What's really going on now

What Obama has learned from W

President Obama has “learned from experience” that some of the Bush administration’s decisions on terrorism issues were necessary, according to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

In his first interview since undergoing major heart surgery last July, Cheney said he thinks OBAMA HAS BEEN FORCED TO RETHINK SOME OF HIS NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS now that he sits in the Oval Office.

“I THINK HE’S LEARNED THAT WHAT WE DID WAS FAR MORE APPROPRIATE THAN HE EVER GAVE US CREDIT FOR WHILE HE WAS A CANDIDATE. So I think he’s learned from experience. And part of that experience was the Democrats having a terrible showing last election.”

Cheney also asserted that Obama has learned that the prison at Guantanamo Bay simply cannot be closed, despite the promises he made while campaigning for the White House.

“I THINK HE’S LEARNED THAT HE’S NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO,” Cheney said. “That it’s — if you didn’t have it, you’d have to create one like that. You’ve got to have some place to put terrorists who are combatants who are bound and determined to try to kill Americans

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/138341-cheney-obama-has-learned-from-experience-that-bush-moves-were-necessary


With all the talk about civility, this is one area where there is a lot of civility between Obama and the right. The left isn’t complaining too loudly, but the right actually supports the policies that Obama has kept.

House Dem calls for 'beefed up' security, special treatment for members by TSA

A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports.


“I really believe that that is the place where we feel the most ill at ease, is going through airports,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as assistant minority leader in the House, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Clyburn called for the Transportation Security Administration, which administers airport security checkpoints, to interact “a little better” with the Capitol Hill Police.


“WE’VE HAD SOME INCIDENTS WHERE TSA AUTHORITIES THINK THAT CONGRESSPEOPLE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136849-house-dem-calls-for-beefed-up-security-special-treatment-by-tsa


I can’t believe he actually said that. In fact, congressmen and women should be treated like everyone else because they need to experience what all of us experience. After all, they have the power to change the way we are treated.



Endangered Dems sound alarms about redistricting

While most Democratic lawmakers are staying quiet about the looming threat that congressional redistricting poses to their seats, a FEW ARE SOUNDING ALARM BELLS AND ASKING VOTERS FOR HELP KEEPING THEIR JOBS.

One Massachusetts lawmaker has already announced his intention to run again, and at least one New York representative is signaling a readiness to fight. But Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is making the most noise as he enters his eighth term by actively shopping around for a new district.

"I will not wait until a new Ohio map is produced to begin this crucial discussion of the consequences of congressional redistricting," Kucinich, who was first elected in 1996, wrote in an e-mail to his constituents last month, exhorting them to weigh in with suggestions and advice. "THE QUESTION WILL NOT BE: WHO IS MY OPPONENT? THE QUESTION WILL BE: WHERE IS MY DISTRICT? SERIOUSLY."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/01/endangered-dems-sound-alarms-about-redistricting#ixzz1BTnePatr


Kucinich is worried since Ohio will lose two congressional seats. Speculation is that three democrat districts including Kucinich's will become two and Kucinich will have to run against another Democrat.

Keith Olbermann: The most dense left wing pundit on the planet

Olbermann at the beginning of his show on January 17th.

Finally tonight as promised a special comment on the nine days since Tucson. That awful night I said this: “We need to put the guns down. JUST AS IMPORTANTLY WE NEED TO PUT THE GUN METAPHORS AWAY AND PERMANENTLY - left, right, middle, politicians, and citizens, sane and insane....

Olbermann at the end of his show on January 17th.

Nine days have passed and the willful blindness hasn't slowed down yet. BESIDES THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF EVEN THE GLIMMER OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY THAT SENATOR MCCAIN AND I HAVE EVINCED, we learned from all this that the RIGHT LIVES IN A PERPETUAL STATE OF VICTIMHOOD. We learned that the RIGHT DOES NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE THE IRONY OF ITS CLAIM of being unfairly blamed for the violence of others WHEN IT HAS SPENT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS DOING EXACTLY THAT TO MUSLIMS, PARTICULARLY AMERICAN MUSLIMS. ....

AND ULTIMATELY WE LEARNED, ESPECIALLY FROM MRS. PALIN’S FOOLISHNESS, THIS TEMPLATE OF WHAT THE RIGHT WOULD DO IN AN ACTUAL OPEN AND SHUT SLAM DUNK CASE IN WHICH A PARTISAN OF THE RIGHT ATTEMPTED TO KILL ONE OF THE LEFT, THE RIGHT WOULD BLAME THE VICTIM, BLAME HIM OR HER FOR NOT HAVING BROUGHT ENOUGH SECURITY OR FOR NOT HAVING BROUGHT A GUN

.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/01/18/olbermann-if-conservative-tried-kill-liberal-right-would-blame-victim


The man is a walking contradiction. He seems to have a bigger ego than Bill O’Reilly and an intellect that is small enough to believe Nancy Pelosi when she said that "DEFICIT REDUCTION HAS BEEN A HIGH PRIORITY FOR US"

Ranking of US Presidents

Further evidence of the unwisdom of experts. A major survey of British academics has come up with a ranking of US presidents. In top place, predictably, is that old despot Franklin D Roosevelt.

