Halo redux

Proof Positive brings us the story of this photo.

The caption from the White House website reads:  President Barack Obama is reflected in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall as he delivers remarks during the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War commemoration ceremony in Washington, D.C., May 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Proof sums up my feelings, writing:

Is there anything, anywhere the president will not interject his bio, his personality or his visage? Could someone tell the White House photographer that of all of the reflections, on all the surfaces in the world, war memorials probably aren't that fitting a canvas to record The Won's image on. This is far more sickening than all the halos.

Is there any limit to the delusional narcissism that inhabits 1600 Pennsylvania?  I'm afraid that the answer is "No".

A billion here

Paul Krugman goes on ABC's This Week and demonstrates how out of touch the elites are with Americans.  He says: "We’re talking as if a billion dollars was a lot of money".



Well, when that billion comes from you and me, it is a lot.  But when it's viewed from the world of OPM, it's chump change.

From Breitbart.

The question for our times

In this interview with Dana Loesch of Breitbart, Representative Paul Ryan nails the issue with the central question of our times.  "Do we work for the government or does the government work for us?"


Pretty much puts it all into perspective.

Cronyism in the heartland

Although major firms like Solyndra have gotten deserved attention because of their huge federal croynism, that same disease is at work at the state level.  From Media Trackers Ohio comes this account of Toledo Blade reporting:

The Ohio Department of Development recently announced plans to audit Perrysburg solar-panel manufacturer Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC — also known as WK Solar — after the company failed to make regular debt payments on money it borrowed from taxpayers.  The company borrowed $5 million in taxpayer funds from Ohio’s Air Quality Development Authority “green jobs” program, as well as another $10 million in funds lent by the Department of Development itself.

The Air Quality Development Authority is a separate state commission but often collaborates on projects with the Department of Development.

As early as 2009, the Ohio Department of Development and the Air Quality Development Authority were aware of the company’s financial woes.  Company records provided to the state showed that WK Solar ran up $4.2 million in debt. Nonetheless, taxpayer funds continued to be pumped into WK Solar’s coffers.

At that time, state and federal officials had great expectations for the Perrysburg “green energy” company. Vice President Joe Biden joined then-Governor Ted Strickland to tour the plant, where Biden said the now-failing company was key to “our folks getting back in the game.” Massive taxpayer funding of the foundering green energy company has led critics to deride WK Solar as “Ohio’s Solyndra.”

In 2010, WK Solar executives — including CEO Michael Cicak and president James Appold — donated almost $25,000 to Gov. Ted Strickland’s re-election campaign. Cicak also donated to Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher’s US Senate campaign. Fisher served as director of the Department of Development under Governor Strickland.

Later that year, in July of 2010, the Department of Development lent WK Solar an additional $10 million in taxpayer dollars. Strickland’s administration also approved multiple deadline extensions for required financial reports, as well as deferrals for required loan repayments.

Records show that department officials were very aware of WK Solar’s financial woes but forged ahead with loan negotiations anyway. However, Strickland and Fisher both claim that they were not aware of any financial problems with the company whatsoever.

and more:

In December of 2011, WK Solar reported that it could not meet its promise to create over four hundred permanent jobs, a condition of the loan agreement with the state. Instead, as of this year, the company has created only fifty-one new jobs and has laid off forty employees. As reported by the Blade, no more than 72 people were employed by the company at any point in time.

William Mitchell, the company’s former chief executive officer, alleged that the company violated its contract by using Department of Development funds to pay other executives and to lend them money. Mitchell was fired in 2009, and died in 2011.

According to the Toledo Blade, before his termination, Mitchell copied company records showing that the firm spent thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds on entertainment expenses, including sports games in Detroit and Pittsburgh.

In the past few months, WK missed two monthly debt payments — $466,000 each — and has only made incomplete payments towards interest owed. The missed payments prompted the state to investigate.

That was Democrat Governor Strickland.  And Democrat Lt. Governor Fisher.   Just so you know.

