Obama Admin Successes - Successful at ruining the economy

Hugh Hewitt provides analysis of the O Presidency in today's Washington Examiner. To wit:

• In November 2008, unemployment was 6.7 percent. In January 2009 it was 7.6 percent. That January, Christine Romer, along with Vice President Biden's top economist, Jared Bernstein, argued in a report that the economic stimulus package would keep unemployment under 8 percent.  Without the stimulus, Team Obama predicted employment would rise to about 9 percent in 2010. The "stimulus" passed, of course, unemployment is 9.6 percent.
• The country's debt at the end of 2008 was $5.8 trillion. It will be $9.8 trillion at the end of this year. The last annual deficit before the Democrats took over Congress in January 2007 was $160 billion.  As a percentage of the nation's GDP, the deficit in 2010 will be 10.64 percent. In 2008 it was 3.18 percent. [That's a 300% increase!]
• The November 2008 average price of a home in top 20 metropolitan markets in the United States, using the Case-Shiller index, was $154,500. The June 2010 average price for the same index -- the most recent data available and published in late August -- is $148,000. That number is widely believed to have been buoyed by the now-disappeared new home tax credit, and it is believed to again be falling. [So, despite the Dem's repeated attempts to do something, the expanded homeownership policies of the Left which forced banks to make bad loans, and allowed Fannie and Freddie to guarantee them, are still having an impact on the markets.  Worse still, Fannie and Freddie are practicing pretty much the same policies they practiced before the meltdown].
• The index of consumer confidence stands at 53.5 today. That number was 39 during the panic of October 2008. It dropped to 37 in January 2009. It hit 55.9 in January of this year -- before Obamacare passed and while hopes for the stimulus and the president's placebo economics persisted.
• On Thursday last week the Wall Street Journal reported that the federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had recalculated their projections on health care costs in light of Obamacare. Prior to Obamacare's passage, the annual increase in total health spending in the country over the next decade was supposed to be 6.1 percent. After Obamacare, the centers now calculate that annual growth in spending at 6.3 percent. [bending the cost curve down?]
• On Wednesday, the Journal reported on a survey of major health insurance companies and found premium increases of between 1 percent and 9 percent for self-insured Americans and employees in small businesses in the next few months because of the mandate for new benefits under the law. [Did even Obama believe that adding requirements was going to decrease costs?]

Religion of Peace Strikes Again

What's more dangerous than being a Muslim in America where hate crimes and shrill voices make Muslims and the Left uncomfortable?

Try being a Coptic Christian in Egypt, where Muslims burn Christians to death, then murder their parents if they offend Muslims.

Jihad Watch has the details on a Coptic Christian who was burned to death after being accused of having a relationship with a Muslim woman, then his father was stabbed to death.

No details on the woman, but, the typical punishment for her would be death by stoning.

Religion of Peace, baby.

Charlie Cook and I agree. Dems to lose big in November.

Back on April 14th, I posted this.

Nice to see Charlie Cook coming around...

Senate, too?

Burning Koran's - Just say no.

A Florida church wants to protest the spread of radical Islam by burning the Koran on September 11th.

This is a bad idea and I'll tell you why.

1. Burning books is the act of despots and tyrants. Anyone who reads this blog knows how I feel about Islamists and the plans of the Muslim Brotherhood. But, unless we're in this for the total elimination of Islam, the burning of their Holy Book is simply a disgraceful and disrespectful act to those who practice Islam who might actually be worthy of cultivating in a reformation of the religion. On this, I agree with Hillary Clinton (gratuitous photo of "Never miss a meal" Hillary below):

2. Burning books is UnAmerican.

3. If the Florida church wanted to truly highlight some of the more egregious aspects of Islam, they would instead of burning the Koran, choose some of the more, er, interesting parts of it to read.  Well, check out a few of these.  Of particular interest to Jihadists are:

• "Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51)
• "Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:27-)
• "Say: 'Praise be to God who has never begotten a son; who has no partner in His Kingdom..." (Surah 17:111)
• "'How shall I bear a child,' she [Mary] answered, 'when I am a virgin...?' 'Such is the will of the Lord,' he replied. 'That is no difficult thing for Him...God forbid that He [God] Himself should beget a son!...Those who say: 'The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son,' preach a monstrous falsehood..." (Surah 19:12-, 29-, 88)
• "Slay them wherever you find them...Idolatry is worse than carnage...Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme." (Surah 2:190-)

So, don't burn those Koran's.  I think these people planning this should on September 11th instead say, "we were going to burn these, but we decided to read these passages instead."  Maybe with the press coverage they would get, some of this stuff would finally get reported outside the one's seeking it out.

Anger and Temper Tantrums - the left is having a hissy fit

I am making this a blog post on this subject, under the rubric of "Anger" based on a caller to Hannity's radio show yesterday.

The Left uses terms like "angry" and "temper tantrum" to describe the right's (and the electorate's) mood, because they have no explanation for it in their world.  In the Left's worldview, thier omniscience is perfect, and their policies absolutely correct, and if the hoi polloi were only intelligent enough, or less "angry" over something (in this particular case, that's usually the ascension of a black man to the presidential throne), they would just see all the great, well-meaning, and academically correct policies, procedures, and strategies that the Left is enacting.

You see, it's not the fundamental failure of their policies that has the electorate and the right frustrated, confused, and yes, righteously angry - in their minds, it can't be, because they are incapable of failure - it is our own anger and stupidity.

In that vein, it's not their fault that Obama sucks, it's ours.

---

Dear Jay,

I was reading Charles Krauthammer's column in the Post this morning when my eyes happened to shift to the column next to his, Eugene Robinson's. I cannot believe it but his entire column is about the voters having a temper tantrum this fall. Clearly Peter Jennings' statement that the 1994 election results were a voter temper tantrum made no impression on Eugene Robinson and other inside the beltway liberals. I'm pretty sure Rush et al will be talking about it today.

Well, it will be another decade before I bother looking at a Eugene Robinson column again.

Former VP candidate says president isn't a good Christian due to his policies.

A former Vice Presidential candidate said the President, "walks around calling himself a good Christian but I don't for one minute believe it, because the policies are so terribly unfair.”

You probably think this statement was uttered by Sarah Palin about Obama, but, you'd be wrong. This was Geraldine Ferraro's take on Ronald Reagan.

More Subs Launched by Iranians?

The Iranians "claim" that they launched 4 more Ghadir class mini-subs this week. This would bring the number to 11, and has the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Brig. Gen. Yadollah Javani, saying that Iran’s enemies have never dared to attack because of the vulnerability of the waterway.

“If anything happens in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is closed, the possibility of using this route will be lost for decades, and this will be a great tragedy for the global economy."

Yeah, okay General.

Great Product! Removes unwanted Obama Bumper Stickers

Great Ad, Must-watch You Tube

2 Sub Items in One Day!!! Hundley to be turned

In a move sure to thrill submarine archeologists everywhere, the CSS Hundley is going to have the straps that were used to lift it 10 years ago removed so that the preservationists can begin to preserve her hull.  In so doing, the starboard side will  be seen for the first time since she departed on her successful and fatal voyage 146 years ago.

Latest P8 arrives at Pax River for testing

The third P8 to be used in the Navy and Boeing's test program has arrived at Pax River.  The Navy is finally on a path to replace aging P-3 aircraft, with the P8 expected to make it's initial availability in 2013.

While the airframe is a significant size upgrade from the P3 and has much shorter transit to on station times, it does lack some of the P3's functionality.

Hopefully, it will still make an effective ASW platform.

Jay's Summer Reading List

Since we're past mid-summer now, I thought I'd share my summer reading list and some recommendations of books.

