Last Debate

AAA third debate

The Checkpoint Scandal

It appears President Obama has two sets of standards in the Middle East; one for Israel and a different one for Muslim states. 

Binders full of women—the real scandal

Why has the phrase "binders full of women" captured the progressive imagination more than any other of the hundreds exchanged between Romney and Obama during the second presidential debate?

Reasonable people are scratching their heads: what is so terribly wrong with this seemingly innocuous, if awkward, way to describe Mitt Romney's efforts to find qualified female applicants? 

Deep down in the warped labyrinth of the progressive mind, even as they self-righteously deride Mitt Romney's "binder" comment, there's likely to be found a sub-cellar full of imaginary bound women: nude and wrapped in chains; some tied to a bed or a pole, others hanging from rings in the ceiling; crouching in the center of a Middle Eastern slave market or in a Planned Parenthood clinic; all set up to be used, tortured, raped -- or, if the master so desires, saved and cuddled.

When I first heard about it I didn’t have any idea of what the left was talking about.  My three year old granddaughter had learned the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.  She thought it was funny to say, “Lucy in the sky with poopee.”  It appears lefties seem to have the same level of intellectual understanding as a three year old.

Argentina vs the USA:  A warning for America

How did a Christian country, with a European population, a negligible racial problem, and enormous natural and agricultural wealth screw up?  How did a country with a liberal constitution cycle in and out of dictatorship?  How did a country that was the fourth-richest per capita on the planet in 1929 fall so hard?  How is it that Argentina regularly cycles between enormous first-world wealth and third-world economic collapse?

The answer, in a word, is government.  Argentina is a frightening example to prove that bad government can destroy even a potential heaven on earth.

A Prediction for tonight’s debate

Any points Romney makes will be characterized by the Obama team as Romney politicizing foreign affairs. 

Has the end of Obama already begun?

Mitt Romney enters the final two weeks of the presidential campaign looking very much like the next president of the United States, and it is not merely poll data that creates this impression. President Obama's own campaign has begun to emit clear signals that the incumbent's re-election prospects are dwindling, and anecdotal evidence of strong.

Running on empty

Honk if you have any idea of what Obama’s second term agenda is and how he plans to enact it.  Now honk twice if you heard the MSM badger him about this.  Notice how quiet it is? 

Defiance Ohio:  A look at the battle for Ohio

In DEFIANCE, Ohio — For more than 50 years, the economic fate of this tiny town in northwest Ohio has been inextricably linked to the health of GM, its largest employer.

And so when two local lawyers put up a billboard in the cornfield across from Defiance’s GM plant with a picture of the GM logo above the word “alive” and a photo of Osama bin Laden above the word “dead,” you might have expected nods of approval.

Instead, in this deeply conservative corner of the state not far from the Indiana border, the billboard — and two others posted in town — have proved highly controversial. 

For Democrats, this may be the town President Obama helped save with the auto bailout. But, in a twist, Defiance and places like it could end up saving Mitt Romney in all-important Ohio.

Obama’s Plan to eliminate the deficit

“We need to eliminate a whole host of programs that don't work. And I want to go through the federal budget line by line, page by page, programs that don't work, we should cut. Programs that we need, we should make them work better.”

The only problem is that he made this statement in the last debate in 2008.  Now what were those “whole host of programs” President Obama has eliminated? 

Christie takes down Barack Obama 

He attacks Obama saying he can’t change Washington from the inside.  It’s not his fault you know?  He doesn’t know how to lead. 

Always Check the Demographics

President Barack Obama still leads Mitt Romney in Ohio, but the margin has narrowed substantially in the past month, according to a poll released Monday morning by Quinnipiac University and CBS News.
Obama held a 5-point lead among likely voters, winning 50 percent to Romney's 45 percent, according to the poll. In September, Obama held by twice the margin, 53 to 43.

This is designed to make Democrats nervous, but discourage Republicans.  The Demographics on this poll was 35% Democrats, 26% Republicans, and 34% Independents.  But the actual demographics in Ohio are 36% Democrats, 37% Republicans and 27% Independents.  Using these numbers you end up with Obama at 48% and Romney at 52%. 

