Since learning that their music was used at high volumes to induce terrorists to cooperate with the US, groups such as Nine Inch Long Nails, R.E.M, Rosanne Cash, Rage Against the Machine, and Pearl Jam are filing FOIAs with the DoD and supporting the closure of Gitmo. REM issued a statement:

“We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice to now learn that some of our friends’ music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge, is horrific. It’s anti-American, period.”

I think they are onto something. Let’s go further and ban all music that is considered ‘torture’. I’d start with the guys that pull up next to you in the light, subwoofers pounding, and speakers blaring (c)rap with an abundance of profanity glorifying sex, violence, abuse of women, drug use, etc. What about your annoying co-worker who turns the music up at work? Celebrities mangling the notes to the national anthem at ball games? Any television theme song (e.g. Barney)?

I know, let’s ban the music of these bands because rebellious teens make the house foundations shake and drive their parents crazy (a rite of passage, it seems, since Elvis). Let’s ban rock concerts because they destroy the hearing (according to OSHA) and drive up healthcare costs.

And remember: it’s all for the children.

Obama has given the Commerce Department the ability to approve missile and space technology sales to China. This incident is worse than Clinton ( never mind that 3 people in the article are quoted saying “This is a very bad idea”) in the following ways:

1) Obama has the hindsight benefit of Clinton’s history.

2) According to the 1999 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 1512

The President shall certify to the Congress at least 15 days in advance of any export to the People’s Republic of China of missile equipment or technology (as defined in section 74 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2797c)) that–

(1) such export is not detrimental to the United States space launch industry; and

(2) the missile equipment or technology, including any indirect technical benefit that could be derived
from such export, will not measurably improve the missile or space launch capabilities of the People’s Republic of China.

therefore Obama is sidestepping his responsibility (at the least) or breaking it (at the most). The Department of Commerce is mentioned Section 1522, naming the officials that have to submit a written request to assess national security risks. These officials are:

Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton)

Secretary of Energy (Steve Chu)

Secretary of Defense (Robert Gates)

Director of Central Intelligence (Leon Panetta)

Hillary is useless (remember Norman Hsu?) , but I’m not certain on the amount of spine on the others.

Everyone recalls the Obama campaign pledge to leave us defenseless:

Little did we know that he was also going to sell the current technology to the Chinese (and by proxy to everyone else.

The Department of Justice apparently has hired blogging teams that search for unflattering news on the Obama administration and leave comments anonymously or under a nom de plume to generate astroturf support for policies. Apparently they also extend this policy to conservative websites (which would explain why The Next Right is such a mess). How many blammed personas on RedState have been DOJ, I wonder.

But should this really surprise? This administration, supposedly dedicated to transparency, has encouraged getting in your neighbor’s face, reporting your neighbor’s dissent, and gathering personal data off Facebook and other social networking sites. The Department of Justice would do well to read their own mission statement:

…to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

Oh, and if any DOJ bloggers are reading this, tell your boss I look forward to his departure from office.

Obama, seeing support for his healthcare plan plummet is off basking in the international glow of fellow leftists attending theUN summit on climate change.

So far the Deity Incarnate’s his reception has been poor: not only was his challenge to the UN concerning global warming “overshadowed” by President Hu of China, but President Sarkozy made a cutting remark towards Obama’s verbosity by promising

not to “inflict” a “grandiose speech” on delegates when “concrete proposals” were needed,

proving that Americans aren’t the only ones tired of the oratory of the self-anointed GROFAZ president. The UK Guardian further labels him as Obama the Impotent and not only compares Obama to Bush, but rants against an American minority of

small-town whites in pickup trucks with gun racks

that impede the glorious and righteous cause of climate reform.

Sticking strictly with Obama, the man “wanted by most of the world” and greeted by cheering international throngs during his presidential campaign is suddenly on par with Bush. And yet even this comparison is false, as Bush was respected, if disliked abroad.

Machiavelli said that being feared is preferable to being loved if you can’t have it both ways, but he also said that is it more secure to be feared. As the domestic political thug is an international babe in the woods, Obama has not secured respect for the US, but rather, as Shakespeare once wrote, “cooled her friends, and heated her enemies.”

Why can’t we have this guy speak?

