Latest OBAMANations  -- Day 292

 

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America is on the brink of another revolution.  In a new American TEA Party, citizens across the USA are beginning to protest Obama's giant government programs that reach deep into their pockets.

For information on How to Organize you own "TEA Party" Protest click here
 

 

 

 

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11/7/09

Obama's Frightening Insensitivity

Robert George says Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed.  The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that Obama would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance.  At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to Obama.  The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light Obama making introductory remarks.  At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, he thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner."  Three minutes in, Obama spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms.  Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned.  An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter.  Obama should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in.  That's the least that should occur.

Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before.  That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.

Did Obama's team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment?  The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on -- and the initial words coming out of his mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.

It must have been disappointing for many politically aware Democrats, still reeling from the election two days before.  The New Jersey gubernatorial vote had already demonstrated that Obama and his political team couldn't produce a winning outcome in a state very friendly to Democrats (and where he won by 15 points one year ago).  And now this?  Congressional Democrats must wonder if a White House that has burdened them with a too-heavy policy agenda over the last year has a strong enough political operation to help push that agenda through.

If Obama's communications apparatus can't inform -- and protect -- their boss during tense moments when the country needs to see a focused and compassionate leader, it has disastrous consequences for his party and supporters.

All of Obama's men (and women) fell down on the job Thursday.  And Democrats across the country have real reason to panic.

Obama's TV appearance was actually worse than the above description.

He was cold, and read his statement as though he were describing how the White House budget is prepared -- it was a shocking display of detachment -- but as a person that loathes all things military, not surprising.

By the way, Joe Medicine Crow is not a recipient of the Medal of Honor.  He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- and from Obama.

Obama is so clueless he doesn't know the difference between the nation's highest award that recognizes "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his [or her] life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States," and an award made for "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Smarty-pants Obama should know the difference between the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom -- especially since he personally awarded the latter to Crow.

Don't expect this blunder to receive wide coverage.  It's not something he can blame George Bush for.
Gaffes
11/6/09

The Firing Squad For Him

The excuses for this jihadii are already coming from the sympathetic left.  Then, there's the Obama-Left:
    

"Behavior of this sort is a regular occurrence in the US Armed Forces.  However killing themselves, although it happens from time to time, is unusual.  It is normally friendly troops, villages of indigenous peoples or schools, and wedding parties!

   
All over the Net sympathetic words provide a rationale for the murderer -- it was the wartime horror stories he heard from his patients that set him off -- someone keyed "Allah" into his car (not this bogus trick again?) -- because of his ethnicity -- because someone called him a "camel jockey."  Everything but poor potty training.

All this stuff comes from a phone call from an alleged cousin, and none of it is a defense for his atrocities.

According to his aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va, Hasan was a devout Muslim who prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md.  Hasan "did not make many friends" and "did not make friends fast," his aunt said.  "He had no girlfriend and was not married.  He steered clear of female colleagues."

Faizul Khan, the former imam at the center said, "He came to mosque one or two times to see if there were any suitable girls to marry."  Khan said. "I don't think he ever had a match, because he had too many conditions.  He wanted a girl who was very religious, prays five times a day.

Ironically, Hasan was brought down by a female police sergeant, Kim Munley.  She was wounded by Hasan in an exchange of gunfire, but she got the bastard.  (more Munley stuff, with photos her two daughters)

Atlas Shrugs is reporting that civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday.

Munley, who had been trained in active-response tactics, rushed into the building and confronted the shooter as he was turning a corner, Cone said.  (Fox News says Hasan was shot him 4 times)

"It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer," Cone said.

Munley was only a few feet from crazed Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan when she opened fire.

   

Ft. Hood hero -- Kim Munley
   
On the other hand, Col. Terry Lee (ret) who worked with Hasan quoted Hasan as saying, "Muslims should stand up against the aggressor," and also said Hasan often verbalized his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lee told Fox News that Hasan, "was hoping that President Obama would pull troops out. ... When things weren't going that way, he became more agitated, more frustrated with the conflicts over there ... he made his views well known about how he felt about the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan."

 "He said Muslims shouldn't be fighting Muslims," he added. "He was very clear on that."

This guy has a history.  The AP is reporting that federal law enforcement officials say Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings he made.  These postings related to suicide bombings and other threats.   The Feds say an official investigation was not opened.

Hasan was listed as a participant in a Homeland Security Policy Institute's Presidential Transition Task Force last year.  Hasan applied on the institute's website to attend the meeting and was accepted because of his professional credentials.  He participated in disaster preparation -- he knew the drill.  Here, he's listed on a page with the ironic title, "Thinking Anew -- Security Priorities For The Next Administration."

I have a security priority -- keep Muslims out of the military.  There's plenty of Arab-speaking Christians in the country that can serve as translators.  This episode is unsettling for a number of reasons, but most of all because it exposes the fact that political correctness has forced military commanders to ignore the presence of radical, anti-American Muslims in the ranks.

Hasan was a psychiatrist.  The United States Army provided him that education.  He gladly took that education, but when it came time for him to do his duty he murdered 13 human beings and wounded 30 more.
          
The above is a snapshot from a video obtained from the owner of a 7-Eleven at Fort Hood.  He said Hasan -- whom he knows as "Major Nidal" -- came in for coffee and hash browns most mornings, including the morning of the shootings.  The surveillance video shows Hasan at the cashier's counter at about 6:20 a.m. -- on his way home from morning prayers.  He was carrying a beverage and dressed in traditional Arab garb.

He went home, prepared his weapons, changed into his Army uniform, and about seven hours later, began his assault on the unarmed and defenseless soldiers -- several of whom he shot in the back.

This was premeditated, up-close murder.  He took the time to load several magazines.  The weapons he used accommodated 13 rounds -- he had two of them.  He would have  to reload.  He gave his furniture to his neighbors.  He handed out copies of the Quran.  He took the time to put on his uniform.  He took the time to drive, with his personal weapons to Ft. Hood.  He had time to make a U-turn.  He murdered those poor souls up close, and personal, inside buildings where they had nowhere to go.  Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great!" -- before opening fire, the base commander said Friday.  Fox News is reporting that Hasan jumped up on a table and was shooting down at his victims -- some he shot multiple times.  One of the soldiers said he was laying on the floor for cover, when Hasan shot him from 5 feet away.

This is treason.  It was a slaughter.  It was jihad, plain and simple -- just another example of Sudden Jihad Syndrome.

Right now Hasan is on a ventilator in a local civilian hospital under military and civilian guard.  I sure hope they are withholding any and all pain medication.

The only logical and reasonable end to this horrible incident, the largest act of terror since 9/11, is to put this son-of-a-bitch up against the wall, and give him what he gave.

But you watch all the apologists from the Left -- they'll plead for mercy -- we will be told that this was the act of a lone gunman.  It says nothing about any religion.  We will be told about thousands of Muslims who do not believe that randomly killing innocent people leads to paradise.

And this morning, the military-loathing Obama, showing no emotion, said, "blah, blah, blah, . . . don't jump to conclusions . . . blah, blah, blah," and ran and hid in the White House, taking no questions from the press.

The NBC affiliate in Obama's home town of Chicago even commented on the Obamamessiah's indifference, with a headline that roared, "Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting."

Permalink . . .
Opinion
11/5/09
Sudden Jihad Syndrome -- Major Malik Nadal Hasan Kills 13 And Wounds 30



The shooter, who was wounded, was a major in the US Army from Virginia -- reportedly a convert to Islam.

Army Times reports that Hasan was an Army psychiatrist.

Received a "Poor Performance" evaluation at Walter Reed Hospital.

Here is his Practitioner Info from Virginia Board of Medicine -- less than 1 year.

Here is Hasan's Officer Record Brief -- "No religious preference"

His cousin called into Fox News -- "always a Muslim" -- "a good American"

Col. Terry Lee (ret) who worked with Hasan quoted Hasan as saying, "Muslims should stand up against the aggressor."

Maj. General Robert Scales (ret) is reporting that his sources inside the military say this was a deliberate act.

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said the people killed were specifically targeted by the murderer.

AP is reporting there were "dual shootings" -- more than one shooter -- possibly three.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said there were three shooters.

Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone said there were "eyewitness accounts of more than one shooter."

Military authorities are still hunting for others -- latest report -- one in custody.

Military personnel reported rifle fire, as well as handgun.

Military press conference at 9 PM -- "a single shooter."

It will be interesting to see how the mainstream media, and the Obama administration will spin this.

As usual, and before any investigation, the FBI said the shootings have nothing to do with terrorism.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama, reacting to the terror attack, said "blah, blah, blah, blah and blah."

Military
11/5/09

Andy Stern:  Comrade Obama’s #1 Visitor

Stop the ACLU reports that two recent court rulings have resulted in the Moonbat Messiah "voluntarily" disclosing his White House visitor’s list.  General Stanley McCrystal -- commander of our forsaken troops in Afghanistan -- has met with ObaMao twice.  In stark contrast, Andy Stern -- head of the ACORN-affiliated Service Employees International Union (SEIU) -- has visited the White House 22 times, leading the list.

