgent groups with links to Al Qaeda and for other extremists hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

via At Least Six Americans Killed in Afghan Attack – NYTimes.com.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the injured and those who were killed. I think it would be a nice time for everyone to say a prayer for those men, who put their lives on the line on the front lines of the battle against terrorism and for freedom.

Update: Socialist liberals use Detroit attempted Terrorist attack to sound the horn to cut and run

As skeptical as I am; these morons are just pure bat shit crazy:

What is needed now are not partisan fights about whether the Obama Administration was doing enough to guard against terrorist attacks in the wake of shootings last month at Fort Hood, Texas. Instead, we should question whether our overreaction to the crimes against humanity on 9/11–including the creation of an endless “war” against terrorism–has done more to undermine our security than enhance it. American safety will be better ensured through common-sense counterterrorism and homeland defense measures, including extensive intelligence cooperation expert police work and border control.

via Are US Wars Fueling Domestic Terrorist Threats?– The Nation.

Oh yes,Katrina, let’s just cut and run and stop trying to fight the war on terror — so, that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan can regroup and come back stronger. Not only in the Afghanistan region, but also in Yemen and other regions as well. What a pathetic bitch.  🙄  What more living proof do we need, that the Socialist Far-Left Liberal Democrats are nothing more than terrorist sympathizers? Which is why I will never vote for them again, ever. Give me a politico that gives a flying flip about National Security, please. Not some terrorist coddling asshat.

Oh, and… Police Work. Police work?!?!?!? That is another little bitch and gripe that I have with the Socialist Liberal Democrats. They see some Negro Muslim terrorist, who tried to blow up a damned plane, most likely at sixty thousand feet over my damned house, as nothing more than some common criminal thug. Sorry Liberals, this stupid idiot negro terrorist, was an non-uniform combatant. He should be at Gitmo. Actually, he should be strung from a damned tree! 😡 But, I digress.

There is much hubbub about why the system to failed. There is also news that the Government knew about this dude, and did nothing at all. All of the media outlets; including Fox News are asking, “why?” Hello! It does not take a damned rocket scientist to figure that little problem out. It is the elephant in the room, that nobody and I mean NOBODY wants to talk about.  Has anyone else in the world bothered to notice the skin color of this terrorist suspect? Uh, Duh. He is a black person. Our President is also a black person. One plus one usually equals two! It seems that nobody is either willing or even possibly able to make that connection. Our Government officials new about this guy and knew that plans were being made; but they did not do anything about it. Why? I will tell you why! Because they knew, that if they acted upon this little piece of evidence, that it would possibly upset the President; because the mean ol’ United States Government was picking on some poor young black man — of whom the the white man oppressed and the Government did nothing about it for so many years. I mean, if you were employed by the NSA or CIA and you were aware of this situation, would you want to risk angering a black President, who was all down with “The Struggle”(tm)? I think you all know what I mean.

There is your answer, the reason this piece of intelligence slipped by, was the same reason the Ft. Hood shooter went by, unstopped. political correctness gone horribly bad.

Update: It seems that my resident gay stalker from Grand Rapids does not like what I wrote. Sorry fag boy, but some of us, do not have our heads stuck up the socialist Democratic Party’s “P.S. Police” ass; Unlike you. Because of this, some of us can see things for what they really are. Unlike some men with homosexual tendencies.

Updated: Symphony of stupid: Terrorism continues to be a threat, Politicians play blame games

I do not always agree with him on the finer points of Conservatism; but my friend Ed Morrissey scored a nice catch here. Seems that our attempted plane bomber fiend has friends:

American officials have cause to worry there may be more al Qaeda-trained young men in Yemen planning to bring down American jets.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged with the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253, told FBI agents there were more just like him in Yemen who would strike soon.

And in a tape released four days before the attempted destruction of the Detroit-bound Northwest plane, the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen boasted of what was planned for Americans, saying, “We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God.”

Yemen has become a principal al Qaeda training ground and the accused suicide bomber told the FBI he was trained for more than a month in Yemen, given 80 grams of a high explosive cleverly sewn into his underpants, undetected by standard security screening.

This comes on the heels of another lovely piece of news, that Mr. Plane Bomber might have had some help:

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch military police are investigating the possibility that an accomplice may have helped the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, a spokesman said on Monday.

A U.S. couple on the flight, Kurt and Lori Haskell, told Reuters and other news agencies that they saw a tall, well-dressed man aged about 50 with the suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Friday morning at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The Haskells have claimed the man spoke for Abdulmutallab and attempted to get him aboard Northwest flight 253 without a passport.

“At this moment we have no information on whether there was another guy,” the military police spokesman said. “We are checking all clues and information we get.”

In light of all this, is this the best that the Democrats and Republicans can do in Congress? Sit and blame one another? Lame response folks, lame, lame, lame, response. Oh yes, lets play the idiotic and childish blame game on each other, while tens of millions of lives are at stake. No wonder the American people have turned against this Congress and this President; because they are too damned busy trying to blame others, instead of trying to fix the damned problem in the first place!

The elections of 2010 and 2012 cannot come fast enough; because it is quite obvious that this Congress and this President are more interested in playing politics with terrorism, just like the last President did during his tenure in office and the American people, present company included, are sick and tired of the damn political shell games. Al-Qaeda is a serious threat to the United States of America’s National Security, and we need more than just Washington D.C. Politics of blaming one another, we need action and we need it now, before some plane is blown up over my damned house in Lincoln Park, Michigan, which is about 10 miles from the Detroit Metro Airport. Having said all that, to Congress and the President and his Cabinet — Enough of the god damned political games people. I want to be secure in living this house by the airport. I do not care who is to blame for what. I just want it fixed and I wanted it fixed now, please. Thank you.

I swear, there are days, when I believe that I am blogging about schoolchildren!

Update: Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for the attempted attack. Here is a google translated view of the page. Not the best of good enough to give you an idea.

Yemeni Cleric Who Reportedly Inspired Ft. Hood Shooter supposedly not killed in Airstrike

Here’s some pee on your holiday news:

A U.S.-born radical cleric is alive and well following reports he may have been killed in a Yemeni airstrike against suspected al-Qaida hideouts, friends and relatives said Friday.