Obama ad charges Romney “not one of us”

Does the Obama campaign want Mitt Romney’s birth certificate?   I guess this isn’t 2004 anymore.

In Search of Excellent—excuses that is

If Mitt Romney wins the presidency, expect the Democrats to complain that the Republicans bought the election — and to try to outlaw it from ever happening again.

Republican Tommy Thompson regains Lead in Senate Race

In a contest where the lead has been going back and forth, former governor Tommy Thompson is ahead by one point among registered voters. 

The Tragic Demise of Fannie Mae

A new book offers an instructive lesson on the unhappy surprises caused by the government’s attempts to manipulate the housing market.

Obama and the Democrats: Leadership is a issue

US lacks credibility on debt, says IMF

THE US LACKS A “CREDIBLE STRATEGY” TO STABILISE ITS MOUNTING PUBLIC DEBT, POSING A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT RISK OF A NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS, SAYS THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.

In an unusually stern rebuke to its largest shareholder, the IMF said the US was the only advanced economy to be increasing its underlying budget deficit in 2011, at a time when its economy was growing fast enough to reduce borrowing.

The latest warning on the deficit was delivered as Barack Obama, the US president, is becoming increasingly engaged in the debate over ways to curb ….

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc1aadea-652e-11e0-b150-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JP2nAJuH


I like the way they framed it. Obama is becoming increasing engaged in the debate over ways to curb America’s mounting debt. Only seems fair since he is the one who exploded the debt.



Inflation Actually Near 10% Using Older Measure

After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation. Using the methodology in place at that time puts the CPI back near those levels.

INFLATION, USING THE REPORTING METHODOLOGIES IN PLACE BEFORE 1980, HIT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 9.6 PERCENT IN FEBRUARY, ACCORDING TO THE SHADOW GOVERNMENT STATISTICS NEWSLETTER….

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42551209

Welcome back Carter.


Obama the out of touch President

….Here's Obama 's problem: Once again, HE'S LOST CONTROL OF THE CAPITOL'S POLITICAL NARRATIVE.

The bully pulpit is a powerful presidential tool -- if the chief executive is talking of relevant things. But OBAMA KEEPS SIDETRACKING HIMSELF into all these areas of society that he so wants to fix, even though there are worse problems elsewhere.

For a long time Obama talked of little but healthcare and financial reforms, while polls showed Americans wanted jobs. He got his healthcare bill, but dozens of Democrats got unemployed from Congress.

When Americans wanted an explanation for a war over Libya's sand, Obama was urging Brazil to drill off its shores and toasting every presidente within sight.

As Americans realized the Democrat majorities had not written a budget for the current fiscal year when in control throughout 2010, Obama was denouncing schoolyard bullies and calling for more college educations, something even Rep. Ron Paul might endorse.

WHENEVER THE PRESIDENT ACKNOWLEDGES THE BUDGET DEFICIT AND THE $14+ TRILLION NATIONAL DEBT, HE SAYS YES, YES, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO CUT WASTE. HE THEN PROCEEDS TO PROVIDE A LONG LIST OF THINGS WE NEED TO "INVEST" MORE IN LIKE EDUCATION, BRIDGES, GREEN ENERGY and protecting "the most vulnerable" in our society….

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/obama-deficit-speech.html


Out of touch and soon to be out of a job. ABB (Anybody but Barack).



Liberal Pundits seem to be getting frustrated with Obama

The cliche of late has been the trope about “getting ahead of history.” WONDERFUL. I WOULD SETTLE FOR OBAMA JUST CATCHING UP WITH HIMSELF. . . SLOGANS SUCH AS “WIN THE FUTURE” ARE RHETORICAL COTTON CANDY. They melt in your mouth and leave nothing behind. The president needs to say explicitly what he wants and how he’s going to get there. “CHANGE” WON’T DO ANYMORE. IT’S LEADERSHIP WE NEED.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/04/12/time_for_leadership_109520.html


More and more I am reminded of the late 1970s and the presidency of Jimmy Carter. However, seeing what is going on now, Carter would be an improvement over the current president.