What a perfect illustration of how received opinion tends to be wrong. Roosevelt is praised for having rescued the US from recession through the New Deal. IN FACT, THE NEW DEAL ALMOST CERTAINLY PROLONGED THE SLUMP. Its mass of regulations ENCOURAGED CARTELS AND CRONY CAPITALISM, BURDENED BUSINESSES AND DETERRED EMPLOYERS FROM TAKING ON WORKERS. In 2004, two economists at the UCLA, Harold L Cole and Lee A Ohanian, conducted a major study which concluded that the New Deal had in fact LENGTHENED THE RECESSION BY SEVEN YEARS…..


Anyway, here’s my list.

1. Ronald Reagan (here’s why)

2. Abraham Lincoln (here’s why)

3. Thomas Jefferson (here’s why)

4. Grover Cleveland

5. Calvin Coolidge

6. George Washington

7. John Adams

8. James Polk

9. James Madison

10. John Quincy Adams

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100072306/frankin-roosevelt-pah-here-are-ten-far-greater-us-presidents/


An interesting look at the US Presidents and in particular the fascist nature of Progressive politics in the first half of the 20th Century.



We’ve been lied to

By all accounts, an Internet documentary named "Zeitgeist" was the favorite movie of accused Tucson shooter Jared Loughner. Created in 2007 by New York-based conspiracy merchant Peter Joseph, "Zeitgeist" is a two-hour mash-up of old and new conspiracy theories involving religion, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the Federal Reserve system. Its message is simple: "We've been lied to. We've been lied to by every institution."

"He wanted to watch it all the time," a teenage friend of Loughner's told the Arizona Republic. "It was cool at first. But then it got weird. It was all he wanted to do."

"Zeitgeist" has three parts. The first tells us that Christianity is a myth, and that religion in general conditions us to believe other myths. The second tells us that the most powerful of those other myths is 9/11 -- we call it an act of terrorism when it fact it was an inside job perpetrated by the U.S. government. And the third part tells us the real powers behind 9/11 and the other myths are central bankers. They're making the myths for money, while we're just being duped.

"Christianity, along with all other related theologies, is an historical fraud," the narration begins. "Zeitgeist" posits a sort of Zodiac-based foundation for all faiths and gives us insights like, "Jesus' solar Piscean personification will end when the sun enters the Age of Aquarius."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/01/tucson-shooter-obsessed-bizarre-internet-movie#ixzz1BOULze5j

What I find ironic is that Loughner was influenced by an internet video that has as its basic premise is that we’ve been lied to. The left interpretation of what happened in Tucson was due to right wing hate radio lying to the people and influencing crazy people to kill.



Palin derangement syndrome

….Today THE CONVERSATION TURNED TO SARAH PALIN AND MY NEW ACQUAINTANCE BLURTED OUT: “OH I HATE HER.” Since she did not yet know my politics, and since we were in Los Angeles, it is clear that she expected to hear back what you usually hear back in this city: “Yeah, I hate her, too.” Instead, I ASKED HER WHY.

At this point I could have predicted her response because it’s the same response you get from Liberals no matter who on the Right you’re talking about, “BECAUSE SHE’S STUPID.” I replied: “BEING STUPID IS NO REASON TO HATE SOMEONE, BUT TELL ME, WHICH ONE OF HER POLICIES DO YOU DISAGREE WITH?” IT WASN’T HARD TO PREDICT HER RESPONSE: “ALL OF THEM!”

I continued to push. “Well, then, if it’s all of them, it should be easy for you to name one.” Her reply? “They’re too many to list.”

“So don’t list them, just give me one,” I said.

This went on for awhile until my new acquaintance FINALLY ADMITTED THAT SHE DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF MS. PALIN’S POLICIES. Before she ran off – Democrats always run off when asked to provide facts behind their hatred for Republicans – I looked her in the eye and said, “If you don’t know any of her policies perhaps you should look into them.” She promised she would. She won’t. IF THERE ARE TWO THINGS YOU CAN COUNT ON WITH DEMOCRATS, THEY ARE FILLED WITH HATE AND EMPTY OF FACTS…..

….This is the genesis of the notion that Palin is “stupid.” LIBERALS ARE CONVINCED THAT THERE’S SOMETHING “THE MATTER” WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOBS. This is what they mean by “What’s The Matter with Kansas,” Kansas being a place where people work – Hollywood, Cambridge Massachusetts, the TV studios in Manhattan are places were people talk. To the Liberal, anyone who has a job must be stupid, after all, not everyone is as good a talker as they are, but surely everyone can find one excuse or another to sit at home and collect welfare….