The government said it targeted a meeting of high-level al-Qaida operatives in Thursday's airstrike in the remote Shabwa region. It claimed at least 30 militants were killed, possibly including Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric who has been linked to the shooter in last month's attack at the Fort Hood military base in the U.S.

On Friday, a friend of the cleric, Abu Bakr al-Awlaki, told The Associated Press he was not among those killed. He refused to say if the cleric was attending the meeting.

via Yemeni Cleric Who Reportedly Inspired Ft. Hood Shooter Believed Unhurt in Airstrike – ABC News.

Yeah, I was quite thrilled to hear this news. Guess they were wrong. Ah well, try again later, I suppose.

How long before the left starts using this as a Meme to say that we should just pull out and forget about getting these guys?

Updated: BREAKING NEWS: ATTEMPTED TERRORIST ATTACK ON PLANE BOUND FOR DETROIT BY AL-QEADA OPERATIVE WXYZ-TV SAYS SECOND INCIDENT HAPPENED AS WELL “DRUNKEN PASSANGER” GOES CRAZY – Washington Post Edits Story to make President look good

On Christmas Day, no less. For those who do not know, I am in the Detroit-area. The Airport in question is in Romulus, Michigan, (Not Detroit…) and less than 10 miles from my house. So, now, it’s personal, the bastards tried to hit MY town! You can imagine how I feel, at the moment. 😡

All the major news sources in Detroit are reporting it. The National lame stream media, as usual is asleep at the wheel, including Fox News.

First Video Via WJBK- TV Fox 2 in Detroit:

Update # 5: WXYZ-TV‘s coverage at 11:00 P.M. coverage, they report that there was a second incident was well of another passenger going crazy as well. Supposedly a drunken passenger… are they possibly covering up under orders from Obama?

The Video:

Fox 2 in Detroit’s Story:

ROMULUS, Mich. (WJBK) – A senior U.S. official says a Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria claims h e was acting on behalf of al-Qaida
when he tried to blow up a flight Friday as it landed in Detroit.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

The passenger was being questioned Friday evening. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. Fox 2 spoke with passangers as they were released from that flight.

WXYZ TV, The Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, WDIV-TV all have continuing coverage on this story..

The Detroit Free Press Reports:

The passenger created a disturbance by lighting what was reported to be firecrackers — or perhaps a “powdery substance” — onboard the flight, injuring himself and several other passengers, according to Delta Airlines

The passenger was subdued. FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold confirmed today that agents are at Metro.

ABC News reported on its web site that the man is Nigerian and claimed he was directed by Al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight over U.S. soil.

The man was apparently already on the government’s no-fly list of suspected terrorists, ABC News said a senior intelligence official told them.

[….]

But later, Syed Jafry of Holland, Mich., a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, emerged from the airport and said he was a passenger on the flight. He said people ran out of their seats to tackle the man.

Jafry was sitting in the 16th row when he heard “a pop and saw some smoke and fire.” Then, he said, “a young man behind me jumped on him.”

Jafry said there was a little bit of commotion for about 10 to 15 minutes.

He said the way passengers responded made him proud to be an American.

[….]

His wife and daughter, who had been waiting for him at the airport since about 11:40 a.m., said they saw a person they believe to be the suspect being transported from the airport. Dawn Griffith said he was “young looking” and was handcuffed to a stretcher, with his hands bandaged.

A photo of the said plane:

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday.

More to information to come, as I get it. Anyone with any information for me; please contact me via e-mail via the Blog. You Anonymity is guaranteed.

Update #1: Memeorandum is now covering.

Update #2: The only reason I am not in the car and down there taking photos is the following: 1. It’s dark outside now, and there’s most likely not much to see. Also, that place, that is Metro Airport is most likely crawling with cops. I just do not want to risk getting in the way and possibly getting tossed in jail. I will be monitoring all news outlets and passing what I know on. Plus, I do have this shaggy beard. I do not want to be mistaken for another terrorist! 😯

Update #3 What royally tweaks me off, is how the MSM is trying to under rate the story. No terrorism here, just a arab trying to light off fireworks, while shouting “Allah Akbar!” Idiots. 🙄

Update #4: Now for your obligitory Democrat slam… where’s the President?

……in Hawaii, recharging:

President Obama in Hawaii "Recharging" while terrorists are striking planes in Michigan.

If that’s leadership? We’re in deep trouble folks.

Yeah, that’s right, I said our Democratic Party President is more interested in having time off; than he is leading the Country. If he were a real leader, he would cut short his little vacation and get his idiot butt back to Washington D.C. and be on top of the situation. But, nah, he’s too busy. Remember this come 2010 and 2012.

Update #6: Ace over at Ace of Spades HQ has some VERY interesting information on how the story over at the Washington Post was changed to make the President look better. Someone got a phone call and told to make a change.

AWESOME BREAKING NEWS! : Radical Cleric who inspired Fort Hood Shooter, Nasser al-Wahayshi, killed in Air Strike in Yemen!

Awesome!

Reuters Reports: (H/T HotAir)

SANAA (Reuters) – A Yemeni air raid may have killed the top two leaders of al Qaeda’s regional branch on Thursday, and an American Muslim preacher linked to the man who shot dead 13 people at a U.S. army base may also have died, a Yemeni security official said.

Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and his Saudi deputy, Saeed al-Shehri, were believed to be among 30 militants killed in the dawn operation in the eastern province of Shabwa, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki may also have died in the air strike which targeted a meeting of militants planning attacks on Yemeni and foreign oil and economic targets, he said.

If all the deaths are confirmed, the air strike would appear to have struck a severe blow against AQAP, seen as the most dangerous regional offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s network.

“Anwar al-Awlaki is suspected to be dead,” the official said of the cleric who was on the run in Yemen, where he was on the government’s most-wanted list of terrorist suspects.

According to U.S. officials, the U.S. army psychiatrist who ran amok at the Fort Hood army base in Texas on November 5 had contacts with Awlaki.

The Yemeni official said one leading figure in AQAP, Mohammed Saleh Omair, was confirmed dead in Thursday’s raid.