Opting Out of Unionization

.Thanks to Gov. Scott Walker’s new labor law, WISCONSIN MAY JUST BE THE NEXT STATE WHERE UNION ROLLS START SHRINKING. If history’s any indication, plenty of government workers will eventually take advantage of their new ability to opt out of unionization and stop paying expensive union dues….

….Walker saw that as a significant cost-savings benefit for Wisconsin’s government workers, arguing that “for those members . . . who don’t want to be a part of the union . . . [and] don’t want that deduction each month out of the paycheck, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THAT $500, $600, OR IN SOME CASES $1,000 [PER YEAR] BACK that they can apply for their health care and their pension contribution.” Politifact, which skews liberal, rated Walker’s calculations of how much workers could save “mostly true” after contacting unions and finding out how much they charged members annually.

Making union membership or portions of union dues voluntary has a track record of resulting in fewer employees’ paying. Consider Indiana, where Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an executive order limiting collective bargaining for state workers. IN 2005, WHEN DANIELS SIGNED THE ORDER, 16,408 STATE EMPLOYEES BELONGED TO THE UNION. NOW 1,490 DO.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/264545/opting-out-unionization-katrina-trinko


No wonder the Democrats are against this. Before Daniels signed the order if the unions were getting $500 per year per member, they would have a budget of $8.2 million and if 20% was spent on political contributions that would be $1.6 million going primarily to the Democrats. With only 1490 union members, revenue is decreased to three quarters of a million dollars and political contributions would drop to $150,000 annually.



Death Trap Democrats

Despite November's New Deal magnitude political earthquake, surviving House Democrats just laughed off their historic 63 seat loss and reelected ultra-left San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader, a position she will now apparently hold for life. SOMEHOW DEMOCRATS ARE CONVINCED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL COME TO REALIZE THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS AND TURN TO EMBRACE TAXATION THAT SEIZES MOST OF THEIR MONEY FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO SPEND, rejecting traditional American prosperity. Good luck with that.

But DEMOCRATS HAVE NOW REPEATED THE FOLLY BY CHOOSING DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) TO HEAD THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE. Schultz is just as left wing as Pelosi, but less soft spoken and even more transparently unreasoned.

Schultz wasted no time in demonstrating this. She said regarding the Medicare reforms in Paul Ryan's House GOP budget plan, "No longer would Medicare be a guarantee of health insurance coverage. Instead Medicare would become little more than a discount card. THIS PLAN WOULD LITERALLY BE A DEATH TRAP FOR SENIORS…..."

….While the Democrats still do not understand what they have done with Obamacare, the government's actuaries and accountants do, and have been telling us in official government publications and documents. The 2010 Financial Statement of the United States Government, published by the Treasury Department in December, is the most clear. THAT REPORT DISCLOSES repeatedly in several tables of data that the TOTAL OF FUTURE CUTS IN PAYMENTS TO DOCTORS AND HOSPITALS UNDER MEDICARE AS PROVIDED IN CURRENT LAW DUE TO OBAMACARE and president obama's medicare reimbursement policies IS $15 TRILLION!...

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/13/death-trap-democrats


$15 trillion in cuts is larger than the entire US economy this year. It is a death sentence for Medicare as most hospitals would have to stop treating Medicare patients or go out of business (they currently lose money on Medicare patients).



Dean charges GOP “hate anything” for the little guy

"The President made Medicare more sustainable because of health care reform. These guys [Republicans] hate Medicare, they hate the welfare state, they hate Social Security, THEY HATE ANYTHING THAT HELPS ORDINARY PEOPLE. THEY ARE IN THE PAY OF CORPORATIONS, that's who paid for their campaigns and of course that is whose tune their going to dance to," former DNC Chairman Howard Dean said on MSNBC.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/04/12/howard_dean_on_gop_they_hate_the_welfare_state.html

Dean is outing what the Democrats really feel. It isn’t enough to say that the Republican policies hurt the poor. Dean posits the intentions of the GOP. They hate anything that helps ordinary people. Not only is this nonsense, but in fact, the Democrats have lost the ordinary man and are now the party of government dependent people.