The cronyism rot runs deep.

Thanks to Breitbart for the pointer.

Desperate people, desperate actions

From Powerline:

Unbelievable. The Democrats are looking down the barrel of a humiliating defeat in Wisconsin’s recall election on Tuesday, so today they played their last card: they started a rumor that Scott Walker fathered an illegitimate child 24 years ago. The “scoop” comes from something called the Wisconsin Citizens Media Co-op. The “Co-op” attributes the story to a woman named Bernadette Gillick, who teaches physical therapy at the University of Minnesota. Ms. Gillick claims to have known Walker’s girlfriend when they were students at Marquette. The “Co-op” says it has “not been able to independently verify Bernadette’s account.” No surprise there.

My own call is that this is nothing compared to what we will see in October.  They have no shame.

Payback

From the New York Post comes this story:

Six Long Island cops claim their commissioner is putting politics before the badge.

The Long Beach crime fighters say they’ve been targeted by the seaside town’s Democratic machine for supporting GOP candidates in local elections last year.

Long Beach Police Commissioner Michael Tangney, a longtime Democrat, demoted the cops, cut their overtime, switched them to midnight tours and even filed false internal charges against them for “political payback,” the veteran officers claim in a $39 million lawsuit.

“It’s just the way politics work in this town,” Tangney allegedly told one of the officers while demoting him.

Culture of corruption....it starts locally.

Let them eat.....with us!!

Growing up, Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's meant that there was the adult's table and the children's table.  We have a similar theme with the Obama's.

A new video ad was released touting the latest contest to spend time with The One.  Can one say unctuous?  Even Juan Williams slammed it on Fox News Sunday.

“That was hilarious. That looks like a parody. It looked like the Romney Campaign planted Dr. Evil in the House of Obama. And, he said, you know, on the day the grim job numbers come out, let’s have someone who reeks of ornamental excess announce that the peasants can have a place at the table. It’s just unbelievable.”

For those with a strong stomach, here's the Obama ad.  Sure makes me want to spend an evening with these folks.  I'd better be sure to have my invitation in hand or I'll be shunted off to the servant's entrance.



And that Obama 2012 scarf!!  To say nothing about that hip, urbane introduction.  Nothing flyover here, you hayseeds.

You see....they are better than the rest of us.  And they'll show their compassion by sharing some bread with you.

Thanks to the Gateway Pundit.

The Preacher's Son

I came across this story by Robert Costa at NRO's The Corner.  It tells of the inner strength that carries forward many of our conservative leaders.  And of a father's love. I wanted to share it with the readers here at the OC.

Milwaukee, Wis. — At dusk tonight, sitting on a bench outside of a nondescript office complex, was an elderly gentleman in a bright-red T-shirt. He sat there for ten minutes, his hands folded, and waited for Governor Scott Walker to appear.

From afar, one could easily confuse the silver-haired grandfather with an aging AFSCME activist. Up close, he was anything but. His shirt had a short message: “My Son, Scott Walker, is a Hero."

“Llew Walker,” he told me, gesturing toward the bench. Walker, a 73-year-old retired Baptist preacher from Illinois, has been following his son, the embattled Badger State governor, for the past week.

At events, Walker says, he doesn’t say much to his son, other than offer encouragement. He spends most of his time chatting with the unpaid volunteers, thanking them for making calls.

When his son has to leave for the next stump stop, Walker senior usually hangs back, making small talk. His wife, Patricia, hands out homemade chocolate-chip cookies. “Scott is handling this very well,” Walker says. “He’s been steady. But he’ll be glad to have it all over with.”

Years ago, Walker recalls, he taught his son to be a low-key leader. He supported him as he became an Eagle Scout and invited him to speak at church services — a challenge Scott relished.

“I remember this USA Jesus club he was involved with, back when we were living in Iowa,” Walker says. “It was so apparent that he wanted to reach out and help people in the community. The city hall didn’t have an Iowa flag so he and his friends started a project to buy one. Well, they did just that, then presented it to city hall.”