SEIU has earned its face time with the POTUS by donating $60 million and 100,000 volunteers to Obama’s campaign.  Although Stern has made it clear that every single member of SEIU is to devote time to helping elect Democrats, the union is designated a 527, meaning that it is supposedly apolitical and therefore is not limited in the soft money it can shovel at sleazy politicians, unlike honest institutions.

Given Stern’s radical background, it’s unsurprising that his tactics are thuggish:
   

Under Stern’s leadership, SEIU commonly bullies and pressures companies into signing agreements to make SEIU the representative of their employees.  If a company resists joining the union, Stern and his political, media and activist allies conspire to launch "corporate campaigns" aimed at breaking down that resistance through what they term the "death of a thousand cuts."  In such campaigns, the cabal of attackers harasses and disrupts company activities, sends vicious emails and letters to stockholders, intimidates customers, stalks and frightens employees, files baseless lawsuits, and plants false stories with media allies to smear the company’s reputation.

These pressure tactics are often successful in bringing companies into SEIU’s fold.  When this occurs, all of their employees are required to join the union.  SEIU prefers this arrangement (which Stern calls "Union Democracy") because, in times past, a large percentage of workers who were given a choice voted against joining the union.

   
This is also why Chairman Zero & friends favor Card Check.

SEIU stands to make out big from healthcare nationalization, so when patriots spoke out against it at town hall meetings, even high-level SEIU thugs turned out to rough them up.

Another favored White House visitor is the radical financier George Soros, who only has to snap his fingers for a sit-down with the Manchurian Teleprompter.  Investor.com reports:
   

Like the sociable Stern, administration records show Soros’ appointments were officially scheduled within hours of his actual visit. It looks like fast service.

Soros not only has made statements critical of free-market capitalism, he’s also a philanthropist whose hobbyhorse MoveOn.org tried to smear Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus as "Gen. Betray-us" in a full-page ad in the New York Times.

   
Both Soros and Stern are prominent partisans in the Shadow Party, a network of ultra-left activist groups working feverishly toward the destruction of liberty in favor of collectivist statism.  They have a comrade at the top.
ACORN
11/5/09

     
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11/5/09

Community Organizer For The World

Byron York says a lot of observers are having trouble figuring out the philosophical underpinnings of Barack Obama's foreign policy.  How does Obama see America's place in the world?  How will he use American power?  How much does he care about such things?

There are no good answers at the moment, but there is a new theory going around: Obama approaches foreign affairs as he would neighborhood issues.

"President Obama is applying the same tools to international diplomacy that he once used as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side," claims a new analysis in The Washington Post.  As such, Obama is "constructing appeals to shared interests and attempting to bring the government's conduct in line with its ideals."

When he was a community organizer, the Post notes, Obama "worked to identify the common interests" of neighborhoods that had been hit by hard economic times.  That required a lot of patience, and today he is showing that same patience "in regard to reviving Middle East peace talks or reaching out to Iran."  He's also "cultivating a lower profile than the other parties involved," as he did in Chicago.

Perhaps Obama is, in fact, drawing on his organizing experience in approaching foreign affairs.  But what's lost in the theorizing is this: What does that experience tell us about Obama himself?  And is there anything in his time as a community organizer that could possibly provide a useful model for conducting foreign policy?

During last year's campaign, I spent some time in Chicago looking into Obama's career as an organizer.  A number of the people he worked with back then -- he was on the job for all of three years, from 1985 to 1988 -- are still in the field today, and they have vivid memories of their time with Obama.  Talking to them, and looking back over his record, it was hard to avoid the conclusion that as an organizer, Obama started a lot of projects, gave a lot of inspirational talks, but accomplished very little.

Among other things, Obama tried to find new jobs for displaced steelworkers, to create after-school programs, and to bring new political power to public housing residents.  But he truly succeeded at just two things.  One, he pushed the city of Chicago to open up a summer-jobs office on the far South Side, where there had not previously been an office, and two, he helped force the city to clean up asbestos in a 1940s-era housing project in the same neighborhood.

That was it.

Obama the organizer spent most of his time teaching community members how to put pressure on the city government, or on various wealthy corporations, to give them money.  Obama's organizers could be confrontational, or they could be conciliatory -- Obama favored the latter -- but the whole idea was to make powerful people feel guilty, or embarrassed, or annoyed enough to give them things.

Obama, born in 1961, felt that he missed the great days of the civil rights movement.  Becoming an organizer was the next-best thing he could find.  But his successes were small; he wanted to redistribute wealth and resources on a large scale, and he could only accomplish so much by protesting outside the housing project management office.  That was the reason he ultimately left organizing to go to law school and run for public office.

That's not to say that Obama left no legacy as an organizer.  The colleagues I talked with all remembered him fondly.  Several said he inspired them to improve their lives.  But these were all people who shared his goals.  They wanted to believe in him and in their shared enterprise.

Does Mahmoud Ahmedinejad fit into that category?  The Taliban?  Kim Jong-il?

Now, Obama is the power figure, not the supplicant or the protester.  Certainly he still needs to convince foreign leaders to give him what he wants, but when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world, Obama isn't the underdog.  His years on the South Side are little help.

You can see Obama's community organizing approach at the White House every day, in the attempts to marginalize Republican opponents, or in the attacks on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.  But handling the life-or-death issues of America's relations with the world -- that's a new job entirely.

And Obama has no experience that prepares him for it.
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11/5/09

Brainwashing Epidemic

Big Hollywood has uncovered 11 videos that show school children performing praises to Obama.

Previously, a couple of disturbing videos of young school children singing/speaking praises to Obama have surfaced on the Internet, but when eleven more popped up, it came as quite a shock.  What seemed like an aberration now appears to be a troubling pattern.
   
   
Each one of the videos below is creepier than the last because the further down you go, the younger the children -- brace yourself for kindergartners -- except for the last and most disturbing video, which you have to see to believe.

Here's a taste:
  

Barack Obama there is none higher
Other politicians should call me sire
To burn my kingdom you must use fire
I create change till I retire!

  
Brainwashing our children videos here. . .
Videos
11/5/09

Using Tax Money To Push Obama Agenda

WashingtonExaminer.com reports that buried in the interior appropriations bill headed to Obama's desk is a big spending increase for a controversial agency that his White House staff aims to use as artistic cover for creating political propaganda.  The National Endowment for the Arts's annual spending goes from $155 million to $167.5 million, the most since the Clinton administration.  A mere $12 million in a budget with $1.4 trillion in deficits might seem trifling.  But documents obtained by Judicial Watch via a Freedom of Information Act request leave no doubt that Obama aides meant to put those tax dollars to work paying "artists" to create posters and other propaganda paraphernalia supporting the Obama agenda.

As The Examiner reported Friday, the documents made public by Judicial Watch include a series of e-mails from White House associate director of public engagement Kalpen Modi, whose boss is Valerie Jarrett, director of the Office of Public Engagement and a close Obama confidant.  Modi worked with then-NEA communications director Yosif Sergant planning an Aug. 10 telephone conference call hosted by Sergant.  The purpose of the call, moderator Michael Skolnik explained at the outset, was to encourage participants "to get involved in things that we're passionate about as we did during the campaign but continue to get involved in those things, to support the president's initiatives ..."  Skolnik, political director for hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, told conference participants that he was asked "by people in the White House and folks in the NEA" to organize the call, which was joined by officials representing 21 arts groups around the country.

Judicial Watch unearthed e-mail between Sergant, Modi and Buffy Wicks, deputy director of the White House public engagement office.  Wicks campaigned for Obama in Missouri in 2008, and before that worked for an ACORN-like activist group known as Wake-Up Wal-Mart that was funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.  Use of government time, equipment and facilities in planning the conference call may violate the Anti-Lobbying Act, which says "no part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation.  ..." Sergant resigned from the NEA following disclosure of the Aug. 10 conference call.  Why are Modi and Wicks still on the White House payroll?

Buffy Wicks ran Obama’s Missouri campaign and the "Obama Truth Squad."  Along with two of St. Louis' high-profile prosecuting attorneys, Wicks' Truth Squad threatened anyone who dared to disseminate information that they didn't like about the then-candidate Obama.

One year ago on September 23rd, KMOV Channel 4 in St. Louis
reported that St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough and St. Louis Circuit attorney Jennifer Joyce joined a high-profile group of law enforcement officials (including Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer) threatening to invoke "Missouri ethics laws" against anyone the prosecutors determined had spread misleading information about Obama.

Obama has shown that he has no problem using goon squad tactics, whether the goons come from the SEIU or the halls of justice.
Propaganda
11/4/09

     

A Gentle Reminder

  

    

   
Help expose the fraud that is Obama
  
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11/4/09

The Top Five Lessons From Yesterday

Paul Mirengoff says, as readers know, I'm reluctant to infer too much from an off-off-year election in a handful of states.  However, my friend Bill Otis is not.  Here are his top five lessons all of which, I think, are probably valid to one degree or another:

1. The "independents" or "moderates" get it.  That is, they seem to understand that the Obama agenda and those allied with it are bad news for the economy.  Whether they understand HOW bad Obama is for the economy, and how much of a danger he poses to other things like, say, freedom, cannot be determined from last night's results.  But the independents are no longer nearly as taken in by the smooth talk as they were a year ago.

