Fake Turkey

Goat Roper Rampage

2011-02-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

I lived in Wisconsin for 27 years, so I'm quite used to angry, red-faced, very short-fused Germans. I'm also not surprised at reports and videos of the pro-Union supports getting rough with their opposition. This is the way angry, red-faced, short-fused Germans argue. The problem is, Germans are never wrong, so to debate one is an exercise in futility.

Being from Wisconsin, I'm also accustomed to no small amount of embarrassment. It goes with the territory (think Peggy West "Arizona..a state that is a ways removed from the border...").

But until today, I have never been as mortified over something to come out of the state as this:

Here we have elected representatives dressed in deer-hunter orange gang t-shirts acting like petulant children who were told they had to go beddy-bye. Just disgraceful.

The outcome of the raucous debate in Madison will not be determined by one side backing down, it will be determined by one side effectively painting the other into a corner. I happen to think the Governor and Senate Republicans have already done that, they just need to wait out the goat-ropers and finish this once and for all.

"Hello, Phony Doctors..."

2011-02-21T10:10:00.001-08:00

Writing fake "sick" notes for teachers illegally striking *should* be illegal. Are the laws in Wisconsin written only for Liberals?

Dr. Louis Sanner

Northeast Family Medical Center — 3209 Dryden Drive — Madison, WI, 53704 — (608) 241-9020
http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/directory/105

lou.sanner@uwmf.wisc.edu

Dr. Sanner is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin family medical program.

“Dr. Sanner received his MD degree from Stanford University in 1983. He completed a family practice residency at the University of Missouri Columbia in 1986 and then earned an MS degree in public health after a two year research and teaching fellowship at Missouri-Columbia. He was Director of the Madison Residency Program 1996-2002 and provides patient care at Northeast Family Medical Center. His academic interests center on innovations in practice systems which enhance quality of care and medical education.”

Dr. James H Shropshire MD –5001 Monona Drive–Monona, WI, 53716-2636 — (608)222-8779

Bernard F. Micke, MD

UW Health Odana Clinic — 5618 Odana Road –Madison, WI, 53719 – (608) 274-1100

Faculty, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Bernard Micke, MD earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his residency at Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis. His special interests include FAA physicals.
UW Health Clinics
Palliative Care Medicine
(608) 890-9444 UW Hospital and Clinics

HT IowaHawk: Dr. Micke is a long-time Democratic donor who loves gun control and Fidel Castro:

“For the past eight years, Bernard has worked to open relations with Cuba and its people who have suffered the effects of the U.S. embargo. A group he helped form, The Wisconsin Project, has provided over a million dollars of donated medicine and equipment to Pediatric Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, to help care for sick children. As satisfying as this work has been, it has also “focused [his] attention on the inequities and injustices in the world, all too often as a result of the deliberate policies of our government.” Bernard intends to continue to work on the aid program for this children’s hospital in Cuba.”

Hanna Keevil, M.D. UW Health Odana Clinic — 5618 Odana Road — Madison, WI, 53719 – (608) 274-1100

Hanna Keevil, M.D. Job title: Clinical Assistant Professor
Email: holly.keevil@uwmf.wisc.edu
Clinic: Odana Atrium (Madison)
Affiliation: UW Health – Odana Atrium

Please take a few moments and call, write, or email the Wisconsin Medical Board and the state attorney general, so justice can prevail.

Wisconsin Medical Examining Board
Department of Regulation and Licensing
Tom H. Ryan, MPA, JD, Bureau Director
1400 E. Washington Ave.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 266-2112 / Fax:(608) 261-7083
Complaints Toll Free: (877) 617-1565
www.drl.state.wi.us

John B. Van Hollen, Wisconsin Attorney General
Wisconsin Department of Justice 608-266-1221
Wisconsin Department of Justice
P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857
Fax: 608-267-2779
The Wisconsin Department of Justice headquarters is located in the Risser Justice Center, 17 West Main Street, in Madison.

If you would like to serve a notice of claim [PDF form] upon the Attorney General under Wis. Stat. 893.82, please direct such claim to:
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen
114 East State Capitol
Madison, WI 53707-7857

Pay No Attention To That Man Behind the Curtain

2011-01-04T15:13:00.001-08:00

Long ago, in a blog post far far away, a great debate over Presidential signing statements took place. Much time has passed and now that Barack Obama is the president, it's time for some grand hypocrisy! (Hat-tip to Hot Air)

Is this the change you Liberals were looking for??

A Lesson in Greek Socialism

2010-05-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Want to know will happen if the US continues with our experiments in Socialism? Look no further than Greece.

See where the Socialists have taken that country. And for an early preview our our fate here at home, look at California.

More Respected Abroad: Afghanistan

2010-04-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought Obama was only focused on screwing up domestically, it's sure starting to look like he's losing us Afghanistan. This comes less than a week after The One himself personally visited the country.

from WSJ today:

...the Afghan leader seems as mistrustful of the West as ever—and increasingly willing to tap the resentment many ordinary Afghans feel toward the U.S. and its allies. Many here view the coalition as enabling the Afghan government's widespread corruption, and blame U.S.-led forces for killing too many civilians.
At the same time, Mr. Karzai is working to improve relations with American rivals, such as Iran and China. The result is further strain on an already-tense partnership. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul declined to comment on Saturday's speech.

Whoa! This doesn't fit the narrative.

2010-03-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

According to Gallup, a majority believes Democrats' Health Care "Reform" tactics were an "Abuse of Power"

"Regardless of whether you favored or opposed the health care legislation passed this week, do you think the methods the Democratic leaders in Congress used to get enough votes to pass this legislation — were [they] an abuse of power, or were [they] an appropriate use of power by the party that controls the majority in Congress?
Abuse of power 53%
Appropriate use of power 40%
No opinion 7%"

More Respected Abroad: Europe

2010-03-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

During a recent visit to Dear Leader, French president Sarkozy voiced his concerns over our new "more respected abroad" foreign relations strategy.

"We cannot afford to have the world's No. 1 power not being open to the rest of the world," he said. "The world does not stop at the East Coast. The world does not stop at the West Coast."

The country's in such good hands.

"calm the times"

2010-03-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Republican congressman Thaddeus McCotter, in his floor remarks on Obamacare, reminds us that America was not founded to emulate other countries, but to inspire the world.

I'm not alone in thinking that by attempting to institute socialist experiments that have failed in other countries, America will no longer be the model for other nations but instead will become the example of what not to do.

Next up: Cap and Tax

2010-03-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

The nightmare continues.

Hang on to your wallets, people. And if you're lucky enough to have a job, hang on to that too.

one more time...

2010-03-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

just for good measure.

So it begins - Socialist America

2010-03-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Saul would be so proud.

Acorn collapses

2010-03-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

On a day filled with terrible news, this tidbit might not get a lot of attention: Acorn has collapsed.

Woohoo!! We win!

Birth of the Politburo

2010-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

from National Review:

"Ordinarily, differences between Senate-passed and House-passed bills are worked out in a conference committee, producing a compromise bill for consideration by both houses. Instead, Democrats want the House to pass an un-amended Senate bill that will be cleaned up later. But the Senate bill is so radioactive that the House wants to sidestep a direct vote on it. No conference committee, no separate House vote: Change has indeed come to Washington. "

We are witnessing the birth of an American Politburo. Is this what Thomas Jefferson had in mind?

The ill-advised pissing off of the Judicial Branch

2010-03-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I love the comparison of the Administration's tantrum over the Supreme Court's campaign finance decision to a 6-year old's need to always get the last word in. And it comes from CBS, of all places.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504564_162-20000226-504564.html

Just as with picking fights with...

...I don't see this working out in Obama's favor, but they don't seem to care.

Even in the center of the Lib universe (San Francisco), I hear the natives quietly admitting that this isn't the Obama they were promised. So down down down go the approvals.

More Respected Abroad: Jakarta

2010-03-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Students in Jakarta are throwing shoes at Dear Leader's head to show their respect.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_obama

I bow thee, Madam Mayor!

2010-02-01T14:21:00.001-08:00

Here's another shot of Our Dear Leader...this time bowing to the Mayor of Tampa! No doubt this is an attempt to undo the old, arrogant practice of George W. Bush NOT bowing to American mayors.
Buffoon.

...for 6th graders

2010-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

brilliant.

The System Works

2009-12-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Andy McCarthy's dead on about why firing Napolitano would amount to nothing more than shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.

"Napolitano is an apt representation of Obama-style detachment from national security: She doesn't know where the 9/11 hijackers came from; she doesn't know illegal immigration is a criminal offense; she won't utter the word "terror" (it's a "man-caused disaster," just like, say, a forest fire); she thinks the real terrorists are "right-wing extremists" aided and abetted by our soldiers returning home from their missions; when a jihadist at Fort Hood massacres more people than were killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, she won't call it terrorism and worries mostly about racist blow-back against innocent Muslims; she doesn't see any indications of a larger terrorist conspiracy even after a captured — er, arrested — terrorist tells agents he was groomed for the airplane operation by al Qaeda in Yemen; she thinks the "system worked" on Christmas when every element of it failed; and even her walk-back on the "system worked" comment — i.e., that it worked after the fact because all the planes then in the air were notified to take extra precautions "within 90 minutes" of the attack — is pathetic."

Full article here.

"Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now."

2009-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

No one can say for sure what horrors are ahead for us. I know this much: we've already been subjected to far more under Dear Leader than most of what they accused Bush of only attempting. Most concerning is that it seems like a crime to question any of it.

"This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth. Then it began apologizing for its greatness [sound familiar?] and began giving away its wealth, feeling guilty for having produced more than its neighbors."

-John Galt's speech

Nothing wrong with this...

2009-10-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

School Kids Sing For Health Care Reform On Set Of CNN

"Bipartisan support was tried so we wouldn't be denied but Joe Wilson yelled, "You lie!"

"Obama says everyone needs healthcare coverage in America now"

Fidel Castro Praises Obama

2009-09-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

I'll just leave it at that: Fidel Castro Praises Obama.

Never Forget

2009-09-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

As our dingbat Marxist-in-Chief wants to whitewash what happened on this awful day in 2001, and as he wants us to commit ourselves to community service -- as if we Americans haven't had a glorious history of helping out our fellow man in times of need and need to be reminded by Teh One -- there are still those of us who remember the importance of 9/11 and why we need to maintain our resolve against those who wish to do us harm. We will never forget 9/11/2001, or the people who worked tirelessly to prevent the tragic events, or the people who have since worked tirelessly to preserve our liberty and prevent the tragic events from happening again, either on our soil or abroad.

Eight years on, Never Forget.

Bush Debt: "leadership failure", Dear Leader Debt: Yes We Can!

2009-09-09T13:19:00.001-07:00

Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL] (March 6, 2006):

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about America's debt problem. The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies.

More Respected Abroad: Economic Status

2009-09-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

via NRO/Financial Times:

More Financial Times:

The US government's sweeping intervention in the private sector has taken its toll on the country's competitiveness, according to an annual survey by the World Economic Forum.
The country lost its number one spot to Switzerland in the WEF report on global competitiveness, partly because of "particular concerns on the part of the business community about the government's ability to maintain arm's-length relationships with the private sector and in the perception that the government spends its resources wastefully".

Dear Leader takes a break(s)

2009-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Leader has had it rough lately. Hopenchange is unraveling faster than Jimmy Carter's swamp rabbit.

As he heads off on vacation to reflect on all the racism and negativity that seems to be slowing down his plans to radically remake America......wait a minute.

Didn't he just take a vacation?