Walker grimaces when I mention the Left’s rough rhetoric. He pauses and shakes his head. “Scott’s used to that, being part of the whole process,” he says. “He’s got a personal faith and reads Scripture every day, so he’s handling it.”

The small crowd begins to clap. Walker has arrived. The governor greets his supporters, one by one, then slowly makes his way toward the bench. When he spots his father, he doesn’t say a word. He simply opens his arms.

GSA and OPM

Remember those wonderful folks at the GSA who were merrily spending government funds (aka Taxpayer's Money) on junkets and frivolity.  There's more.  From the Washington Post:

Ninety-five high-ranking employees at the General Services Administration who are assigned to work from home racked up $750,000 in travel expenses over nine months, documents show, prompting concerns from agency officials but no action to curtail the expenses.

The travel records, provided by the agency to congressional committees, provide fresh evidence of a spending culture at GSA’s Public Buildings Service that led to an embarrassing scandal this spring over a conference off the Las Vegas strip.

And what kind of response do we have?

GSA spokesman Adam Elkington said Friday the agency is “conducting an extensive review” of its operations that includes travel policies and staff deployment.

Civil service, combined with expansionist government, brings about some of the most cancerous rot to our system.  There is no responsibility, no accountability, and minimal fear of retribution.

And, of course, it's all done with OPM.  To remind you, that OPM is what comes from the taxpayers of America.  Aka you and me.  

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin and I Own the World for the story.

Destruction?

Tammy Bruce puts forward some interesting thoughts on the behavior of The One:

Is Obama deliberately revealing national security secrets?

I think the answer is Yes, for a couple of reasons. The most obvious is his re-election effort affected by Corvette Syndrome–taking credit for and bragging about national security events or accomplishments may give people the impression that he’s tough and cares about the country. Just like men who feel the need to drive around in cars that are meant to signal something they feel deficient in. In other words, legitimate accomplishment doesn’t need to brag or advertise.

The other reason so many people are unwilling to touch is the fact that Obama, throughout his term, has done things to harm this country. So why stop now? It may be subconscious, but you can’t have this much destruction at every level to have it be simple bad luck. Even a broken clock is right twice a day–in order to be this much of a mess Obama has to be working at it. I contend Obama is deliberately doing as much damage as possible to punish us for rejecting him and to make President Romney’s job even more difficult. Not only will Romney have to face an economic disaster, but now he’ll be contending with the aftermath of a president who is revealing national security secrets to the entire world as we arguably plunge toward war on various fronts. 

I wouldn't put it past him.  As to why, there may be several reasons.  Read the whole article HERE along with some insightful comments.

Hat tip to I Own the World for the pointer.

Lie-awatha strikes

Well, the establishment Democrats in Massachusetts fell into line and nominated Lie-awatha to be their standard bearer for the fall election against Scott Brown.

Why do I think this is just the start of her problems?  I can't wait to see what they come up with about her "scholarship" and her foreclosure flipping.  Oh, you don't know about those.  All will be revealed.

Otherwise, it's a pretty quiet Saturday.  The OC might even take some time to watch a movie.

Voter ID in Massachusetts

From Mike Flynn comes this story about voter ID requirements. But with a different spin than you might think. Quoted in full from Breitbart:

In recent years, Democrats have argued that requiring voters to show photo IDs prior to voting is an egregious act of voter suppression. Ben Jealous, of the NAACP, has gone so far as to argue that such requirements are tantamount to modern-day Jim Crow laws. In the world they inhabit, lots of voters don't have access to photo IDs, so requiring voters to provide this will "disenfranchise" them and leave them out of the democratic process. Funny they don't feel that way for their own party conventions.