The United States cooperates closely with Yemen in combating al Qaeda militancy. Pentagon officials were not immediately available to comment on any U.S. involvement in the raid.

The Yemeni official mentioned only one air strike, which a government website said had taken place at 5 a.m., but Al Arabiya television reported four raids.

Resurgent al Qaeda attacks have stirred fears that worsening instability in Yemen, an impoverished country struggling with multiple security threats, might enable militants to launch renewed attacks in neighboring oil superpower Saudi Arabia.

Al Qaeda’s wing in Yemen, where Osama bin Laden’s father was born, announced in January it had changed its name to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — in an apparent attempt to revive the group in Saudi Arabia, where a tough counter-terrorism drive had halted the group’s three-year armed campaign in 2006.

Wahayshi, the new group’s Yemeni leader, threatened attacks against Westerners in the oil-exporting region. AQIP has also called for the overthrow of the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family.

This should send a message to these turban wearing bastards; you mock our Country, after one of yours does something stupid like open fire in a military base, your stupid ass is going to get hit. Kudos to the Military and President Obama for authorizing this strike. If you’ll pardon my frank speech; one ‘towel head’ terrorist down, many more to go. They should have done this to this bastard after 9/11, but the military did not. Finally, he gets justice, about damn time. Again, Hats off to our awesome Military for a job well done!

I would be willing to bet, that there are some families at Fort Hood, Families of the Victims of 9/11 and many other victims of terrorism; who are smiling broadly today. Merry Christmas to them, hope this brings a little happiness. 😀

Parker Griffith defects to the GOP

Some good news in the midst of all the bad news out of Washington D.C.:

POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.

According to two senior GOP aides familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place this afternoon in Griffith's district in northern Alabama.

Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.

The switch represents a coup for the House Republican leadership, which had been courting Griffith since he publicly criticized the Democratic leadership in the wake of raucous town halls during the summer.

via Exclusive: Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP – – POLITICO.com.

Ed Morrissey has good analysis here on this one, head on over and read it. Personally, I believe that this is a sign that the writing is on the wall for this party. The era of Blue-Dog Democrats is over, you are either in the tank with the far-left progressives or you are out in the cold. While this might seem to be good strategy for the far-left; some are just not into the far-left progressiveness of Pelosi and Co. Some are saying that this is not a good sign on the left. It would mean the era of hope and change is cracking up. Which, in this writers opinion is a good thing.

The Round up from all sides of the spectrum: : RedState, Matthew Yglesias, Club for Growth, Ezra Klein, CBS News, Washington Monthly, The Fix, Washington Wire, Glenn Thrush’s Blog, Think Progress, Scorecard’s Blog, The Note, TPMDC, Talking Points Memo, Michelle Malkin, Guardian, race42008.com, Daily Kos, Betsy’s Page, Real Clear Politics, Townhall.com, Hot Air, National Review, Outside The Beltway, Weekly Standard, Truthdig, msnbc.com, The Washington Independent, The Page and Indecision Forever

Editor & Publisher to Cease Publication

This is sad story and I do mean that in quite the big way. It appears that Editor & Publisher, which has been in business since 1884 is going out of business; that is unless someone steps forward, buys the magazine, and begins to sell it. There are a number of things, which one could blame — bad economy, changing times, and so forth. I guess some of you might think that I am delighted to see this happening. Well, let me publicly say that nothing and I mean nothing could be further from the truth. As a Conservative, I believe in the first amendment — even when I do not agree with those who do not share my political stance and views. Editor & Publisher has fought for the first amendment right of publishers for years, and I commend them for the service to the media community.

It is has been said by those in the establishment and corporate media world, that bloggers like me do not respect those in the mainstream media. This, in my case, at least is not true at all. Truth is folks, if it were not for the Fourth Estate; we bloggers would have nothing to write about, at all. Therefore, it does bring me great sadness to hear that one of the trade publications for the old media is closing its doors for good. I am very hopeful that someone out there, who is in a position to buy this trade publication out and enable it to continue for many years to come. Because allowing E & P to slip into the sundry bounds of historic memory would be, I feel with the greatest of convictions, a grave tragedy.

I wish all of the editors and staff of E & P all of the very best and I hope that somehow, someway that E & P is able to remain with us.

May we never forget: Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941

December 7, 1941 – 68 Years ago today. The empire of Japan attacked the United States Military Base at what was then called the the Territory of Hawaii. (The United States had not taken possession of that territory making it the 49’th state yet.)

It is a day, that will live…. In infamy…

Update: Video removed, because the ignorant bastard who owns it, can’t remember telling me that I could link to it.

Damned idiot.

Here is the entire “Day of infamy Speech”, Now this is a way to make a speech! Obama, Take notes!:

[podcast]http://www.radiochemistry.org/history/video/fdr_infamy.mp3[/podcast]

I do not know quite why it is that I get so emotional when the anniversary of the attack of Pearl Harbor comes around; but do I ever. I guess it is because it affected my personal family a great deal. My grandfather’s two brothers, Frank and Harlan Hayes both were in the United States Army and my grandmother’s stepbrother Jess Runyan served also in the Military in World War II. My Great-Uncle Frank and Harlan both served in Germany, with Frank getting his finger blown off, while tossing a hand grenade that went off too soon. They were able to reattach it, but he never was able to use the finger very well after that. I do not know much about Harlen, or I would share his story. Jess Runyan came back from World War II with the condition now known as traumatic stress disorder or as they used to call it — shell-shocked. Jess was never able to work and collected military benefits, and I think social security for the rest of his life. Jess never married. For what it is worth, all of these people lived in Dalton, Georgia, which is where a good amount of my family is from.