HopenChange Fading

2009-08-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Normally I would dismiss a Presidential tracking poll as an inaccurate measure of whether a President is indeed taking the country in the right (or wrong) direction, according to the people. But this isn't the guy I voted for, so here goes:

Obama's Approval Rating is at an all-time low.
I would be willing to bet this number will go much lower, perhaps all the way down.

Wait, I can bet on it!!

Hope and Change!

UPDATE: Fading...
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx

Welcome Back, Carter

2009-07-21T12:55:00.001-07:00

We all knew the day would come, the inevitable comparisons between Obama and the worst president (so far) in American history, Jimmy Carter. Well, my friends, here we are. At the 6-month mark, Dear Leader's approval numbers are on par with Carter's.
Welcome to the nightmare.

More Respected Abroad: Iran

2009-07-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

For those still waiting for America to be "more respected abroad", do you now see that your Dear Leader has horribly miscalculated in his strategy to deal with Iran?

from NRO's the Corner: Perception and Reality in Iran

It isn’t exactly news that Obama’s strategy of constructive engagement in Iran is failing because of the utter lack of good faith on the other side. The mullahs are happy to take advantage of Obama’s nice-guy approach, because it gives them the one thing they most desperately want: precious time to pursue their nuclear program and amplify their influence in the region, free from pesky American pressure.

It's the Chicago Way

2009-05-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I'm surprised. It was only a matter of time before the White House started directly threatening opponents of its policies.

I guess what surprises me most is how brazen the threat was:

A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration's Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration's Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation.

This should concern everyone, especially you hippies who like to preach about the evils of your government.

Kudos to ABC's Tapper for bothering to report on a story that even has the mere possibility of casting The One in a bad light. Is investigative journalism still alive?

Andy McCarthy Tells Obama and DOJ to Pound Sand

2009-05-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Awesome. Just awesome. Former U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy penned a brilliant response to the Obama DOJ, in which he declined an invitation to participate in the dog-and-pony show that is Obama & Co.'s Task Force on Detention Policy on May 4th.

Soooo many money quotes. But here's a sampling:

I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.

Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.

Finally, this one:

Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from the United States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law.

I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.

Do read the whole thing. The Right needs more people with cojones like McCarthy, who calls Obama's charade like he sees it.

US responsible for swine flu

2009-04-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

CNN's crack investigation into the cause of swine flu has led them to conclude, you guessed it, it's all America's fault:

A little boy who lives in a Mexico mountain village flanked by pig farms has been named as "patient zero" in the swine flu outbreak. Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez credits ice cream for helping him feel better. Edgar and his family live in La Gloria in the state of Veracruz. His mother blames the virus on a huge, U.S.-owned pig farm in their neighborhood.

Yet another example of the evil Bush legacy.

President Dive-bombs NYC

2009-04-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

This strikes me as something Jimmy Carter would do. The Obedient media is trying to pass it off, saying The One didn't know and was shocked, shocked to find out that it happened. I think honest people know better than to believe that.

Pure brilliance.

Plus, check out what the White House has planned for future photo ops:

Brave Bennie

2009-04-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

The House Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, had this to say about the DHS report on "rightwing extremism" released to law enforcement officials across the country last week:

“This report appears to raise significant issues involving the privacy and civil liberties of many Americans — including war veterans,” Mr. Thompson said in the letter sent Tuesday.

“As I am certain you agree, freedom of association and freedom of speech are guaranteed to all Americans — whether a person’s beliefs, whatever their political orientation, are ‘extremist’ or not,” Mr. Thompson said.

"freedom of speech" and "freedom of association"? They're going to strip the (D) from his name any minute now...

Trackback

CNN Tea Party "reporting"

2009-04-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

It speaks for itself:

CNN: "Let's see... drop taxes... drop socialism. Okay, let's see. You're here with your two-year old daughter and you're already in debt. Why are you here today, sir?"

Man with child: "Because I hear a President say that he believed in what Lincoln stood for. Lincoln's primary thing was, he believed that people had the right to liberty and the r --"

CNN: "What does this have to do with taxes?"

Man: "Are you going to let me speak?"

CNN: "What does this have to do with taxes? Do you realize that you're elibible for a $400..."

Man: "Let me finish my point! Lincoln believed that people had the right to share in the fruits of their own labor and that government should not take it. And we have clearly gotten to that p--"

CNN: "Right, right, right -- did you know that the state of Lincoln gets fifty billion dollars out of these stimulus -- that's fifty billion dollars for this state, sir!"

Man: "Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, I'm... can you stop this, sir?"

CNN: "Alright, we'll move on... (to audience) I think you get the general tenor of this, uh, it's anti-government, anti-CNN, since this is highly promoted by the rightwing conservative network Fox and... since I can't really hear much more, I think this... is not really family viewing, toss it back to you, Kera."

anti-government?? anti-CNN?? I can't even begin to describe what's wrong with this.

Fake Turkey comes full circle

2009-04-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Fake Turkey has long recognized the awesomeness of "staged" military photos for propaganda purposes. Now it seems the staged photo op is en vogue with The Leader as well, as evidenced by the Iraq troop meet and greet event, sponsored by KoolAid.

Fake Turkey would like to point out again, that the Bush turkey was very real.

Hat Tip: AspenPR/HotAir

"Staged Military Photo Ops Suddenly Awesome

posted at 6:54 am on April 14, 2009 by Jim Treacher
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly

Back in 2003, the left was astonished and dismayed that George W. Bush got such a warm Thanksgiving welcome from our troops in Iraq, even after he was evil enough to send our troops to Iraq. So what did our friends on the port side do? Oh, the usual: They concocted a controversy out of whole cloth.

“Hey, that Thanksgiving turkey Bush was carrying looked pretty fake. Wait a second, I know… It was plastic! What a perfect metaphor for this whole fake war! Plastic turkey, plastic president. Am I right, people?”

They weren’t right. They didn’t even bother to find out if they were. But that didn’t stop this weird, fact-free, too-good-to-check meme from oozing through the Internet until it finally dripped onto the desks of our finest bastion of journalistic certitude, the New York Times. Here’s what Richard L. Berke said about it on July 4, 2004, in the middle of a thumbsucker about John Kerry (remember him?) trying to find some way to grab the nation’s attention. Kerry was having a tough time because, well, he’s John Kerry. But also because the wicked and nefarious George Bush kept stealing the spotlight:

And how does Mr. Kerry top the suspense-filled plot line of this White House, which regularly negotiates hairpin turns? Just last week, the handover of Iraq happened two days earlier than expected.

There are also the manufactured surprises, like Mr. Bush’s cloak-and-dagger Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad, which drew praise even from Democrats. (The public relations bonanza fizzled after the press reported that Mr. Bush had posed with a mouth-watering - but fake - turkey.)

It took a week for the NYT to issue a correction, but at least they finally did:

An article last Sunday about surprises in politics referred incorrectly to the turkey carried by President Bush during his unannounced visit to American troops in Baghdad over Thanksgiving. It was real, not fake.

Which would seem to be no small matter, considering that this “fact” was being used far and wide to triumphantly prove the fundamental fakeness of the Bush administration. But then, this is the same newspaper that, just two months later, would run the headline “Memos on Bush Are Fake but Accurate, Typist Says.” Fake, real, accurate, inaccurate… whatever!

Despite the NYT’s correction, the meme of “Bush’s plastic turkey proves he sucks and stuff” survives to this day, still popping up occasionally on the Internet and in “reputable” publications all over the world. Just ask the great Tim Blair, who has served as Turkey-Tracker #1 ever since the first outbreak of this particular form of mental illness.

Which brings us to 2009, and a new president who’s on record as saying our troops in Afghanistan are “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians” indiscriminately. A president who opposed the Iraq War and, during his brief, stepping-stone tenure as a senator, voted against the surge. A president who’s even more image-conscious than most (mainly because it’s his one and only qualification for the job), and who’s obviously stung by the rather lukewarm reception he’s received from military audiences in the early days of his presidency.

So you’re the president, you’re making a surprise visit to Iraq, and you want to look good. But so far, the troops haven’t really been falling all over themselves whenever you glide into the room. What do you do? How do you shut up those pundits who dare to take note of reality? Well, according to Macsmind:

…about that “surprise visit”.

It wasn’t. The visit was communicated a full 24 hours in advance and a small contingent of soldiers - not screaming hordes - were rustled into a meeting place at Camp Victory.

Got this email from a sergeant that was there.

We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.

Take a look at the picture at AP and notice all the cameras are the same models. Coincidence? I think not.

How do you make sure a crowd likes you? Screen out anybody who didn’t vote for you. Even if they’re serving their country under your watch.

Flopping Aces and Redstate have followed up on this. Will they be the only ones? Will the American press try to confirm or debunk this claim? Will it make its way to the hallowed halls of the NYT?

Guess it all depends on how eager they really are to flush out a fake turkey.

Update: Whoops, sorry, I forgot… Allegedly."

Conservative "Radicals" Beware

2009-04-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Warning: DHS resurrects McCarthyism.

The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

The message is clear: speak out about States' rights or say anything negative about the Federal government and the police will deal with you.

...and poof! Just like that, Federalism is radicalism.

Michelle Malkin has a complete analysis of this piece of crap.

UPDATE: Powerline has a great run down of this "intelligence" report

UPDATE2: House Committee on Homeland Security Democrat Bennie Thompson is demanding an explanation.

The World's president bows down. Warning: it's painful to watch

2009-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all! Watch as our charismatic president bows to the king of Saudi Arabia!!

...compliments of Salon.com

"There has been one needless gaffe after another -- from the president's tacky appearance on a late-night comedy show to the kitsch gifts given to the British prime minister, followed by the sweater-clad first lady's over-familiarity with the queen and culminating in the jaw-dropping spectacle of a president of the United States bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia."

UPDATE: The White House is apparently denying that there was a bow, saying it the president was "taller than king Abdullah...", blah blah, next question. Judging by how far down he didn't bow, I'm guessing the president must be a good 4 feet taller than the king.

Better post the picture, for when the video gets pulled.

Huh?

2009-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

What happened to all the outrage over warrantless wiretapping, FISA courts, illegal and unconstitutional spying on Americans, etc.?

What do the moonbats have to say for themselves now that the Obama Administration has sanctioned the very same practice of "eavesdropping on Americans??"

Obama lied, people spied?

UPDATE: Keith Olbermann (that's right) piles on!

http://nalert.blogspot.com/2009/04/keith-olbermanns-scathing-criticism-of.html

UPDATE 2: The Electronic Frontier Foundation has just said that 'In the Warrantless Wiretapping Case, Obama DOJ's New Arguments Are Worse Than Bush's". No need to read past the first line of the EFF report: "We had hoped this would go differently."

The Beginning of the End

2009-03-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Speaking of The Leader's proposed 2010 budget, Paul Ryan warns that if this budget is adopted, it will mark the date that the United States took a giant step towards a European-style big government economy.

Didn't we break from Europe a few hundred years ago? And haven't we done OK for ourselves since then?

more respected abroad

2009-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, the EU thinks Obama's plan sucks.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/EU-presidency-US-economic-apf-14737788.html

Hope and change.

from the "it would be funny if it weren't true" file...

2009-03-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Corner today:

No laughing matter [Mark Steyn]

In turbulent times, it's good to know some things never change. After a week in which President Obama thanked himself for inviting him to the White House, compared AIG executives to suicide bombers, and did the first Presidential retard joke on national TV, I was impressed to find that Slate is bravely keeping up its Bushism Of The Day feature.

Never underestimate the power of the Bush Lied, People Died mentality.