On Saturday, Massachusetts delegates will meet in their state's Democrat party convention. The votes of these delegates will determine whether there are primary elections for their party nominations. With so much at state, Democrats have decided to implement Voter ID requirements:

A PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE MASSMUTUAL CENTER

Wait, what? Democrats tell us that photo ID requirements disenfranchise minority voters, who, inexplicably, have limited access to photo IDs. Yet, at their own convention, they insist that all delegates provide a photo ID to even have access to the convention floor. When their own party is at state, it seems their priorities are somewhat different that their rhetoric suggests.

If the Democrats actually believe the rhetoric from people like Ben Jealous, then they have disenfranchised scores of potential delegates with this photo ID requirement. If, on the other hand, they instituted the photo ID requirement to ensure the integrity of the votes of the party delegates, they should repudiate the NAACP and work to ensure that their own rules carry through election day.

Voter ID is good for me, but not thee is not a winning campaign slogan.

It goes along well with the hypocrisy of the Department of Justice.  You have to show photo ID to enter their building in Washington, DC, but the DoJ is fully against requiring ID to vote.

Why do I think there will be some undercover video of Democrats requiring IDs popping up after this weekend.

Karma is alive and well in Massachusetts

Breitbart TV brings us this video, where Elizabeth Warren talks about how, "I'll begin by roasting a few students.  It always makes me smile."

What goes around comes around. Enjoy being the new media's marshmallow.

Note: Because the embed code autostarts the video, it is found after the break.  Click the "Read More" to view.

It's not just W anymore

President Obama found a way today to blame others than George Bush for his problems.  From the Washington Examiner:

President Obama attributed the rise in unemployment to European struggles and high gas prices in the United States, when he spoke to Minnesotans today.

"As we learned in today's jobs report, we're still not creating them as fast as we want," Obama said. "We had high gas prices, a month two months ago," he said, "and then, most prominently, most recently, we've had a crisis in Europe's economy that is having an impact worldwide; and it's starting to cast a shadow on our own [economy] as well."

"We can't fully control what happens in other parts of the world," Obama said, again citing "what's going on in Europe."

He then blamed Congress for failing to pass his jobs bill. "Congress should've passed a bill a long time ago to put thousands of construction workers back on the job," he said.

Maybe it's a warm and fuzzy from the portrait ceremony at the White House.  But note the consistency...it's always something outside and nothing that he's responsible for.  Except maybe those energy prices that could be solved by a little free-market leadership.  And.....

The Arrogance of the Nanny

Michael Bloomberg shows that he is better than us.

"Nobody is taking away any of your rights," Bloomberg said later in the broadcast. "This way, we're just telling you ‘That's a lot of soda.'"

We're just telling you.

Thingamajigs for Obama

At a Honeywell plant, Obama today demonstrated his deep understanding of economics.



The government is going to give you money, so that you can buy a thingamajig.  Son of Stimulus?

Of course, the unspoken is just where that money is coming from in the first place.  Remember, to them, it's just OPM.  But we know...it's money being taken from us, from our children and from our grandchildren.

Plus, that southern "drop the g's" preaching voice....please.

Hat tip to Weasel Zippers.

Elope-a-dope

The Elizabeth Warren rope-a-dope has now become "Elope-a-dope".  First, still more "evidence" of her Cherokee heritage.  Michael Patrick Leahy reports:

Last night, in a bizarre interview with the Boston Globe, Elizabeth Warren tripled down on her Native American heritage claims, despite extensive debunking of her previous doubling down on those claims and thoroughly documented debunking of her original claims in excruciating detail here at Breitbart News. She told the Globe’s Brian McGrory:

One side was Cherokee and the other side was Delaware. I never had any reason to doubt them. I never asked for any documentation. It’s who we were.

