The quote that sums it all up

Though I have 'issues" with his candidacy and some of his positions (and to a similar extent, that's true for all of the declared candidates for the GOP nomination), Rich Santorum nailed it on the head with this quote in South Carolina:

“We’re the wealthiest country in the world and the world is wealthier because they have become more like us. We’ve transformed humankind. And we have a president who sees all of that as a mistake.”

There, in three short sentences, is the essence of what motivates and drives Barack Hussein Obama.

Whether the nominee is Santorum or someone else, that quote should be a part of EVERY campaign speech, every campaign flyer, every press release.  Nothing spells out it out quite so succinctly, quite so clearly.

Originally reported by The Other McCain; hat tip to The Camp of the Saints.

It's the spending!!

From Investors.com comes this frightening news about our Congress:

Despite endless talk of spending cuts and fiscal restraint in Washington over the past year, lawmakers continued to act as though the government doesn't spend nearly enough.

They introduced 874 bills in the House and Senate that would have boosted annual federal spending by more than $1 trillion if they'd all been signed into law, according to an analysis done for IBD by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

In contrast, lawmakers offered up just 215 bills to cut spending last year that would have reduced federal outlays by about half a trillion had they all been signed into law.

The analysis also found that for every dollar in cuts, lawmakers in the House proposed nearly $3 in spending hikes, and in the Senate $1.40 in hikes.

Personally, I'm rooting for a Greek default 47 days from now.  Maybe that will shock both voters and their representatives into some sense.

Read the whole story HERE.

Two sides of the mouth....again

The Daily Show's John Oliver skewers Froma Harrop of the Civility Project.

I guess this means "We're all for civility, unless we need to slam our opponents".

More "Do as I say" from the left.

Sunday Hypocrisy

It's amazing to me how Democrats can say what they do with a straight face. Which is the party that screams the loudest about separation of church and state? Which says that religion should have no part in the political process?  Could it be those folks with the (D) after their name?

Which makes this story all the more disgusting:

On the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett visited Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to give a political speech, in support of her boss (Barack Obama) and congressional Democrats:

"Teachers, and firefighters, and policemen, whose jobs are now in jeopardy because Congress--well let me be specific--because the Republicans in Congress," Jarrett told the crowd. According to the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, at this point, "Before she could finish her sentence, people in the congregation were laughing, and applauding."

At the Sunday service, Jarrett also brought up Osama bin Laden's death in order to praise the president. "We all sleep a little better at night knowing Osama Bin Laden and his lieutenants are not plotting a terrorist attack against the United States," Jarrett said. Then she pivoted to Iraq: "I saw so many soldiers returning home from their last tour of duty in Iraq, in time for the Christmas holidays."

At the end of Sunday's sermon, after Jarrett had delivered her remarks to the congregation, the church held a voter registration drive.

Thanks to the folks at The Weekly Standard for bringing this latest hypocrisy to light.

Follow the money

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.  One of the most underappreciated lines in movie history, IMHO.

From the New York Post, news of another pious Kennedy do-gooder:

Professional do-gooder Kerry Kennedy — Gov. Cuomo’s ex-wife and the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy — has called the oil-drilled rain forests of Ecuador “the biggest corporate environmental disaster on the face of the Earth, in the history of the world.”

The human-rights activist penned opinion pieces and lobbied officials to voice her outrage at the damage oil companies have caused to the town of Lago Agrio, where 1,700 square miles of rain forest have been destroyed and people sickened.

What Kennedy has never mentioned during her campaign is that she is being paid handsomely for her seemingly selfless advocacy.
Kennedy, 52, was secretly hired as a “public-relations consultant” by the lawyer representing the Ecuadoreans in an $18 billion lawsuit against Chevron, according to court documents.

Cashing in on her respected family name and legacy, Kennedy raked in tens of thousands of dollars and was given a 0.25 percent stake — worth as much as $40 million — if the $18 billion judgment handed down by an Ecuadorean judge is ultimately upheld. (Chevron has not yet paid pending its countersuit in Manhattan federal court.)

Read all about the hypocrisy HERE.  Hat tip to Powerline.