Facts about America’s decline

In absolute terms, the U.S. enjoyed an incline this past decade. BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010, U.S. GDP INCREASED 21% IN CONSTANT DOLLARS, despite the shattering setbacks of the Great Recession in 2008-09 and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001. In 2010, U.S. military spending ($697 billion) was 55% higher than in 2000. And in 2010, the U.S. population was 310 million, an increase of 10% since 2000.

The notion that demography is destiny may be a stretch, but demographics are important when, as in THE U.S., POPULATION INCREASE—DUE TO HIGHER BIRTH AND IMMIGRATION RATES THAN OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES—CUSHIONS THE IMPACT OF AN AGING POPULATION.

But there were also some important declines relative to the rest of the world. In 2000, U.S. GDP WAS 61% OF THE COMBINED GDPS OF THE OTHER G-20 COUNTRIES. BY 2010, THAT NUMBER DROPPED TO 42%. In 2000, U.S. GDP was slightly more than eight times that of China, but it fell to slightly less than three times in 2010. JAPAN IS A CONTRASTING CASE: U.S. GDP WAS TWICE AS LARGE AS JAPAN'S IN 2000 BUT 2.6 TIMES AS LARGE IN 2010, before the tsunami and nuclear disasters of 2011.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704415104576251292725228886.html


I found this extremely interesting. I recommend you read it.



Wal-Mart ends its flirtation with the left

In July 2006, Dach was installed as the public relations chief for Wal-Mart. HE DRAFTED A NUMBER OF OTHER PROGRESSIVES INTO THE COMPANY, SEEKING TO CHANGE THE COMPANY’S WAY OF DOING BUSINESS: its culture, its politics, and most importantly its products.

Out went drab, inexpensive merchandise so dear to low-income Americans. IN CAME UPSCALE ORGANIC FOODS, “GREEN” PRODUCTS, TRENDY JEANS, AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. In other words, Dach sought to expose poor working Americans to the “good life” of the wealthy, environmentally conscious Prius driver.

How did that all work out?

AFTER SUFFERING SEVEN STRAIGHT QUARTERS OF LOSSES, TODAY THE MERCHANDISE GIANT WAL-MART WILL ANNOUNCE THAT IT IS “GOING BACK TO BASICS,” ending its era of high-end organic foods, going “green,” and the remainder of its appeal to the upscale market. Next month the company will launch an “It’s Back” campaign to woo the millions of customers who have fled the store.

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/gore_store_no_more/


It appears a “new Coke” moment has come and gone at Wal-Mart. Welcome back.



Calling for higher taxes on themselves? Not so fast

…Mr. Saban and Ms Pritzker also believe the rich should pay more. "HIGHER TAXES FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE -- THAT'S OKAY BY ME," Mr. Saban was quoted in the now-defunct Portfolio magazine. "Warren said that over the last 20 years, the net worth of the 400 richest Americans has grown seven times and the average American's net earnings are flat. He said that's not right, and that's why he's a Democrat. I agree. It's not good for our democracy," Ms Pritzker was quoted by Bloomberg.

THERE IS A HYPOCRISY, IF NOT PSYCHOSIS, AT WORK in the minds of the tax-demanding rich: MR. BUFFETT SHIELDED $31 BILLION OF HIS WEALTH BY TRANSFERRING IT TO BILL GATES' PHILANTHROPIES. The Pritzker family is famous for employing a skein of trusts and offshore accounts to obfuscate their wealth. WHEN THE PATRIARCH, ABRAM PRITZKER, DIED, IN 1986, HIS HEIRS CLAIMED AN ESTATE WORTH $25,000. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SAW IT DIFFERENTLY, VALUING THE ESTATE A FEW DOLLARS NORTH OF THAT FIGURE AND SUED TO COLLECT $53 MILLION IN BACK TAXES. THE TWO SIDES SETTLED FOR $9.5 MILLION IN 1994.