Ms. Warren offered, in her defense, a never-before-heard tale about her parents:

“In the 1930s, when my parents got married, these were hard issues,’’ Warren said. “My father’s family so objected to my mother’s Native American heritage that my mother told me they had to elope." [emphasis added]

Of course, if you are Elizabeth Warren and in her world, you can just say something and it is supposed to be taken as gospel.  Much like her questionable academic "work" on bankruptcies, but that's grist for many more mills.  Instead, we get this reporting:

Breitbart News has obtained a copy of what it believes to be Warrens' parents’ marriage certificate from Hughes County, Oklahoma, dated January 4, 1932. The marriage took place in Holdenville, Oklahoma, the county seat, located approximately 14 miles from Wetumpka, Oklahoma, which both the 21-year-old groom, Donald J. Herring, and 19-year-old bride, Pauline Reed, declared as their residence.

Breitbart News found the certificate at the blog Pollysgranddaughter, where it was linked on May 22, prior to Warren's claims about her parents' marriage.

According to the document, the marriage was performed by Sidney H. Babcock, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church South of Holdensville, Oklahoma.

Typically, couples that elope do not marry in a church, or in their place of residence.

Breitbart News will continue to investigate Ms. Warren’s claims that her parents were forced to elope because of her father’s family’s objections to her mother’s Native American heritage and will report those facts as they are discovered.

A copy of the marriage certificate is at the Breitbart link above.

Personally, I hope that the end result is that Warren comes out of the Democratic state convention needing to go through the primary process.  Continued vetting should show to even the most liberal Bay Staters that Warren is, first off, not the person she's carefully constructed.  That she's a serial fabricator, making things up as needed.  And finally, that she does not belong in the US Senate.

Why it matters

Mike Flynn of Breitbart explains just why the Elizabeth Warren story matters.

First, this bears repeating: Elizabeth Warren was trumpeted by Obama and the political left as the absolute best person to police practices in the financial services industry. She was the 'cop on the beat' to ensure banks were completely transparent in their affairs and made all the proper and full disclosures to consumers. But, she can't even keep her own bio straight.

Since the news of Warren's claim to Native American ancestry first broke a month ago, the political world has been on a roller coaster of changing stories and dissembling explanations. Warren's initial response was that she was completely unaware that Harvard had listed her as a "minority" law professor until she read the first news report. It would take a complete post to review every twist and turn in Warren's story. Simply read the excellent work of Michael Patrick Leahy for the best record of the burgeoning political soap opera.

Again, these are the people who believe that they are your betters.  The one who can lead and protect you.  The ones who know the most, and know what's best.  Yet again and again, they are shown to be self-absorbed and concerned only for what advances their power.

Obama's Strategy

Stolen from Grouchy Old Cripple in Atlanta.

Truth in labeling?

As you might guess by now, I am having fun following the travails of Elizabeth Warren, aka Fauxcahontas, aka Chief Running Joke.  On a bit of a lighter note, here's Bob Gale explaining at Breitbart how we would apply other standards to her 1/32nd Cherokee content (quoted in full):

Try this experiment.  Pour 15-½ ounces of Coca-Cola in a tall glass.  Add 1 tablespoon of Budweiser, which is exactly ½ ounce.  That makes it 1/32 beer.  Question:  do you now have a glass of beer?  Obviously not...unless you're Elizabeth Warren, in which case the answer is yes, you now have a frosty mug of Bud.

Here's another one.  Pour 31 ounces of water into a carafe.  Add 1 ounce of Chardonnay.  Now, serve it at a bar as “house white wine” and charge $8 a glass for it.  How do we think the customers would react?  Would Ms Warren believe that this was a perfectly acceptable glass of wine?  And if Ms Warren were the bartender and she served wine this way, how long would she have her job? 

Imagine that Elizabeth Warren was a restaurant inspector who went to a self-proclaimed Vegan restaurant.  She checks their recipe for “organic veggie burgers” and discovers that the patties are made from a mixture of 31 pounds of fatty ground beef and 1 pound of organic soy.  Apparently Ms Warren would swear on a Bible that these were indeed vegan burgers.   So does this mean that a lot of  restaurateurs will now be voting for her?