With the important 2010 election coming up, my focus has been on current events, as it often is.  Right now, I am reading Andrew McCarthy's "The Grand Jihad."  It is a highly important book which explains the goals, desires, and methodologies of Islamists, and the American Left's (un)witting alliance with them.  MUST reading for anyone who doubts the reality of the Global Jihad.

I completed Dick Morris's "2010: Take Back America: A Battle Plan."  Ok, Dick Morris is the most shamelessly self-promoting pundit, author, political hack out there.  Still proud of his work with Bill Clinton, Morris has come back to his roots pushing conservative causes, and his book is full of facts, figures, and debating points.  If you care about what happens in this election, this would be a useful resource.

Also recently completed, Zev Chavets' biography of Rush Limbaugh, "Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One."  It's a very fair (to a conservative) portrait of Limbaugh, and Chavets clearly "gets" Limbaugh, which most members of the media do not.  If you're a Limbaugh fan, you'll find it interesting.  If you are willing to to really learn what makes Limbaugh tick and effective, you'll likewise find it interesting.  If you're just a left-wing mouthpiece and fan of Keith Olbermann, well, save your money, and go back to watching those infomercials that run after Maddow and Olbermann and Matthews have regaled you and your 5 other pals on MSNBC.

On CD, I am reading "Twelve Ordinary Men" by John MacArthur.  It's a walk through the seeming ordinariness of Jesus's 12 closest disciples, and how they were really just ordinary men, who later accomplished extraordinary things.  Not just a great walk through the New Testament, but also a treatise on leadership.

So, that's what I have completed this summer.  Since we're talking books, what have these taken me from - well, my life goal is to complete the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.  Great books and two wonderful characters crafted by O'Brian.

I admit, I haven't read or seen "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis, but, I have read "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball."  If you haven't read those seminal works by Lewis, you should.

Finally, for this post, I have a trio of what I consider classic must reads for your consideration, JD Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" should be read by every male, preferably in the 16-20 year age group.  An American classic.  And, who wants to say they grew up and didn't read it.

An eclectic offering would be "A Confederacy Of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole.  This is a college age book, and again, one most college-age American males should make themselves familiar with.

While I am no Objectivist, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" is just as relevant now as it was when it was an anti-Communist manifesto.  Read it.  And then, re-read it.

I write like - Arthur Clarke...

Check out this web site to analyze your writing style.  I'm proud to say I enjoyed Arthur Clarke as a kid.

I write like
Arthur Clarke

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Of course, I posted another blog post into this tool, and it came out David Foster Wallace.  Who?

Submarine News! Comms at Speed and Depth Project Proceeding Apace

In the ongoing effort to make communications with submarines easer - and to provide two way, submerged comms with subs, the Comms at Speed and Depth project passed a Critical Design Review milestone this week.

The Holy Grail of submarine operations gets ever closer...

Rivers of blood promised by Islamist cleric

Via Weasel Zippers comes this promise from British Islamist cleric Anjem Choudary, in response to Britain's Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson joking that Muslim women wear "g-strings" and "stockings" under their burkhas.

Of more interest to those of you who don't think Islamists are willing to force sharia law on the world is Choudary's statement that he "believes that one day Britain, and indeed every part of the world, will be governed by and under the authority of the Muslims implementing Islamic Law. And it will happen. It may come peacefully. But it may come through a holy war that will see rivers of blood on the streets."

Finally, in the kind of statement that doesn't draw any comment from the hate-speech-hating Left, Choudary further opined, “I would urge Clarkson to make a full and public apology to those he has mistakenly offended. Otherwise his safety could be at risk.”

Religion of peace, baby.

Immigration Law Blocked

Excerpts from this week's Patriot Post Digest on the Arizona decision:

Clinton-appointed District Court Judge Susan Bolton blocked most of Arizona's immigration law this week, ruling that it would "impermissibly burden federal resources." In other words, enforcing federal law is a violation of federal law. The next step for Arizona is an appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

 

Bolton blocked the primary provisions of the law -- including those requiring state law enforcement officials to check immigration status when other legitimate contact occurs, as well as the requirement that foreigners carry their papers at all times (federal law already requires this). On the other hand, 12 provisions, including some on human smuggling and transporting illegals, were left intact. All told, though, her ruling went even further than the DoJ had hoped.

 

The Department of Homeland Security is bound by federal law to "respond to an inquiry by a federal, state, or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status ... for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information." Yet Bolton wrote, "An increase in the number of requests for determinations of immigration ... will divert resources from the federal government's other responsibilities and priorities." Or as National Review put it, "she accepts Justice's implicit argument that it's not the letter of the federal law that matters, but what parts of the law the executive decides to enforce."

 

NR concludes:

The bottom line is that Arizona wants to enforce the law against illegal aliens. It wants them to be cognizant of the fact that the state is serious about the law, and therefore to conclude that it's best to leave or not come in the first place. Arizona did not deem these people illegal aliens. The federal government did, in laws passed by Congress and signed by the president of the United States. Arizona thinks those laws mean something. If the Justice Department's suit -- and Judge Bolton's line of argument -- prevails, then we'll know that they don't. The real law of the land will be our current, de facto amnesty, imposed by executive whim.

White House admits: Criminals need their unemployment checks, too!

I love this administration.

I mean seriously LOVE them.  They are completely incompetent.

On the same day they were sacking Shirley Sherrod, Bam Bam was pushing the need to extend unemployment benefits and using this criminal, Leslie Macko, who was probably sacked due to her prescription drug abuse and theft charges as the poster girl for extending these benefits.

Does Bam know that Al Qaeda is not making any effort to whack him?  They do no vetting of the party crashers, and now they have a convicted criminal front and center on extending unemployment benefits.I mean, come on, has there been a job not saved over in the White House vetting office???

I guess it's fitting that the figure the Left trots out as an example of why we need to extend unemployment benefits yet again is a convicted pill-poppin' mama.

From D.C. Suburbia to Al-Shabab

Just another kid trying to find his way. Finding it as an Islamist.

From D.C. Suburbia to Al-Shabab

Islamists: We Must Resist Them

Recently, I have been reading Andrew McCarthy's excellent book, The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America.

If you're looking for a primer on how the Islamists intend to spread the global caliphate, and how the Left (unwittingly or wittingly) abets them, pick this highly important work up and read it.  Now.

I'll be posting more and more on this subject, as I think it is the single most important thing the West faces.  I'll put it to your bluntly, the Islamists want nothing short than the implementation of their Sharia law across the globe.

Period.  If you think that's ok, you don't know what you're asking for.

I have a colleague who studies Islam and the quest for Jihad.  I'll be using his recommendations liberally.

For now, start with McCarthy's book, and this short video:

Actual Sub News! Memphis to decom, DESI Sub in Norfolk, Ice Pack Study

So, I don't often post too much sub news these days, being pretty much all politics, but, I decided to break the pattern this week.  To wit,

• The Bulgarian navy is shuttering its submarine force.  This picture tells you why.

• The Navy released its list of inactivations for the next year.  On it is the USS Memphis (SSN-691).  Another sub bites the dust in March. A handful of FF's get inactivated and the fate of the USS Nassau is also to be determined. In good news, the USS Missouri (SSN 780) arrived this week in New London for her commissioning next week.She'll be Virginia class number 7.
• The Peruvian sub BAP Angamos (SS31) arrived at Norfolk this week.  She's part of the Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) which provides diesel submarines in support of fleet exercises.  In this case, she'll be playing bad guy in the Kearsarge's COMPTUEX.  Some lucky U.S. submarine officer will get to ride her and see how they do it.  Video below:

• In an "ugh" moment for me, the submarine force continues playing its part in the Navy's sell-out to environmentalists by resuming the SCICEX program which was put on ice in 2005.
• In case you missed it, the Russians latest SSBN, the Yuri Dolgoruky, returned home from sea trials.  According to the Russians, in addition to missiles that don't work (the Bulava, remember that one?), "There are issues that need to be worked out" before she goes on her next set of trials.