2. The era of succeeding by running against George Bush is over.

3. Intensity counts.

4. Far from being a post-racial figure, Obama is the most racially polarizing politician since George Wallace.  The white vote shifted dramatically against the Dems.  On the other hand, what did they expect after Van Jones, ACORN, and the rest of Dear Leader's fellow "community organizers?"

5. Goldwater 2.0 is underway.  That is, the Republican Party, which, in domestic policy, had been all but emasculated by Bush's playing kissy-face with welfare state and corporate liberalism (No Child Left Behind, prescription drug benefit, cheap and easy money, bank bailouts, and more), is into the process of discovering that conservatism is its heart and its salvation.
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11/4/09
The Obama Revolution Is Over
  

  
Psst!  Don't tell anybody, but Republicans would win control of Congress if the election were now, instead of next year.

It's sure to remain the biggest political secret not in the news.  Naturally, the media will ignore it; the polling company that produced the survey, Gallup, even buried it under a misleading headline.

Maybe, to get some coverage, the Republicans could claim to have hidden somebody in a weather balloon, or something.

The congressional election prediction is part of a one-two punch Gallup delivered Barack Obama's Chicago mob on Tuesday, albeit reluctantly.

Gallup's daily tracking shows that the spike in the polls from Obama's photo-op saluting fallen soldiers returned from Afghanistan was apparently short-lived.  The cynically orchestrated visuals of Obama saluting fallen troops at Dover Air Force Base helped Obama climb briefly to 55%, but Gallup says Obama's job approval rating has quickly slid back to its lowest level, 50% -- one point lower than it was last week.

Perhaps more importantly, one year before the public heads to the polls to elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives, Gallup says their generic congressional numbers are at levels which would give Republicans a majority in the House if the election were held today.

Continue reading here . . .
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11/4/09

No ObamaCare In 2009

Senior Congressional Democrats told ABC News today it is highly unlikely that a health care reform bill will be completed this year, just a week after Barack Obama declared he was "absolutely confident" he'll be able to sign one by then.

"Getting this done by the by the end of the year is a no-go," a senior Democratic leadership aide told ABC News.  Two other key Congressional Democrats also told ABC News the same thing.

This may come as an unwelcome surprise for the White House, where officials from Obama on down have repeatedly said the health care bill would be signed into law by the end of the year.

"I am absolutely confident that we are going to get health care done by the end of this year, and Nancy Pelosi is just as confident," Obama said Oct. 27 at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
ObamaCare
11/4/09

Related:  A senior White House adviser says Obama would announce an Afghanistan war strategy "within weeks," while a U.S. official told The Associated Press that Obama still has not yet decided what to do, and it remains unclear whether he will decide before he goes to Asia on Nov. 11.
Military
11/4/09

Gag!

Who writes this crap?

Michelle Obama has become the mistress to American fashion.  "The first lady the world's been waiting for," blazes the March cover of Vogue (slide show), where Mrs. Obama appears in a fuchsia dress by Jason Wu, the young talent she helped turn into an overnight star.  No first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy has had a more instantaneous impact on fashion.  Whatever Mrs. Obama wears, people notice and very often buy.

Despite the close study that people have made of Mrs. Obama's style, it is not known that her wardrobe is being managed largely by a boutique owner in Chicago. Ikram Goldman, whose store is called Ikram, has played an unprecedented role since the election, serving as gatekeeper between the fashion industry and the first lady.

You've all been wondering who dresses Michelle -- well, here she/he/it is:
   
   
Explains a lot . . .
The
Wife
11/4/09

"V" Aims At Obamamania

Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere.  He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.

The news media swoons in admiration -- one simpering anchorman even shouts at a reporter who asks a tough question: "Why don't you show some respect?!"  The public is likewise smitten, except for a few nut cases who circulate batty rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions.  The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: "Embracing change is never easy."

So, does that sound like anyone you know?  Oh, wait -- did I mention the leader is secretly a totalitarian space lizard who's come here to eat us?

Welcome to ABC's "V," the most fascinating and bound to be the most controversial new show of the fall television season.  Nominally a rousing sci-fi space opera about alien invaders bent on the conquest (and digestion) of all humanity, it's also a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate Obama's supporters and delight his detractors.

Continue reading here . . .
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11/3/09

NEA Scandal Expands

The Lid blog reports on a new set of National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) emails that have been released, linking the White House directly to the NEA scandal.

Four weeks ago, Big Hollywood posted an audio of a conference call in which Obama administration officials asked "grant recipients to plug Barack Obama’s domestic agenda."

At least six federal laws and regulations were violated when then–NEA communications director Yosi Sergant and White House Office of Public Engagement deputy director Buffy Wicks tried twisting the arms of artists and arts groups interested in getting federal arts grants to produce government propaganda.

To protect the scandal from expanding further, the White House threw Sergant under the bus, denied that they were involved issued new guidelines for the NEA and promised that it will never, ever, cross my heart, ever happen again.

Last week, Judicial Watch, announced it had obtained documents from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) related to the NEA's controversial August 10 conference call encouraging artists to create work that promotes the Obama agenda.  The first set of documents were internal NEA correspondence involving disgraced former NEA Communications Director Yosi Sergant, who resigned over the scandal, and former actor, star of House and current Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Kalpen Modi.

They indicate that the call was part of a specific White House Arts Policy to use the NEA as propaganda tool.

The following are excerpts from the email correspondence:
Propaganda
11/3/09

    
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11/3/09

Obama Doctrine "Coup"

Frank Gaffney says Obama is working against our friends and for our foes.  He undermines our allies.  Emboldens our enemies.  Diminishes our country.  If anyone doubts these words summed up the Obama Doctrine, look at what Obama's team perpetrated last week in Honduras.

Assistant Secretary of State Thomas A. Shannon and the National Security Council's Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Dan Restrepo visited the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on Wednesday to compel the country's recalcitrant democrats to make a deal with the man the latter had lawfully removed from the presidency on June 28.

It remains to be seen whether, pursuant to this deal, former President Manuel Zelaya will now be -- as he claims -- restored to power.  What is already unmistakable, though, is that it is better to be a foe of America than its friend.

The Obama administration has been on the wrong side in this affair from the moment the Honduran supreme court and congress acted as required by their nation's constitution in the face of Mr. Zelaya's effort to engineer an illegal second term.

Instead of standing with those who lawfully protected democracy, Obama and his minions immediately joined the region's authoritarians -- including notably Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Castro brothers -- in declaring Mr. Zelaya a victim of a "coup."

When the interim Honduran president, Roberto Micheletti, a member of Mr. Zelaya's own party, and his countrymen refused to reinstall the latter, Team Obama unleashed their full "soft power" arsenal upon America's impoverished ally.

Drawing upon an opinion authored by notorious transnationalist Harold Koh, the State Department's legal adviser, who found that the Hondurans' action was indeed a "coup" and must be reversed, the U.S. administration and/or its allies on Capitol Hill cut off most aid to Honduras; issued travel warnings to discourage tourism; blocked visas for officials of the interim government; tried to preclude fact-finding missions to Tegucigalpa by Republican legislators; and promoted the heavy-handed, pro-Zelaya "diplomacy" of the Organization of American States' leftist Chilean secretary general, Jose Miguel Insulza.

As the Honduran democrats refused to bend to such coercion, Mr. Obama's team dropped the big one: The United States would join the hemisphere's large and growing block of authoritarian nations in refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the election scheduled for the end of this month.

The effect of this power play would be to deny the people of Honduras the one peaceful means they would have to end the nightmare Mr. Zelaya unleashed.

Continue reading here . . .
Not
Archived
11/3/09

Obama's Selective Innocence

Paul Mirengoff says the author, Scott Wilson, is pretty clear that Obama's approach to dealing with our allies and our adversaries has come up empty so far, whether in enlisting allies to help us in Afghanistan, persuading them to stimulate their economies, or causing Iran to change its behavior.  How to explain Obama's embrace of an approach that seems so ineffectual?

Wilson does so by claiming that Obama's approach to dealing with nations is an outgrowth of his days as a "community organizer."  He argues that Obama sees foreign countries, including our adversaries, as part of a community to be organized.  Wilson writes:
   

President Obama is applying the same tools to international diplomacy that he once used as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side, constructing appeals to shared interests and attempting to bring the government's conduct in line with its ideals. . . .

As a community organizer, Obama worked to identify the common interests of neighborhoods suffering through the economic aftermath of plant closings and of the politicians elected to represent them.  The role requires patience -- a word used consistently by his advisers in regard to reviving Middle East peace talks or reaching out to Iran -- and cultivating a lower profile than the other parties involved.

   
Whether Obama is actually cultivating a lower profile than the other parties involved in his foreign dealings -- and, indeed, whether he did so during his ascension through Chicago politics -- is open to question.  But let's put that issue to one side.  Does Obama really believe that the relationship between the U.S. and its allies to the likes of China, Russia, and Iran is comparable to the relationship between aggrieved constituents and their elected representatives?  If so, then he certainly is a fool.