Perhaps Ms Warren could comment about her standards when she was a Harvard professor.  If a student turned in 32 papers, got an “A” on one and a “C” on the others, would Ms Warren give him an “A?”  If he attended only one class out of 32, would he get a gold star on his attendance record?

If Ms. Warren had to be certified by the FDA, how would they evaluate her?  She claims her Native American status based on being 1/32 Cherokee.  That's less than 3.2%.   The FDA fruit juice standards say that to call something “orange juice,” it must contain at least 11.8% orange juice from concentrate.  So Ms. Warren fails that test.  She also fails the grape juice test (16%), the pineapple juice test (12.8%), the cranberry juice test (7.5%) and even the lemon juice test (4.5%), which has the lowest percentage of any fruit juice on their list.  In other words, if Ms Warren was a fruit juice, the FDA would not allow her to call herself Cherokee.

Finally, one last statistic.  In 2005, genetic researchers determined that the genomes of humans and apes are 96% identical.  96%!  Hmmm... I guess Harvard didn't have “chimpanzee” as one of the choices for ethnicity on their job application form.   Okay, I admit, that last bit was really unfair.  After all, that genetic research was done many years after Ms Warren got her job at Harvard, and she simply couldn't have known about it.

 Too good.

Big Pharma

The fix was in.  During the run-up to Obamacare, the Obama administration used a familiar page from the Democrat playbook, the payoff.  Breitbart reports (quoted in full):

President Obama spent much of his time during the Obamacare debate ripping pharmaceutical companies for supposedly overcharging customers. But as it turns out, an email from June 2009 shows that Obama’s director of White House Office of Health Reform, Nancy DeParle, told Big Pharma’s chief lobbyist that the Obama administration would protect the industry from drug reimportation from Canada, which would cut prices on medication. “I made decision, based on how constructive you guys have been, to oppose importation on this bill,” she wrote. In other words, the Obama administration got its quid pro quo: support from Big Pharma. In exchange, they’d ensure that drugs weren’t imported from Canada to undercut US prices.

Big Pharma agreed to finance millions of dollars worth of television advertising on behalf of Obamacare, and absorb $80 billion in cost over ten years. As Philip Klein points out:

In exchange, PhRMA not only ended up with a law that promised to provide it with millions of new customers, but protected it against policies contemplated by Democrats that would have been harmful to their profits, such as introducing a government plan into the Medicare prescription drug program, allowing rebates for drug purchases through the program and drug re-importation.

Obama’s promises of transparency and accountability were lies in 2008; now, they’re provable lies. And those who kowtow to him reap the benefits of his dishonesty.

There's money in the air

If there's one thing that the OC wants everyone to take from this blog, it's "Follow the Money".  Because, when you strip away all the lofty words and emotional rhetoric, it all comes down to.....tada....money.

For as much as Congress and the DC establishment are pros at this, few hold a candle to the statist bureaucrats of the European Union.  Not content just to exert control over Europe, they want the tentacles to extend over America.  From Breitbart:

The European Union has established an Emissions Trading Scheme, which taxes all airlines including American carriers on carbon emissions, even while they are flying over the United States.

Yes, you read that correctly.  If a plane takes off in San Diego, California and lands in Madrid, Spain, an American airline would be taxed by the Europeans on its carbon emissions for the entire flight, even though the bulk of the flight occurred over the United States and the Atlantic Ocean.  Their rational?  It landed in Europe.

Read the whole story.

More slaps to Poland

In addition to the "Polish death camps", Team Obama continues to insult one staunch ally in Europe.  From Keith Koffler at White House Dossier (quoted in full):

The White House rejected Poland’s request that Lech Walesa receive the Medal of Honor on behalf of Polish World War II hero Jan Karski, according to the Wall Street Journal:

The mood soured a bit before Tuesday’s award ceremony. The Poles wanted Lech Walesa to receive the medal on Karski’s behalf, but the White House nixed the choice. Last year, during Mr. Obama’s visit to Poland, the hero of Solidarity refused to attend a large gathering to meet the younger leader. Mr. Walesa felt entitled to a tete-a-tete. Administration officials told Polish journalists that Mr. Walesa’s presence was too “political” for this week’s occasion. Poles read something else into it: Mr. Obama holds grudges. The counter-snub was the talk of Poland last week.