Shirley Sherrod, from hero to hypocrite in 24 hours

Stuck, as I was, in the Atlanta airport for a few hours yesterday, I got to watch Shirley Sherrod, over and over (on CNN) start the racial healing by claiming that Anthony Brietbart wants to take us back to slave times.

Breitbart is guilty certainly of sloppiness, but, instead of standing above this and taking a higher ground, Ms. Sherrod has decided to show her decidely Liberal colors and while she's forgiven Brack Obama and Tom Vilsack (the ones who really screwed her), she has forgiven them, but in a fine act of (un)Christian charity, she has decided Breitbart deserves no apology (maybe it's because he's Jewish? Perhaps, while not racist, Ms. Sherrod is an anti-Semite??).

Anyway, Powerline, has their take: Shirley Sherrod, behaving badly:

"The conventional wisdom on the Shirley Sherrod story is, I think, that everyone (Brietbart, the NAACP, and the Obama administration) behaved badly. I think it's more accurate to say that these players acted less carefully than they should have.

Who actually behaved badly? I think the NAACP members who got such a kick out of Ms. Sherrod's account of discriminating (initially at least) against a white farmer behaved badly.

And now, Sherrod herself is behaving badly. In the clip below, she claims that Andrew Breitbart wants 'to get us ['all black people'] stuck back in the times of slavery.'

Sherrod claims to have transcended racism. Maybe so. Her attack on Breitbart is not necessary motivated by his race. But by making unfounded and absurd charges of racism against Breitbart, Sherrod show she has not transcended racial irresponsibility."

Iranian Minisub Production Ramps Up

The Iranians are set to launch a new class of submarines, the Ghadir class. It's really just more of the minisubs the Iranians are building domestically (pics).  Similar to North Korea's minisubs.

Scared yet?

Misleading headlines and the end of Newport News Shipbuilding?

Newspapers just can't  be trusted.

Even such an innocuous thing as the potential sale by Northrop-Grumman of their shipbuilding arm is subject to sensational headline writing.  In the New London Day, the headline is "EB's partner for submarine construction may leave shipbuilding business."

The reality is that NG is either going to sell or spin-off NGNN.  Not quite the same, and it certainly does not mean the end of the NGNN-EB partnership.

Palin endorses Karen Handel in GA GOP primary for governor

Via her Facebook page, Sarah Palin endorsed former Fulton County Commission Chair and current Secretary of State, Karen Handel for the GOP nomination for governor. Handel has already secured the endorsement of Arizona governor Jan Brewer, and their stance on immigration is the same (I'd expect a Handel admin to pass a law similar to Arizona's here).

Handel's a movement conservative, but, while she's likely to get into the expected run-off, she faces a challenger (Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine) who has more money and name recognition, and who is making repeal of the state income tax an issue - to compete with Tennessee and Florida - neighbors without them.  On most other issues, the two are indistinguishable, but, I bet a Handel administration would provide more interesting quotes than the bland Oxendine.  Plus, she regularly appears on The Regular Guys radio show, so, she's got a sense of humour.

Andrew Napolitano: Indict Bush and Cheney

I must admit that I was taken aback by Judge Andrew Napolitano's assertion  in this interview and in his book, "Lies the Government Told You" that "They [George W Bush and Dick Cheney] should have been indicted. They absolutely should have been indicted for torturing, for spying, for arresting without warrants."  By the way, Napolitano asserts these same things are going on today in the Bam admin.  So, all the blood's not just on Bush/Cheney's hands.

Now, Judge Napolitano is a lawyer, and his opinions are sort of what I would expect from a lawyer, but, more so, from someone concerned about civil liberties and a powerful government determined to take them away from you.

As conservatives, we should not whitewash potential crimes committed by the Bush administration just because they were committed in the exercise of the Global War on Terror.  Just as an all powerful government running GM, the health care industry and banks should scare us, so should a government willing to deny some Americans civil liberties, even in a time of war.  In this case, the liberals and Judge Napolitano are right.  At least Judge Napolitano comes by his reasoning honestly (as opposed to politically in the libs case).

I believe his larger point is one we should all consider carefully, how comfortable are you with a government that ask you to "Trust us" to do the right thing?

Video of segment below. Entire C-SPAN interview here.

Bam admin today. Why it's ALL political at the Obama White House

Today, the Obama White House demonstrated why it is driven by nothing but crass partisan politics.

To wit:

1. Bibi's visit to the White House.  Despite this administration being openly anti-semitic, and clearly anti-Israel, Obama today attempted to shore up the traditionally Democrat Jewish vote by cozying up to Israel and Netanyahu.  I can't wait until Bibi's out of power and writes a book about his impressions of American leader, since his career has spanned several.  Let's find out just how stupid American Jews are (or, how it's just the right-wing nuts who care about Israel) and whether they return to the fold and vote Dem in November, stay away, or turn to Republicans, who are actually concerned with the future of Israel and the sole functioning (functioning!) democracy in the Middle East.
2. The attack on Arizona and filing suit against SB1070.  The administration and Obama himself have done nothing but attack this bill on civil rights grounds for weeks.  Today, they issued a schizophrenic lawsuit that simultaneously claims the bill makes it both more difficult and easier for the Feds to enforce immigration laws, therefore, it's unconstitutional.  Prognosis of victory for Feds:  Poor.  Interestingly, no civil rights arguments being made.  Theory there is the Feds are waiting for some dumb Arizona cop to actually violate someone's civil rights so they can have a plaintiff.  Of course, this is all about Hispanic votes.  Pure and simple.
3. NASA outreach to Muslims. For every thinking American male of my age, NASA and space exploration had a special place in our hearts.  With the end of manned space flight nearing, NASA is now reduced to hopping rides with the Russians and making Muslims feel good about themselves.  Look, this agency ceased being well managed in December 1972.  Maybe we should just close the whole damn thing down, with our NASA Administrator forced to kiss a bunch of asses to get anything done.  Or, perhaps this is a massive, well-coordinated PR effort to distract attention from the 1000's of lay-offs announced today due to Bam admin space policy.

As Charles Krauthammer said about this today, "You can't make this up."

Left loves radical Islam, but hates fat. What will they do????

How will the left rationalize their love of Radical Islam with their hatred of high-fat, high-cholesterol, and tasty foods, when they find out that the burka may be making Muslim women fatter by discouraging exercise????

H/T to Weasel Zippers.

Write an anti-Obama protest song, get death threats. The tolerance of the Left.

From Gateway Pundit, we learn a little bit about beauty Ash Soular, who recorded “Obamanation” in 2008 as a protest song. She warned Americans about slick media sensation Barack Obama.

The upside was that she got over 4,000,000 hits on the song she posted on YouTube. The downside was that she was harassed and received death threats for posting the song on YouTube.

Ash told her story recently in Las Cruces, New Mexico.