Mr. Saban's actions suggest a passive-aggressive relationship with taxes. FOUR YEARS AGO HE SETTLED WITH THE IRS AFTER ADMITTING TO USING OFFSHORE TAX SHELTERS TO AVOID PAYING $300 MILLION ON THE $1.5 BILLION HE REALIZED AFTER SELLING HIS SHARE OF FOX FAMILY WORLDWIDE to Disney. Mr. Saban told Senate investigators: "You have before you a very disappointed person, who feels misled, lied to, cheated."

MS PRITZKER SEES NO CONTRADICTION, MUCH LESS IRONY, IN THE NEED TO PAY TAXES AND THE DESIRE TO AVOID TAXES. In fact, she readily justifies the practice of demanding more taxes and then getting out of Dodge with this creaky riposte to Bloomberg: "Our family has done more than just good tax planning. What we're good at is building businesses, creating jobs and supporting

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/time_for_the_rich_to_shut_up_o.html

These people remind me of the ‘cowardly lion’ in the Wizard of Oz. He was brave except when he wasn’t. Perhaps the Greek word “hypocrisys” best describes what these people are doing.



IBD Poll: Public Favors Limiting Collective Bargaining

BY 45%-42%, VOTERS BACK REPUBLICAN EFFORTS TO BALANCE STATE BUDGETS BY LIMITING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FOR GOVERNMENT UNIONS, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. That stance is backed by Republicans, 80%-8%, and by independents, 46%-36%. Even 14% of Democrats say limit collective bargaining.

THAT’S A SWITCH FROM LAST MONTH WHEN AN IBD/TIPP POLL ASKED WHETHER VOTERS FAVORED WISCONSIN GOV. SCOTT WALKER OR THE STATE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS in that state’s showdown over bargaining rights. That poll found the public supported the unions, 49%-43%. Democrats backed the unions, 83%-11%, while independents backed them, 47%-42%. Republicans backed Walker, 82%-11%.

THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE INDEPENDENTS’ REACTION, SUGGESTING THAT SOME HAVE RETHOUGHT THEIR EARLIER BACKING OF THE UNIONS. Perhaps the budget fight in Congress swayed some to the argument that deficits need to be reined in. Or maybe the independents are just fickle. Either way, the public does seem to be open to budget cutting arguments.

IN TODAY’S IBD WE REPORT THAT THE MOST RECENT POLLING SHOWS THE WHITE HOUSE LOSING GROUND WITH MODERATES SINCE LAST FALL’S ELECTION. A major part of that decline is anxiety about the federal debt and the administration’s sluggish response to the issue.

THE POLL FOUND THAT, BY 47%-26%, VOTERS GAVE OBAMA FAILING GRADES FOR HIS HANDLING OF THE BUDGET. That suggests that liberal groups should rethink their knee-jerk opposition to budget cuts: It is putting them out of step with the broader public.

http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/2576-ibd-poll-public-favors-limiting-collective-bargaining

It’s still way early to interpret this for the coming 2012 elections, but it isn’t good news for the Democrats.

Leadership and other failures

10 Things Libya tells us about Barack Obama

….Be all that as it may, however, IF SUCCESS IS ACHIEVED THEN THIS WILL BE AS MUCH DESPITE AS BECAUSE OF OBAMA’S POLICIES. The past few weeks have betrayed a number of startling truths about the way Obama views the world. Here are 10 of them:

1. OBAMA PREFERS TO FOLLOW EUROPEANS rather than lead them.

2. Obama’s failure to consult Congress further illustrates that much of HIS CAMPAIGN RHETORIC ABOUT PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH’S FOREIGN POLICY WAS BOGUS (other evidence includes the increase in drone strikes and the maintenance of Guantanamo and the accompanying military tribunal structure).

3. OBAMA WILL GO TO WAR EVEN WHEN THERE’S NO VITAL AMERICAN INTEREST. Robert Gates, the Pentagon chief, let the cat out of the bag today….