The Brits Get It

2009-03-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's sad that you have to go abroad these days to get an honest assessment of our government's handling of the financial crisis. It's beginning to appear that the Brits, who did not drink as much Kool Aid as the rest of us, are the first to raise the possibility that our messiah president may be leading us down a path to total economic collapse.

In a recent article by the Telegraph, the specter of all-out Obama failure is raised (*gasp*):

"...Instead he has been trying, on a broad front, to fulfil the reformist ideal that informed his election campaign. Rather like a would-be government in Britain that talked of “sharing the proceeds of growth”, the candidate who wanted to redistribute wealth now, as President, has no wealth to redistribute. A $3.6 trillion budget showed little sign of addressing the problem of stimulating demand. Both big corporations and small businesses feel overtaxed, their competitiveness hampered, and incapable of creating jobs at a time when they are desperately needed. Mr Obama’s green agenda, which was also a significant part of his election promises, entailed higher taxation that will retard the economy just when it needs to grow. His greatest ambition – of starting a national health service – seems impossible in the present climate. As he seeks to move forward on this broad front Warren Buffett himself has attacked him, saying that his first three priorities should all be the economy. Paralysed by inexperience and a Blairish desire to be liked, and hampered by inadequate senior staff, he is now finding that even some of his own party in Congress feel he has gone too far in the socialist experiment..."

I also find it interesting that it takes the Brits to remind us that the New Deal was not the economic engine that brought us out of the Great Depressions and thus, a New New Deal will not deliver us from the current near Depression.

"But it should also be noted that it was not the New Deal, but the Second World War, that revived the US economy."

Great. So short of a massive world war, our massive stimulus won't help. Hope and Change!

President of the United States Thanks Self

2009-03-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Among the many brilliant moves being made by our exalted Leader, President ObamaPromter thanked himself for the invitation to the White House during a St. Patrick's Day meeting with the Irish Prime Minister yesterday.

"First, I'd like to say thank you to President Obama!" the President said.

My confidence in our country is at an all-time low, and this doesn't help matters.

video coming soon...

UPDATE: tune in to the Teleprompter's new blog. Here.
UPDATE2: The entire video for this event never materialized, I think we're supposed to pretend it never happened. Kumbaya.

Counter-Counterpoint: Presidential Signing Statements

2009-03-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Some of you will recall this very well constructed argument (considered rare on this blog) against the use of presidential signing statements, and how overuse by the evil Bush administration will contribute to "muddling the Congressional intent and record of the legislation..." and will set "a poor precedent for future administrations..." . In other words, another example of Bush pushing the envelope, shredding the Constitution, destroying personal freedoms, biting the heads off live animals, killing puppies.

I wonder, how does the author of "George W. Bush, Edgar Allan Poe and the Use and Abuse of Presidential Signing Statements” feel about our current president, Barrack Hussein Obama, so willingly using signing statements when he sees fit. H.R. 1105, the "Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009.", was passed with a 640-word signing statement that serves to clarify Obama's authority on a number of issues, including the provision prohibiting the use of appropriations to pay the salary of Federal officers:

"I do not interpret this provision to detract from my authority to direct the heads of executive departments to supervise, control, and correct employees' communications with the Congress in cases where such communications would be unlawful or would reveal information that is properly privileged or otherwise confidential..."

Referring to the evil BushHitler's use of signing statements, the author mentions, "in academic detail", the Bush administration’s abuse of them, being used to either "override, rewrite or simply consider legislation as advisory”. So I have to wonder in which category the author would place Obama's signing statement...Hello, anyone there? Where are the academically-detailed crack investigatory pieces today???

I am constantly amazed by the left's ability to selectively apply the rules.

Kumbaya.

[Note to wingnut author: If it is simply a numbers game, as you suggest, the president is off to a roaring start in the use of signing statements and Fake Turkey will be keeping track as we go along down our path to destruction.]

Who Feels Stimulated?

2009-03-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

One explanation for why Obama is killing the market (from VDH):

Too many are beginning to think Obama is, well, a naïf—and hence dangerous. He chest-thumps speeches Geithner cannot deliver. He says we are near the Great Depression—but then, after the stimulus package passes, suddenly hypes future growth rates to suggest that we will be out a recession, soon after all? Add in all the talk of high-tax, Al-Gorist cap-in-trade, wind and solar, socialized medicine in the midst of a financial crisis, and at best Obama comes across as confused and herky-jerky, and at worse, clueless on the economy—as if a Chicago organizer is organizing a multi-trillion-dollar economy. Talking about ‘gyrations’ and confusion about profits and earnings, and offering ad hoc advice about investing do not restore authority.

Iraq The Model

2009-02-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

The war is over. We won. The evil Bushitler has paved the way for a successful democracy in the heart of the middle east.

Will The One take advantage of it or continue to apologize for it?

Over at WSJ they are asking the same question.

Let hypocrisy reign

2009-01-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

...from an article by Victor Davis Hanson

Some More Modest Proposals in the Age of Obama

1. If you are a green environmentalist, an advocate for sustainable energy, a critic of global warming, then just one caveat: please live in a house of no more than 3,000 sq. feet—a comfortable, roomy home that does not guzzle the energy of a larger and more lavish reflection of your success. Do not emulate Al Gore or so many in New York and DC or those who write impassioned columns about wasteful, pampered, and affluent Americans, who all live one way in palatial splendor, but write and hector others in quite another populist fashion.

2. If you are an egalitarian, a strong believer that merit, not class, not status, not birth or money should adjudicate success, then do not approve of the selection of Caroline Kennedy as the Senator from New York. Her appointment is at odds with all that you preach about race and class and gender equity, and is a throwback to the 19th-century aristocratic sensibility, in which a name, or a finishing school, or a pot of money, or strong patrons ensured your future. All that is fine perhaps for the refined private sector, but if you are an egalitarian, a modern liberal, progressive in thought and spirit, then you simply cannot promote Ms. Kennedy, who has no experience, no record of consistent public participation, no skill in speaking or writing, no knowledge of the issues, not anything really other than money, a name, and powerful friends. She is the spiritual successor of the powdered wigs at Versailles, not the reflection of the party of the American demos.

3. If you are a populist, a critic of rich white people who throw big parties and who spend over a $1,000 on their evening clothes (we remember the pirated videos of those corporate Bacchanalia and You-tube shots of the modern equivalents to Petronius’s Cena Trimalchionis among Ken-Lay elites), who use the monies of others to host celebrations while still others less fortunate suffer, then express a modest word of rebuke, just one for the richest, most expensive inauguration extravaganza in our collective history—and all during a time of severe recession.

4. If you are a civil libertarian, if you are in the ACLU or a law professor, or a liberal in good standing who swore that George Bush from Texas, with strut and twang and mangled vocabulary, destroyed your liberties with FISA, with the Patriot Act, and with Iraq, then please extend that outrage to Barack Obama, for whom all such shredding of the Constitution suddenly has become merely complex and problematic rather than fascistic. Please list, cite, name just one instance from 2002-8 in which you lost your freedom, or you were censored on the library internet, or you were followed around by the FBI, or your letter to the editor earned a wiretap, or even one instance of the loss of any freedom under Bush—and if so, just one example of how the election of Obama has once again restored your lost liberty. Nothing in the abstract, please—something concrete, an example both real and personal.
5. If you are outraged at Israel, really mad at the violence in Gaza and the tactics of the IDF and the killing of civilians, and if you have felt real anger at the Jews for their treatment of the Palestinians, then, please, one additional word of rebuke for the killers within Hamas, who are scouring Gaza for suspected Fatah and Palestinian Authority members—torturing, maiming, and shooting them without trials and often without cause. Just one picture of an IDF conscript pulling out a Palestinian and kneecapping him would bring global outrage, in a way an Hamas killer doing the same to a fellow Palestinian does not. And if that makes no impression, then please post outrage about Grozny or occupied Tibet or divided Cyprus, and do so with a simple rule: each time I curse Israeli for killing hundreds, I curse Russia for killing thousands of Muslims in Chechnya; each time I damn Israel for taking land, I damn China for swallowing an entire Tibet; and each time I say no to occupation, I say no to the Turks who gobbled up so much of Cyprus in 1974.

Looking Co-Presidential

2008-11-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Although the Obama presidency is inevitable, it seems the POTUS-elect finds it very inconvenient to have to wait the entire grueling two months until the inauguration to start his Rule. After all, there may be a national holiday named for him before he is sworn in, so why can't we just move up the inauguration date and let the healing begin early.

It may be worth pointing out that "Despite Bells and Whistles, 'Office of President-Elect' Holds No Authority".

Not to mention, those Kinkos placards are just embarrassing.

Transition Watch 3

2008-11-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

"That's not change, it's more of the same"

The unraveling of the Messiah myth continues today, as Hillary Clinton is about to be picked for the next Secretary of State.

Well, at least nations of the world will fear us once again.

Obama Family Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

2008-11-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

Preparation time: About 4 years.

Ingredients

1 turkey weighing approximately 13.5 M high income earners, plucked and squeezed
1 capital gains tax, approx. 25%*
Juice of dividend profits
5-6 ounces Kool-Aid
Salt and pepper
1 10% social security tax
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
parsley

*size varies, but not above 28%

Feeds about 100 million "ill-fed, ill-housed"people, based on "fairness"

Method

1. To start, if the turkey suspects it is about to be cooked, give it a few ounces of the Kool-Aid and bring it to room temperature. Introduce the Kool-Aid in small doses at first as the turkey gets to room temp.

2. Break the neck with the capital gains tax. Squeeze the dividends until all the juice runs out, retaining the neck and profitless stocks for turkey soup.

Note that if your turkey comes with a protective shield in the form of a "tax deduction", you can remove it through emergency banking and tax reform packages in response to the "worst financial crisis since the Great Depression".

3 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

4 Salt and pepper the turkey. Wash the turkey and pull out any remaining [money,cash, profits, will]. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Lather the inside of the cavity with the social security tax. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey. Rub directly on any open wounds.

5 In this method of cooking a turkey, we don't make the stuffing inside because that's not the kind of redistributive change we're looking for. We want to distribute the stuffing elsewhere. For flavor, sprinkle some thyme on the turkey. Close up the turkey cavity with some string. Make sure that the turkey's legs are securely tied, so there can be no movement, no escape.

6 Roast for four years or until Great Depression II takes hold.

7 Garnish with parsley.

Transition Watch 2

2008-11-14T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State? Why not? But will she be respected around the world...

from Breitbart:

President-elect Barack Obama has met in Chicago with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is under consideration for a top post such as secretary of state.

A Democratic official says the two former presidential rivals met Thursday afternoon in Obama's downtown office. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

The motorcade of Clinton, who receives Secret Service protection as a former first lady, was seen leaving the office complex shortly before Obama left for the day.

Transition Watch

2008-11-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

From the "oh God, please no!!" file of possible Obama cabinet appointments, Madeline Albright is rumored to be heading up the State Department transition team. You may remember Mr. Albright from such foreign policy failures as: terrorism is a law enforcement problem, "boots on the ground" in Somalia, and the USS Cole bombing. Albright is now a staunch supporter of future foreign policy disasters as , "let's just talk to our enemies!", having this to say earlier this year about the engaging with Iran:

The lesson is that the U.S. has to be engaged in direct talks with Iran to break the current stalemate. The Europeans can't do it alone. As with the North Koreans, for the Iranians, the "American aspect" is critical.

Albright is slated to meet with foreign leaders this Saturday on behalf of the Office of the President-elect.

I feel more respected around the world already. Let the healing begin.

Good Lord, This is What We're Stuck With

2008-11-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

I didn't pick this clown to lead our country. That's all I'm gonna say...for now.

(Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ)

That's Not Change, That's More of the Same

2008-11-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

ChicagoBoyz has some interesting thoughts on Bush's rehabilitation:

I predict this will be only one area in which leftist will quickly “re-evaluate” Bush’s legacy. Now that leftists face the same responsibilities that Bush has faced, they will see his actions in a different light. As a result, I predict that Bush will be much better thought of five to ten years down the road than he is today.

I've always expected impartial judgment of the wisdom of Bush's policies to come over a long period of time, long enough for the left's hysterical hatred of BushHitler to die down. As was disturbingly obvious during the Obama campaign, big Media has a very narrow view of what is worthy of examination, and they have done a great job so far of rewriting history in order to fit the current narrative.

Therefore, if it becomes too problematic for the Obama presidency to adopt the Bush policies that turn out to have been 'pragmatic', or honest, or wise, let's just forget that they were Bush's policies to begin with! Obama can, out of thin air, then claim they were the result of the "principled priorities" of his administration.

Presto! New innovative ideas!

Count on the communications arm of the OOTPE to handle all the details.

Obi-Wan Optimism

2008-11-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Despite the overwhelming assumption that we've lost this one, Campaign Spot's secretive Obi-Wan still has a glimmer of hope for McCain:

"Obi-Wan: The Pollsters 'Seem To Have Slipped Into a World of Easy Assumptions.'

As promised, Obi-Wan Kenobi checks in... and the points he raises almost make me want to change my close-but-no-cigar forecast for McCain.

Okay, last night’s homework assignment was to look at Battleground and Rasmussen to see if there was any decay – as noticed by IBD poll released on Sunday – in the Obama lead. There wasn’t. Obama went up by a point or two. Then IBD came out today and showed a similar Obama increase – making the race not a two pointer anymore but more like four and change.

So just when this seemed like a bad news day for McCain, along comes a pile of polls in key Battleground states from multiple firms showing McCain gaining in many places, winning in several and within reach –even the easy reach of a few points — in most of them.

Look, the real drama to this election is being provided not by the candidates but the polling community. By which I mean the decision they made to stake out — as Campaign Spot has noted — a remarkably bold position, that the Democratic Party turnout is not only going to exceed a recent historic advantage of 4 percent but go to 6.5 percent (Rasmussen) to 8 percent in many polls to even 12 percent in one.

I keep looking for the justification for this. Not easy to find. Rather like the academics' one-time belief in the Aristotlean spheres and an earth-centered universe, it just seems to be a pretty good working theory — some sort of way to make sense of observable phenomena and keep all the smart people talking agreeably and pleasantly among themselves.

Part of this is the fascination or maybe the better word is shock of the political commentators and the consulting community as well as their cousins in the polling world with the role of voter turnout in the 2004 Bush victory. You want turnout (instead of TV spots)? We'll give you turnout, the Democrats seemed to have been saying the last few years. (For all of that, they only got themselves up to a 3 percent advantage in 2006.)

So the question is this? Did the Democrats make the mistake of fighting this election on the basis of a lesson learned in the last one? And then persuade everyone else this was the key to understanding the political universe. And by everyone I mean the polling companies.

In the old days the networks had political directors like Marty Plissner and Hal Bruno who kept an eye on the tendency to politicize the number-crunchers. What happens when that sort of internal check is lost was evidenced by the spectacular embarrassment – the debacle — of the exit polls in 2004. (Obi ) The polite explanation was that the skewing resulted from the fact that Democratic voters are more likely to talk to polling representatives at the polls. What got buried was the fact studies found that the cultural-political backgrounds of the exit-poll employees was a big factor.

Anyway, back in the days when exit polls were reliable — if a first or second wave of numbers were seen similar to the McCain-Obama battleground polls that came out today the network insiders would have been saying: hold everything, this is a very close one. (That's because they usually wacked two or three points off the Democrats' total since urban areas get better represented in the exit polls.)

So, if the polling community is basically right in their turnout models, this is looking like '64 — a nightmare scenario for the GOP. But if they are off to any significant degree, the state polls seen today (even though some of them favor a high Dem turnout model) make this a very different race. And what about the outlier polls in Pennsylvania and even one in Minnesota showing a close race?

And there are other questions. What about the reaction to media bias (Obamamania, the resentment towards Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber) driving up Republican turnout? What about the extent to which Reagan Democrats in Florida are being urged to the polls by the McCain campaign?

And the reason that the polling community, not to mention the Obama campaign should be uneasy is that finding the justification for their heavy Democratic weighting isn't readily accessible. And that is the point – along with failing to themselves take note that in this period of unprecedented economic turmoil and therefore any predictions this year might be questionable or at least hugely complicated, the pollsters and media gurus never really put their own premises about voter turnout front and center and asked for questions, objections and evaluations.

They seem to have slipped into a world of easy assumptions. Always dangerous for those whose job is to quantify and track the stars and planets of an ever-changing, ever-moving political universe.

Expect a mid-morning or afternoon update from Obi-Wan tomorrow."

"I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced."

2008-10-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Despite the Media's all-but-declaration that O has won, is THE ONE, O himself believes he is already President, polls seem to support that, and the appearance that the election on November 4 is a mere formality, "my friends", it ain't over yet.

National Review provides a sane argument from mystery GOP Jedi Master "Obi-Wan" on McCain's chances of winning, come November 4.

...and don't think I don't enjoy the Star Wars references.

Posted in its entirety:

October Surprise! Obi Wan Kenobi Is Back.

About once a day or so, just about every day this year, I've gotten an e-mail from readers asking...

"Where's Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

They're referring, of course, to my political mentor who appeared in the closing months of the 2004 election, an individual who had been involved in the highest levels of GOP politics for longer than I have been alive. (Some of the most influential minds in Republican political circles have had to dodge the query from Kerry Spot/TKS/Campaign Spot readers: "Are you Obi-Wan Kenobi?")

The wisdom of a "Jedi Master" in the world of American politics is something that you must use carefully, and not too frequently.

Our conversations in 2004 addressed the tracking polls, the late-breaking Osama bin Laden tape, the unreliability of those election-day exit polls, and whether Kerry actually won the final days…

In 2006, he reappeared in Early October, and we looked closely at the tracking polls, seeing the GOP base "come home."*

So what is Obi-Wan saying now?

"Any pessimism now is dumbness," he said as he appeared to me recently. "A few weeks ago every swing state was coming McCain's way and he had a national lead. And some polls showed him four points and six points behind in New Jersey and New York. And now all that has gone away? Politics doesn't work like that. The American people, even in the midst of an unprecented economic crisis, don't react like that for any sustained period. Those patterns can reassert themselves."

Obi Wan talks to other Republicans, and back in July when Obama was way ahead and Republicans gloomy he said that the whole picture was likely to change dramtically by early september and McCain "would have a lead that lasted longer than just convention bounce."

He says some underlying factors — some new and some old — are still at work and helpful to McCain.

"First, Obama did not have a good debate. He didn't do what he needed to do. Be reassuring. His gestalt was shaky." He thinks Obama needed (and still needs) to go out and emulate John Kennedy in the 1960 debate. The popular perception today is that Kennedy was smooth and charismatic, but that wasn't what "sold" him, in Obi-Wan's assessment. He suggests it was almost the opposite — it was Kennedy's seriousness, a demeanor that almost bordered on dour or grimness.

(Obi-Wan's comment spurred me to check out the 1960 debate transcripts. Kennedy's first statement included:

In the election of 1960, and with the world around us, the question is whether the world will exist half-slave or half-free, whether it will move in the direction of freedom, in the direction of the road that we are taking, or whether it will move in the direction of slavery… We discuss tonight domestic issues, but I would not want that to be any implication to be given that this does not involve directly our struggle with Mr. Khrushchev for survival. Mr. Khrushchev is in New York, and he maintains the Communist offensive throughout the world because of the productive power of the Soviet Union itself. The Chinese Communists have always had a large population. But they are important and dangerous now because they are mounting a major effort within their own country. The kind of country we have here, the kind of society we have, the kind of strength we build in the United States will be the defense of freedom. If we do well here, if we meet our obligations, if we're moving ahead, then I think freedom will be secure around the world. If we fail, then freedom fails."

That opening statement is as serious as cancer. No glibness or "celebrity" glamour there.)

"Obama lost the opening in his first debate that Kennedy seized in his. He wasn't terrible but he just missed. I'm not sure that opening comes again for him. Obama has a much higher hurdle than Kennedy, Al Gore, John Kerry, or almost any other recent Democrat. All of those candidates were known quantities. The fundamental question of this election is going to be, 'as we head into really challenging times, which man reassures you?'"

People generally think McCain is steady and reliable, Obi Wan posits. He's built that image on national security issues, but people don't think that same mentality goes away when the issue is the economy

"People are missing that over the long run the economic thing like any international trouble can actually help McCain — he appears to be the mature one and tough one."

Second, Obi says the Palin phenomenon is for real. "Not only because she is so effective or appealing but because it spotllights McCain's decision-making. He can throw a tenstrike at the critical moment. McCain's campaign has missed a few but basically it has shown resilence."

Third, Obi-Wan has an indefatigable faith in the American people. "The American people figure this out, as long as you put the facts in front of them." He agreed with my assessment that the Republican Party is not the side you expect to sign off on large taxpayer-backed loans to those with no income, no job, and no assets. The media has spent decades portraying the GOP as heartless tightwads; now we're supposed to believe they were the ones urging Fannie and Freddie to give a half-million mortgage to cousin Louie who you wouldn't loan $200 to. "American voters pile up a knowledge bank." And Obi wonders why some Reaganites "forget to trust the people. They are already starting to figure it out. They dislike the Democrats in Congress already and they eventually sort it all out. Again, the economy can play McCain's way."

But McCain and his campaign have to say this is about "liberal vs. conservative ideas" not just who's more experienced. When McCain called Obama "the most liberal senator" it was very important.

Fourth — for me this was the the kind of insight that makes him as a Jedi Master — "Media bias may be McCain's biggest asset in this race. First, [for the past eight years] they built McCain up into the Maverick hero [every time he disagreed with Bush] and that insulates him from the too-close-to-Bush charge. Then they can't leave Palin alone and she keeps hitting out of the park just as they build her audience up. And now they've decided the election is over and given Obama an eight point lead. So if he starts to fade at any point in the next month that seems like a crash and cause a panic."

"I guarantee you, right now there is some realist in the Obama camp who is petrified of any falloff in the polls. Because if Obama slips, he could fall fast. McCain's already gotten up off the mat once this cycle, when he was supposed to be dead in the primary. He faced a meltdown and it didn't happen; you almost never see candidates and campaigns who can pull out of a crash dive . . .

* I can hear it — "Hey, weren't you guys way off that cycle?" No, Obi was among the very few predictors who said that by the Thursday before the election the Dem lead would start to fall and do so rapidly into the weekend. He (and I) saw a late shift to the GOP in the generic polls. Republican internal polls were showing a loss of 50 seats in the House (that admittedly, I thought were too negative).

On Election Day, 19 Republican seats won by five percent or less. Democrats won 31 seats in 2006. 31 + 19 = 50; that surge to the Republicans in the final days, worth about five percent or so, saved 19 Republican seats.

10/07 02:16 PM

Maverick

2008-07-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

It looks like The Sergeant has finally got the McCain campaign at battle stations. Glad to see it -- and none too soon.

PajamasMedia is keeping an eye on the New and Improved McCain:

"Before wheels lifted up on Obama’s overseas flight the McCain team was out with multiple ads, media calls and even a slick “briefing book” to make a key argument: Obama was wrong on the surge and put politics above country."