A quick summary:

1. A pile of dung that smells like roses is still a pile of dung.
2. Obama senses the economy, not healthcare, is the concern of Americans, hence the references to deficit reduction. But good luck trying to accomplish all the savings with 53 new bureaucracies.
3. Obama tried to slop the R’s (Grassley, Hatch, McCain) for support, but predicts McCain won’t bite.
4. Predicts US citizens will not fall for speech.
5. No Republican in committee has voted for the health bill.
6. Obama is a liar (not an exact quote, but the underlying premise).
7. Obama is out of touch with US citizens’ concerns.
8. Obama will never compromise with R’s.

I recommend listening to the interview; Shadegg has obviously read the bill and can explain it well.

(H/T The Jawa Report)

This is a image of the Connecticut state legislature slaving away for the good of the people.

Consider this a caption contest (no prize, but a picture is worth a 1000 words, and mine just get in the way).

I frankly have not developed a high opinion of Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) due to second-hand stories I’ve heard about her over the years from her time as Jackson County Prosecutor to the time she sicced the DA onto a member of the Missouri Democrats who dared labeled her ‘unfit for state auditor, much less Senator’ during her 2006 Senate campaign. Correspondence last year over the Global Climate Change Act of 2008, and a few other bills merely served to validate my impressions that I had received from the stories.

Imagine, then, my surprise when I found this gem of a news item on the account of her town hall near Jefferson City, MO

She just realized, unlike certain politicians, who actually runs this country, and she should be worried, considering the thin margin she received 3 years ago. Granted, 2012 is a while away, but I’m looking forward to it.

(Inspired by mbecker908 post)

Why do I bring up a classic American icon?

Because both of you like to

wade (sic) into the…debate

at the opportune moment.

But that where is the comparison ends. You see, John Wayne burst into the room where the villains were hiding with six-guns blazing; no one left except feet first. He didn’t make them sit down in a conference room and work out a deal where the bandits/criminals/outlaws could rob the bank and harass the citizens on Tuesdays from noon to five only.

That, *sir*, is precisely what you do every time you make a “compromise” with the Socialist Democratic Party just so you can get some face time with the state-run media. How can you survive the “Hanoi Hilton”, and then sell out the people of this country to those who imitate those camps if they could?

“We the People” do not want this reform; in fact, we’re happy with what what we’ve got. And frankly, I’m angry and insulted at the patronizing attitude that you and every other politician has acquired over the years towards your constituents.

You ran on a “Country First” campaign, but you seem to forgotten about it in less than a year.
I’ll have the Duke explain to refresh your memory:

Special thanks to ‘civil_truth’ for his input, and WS Gilbert for his lyrical genius. An apology to those senators and representatives of the GOP who actually do stand up and vote based on what is right.

RINO

When the liberals give their spiel,
(Tarantara! tarantara!)
We uncomfortable feel
(slump slump slump)
And when the ‘cons’ raise up a fuss,
(US Constitution’s law)
We toss them all under the bus
(bump bump bump)
With the voters disapprov’l
(hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss)
We need just the One’s approv’l
(kiss kiss kiss)
There is nothing sweeter than
asked, ‘you want 5, 6 or 10?’
That’s all that matters then….

Voters
You refuse to stand for principle
We find that incomprehensible
You should quit this party post haste
Or throw you out with all the waste

This time, it should be your finest hour
But all you care about is power
Now you’ve turned all our votes sour
Get out of office, go, goodbye!

RINO
Now to us it’s evident,
(The Big O’s not a General Zod)
We cannot have this dissent
(Condescending nod)
You don’t ‘nderstand ‘gubmint’.
(So Bipartisan we”ll be)
Disrupt not our tete-a-tete.
(and there you see)
Despite how oft you whine, we will never grow a spine
(and get the USA org’d ’socially’)
Now: Rush, Ann, Jim Demint, please cut all of your dissent
(We’ll express displeasure with you publicly)

Voters
Now for all of your endeavours,
Our present links with you we’ll sever,
Goodbye, good rid’ance, now and forever,
Go back to the Dem party!

For the Libs are fierce and ruthless,
False, unmerciful, and truthless
Full of zeal (but are quite clueless)
Tho’ the Cabinet’s full of ’smarties’!