This is what Ash Soular wrote about her YouTube hit “Obamanation”:

I wanted to express how I felt about this past election, but I’m not very good at writing political blogs or particularly fond of debating. So I figured, how better to express my opinion than to write a song.
** To elaborate: This song is about how we’ve forgotten the importance of our leaders’ character. The expression, “Obamanation”, (a play on words, yes) is also meant to symbolize a reality where people vote for politicians based upon charisma, instead of the content of their character.
It’s describing a situation where we are blinded by those whose main goal is to spend more of our tax money while ignoring our values.
It reminds us that the change THEY want may not be the change that YOU want. Let them know whose change matters. **

If you’ve never heard Obamanation Ash jams on the electric guitar halfway during the song.

The lyrics written in 2008 are prophetic:



“I don’t want your change.”

Mr. Obama, Lower Our Taxes!

Actually, the owner manager of a Wisconsin custard shop was asking Vice President (and court jester) Joe Biden to lower his taxes. Despite the VP calling him a "smartass" the manager allowed that Joe later told him he was "just kidding."

About what?

Video here.

Costner stymied by Feds in Gulf clean-up

Oscar winner and distant cousin, Kevin Costner, is doing more than Obama to clean up the Gulf. Unfortunately, the government is trying everything possible to slow him down

Flopping Aces has all the awful details.

Bam V. Stan. Did we learn anything? Saturday Steyn!

Take  a few minutes and read Mark Steyn's latest on BP, Obama, and the McChrystal saga:
 
The Unengaged President


McChrystal banned FoxNews and voted for Obama, so pardon me if I fail to shed a tear for another liberal burned by this president. As Steyn says:

"But what do McChrystal’s and BP’s defenestration tell us about the president of the United States? Barack Obama is a thin-skinned man and, according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph, White House aides indicated that what angered the president most about the Rolling Stone piece was 'a McChrystal aide saying that McChrystal had thought that Obama was not engaged when they first met last year.' If finding Obama “not engaged” is now a firing offense, who among us is safe?"

There's much more and better stuff at the link.

Secure the borders and perform our Constitutional duty? Not so much.

Some want us to think the Bam administration is lily pure like the driven snow and never practices politics. They are stupid.

This is the most political and ideological administration in modern history. They do nothing except that which gains them politically (or, at least that's the way they think). They thought the oil spill would not be so severe as to require government and presidential attention, but, it would be severe enough to curtail drilling and serve as impetus to revive cap and tax legislation. They were wrong. The people want leadership and they demand that it be competent leadership. Americans recognize incompetence, and they are seeing that now.

On immigration reform, the president told Senator John Kyl that "if we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support ‘comprehensive immigration reform."

Hear Kyl tell it:



So, this administration, as Kyl points out, is more interested in winning a political battle than in their Constitutional duty to defend the United States.

That should tell you all you need to know about these incompetent cretins.

Bam trip to tout jobs costs some Ohioans a day of pay

Not only has Bam Bam put thousands of oil workers out of work with his moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf, his various visits to raise campaign money or tout all those jobs he's created or saved not only cost the taxpayers money, they put people out of work, too.  At least for a day.


H/T to Moonbattery

Obama: Shakedown Artist

When Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologized to BP for the Obama "shakedown" for $20B, some on the Left (sub blogger, Rob, among them) lambasted him.

Some, however, have rightly pointed out that this is a shakedown.  The only difference in this shakedown from the one's that Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton perform against Fortune 500 companies, is that this one is coming not from hypocritical race hustlers, but from the leader of the Free World, and, BP can expect the full force of the U.S. government to be behind it, despite the dubious (ok, complete lack of) Constitutionality of it.

I haven't posted on the oil spill, so, I'll let my thoughts out here.

Clearly, BP and those responsible for the Deepwater Horizon rig are culpable and will have to pay massive damages, and must get this thing capped and assist in the clean-up (and pay for it all).  This effort could bankrupt BP.  If it does, so be it.

But, let's look at what the U.S. government has done to contribute to the accident.

1. By preventing drilling in easily accessible spots on land - ANWR, the West where oil shale is accessible profitably, other areas - the government encouraged oil companies to seek oil in difficult to drill areas.
2. By preventing drilling in shallow waters off the U.S. coast - California, Florida, the East Coast, even Alaska - the government encouraged oil companies to seek oil in difficult to drill areas.
3. The MMS exempted oil companies (in 2008) from disclosing worst case scenarios.
4. We continue to subsidize energy industries that will do little to produce significant energy - solar, ethanol.

And, what has our government done since the spill:

1. Placed a moratorium on deep ocean drilling for six months.  I can see doing this for maybe three months.  But, we need this oil, and we need these people working.
2. Turned down offers from help from other countries, Obama has yet to give a Jones Act waiver, which would allow foreign vessels to assist in the clean-up in our waters.  Of course, our unions don't want this.
3. Has been very slow to allow LA, MS, AL to take steps on their own to protect their shores.  Famously refused LA the right to build temporary berms to protect their wetlands.
4. Spent time getting advice from "experts" on who's "ass to kick."
5. Shook down BP for $20B government-administered payback fund
6. Used the spill as an excuse to bring back "Cap" and "Tax" plan
7. Looked like idiots

New Blog Design

Blogger has finally offered some better out of the box templates for their blogs.  I hope you like the one I have chosen.  I have wanted to take advantage of all that empty space on the left side for a while, and now I can.

There are some useful links at the bottom, but it takes some scrolling to get to them.

Let me know if you hate it, or love it.

Goldberg on Obama becoming an object of ridicule...

With a h/t to the Patriot Post,

National Review editor Jonah Goldberg writes:

 

"[Barack] Obama is in danger of becoming a figure of ridicule, which is particularly ominous for a presidency that runs almost entirely on high-octane rhetoric. For instance, Obama recently told high school students in Kalamazoo, Mich., 'Don't make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes; take responsibility where you fall short as well.' As many immediately noted, this was odd advice from a man who would put the blame for the hitch in his golf swing on eight years of George W. Bush. In that same interview with Lauer, the president said he hadn't bothered talking to Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP, because he knew Hayward would 'say all the right things to me. I'm not interested in words. I'm interested in actions.' This from the man who swore that words were magical and thought it was worth sitting down to talk with the president of Iran? ... And as for the receding oceans, well, they're filling with light-sweet crude -- just one more thing the president blames Bush for. But there is good news. Any day now, after thorough interagency review, the Standing Committee for Posterior Selection will have given provisional approval for a working list of asses for POTUS to kick with an OSHA-approved shoe. Alas, final environmental-impact statements are pending. But once that hurdle is cleared, the president will focus like a laser on ass-kicking."

Hulu planning to go paid

For those of you who enjoy getting video content from Hulu for free, those days are probably going to be behind you.

Hulu, which is a joint venture of News Corp, NBC Universal, and Disney, plans to expand to devices beyond the PC, notably the XBox and iPad, and while the story is that first one shows (like Glee) will continue to be offered free, supported by advertising, older episodes of shows will use a subscription model.

Will users, accustomed to free content, rebel, or pay the fee?

Solving the Israel Problem. And California's

I have been thinking lately, in light of the fact that Israel can not get a break from the world, if there is an alternate solution to the "Israel" problem - especially now that we have the first openly hostile to Israel president here in the US.

Previous administrations would never have allowed the indignities foisted on Israel by the "Freedom Flotilla." 

So, I have a suggestion that I think will work to everyone's satisfaction, and solve some domestic problems, too.

Leftists and Islamofascists like to claim that if the Jews would just leave the Middle East, the Arab world would all be happy and leave the West alone.  I say we call their bluff, and, we remove the Jews from Israel and offer them a New Israel here in the New World.

My plan is - grant statehood to Puerto Rico.  That will keep the flag the same at 50 states, because we are then going to revoke California's statehood, and make that the New Israel nation.  Now, we'll want to get some treaty assurances from the Arab nations (I propose we have Egypt annex Israel, since they are one of the few countries in the Middle East we can trust) that they will protect religious shrines that are important to Christians and Jews in the Middle East, and that they will keep the Holy Land as a kind of protected zone for religious travelers and pilgrims.