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100081483/barack-obamas-libya-policy-dither-delay-distaste-and-regret/


Number 3 should not surprise anyone. The left prefers to go to war when there is no vital American interest since that shows or motives are pure.



Canada’s government falls

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER'S GOVERNMENT RECEIVED A VOTE OF "NO CONFIDENCE" FROM ALL 156 MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION MEANING THAT PARLIAMENT WILL NOW BE DISSOLVED AND NEW ELECTIONS SCHEDULED:

It was also a motion that declared the government to be in contempt of Parliament for its refusal to share information that opposition members said they needed to properly assess legislation put before them. …

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/canadian_government_falls.html



Star Parker: Why liberals hate Clarence Thomas and Sarah Palin

In the days when slavery was legal in this country, all slaves did not willingly resign to the grim fate cast upon them.

The human spirit longs to be free. IN SOME INDIVIDUALS, THAT LONGING BEATS SO STRONG IN THEIR BREASTS THAT THEY WILL TAKE LARGE PERSONAL RISKS, AGAINST GREAT ODDS, TO REBEL AGAINST TYRANNY that has transformed their lives into a tool for someone else's will and whim.

SLAVES WHO HAD THE TEMERITY TO RUN AWAY FROM THEIR PLANTATION "HOME" PAID DEARLY IF THEY WERE CAUGHT AND RETURNED. Measures were taken to make them an example to others who might harbor similar thoughts about freedom.

Among those measures were brutal public beatings of rebels to which other slaves were forced to bear witness and digest with great clarity the price of rebelliousness.

SUCH IS THE FATE TODAY OF THOSE UPPITY SOULS WHO CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE THE AUTHORITY AND LEGITIMACY OF OUR INEXORABLY GROWING GOVERNMENT PLANTATION.

Those with interests for the care and feeding of this plantation cannot physically punish these rebels with the whip.

Their whip is the mainstream media and the means of punishment of this virtual whip is not beating of a physical body but assassination of character.

This perspective helps US UNDERSTAND THE ONGOING LIBERAL OBSESSION WITH DESTROYING SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS AND FORMER ALASKA GOV. SARAH PALIN.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/03/star-parker-why-liberals-hate-clarence-thomas-and-sarah-palin#ixzz1Hnt3jy8p

Heretics are worse than nonbelievers in most religions. Hence a woman or a black man who is a conservative is the worst kind of heretic.



A Liberal dilemma

Here in the Tar Heel state, the Republicans have taken over the House and the LIBERALS ARE FREAKING OUT. Thank goodness they don’t have guns. Otherwise, they’d be shooting up the campus and causing irreparable harm by injecting lead into the public water supply. One university chancellor was so freaked out she said this about the proposed Republican budgets cuts: “IF THE REPUBLICANS GET THEIR WAY WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO RAISE TUITION BY $2000. THAT WILL MEAN THAT MOST OF THE EXPENSE OF HIGHER EDUCATION WILL HAVE TO BE PAID BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE USING IT - AS OPPOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.”

That’s a frightening prospect for a liberal, now isn’t it? Just imagine a society where people have to pay for the goods and services they use instead of having “society” foot the bill.

http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2011/03/28/resentment_studies/page/full/

Sometimes the liberals slip up and actually say what they mean.


Jihadis who fought U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan now enjoy American support in Libya

EVIDENCE IS EMERGING THAT UNITED STATES FORCES ARE WAGING WAR IN LIBYA ON BEHALF OF REBELS WHOSE RANKS INCLUDE JIHADIS WHO FOUGHT AGAINST THE U.S. IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ.

Britain's Daily Telegraph reports that Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, a leader of U.S.-supported rebel forces in the fighting around Adjabiya, went to Afghanistan in 2002 to fight against the "foreign invasion" -- that is, U.S. troops who invaded Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11 attacks. The Telegraph says al-Hasidi told an Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, that he was captured in 2002 in Peshawar, Pakistan. "He was later handed over to the U.S., and then held in Libya before being released in 2008," the Telegraph reports. Al-Hasidi also told the Italian paper he recruited about 25 Libyan men to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq.