RINO
Me thinks that we must protest!
The Libs control most of the press!
Tis’ Dishon’rable: talking smack
Voters : But they stab you in the back!
GOP: Not to carp or criticize
but it’s good to compromise
and it’s very evident
that you suppress all your dissent
Yes, it’s very evident that you suppress all your dissent
Evident, your dissent, might be well meant, it should be suppressed!

Ensemble
RINO: When the liberals give their schpeel, etc.
Voters: You refuse to stand for principle, etc.

A universal question posed for every candidate of a treasurer position for any form of student government at Missouri S&T. A question that Steve Geithner, a candidate for the ultimate treasury job at a time of economic crisis could not answer honestly until he paid his back taxes. And yet people still want to give him the job. Schumer (D-NY) said

the mistakes were not at all disqualifying…Tim came to the committee, admitted he had made some mistakes, and was very contrite. I continue to strongly support his nomination and given the tough economic conditions, hope we can confirm him as quickly as possible.

Of course, this is the same guy that claimed

the recent safety and soundness concerns, particularly with Freddie [Mac], and with a poor regulator, as a straw man to curtail Fannie and Freddie’s mission

in October 2003. I’d mind his recommendation like that of an overweight aerobics instructor. Robert Gibbs, the new White House spokesman, said that this was a ‘common mistake’.

Is this just a double standard between the little guy and big wig now? My grandfather once got into trouble with the IRS for a donation of a $20 coffee machine to the Salvation Army, they gave him 7 kinds of griefs over it. Even a supramajority of voters, regardless of political affliation (80%-R, 69%-I, 54%-D), says that two standards exist. In another sop to the media infatuation with Obama, 49% say that this matter would be better publicized if Bush had made this particular pick.

And how the treasurer candidates at the college government level answer this question? “Yes.” Every meeting that I attended, the answer was “Yes”.

I think that William Schrenk Gilbert would approve, but that’s just me.

Obama:
I am the very model of a modern US president,
A sacred incarnation, my selection was no accident,
‘A Deo rex, a rege lex’: now I am the liberal’s voice,
To silence and/or seduce opponents, to deny their cause and choice.

I’m glad to have my worshipers located in the media,
Edit our hist’ry and traditions just like Wikipedia,
Alter things like flags and Seals although laws exist ‘gainst such,
But I belong to the Left: details like that don’t bother much

Chorus of Kennedy, Franken, Dodd, ACORN:
But we all belong to the Left; law-breaking doesn’t bother us
But we all belong to the Left; hypocrisy don’t bother us
But we all belong to the Left; nothing ever-ever bothers us.

Obama:
And now I want to reinvent the US Constitution
Compare myself to Jesus Christ, and FDR, and Abe Lincoln
All children sing their praises for me and put them in a jingle,
And for adults like Chris Matthews, I just make their legs tingle.

Chorus of MSM talk-show hosts
All children will sing his praises then and put them in a jingle,
And every time he makes a speech, he’ll just make our legs tingle.

Obama:
In fact when I put VP Biden’s gaffe-o-matic out of sight
When I can tell at glance a Grand Dragon from the Rev. Wright
When I have learnt the difference between ‘45’ ,‘161’
When I can dig my ‘hope and change’ ‘neath all of the Clintonians
Events really matter not; fault will not be found in us,
If someone performs poorly, I’ll just throw them down under the bus
Or when our policies run this great country into the ground,
We’ll point and blame that bad George Bush; forget that he is not around

Chorus: Pelosi, Reid, Hollywood Celebrities

We’ll point and blame that bad George Bush; forget that he is not around
We’ll point and flame that bad George Bush; forget that he is not around
We’ll point and curse that bad George Bush; forget that he is, he is not around

Obama:
In the Chicagoan ‘poly-tick’ method I’m up to date
But I can’t tell you at a whim the correct number of US states
One fact, however, supercedes: I’m the current White House res’dent
And I’m the very model of a modern US President!

Missouri District 5 includes the Missouri-half of Kansas City, and smaller towns such as Lee’s Summit, Belton, and Raytown.

Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO), a United Methodist minister, was re-elected for his second term. Jacob Turk (R), a Mechanical Engineering major, has run for office twice (2006,2008), and lost by roughly the same percentage of votes each time (2006: 32 to 64, 2008: 34 to 64), mostly due to the influence of Kansas City on the vote tally (30,582 to 115,299). Turk’s trying to hit the ‘career politician’ theme, but I really don’t see any Republican takeover unless a major penetration is made into Kansas City. The last time a Republican held office in this district was 1948.