But the evidence is that Obama believes no such thing.  Obama has not treated Israel and Honduras with the same "patience" he has treated our adversaries.  They have not been the beneficiaries of his "I come here to listen, not to lecture" approach to activism.

Thus, Obama's selective use of what Wilson calls a "cool, interests-based" approach to foreign policy should be viewed as a matter of ideology, not one of style.  After all, Jimmy Carter was never a community organizer; yet his approach to the world was an awful lot like Obama's.

In sum, the only relationship between Obama's diplomacy and his community activism is the left-wing ideology behind both.
Not
Archived
11/3/09
Only Rugged Men Should Be President


   
Not
Archived
11/2/09

Obama's New Afghan Strategy -- Surrender!

 

Kristinn, at FreeRepublic.com, says Obama is considering an almost complete surrender in Afghanistan, if the report this weekend by the BBC's Katty Kay is accurate.

 

Speaking as a panelist on the Chris Matthews Show, a weekend public affairs broadcast, Kay reported on the internal debate at the White House -- "There are real questions being asked, I think, about whether even with a big injection of troops this is a real country, a real war that you can win.

 

"And there's a new phrase which is floating around the White House which is 'minimum security'.  That we're not actually aiming for a country which is stable that we are in control of, but we are aiming for a minimum amount of security and perhaps even a negotiated settlement with the Taliban."

 

This would tie in with reports that Obama has concluded the U.S. cannot beat the Taliban and that he has requested two new studies.  The first study is to determine which provinces may be ceded to the Taliban.  The second, is to determine troop levels other than those requested by Gen. McChrystal over two months ago.

 

Kay's remarks start at the 19:10 minute in the backward clock on the video.  She describes the three different views on the situation in Afghanistan that have been presented to Obama:  the military needs a large injection of troops to execute the McChrystal's strategy;  even with more troops, Afghanistan will never be winnable;  and "'we have no choice but to win this war' and that is what Obama said back in March."

 

Obama has delayed making his decision.  It will not be announced until the end of November.  That's three months into the twelve month window left to win the war.

 

Troop casualties in Afghanistan have skyrocketed in the past three months, with over 1000 being wounded.  58 service members have been killed in the last month, making it the deadliest month of the eight-year long war.

 

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs bragged that Obama has spent almost twenty hours in meetings on Afghanistan since August.

Military
10/2/09

Commander In Least

Noah Steele Kline says that as a Marine, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, and Honorably Discharged Sergeant, he knows a thing or two about mission accomplishment versus troop welfare.  As a matter of fact, any Marine can tell you the clearly stated objective of the Marine Corps is mission accomplishment.  Troop welfare comes secondary.

Commanders and military leaders learned long ago that success on any battlefront depends chiefly upon mission accomplishment.  Troop welfare, while important, does not trump mission accomplishment.  For the enlisted Marine on the ground, this is sometimes a hard pill to swallow, but we understand.  And actually, this is one of the reasons why the Marine Corps is one of the finest and most effective fighting forces in the world.

Our current Commander in Chief (who never served in the military) has not demonstrated that he comprehends the concept of mission accomplishment before troop welfare.  Disappointingly, Obama has not demonstrated that he comprehends the concept of mission accomplishment at all.  We have no clear mission in Afghanistan.  We have no concise finalization strategy for Iraq.  Obama has yet to establish just what we are supposed to be doing in either of these theaters.

Furthermore, Obama seems to be thwarting any forward momentum with regard to mission accomplishment by manifesting an attitude that troop welfare is paramount.  He has also hastily portrayed an apologetic attitude for American strength.  This destructive attitude breeds not only optimism in our enemies, but despair in those in uniform who are genuinely proud to serve the country they love.

Not only that, Obama is arguing with the very commander he appointed to do what needs to be done.  Consequently, his indecisiveness, or "dithering" as Cheney put it, is costing American lives and wasting precious time needed to gain momentum toward mission accomplishment -- for whatever the mission may be.

For someone who neither served in the military nor had any executive leadership, Obama has yet to do anything to assuage the collective apprehensions from those of us who feel he is too green for the job of Commander in Chief.  The presidency is not the place for on-the-job training, especially in a time of war.  Although Obama has probably learned a lot in his first nine months in office, he has not asserted to Americans or our enemies that the new administration has any idea how to handle a war, let alone two.

Continue reading here . . .
Military
11/2/09 Jack in the Box
   
Not
Archived
11/2/09

3 Million Registered Voters Are Dead, 12 Million More Ineligible

And 98% of them voted for Obama.

Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead.

Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live.

The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians.

In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of "deadwood" voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a precinct.

The data is here . . .
Not
Archived
11/2/09

Obama's Concept Of "Safe" Schools

A pro-family organization is reporting that a publisher of "gay erotica" sought out Kevin Jennings, who heads Obama's Office of Safe Schools in the Department of Education, to write a book aimed at encouraging homosexuality in high schools and colleges.

The result was "Becoming Visible," which opens with, "Why teach gay and lesbian history?…  Indeed, as lesbian and gay studies has emerged as a discipline over the last two decades, its dramatic discoveries have shown it to be one of the most exciting fields in contemporary historical scholarship."

Researchers at Mass Resistance reported Sasha Alyson of Alyson Publications sought out Jennings to do the book.

In Jennings' acknowledgements for the book, he writes, "Writing this part of the book has caused me more anxiety than any other.  It simply is not possible to express my gratitude to the many people who have helped make this book possible...  With apologies to anyone omitted, here we go! The obvious place to begin is with Alyson Publications.  First, Sasha Alyson had the vision to conceive of this project, and I had the good luck to be the person he sought out to complete it.  I am deeply appreciative of being afforded this opportunity."

"It's outrageous that the same company that markets books that condition children to accept homosexuality also peddles instructions on how pedophiles can have sex with children without getting caught," said Lambda Report editor Peter LaBarbera.

There's more here . . . if you can stand it . . .
Czars
11/2/09

Guiliani Ousted For Michelle

Usually it's considered common courtesy to give up your seat to a woman -- but Rudy Giualiani was reportedly none too pleased when he had to vacate his prized spot at Yankee Stadium ... to the First Lady.

The former mayor of New York City always sits near the Yankee dugout, but according to Page Six he was relegated to behind the photographers' box for Game 1 of the World Series because Michelle Obama was given the seats instead.

The paper says it was the White House that didn't want Giuliani near Michelle, but get this: she didn't even sit in the seats because of the weather and they remained unoccupied for the whole game.

Giuliani got his seat back for Game 2, which the Yankees won.

Just symptomatic of the Obama's general sense of entitlement.
The Wife
11/1/09

The Price Of Those Seminars

Jennifer Rubin draws our attention to this sobering report from the Washington Post:
   

More than 1,000 American troops have been wounded in battle over the past three months in Afghanistan, accounting for one-fourth of all those injured in combat since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.  The dramatic increase has filled military hospitals with more amputees and other seriously injured service members and comes as October marks the deadliest month for American troops in Afghanistan.

   
How many were killed or lost a limb, I wonder, while Obama dithered and delayed implementing the recommendations of his hand-picked general?  It is not an inconsequential question.  Obama acts as though there were no downside to the lethargic pace of his decision-making.  He would have us believe that there is no price to be paid as he micromanages, province-by-province, the number of troops he’ll dispense.  He seems content to entertain the recommendations of Gens. Joe Biden and John Kerry -- drawing on their years of experience (in assessing nearly every national-security challenge incorrectly) while discarding that of the real experts.

What’s a few more weeks?  Or months?  Well, we know there is indeed a price to allowing our current approach to languish.  There is a very real cost to delaying implementation of the new plan that is the best available to achieve victory as quickly as possible.  The enemy is emboldened.  More civilians die.  The political and security situation in Pakistan worsens.  And more brave Americans are asked to sacrifice themselves while Obama considers and reconsiders whether there isn’t any way to shave some money off the tab and reduce the number of troops his commanders say are needed.  After all, health care is going to cost an awful lot.

The horrid reality of war is that parents send their children to die or to return in a condition they could not possibly have envisioned.  But to sacrifice even a single American who was engaged in a fruitless exercise or an understaffed operation so Obama can conduct a seminar and postpone a confrontation with his own party (that no longer can stomach the "good war") is reprehensible.
Military
11/1/09

Fewer Than Half Of Arkansans Think Obama Is Natural Born

An October 23rd item reported that three-in-ten Americans think their current head of state was not born in the United States, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies.  70 per cent of respondents believe Barack Obama was born in the U.S., while 30 per cent do not.

Now, Goddard's Political Wire points to a new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas shows that only 45% of voters in the state say they believe Obama was born in this country, while 31% say they think he was not and 24% are unsure.