Of course, it's just me

John Hinderaker over at Powerline summarizes my feelings well.

As you may have heard by now, Newsweek’s forthcoming issue headlines, “Why are Obama’s critics so dumb?”

Well, sure. We who are unhappy that unemployment has increased on Obama’s watch, that over-regulation has stymied economic growth, that our children now owe a $15 trillion debt that we can’t pay–hey, we’re just dumb! We obviously aren’t smart enough to understand how devastating our economy, unemploying millions of Americans and burdening our children with trillions of dollars in debt is really a great idea.

If that’s what you think, you are a liberal and you may take Newsweek seriously. The rest of us remember when the publication sold for $1. Hey, we Power Liners may be stupid, but we actually operate in the black. And, more broadly, the time when liberals could seriously try to peddle the lie that conservatives are stupid is long, long gone.

There was a time when I enjoyed reading Newsweek. Had a subscription and looked forward to insightful analysis of the events of the world arriving in my mailbox each week.

I also had a television with vacuum tubes.  Both have passed into irrelevancy.

Everyone should see this video

This is a short satiric piece translating the Federal budget to a family budget scenario. They just dropped NINE digits from the fed numbers.



Put in these terms, even the most economically illiterate should grasp the problem we are facing.

Then again, they did vote for BHO in 2008, so I may be a bit optimistic.

Volt = Obama??

Sundancecracker over at Last Refuge gets it right:

Everything about the Chevy Volt is a metaphor for the Obama presidency. A product that everyone thought was great until they tried it out, now no-one wants it. It costs way too much. The performance reviews are horrible. It was overpromised and profoundly under-delivered. Less expensive competition can go twice as far, and if you’re not careful with it, it just might kill you while you’re sleeping.

Yep, a sh!t car for a sh!t presidency.

Read the whole article HERE.

Your goverment in action

Might as well be mandating the use of unicorn piss. From (gasp) the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law.

But there was none to be had. Outside a handful of laboratories and workshops, the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist.

In 2012, the oil companies expect to pay even higher penalties for failing to blend in the fuel, which is made from wood chips or the inedible parts of plants like corncobs. Refiners were required to blend 6.6 million gallons into gasoline and diesel in 2011 and face a quota of 8.65 million gallons this year.

“It belies logic,” Charles T. Drevna, the president of the National Petrochemicals and Refiners Association, said of the 2011 quota. And raising the quota for 2012 when there is no production makes even less sense, he said.

So let's see if we have this straight. The federal government mandates that oil companies put a product into their gasoline. Only it doesn't exist. And then the government fines them for not using a non-existent item.

And they want to run your healthcare?? And some think these brainiacs know how to do that better??

Read the whole disturbing story HERE.

Finally, an honest politician???

I've given up believing the campaign promises of politicians, if only because it's better for my stomach. If something good comes along, all is well. Mostly I just hope that they don't screw things up too badly. Amazingly, the American system of business and community seems to be quite resilient to deal with mediocrity in government.

In any case, news today from the office of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. From Politico:

Freshman Sen. Rand Paul is making good on his promise to cut federal spending. The Kentucky Republican and tea-party favorite said Thursday he’s returning $500,000 to the U.S. Treasury — money from his operating budget that his office never spent.

and

“I ran to stop the reckless spending. And I ran to end the damaging process of elected officials acting as errand boys, competing to see who could bring back the biggest check and the most amount of pork,” Paul said at a news conference in Louisville, where he presented taxpayers with a massive mock check for $500,000.

Maybe there is someone who carries through on their promises. We shall see.

Back again from the Unknowns

Well, a multiple year hiatus. A couple years of frustration with not just our government, but with the madness of much of the world. Time to get back to the keyboard.

Need to clean up some things....blogs on the blogroll that have passed into history. Other "stuff" as well. Now to have the discipline to write regularly.

Sensitivity 101 for a Friday

There are Canadian loons in places other than on their money:

Where else but Canada would it be considered "inclusive" to ban the national anthem?

The CBC reports that a school in New Brunswick no longer requires students to sing the anthem every day, in order not to upset some parents who might not like it:

Pinnochio of the Day Award

Maybe more like of the week....or month. But there's much competition for that grand an award.