AL-HASIDI'S STORY IS CONSISTENT WITH EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN A 2007 REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER AT THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY IN WEST POINT…..

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/jihadis-who-fought-us-iraq-afghanistan-now-enjoy-american-support#ixzz1Hp2u4VGR


This is one of those scary things that seems to happen when the Democrats are in control of the Presidency.



Arab Spring like 1989? Or like 1848?

Yet since the start of the so-called Arab Spring, a chorus of historians and commentators has been arguing that the most fitting historical analogy to what’s happening in the region right now may be significantly less giddy-making. For them, the period we should be thinking about is not 1989, but rather 1848, when a cascade of revolutions engulfed Europe only to be extinguished by forces of the old order.

While the 1848 analogy is a long way from perfect, the past several weeks have made it abundantly clear that the situation at hand cannot be seen as a triumphant repeat of 1989. With protests being violently put down across the region, and the uprising in Libya devolving first into civil war and then a full-on international conflict, one wonders whether 1848, with its legacy of violence, bloodshed, and ultimate failure at the hands of tenacious counterrevolutionaries, will turn out to be the best road map we have….

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/03/27/is_this_1848/


I’ve been pretty well convinced about this from the start. Most revolutions don’t work out well.


Why Brit-style riots could spread to US

They were cleaning up the mess in London yesterday -- replacing the windows at the Ritz, fixing the wooden façade at Fortnum & Mason and attending to a vandalized Trafalgar Square in the wake of Saturday's protests -- and riots -- by trade unionists and anarchists.

THINK IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE? THINK AGAIN.

The British press reports that up to half a million people took part in the demonstrations, 200 were arrested and MORE THAN 160 INJURED -- INCLUDING 84 POLICE OFFICERS, 11 OF WHOM HAD TO BE HOSPITALIZED.

Why? Because Prime Minister David Cameron announced a $130 billion cut in public spending AND THIS IS HOW THE INFANTILE LEFT REACTS WHEN ITS I'VE-GOT-MINE-JACK GRAVY TRAIN IS THREATENED.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/barbarians_within_Hgv74LXgQnxXQ3MEkJXMIO#ixzz1Ht3k5ZPy

Wisconsin has been a sorry story of just how entitled the left feels and what they will do to keep the gravy flowing on their gravy train.



Hide the Decline: What actually happened

http://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/video-berkeley-professor-richard-muller-explains-trick-to-hide-the-decline-in-climategate-scandal/


An interesting and devastating look at what was revealed by Climategate. But then again, would scientists ever lie to us?

Democrats and disaster

The State of Liberalism today

….“PUBLIC SECTOR LIBERALISM" represents the logical terminus for a movement that began in an effort to redraw the boundaries of government action in order to bring industrial capitalism to heel and grew in tandem with the expansion of government….

….The conflict today between democrats and republicans increasingly puts PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS AND BENEFICIARIES OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS AGAINST THE MIDDLE-CLASS TAXPAYER AND BUSINESS INTERESTS LARGE AND SMALL…

….How this standoff is resolved between popular conservatism and public sector liberalism is a legitimate subject for debate and speculation. It is obvious, however, that LIBERALISM CAN ONLY PROSPER IF IT CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD COALITIONS THROUGH PUBLIC SPENDING, PUBLIC BORROWING, AND PUBLICLY GUARANTEED CREDIT. These are the resources that underwrite their institutional advantages. Should those resources dry up, as they are now doing as a consequence of the long recession, LIBERALISM WILL UNWIND AS A POLITICAL FORCE AS PUBLIC PROGRAMS ARE CUT, PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ARE LET GO, AND RETIREMENT ARRANGEMENTS WITH PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS ARE RENEGOTIATED. In some public sector states, such outcomes now appear inevitable. Conservatives are in a position to hasten this process along by refusing to approve the spending, borrowing, and federal bailouts that will be required to keep public sector liberalism afloat, though at the price of being blamed for the pain and suffering associated with its collapse. But this is undoubtedly a price worth paying to guide the nation through an adjustment that will otherwise take place later and under circumstances far less to anyone's liking

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/21/is-liberalism-dead/1


An excellent article which gives you a lot of insight into the stakes at play in Wisconsin and other states in the Union. Liberals are fighting for their lives. The recession combined with drying up of money in government coffers thereby neutering the left’s ability to buy support is the biggest challenge liberalism has faced in the past 100 years.