"Arkansas is the first of four states where we've polled the birther issue (Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado were the others) and found less than half of respondents confident that Obama is a natural born citizen.  The numbers are particularly dramatic among Republicans with 49% saying Obama was not born here to just 23% who grant that he was."
Natural
Born
11/1/09

Obama Surrounds Himself With The Most Extreme Appointees In American History

Steve Baldwin says much has been written about Obama’s controversial appointments, not only to the federal bench, but to key cabinet positions, as well as to the unaccountable (and probably unconstitutional) "Czar" positions.  Much of the criticism has dwelled on the Obama administration’s lack of vetting when filling these rolls -- but that’s not the issue.

To the contrary, the Obama team did investigate thoroughly and they choose precisely.  When an administration repeatedly nominates hard-left individuals, it’s not a vetting error -- it’s a pattern.  We should not allow the media to portray these appointments as a series of errors; but rather, we need to realize that Team Obama is simply nominating those who share their goal of radically changing America.

Most Americans have a hard time understanding this because they refuse to believe Obama is this extreme.  But he is.  For a year prior to his election conservatives warned voters that everything we knew about Obama indicated that his views were far from the mainstream.  This was obvious when one analyzed his friends, which groups he funded while a "community activist," his Illinois State Senate record, his United States Senate record and even what he wrote in his own books.

The reality, of course, is that Obama’s views are far from the mainstream and it is embarrassing so many Americans fell for his leftist candy-coated lies.  Indeed, it appears that Obama is the most far left president in American history.  His appointees only confirm this.  These appointees hail from the crowd who regard their pedigree as the 60’s activists who cheered on the Vietcong, while American boys were slaughtered in the jungles of Vietnam.  They hate America, or more precisely, they hate America’s heritage; American institutions, and the American Constitution.

Many of these extremists nominated by Obama hail from academia, where they were shielded from outside scrutiny while they quietly indoctrinated our youth.  But don’t let the cloak of academia fool you; they are out to change America in ways most Americans oppose.  More importantly, Americans need to realize their views are Obama’s views.

The American media is partly responsible for bringing such extremists to power.  There is little doubt the media engaged in a massive propaganda effort to convince Americans that Obama was some kind of hip moderate; a breath of fresh air, a reformer, and someone who would fight the corrupt ways of Washington.  Until Americans wake up and stop relying on the mainstream media for their source of news, they will continue to pay a heavy price for their ignorance.  Unfortunately, this report covers just a few of Obama’s policy-makers, but there are many more such extremists within his administration.

Check out the rogue's gallery here . . .
Czars
11/1/09

It's Been Quite A Year

The Morning Journal's editor, Tom Skoch, reminds us that Tuesday is Election Day 2009.  Already, it has been a year since Barack Obama rode the "hope and change" bandwagon to victory in the 2008 presidential election.  Today, we can look back over what Obama has brought to us in that year.

In Lorain, Ohio, Obama has brought... well, maybe that's not such a good example.  Not much change here, but we can hope for more jobs and business, eventually.

Let's take a wider look at a checklist of big Obama & Company plans and their progress:

 "Get out of Iraq." -- Not yet.

 "Fight the real war in Afghanistan." -- Needs more study.

 Close down Gitmo." -- Not yet.

 "Health care for all." -- Not yet; but so far they're up to 1,900 pages of baffle-gab proposals that would dictate about 3,000 things we "shall" (read that "must") do to follow those dance steps, whatever they are.  Nobody is sure.  Not to worry; they can move quickly since they've learned to approve laws without actually reading them.

 "Transparency in government." -- Sorry, they're all locked in a closed-door meeting.  Check back someday.

 "Re-set" relations with Russia and charm the world. -- Had a whole row of Putin flunkies refuse to shake his hand.  Then he dumped our allies' date with a missile defense in Eastern Europe to dance to Russia's tune, but Putin still won't respect him.  Not to worry, dirt bag dictators are warming up to us, and the King of Saudi Arabia thinks of Obama every time he needs a world leader to bow before him.  Most amazingly, Obama has made France look tougher than the United States.  That's an achievement.

 Fix the mess "Bush made" of the economy -- Easy.  Obama just borrowed an immense mountain of money and dumped it on top of Bush's spending molehill.  Pretty soon Obama will have spent all the money anyone will lend us, then our dollars will be worthless and we'll all be carefree because who needs to worry about not having enough worthless money?

 Move America into a post-racial era. -- Easy.  Now anyone who disagrees with Obama's ideas is a racist.  No more guesswork. Just spot them; isolate them; destroy their reputations and livelihoods.  He's a chip off the old Alinsky.

 "Stop global warming; save the environment" -- A work in progress, sort of, maybe.  Poured out $3 billion or so in cash for clunkers.  Doesn't the air smell much sweeter since then?

 Obama also has inspired millions of Americans to get worthwhile exercise by marching to Tea Parties.

 He and his friends have given the Second Amendment newfound respect.  In the past year, millions of Americans have bought up firearms and ammunition at a blazing pace before some czar can stop them.

 All joking aside, Obama does have one huge achievement:  He has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Oh, wait. That's a joke, too.
Not
Archived
10/31/09


20 Hours

    

Kristinn, at FreeRepublic.com reports that at Friday's White House briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbels said Barack Obama has spent "close to 20 direct hours" in meetings on Afghanistan since Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for tens of thousands of reinforcements was submitted over two months ago with a warning the war would be lost in twelve months without more troops.

 

Gibbels says Obama also spends "quite a bit of time" thinking about the war in Afghanistan.

 

Gibbels was asked about a statement by the mother of one of the fallen soldiers, Sgt. Dale Griffin, killed in Afghanistan this week whom Obama met with at Dover early Thursday morning.  The mother, Dona Griffin, said she told Obama, Don't leave our troops hanging," when he asked the families if there was anything he could do for them.  Gibbels was asked if Obama feels like he is leaving the troops hanging.

 

He responded that Obama is trying to "understand the full cost of the war."

 

MR. GIBBS: Again, we haven't gotten into broad specifics on that yet.

 

On the first part, Jeff, you know, look, I think -- I don't -- I used to have it calculated, I should just go back and do it, the number of hours that he has spent in these meetings is probably now -- well, at the end of today will probably be getting close to 20 direct hours of his time.  The group -- the principals that meet with the President additionally take time to get the material ready, and are prepared to answer questions for the President, probably at least twice as much of that of the President's time the principals have spent.

 

So obviously we -- the President and his team have spent a pretty big chunk of time evaluating very, very closely each of these individual countries, their relationship together and their impact on the region.

 

At the conclusion of these meetings, he generally is off to the next thing.  I think he has spent quite a bit of time after the meetings back in the office -- back in his office, probably primarily in the Residence at night, going back and reading through his notes, as well as -- notes that he's taken on the meetings, and oftentimes will come out with questions that the team will prepare the answers for, for the next meeting.

     

    

SNIPQ -- Early yesterday morning when he was in Dover and met with the families, the families said that he asked, is there anything we can do for the families. And the mother of -- Dona Griffin, a mother of the last of the dignified transfers, said that she told Obama, "Don't leave our troops hanging."  When he walks into the Situation Room right about now, does he have any sense that the time he's taking to make these decisions is leaving those troops hanging?

 

MR. GIBBS: Again, to go back through what's happened, the President believed that additional forces were needed in March and he added them to get us to a point where we could evaluate the outcome of the election.  That obviously has been delayed a little bit, but he believes this is a point in which it's necessary to fully assess where we are.  I don't believe the President thinks -- I know he doesn't believe that this assessment is in any way doing that.  I think he understands and I think, as you heard him say yesterday in the Oval Office, I think his commitment, particularly after going to a place like Dover, is to understand the full cost of the war.

 

"Close to 20 direct hours" -- twenty whole hours in nine months -- that's less than 30 minutes a week.  Obama's spent more time on the golf links, choosing a dog, and flying the bride to NY for her birthday.

FReeper Windflier makes the observation that Obama's booked solid with World Apology Tours, bowing and kowtowing engagements with Saudi kings, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches, traveling around the world pimping Chicago to the Olympics Committee, fighting a war with Fox News, throwing his closest associates under the bus when their radical agendas are exposed, hiding his birth certificate, taking over private enterprises, bailing out Wall Street and the banks, putting generations into debt with his Stimulus bill, and working overtime to take control of the health care sector of our economy.

Obama has easily spent more time this month fundraising and campaigning for the Democratic party and Democratic candidates than he has on Afghanistan.

This is what you get when you elect a community organizer for CIC.

Military
10/31/09

Who's Pulling Obama's Strings?
  
Liz Peek says Obama fans are in a tight spot.  As the White House turns ever harsher and more divisive, supporters are scrambling to explain why Resident Obama sounds so very different from Campaigner Obama.  There are two possible explanations, neither of which is flattering.  The first is that Obama was insincere on the campaign trail.  The second is that his advisors -- David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel -- are in control.  The latter view is bound to take hold and it will not boost Obama’s flagging popularity ratings.
   
   
Many who voted for Obama feel deceived.  When he said in Florida last year "we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another," people believed him.  When he extolled "rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose," people believed him.  When he said on election night "I will listen to you, especially when we disagree," people believed him.

Why has Obama left those admirable promises behind?  Why is his administration going after Fox News, the Chamber of Commerce, insurance executives, AIG management, the drug industry, the Chrysler bondholders and any and all who oppose his policies?