My state representative from the 51st district is Ray Silva (D). He ran unopposed this year (as he has for as long as I remember) as did Victor Callahan (D) for the State Senate. I know very little about either person.

The good news from Missouri? The GOP picked up 3 state senate seats and maintained a majority in the house, according to the party chair, Doug Russell.

I think also that we may have a replacement in Sarah Steelman for Kit Bond in 2010, but she’ll probably have a fight with the old guard, as she faced them in the GOP and narrowly lost the GOP candidate bid for governor this year (~1%); note that Kit Bond and Gov. Blunt opposed her. She is like Palin in the fact she is a reformer of the state, and she has caught flak for her reform activities related to “Show Me Ethanol”, (a MO-based company that acquieced to the demands for ethanol in the gasoline with ties to relatives of Matt Blunt), and a sexual harassment settlement check involving Matt Blunt’s administration. she apparently has ‘tie to the trial bar’, but I will have to do more research on that.

Lots of work to be done here, but I think that we have a good candidate for US Senate, should she run.

Law enforcement officials across Missouri – ranging from district attorneys to the local sheriffs – have signed on with the Obama campaign to form a “Truth Squad” (led by Sen. Claire McCaskill) to “target those who lie or run a misleading television ad” about Obama during the election, according to KMOV of St. Louis. In St. Louis, figures such as Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce will prosecute cases that “violate Missouri ethics laws” and remind voters that Obama is a “Christian who will cut taxes.”

This is a blatant misuse of authority and the public trust. Law-enforcement officials should be non-partisan in any election and not be used as political pawns to intimidate or to threaten First Amendment rights. This is a black crime on the level of former Russian President Putin, but he doesn’t have to hide behind the “truth” for his ends.

Obama has already tried this tactic elsewhere. Apparently Obama has a problem with criticism of his policies and associations. At best he has a thin skin; at worst this is a deliberate attempt to silence his critics. Neither character trait is desirable in a U.S. president I would elect.

John F. Kennedy once proclaimed to the world that the US was willing to ‘pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe” to make certain that liberty endured. The actions of Obama and his supporters show that they too are willing to go the distance to limit its expression so that they are put into positions of power.

What I like about this election is that it is bringing back the fine tradition of musical numbers that were present in the campaigns of the 19th century; better yet, in the present era they can spread via the miracle that is the Youtube. Take this one by Hank Williams, Jr. about Palin and McCain:

Moral of this story: Don’t tease the bears, kids (Kos and otherwise), especially the female gun-toting Palin variety.

Senator McCain:

I thank you for unleashing Sarah Palin and going after your opponent’s dubious connections (ACORN, Ayers, Raines, etc.). These attacks, however, are not enough. The swing voters and others are focusing on their pockets and the declining value of their investments. They are bombarded constantly with doom and gloom from the mainstream media, who also sing the praises of your opponent, Senator Obama. This debate is the one final, unfiltered chance you can present your ideas and yourself to the American people on the major networks.

I humbly suggest that you include the following points into the debate:

1. Promise that your first action as president (Jan. 20) will be to appoint a special prosecutor who is an expert in these types of cases to investigate this financial mess, find and punish the guilty (no matter who they are or what position they hold) to the fullest extent of the law, and ensure that this situation will not happen again.

2. Name those congressional delegates (including Senator Obama) who said that no regulation was necessary for the GSEs, while taking money from the very organizations they were supposed to police and funding leftist groups such as ACORN. I know that you are a gentleman and that it pains you to humble your opponents - some of whom you have worked beside for many years - but the American people demand justice for this disaster, and deserve to know exactly who is responsible.

3. Emphasize repeatedly the connection between energy security and job creation. If Senator Obama starts with a line about ‘alternative energy research and jobs’, ask him to specify the sources of funding for research and how long before we have these new technologies. Press him on this subject. Make it perfectly clear to the American people that new technology does not magically appear in six months - or even in one year, and that research requires money (in this case, revenue generated from present sources of power, i.e. off-shore oil drilling, coal mining, shale oil). If these facilities are constructed, more jobs will be created, revenue on federal and state level will be generated, and research money for alternative energies will be available.