Nonetheless, we submit this gem for your consideration. From Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

I didn’t come here to be partisan. I didn’t come here to be bipartisan. I came here, as did my colleagues, to be nonpartisan, to work for the American people, to do what is in their interest.

Right....and just how much is that bridge in your district's backyard going for these days??

From the NY Times, via Drudge.

And it's only January

The Gateway Pundit tells of the growing "Culture of Corruption" that is sweeping through city halls in America:

Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was busted on bribery charges today. He joins three fellow democratic mayors caught in scandal this year. Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Jan. 9, 2009, by a grand jury on 12 counts, including perjury, theft and misconduct in office. Racine Mayor Gary Becker was arrested on charges of attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement and possession of child pornography. Portland Mayor Sam Adams, the first openly gay mayor from a major American city, admitted last week that he had sexual relations with a teen intern.

Of course, there's that one common thread, but we'd have to be insensitive partisans to mention it. All are liberal democrats.

Full Disclosure??

The mayor of Hartford Connecticut surrendered on corruption charges yesterday. The real story is about the lapses in the news coverage. Initial stories managed to "omit" the party affiliation of the mayor, with later stories burying the news that he is a Democrat in the 13th paragraph.

There's actually a good formula that one can use to discern the unmentioned party of officials in news stories. If the story is negative and no party is mentioned, one can reliably assume the offender is a Democrat. If the story is positive and no party is mentioned, it's a Republican. That is, if a positive story about a Republican even sees the light of day in the MSM.

Hat tip to the boys at Power Line.

From the Gipper

From Ronald Reagan in 1975 at CPAC:

A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.

I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.

Hat tip to ScrappleFace for the quote.

Look at this....

The Dow Jones Industrial Average from Election Day to now:


So, where are the comparisons to Herbert Hoover? Oh, I forgot - we only make those statements when they're about a Republican politician.

I'm just holding on to my stocks for the long haul....which is looking longer every day.

Another hat tip to Flopping Aces.

Now they're asking??

From Dan Balz in the Washington Post:

At home, Obama must revive an economy experiencing some of the worst shocks in more than half a century. Abroad, he has pledged to end the war in Iraq and defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He ran on a platform to change the country and its politics. Now he must begin to spell out exactly how.

So let's get this straight....the Washington Post has no idea of what Obama is going to do.

Mike's America put it well over at Flopping Aces:

You mean the guy was campaigning for years and even the Washington Post doesn’t know what he would do once elected? All those debates. All those speeches. All those press conferences (oops! scratch that, he has held so very few) and we don’t know what Obama would do once he’s in office?

What were all those thousands of reporters doing when they weren’t busy investigating Sarah Palin’s children or Joe the Plumber? Don’t you think they could have asked Obama a question about the economy, Iraq or the Taliban?

Another example of the end of journalism by the traditional press.

Steyn on "being offended"

From Mark Steyn's column in the August issue of Imprimis:

I started keeping a file on pig controversies a couple of years ago, and you would be surprised at how routine they have become. Recently, for instance, a local government council prohibited its workers from having knickknacks on their desks representing Winnie the Pooh’s sidekick Piglet.

As Pastor Martin Niemoller might have said, "First they came for Piglet and I did not speak out because I was not a Disney character, and if I was, I’d be more of an Eeyore. Then they came for the Three Little Pigs and Babe, and by the time I realized the Western world had turned into a 24/7 Looney Tunes, it was too late, because there was no Porky Pig to stammer, ‘Th-th-th-that’s all folks!’, and bring the nightmare to an end."

All in order to keep Muslims in England from being "offended". Watch out, America....it's coming here soon.

Wednesday morning pick-me-up

Paul Mirengoff at Powerline had the silver lining of the morning:

One should never say "never" in politics. However, Barack Obama's victory almost certainly means that neither Hillary Clinton nor Al Gore will ever be president of the United States.

Small consolation.

Journalism RIP

In a self-congratulatory mode, the press will be sure to make the Obama victory the number one story of the year. Or more likely, the decade. But the biggest story is one that won't be found on the pages of the NY Times or the Washington Post. Or on 60 Minutes. No, the story is the death of journalism.