Many believe that Obama is being manipulated by his political adviser David Axelrod and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.  The aura of Chicago politics drifts over the capital like a smog.  Ironically, the nasty assaults may be calculated to offset a growing view that Obama is not tough enough to stand up to his detractors.  He already looks weak as he "dithers" on Afghanistan, repeatedly blames George Bush for his problems and kow-tows to foreign leaders while apologizing for our nation’s past.  Surely, though, it will not help Obama if the country begins to suspect he is not his own man.  Being seen as a follower in his own White House will surely magnify an unhealthy aura of inconsequence.

Continue reading here . . .
Associates
10/31/09

He Came, He Saw, He Kowtowed

Jonah Goldberg says that Rocco Landesman, the head of the National Endowment for the Arts, didn’t get the memo, literally.

On September 22, stung by controversy over the administration’s effort to turn the arts community into proselytizers of its very special brand of hope and change, the White House issued a stern warning to all government agencies:  Keep politics out of the arts.

The White House denied that was ever the intent.  Many in the media, as is their wont, took the Obama administration at their word.

But not the website Big Government (which broke the story) and the Washington Times.  They demonstrated that from the earliest days of the presidential transition, Barack Obama’s political operation sought to entrench the arts community in its "outreach" operations.  Bill Ivey, Obama’s transition adviser on the arts, admitted in June:  "I wanted to see some real connection between administration objectives and the capacity of all the cultural actors in government.  I made some progress.  I got some agreement."

That "progress" mostly came in the form of enlisting arts groups -- groups that received stimulus money -- in Obama’s national-service agenda.

Three days after Landesman was confirmed as the head of the NEA, his communications director, Yosi Sergant, told NEA grantees in a conference call:  "I would encourage you to pick something, whether it’s health care, education, the environment -- you know, there’s four key areas that the corporation has identified as the areas of service."

Two days later, a host of arts organizations endorsed Obama’s health-care plan:  "We call on Congress to pass:  A health-care reform bill that will create a public-health option....  There is little time to waste...."  Of the 21 groups signing the statement, 16 had recently received grants from the NEA or were affiliated with organizations that had.

Sergant was thrown under the bus, and the September 22 memo put an end to the story for the supportive media.

But the story continues here . . .
Propaganda
10/31/09

Premiums To Skyrocket Under ObamaCare

David Patten says that several studies indicate consumers' premiums could more than double next year if healthcare reform takes effect.  The rate hikes stem from the hundreds of billions in proposed fees and taxes levied on providers.

Skyrocketing insurance premiums will slam millions of consumers next year because of "indirect taxes" contained in both the House and Senate versions of healthcare reform, according to various medical and insurance industry experts.

Healthcare reforms that were supposed to contain costs actually will cause a sharp hike in premiums, they add.  In fact, several studies indicate consumers' premiums could more than double next year if healthcare reform takes effect.

"So even though this bill tries to hide these costs as indirect taxes," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, recently told a business symposium, "average Americans who purchase health plans, take prescription drugs, or use medical devices will end up footing the bill."

The rate hikes stem from the hundreds of billions in proposed fees and taxes levied on providers.

Continue reading here . . .
ObamaCare
10/30/09

ObamaCare's New Taxes

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has reviewed H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" that has been introduced by Nancy Pelosi --all 1990 pages of it.  ATR points out that this gargantuan beast contains thirteen new tax hikes.  Here they all are, with description and page number:

•  Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).

•  Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.

•  Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.

•  Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs would face an annual cap of $2500 (currently uncapped).

•  Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)

•  Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services.

•  Surtax on Individuals and Small Businesses (Page 336): Imposes an income surtax of 5.4 percent on MAGI over $500,000 ($1 million married filing jointly). MAGI adds back in the itemized deduction for margin loan interest. This would raise the top marginal tax rate in 2011 from 39.6 percent under current law to 45 percent -- a new effective top rate.

•  Excise Tax on Medical Devices (Page 339): Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price. It excludes retail sales and unspecified medical devices sold to the general public.

•  Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 344): Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property.

•  Delay in Worldwide Allocation of Interest (Page 345): Delays for nine years the worldwide allocation of interest, a corporate tax relief provision from the American Jobs Creation Act

•  Limitation on Tax Treaty Benefits for Certain Payments (Page 346): Increases taxes on U.S. employers with overseas operations looking to avoid double taxation of earnings.

•  Codification of the "Economic Substance Doctrine" (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related.

•  Application of "More Likely Than Not" Rule (Page 357): Publicly-traded partnerships and corporations with annual gross receipts in excess of $100 million have raised standards on penalties. If there is a tax underpayment by these taxpayers, they must be able to prove that the estimated tax paid would have more likely than not been sufficient to cover final tax liability.
ObamaCare
10/30/09

It Took Just Minutes

Cornell Law School professor, William A. Jacobson, says he's had only a few minutes to look at the bill, but one fundamental and profound stupidity jumped out at him.

The bill defines which businesses are subject to the health care tax based upon the dollar amount of employee payroll.  There even is a sliding scale right in the bill (section 501, at page 276) which tops out at 8% for businesses with $750,000 of annual payroll.  Annual payroll is defined as the "aggregate wages" paid by the employer.

This provision creates incentives for businesses to keep down payroll.  One way would be not to hire anyone whose compensation would fall under the definition of payroll under the bill.

In other words, outsource whatever you can.  Hire a software engineer in India, or ship manufacturing to China, or structure your business in such a way that you send 1099s not W-2s to the people who work for you (and hire an accountant and tax lawyer to navigate IRS rules on independent contractors).

The message of the bill is that whatever you do, if you want to grow your business without paying the health care tax, do not add employees.

Obama does not understand these provisions.  Obama gave a speech this morning in which he stated that these provisions are directed at small businesses operating on thin margins.  But these provisions have nothing to do with profit margins.  This is a wage-based tax.

Obama does not understand the difference between profit margins and wages.  This is exactly what you would expect from someone who always has been on the receiving end of wages, and never had to meet a payroll.  Wages are not profits and have nothing to do with the success of a business.  Just ask the auto companies.

Jacobson doesn't think Obama and the other Democrats are lying about this aspect of the health care tax.  They truly do not understand how the private economy works.  In their blissful ignorance they are designing job-killings provisions which they do not understand.

Jacobson says that it is not an overstatement to say "be afraid, be very afraid" of this monstrosity.
ObamaCare
10/30/09
The Power And Danger Of Iconography


This is good -- Bill Whittle explains Obama's "packaging"  (08:10)
   
Iconography
10/30/09

Shut Up And Sing, Sting!

Sting isn't a religious man, but he says Barack Obama might be a divine answer to the world's problems.

"In many ways, he's sent from God," he said in an interview, "because the world's a mess."

But Sting, who has performed at several Free Mumia benefit concerts, and has called for a new trial, is serious in his belief that Obama is the best leader to navigate the world's problems.  In an interview on Wednesday, the former Police front-man said that he spent some time with Obama and "found him to be very genuine, very present, clearly super-smart, and exactly what we need in the world."

"I can't think of any be better qualified because of his background, his education, particularly in regard to Islam," he said.

Sounds like Gordon Sumner is still eating those "magic mushrooms."
Supporters
10/30/09
Fashion's Star?


    
Audacity of Hypocrisy blog reports that Glamour magazine says U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is fashion’s star, but that’s not why she’s one of Glamour’s December cover models.

Mrs. Obama’s work in mentoring earned her the spot, which will be rotated with four other covers.  She’ll receive a special recognition in the annual Women of the Year issue that goes on newsstands Nov. 10.

In an interview with new Glamour columnist and CBS anchor Katie Couric, Mrs. Obama said being a role model is one of the most potentially powerful things she can do at the White House.

"I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world," she said.

What are the chances that Michelle Obama would be on the cover of Glamour magazine if she were still steering patients with non-urgent complaints away from the University of Chicago Medical Center's emergency room to local clinics.

The artist that did the airbrush work on that cover deserves an invitation to the white house.
The
Wife
10/29/09

Carter Caves

"Therefore, for the reasons stated above, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.  IT IS SO ORDERED.  DATED: October 29, 2009"

It looks like the Judge has been had.  He granted the motion to dismiss the suit against Obama, stating that over 69 million people wanted the Obamamessiah and he wouldn’t overthrow him.  In saying so, he is also saying that The Constitution is no longer in effect -- and he used a bogus Constitutional argument to do it.
  

"Plaintiffs request asking this Court to sweep away the votes of over sixty-nine million Americans with the stroke of a pen and order a new election during which the country would be in a state of turmoil, ignores the Constitution's processes and separation of powers that were developed by the founders."

  
What Carter said:

•  It's OK to ignore
Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U. S. Constitution.

•  Votes trump the U. S. Constitution.

•  The U. S. Constitution does not allow the judicial branch to interfere in a coup d'etat.

The fix was in.  Velamoor probably brought Judge Carter's ruling with him from Perkins Coie.
Lawsuits
10/29/09

Photo Op


  (02:57)

If Obama really gave a damn for our guys he would revoke his insane Rules of Engagement (ROE), and already have McChrystal's 45,000 troops in Afghanistan.  I guess this cynical display will just have to do instead -- he wants you to know -- he cares, he really cares.