By giving up California, we rid ourselves of the incredible drain the Golden State has become on the national treasury, we'll restore democratic rule to the state, and, perhaps, under the rule of Israelis, California (New Israel) will finally come to grips with their immigration problem.  Plus, we'll be able to ditch their debt, and maybe, just maybe, industry will return.

Politically, we'll rob the Democrats of 54 sure electoral votes (of course, we'll trade them the 4 or 5 that PR will bring, but, ok) and we'll gain a real military ally on our west coast.

I think this works out nicely.  I know it's a real problem for the Jewish people who have made Israel their home for a few thousand years, but, let's face it, their neighborhood sucks anyway, and this way, the Arabs can go back to killing each other, rather than using Israel and us as the locus of their anger.

Althouse defends her Obama vote. Commenters rip her apart.

Ann Althouse attempts defending her Obama vote again.

She's seen the light, but, at what cost to the country.

As for me, I appreciate that Obama/Pelosi/Reid are putting Marxism/Statism into stark relief for us.  2010 is our turn to set this straight.

Read the comments at Ann's blog.  Good stuff.

Tea Party? Lunatics? Liberal Sub blogger misses again.

Ouch, Rob thinks he's on to something.  Another big miss, though.

This time, it's a typical Liberal fantasy about the "Tea Party."  The Left, you see, wants there to be a 3rd party comprised of Tea Partiers.  They want it so bad, they will invent one.  Of course, the Tea Party is a movement, and out of some movements come 3rd parties, but, that hasn't happened yet in this case.  I hope it doesn't happen, because the things the Tea Partiers stand for - smaller government, fiscal responsibility,  lower taxes, elimination of earmarks, among other things - are things the GOP used to stand for.

Of course, Rob could have read the Contract From America, a document culled together by several Tea Party organizations, and he would have found, contrary to the "conservative social views of the Tea Party" that he abhors so much, there is little social policy in that Contract.  In fact, it is:

1. Protect the Constitution - Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does.
2. Reject Cap & Trade - Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation’s global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures.
3. Demand a Balanced Budget - Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax hike.
4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform - Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words—the length of the original Constitution.
5. Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government in Washington - Create a Blue Ribbon taskforce that engages in a complete audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities, or ripe for wholesale reform or elimination due to our efforts to restore limited government consistent with the US Constitution’s meaning.
6. End Runaway Government Spending - Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth. 
7. Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care - Defund, repeal and replace the recently passed government-run health care with a system that actually makes health care and insurance more affordable by enabling a competitive, open, and transparent free-market health care and health insurance system that isn’t restricted by state boundaries.
8. Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy - Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation, lowering prices and creating competition and jobs.
9. Stop the Pork - Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark. 
10. Stop the Tax Hikes - Permanently repeal all tax hikes, including those to the income, capital gains, and death taxes, currently scheduled to begin in 2011.

Hmmmm, don't see anything that really smacks of social policy (with perhaps the exception of the repeal of Obamacare).  But, the Left wants to make the Tea Party movement seem a social conservative movement, when it is not.  Hell, the GOP has largely been carrying social conservatives water for 30 years, it's the fiscal conservatives who have been abused by the party..

Rob takes another cheap shot at Sarah Palin (unqualified, despite being more qualified than Obama), Joe the Plumber (unlicensed and financially strapped - hey - I thought Liberals were the champions of the Little Guy?), Rand Paul (a flaming bigot - expect that meme from Liberals for the next 5 months), and some kook from North Carolina who got into a run-off in the GOP primary.  This from the party that sent Alan Grayson, Hank Johnson, Cynthia McKinney, and William Jefferson to Congress (among others).

But, Rob goes on:

"There is a large undercurrent of bigotry and unthinking anti-government sentiment. Unthinking? Look at all the wild misconceptions and outright falsehoods propagated by the Tea Party over the health care bill. Most of their beliefs and statements about it were simply lies. Look at the repeated examples of bigotry and tacit racism in the Tea Party. Look at the signs they carry at rallies."

Bigotry?  This is outright slander.  When members of the Congressional Black Caucus decided to take a photo-op walk through a Capital Hill Tea Party rally, they were attempting to goad the protesters into making racist statements, and, when they didn't, they lied and said they had heard racial epithets at least 15 times.  Despite the multitude of cameras present, and one Congressman filming it on his cell phone,  NO ONE has taken Andrew Breitbart up on his $10k offer (to the UNCF) to produce video of any racial slurs being hurled.  NO ONE.  Why? Because it didn't happen.

Lies about the health care bill?  Ok, get specific Rob.  No one really needs to LIE about the health care bill to prove how bad it is.  How about this - AT&T takes a $1B charge due to tax changes in the bill, others take smaller charges.  Or, how about this, from my mother-in-law's doctor to her:

"We regret to inform you that due to significant reimbursement decreases and endless regulations, effective July 1, 2010, we will no longer be a participating provider for Medicare."

That's your "doc fix" at work.  Was that a lie?

Oh, and those signs.  That would have been easy to put a link to some of those HORRIBLE signs.  But, he didn't.  How about these signs?  Pretty respectful stuff, eh?   I guess if you're an anti-semitic, America-hater, they are ok. BTW, Zombietime has plenty more of them.

Rand Paul is certainly going to pose challenges for the Tea Party movement who got behind him, and mostly, it's because he's got a Libertarian streak and isn't a seasoned campaigner.  Everyone in politics knows that you don't argue against the Civil Rights Act, even if parts of it go against your Libertarian beliefs.  So, stupid move.  As for BP, what he said was:

"What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of, 'I'll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.' I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. I've heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen."

He wasn't attacking those who want to hold BP accountable, he was attacking those who's first reaction is always to blame business (i.e. socialists).  Anyway, I think it's plenty American to attack a foreign company, so give one to Obama here.  Exxon wouldn't have done this.

 

Random Wednesday

Some random thoughts for the mid-week:

• Jason Heyward is going to be amazing.  If only the Braves could build a supporting cast around him.  
• Are Japanese pitchers all we thought they'd be?
• Kawakami: (Despite a good start tonight) - ERA=5.79; WHIP=1.473; 0-6 record
• Saito (made up for KK's goodness tonight with crappiness; stats don't include tonight's 3ER in .1 inning disaster)) - ERA=2.12; WHIP=.882 
• Matsuzaka - ERA=7.89; WHIP=1.523
• Okajima - ERA=5.27; WHIP=1.756
• Kuroda - ERA=2.87; WHIP=1.275, 5-1 record (an exception!)
• Takahashi - ERA=3.12; WHIP=1.385 (decent)
• CT Senate candidate and AG Blumenthal's latest story, he told the truth about his Vietnam service before he lied about it.  Oh, and I think Ann Coulter just endorsed Rob Simmons in that one.
• Primary night - rough for incumbents.  The only sad part: Dem pretending to be Republican retains lying, corrupt (and quite dead) Murtha seat, AND, Pat Toomey will not have the pleasure of sending Arlen Specter to political punditry.  Senator Rand Paul?  That will be priceless.
• L.A. threatens to boycott Arizona.  Arizona threatens to turn off California's power.  Two states at war?  Where does this lead?  I side with Arizona.  Perhaps AZ can turn back the refugees from California at its border, too.
• Proving the value of submarines, the South Koreans lay the blame for the loss of a patrol craft at the hands of a PDRK submarine.  Of course this violates the Korean Armistice terms.  Will we return to war over it?  Will the South Koreans?  As usual, the uniformed get involved (Bubblehead refers to them).
• My mother-in-law has been informed by one of her doctors that he will no longer take Medicare patients, unless she agrees to supplement the payments.  The ink is barely dry, and we've barely had time to learn all the good things in Obamacare Nancy Pelosi promised us, yet, has the exodus of doctors from Medicare already begun?
  