Rubicon: A river in Wisconsin

The magnificent turmoil now gripping statehouses in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and soon others marks an epic political moment. The nation faces a fiscal crisis of historic proportions and, remarkably, our muddled, gridlocked, allegedly broken politics have yielded singular clarity.

At the federal level, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BUDGET MAKES CLEAR THAT DEMOCRATS ARE DETERMINED TO DO NOTHING ABOUT THE DEBT CRISIS, while House Republicans have announced that beyond their proposed cuts in discretionary spending, their April budget will actually propose real entitlement reform. Simultaneously, in Wisconsin and other states, Republican governors are taking on unsustainable, fiscally ruinous pension and health-care obligations, WHILE DEMOCRATS ARE FULL-THROATED IN SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC-EMPLOYEE UNIONS CRYING, "HELL, NO."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/24/AR2011022406520.html

The lines are drawn.  Democratic lawmakers are fleeing their state rather than accept reality.  In 2008 they told us that elections have consequences.  Now they are in denial of that fact.

New Study: Developing Alaska’s OCS

A new study says DRILLING ON ALASKA’S OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF (OCS) COULD MAKE ALASKA THE EIGHTH LARGEST OIL RESOURCE PROVINCE IN THE WORLD -- ahead of Nigeria, Libya, Russia and Norway.


The report -- by the consulting firm Northern Economics and the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research -- says that developing Alaska’s OCS could produce almost 10 BILLION BARRELS OF OIL AND 15 TRILLION CUBIC FEET OF NATURAL GAS, create around 55,000 NEW JOBS and produce $145 billion in new payroll nationally, generating a total of $193 billion in government revenue through the year 2057.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/new-study-shows-offshore-drilling-alaska


Too bad that liberals don’t want us to drill, produce the energy and the jobs.



Where has all the leadership gone?

…But after telling Tea Party Americans that HE WAS GOING TO "CALL THEIR BLUFF" AND PROPOSE "DIFFICULT CHOICES" to get our runaway deficits under control, what did the president offer in terms of a budget? HE PUT FORTH A PLAN THAT WOULD SEE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BORROW MORE MONEY IN HIS FOUR YEARS THAN UNDER THE PREVIOUS 43 PRESIDENTS COMBINED. And what tough choices did he recommend to rectify the massive unfunded liabilities that are preparing to devour our economy? None.


The president's budget is such a disgrace that EVEN EVAN THOMAS, THE NEWSWEEK WRITER WHO ONCE COMPARED OBAMA TO GOD, CALLED IT A "PROFILE IN COWARDICE." Obama has called for a scalpel to be taken to federal spending when a fleet of jackhammers and buzz saws are in order. Knowing the calamity that awaits us, HE PREFERS TO MORTGAGE OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE IN ORDER TO AVOID THE NECESSARY CUTS THAT MIGHT JEOPARDIZE HIS OWN RE-ELECTION BID. That's not hope. That's not change. That's not leadership.


But all is not lost. Despite the miserable failure in the Oval Office, THERE ARE LEADERS AMONG US. THEY ARE EMERGING IN MIDWESTERN STATES LIKE WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN AND OHIO. Indeed, while most political analysts were focusing on the historic turnover in the U.S. Congress, the most significant impact of the 2010 midterm elections is proving to be what happened in statehouses and governor mansions around the country. There, the people handed the machinery of government over to the Republican Party with one demand: STOP TELLING US WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR SIMPLY TO GET ELECTED, AND START TELLING US WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SAVE OUR REPUBLIC.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/leaders_among_us.html