And who's that right next to him -- Holder, the guy that wants to put our CIA agents in the slammer for keeping America safe.

One puts them in the ground -- the other puts them in prison -- a Progressive's wet dream.

Update:  kristinn, at FreeRepublic.com reports that Barack Obama was nearly denied the photo-op he traveled to Dover Air Force Base for early this morning as all but one of the military and civilian families of the fallen refused permission for the media to report on the return of their loved ones.

The sole family to allow media coverage was the family of Sgt. Dale R. Griffin.

According to media reports, Griffin's casket was the last to be brought off the C-17 cargo plane that carried the bodies of 15 soldiers and 3 DEA agents killed this week in Afghanistan.

Update:  I've received several emails from readers that are upset that I didn't give the Obamamessiah the benefit of the doubt.  This is for them:

Barack Obama
brought twenty-four reporters, photographers and videographers from fourteen media outlets to Dover Air Force Base to cover his surprise visit there early Thursday morning.

Bush always went behind the scenes to hospitals, to see families, to meet with those coming home, WITHOUT the media.
Military
10/29/09

Kerchner Appeal Filed

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at 2:19 p.m., attorney Mario Apuzzo filed a Notice of Appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia PA of Judge Jerome B. Simandle’s dismissal of the Kerchner et al. v. Obama & Congress et al. case.

Recently, the Hon. Jerome B. Simandle decided the Kerchner case, granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case.  As Apuzzo explained, through the dismissal, Judge Simandle avoided having to reach the merits of the question of whether Obama is an Article II "natural born Citizen" and eligible for the Office of President and Commander in Chief.

In the Kerchner complaint/petition, the plaintiffs allege that Obama has not conclusively proven that he was born in Hawaii.  More importantly, they also allege that he is not an Article II "natural born Citizen" because when Obama was born his father was a British subject/citizen and Obama himself was the same, citing E. Vattel’s, The Law of Nations (1758) and John Jay’s letter of 1787 to then-General George Washington regarding providing a strong check on keeping foreign influence out of the Office of Commander in Chief by requiring that only a "natural born Citizen" occupy that critical and powerful office.  As a naturalized citizen cannot be president because of being born subject to a foreign power, neither can Obama.

Details and comments here . . .

This is an important step as this case works its way up to the Supreme Court.
Lawsuits
10/29/09

Obama’s COLB Never Accepted By Hawaii Registrar

AXJ-Action For Justice International Forum has a thread entitled, "Obama’s COLB was never accepted by the Hawaii Registrar!," that has some very interesting stuff related to the bogus Obama Certification of Live Birth (COLB) that was provided to the Daily Kos and others  by the Obama Campaign.

Obama’s COLB has only been "filed" but never "accepted."  AXJ contends that if it hasn’t been accepted, it’s not certified or official according to the State of Hawaii.
   

click image for large copy
   
Notice the lower left hand corner for the wording "Filed" or "Accepted" in this side by side comparison of two officially certified "Accepted" Hawaiian COLB’s with Obama’s unofficial "Filed."

One comment says Orly Taitz will be presenting it to Judge Carter tomorrow morning along with a request for a Subpoena to the Registrar of Hawaii, but there is no information on her website to that effect.

This has been pointed out previously, but is now popping up on current Google searches.

I will try and track down the Hawaii regulations for the use of the terms, "Filed" and "Accepted."  I'll update this item when/if found.  If any readers have information on the distinction between "Filed" and "Accepted" shoot me an email.

Notice the middle COLB.  It has "Japanese" as a value of the "Race" field.  Hawaii's bureaucrats evidently are confused about race and nationality.  May help to explain why Obama Sr.'s race is listed as "African."

There were federal regulations in place in 1961 that provided the requirements to the states for birth certificates, including the acceptable values for "Race" -- enter "227" in the "Page" text box and hit "Enter" --
warning big .pdf file.

Although, I'm not sure any of this matters, since there are three forensic examiners who have each declared Obama's COLB is counterfeit.

A big "thank you" to Liz -- Here is the Hawaii statutes on the "FILED" and "ACCEPTED" on the COLB: -- see sections 11-1-4(d) and 11-1-28.

The statute specifically states that the date of filing is the date that a document is "RECEIVED" at the Department of Health office.  Obama’s information was received or "FILED" on Aug. 8, 1961, according to his COLB.  It was never "ACCEPTED" by the Registrar.  Obama’s COLB is still being "MAINTAINED"  -- awaiting acceptance by the Hawaii State Registrar.

Here is a ton of information about this issue -- this stuff is dynamite! -- the whole process -- check it out.
Birth
Certificate
10/29/09

A Study In Obama's Priorities

Monte Kuligowski says everything you need to know about Barack Obama is being revealed from his decisiveness and indecisiveness on the respective topics of health care and war.

On health care, Obama wanted a bill on his desk before Congress took its break back in August.  No need to even read thousands of pages of bureaucracy-creating madness that would control people’s lives in a sensitive area, by the force of government.  The health care system involves a large part of the economy and the numbers vary.  But the truth is that government regulated health care would affect 100 percent of the economy.  A trillion dollar tax burden will not magically pay for itself, as the Democrats say they believe.  No, unintended consequences will follow and unsustainably burdening the taxpayer will affect every segment of the economy.  Development, production and prosperity across the board will be stifled.

Obama has clearly stated that he wants a government run system and that’s all that matters.  The democrats know that any centrally controlled "reform," regardless of a "public option," will place the camel’s nose under the tent.  Forget about the details -- just sign the damn bill yesterday!

But on the matter of war in Afghanistan we see a "deliberative," "reflective," and "contemplative" Obama.

Speaking of August, that’s when his top general asked for 40 thousand more troops.  McChrystal’s warning couldn’t have been made any clearer.  In order to be effective in Obama’s "plan" of counter insurgency more troops were required pronto.  Maybe McChrystal should have used Obama’s famous line: "Let me be clear," unless we get more troops our service people will die unnecessarily.

But never mind that our young men and women are dying, Obama has a political dilemma.  Even though Obama campaigned on the rhetoric that Iraq was the wrong war while Afghanistan was the right war, the Left wants our troops out of the right war.

Obama knows that Afghanistan could be his "Iraq."  Even though the news media will support him no matter what, if he doesn’t secure victory our military personnel will have died in vain.  On the other hand, if he becomes a full-on war time president, his fellow leftists will turn on him.

October has been the deadliest month since the war in Afghanistan began with the deaths of 55 servicemen.  Think it’s just coincidence that the U.S. death toll has increased severely after McChrystal’s warning to Obama?

I wonder what the reporting of the "mainstream" press would have looked like if George W. Bush had played golf and ignored warnings which resulted in an unprecedented number of American deaths?
Not
Archived
10/29/09

Obama Concludes U.S. Can't Beat Taliban

Kristinn at FreeRepublic.com has begun a thread based on a Washington Post report that says Barack Obama and top administration officials have concluded the Taliban cannot be beaten and that they are looking for ways to cede parts of Afghanistan to the Taliban without those regions becoming safe havens for al Qaeda.

The article also reports that Obama may wait until after he returns from a 10 day visit to Asia that begins November 11 to decide his policy for Afghanistan.

The Post article is largely about Obama's request made this week, two months after he received Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for tens of thousands more troops to fulfill Obama's counter-insurgency strategy announced in March, for a province-by-province review of Afghanistan.  Apparently this has not been done before in the administration's laborious review process.

Obama officials say they will not allow the Taliban "to threaten the Kabul government or provide sanctuary for al-Qaeda."

The Post describes Obama's defeatist attitude about the invincibility of the Taliban:
  

In reviewing McChrystal's bracing assessment of the war, the president and his senior advisers have concluded that the Taliban cannot be eliminated as a military and political force, regardless of how many more troops are deployed.

   
Reading between the lines -- Obama surrenders to Taliban -- with this move, Obama is signaling his weakness to every enemy on the planet.

Nothing good will come from this cowardice.
Military
10/29/09

Krauthammer to Obama:  Disgusting and Disgraceful

RadioViceOnline.com says the subject is Afghanistan -- not Obama’s strategy.  Krauthammer makes it very clear in his comments that Obama has every right to change his strategy -- even pick a strategy.  No, what Krauthammer calls childlike is Obama’s penchant for blaming everyone for his failures.  To paraphrase Allahpundit at HotAir, hey, you ran on this war "chump," you picked the strategy, this is your war to win or lose.  Stop blaming your big brother.


     
One last thing.  This another perfect example of a generation (or is it liberal ideology) that simply can’t take personal responsibility for anything.  It’s always but always someone else’s fault.
Video
10/28/09

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration.  They believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings.  But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.

Source: The Mayo Clinic

Remind you of anyone?
Biography
10/28/09

Quote Of The Day

"As an American I am not so shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize without any accomplishments to his name, but that America gave him the White House based on the same credentials."