Victor Davis Hanson has it pegged. You need to read the whole piece, and shake your head muttering as it sinks in. You can find it HERE.

Thanks to Peg Kaplan at what if? for the heads up on the article.

Back to try to help save America

Well, the American people demonstrated that Will Rogers was correct when he wrote: “In America, anyone can grow up to be President: it’s a risk we all take.” They bought the image, and will come to know the reality soon enough.

It's enough to bring me back to blogging. We need sensible voices from "the wilderness" and hopefully, I'll provide one.

See you around.

Fred vs Moore -- The Smackdown

Michael Moore has challenged Fred Thompson to a debate on Cuba and the Cuban healthcare system. Well, Fred put out a video response - 38 seconds of cool, refined smackdown.

See the response HERE.

More and more, I'm thinking that Fred may be that clear-talking, non-triangulating candidate to inspire America. It is 18 months til the presidential election, and a lot can happen in that time. Thompson is in a position to make this an election on just what America is about.

Right now, I want these "debates" to winnow out the obvious chaff in the candidate ranks. I'm not going to make any kind of final endorsement, nor will I be a one-issue voter (aside from national security, which should be a given for all candidates). But I want someone who will be an inspiring candidate, not the safest one.

Word Substitution

I was listening to Mitch Berg and Ed Morrissey (from Shot in the Dark and Captain's Quarters respectively) this morning. They have a great radio program from the Twin Cities every Saturday as part of the Northern Alliance Radio Network.

During the show, they discussed the situation at Tufts University and the university's Islam Awareness week. A thought crossed my mind, and in the interest of sharing truths about modern language, I give it to you now.

Every time you hear the term "awareness" spoken/written/issued by a liberal or liberal organization, merely substitute the words "whitewashed praise and promotion". So we get the following:

Islam awareness week becomes Islam whitewashed praise and promotion week.

Womens awareness week becomes Womens whitewashed praise and promotion week.

Black awareness month becomes Black whitewashed praise and promotion month.

Hispanic awareness month becomes Hispanic whitewashed praise and promotion month.

You get the picture.

Thinking alike

In a previous post, I talked about the need for a straight-talking candidate who can clearly articulate a vision for America.

Seems that the Draft Fred Thompson website has similar thoughts:

We want a nominee who can carry a vision of a great America with clarity and conviction and who can translate this vision into meaningful public policy.

Fred Thompson’s record is solid. He does not waffle. He knows where he stands because he is sure of what he believes.

I won't say that Fred would be the perfect candidate. But think back to the 1980 election. GHW Bush was the "resume candidate" with all the right "background". Reagan was the "actor turned politician". In the primaries, who gave the vision for America, won the nomination, and later won the presidency?

The more this goes on, the more viable he looks - if only in comparison to the mediocrity that clogs this field.

Three Questions

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton visited a primary school in Ithaca, New York, to talk about her job as a senator. After her talk, she offered question time. One little boy put up his hand and the Senator asked his name. “Kenneth,’ he replied. “And what is your question, Kenneth?” she asked.

Kenneth answered, “I have three questions:
“First…..whatever happened to your medical health care plan?
Second…..why would you run for President after your husband shamed the office?
And third…..whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?”

Just then the bell rang for recess. Senator Clinton informed the kiddies that they would continue after recess. When they resumed, she asked, “Okay, where were we? Oh, that’s right…..question time. Who has a question?”

A different little boy raised his hand; Hillary pointed him out and asked him his name.
“Larry,” he replied. “And what is your question?” continued the Senator.

“I have five questions,” he answered,
“First…..whatever happened to your medical health care plan?
Second…..why would you run for President after your husband shamed the office?
Third…..whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?
Fourth…..why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early?
And fifth…..what happened to Kenneth?”

Stolen from The Confabulator.

Fear is the last refuge....

For a failing candidacy. Taking a page from many campaigns here in America, a candidate for the presidency of France played the fear card:

Socialist opponent Segolene Royal said on Friday that France risks violence and brutality if her opponent right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy wins Sunday's presidential election.