Talk vs. Action

2008-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

In this, the summer of Obama Love, it's important to remember that actions speak louder than words.

OBAMA TALKS ABOUT LIFTING A CHILD IN BANGLADESH FROM POVERTY: But John McCain actually did it:

John and Cindy McCain adopted Bridget McCain... From Bangladesh.
(HT Instapundit)

...more to come

R.I.P.

2008-07-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Sigh. We lost another great one today.

There are no words.

God Bless you, Mr. Snow. And thanks for your eternal optimism and patriotism. We will miss you.

Obamarama!!

2008-05-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

So glad Tom Hanks throws his endorsement to Obama!! That makes all the difference to me. In an entry on his, eh hem, MySpace page, he opines:

"As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you."

In the words of Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does. "

Stay Tuned...

2008-02-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently, there's a presidential election of some sort in 2008, yes? Well, fear not, Turkey fans (all 3 of you. If that many). We'll be back to cover the election in 2008. Things have already taken a rather interesting turn in the race for the GOP and Democrat nominations, and we have not even reached Super Duper Tuesday. It probably goes without saying that we'll be able to exceed the number of posts we put up in 2007.

Stay tuned, and keep the faith...

Media Circus Clown Crashes OJ Media Circus

2007-09-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Heh. I love it when the clueless MSM gets PWN3D by the little guy. Here, Friend of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jake Byrd (comic Anthony Barbieri), served as court jester to OJ Simpson's lawyer during Wednesday's press conference in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, unsuspecting MSM buffoons looked on and took Byrd seriously. Oops.

Never Forget

2007-09-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Even after 6 years, the War on Terror ain't just a bumper sticker. Never Forget.

The Thing That Refuses to Go Away...Gets Arrested Again

2007-07-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, Lordy. This can't be good for Mother Moonbat's bid to unseat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2008 (Hat tip: Drudge). Or can it? She is running in San Francisco, after all.

I especially liked this statement from St. Cindy:

"Impeachment is not a fringe movement, it is mandated in our Constitution. Nancy Pelosi had no authority to take it off the table."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! She's right, Nan. I double-dog dare you to bring impeachment charges against Bush, Cheney, Rove (wait, can Rove be impeached? If not, just throw him in jail, anyway), the whole lot. It's a sure-fire way for Dems to win in '08. Just like promises to raise taxes. C'mon...you know you want to.

(Pssst...BTW, Cindy, the t-shirt and bracelets make for stylin' campaign duds!)

New Comedy Premieres on CNN

2007-07-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

So, apparently, there was another ~~Surrendercrat~~ Democrat presidential debate on CNN Monday night (how many have they had so far this year? 30?). Sadly, I missed it.

Okay, I'm not really all that broken up about it. But, seeing as how it was a CNN/YouTube debate, it looks and sounds exactly like it was the type of freakfest one would expect from, well, a pairing of CNN and YouTube.

For my money, I rather enjoyed the liveblogging by Vodkapundit's Stephen Green over at Pajamas Media. Apparently, drunk is the only way to watch these things. That might explain why I've managed to miss every debate so far in 2007 (excessive amounts of alcohol not being good for the diet and all).

At any rate, CNN also has a very different recap of the debate (Hint: think "Bush lied," "Katrina," "global warming crisis," "global test," "can't we all get along?" etc. You know, the usual). I'm not entirely sure they saw the same debate Vodkapundit watched, but, again, I didn't see it, so I can't comment any further. Either way, I'm sure [MSM: insert "Hillary" here] won. That's what the all-important polls will reflect, anyway.

Carry on.

The Wizards of Newz

2007-06-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

You see, now this is exactly why old media can't be relied on as objective when the topic is anything but Paris Hilton in jail. When it comes to covering the war, economy, politics, even weather, the stories all somehow seem to be a little off - a little too contrived. It's no surprise to find that the same Moonbats we see on camera and behind the scenes are contributing heavily to their friends in the Democrat Party.

The MSM constantly makes claims of objectivity and fairness, but behind the curtain, they are quietly pulling the knobs of the great and powerful Democrat Party.

Harry Reid: Can you say "PWN3D?"

2007-06-11T00:44:00.000-07:00

Heh. Dennis Miller lambastes Harry Reid in this video clip over at Hot Air, as only Dennis Miller can do.

Click on over and watch; it's too priceless to miss. For the record, I agree with Miller's every word.

All For Nothing

2007-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Many, Many, times we have commented on this blog about the Peace-mother's struggle to end the Iraq war and rid the world of the baby-killing Bush Administration.

After more than 2 years of taking her message to the streets of the "fascist corporate wasteland" that is America, Sheehan is hanging it up.

Her (former) husband utterly ashamed, bank accounts drained, sponsors scattered, and (few) supporters moved on, she can now be safely forgotten.

If not for Wikipedia, she'd be gone forever.

RIP Cindy Sheehan, moonbat-extraordinaire.

Remember

2007-05-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's simple, really. This day is to remember the fallen, and to say "thanks" to our troops.

Happy Memorial Day, and God Bless America.

(Photo HT: NRO's The Corner)

Moonbat Leader Captured

2007-05-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

Prominent Leader of the Moonbat movement, Rosie O'Donnell, has been captured and brought to justice following her blowup with Elizabeth Hasselbeck on "The View."

Watch the tantrum here.

*thanks to Moonbattery.com for the picture

Watch This Fake Space!

2006-11-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Now that all Fake Turkey bloggers have new jobs (and most have relocated to different cities), there will more frequent posts as we settle in and find time to blog. You can bet the shiny new Congress will be providing us with more liberal laughs than you can shake a Turkey leg at.

Hold on to your drumsticks, people.

...And The Gloves Come Off (Part 2)

2006-09-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Somebody please get Sen. Hillary Clinton a cluebat. On Tuesday, she joined the Clintonistas in their vigorous defense of Bubba's indefensible tirade on Fox News Sunday:

"You know, and I'm certain that if my husband and his national security team had been shown a classified report entitled 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States' he would have taken it more seriously than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team."

Oh, really?

How about this PDB, Senator -- from, ahem, December 4, 1998:

The following is the text of an item from the Presidential Daily Brief received by President William J.Clinton on December 4,1998. Redacted material is indicated in brackets.

SUBJECT: Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks
1. Reporting [—] suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadiq ‘Awda.One source quoted a senior member of the Gama’at al-Islamiyya (IG) saying that, as of late October, the IG had completed planning for an operation in the US on behalf of Bin Ladin, but that the operation was on hold. A senior Bin Ladin operative from Saudi Arabia was to visit IG counterparts in the US soon thereafter to discuss options—perhaps including an aircraft hijacking.

• IG leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the “next couple of weeks” to free ‘Abd al-Rahman and the other prisoners, according to what may be a different source.

• The same source late last month said that Bin Ladin might implement plans to hijack US aircraft before the beginning of Ramadan on 20 December and that two members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport.[—]

2. Some members of the Bin Ladin network have received hijack training,
according to various sources,but no group directly tied to Bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida organization has ever carried out an aircraft hijacking.Bin Ladin could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft. According to [—] the IG in October obtained SA-7 missiles and intended to move them from Yemen into Saudi Arabia to shoot down an Egyptian plane or, if unsuccessful, a US military or civilian aircraft.

• A [—] in October told us that unspecified “extremist elements” in Yemen had acquired SA-7s.[—]

3. [—] indicate the Bin Ladin organization or its allies are moving closer to implementing anti-US attacks at unspecified locations, but we do not know whether they are related to attacks on aircraft. A Bin Ladin associate in Sudan late last month told a colleague in Kandahar that he had shipped a group of containers to Afghanistan. Bin Ladin associates also talked about the movement of containers to Afghanistan before the East Africa bombings.

• In other [—] Bin Ladin associates last month discussed picking up a package in Malaysia. One told his colleague in Malaysia that “they” were in the “ninth month [of pregnancy].”

• An alleged Bin Ladin supporter in Yemen late last month remarked to his mother that he planned to work in “commerce” from abroad and said his impending “marriage,” which would take place soon,would be a “surprise.”“Commerce”and “marriage” often are codewords for terrorist attacks. [—]

In fairness to the Clinton Administration, an attack at the turn of the millennium was thwarted before its execution, but the same cannot be said of the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole on October 12, 2000. Or of the U.S. Embassy bombings in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi in 1998. Or Khobar Towers in 1996. Or the first WTC attack in 1993. Color me skeptical, but that's hardly the track record of a president who would have taken national security "more seriously than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team."

Try again, Hillary.

Mt. St. Clinton Erupts on Fox News Sunday

2006-09-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

In case you're one of the 7 people who didn't hear the rumblings over at FOX on Sunday, here's Part 1 of Bill Clinton's interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday:

In Part 2, Clinton gets pretty, er, hot. And I'm not talking about those dark socks:

Finally, in Part 3, Clinton cools off somewhat. But not without getting his jabs in about Karl Rove:

It goes without saying that the old-school Clinton and his whoppers were no match for the seasoned, post-Rathergate blogosphere, but where to begin?

Hot Air has a nice rundown here.

NRO's The Corner dispels the myths that Clinton was obsessed with UBL and/or al-Qaeda and received no support from the GOP here, here, and here. And other places, too. I'm just too lazy to link them all.

Over at Newsbusters, check out Michael Scheuer's take on Clinton's failure to capture bin Laden, and of course, more fact-checking.

The RNC did some fact-checking of its own, here (Hat tip: Hot Air).

There's some conjecture that Clinton is still peeved at ABC's miniseries, The Path to 9/11, in which criticism was lobbed fairly and squarely at both the Clinton and Bush administrations for their failures to connect the 9/11 dots. I strongly suspect that to be the case, after having watched the temper tantrum that was on display on FNS. After all, the last time I recall seeing the finger-wagging and squinting by Clinton was when he tried to convince us that he "Did. Not. Have. Sexual. Relations" with Monica Lewinsky. So, yes, Wallace clearly struck a nerve. If this wasn't a lesson straight out of Psychology 101, then I don't know what is.

Never Forget

2006-09-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

Colleen Laura Fraser

2006-09-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

COLLEEN FRASER

I am honored to pay tribute to Colleen Fraser, who lost her life aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

I did not have the privilege of knowing Ms. Fraser, but after reading of her heroism and bravery even before September 11th, I am certain that she is the very kind of person we need more of on this planet, and I would've been lucky to have known her.

Here's how the Chicago Tribune remembered Colleen Fraser:

Colleen Laura Fraser

Sept. 21, 2001
Born with a form of dwarfism, Colleen Fraser stood less than 4 feet tall. She walked with a cane, which she would shake wildly to make a point. Often that point was making the world friendlier to people with disabilities. Fraser clearly had a flair for it. "She was a firebrand," said longtime friend Ethan Ellis, executive director of the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council. Fraser, 51, of Elizabeth, N.J., was vice chair of the council and served in other organizations for the disabled. She was aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. In 1989, when she heard that New Jersey's U.S. senators were undecided about supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act, she loaded about a dozen disabled individuals aboard a bus and rode to both senators' offices to get their support. Fraser fashioned her flaming red hair into spikes like a punk rocker and wore numerous earrings. She wore open-toed sandals with orthopedic lifts. She liked gothic novels and horror movies. She was a wood carver and loved to bake. She was also a passionate and tireless advocate. In fact, Fraser was flying to a grant-writing seminar when she died. "I think there's a certain delicious irony that a small person like Colleen has given a small state such a big voice," Ellis said.
--Ted Gregory (The Chicago Tribune)

Thank you, Colleen Fraser, for your heroism and bravery -- in life, and on September 11, 2001. May you rest in peace.