• SPOILER ALERT BELOW THE FOLD:

Palin calls out O-fficials for slamming Az to Chicoms

Sarah Palin posts on her Facebook page (one good reason to join), regarding the Arizona law.  I'll just echo Palin, it would be nice if Obama admin officials would actually READ the law before telling the Chinese how awful one of the 57 states is...

From Palin:

On Fox News this morning, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley became the third Obama administration official in short succession to admit that he hadn’t actually bothered to read Arizona’s 10-page long “secure the border” bill before condemning it and criticizing Americans who support Arizona’s necessary efforts to do the job the Obama Administration should be doing. Crowley’s statement follows similar admissions from Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

At first blush this revelation seemed unbelievable, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. This now seems “the Washington way” of doing things. If the party in power tells us they have to pass bills in order to find out what’s actually in them, they can also criticize bills (and divide the country with ensuing rhetoric) without actually reading them.

Still I can’t help but feel outraged on behalf of Arizona’s citizens for the incompetence shown by these Administration officials. Arizonans have the courage to do what the Obama administration has failed to do in its first year and a half in office - namely secure our border and enforce our federal laws. And as a result, Arizonans have been subjected to a campaign of baseless accusations by the same people who freely admit they haven’t a clue about what they’re actually campaigning against.

The absolute low point of this campaign came last Friday, when a U.S. State Department delegation met with Chinese negotiators to discuss human rights. Apparently, our State Department felt it necessary to make their Chinese guests feel less bad about their own record of human rights abuses by repeatedly atoning for American “sins” - including, it seems, the Arizona immigration/pro-border security law. Asked if Arizona came up at all during the meeting, Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner answered:

“We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.”

Note that he said “We brought it up” - not the Chinese, but the U.S. State Department’s own delegation. Instead of grilling the Chinese about their appalling record on human rights, the State Department continued the unbelievable apology tour by raising “early and often” Arizona’s decision to secure our border.

Arizona’s law, which just mirrors the federal law, simply allows the police to ask those whom they have already stopped for some form of identification like a driver’s license. By what absurd stretch of the imagination is that the moral equivalent of China’s lack of freedoms, population controls (including forced abortions), censorship, and arbitrary detentions?

Surely our U.S. Ambassador to China, John Huntsman, must disagree with the Obama Administration’s continued apology tour? We have nothing to apologize for. If Administration officials want to apologize to anyone, apologize to the American people for the fact that after a year and a half in office, they still haven’t done anything to secure our borders, and they join our President in making false suggestions about Arizona’s effort.

GOP offers YOU the choice of what to cut from the budget...

The GOP House Whip, Eric Cantor, today announced a new web site, YouCut, where each week, you can vote from a group of choices which program you would like to see cut from the federal budget, and the House GOP will call for an up or down vote on that spending cut.

Like Democrats will let that happen.

Anyway, get in on the act here.

National Security and Obama Administration...Not so much...

First off, Juan Williams must be tying himself up in knots defending the Obama administration and taking on the Tea Party movement.

Beyond that, John Brennan (you may remember him, he's the incompetent behind the Bam admin's anti-terror strategy) was on FNS this morning, and, his mere presence reminds why this administration is dangerous when it comes to prosecuting the War on Terror (oops!).

1. Brennan seems to think that it's ok that the administration has failed 4 times to stop domestic terror attacks in just the last year (Arkansas shooting, Fort Hood, Christmas Day, Times Square).  While I agree as a practical matter it is nearly impossible to stop all these efforts, but, that should not be stated so clearly by those in charge.
2. He doesn't think Christmas Day and Times Square were lucky breaks for us.
3. He still seems to think reading people Miranda rights is more important than capturing information
4. He defends the Obama administration's propensity to attribute these attacks to nutcases, acting "alone," despite all evidence eventually being to the contrary. In fact, this morning on This Week,  the administration has admitted the link of the Times Square bomber to Pakistani Taliban.
5. He defends the AG's refusal to say KSM will not be tried in NYC.

We have been lucky in a couple of these cases.  Relying on the incompetence of the terrorists is not (as Lynn Cheney says) an effective counter-terrorism strategy.  We need this administration to man up and be serious about the threat that faces this nation.

Arizona - is it wrong, even if it's right?

Jonah Goldberg posits, "Is the Arizona immigration law still wrong, even if it works?"

Along the way, Goldberg gives us something to think about.  Why is racial profiling ok when it's used for college admissions, yet, when it may be a component of law enforcement, it is somehow wrong?  There is no doubt that the vast, vast, vast majority of illegal aliens in Arizona (and California, and New Mexico, and Texas, and even Georgia, for that matter) are Hispanic, and likely from Mexico.  Yes, they are going to be disproportionately challenged.  They are disproportionately breaking the law.

President Obama incorrectly says a Hispanic family going to an ice cream shop could be harassed and asked for their "papers" under the law, but, even if they were (they can't under the law, as it requires some violation occur beforehand), what would be the upshot?

Well, they would produce their identification, just as any other American would.  We'd whip out our driver's license, our military ID, our Kroger Plus card, or whatever, and we'd be on our way.  We'd complain and move on.  An annoying inconvenience.  That's all.

Now, inasmuch as Americans hate (and our Constitution prohibits) illegal search and seizure, this will not happen under the Arizona law, or any other, since it does require a previous infraction.  To all those who want to say that this law is somehow discriminatory to Hispanics, the Reno Gazette Journal has published the entire text of the law with amendments.  I challenge you to read it and tell me what is racist or discriminatory in it.

Those charges are false and they are leveled purely for political purposes by Liberals and opportunistic Democrats.  The Dems care only about turning illegals into Obama voters in 2012 and enslaving Hispanics, much as they have created a Dem plantation for blacks.

Praiseworthy Businesses

For some time I have been meaning to give some deserved praise to businesses we've used recently.  So here goes a quick run down.  First the national people...

• Lowes - after the set we bought proved to be a POS, Lowe's stepped up and let us choose any washer and dryer we wanted, at their expense.  I'll add that our local Lowes store was great to work with, too.  I know I have some family closely connected to Home Depot, and they are our local Atlanta store, but we don't shop anywhere other than Lowes.
• Nissan - while Nissan issued a recall for 2006 and 2008 Pathfinders, they also stepped up and paid for the repair for my 2005 model for the same issue.  However, this praise is muted, since I think they'll eventually recall this model, too.  Furing my research of this issue, I found Edmunds web site very useful.  If you're having a car issue, check out their forums.  Also, the NHTSA safercar.gov site is useful, too.
• Netflix - if you use Netflix, you know what I mean.  If not, you should try the free trials they offer.  Since brick and mortar Blockbuster will soon be kaput, better get used to getting your videos this way.  Curious those of you who use the Red Boxes, what you think of them?