Another reason is because, damn it, I just love America; since when did that become a federal crime? This Nation is the best-damned Nation on earth. Yes, we are having some bad times here; the economy is bad, jobs are scarce. However, the status of this Nation could be much worse; we could be living in same situation as North Korea or even communist China. I guess Pearl Harbor is a personal one for me, because I happen to be a history buff and because of my family’s involvement in that war. I believe also that the Nation’s isolationism also caused the attack as well, not to mention the economic warfare that was being committed against Japan by FDR. This same mentality of isolationism is what had affected the United States the day that the September 11 attacks in 2001. We were different Nation then and we are now a different Nation since those attacks. The tragic thing about the 9/11 attacks, is that they became quite politicized. When the attack on Pear Harbor took place and then the subsequent war began; America stopped being Democrats and Republicans; and just started being Americans. The sad thing is that after 9/11, there was a short burst of American patriotism. However, it did not last; there are many reasons for this, I believe the biggest reason is times have changed greatly. I could get into all that, but this blog entry would end up being over 50 pages long.

I think the biggest and best thing that Americans can do for those who perished in World War II is to never forget what happened and to work to ensure that it never happens again. We must ensure that the politics of our Nation or any other Nation gets that sort of ugly point again. This is why I believe that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are worth every last dime and worth every life lost. There are those that say that fighting that war in Afghanistan is not worth it and that it is another Vietnam. I disagree with that nonsense. ANY War that is worth fighting is worth winning. I just wish those on the Socialist Left realized that as well. There was a time, when Democrats actually believed in fighting wars. This all changed in the late 1960’s with the rise of the socialist and hippy movements. Vietnam was essentially lost because of the socialists that had taken over the Media at the time. Walter Cronkite’s literal lying to the Nation about the Tet Offensive was a perfect example of that. Thankfully, there were Democrats who crossed over, for whatever reasoning, who still believed in defending this Nation and believed the Wars could be won, and because of that, and because of President’s like Ronald Reagan; we have the great Military we have today. It is my personal hope, that President Barack Obama will continue that respect for our Nation’s Military. Although, as of late President Obama’s performance as a leader, when it comes to the war in Afghanistan has been dismal at best.

Therefore, in conclusion, I simply end with this — May we never forget December 7, 1941. Because to do so, would be a horrible tragedy.

neverforget1941

May we never forget - December 7, 1941

The National Pearl Harbor Survivors Association website is here.

Bravo!: Woman defends her property from a criminal

This is about 12 tons of honking awesome!

The Video:

The Story via KOCO TV in Oklahoma:

STROUD, Okla. — A man was shot and killed as he broke into a Lincoln County woman’s home, deputies said.

Billy Dean Riley, 53, of Sparks, was drunk and high on some type of opiate at the time of his death on Friday, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies said Riley crashed a vehicle near the home of Donna Jackson, 57, between 12:30 and 12:50 a.m. Friday. Riley went to the back door of Jackson’s home nearby and started to break in.

Jackson told authorities that she picked up a shotgun and called 911.

“There’s a man at my back door. He’s trying to get in,” she said to the dispatcher. “He’s close to the door. I’m going to go ahead and get the gun out.”

“She told him that she was armed and that she had called the police and that he needed to leave,” said Lincoln County Sheriff Chuck Mangion.

In return, deputies said, Riley started screaming vulgarities at the homeowner. He picked up a patio table and threw it through Jackson’s glass patio door.

The dispatcher told Jackson that she was advised to defend her property if she needed to.

Jackson said she fired one shot into Riley’s chest when he started to enter the home.

“I shot. I shot. I’m going out front. I hit him,” she told the dispatcher. “Please, dear God. I think I’ve killed him. Please father in heaven, please father in heaven.”

She cried, expressing concern for Riley and his family.

Riley was pronounced dead by a medical examiner at about 1:50 a.m.

The real great part is this:

Deputies said Jackson is likely to be covered under Oklahoma’s “stand your ground” laws, but the case is still under investigation.

As she should be, my heart goes out to this dear lady who had to make a decision like that; it was truly her or him; and she chose to protect her own life. Thank God for the Gun rights that we as American citizens do have. Something that the liberals in the country want to take away.

Ron Paul on Auditing the Federal Reserve

I post this because I happen to agree with Ron Paul position on economics; as well as Lew Rockwell’s. Around the end of the video clip, Ron Paul gets on the subject of Afghanistan and he proceeds to promote the idea of isolationism — which I think is remarkably stupid. However, I should point out, that it is the classic position of the Libertarian Party.

The funny crack comes at the 1:15 mark.

This clip proves my belief that the libertarian left is in bed with the socialist liberal left; this is something that I have believed for a long time.

Enjoy.

Was the Election in Honduras a referendum on Socialism?

The question that many are asking today; is what this election actually means, or what it is to the people of Honduras and more broadly, the rest of the world — The answer is quite apparent and could be a bit painful, not to mention a foreshadow of the things to come here in America.

Via The Wall Street Journal:

Unless something monumental happens in the Western Hemisphere in the next 31 days, the big regional story for 2009 will be how tiny Honduras managed to beat back the colonial aspirations of its most powerful neighbors and preserve its constitution.

Yesterday’s elections for president and Congress, held as scheduled and without incident, were the crowning achievement of that struggle.

National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo was the favorite to win in pre-election polls. Yet the name of the victor is almost beside the point. The completion of these elections is a national triumph in itself and a win for all people who yearn for liberty.

The fact that the U.S. has said it will recognize their legitimacy shows that this reality eventually made its way to the White House. If not Hugo Chávez’s Waterloo, Honduras’s stand at least marks a major setback for the Venezuelan strongman’s expansionist agenda.

The losers in this drama also include Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Spain, which all did their level best to block the election. Egged on by their zeal, militants inside Honduras took to exploding small bombs around the country in the weeks leading to the vote. They hoped that terror might damp turnout and delegitimize the process. They failed. Yesterday’s civic participation appeared to be at least as good as it was in the last presidential election. Some polling stations reportedly even ran short, for a time, of the indelible ink used to mark voter pinkies.

The elections in Honduras were, in fact, an extremely large poke in the eye to the socialist movement of the World. The message is clear; Freedom is popular. Freedom is a God-Given right for all of humankind; and Governmental control is an aversion to this concept. The people of Honduras knew the type of Government that Venezuela has and knew that the people of Venezuela are not truly free and did not want it in their Country. This is to be commended and shows that the people of Honduras still have a backbone.