I will never forget.

For more information and tributes for Colleen Fraser, go here and here. For more 2,996 tributes and information about the project, go here.

The Official End to Plamegate

2006-09-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

It turns out it was the Butler, in the Library, with the candlestick.

Richard Armitage was the source of the Valerie Plame leak.
Instapundit summarizes:

Over three years of the press hyperventilating about nothing. And, I might add, pretty obviously nothing. But it served its goal, which was to drive Bush down in the polls, so I don't think the hyperventilators regret it much.

or at all, for that matter...

...And The Gloves Come Off

2006-09-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hot Air's Allahpundit and Bryan have been furiously keeping up with the day's developments over ABC's "The Path to 9/11." For starters, Senate Dems (the usual dimwit suspects) are threatening to mess with ABC's broadcast license if they dare to disparage the Clintonistas by airing the miniseries. In this day and age, it's hard to believe members of CONGRESS are hinting at a prior restraint of sorts, but it's true:

[T]he manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC… Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation…

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events…

These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows…

Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Touching.

Personally, I like Bryan's idea for ABC/Disney's message board:

Heh.

More:

Hugh Hewitt has taken notice as well:

I didn't think such a reprehensible action was possible in the era of robust First Amendment protections.
Every time I think the Democrats have hit bottom, they dig a new basement.

Texas Rainmaker has an excellent synthesis of the cover-up, as well as (gasp!) actual findings from the 9/11 Commission Report.

There's something familiar to both Allahpundit and Patterico about the Democrats' overtones.

Mary Katharine Ham, with some help from Captain Ed, notes the Left's outrage a few years back before CBS yanked the controversial and questionably inaccurate miniseries, "The Reagans," from its schedule. Oh, wait. No. There was no outrage from the Left over that one.

I'm hoping that Sandab's prediction is wrong, and that ABC does not ultimately pull the miniseries altogether. That would arguably defeat the purpose: to remember and learn from the collective mistakes (Read: Clinton AND Bush) so that we never experience another 9/11-styled attack again. Big picture, people.

History, Revised

2006-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

ABC, in a somewhat predictable move, has decided to bow to pressure from the Clintons and alter the upcoming 9/11 film in an effort to erase anything that may even hint at Bush not being 100% responsible for the attacks.

Frankly, I'd have been more shocked if they told the story using actual facts, including the multiple times President Clinton failed the American people by letting bin Laden live.

It doesn't much matter, anyway. Anyone who's even remotely paying attention already knows how Clinton's spinelessness and Tomahawk diplomacy in response to al Qaeda's fatwa served only to embolden and invite 9/11 attackers. And we didn't need ABC to point it out, either.

Can you feel our pain now, Slick? Can you?

UPDATE at 8:18PM on 9/7/06: I predict ABC will pull the plug on "The Path to 9/11" rather than upset their friends in the Democrat Party. They'll run All the President's Men in its place.

UPDATE at 9:18AM on 9/8/06: The Democrat Party website front page has to be seen to be believed. Wow. I'm confident they'll get the 0 Senate seats they deserve this November.

The Nutroots' Conniption Over ABC's "Path to 9/11"

2006-09-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

The smell of fear and hypocrisy are pungent over in the left-wing blogosphere.

On Sunday and Monday, ABC will air -- commercial-free -- its miniseries, "The Path to 9/11," documenting, well, what the title suggests, and based on the 9/11 Commission Report.

To no one's surprise (at least on the Right), the Clintonistas have begun their smear campaign.

From the rapid-fire posts disparaging the miniseries over at the likes of Think Progress, Firedoglake, and the Daily Kos, one would think the nutroots had been told that Bush just won a third term. Here's a sampling of the highbrow commentary at Think Progress:

ABC’s “docu-drama” appears to be based soley and completely Bush’s alcohol soaked, coke enabled memory.

***

When the economy crashes and the draft is re-enstated no one will give a shit about right-wing propaganda. Bush and his republican cronies will be ran out of Washington. Then Bush will be impeached.

***

that being said, 9/11 was an inside job, and OBL had little to do with it except for possibly supplying patsies.

***

ABC and the producers of the docudrama are taking a cue from Mel Gibson and the launch of Passion of the Christ. Just as with the Passion, the true-believer market is being seeded, while skeptics are being kept at bay.

***

And -- one of my favorites:

Wake the HELL up sheep and NOW! 9-11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB! And ALL these people belong to pure evil New World Order,including Clinton’s and DEMAND ALL MAIN STREAM MEDIA REPORT ON TRUTH ABOUT 9-11 AND NOW OR ALL FACE BOYCOTT’S! Plus, demand they report on REAL news, NOT “fluff” and demand they also tell truth about 800 FEMA “civilian detention camps” TOO! And NOW! YES, there is 800 FEMA “civilain detention camps” all ready for you sheep!

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin reports on a, er, massive effort in the fever swamp to commemorate 9/11, should inquiring minds be moved to research the subject with Google:

Wow! All this effort over a miniseries that has thus far been viewed by a handful of people (and probably 0.1% of the nutroots, if that). And yet, it's the moonbats who are "tolerant" and "open-minded" to dissenting viewpoints. Riiight. We're the unhinged ones. Or Nazis, as the nutroots prefer to call us.

Needless to say, my DVR is set for Sunday and Monday. Bring it on.

So Much For "No Confidence"

2006-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Another insipid Democratic resolution crashes and burns in the Senate. This one didn't even get off the ground:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate shot down an attempt by Democrats to bring a vote of no confidence in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the floor Wednesday.
The resolution, which Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, first proposed and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, introduced, was offered as an amendment to the Defense Department appropriations bill.
But before the resolution saw a vote, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, used a procedural move to kill the resolution because it was not pertinent to the Pentagon spending measures being considered.
For days, Democrats promoted the resolution as a significant political move against Rumsfeld and the administration's Iraq policies.
The resolution called on President Bush to "change the course in Iraq to provide a winning strategy."
"One indication of a change of course would be to replace the current Secretary of Defense," the resolution says.
When introducing the resolution, Reid referred to Rumsfeld's speech last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, which outraged many Democrats. Addressing the American Legion convention, Rumsfeld accused critics of the Iraq war of turning a blind eye to "a new type of fascism" and "returning to that old mentality of 'blame America first.' "

(Emphasis mine)

Something tells me that even this foiled attempt won't stop the ~~jackasses~~ Donkeys from striking again with another toothless resolution.

Hot Air's Allahpundit weighs in with an excellent suggestion on how to really stick it to the Man. Here's hoping Reid & Co. will listen. I won't hold my breath.

Global Cooling Phenomenon Found Present at MTV VMAs

2006-09-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

The audience of MTV's Video Music Awards noticed a sharp drop in the auditorium temperature last Thursday, after former VP Al Gore stepped onto the stage to deliver his ~~fearmongering~~ ~~urgent~~ message about the danger our world faces because of ~~junk science~~ global warming.

Okay, I wasn't there to experience the temperature drop, but I'm pretty sure it happened. After all, the temperature dropped sharply here after I watched the ~~chilling~~ video over at HotAir. Oh, wait. Maybe that was just my A/C kicking in.

It's a good thing Gore was on hand to point out that the world has suffered more from the ravages of pollution buildup in the 25 years since the birth of MTV and such icons as Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Beyonce, who were born the same year. Interestingly, however, Gore failed to connect the dots between the birth of MTV and its superstars and global warming. I mean, think about it: Christina Aguilera is born, and the earth slowly self-destructs during the course of her lifetime!?! How can there not be a connection to global warming?

Somebody oughta research that. Meanwhile, I'll be researching why OK Go's treadmill performance was hot enough to make it into the vault of VMA '06 Jawdroppers over at MTV Overdrive, but Gore's ~~sexy~~ PowerPoint presentation about glaciers wasn't. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Just Another Ground Skirmish

2006-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite features of CNN.com is the "Your emails," a report on the pulse of ~~moonbats~~ America concerning what usually amounts to a politically-charged topic. This time, CNN is asking its visitors if we're fighting World War III (my response: yes - we're likely in the early stages). Here's a sampling of what has been captured so far:

I think that President Bush is trying to use scare tactics for political reasons. There is no comparison between the Iraq war and World War II or the Cold War. The bottom line is we invaded a country which was no threat to us and created a civil war. So many of our brave soldiers have died there and it has wasted so much money that could have been used to help people in our country.
Susan Hildes, Somerset New Jersey

Brilliant! If we ignore the rest of the kooks in the world and just focus on the war in Iraq, it's not really WWIII. Why didn't I think of that?

No, we're not in WW III, yet, but Duyba's just the man to take us there if he keep's up his belligerent, arrogant attitude with the rest of the world. We have an ignorant, dangerous man running this country and we need to do everything in our power to neutralize him. I suggest impeachment, ASAP.
Cindy Dolen, Houston, Texas

That's right! Impeach the bastard! How dare he arrogantly refuse to appease Kim Jong-il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and their ilk. Quick! What would France do?

The Bush administration has constructed a new enemy - terrorism - which is not an enemy at all but a series of predictable actions taken by those who have no other means of addressing wrongs committed against them. Bush is using this as a pretext for global war and domination.
William Straub, Pasadena, California

Don't forget the oil. Follow the oil. For good measure, mention Halliburton. And Rove.

Anyone who says this is World War III has lost their capacity for rational thought. As the name implies, World Wars engulf much of the world. Here we have a civil war in Iraq, skirmishes in Afghanistan, skirmishes in Lebanon, and occasional acts of terrorism in a few other parts of the world. Nothing close to a world war.
Ken Chambers, Austin, Texas

Yeah, because the Islamofascists have no desire at all to bring the jihad to the United States, Spain, England, or elsewhere. Just as Kim Jong-il has no desire to launch a couple of missiles our way, and Mahmoud-baby has no interest in seeing Israel wiped off the map. Terrorism on a global level?!? That's just crazy talk!

And, one of my favorites:

Of, course we are in World War III. The current administration's elite leadership has been planning this war for over twenty years. They are the fascists who want to control the worlds oil supply and destroy the nations of Islam.
Paul Du Jat, Tampa, Florida

And the Islamofascists just want to spread their religion of "peace." It's not like they want to destroy anyone who doesn't convert to Islam, and it's not like they've been planning their world domination fantasy since the Carter administration or anything...

Keep the laughs coming, CNN. It's a 3-day holiday weekend, after all.

FREE

2006-08-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS: Fox News's Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig have been released, after their kidnapping in Gaza nearly two weeks ago.

Shortly before they were reported as having been released, a new video was released, in which the two journalists, er, converted to Islam:

They were shown separately sitting cross-legged, reading a statement which Fox said was an announcement that they had converted to Islam. At times in the video they were wearing long Muslim robes.

Wiig called on leaders of the West to stop "hiding behind the 'I don't negotiate with terrorists' myth". He then read some words in Arabic.

Although the "who" and "why" of the journalists' captors remain unclear, thankfully, this one has a happy ending.

UPDATE, at 3:12 am PDT on 8/27/06: Steve Centanni is talking to Shep now. Says he's fine, also reports on how the kidnapping occurred, their gunpoint-induced conversion to Islam, etc.

UPDATE, at 4:36 am PDT on 8/27/06: Audio, moments after Centanni's and Wiig's release (upon arriving back at their hotel), can be found here (corresponding video at CNN is here). Video of Shep's phone conversation with Centanni is here.

2006-08-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Poolside

Okay, one more YouTube video.

We'll call this one a consequence of, er, global warming. Or something like that.

2006-08-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Star Trek 2.0 Coffee Shop

More Friday fun at YouTube. Heh.