Walesa, the hero of the opposition to Poland’s Communist regime and the symbol of the resistance the country’s domination by the Soviets, has more recently criticized Obama and warned that the United States was slipping toward Socialism, according to the National Review,
As the National Review notes:

Meanwhile, one of the recipients of the Medal was Dolores Huerta, the honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. So socialist politics are acceptable, but not the politics of a man who stood up and fought socialism.

This was all before Obama carelessly referred to Polish Death Camps at the ceremony and then refused Polish demands that he apologize.

Looks like we’ve pressed the Reset Button on our relations with Poland.

Just in from Turtle Bay

Moonbattery has news on those brilliant folks at the United Nations.

Only the United Nations could top the disgusting outrage of Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the communist Dolores Huerta. Here’s how:

The United Nations has “hit a new low” with its decision to honor Zimbabwe strongman Robert Mugabe as an international tourism leader, House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said Tuesday.

Mugabe has been accused of rigging elections, cracking down on political opponents and plunging his country into economic ruin. The president is an international pariah subject to a travel ban by the United States and the European Union.

But on Tuesday, Mugabe and one of his political allies, Zambian President Michael Sata, inked an agreement for their countries to co-host the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s general assembly in August 2013. The U.N. also sent Mugabe and Sata a letter asking them to serve as “global leaders” for tourism.

They must have picked Mugabe because so many tourists travel to his country to watch the fly-covered, pot-bellied children starve.

The UNWTO controversy comes just days after U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for the suspension of international sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe since 2002.

Under British colonial rule, Rhodesia was known as the Breadbasket of Africa. Then came Hope & Change. It is now known as Zimbabwe. The white-run farms that produced such abundance have been seized in the name of The People and given over to weeds. Mugabe, a socialist, rules with an iron fist from his palace. Inflation has reduced the currency to worthlessness.

At least Zimbabwe offers hope to the USA. If we continue on our current course, the UN will start to like us.

Nope....no matter what we do, the UN will hate America.  Because America stands for everything that the despots of the world detest.  We are their enemy, but will we finally realize that they are ours?

New York Nanny

The People's Cube provides this take on Michael Bloomberg's latest nanny proposal.

These people think they know more than you do, and they are the only ones who can protect you. 

Tax dollars at Gitmo

The American Thinker lets us know of one more way the federal government is wasting our dollars.

They're cutting military pensions and health benefits but the Pentagon found $750,000 for a new soccer field at Guantanamo for the terrorist detainees.  Fox News reports:

At a time of record deficits, a new soccer field for detainees at Camp 6 in Guantanamo Bay is just getting the finishing touches -- at a cost of $750,000 to taxpayers.

The project was the highlight of a tour Tuesday of the detention camp for reporters at the facility covering the arraignment in a military court of Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident and the only legal U.S. resident on trial at Guantanamo.

The project began in April 2011 and is due to finish this spring. The detainees will now have three recreation facilities at Camp 6, which is home to "highly compliant" detainees who live in a communal setting.

In addition to an indoor recreation field and the existing outdoor recreation field, the new soccer field -- selected because it is such a popular sport with detainees -- is half the size of an American football field.

The new field has been specially constructed so that the detainees "have maximum access" -- about 20 hours a day. Special passageways allow the detainees to pass into the new recreation yard without being escorted by the military.

On the tour, a military police representative who asked not to be identified by name said allowing high levels of activity outdoors helped reduce behavioral problems at the camps, and it also limited the amount of interaction between detainees and the guards.

I am very happy for the terrorists. Have their ever been prisoners treated in such a grand manner? These guys were living in hovels and mud huts before their capture. Now they've got 3 squares and a bed, a soccer field, a big library -- stuff they never dreamed of possessing back home. Not to mention a government lawyer provided free of charge.