The more broad scope is this; our tepid and incompetent President, Barack H. Obama did not have the guts to stand up for Freedom of the people. This was evidenced by his handling of the situation of Honduras and the civil uprising in Iran. This is because Democrats totally despise total and unfettered Freedom of the people; in favor of a big Government socialist society — President Barack Obama actions in both of these recent situations are an embodiment of this mentality.

My hat goes off to the people of Honduras and I pray God’s blessings upon them, as they return to a Government of Freedom and I pray for the safety of those people from the evil menacing socialists, who would give anything to overthrow that Government. I also pray God’s Protection from the evil dictator in Venezuela, who wants nothing more than to destroy the Freedom of the people of Honduras.

President Barack Obama should take note and see that Socialism is become quite unpopular — everywhere.

Others:  Fausta’s Blog, Gateway Pundit, Commentary, Right Wing Nut House, QandO, , Wake up America, Hot Air, and Atlas Shrugs

Living Proof that Socialist Liberals are Classless Assholes

Cindy Sheehan and her band of code pink thugs attacked a Elderly Decorated Military Vietnam War Veteran!

The Video: (H/T to Gateway Pundit)

Gateway Pundit has more on this, including the parts NOT reported by the media.

CBS 13 in California has more:

An unidentified military veteran was involved in a tense confrontation with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and the group Code Pink at a rally at Travis Air Force Base on Saturday, November 28, 2009.CBSA Saturday rally led by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at Travis Air Force Base nearly ended in a brawl when a military veteran physically confronted the protesters.

Anti-war group Code Pink demonstrated at the military base Saturday morning in the first of six planned protests against unmanned military drones currently in use in overseas war zones.

Sheehan, a well-known anti-war activist whose son was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004, was leading the demonstration with a megaphone when a man dressed in a formal military uniform stepped up to her and berated her.

Videotape of the incident shows that Sheehan yelled “Get out of my face” through the megaphone at the man, who slapped the device away. Other protesters immediately joined Sheehan and traded insults with the man, and a shoving match broke out.

Military police quickly pulled the two sides apart.

What a disgrace to America!

But, that’s Obama’s America….. 🙄

Home of the sheep and the slaves!

Remember this come 2010 and 2012. We must take our Government back from this America-Hating fascists!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm: White House Gate Crashers Friends with Obama?

Now this adds an interesting twist to the story:

While the big gun media and American Secret Service are out there investigating “party crashers” Tareq and Michaele Salahi, no one’s telling the truth: Obama knew the Salahis when he was still an Illinois senator.

Polo Contacts Worldwide could make it easy for the investigating Secret Service by brown-enveloping them this picture:

Hey Secret Agent Man, here’s Obama, the senator flashing his pearly whites with Randy Jackson, better known as a judge on American Idol. “Others pictured are Black Eyed Peas Rock Band; Tareq Salahi the President of the America’s Polo Cup; President Elect Obama, Fergie from Black eyed Peas and Michaele Salahi, posing this time as a former Miss USA and SuperModel.

Interesting little detail for White House gumshoes: As the above photo was published in June 2005, Barack Obama was still Senator Obama and not the President Elect.

And with Michaele Salahi yesterday having been caught out—Facebook pompoms notwithstanding—as a bogus cheerleader for the Washington Red Skins and not a model for Victoria’s Secret as claimed, Canada Free Press (CFP) leaves it to FoxNews.com to find out if she ever was a “former Miss USA”.

We do know for a fact that among the slew of memberships on charitable boards, Tareq Salahi is a former member of The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP). The only way to know for a fact is because even though ATFP scrubbed all references to Salahi as a board member, he can still be found on Google cache.

via “Party Crashers” had five-year relationship with Obama before state dinner.

Now if the Main Stream media had any sort of integrity; they would investigate this. But we both know, that they do not. So, I shall not hold my breath.

Who wants to bet that the “Gate Crashers” get off with little or nothing more than a slap on the wrist?

Navy Seals in trouble over supposedly punching a terrorist in the mouth

Not to sound like the eternal skeptic here; but something about this story sounds very fishy. I mean, I can understand a death — but a terrorist reporting someone punching him in the mouth strikes me as not being true. Something is fishy here. Not to mention Fox News’s god-awful headline on this story; which does, I am afraid show a horrific bias in this story.

Via Fox News:

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

Not to sound overly crass or anything like that, but this idiot terrorist ought to be glad a “Fat Lip” is the only thing he received from these Navy Seals. Please do not misunderstand what I am trying to say here folks—- I know that Military personnel are capable of committing crimes just as well as anyone else. A perfect example would be the oh, so ever convenient CNN special on the Army guys who shot, killed and dumped in a ditched some prisoners in Iraq here a few days ago.

A little comment about that little situation; those people are cooling their heels in an Army Prison —- right where they should be. There is no excuse for what those men did, at all. I am quite sorry, but using the asinine excuse of “They will be just shooting at us again later” is no excuse to kill a prison and try to cover it up. Anyone that thinks that those men are heroes is just plain crazy.

Anyhow, back to the present situation at hand here, this terrorist could have, in fact, punched himself in the face and then just told the Iraqi Authorities that the Americans did it to him. Since when do we take the word of Islamic terrorists that killed contractors in Iraq, over the words of our brave service members? Unless there is more to this story than is being reported in the media, perhaps another service member saw the persons involved in this abusing this guy and they reported it to the higher ups in the Military? We do not know this information, so it is hard to make that sort of a judgment call.

Another thing I will say here is this, I was reading a few other Conservative blogs, and some of the stuff I read, I found to be downright surprising. Let me remind my follow Conservatives that we do believe in the rule of law. In World War II and all subsequent wars, the United States and its Military always heeded the Geneva conventions; now the Japanese and the Vietnamese were another story. They did not always do as such. Nevertheless, American never responded in kind, we always treated our prisoners of war with respect. This is why all of this Presidential and Justice Department mandated so-called “enhanced interrogation” or as normal, sane, rational people call it — torture; is so troublesome to me. I have to believe that even the feistiest of the old school Democrats of old, which are nowadays mostly New or Neo Conservatives would not have approved of such things.