Hat tip: Sandab.

2006-08-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Fun with Treadmills

Because it's Friday, here's a cool video I found on YouTube (Note to self: time to go to the gym).

2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11

2006-08-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

This is a couple days late, but I wanted to call attention (for our audience of 7) to a massive effort in the blogosphere to pay tribute to each of the 2,996 victims of 9/11 on its 5th anniversary.

More information about the project can be found here and here. There's still time to sign up, if you have a blog and wish to pay tribute -- or even if you wish to start a blog and pay tribute.

Fake Turkey will proudly honor Colleen Fraser, who was a passenger aboard United Flight 93.

Thanks to Michelle Malkin for her link.

Federal Judge Hands Victory to Terrorists

2006-08-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor handed a small victory to terrorists and their leftist supporters today, ruling that the NSA warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and issuing an injunction to halt the program. The government, not suprisingly, quickly appealed the decision and was granted a stay of the injunction.

The full text of the opinion can be found here.

It took virtually all day, but in-depth analysis of the decision has finally started to make its way into the blogosphere.

I have not read the decision in its entirety, but others more scholarly than I have read it, dissected it, chewed it up, and summarily spit it out. Where do I begin?

1. Let's start with standing. From my rote memorization of black letter constitutional law, in order to have standing to challenge the constitutionality of a law or conduct by the government, a plaintiff must meet three requirements: 1) He must show that he has suffered or will suffer an imminent and palpable injury; 2) He must show that there is some causal connection between the law and the injury complained of; and 3) He must show that the injury complained of will be redressed by the relief sought. Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 (1984). In English? Not just anyone can go to court to challenge the constitutionality of conduct by the government. Here, the plaintiffs included the ACLU, CAIR, Greenpeace, and -- rather surprisingly -- Christopher Hitchens, et al. As RedState's Crank points out (H/T: HotAir), the problem with Judge Taylor's opinion is that she accepts their "proof" of standing with virtually no evidence or analysis:

[T]he court is persuaded that Plaintiffs are able to establish a prima facie case based solely on Defendants' public admissions regarding the TSP. Plaintiffs' declarations establish that their communications would be monitored under the TSP.

RedState offers more in-depth analysis on the issue of standing (H/T: Crank), if you're nerdy enough to be interested in standing. Needless to say, I clicked on over to the link.

2. Moving on to the "state secrets" privilege and its applicability to this case. In short, Judge Taylor ruled that the doctrine has no applicability in the NSA case, thus permitting the case to proceed. Though I'm not well versed in this area, I gleaned from reading snippets of the opinion that, where a case has a possibility of disclosure of state secrets as proof by either plaintiff or defendant, that case must not be allowed to proceed. Again, Crank concludes that Taylor got her analysis of the doctrine exactly wrong:

Judge Taylor reaches exactly the conclusion the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a year ago:
Defendants' assertion of the privilege without any request for answers to any discovery has prompted this court to first analyze this case under Totten/Tenet, since it appears that Defendants are arguing that this case should not be subject to judicial review. As discussed supra, the Totten/Tenet cases provide an absolute bar to any kind of judicial review. Tenet, 544 U.S. at 8. This rule should not be applied in the instant case, however, since the rule applies to actions where there is a secret espionage relationship between the Plaintiff and the Government. Id. at 7-8. It is undisputed that Plaintiffs' [sic] do not claim to be parties to a secret espionage relationship with Defendants. Accordingly, the court finds the Totten/Tenet rule is not applicable to the instant case.

Slip op. at 11. As Judge Taylor notes - and explaining why this case was brought in Michigan rather than in the DC Circuit, where it belongs - the DC Circuit in 1978 applied the state secrets doctrine to dismiss claims challenging warrantless surveillance by the NSA and other government agencies, because litigation would disclose the NSA's methods and the identities of those surveilled, among other things. Slip op. at 5-7. Indeed, Judge Taylor's discussion of the caselaw makes clear that the law in the Sixth Circuit, as well as the DC Circuit, overwhelmingly supported dismissal of the present lawsuit.

3. Next up: Taylor's Fourth Amendment analysis, or lack thereof. It's shocking. It's laughable. It's shockingly laughable. Professor Orin Kerr, who himself is not convinced of the NSA program's constitutionality, has this to say about Taylor's "analysis" (H/T: Patterico's Pontifications):

I've just read through the Fourth Amendment part of Judge Taylor's opinion on the NSA domestic wiretapping opinion, and, well, um, it's kind of hard to know what to make of it. There really isn't any analysis; rather, it's just a few pages of general ruminations about the Fourth Amendment (much of it incomplete and some of it simply incorrect) followed by the statement in passing that the program is "obviously" in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

A sure-fire way to destroy the credibility of one's argument is with the use of "obviously" in the argument. As in, "Obviously," Judge Taylor does not need to do any Fourth Amendment analysis to conclude that the government flouted the U.S. Constitution. I have skimmed this part of the opinion, and it is disturbingly devoid of any analysis with respect to constitutional warrantless searches. While Taylor focuses on the warrant requirement for all reasonable searches, any recent bar examinee can probably point out that there are plenty of exceptions to the warrant requirement (I can name 7, off the top of my head). Several of those exceptions, in fact, do not even require probable cause. Why Judge Taylor failed to address that or analyze the NSA program in that light is rather alarming, but not surprising, considering the "obvious" conclusion she was aiming to reach in her decision.

4. Finally, we have Taylor's First Amendment analysis. Not much to see there, either. In essence, Taylor holds that, since the plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights were violated, so, too, were their First Amendment rights. Obviously. Here's the extent of her "analysis:"

The President of the United States, a creature of the same Constitution which gave us these Amendments, has undisputedly [sic] violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders as required by FISA, and accordingly has violated the First Amendment Rights of these Plaintiffs as well.

Pretty embarrassing for a (gasp!) federal judge, if you ask me.

The immediately apparent problem with Taylor's "analysis" is that she fails to balance the plaintiffs' fundamental right of free speech against the government's interest in national security. From Taylor's own opinion, here's what her analysis should've included:

A governmental action to regulate speech may be justified only upon showing of a compelling governmental interest; and that the means chosen to further that interest are the least restrictive of freedom of belief and association that could be chosen. Clark v. Library of Congress, 750 F.2d 89, 94 (D.C. Cir. 1984).

Interestingly, Power Line's John Hinderaker points out a probable reason why this case was heard in Michigan -- part of the Sixth Circuit -- and not in the D.C. Circuit, where it probably belonged:

Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of Detroit ruled earlier today that the NSA's international terrorist surveillance program is unconstitutional. I haven't yet seen the text of the opinion, and therefore can't comment on it in detail. However, as we've written repeatedly (for example, here), the federal courts have held on a number of occasions that the President has the constitutional power under Article II to order warrantless surveillance for national security purposes. The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Circuits have so held, as has the special FISA Court of Review. And those cases dealt with domestic warrantless intercepts, as opposed to the international communications that fall within the NSA program.

(Emphasis mine.)

I suspect, as do many others, that the decision will be quickly overturned by the Court of Appeals on any or all of the above grounds. In the meantime, however, the MSM and the moonbats will likely milk this "victory" for all its worth. Right. These people, mind you, will be the first to complain that Bushitlerhalliburton didn't do enough if, God forbid, we ever experience another 9/11.

The Terror Code is Purple!! And This Time We Really Mean It!

2006-08-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's red, not purple. And only for commercial airlines, not the overall terror code.

Of course, to many of the moonbats, there is no terror code. Just like there's no GWOT. That's great. And these people want their power back so they can "set things straight" and the world will like America again. Just swell. But I digress.

At any rate, those who care about the safety of millions of humans have been hard at work busting up the latest, "well-advanced" plot by jihadists to commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

There are quite a few blogs that have been tracking events all day and offer excellent roundups of the unraveling of events thus far; so far, I've found Allah's coverage over at HotAir (also here) to be the most comprehensive. Thus, I won't even attempt to reinvent the wheel by posting my own roundup.

Back to the moonbats. Yeah, they'd rather criticize the Right over its reaction to the foiled terror plot than the actual foiled terror plot. What was it I was saying about moonbats setting things straight? Meanwhile, the 6,000-lb. gorilla in the room (who, coincidentally, answers to the name "Terror") is closing in.

So...Did We Miss Anything?

2006-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, at least one of us is back from a lengthy hiatus. Thankfully, others in the blogosphere are always around to pick up our slack. Not that it's any great challenge to pick up our slack, mind you...

New York Times: Watch, Learn, Listen (But DON'T Leak)

2006-06-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

As the backlash continues over the New York Times's bonehead decision to publish one of our country's best-kept secrets in the effort to defeat the enemy (Hint: it's not the Bush Administration), the righty blogosphere has been hard at work over the weekend to keep the story alive...and to keep the fire stoked.

Hot Air has an excellent episode of Vent today. Do watch it, as well as the videos of Tony Snow, President Bush, and CNN's interview with NYT editor Bill Keller, who phoned it in.

Patterico is tracking the blogosphere response, after having canceled his subscription to the L.A. Times. Fear not, however; he's still got the "Dog Trainer" under his watchful eye.

Michelle Malkin has the text of Treasury Secretary John Snow's letter to Bill Keller. It's a great read. Also check out the fine handiwork of many weekend Photoshoppers (including the fine photo in this very post), here.

Power Line, meanwhile, posted anothe r great letter to Bill Keller; this one's from Lt. Tom Cotton, over in Iraq.

The list goes on. Meanwhile, I haven't seem quite the same outrage from the Left with this leak as there was over Valerie Plame, non-covert CIA desk analyst. Perhaps it's just me. I'm sure the moonbats will be expressing their shock(!) and outrage(!)...any second now.

CNN's Cafferty: Gov't Should Not Be Accessing Americans' Financial Records

2006-06-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

(Hat tip: NRO Mediablog)

CNN's brilliant Jack Cafferty questions whether the US Government should have access to Americans' financial records. This, of course, after the New York Times outed yet another classified anti-terror program designed to track and stop terrorist funding.

NRO's Nathan Goulding is shocked, appalled!

Hold the phone. Are you telling me the government has access to my financial records? You mean, those forms at the end of the year are actually being kept? The government analyzes them? I don't send in my money and my W-2 just for fun? I'm enraged. I'm appalled. This administration's abuse of power knows no bounds. Thank you, Jack, for enlightening me.

Indeed.

As yourself: where would we be without the vigilance and brilliance of CNN and the New York Times?

WMDs Found in Iraq

2006-06-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Interesting news out of Iraq. Over 500 chemical weapons have been uncovered since 2003.

Yes, the MSM has picked up this story, but not really.

Lucianne says it best:

Well, there you have it. The MSM has spoken and there is nothing to see here. Just move along. Keep your head down

Uh, so what was it Bush lied about again?

Moonbats Receive Lump of Coal for Fitzmas

2006-06-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

Alas, there will be no shiny new indictment for Karl Rove this Fitzmas:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House senior adviser Karl Rove has been told by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald that he will not be charged in the CIA leak case, according to Robert Luskin, Rove's lawyer.

"In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation," Luskin said in a written statement Tuesday. "We believe that the special counsel's decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr. Rove's conduct."

All together now: Awwwwwwww.

Moonbats everywhere are crushed. Some are even refusing to believe there won't be a Fitzmas, clinging to the conspiracy theory that the inherently eeevil Rove cut a deal, or that the biggest prize of all - Cheney - remains up for grabs. Meanwhile, TruthOut's Jason Leopold, who had it on good authority that Rove was to be indicted last month, is likely enjoying his crap sandwich by now.