Something is wrong with this picture.

You can say that again.  Remember, they always know how to spend OPM.

Hat tip to I Own the World for the pointer.

Fundraiser in Chief

From Keith Koffler at White House Dossier:

With Republicans steamrollering ahead with a group of well-fed Super Pacs and an increasingly successful money effort by Mitt Romney, President Obama Friday will attend six fundraisers, a possible sign of budding desperation for a campaign that is lagging far behind its initial fundraising expectations.

Obama will travel to Minneapolis, where he will ensconce himself at the Bachelor Farmer Restaurant for three successive fundraising events. Afterward, he moves on to Chicago for a fundraiser at the Chicago Cultural Center and then two events at what appear to be separate private residences.

In April, Obama’s fundraising total actually declined by nearly $10 million from the $53 million he took in during March.

Meanwhile, Romney raised $40.1 million in April, nearly on pace with Obama.

Before heading to Minneapolis, Obama will hold an event at the Honeywell Golden Valley Facility in Golden Valley, Minnesota, where he will call on Congress to pass his “To Do List” of economic proposals.

And, of course, that speech at Honeywell will be an "official" visit, thus paid for by us, the taxpayers.

Michael Ramirez of IBD nails that one:

 

No liberals here...just move along

From Breitbart comes this revelation from Dan Rather (he of the false Bush National Guard memos):

Dan Rather told Jon Stewart claims of any liberal media bias at ABC, CBS and NBC — is just “camouflage”. The three networks aren’t “chocked full of liberals,” he said.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Still blowing smoke and thinking the American people will believe you.  Gotcha, Dan.  Why don't you go back to covering hurricanes in Galveston.

Fauxcahontas news conference

From William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

This is beyond bizarre.  I had heard about Deval Patrick saying something about how the people of Massachusetts don’t care about Elizabeth Warren’s false claim of Cherokee heritage, but until I saw this video (via Michael Patrick Leahy), I didn’t realize just how bad the press conference was.

There is something seriously wrong here.  Why does the Governor feel the need to protect a Senate candidate from questions which seemingly would be so easy for Warren to answer?  Why does Warren launch into a robotic class warfare speech every time the subject comes up.

What is going on here?

Is “I’m sorry, I was wrong” so hard for Warren to say, does it so shatter her being that she prefers to become a laughingstock of the nation not because she falsely claimed Cherokee heritage based (supposedly) on family lore, but that she cannot admit to it in the face of a mountain of evidence?

There is something very wrong here.  I don’t know if it’s a personality condition or there is some secret out there which she is afraid will be found once she starts answering questions.

Rope-a-dope is a good political strategy, but not when it makes you look like a dope.

Elizabeth Warren gets asked a question.  And rather than answer it, she let's the governor of Massachusetts speak up instead.  She hides behind his answer.  And later, when pressed again, she goes into her whole schtick about the families...how the families are hammered....how it's all about the families.  Can she talk about something other than "families"?

I love the arrogance of Deval Patrick. How he casually says “On behalf of the people of the Commonwealth, we don’t care about that subject.” Talk about speaking for the people.

Son of Santelli?

Three years ago, Rick Santelli had his famous rant from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.  Here's a trip down memory lane.



Now comes a rant from the floor of the Illinois state House of Representatives in Springfield.  Representative Mike Bost let loose during a "we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it" moment.

Long time Democratic power boss, Speaker Mike Madigan, had introduced a "pension reform" bill into the house in the morning.  It passed a quick committee vote and was then rushed to the floor of the Illinois House.  Bost objected to the "business as usual" tactic of ramming bills through the legislature without giving legislators time to digest what they were going to vote on.  This particular bill was several hundred pages long.



First Santelli, now Bost.  Maybe there's something in the water back there.  Whatever it is, I'd love to bottle it and give it every Republican in America.

Hat tip to The Blaze.