Anyhow, this story should prove to be quite interesting and here is hoping that someone the media or something in the Blogosphere will continue to follow it.

Obama send in 34,000 more troops with ‘Offramps’ to Afghanistan

Last night I wrote, in some not-so politically correct words, that the President is not interested in fighting the war in Afghanistan. It appears that this news article confirms what I have believed all along.

Quote:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he’s called “a war of necessity” in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.

Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said.

The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and because, one official said, the White House is incensed by leaks on its Afghanistan policy that didn’t originate in the White House.

They said the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, could arrive in Washington as early as Sunday to participate in the rollout of the new plan, including testifying before Congress toward the end of next week. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry also are expected to appear before congressional committees.

As it now stands, the plan calls for the deployment over a nine-month period beginning in March of three Army brigades from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., and a Marine brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., for as many as 23,000 additional combat and support troops.

In addition, a 7,000-strong division headquarters would be sent to take command of U.S.-led NATO forces in southern Afghanistan — to which the U.S. has long been committed — and 4,000 U.S. military trainers would be dispatched to help accelerate an expansion of the Afghan army and police.

This all sounds nice and pretty; that is until you read down further…:

A U.S. military official used the term “decisional” to describe Monday evening’s meeting among Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Gates, Clinton, National Security Adviser Jim Jones, Eikenberry and senior U.S. military commanders.

The administration’s plan contains “off-ramps,” points starting next June at which Obama could decide to continue the flow of troops, halt the deployments and adopt a more limited strategy or “begin looking very quickly at exiting” the country, depending on political and military progress, one defense official said.

“We have to start showing progress within six months on the political side or military side or that’s it,” the U.S. defense official said.

It’s “not just how we get people there, but what’s the strategy for getting them out,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.

The approach is driven in part by concerns that Afghan President Hamid Karzai won’t keep his promises to root out corruption and support political reforms, and in part by growing domestic opposition to the war, the U.S. officials said.

HotAir.com’s Ed Morrissey is not impressed at all:

The increase in troops is a good decision, but the off-ramps almost completely undermine it.  The point in extending our footprint is to win the trust of the local communities and prove our reliability in providing them security, which is the central thrust of McChrystal’s COIN strategy.  By getting them to trust our commitment, we can get them to help fight the Taliban themselves, as we did with the Anbar Awakening in Iraq against al-Qaeda, and greatly improve the intel we get from the locals.   If we send 34,000 more troops but give ourselves a six-month time frame for success or bug-out, the locals will very  quickly come to the realization that allying with us will be suicide.  The COIN strategy only worked in Iraq because George W. Bush was adamant that we would stay until we won.

A Commander in Chief doesn’t need “off-ramps.”  Any President can call an end to a deployment based on his own judgment.  Putting these conditions into the American strategy signals weakness — a desire to pull out without getting blamed for the decision.   Obama wants to be off the hook for an eventual withdrawal by claiming that he’s forced to do it because of these benchmark failures.  And if Obama’s that keen to retreat, he should just do it now.

Ed Morrissey hit the nail square on the head. President Barack Obama was never, at any point, interested in fighting the so-called good war in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama knew that he was inheriting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and he knew that if he continued them, that he would also inherit the backlash from the left that goes with them. Therefore, he is devising a way of getting out that region and making himself look like the saint and President George W. Bush look like the bad person.  This was the plan all along; never at any point was there a plan to fight this war until victory; but rather a plan of stealth defeat.

There are many reasons why the Democrats will not fight the war on terror. Namely, it is because to a certain degree the Democrats actually sympathize with the terrorists. The Democrats have always had a disdain for Israel and its right to exist; many Democrats have always felt that President Harry Truman royally screwed up when he decided to formally recognize Israel as a sovereign Nation. It is due to the frosty relationship towards Israel that sparked the attack of the U.S.S. Liberty by a rogue faction within the Israeli Defense Force. Many people who are of the hatemonger class, like to blame Israel and the Jews for that attack; the problem is, they are blaming the wrong people, they should be blaming the Democrats for it.

Not only this, but you also have about sixty percent of the Democrats who actually blame Bush for the attacks on 9/11. They actually believe that Bush knew the attacks were coming and actually allowed them to happen. This is why Eric Holder and the justice department are having civilian trials for a few of the 9/11 conspirators. They desire to drag out of the stuff that happened in the months after 9/11, as to make a mockery of them.  The remaining people within the Democratic Party and those who are of the far-leftist mentality actually have the audacity to believe that the United States of America actually deserved the attacks on 9/11, because of our capitalistic society and because of our past treatment of blacks; because we do not give enough hand-outs to poor people and so forth . President Barack Obama’s former Pastor even said as this very thing, and now President Barack Obama is allowing them to have civilian trials; ponder that scary thought for a moment.

In closing, I simply will offer this sober note. Elections have consequences. The American people elected a man, who was supposed to be a stark contrast to President George W. Bush, someone who could lead. What the American people received was an out of touch, dithering liberal elitist, who in all honesty could not even lead his own household, if the truth were told. President Barack Obama is more interested in shoving his rather idiotic social agenda, of wealth redistribution and outright class warfare onto the American people, than a fighting a war that will ultimately decide America’s success or demise. We should remember this come the elections of 2010 and of 2012 and decide wisely our choices for those we plan to put in office.

President Barack Hussein Obama, The Surrender Monkey

Oh, this is just wonderful. Sounds like we are gearing up for a big time concession to the enemy.

An Afghan source in Kabul reports that U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry is holding secret talks with Taliban elements headed by the movement’s foreign minister, Ahmad Mutawakil, at a secret location in Kabul. According to the source, the U.S. has offered the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases.

via The MEMRI Blog – Full Blog Entry.

…and they say that this was the “good war” and they wanted us to win it. I call bullshit. The Democrats never gave two shits about this war. In fact; they want us to LOSE this war, Just like they did Iraq, god-damned bastards. Vietnam 2.0 all over again…. 😡

Others: Nice Deb, The Sundries Shack, Atlas Shrugs, ThreatsWatch, The Anchoress, protein wisdom, BLACKFIVE, Wizbang, American Power, Mudville Gazette, Wake up America and Weasel Zippers

Memo to General Motors: Good Going Douche Nozzles!