On the last day of official campaigning, opinion polls showed Sarkozy enjoyed a commanding lead over Royal, who accused the former interior minister of lying and polarizing France.

"Choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice," Royal told RTL radio.

"It is my responsibility today to alert people to the risk of (his) candidature with regards to the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country (if he won)," she said.

As I noted in a previous post, it's the hope for a better future that truly resonates with an electorate. Royal hasn't been able to articulate a new future for France, continuing to rehash and update the old government statism of the past. Facing defeat at the polls, the only tool left is a last-minute gasp to try to instill fear.

We've seen this here in America with the accusations that blacks will be killed, grandmothers will freeze in the winter, and gays will be systematically persecuted -- all if a Republican is elected. Nice to see that the left has a multi-cultural playbook that gets used in both America and in Europe. I just wish they would find some other argument to try to advance their agenda.

Thanks to Reuters for the report.

Verizon does the right thing

UPDATE: It seems that Verizon may still be sponsoring Akon through his association with the Gwen Stefani tour, which is being sponsored by Verizon. No word whether V is going to push for his removal from the tour. So hold off on buying those new mobile phones.
END UPDATE

I was about to post about Verizon's arrangement with Akon, when Verizon released the following:

Verizon decided this week to end its support and sponsorship of Akon.

Jim Gerace

Vice President, Corporate Communications
Verizon Wireless

Apparently enough people complained about Verizon's business arrangements to make it an issue worth addressing. Now comes the tricky part....will Verizon keep to the straight and narrow down the road?

I'll go back to considering Verizon - they just laid fiber cable in front of my house this week. Time for even faster internet??

H/T to Michelle Malkin for the news.

Candidate's debate

Much is being written on who won, who lost, who gained ground, who looks good, who needs a new haircut....the usual stuff. My quick view - I wasn't impressed. Too much posturing, too much CYA.

I worry that the Republicans in the field are trying to out-nuance the Democrats, long the masters of such double-talk. Following the polls and trying to appeal to ever-increasing subsectors of the electorate is a losing strategy. Catering to (and throwing money at) special interest blocs is the modus operandi of the Democratic party, and any attempt to emulate that direction is a fool's choice.

What this country needs is a candidate who will speak what he truly believes, lay down a vision for the country's future, and promise to always put the interests of the nation, and thus its people, first. Straight talk (not the Express), no bull, no nuances, no hedging. Here is where I stand, why it is right, and what I am going to do. Figure out how to say it in a few clear and concise paragraphs, then never stop repeating those principles. If the people can't know what you stand for, you'll never win their hearts or their votes.

Reagan did just that. He wasn't a wonk with tons of statistics, or a policy paper on everything, or a new program to throw money out the door. He had something far more compelling - an articulated vision that gave hope and promise for the future. And he delivered.

I'm still looking for that in a declared candidate on the Republican side.

From the mouth of an Iraqi

The Washington Post published a great piece today. An Iraqi write on why the USA, and the world, should not give up on Iraq. Some of the column:

So why should the world remain engaged in Iraq?

There is no denying the difficulties Iraq faces, and no amount of good news can obscure the demons of terrorism and sectarianism that have risen in my country. But there is too much at stake to risk failure, and everything to gain by helping us protect our hard-won democratic achievements and emerge as a stable, self-sustaining country.

We remain determined in spite of our losses. Spectacular attacks may dominate foreign headlines, but they cannot change the reality that Iraq has made steady political, economic and social progress over the past four years. We continue to strengthen our nascent democratic institutions, pursue national reconciliation and expand Iraqi security forces. The Baghdad security plan was conceived to give us breathing space to expedite political and economic development by "securing and holding" neighborhoods across the capital. There is no quick fix, but there have been real results: Winning public confidence has led to a spike in intelligence, a disruption of terrorist networks and the capture of key leaders, as well as the discovery of weapons caches. In Anbar province, Sunni sheikhs and insurgents have turned against al-Qaeda and to the side of Iraqi security forces. This would have been unthinkable even six months ago.

Read the whole article and ask yourself why the front pages aren't saying these things. Why does it only get one column on page A23?

H/T to AJ Strata over at The Strata-Sphere.