And, a few local businesses:

• Ridgeway Mechanical - I used Service Magic to bid out the replacement of my hot water heater.  I highly recommend you use Service Magic for your jobs like this.  All 3 bids were professional and competitive, but Ridgeway had awesome ratings on kudzu.com and pledged to meet anyone else's bid.  They did and I saved. 
• Horvath Heating and Air - We have used Horvath for years to service our air conditioning.  He's honest, on-time, and reasonably priced.  This time, we have finally decided instead of just recharging our dying a/c, to replace 2 evaporator coils.  Now, we are not completing this work til this Friday (they're very busy), so I'll withhold total judgement, but, I know I am getting a good price and someone I can contact if I have problems.
• Unnamed contractor - As we sit today, we have another highly recommended contractor painting the exterior, replacing our gutters, repairing our porch, ripping down wallpaper, retiling and repairing a shower, repairing a ceiling, and repairing a chimney.  Since they're still working, we'll reserve judgement on them.  So far, so good, and when they're done, I'll reveal the company.
• Wayne's Automotive - My '97 Grand Cherokee was in a fender bender that caused more damage than the car is worth, had I let a normal repair shop handle it.  But, Wayne's guys understood what I wanted done on what's basically the family work truck, and gave me an unbelievable estimate and they fixed a stuck hatch for nothing.  We've had them do work on our Pathfinder, too, and have not been dissatisfied yet.  Probably won't ever be.  Plus, they're about the friendliest people in the world. If you live in Alpharetta or Suwanee, don't take your car anywhere else, for any service.

Immigration Danger for Leftists: Giving Tea Partiers Something Else to Be Fired Up About

The government-run media this weekend were all a-twitter over the large numbers of "protestors" coming out against Arizona's enforcement of existing Federal immigration laws at the state level.

They may think this is good politics, and, in light of the alternatives for them, it probably is as good as it gets.  But, let me remind the pro-amnesty Left, the last time we saw large numbers of these kinds of protests, an immigration bill supported by George W. Bush, John McCain, Lindsay Graham, and most Democrats, went down in flames.  Why, because those opposed are much more vocal, law-abiding, outnumber the amnesty crowd, and vote.  Finally, because W supported amnesty, and many senate republicans did as well, it was really the start, in my opinion, of the downfall of George W. Bush and the Republican party, leading directly to these voters disaffection with the GOP.  So, the lesson for the GOP is - amnesty is a losing proposition.  Don't go there.  Law and order is a winning proposition.  Enforcing the existing laws is a winning proposition. National security wins. 

As for the Dems, in the current political climate, they are treading on dangerous ground here.  Everyone knows the Dems are pro-amnesty.  Everyone knows it has nothing to do with Civil Rights, it's all about political calculus.  Dems want and covet these voters.  They want to enslave Latino's just as they have blacks for 30 years.  They want to keep them down and dependent on the Liberal's endless government teat.  And that's all it is for Democrats.

My fear this election cycle is that the Tea Partiers will lose steam and limp across the finish line, and the GOP would barely challenge for control of the House and not even challenge for the Senate.

However, with this latest immigration brouhaha, in the afterglow of Obamacare passing, and two years removed from the shock of Porkulus and TARP and Bailouts, now those nasty racists rednecks known as Tea Partiers will latch onto something that continues to fire them up, and that will be immigration.

Six months out of the election, and Obama continues to pursue unpopular legislation - immigration "reform" and cap and tax.  He's passed pretty much nothing but unpopular legislation. 

What is this guy doing?

Heather McDonald on AZ Law. And LI on Nazis...

City Journal's Heather McDonald, unlike the New York Times, and 95% of the Liberals in this country, has actually read the Arizona immigration enforcement law.

As she says,

"The Arizona law is not about race; it’s not an attack on Latinos or legal immigrants. It’s about one thing and one thing only: making immigration enforcement a reality. It is time for a national debate: Do we or don’t we want to enforce the country’s immigration laws? If the answer is yes, the Arizona law is a necessary and lawful tool for doing so. If the answer is no, we should end the charade of inadequate, half-hearted enforcement, enact an amnesty now, and remove future penalties for immigration violations."

H/T to Legal Insurrection, who provides this:

"Illegal immigration is illegal and will be treated as illegal, and the laws setting forth that illegality will be implemented in accordance with longstanding practices for determining citizenship and immigration status based on a constitutionally acceptable "reasonable suspicion" test.


"A law which was not extraordinary, except to the extent that it signaled an intention to take the immigration laws seriously, was met with a crescendo of accusations of racism and Nazism (with a dash of communism and Apartheidism thrown in to spice things up a bit)."

As with all things Liberals don't like, if YOU like it, you're a Nazi.

More on Arizona. Read Aloha Dump's post.

I love Aloha Dump. He has a great post on the Arizona law.  Read it.

Money shot:

"Obama has stopped kissing the asses of our enemies and begging them to friend him on his Facebook page to weigh in on the AZ immigration law; his teleprompter minions are checking on the legality of such a law. People are calling for boycotts to AZ tourism, the Diamondbacks and products and services from AZ based companies [and I will add, New York made Arizona brand Iced Tea]. Futile, irrelevant and symbolism-over-substance gestures that will have no affect on anything except the warped conscience of the Americans who have lost sight of their fellow countrymen who are desperately trying to live their own American dream without the fear of losing it to people who enter this country illegally."

Immigration. Arizona is right, and they know it.

Tonight on the (Nobody's Watching) CBS News, they followed an illegal immigrant and his citizen "partner" as they complained about the new Arizona enforcement law and participated in a protest in Arizona.  Of course, CBS pretty easily found this 4 year illegal, and refused to film his face, since he's now scared that if he's discovered, Arizona might actually enforce the law and send him back to Mexico.

His "partner" is packing their things. I guess so they can make a quick getaway, or maybe they're planning on moving from Arizona to a state that cares less about our immigration laws. Like broke California?

So, what are we to make of the Arizona law? The Left wants everyone to think this is just a bunch of racists white guys who want to see darker-skinned people thrown out of the country.

The reality is that this is much less nefarious, but about as simple. You see, we have laws in this country that dictate how one enters the country and ultimately becomes a citizen. Those laws need to be enforced, and we need to have a REAL, HONEST debate about legal immigration - how many people we will allow in the country, what we need them to be able to do, and how we will put them on a path to citizenship. Unfortunately, the Left sees illegal immigration as the fastest path to add millions more to the lower, indebted-to-Liberals class, and ultimately turn them into Democrat voters.  It's all about power with Liberals.

The Conservative, on the other hand, sees immigration much more pragmatically. We're able to argue intellectually that in an age where the average white American family has settled into a birthrate less than 2 kids/household, that the only way to keep the country growing is to accept some level of immigration. The question then becomes, how many, from where, and what skill sets do we want from our immigrant population?

I have argued here, and it is still true, that Latinos, particularly those crossing from Mexico are, on the whole, law-abiding, hard-working, and religous (90% Catholic) people, who I think ultimately will be a net plus for the country, but...

The numbers must be carefully controlled. Why?