All is not lost for the moonbats. There may still be a Fitzmas, if the NSA wiretap program leakers (whoever they are) get indicted...

al-Zarqawi Begins His Dirt Nap

2006-06-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

From CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Betrayal inside his al Qaeda in Iraq terror group led to success in a painstaking U.S.-led operation that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The most wanted man in Iraq died in a U.S. airstrike Wednesday evening when two 500-pound bombs slammed into a safe house near Baquba, according to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell.

"Last night was the first time that we have had definitive, unquestionable information as to exactly where [al-Zarqawi] was located, knowing that we could strike that target without causing collateral damage to other Iraqi civilians and personnel in the area," Caldwell said.

Does this mean he gets his 72 virgins? I wonder.

Capturing Iraq's most wanted is not good enough for the moonbats, however:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death.

Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush."

The United States said its aircraft killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader who masterminded the death of hundreds in suicide bombings and was blamed for the videotaped beheading of Nick Berg, a U.S. contractor, and other captives.

"I don't think that Zarqawi is himself responsible for the killings of hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq," Berg said in a combative television interview with the U.S. Fox News network. "I think George Bush is.

"George Bush is the one that invaded this country, George Bush is the one that destabilized it so that Zarqawi could get in, so that Zarqawi had a need to get in, to defend his region of the country from American invaders."

Berg said Bush was to blame for the torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

"Yeah, like George Bush didn't OK the torture and death and rape of people in the Abu Ghraib prison for which my son was killed in retaliation?" he told his Fox interviewers.

How touching. It's okay to forgive al-Zarqawi, but never, EVER George W. Bush. Typical BDS.

"All Too Easy"

2006-06-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Ann Coulter is at it again. Luring the moonbats into a big pile of their own goo, that is.

This time, she snookered Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), who promptly stepped in said goo. All over Coulter's remarks in her new book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, about the Bush-bashing Jersey Girls:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lashed out at Ann Coulter for a "vicious, mean-spirited attack" on a group of outspoken 9/11 widows, whom the right-wing television pundit described as "self-obsessed" and enjoying their husbands' deaths.
Coulter writes in a new book, "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," that a group of New Jersey widows whose husbands perished in the World Trade Center act "as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them."
She also wrote, "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much."

...to which Hillary responded:

"Perhaps her book should have been called 'Heartless,"' the senator said.
"I know a lot of the widows and family members who lost loved ones on 9/11. They never wanted to be a member of a group that is defined by the tragedy of what happened."

...to which Coulter quickly shot back:

"I think if she's worried about people being mean to women she should have a talk with her husband," Coulter told radio host Sean Hannity, who was hosting a book signing for the conservative firebrand on Long Island."

How or why Clinton was ever perceived as one of the nation's "best and brightest" is beyond me. Especially since she dove into Coulter's trap by criticizing Coulter for daring to speak ill about widows of 9/11 -- or more succinctly, the Left's propped-up political victims at which nobody on the Right can lob criticisms -- by placing the Jersey Girls in the Victim slot herself.

Call me crazy, but when "victims" such as Kristen Breitweiser regularly post on HuffPo about the evils of the Bush Administration, they cease to be "victims."

Coulter's new book, meanwhile, has quickly moved to the top of Amazon.com 100. Not bad for a day's work.

Is It Any Wonder?

2006-05-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

In case anyone has ever wondered about why we may be so eager so see our troops come home, this may go a long way in explaining things:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- We'll make this quick. We know you're busy.
An Associated Press poll has found an impatient nation. It's a nation that gets antsy after five minutes on hold on the phone and 15 minutes max in a line. So say people in the survey.
The Department of Motor Vehicles, the U.S. version of the old Soviet bread line, is among the top spots where Americans hate to wait. But grocery stores are the worst.
Almost one in four in the AP-Ipsos poll picked the grocery checkout as the line where their patience is most likely to melt like the ice cream turning to goo in their cart.
And it seems people don't mellow with age. The survey found older people to be more impatient than younger people.
Nor does getting away from the urban pressure cooker make much difference. People in the country and the suburbs can bear a few more minutes in a line before losing it than city inhabitants can, but that's it.
In short, Americans want it all NOW. Or awfully close to now.

Well, duh.

Of course, while reading the above article, I was thinking to myself, "What the hell took them so long to figure that out?" After I finished cursing my hi-speed Internet provider for taking the page so long to load, of course...

:-P

Memorial Day Wishes

2006-05-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks and peace to the Veterans who have served, fought, and died to defend this country and the freedom that we and many around the world enjoy. Without them and their sacrifice the world would be a much different and worse place.

In the immortal words of Lincoln:

"We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

About Those Stinkin' Badges...

2006-05-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

...You'll probably need to wear yours from now on, Rep. McKinney:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Police were searching the Rayburn building in the Capitol complex Friday after reports of gunfire in a garage in the building.

"At 10:30 this morning, we received a report of shots fired inside the Rayburn garage," Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a public information officer for the Capitol Police, said.

"At this time, we continue to investigate. We have tactical teams inside the building."

More here.

So much for all the flap about a hairdo.

UPDATE, at 2:16 p.m. PDT: Whoops! Looks like those "gunshots" were actually "construction noises." Carry on.

Things we'd like to see...

2006-05-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Reagan might have written something like this. Lincoln would have responded. No doubt Truman might say something like this.

I have seen quite a few imagined response to Ahmadinejad's letter last week, but this one is the best.

A reader on The Corner sent it to Michael Leeden. I would like to print it in its entirety:

Dear President Ahmadinejad,

Please forgive this tardy response to your letter of early May. We did not reply at first because we doubted the letter’s authenticity. We suspected that someone was trying to play a trick on you. The discourse, you must admit, is unusual for a communication between heads of state. However, now that you have openly admitted that the letter is yours, I will respond.

Thank you for your invitation to accept Islam. As you know, I am a Christian. Throughout your letter you accuse me of being a bad Christian, which leaves me puzzled as to why you think I might make a good Muslim. However, before you proselytize outside your own country, you might want to address the condition of the Islamic faith in Iran.

I am genuinely sorry to hear that so many Iranians, especially the young, have lost their faith because of their profound disillusionment with theocratic clerical rule. Apparently, there is no way for them to distinguish between their religion and your rule. That is understandable since you claim there is none, that your authority comes directly from God and you are ruling in his name. It is no wonder you disdain “liberalism and Western style democracy.” Under it, you would be answerable not only to God, but to the Iranian people, to whom God gave certain “unalienable Rights” that you and the mullahs have chosen to ignore. How ironic that, in the name of God, you deny your people’s God-given rights.

When young Iranians survey the way in which the clerical regime has enriched itself and impoverished the country, and enforced its rule with such harshness, what are they to think of this “God” who rules over them in this way? As a result, they abandon their religion and, unfortunately, many turn to drugs.

Your answer to the abuses under which the Iranian people live is nuclear “power.” Since your country is so richly endowed in oil and natural gas reserves, this is a strange answer. In fact, you so often denounce “lies” in your letter, I am surprised you would engage in such a whopper yourself. No country has conducted a 20-year clandestine program to develop nuclear power for peaceful domestic uses. The reason is that it is perfectly legal to do so in the open. In fact, we would support your nuclear power program, if that is what it was. However, as everyone outside of Cuba, Syria and Belarus knows, you are developing nuclear weapons.

You know that we know you are doing this. In fact, you deliberately exacerbate the free world’s worries with your continued exhortations about wiping Israel off the map. I understand that your policy of confrontation helps you to consolidate your domestic power and that is why you generate so much tension. The more likely you can make it seem that Iran will be attacked from the West, the more Iranians will rally around you. You provoke us. We respond. You get stronger. Since the Iranian people will soon realize we have no intention of attacking them, they will soon weary of this artificial hysteria and begin to wonder why your government fails to provide even the most basic necessities.

We also understand the real reason you want nuclear weapons. Of course, you have the dream of being the regional hegemon, and the prospect of your having nuclear weapons already terrifies your neighbors. But you also want them for the same reason as North Korea. Once you possess nuclear weapons, you believe you will be immune, as is North Korea, from external pressure for domestic political reform. You can tell the world to take a hike and to leave you in peace to oppress your own people. This is why Iranians who wish to see a return to genuine democratic, constitutional order despair at the thought of your succeeding. They know they will be finished, that no one will then dare speak up on their behalf.

So this is not really about nuclear weapons; it is about the rights of the Iranian people – your desire to take them away, and our desire to see them respected. We don’t worry about Great Britain, or France, or now India, having nuclear weapons, because they are democracies; they are founded on the “unalienable Rights” of their peoples. People who are free to exercise those rights seldom seek to take them from others. We, and the rest of the world, are worried because of the nature of your regime, because you deny you own people its rights. Therefore, we take you seriously when you say you will take rights from others – most especially their unalienable right to life – by “wiping them off the map,” and we see you seeking to obtain the means to do this.

We do not think the Iranian people are going to let you get away with this. They see their religion prostituted to power and their great culture traduced by fanatic ideologues. We are on their side.

Thanks for writing.

Sincerely,

George W. Bush

P.S. I attach a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Fake Turkey

Goat Roper Rampage

"Hello, Phony Doctors..."

Pay No Attention To That Man Behind the Curtain

A Lesson in Greek Socialism

More Respected Abroad: Afghanistan

Whoa! This doesn't fit the narrative.

More Respected Abroad: Europe

"calm the times"

Next up: Cap and Tax

one more time...

So it begins - Socialist America

Acorn collapses

Birth of the Politburo

The ill-advised pissing off of the Judicial Branch

More Respected Abroad: Jakarta

I bow thee, Madam Mayor!

...for 6th graders

The System Works

"Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now."

Nothing wrong with this...

School Kids Sing For Health Care Reform On Set Of CNN

Fidel Castro Praises Obama

Never Forget

Bush Debt: "leadership failure", Dear Leader Debt: Yes We Can!

More Respected Abroad: Economic Status

Dear Leader takes a break(s)

HopenChange Fading

Welcome Back, Carter

More Respected Abroad: Iran

It's the Chicago Way

Andy McCarthy Tells Obama and DOJ to Pound Sand

US responsible for swine flu

President Dive-bombs NYC

Brave Bennie

CNN Tea Party "reporting"

Fake Turkey comes full circle

"Staged Military Photo Ops Suddenly Awesome

posted at 6:54 am on April 14, 2009 by Jim Treacher Send to a Friend | printer-friendly

Conservative "Radicals" Beware

The World's president bows down. Warning: it's painful to watch

Huh?

The Beginning of the End

more respected abroad

from the "it would be funny if it weren't true" file...

The Brits Get It

President of the United States Thanks Self

Counter-Counterpoint: Presidential Signing Statements

Who Feels Stimulated?

Iraq The Model

Let hypocrisy reign

Looking Co-Presidential

Transition Watch 3

Obama Family Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

Ingredients

Method

Transition Watch 2

Transition Watch

Good Lord, This is What We're Stuck With

That's Not Change, That's More of the Same

Obi-Wan Optimism

"I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced."

Maverick

Talk vs. Action

R.I.P.

Obamarama!!

Stay Tuned...

Media Circus Clown Crashes OJ Media Circus

Never Forget

The Thing That Refuses to Go Away...Gets Arrested Again

New Comedy Premieres on CNN

The Wizards of Newz

Harry Reid: Can you say "PWN3D?"

All For Nothing

Remember

Moonbat Leader Captured

Watch This Fake Space!

...And The Gloves Come Off (Part 2)

Mt. St. Clinton Erupts on Fox News Sunday

Never Forget

posted at 6:54 am on April 14, 2009 by Jim Treacher
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