Ed Morrissey and I have not agreed much on G.M. and the status of the bail outs that they received from the Government. But it appears, that for a change, I agree with Ed; mark your calendars, because this does not happen often.  Ed reports over on HotAir, that General Motors has taken the money, that was funded by taxpayers; like Ed, Me, and yes, you and has spent it —- overseas.  Needless to say, there some lawmakers that are not very happy about it either.

ABC NEWS Reports:

Specifically, at a time when the nation’s unemployment rate has soared to levels not seen in decades and GM is cutting thousands of U.S. jobs, the company’s CEO is considering spending millions from its U.S. coffers — fattened by $50 billion in taxpayer aid — on its overseas operations, a possibility that has outraged critics and lawmakers.

“I don’t think most Americans believe that when the taxpayer bailouts were happening it was intended for that purpose,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. “It was intended to protect the American economy — not take the money overseas.”

GM’s Chief Executive Fritz Henderson recently announced that the bailed-out automaker might use its U.S. funds to help restructure its European unit Opel, noting that the financing agreements with the Treasury for the $34 billion of bailout funds already spent allow GM to spend any subsequently earned funds as its executives see fit. Some $16 billion remaining after its bankruptcy has strings attached.

[…]

GM has other plans to expand its business abroad. In August, GM China announced a $293 million venture, while last month GM South Korea announced a new infusion of more than $400 million. The automaker also recently inaugurated a $300 million transmission plant in Mexico.

So, is General Motors making money here in America? Uh, No.

General Motors Co. says it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better than previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around.

….and how’s that account going?:

Chief Financial Officer Ray Young cautioned that the second- and third-quarter figures don’t comply with U.S. accounting standards and shouldn’t be compared with previous earnings.

GM says it is re-valuing its assets and liabilities and should comply with accounting standards next year.

Ouch.

While I was at the doctors with my Dad earlier today; I happened to mention this to him and another gentleman that worked at the same plant as my Father. Needless to say, their reaction to this was less than, um, shall we say, happy? My Dad replied in terms that I cannot write on this blog. To say that both of those guys were a bit ticked, would be an understatement.

Ed Morrissey cracks:

Let’s get this straight.  GM gets tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money and gets an Obama-managed bankruptcy — and stops complying with accounting standards?  My goodness, they really are Government Motors!

In the past, I have given Ed Morrissey a bit of a hassle when he would criticize the auto workers and to an extent the Auto Companies. However, I feel this criticism is much warranted.  Call it a hunch, but I tend to believe that the U.A.W. and the workers at the various G.M. plants, especially the one’s here in Michigan; are not going to be too thrilled that the company is taking it’s money and investing overseas; instead of investing it here, where the jobs are actually needed.  No matter how you slice it; this was an extremely boneheaded move on the part of General Motors and it deserves the criticism it receives from ALL quarters.

Updated: A Huge Blunder by the Obama Administration

Possibly one of the biggest blunders by the Obama Administration:

WASHINGTON — Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and four other men accused in the plot will be prosecuted in federal court in New York City, the United States attorney general announced Friday.

But the administration will prosecute another set of high-profile detainees now being held at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of planning the 2000 bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen, and four other detainees — before a military commission.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced those decisions in a news conference Friday at the Department of Justice. The arrangements would mean that civilian prosecutors would handle those detainees accused of the 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, northern Virginia and Pennsylvania, while the 2000 attack against the Cole would remain within the military system.

via Key 9/11 Suspect to Be Tried in New York – NYTimes.com.

Here is why this is a big blunder; I’ll let William Teach‘s words say it for me, This is what he wrote in the comments section of Allan Colmes Blog:

You’re forgetting one thing, Alan: KSM is NOT an American citizen, and not entitled to the protections of our Constitution unless we afford them to him.

The problem with “Affording” them to these guys is this, as Ed Morrissey writes:

That brings up a key question.  What happens if the judge throws out key evidence over nitpicky technicalities?  What happens if KSM and others get found not guilty because of gaps in the evidence chain resulting from national-security issues or “evidentiary issues”?  Will Obama let them walk away?  If that happens, look for a massive amount of anger to overwhelm the naive Commander in Chief.  And if Obama isn’t prepared to let them walk after a potential acquittal, then it makes a mockery of the criminal trial, and of the justice system itself.

These terrorists belong at a military tribunal, not the justice system employed for Americans to judge other Americans for civil criminal conduct.  Instead of giving these men the oblivion they deserve, we’re incentivizing further attacks on the US by giving them the biggest possible PR platform.  We may as well put them on TV and call it Dancing With the Terrorists, or So You Want To Be A Jihadist Martyr.

I have worse scenario than that; what if we happen to get a judge that is a Muslim? What happens if during that trial he begins to feel a twinge of sympathy for these terrorists and begins to nitpick at the evidence and ends up tossing the case out of court? I know it sounds far fetched; but it could happen.

Either way, is this massive blunder by the President and I look for Fox News to go on the attack over this. These guy should be tried in International Court. Just like the Nazi’s were. But because our President is a liberal; this will not be done. He is of the belief system that the terrorists were nothing more than common petty criminals and should be treated as such. This is the same mistake that President Bill Clinton made and it is why September 11’th happened in the first place. As long as the United States continues to make the same mistakes,when it comes to handling of terrorists, we will continue to see terrorists attacks on our soil. It is a fact of reality.

Update: Hell, Democrat Jim Webb even thinks that this is a bad idea! (H/T Ed at HotAir)

I have never disputed the constitutional authority of the President to convene Article III courts in cases of international terrorism. However, I remain very concerned about the wisdom of doing so. Those who have committed acts of international terrorism are enemy combatants, just as certainly as the Japanese pilots who killed thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor. It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts.

The precedent set by this decision deserves careful scrutiny as we consider proper venues for trying those now held at Guantanamo who were apprehended outside of this country for acts that occurred outside of the country. And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons.

I have consistently argued that military commissions, with the additional procedural rules added by Congress and enacted by President Obama, are the most appropriate venue for trying individuals adjudged to be enemy combatants.