1. We need controlled and orderly immigration.  Let's debate the numbers, but let's stick to them when we agree.  Let's agree that assimilation into our American culture, learning the language, learning the nation's history, and understanding our unique position in the world, are critical to American citizenship.
2. We need to ensure that we're not letting so many immigrants into the country that they don't negatively impact American's job chances and choices.  I am not one who believes that Mexican immigrants only take jobs that Americans won't do.  It hasn't been THAT long ago that the home construction industry was dominated by Americans.  Those are generally good paying jobs that lead to greater skills and capabilities.  They are the kinds of jobs that high school graduates, both black and white, would excel at, and should be looking for.
3. We need to carefully consider the skills we need.  If Obamacare sticks around, we are seriously going to need more doctors, especially general practitioners.  Guess what, these aren't coming from Mexico.  Since we seem to be in decline in the number of American-trained doctors, the next best source is going to remain India and eastern nations.  My answer, we need to increase immigration of those specific skill sets - no matter where they are from.
4. We need to ensure that we are not allowing immigrants into the country who are net drains on our economy.  This is going to require tough choices and it's going to require saying "no" to a lot of immigrants.  It's going to require changes in policies that favor family unification, and perhaps even to changes in our treatment of children of immigrants.  What the country could withstand when it was a thriving free-market economy, is much different from what can be sustained during the march to socialism and the generous distribution of government benefits.
5. We need American blacks to wake up and realize the largest group under attack from illegal immigration are them.  With black unemployment at the 25-30% level, this community seriously must reconsider their devotion to liberal immigration policies.  Because black leaders so long ago sold their souls to Dems, this most conservative of groups needs to re-evaluate their position on this issue.
6. We need blue collar workers, including unionized ones, to stand up for American workers in those industries that most employ illegals - construction, landscaping, food service, agriculture.  Unions seem to accept the fact that these low-skill industries aren't worth their efforts and they have ceded that turf, in the interest of increased power from what they believe will be a reliable voting block.  Why?  Stupidity, I guess.
7. We must address the national security implications of a porous border.  And, let's not lie and act like the Canadian border is as porous as the Southern one.  It is not.  The drug trade primarly comes from the south, and, since that's an industry ripe with lifelong criminals skilled in human and drug smuggling, they are the ones who terrorists will call upon to assist them in getting through the border. 

So, the state of Arizona, in light of the refusal of the Federal government to act, has decided to take enforcement of our immigration laws seriously, and attempt to assist the Feds.  The people of Arizona, and nationally, largely support this.  It's not about race, it's not about hatred.  It's about reality.

Obama recovery compared

Coming out of recessions, here are recent recovery GDP growth rates by qtr:

Reagan: 5.1%, 9.3%, 8.1%, 8.5%

Obama's: 2.2%, 5.6%, 3.2%

Doesn't seem so hot after all, does it?

November 2010 is coming. Check out these ads

From RememberNovember.com, check out this great ad:



From the San Antonio Tea Party, via Moonbattery:

Lack of posting...YOU get more Steyn. And, you get to keep your head (for now!)

I haven't posted in a while. So sorry.

Anyway, lots going on here.  I finally have blooms on my Irises.  They grew so big I need tomato stakes to hold them up.

The rest of the garden is doing nicely, and my Grand Cherokee is repaired and now the hatch can be opened again! Meaning...more garden items can be brought home.

Anyway, back to politics.

Mark Steyn compares Bill Clinton's demonization of Tea Partiers to the treatment the "edgy and hip" Cartoon Network gave to the South Park episode lampooning (somewhat) Mohammed (you know, the guy the Islamofacscists all say we can't lampoon, or do much else negative about, without fear of losing, well, you know, our minds...via beheading).

At any rate, Wild Bill took to the airwaves this week to remind everyone that those nasty granma's hanging out at those wild and crazy riots otherwise known as Tea Party rallies, are not only mind-numbed homophobic, seditious, racists, but also (dramatic drumroll)..... terrorists!  Of the Tim McVeigh variety.

As Steyn points out, "they’ve got everything in common. They both want to reduce the size of government, the late Mr. McVeigh through the use of fertilizer bombs, the tea partiers through control of federal spending."

At least the Democrats have their national security priorities in place.  As Steyn says, "Don’t worry about Iran’s nuclear program, but if you meet a tea-party supporter waving some placard about the national debt, try not to catch his eye and back away slowly without making any sudden movements, lest he put down his placard and light up his suicide belt."

Turning his attention to the Comedy Central/South Park incident, Steyn takes us through the "courage" of the Left.  Read the whole thing, but, the courage of the Left boils down to this,

"In the end, Comedy Central has incentivized Islamic violence and nothing much else. Nevertheless, we should be grateful to its jelly-spined executives for reminding us that the cardboard heroes of the American media are your go-to guys for standing up to entirely fictitious threats. But for real ones? Not so much."




If the Left wasn't around for sad comic relief, we'd have to invent them.

Buh Bye, NASA

President Obama has dashed the dreams of young boys and girls across the United States, killed good engineering and spacecraft operations jobs, turned manned spaceflight over to the Russians and Chinese, and, yes, broken another campaign promise.

53 years after Sputnik and 41 after Apollo 11, seeing nothing really left for us to do, Obama decides to punt.

As Neil Armstrong (and others) put it in a strongly-worded letter to Obama:
"Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity.”
Robert Costa, in National Review Online relates, Resign Yourself, NASA

Dems to lose 100 House seats in 2010? Don't be surprised.

I think I told someone this weekend I wouldn't be surprised to see Dems lose 80 seats in the House this year and 10 in the Senate. The President is hugely unpopular and the Democrat brand has been seriously tarnished by Obama and his socializing cretins, PelosiReid.

Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics sees a massive loss ahead for Dems. And he explains why.

You read and either cry or rejoice:

How Bad Could 2010 Really Get For Democrats?

Bam in free fall

Now that the American people are learning about Obamacare, they like it less and less.

The latest polls have Obama's job approval at a Bush-like 43%.  Obamacare is 7% less popular than when it passed (from 48% to 41%).  Jobs are not coming back.  And, while the economy in general looks ok, the mountain of debt is starting even now to have implications for the country that will last for a long, long, time.

Obama runs off to sign an arms control treaty with Russia that will do little as he announces a major change in US nuclear policy.  A foolish, amost child-like change that assumes other nations play by the same rules as us.  You would think a follower of the Alinsky method would understand this.

Obama lowers himself to arguing with Sarah Palin.  Bart Stupak reads the tea leaves and decides to give the Dems a chance to keep his seat. 

To make things worse, John Paul Stevens retires from the Supreme Court, giving Obama a chance to appoint an ultra-liberal to succeed him, while he still has a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  This is not the national debate Obama wants to have as we head into the 2010 election season.  He does not want the debate to focus on his radical liberalism and creeping socialism, and a SC nominee who promises to use the power of the courts to force that on us, is not the debate Obama wants to have now.

So, the winds are blowing the GOP's way right now.  Dick Morris is predicting the R's will take 40-50 seats and take back the House.  I think it's possible that the GOP could pick up 50-80 seats.  Morris also predicts a GOP retake of the Senate.  I think that, too, is possible.

So, with the GOP in charge of Congress, Obama might just find his unpopular and unsound agenda stopped, ensuring his reelection in 2012.

Wow.

What would Tiger Woods do?

The son of a white mother, and black father, filled out his census form, and chose "african american."

He could have checked white, checked both black and white, or checked the last category on the form, “some other race,” which he would then have been asked to identify in writing.

So, the New York Times has declared Obama officially black.

Obama says "F-you" to our allies. Mark Steyn analyzes.

You must read the great Mark Steyn on Obama and our allies.

Poignant and funny.

This country is up the proverbial sh*t creek with this guy at the helm.

Sorry, Obamainiacs, but it is true.

Economic Signs starting to look good...

The Weekly Standard's Irwin Stelzer looks at this week's economic news, and he likes what he sees, at least for the short term.  There is no doubt that the mountain of debt and large tax increases we're piling up is going to cause inflation and a crowding out of investment dollars in the longer term, but, for now, signs are good for a continuation of the recovery we're in, and maybe even for people to get back to work.

The housing industry has a way to go to recover, but, even there, there are som eencouraging signs.

Keep your fingers crossed that the economy continues to improve, and maybe a big GOP win in November will return some fiscal sanity (maybe.  That will be the message, if the GOP can figure it out) and get our long-term house in order, and we can offer real health care reform that doesn't break the bank, and keep taxes relatively low, while paying off the stimulus and returning GM and Chrysler to investors.

Maybe.