Newt Gingrich
Not
Archived
10/28/09

Obama Not Comfortable With Women

Bonnie Erbe reminds us that Obama drew heat last week for a story that surfaced outing his private White House male-only b-ball games.  The story was that even though two female members of his cabinet were members of their college basketball teams, they were excluded, as were all women, from this most private of male-only clubs.  The story became a metaphor for how Obama views women generally and threatened to reveal some inconvenient truths about the man.

Now we see reports that gender-insensitivity charges have resonated with the Obama White House.  According to Politics Daily, Obama dragged chief domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes to the golf course on Sunday, and she became the first female to join his golf foursome since he took office. The event produced a photo op of global proportions.

Obama could invite Chamique Holdsclaw to the private White House basketball court and Billie Jean King to play tennis with him.  I still wouldn't believe he's any more comfortable dealing with women or concerned about "women's" issues than the dearly departed former Sen. Jesse Helms.  Obama talks the talk a lot better and a lot louder than Helms.  But Jesse Helms was so rooted in his atavist traditions, he chose to remain true to his misogyny rather than pose for cameras with faux female golfing partners.  Obama must hide the side of his personality that is clearly uncomfortable with women because he needs their votes much more than Helms ever did.

Whether it was his treatment of Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail (as in his condescending remark that she was "likeable enough") or his clearly career-oriented mate who has been toned down and re-morphed into a Stepford Wife, I just don't get the impression this man is comfortable with women.  Nor do I believe he cares about them beyond needing women's votes.  It's an act and a thoroughly see-through, amateur one at that.
   

Seems comfortable here?
  
Not
Archived
10/28/09

Is Obama A Sleaze?

Vanity Fair says there’s a reason Obama hasn’t wrapped up ObamaCare or Iraq, figured out Afghanistan, closed Guantanamo, or found anybody a job.  He’s been out raising money.

He’s been schmoozing, and golfing, and kissing ass.

The Wall Street Journal has outlined in quite excruciating detail just how Obama has actually been spending a significant amount of his time and attention.  In nine months he’s done 26 fundraisers.  Three a month.

George Bush, by this point in his presidency, had, according to the Journal, only done six.  George Bush raised $48 million with his six fundraisers; Obama, so far, has only raised $21 million.

He’s not just been on his belly, but on his belly for a relative pittance.

Another reason he isn't getting anything done is that Obama and his trusty TOTUS are on TV 24/7.

We all knew Obama was the most inexperienced person to ever run for the office.  Now that he occupies the Oval Office, he's never there because he has no idea what the job is about.

So he does the things he knows how to do -- he hoodwinks -- he bamboozles -- he does the okie-dokie -- but he doesn't govern.

While on the subject of Obama's faux-bro accent -- just how does a prep school, Ivy League graduate get to talk like a born-and-bred-in-the-hood bro?

It's the Authentic Obama Voice Changer.  Now you can be the first in your neighborhood to get the changer and sound like you too have authentic street cred.
Not
Archived
10/28/09

Pravda: America Moving To Socialism Slowly But Surely

Obama’s decision not to build the Missile Defense System in Poland and the Czech Republic and his Noble Prize have not yet been comprehended from a philosophical viewpoint. It’s time to do it.

The last turning point similar to the current one happened approximately 400 years ago.  The Western European society discovered a new hierarchy of values.  Feudalism that valued service and chivalry was replaced with capitalism.  Wealth became the measure of success, and everyone was to care about his own pocket only.  The cult of money replaced all other values, including religious.

Capitalism turned everything upside down and made people more excited about stuffing their bank accounts than anything else.  This system turned out to be extremely efficient in terms of production of goods, services, and comfort.  America benefited from the system the most, and decided that the rest of the world has to adopt it as well.  If some underdeveloped countries are unable to appreciate the benefits of capitalism, they should be forced to do it.

Meanwhile, philosophers say that capitalism is driven not by hard cash, but rather, striving for hard cash.  It’s driven not by the production of goods, but rather, striving for consumption of these goods.

If everyone had these values, the "dog-eat-dog" principal would be the major principal in the world history.  But America failed to do it.  There are plenty of "underdeveloped" people in the world who continue to cherish spiritual values.  There are not that many chances left to force them into worshiping money since these "underdeveloped" people adopt western technology and become stronger.  The appeal to adopt American values doesn’t work either.  Why would we adopt the system if the system is in crisis?  Pragmatic America realized that billions of people are not willing to live in the kingdom of hard cash and decided that it would be better off leaving this kingdom itself.  Now the USA is talking about introducing socialism.

What does Obama’s decision not to build the Eastern European Missile Defense System have to do with all of this?  Well, it means that it’s not capitalism that’s undergoing the crisis, but the belief in its high efficiency.  And this, in turn, means that America, the bulwark of capitalism, is no longer the boss of the world.  And if it’s not the boss any more, it has to be friends with everybody, including Russia.  And it’s America’s turn to offer Russia to push the reset button.  Or maybe it’s just tired of imposing its rules on others and felt that friendship is more valuable than money and power?  If this is the case, we will soon witness another turning point in the world history.
Not
Archived
10/28/09
Obama's Priorities


   
Military
10/28/09

Zinni to Obama:  Time’s Up on Afghanistan Decision

August Cole, who reports on U.S. defense policy, says Anthony Zinni stepped up his call for Obama to quit dilly-dallying and send more troops to Afghanistan to fight the insurgency.

A counterinsurgency strategy, he said, would work better over the long run than continuing narrower counterterrorism operations that target Taliban and al Qaeda leaders.

The retired Marine Corps general, who had been the top commander in the Middle East and Central Asia, said Obama needs more forces in Afghanistan quickly.  Zinni said his own son was among the troops waiting to be deployed, adding:  "I think that we owe them a decision.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out why we’re still waiting for one."

Zinni, who spent considerable time working with the Pakistani and Indian governments while he headed Centcom during the Clinton administration, told the International Peace Operations Association’s annual conference that a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan could better resolve the nettlesome problems with Taliban and al Qaeda fighters and drug production.  The association is a trade group for battlefield contractors; Zinni is chairman of BAE Systems Inc., the U.K. defense giant’s U.S. arm.

He offered a bit less-pointed advice earlier this month on CBS’s Face the Nation.

This time, Zinni had some specific advice for Barack Obama:  Americans need to hear a better explanation of why the U.S. is in Afghanistan, on the doorstep of nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India neighbors.  "I think the speech that has been missing… is this talk not only to the American public but to the world about what the threats are, what the challenges are and what the concerns should be out there," he said.

Zinni also urged Obama to get NATO allies to send more troops, and be willing to engage in combat in Afghanistan.  "This cannot be America’s war," he said
Military
10/27/09
Vote In This Poll


results at 3:30 EST

vote here
   
Not
Archived
10/27/09
Dancin' As Fast As He Can


      
Not
Archived
10/27/09

Candidate Obama Pledged No ObamaCare With "Fifty Plus One Strategy"

Freedom's Lighthouse has published an audio of Barack Obama as a candidate in 2007 in which he flatly says, "we are not going to pass universal health care with a fifty plus one strategy."  Obama said "you can't govern" if you go about things in that way.
  
   
But now, of course, the Democrats are planning to use of just such a "Nuclear Option" to ram ObamaCare through.

What a difference an election makes. 

Before the election, Obama spoke of "governing."  After the election, Obama is all about "ruling."

If you don't believe it, watch this video, and listen to Barney Frank say Democrats are "trying on every front to increase the role of government..."

These people have no use for the U. S. Constitution, the rule of law or capitalism.

Lies
10/27/09

Obama Plays The Liar While Good Men Die

Two fatal helicopter crashes in Afghanistan and large-scale bombings in Iraq have thrown into stark relief the risks for Barack Obama in fulfilling his campaign pledge of shifting Washington’s resources from one conflict to the other.

In the worst day for US casualties in Afghanistan for several years, 11 US­soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Administration officials died in the two helicopter failures on Monday, one of which involved a mid-air collision and the other a crash following a firefight with insurgents.

The day before, up to 155 people were killed by twin bombings of government buildings in Baghdad, with possible consequences for US plans to reduce forces in Iraq.  It was the second such bombing in two months.

Kenneth Pollack, director of the Saban centre at the Brookings Institution, said: "These events happening simultaneously demonstrates that the situation in Afghanistan is worsening while the situation in Iraq is not improving quickly enough."

October is now set to be the fourth consecutive month in which more than 40 US military personnel have died in Afghanistan, underlining both the increased fighting since Obama decided to raise US forces by 21,000 and the prospect of further casualties should he accede to his commander’s request for a further 40,000.
  
   
Obama and his geniuses continued meetings on Monday to decide on that request and overall strategy on Afghanistan, even as John Kerry, the influential senator, called for narrower war goals.

But the US is committed to a dramatic switch in resources. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said last week: "We are shifting the main effort from Iraq to Afghanistan, literally."

Continue reading here . . .

You know we're in deep doo-doo when John Kerry is involved in developing Obama's war-fighting strategy.

Obama is dithering on purpose.  His goal is to completely demoralize the military that he loathes.

Update
:  Eight more yesterday.
Military

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