…If Democrats disagreed with Ms. Palin on the issues that would be one thing. BUT THEY DON’T MERELY “DISAGREE” WITH HER, THE HATE HER AND THEY HATE HER WITHOUT CARING ONE WHIT ABOUT WHERE SHE STANDS ON THE ISSUES. They hate her BECAUSE SHE IS LIVING PROOF THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT THE DEMOCRAT PARTY NARRATIVE IS A LIE and for this reason she cannot be allowed to be liked because if Democrats liked her, they might actually listen to her policies.

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/01/18/why-the-left-hates-sarah-palin/

A well thought out article. Liberals would learn a lot by reading this, but actually having an open mind and reading something like this is not in the character of most liberals.

One liberal stands up for Sarah Palin: Ed Koch

Why do I defend Palin in this case? I DON'T AGREE WITH HER POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: She is an arch conservative. I AM A LIBERAL WITH SANITY. I know that I am setting myself up for attack when I ask, why did Emile Zola defend Dreyfus? Palin is no Dreyfus and I am certainly no Zola. BUT ALL OF US HAVE AN OBLIGATION, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN POLITICS AND PUBLIC OFFICE, TO DENOUNCE, WHEN WE CAN, THE PERPETRATORS OF HORRENDOUS LIBELS and stand up for those falsely charged. We should denounce unfair, false and wicked charges not only when they are made against ourselves, our friends or our political party but against those with whom we disagree. If we are to truly change the poisonous political atmosphere that we all complain of, including those who create it, we should speak up for fairness when we can….

….I repeat my earlier comment that she "scares the hell out of me." Nevertheless, she is entitled to fair and respectful treatment. THE FOOLS IN POLITICS TODAY IN BOTH PARTIES ARE THOSE WHO THINK SHE IS DUMB. I've never met her, but I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SHE IS HIGHLY INTELLIGENT but not knowledgeable in many areas and politically uninformed….

…. Many women understand what she has done for their cause. She will not be silenced nor will she leave the heavy lifts to the men in her Party. She will not be falsely charged, remain silent, and look for others - men - to defend her. SHE IS PLUCKY AND UNAFRAID.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/01/18/palin_defeated_unfair_critics_at_nyt__msnbc_108561.html

Well said. I do believe that Koch is A LIBERAL WITH SANITY, and there are so few of them left.



The Liberal Agenda Backfires

America’s debate about government’s proper size and purposes has proceeded against the backdrop of European disorders, such as rioting by French young people. Some of them, although they have not yet entered the labor market (unemployment is 25 percent among those under 25), are indignant that when they do, they will have to remain in it for two extra years because the retirement age has been raised to 62.

Such demonstrations of government-induced decadence—a.k.a. THE ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY—have provided counterpoints to the Great Unraveling. THAT HAS BEEN THE FATE OF AMERICAN LIBERALS’ AGENDA IN THE 24 MONTHS SINCE BARACK OBAMA’S INAUGURATION. That event was supposed to launch a long liberal epoch, something unknown since the one that ended in 1938, when the nation recoiled against Franklin Roosevelt’s overreaching, which included his attempt to “pack” the Supreme Court by enlarging it. Because the episode that ended in 1938 had lasted only six years, counting it as an “epoch” amounts to defining “epoch” down. Today, the long list of liberal disappointments is still growing:

ORGANIZED LABOR’S TOP PRIORITY—“CARD CHECK” legislation to make unionization of workplaces easier by abolishing workers’ rights to secret ballots—is dead….

The near invisibility and complete futility of last month’s Cancún conference ON CLIMATE CHANGE marked the exhaustion of a U.N. delusion…


Things that liberals thought would be gone by now include: GUANTÁNAMO, THE PATRIOT ACT, AND THE BUSH TAX RATES…

 

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/15/defining-epoch-down.html



26 States Join Suit Against Obama Health Law

SIX MORE STATES JOINED A LAWSUIT IN FLORIDA AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA'S HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL on Tuesday, meaning more than half of the country is challenging the law

The announcement was made as House members in Washington, led by Republicans, debated whether to repeal the law.

The six additional states, all with Republican attorneys general, joined Florida and 19 others in the legal action, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

"IT SENDS A STRONG MESSAGE THAT MORE THAN HALF OF THE STATES CONSIDER THE HEALTH CARE LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND ARE WILLING TO FIGHT IT IN COURT," she said in a statement.

The states claim the health care law is unconstitutional and violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties.

Joining the coalition in the Florida case were: IOWA, KANSAS, MAINE, OHIO, WISCONSIN AND WYOMING.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/18/states-join-obama-health-care-lawsuit-fla/


Elections do have consequences.