Update: It seems that my gay stalker Ed Brayton does not like what I wrote. Big surprise there, seeing he is a leftist libertarian/classic liberal;  or as I like to call them small Government liberals. I guess he and his sheep that follow after him, did not bother to follow the links and see, that yes, in fact, I did refer to the International criminal court. Anyhow, my stalker says that Conservatives do not support that idea. To that I reply;  Who says that I follow the Republican/Conservative talking points? I believe that these terrorists ought to be tried in international criminal court or at least in a Military trial and NOT in a civilian court on American soil. As Obama said HE felt they should be, back in 2006. But now has flip flopped on, now the he has been elected.

Confirmed: President Obama wants the United States to fail in Afghanistan

Yesterday, some moron liberal left this comment in my comment section of a posting that I made about the Ft. Hood Speech that Obama Gave:

Say, Pat, do you happen to know *why* Obama was 40 minutes late to give the speech?

He was talking to wounded survivors of the attack.

Really, though, it was a perfect situation for you–suppose he had cut short that meeting? Then you could have slagged him for insulting the survivors by running off to the speech.

To Wish I replied back:

Your opinion, of course.

You somehow miss the fuller point. The man is a damned empty suit. He has no true feelings for our Military. He only cares about his political record. I am sorry, I tried giving him the benefit of the doubt. But it is quote obvious, that he just doesnot care. If he did, he would order a congressional investigation into the rampage and call it what it was, A TERRORIST ATTACK! But he does not do that; because he either secretly agrees with this mans actions or is at last sympathetic to the Jihadists cause.

Of course, this doesn’t surprise me that you don’t get this; most socialists liberals are that dumb.

Now comes the news of the confirmation of what I stated:

President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

That stance comes in the midst of forceful reservations about a possible troop buildup from the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official.

In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy — most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama’s thinking.

This my friends, is a strategy for failure. This President just does not care about winning the war on terror. All President Obama cares about is passing his rather idiotic social agenda. If President Obama knew that it would not “Deep Six” his poll numbers; he would pull the United States of America out of Iraq and Afghanistan in a New York Minute.

My friends, elections have consequences —- and this is one of them. Keep this in mind, come 2010.

Others Covering this Story: JustOneMinute, Jules Crittenden, The Jawa ReportOutside The Beltway, , BLACKFIVE, Stop The ACLU, Another Black ConservativeJammieWearingFool, MoonbatteryDon Surber, The Foundry,, Below The Beltway, Scared Monkeys,, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Townhall.com and Gateway Pundit (Via Memeorandum)

More proof that Ft. Hood shooter is a terrorist

Well, first off, we know that the shooter did try and contact Al-Qaeda. Now there’s this posting on a site that is ran by a fellow who has direct ties to Al-Qaeda. His site is spotty due to all the attention; but here’s a Google cache of this evil bastard’s writings:

Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn’t exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a US soldier. The US is leading the war against terrorism which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges.

Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the US army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation. Many amongst them are choosing the former. The Muslim organizations in America came out in a pitiful chorus condemning Nidal’s operation.

The fact that fighting against the US army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right -rather the duty- to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.

Allah(swt) says: Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment –
Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor [through power]? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely. (al-Nisa 136-137)

The inconsistency of being a Muslim today and living in America and the West in general reveals the wisdom behind the opinions that call for migration from the West. It is becoming more and more difficult to hold on to Islam in an environment that is becoming more hostile towards Muslims.

May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance and steadfastness and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen

….and you tell me, that not all Muslims are terrorists? I call bullshit. Moderation my ass. They’re all like that! 😡

There needs to be action; if you are of the Muslim Faith; you should be REMOVED from the United States ARMED FORCES; screw the gott damned Diversity and Politically Correct BULLSHIT; Muslims are our enemies and should be treated as such! One woman, whom I do not always agree with wrote a book that WARNED America about this sort of a thing and everyone; including me, rejected it. Now I see, that she was right on point.

My question is this; when will America pull its head out of its collective ASS and stop looking at these people as common criminals? —  they are NOT, they are blood thirsty killers, who are fighting a religious war against our nation. They must be stopped and our President, whom many suspect of being a closet Al-Qeada sympathizer, needs to either step up or resign his office.  We just cannot afford to allow this sort of a thing to continue. It needs to stop now!

Ft. Hood shooter tried to make contact with Al-Qaeda

This is getting downright interesting….:

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan’s efforts.

CIA director Leon Panetta and the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, have been asked by Congress “to preserve” all documents and intelligence files that relate to Hasan, according to the lawmaker.

via Fort Hood Shooter Tried to Contact al Qaeda Terrorists, Officials Say – ABC News.

I would be willing to bet a old wooden shoe, that before it is over with; that the CIA will come out and say that this guy had direct ties to Al-Qeada. It will also come out that the CIA and the FBI were scared to bother the guy for fear of accusations from him and his family of Anti-Muslim or Arab Bigotry by the Government. This is what happens when you allow your Government offices to become “PC” in nature. People die, just that simple.

It appears that this White House and the Governmental agencies that work under it have no clue the seriousness of the war on terror. Whether it is one person or a legion of them; they are dangerous criminals and should be treated as such. Of course, Obama will not even use the phrase to describe what these murderous thugs are doing; which is the “War on Terror” or “Terrorism.”‘  Obama, along with his fellow Democrats are basically wanting to treat this like some sort of average criminal activity. Which of course, is not what it is; it is people killing in the name of a religion. A false and quite Satanic Religion; but I digress.

As I have written on this blog many times; Elections have consequences and this is one of them. The American people are watching; all of them, not just the liberals in California, New York and Chicago. But all of America.  If President Obama and this congress treats this like some sort of isolated incident and not as a part of the broader war on terror. They will pay the price during the next election in 2010 and in 2012 as well. Because the America people did not elect someone who waffles on leadership and that my friends is exactly what President Obama and this Congress is doing, they are more interested in passing socialist programs that will bankrupt this nation; than they are being diligent on the war on terror. That is not what the American people elected; and the Democrats will find this out come next year and in 2012.