4. The construction of structures such as oil platforms, refineries and nuclear power plants is often inhibited/stalled by environmental zealots who care more about the whales than the quality of life for Americans while not practicing what they preach. Call for expediency in the federal approval of their permits. Call out Al Gore and his wasteful mansions in TN; also Senators Obama and Biden for their conflicting stances on nuclear, clean coal, and oil drilling.

Please pass this on to your GOP colleagues, as points 2-4 can apply to their campaigns as well.

I thank you for your time and I look forward with anticipation to Wednesday evening.

The Supreme Court does not hear all cases that are brought to their attention. Take these latest two cases.

The first case involved the Natural Resources Defense Council’s attempt to block the Navy’s use of sonar in their antisubmarine warfare exercises on the coast of S. California, citing the deleterious effects on whales (evidently someone’s watched Star Trek IV too many times).

Another case
involved David Parker’s objections to the indoctrination of his elementary-age children (in Lexington, MA) in homosexuality without parental consent or the right to exempt his children. This case the Supreme Court has denied. David Parker found out about his rejection by NPR radio; “The [Supreme] court did not even bother to notify the Parkers or their attorneys”, according to Mass Resistance, a pro-family group.

Now let me get this straight. SCOTUS doesn’t want to hear a case that now legitimizes the ‘it takes a village’ principle, but it hears a case brought concerned with ’saving the whales’. It is now legal for the state to brainwash children irrespective of their parent’s wishes. According to the reasoning of SCOTUS, the teacher in Kansas City who was suspended for his ‘Obama youth brigade’ video can now walk free.

Professor Lisa Heinzerling of Georgetown said that there are “just not justices on the court for the most part who are out to save the whales.”
Well, they care more about the whales than our children.

An excerpt from a Human Events e-mail I have just received:

Senator Obama is intimately tied to corruption, left-wing radicalism, and predatory politicians. But the elite media has done everything it could to avoid asking the key questions….

They could use the same technique that Senator Richard Russell used in 1936 to defeat populist Georgia Governor Gene Talmadge. Russell literally posted a list of questions on the podium in Macon and told the crowd “Don’t let him leave until he answers them.” It was the psychological turning point of that campaign because Talmadge refused to answer and the people knew it.

If everywhere Obama and Biden went for the next 28 days they were faced with these questions they would rapidly lose popular legitimacy.

The questions are given below the fold. My recommendation would be to use the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac questions first since the economic crisis is foremost on the mind of Americans, and then lead into the other questions as examples of Obama’s poor judgment, questionable associations, and Stalinist tactics.

Read More →

The New York Times today has basically pooh-poohed the GOP for ‘complaining’ over a couple million dollars from foreign donors. They ignore the fact the recent Newsmax report that gives examples of foreigners giving donations and the Obama campaign promising to refund their money at a future date (after ‘repeated FEC warnings’, compliance claims by the Obama campaign, and the inability to tell if the refunds have occurred). The New York Times is the epitome of honesty, of course, as shown by the cut rate it gave Moveon.org a year ago.

The Obama campaign has whined in a injurious tone (via Bill Burton):

“We constantly review our donors for any issues and while no organization is completely protected from Internet fraud, we will continue to review our fund-raising procedures to ensure that we are taking every available step to root out improper contributions.”

But

the Obama campaign only recently began requiring donors from overseas to provide a valid United States passport number when making a contribution. Previously, it had simply required donors to check a box certifying they were U.S. citizens.

Read More →

Obama’s in the lead, McCain looks like a fool, and the entire party has taken a hit in the eyes of the American People.

Get over it.

If we succumb to the attitude that we’ve lost, then we will lose. The election is on November 4th. That’s 35 days from now. A lot can still happen. We cannot control what the Democrats do, but we can control how we respond.

Read More →

Paul Krugman wrote an editorial that basically expands on the ‘bitter religious gun-clinger’ argument, making the case that the GOP is running on the resentment politics of the Nixon era.

Nevermind that the Democrats have been beating the gong of ‘change’ since 2006 and have brought nothing but high energy prices, a attempted rewrite of cultural values, and moonbeams in a jar. Nevermind that their candidate for president lost a significant portion of the blue-collar, white vote in his own primary, has smeared both female candidates, and voicing publicly that he cares about the ‘little guy’ while mocking him in private meetings with donors.

Look in the mirror, Krugman.