In what I expect to be series of legacy posts, here is my first.
The unspoken truth of the current war in Gaza is that the reason the Arab League is not coming to the rescue of Hamas is due to the Bush Administration's work over the last 8 years.
Ahmawackajob via RedState
--------------
“Aren’t these oppressed Palestinians Arabs?” asked Ahmadinejad in a televised speech. “So when should the capacity of the Arab League be used? The Arab League should act quickly.”
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Blago, where were you 3 months ago?
Add this at the WaPo to Charlie Rangle - tax evader, Chris Dodd - sweet-heart loan taker, just to name a couple of the latest Dems. to be exposed as crooks and frauds. How would the world be different if this had come out in October...
------------
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint former state attorney general Roland Burris to the Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama further complicates an already difficult situation for state and national Democrats.
------------
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint former state attorney general Roland Burris to the Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama further complicates an already difficult situation for state and national Democrats.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Confluence of Despair
What a depressing set of articles. All compliments of Instapundit. I can't stress how good Instapundit is at identifying good links. Make this site required reading multiple times a day.
First, Mark Steyn eulogizes the auto industry and parleys that into a eulogy for the nation. Depressing.
-----------
See the USA from your Chevrolet: An hereditary legislature, a media fawning its way into bankruptcy, its iconic coastal states driving out innovators and entrepreneurs, the arrival of the new Messiah heralded only by the leaden dirge of “We Three Kings Of Ol’ Detroit Are/Seeking checks we traverse afar”, and Route 66 looking ever more like a one-way dead-end street to Bailoutistan.
-----------
Next comes Roger Kimball at PajamasMedia asking why we are not in Washington right now with torches and pitchforks.
-----------
What is so depressing about such episodes is the fact that they dramatize the decadence of our democracy. An institution becomes decadent when it maintains its outward scaffolding but loses its inner vitality. The inner pulse of a modern democracy lies in citizen involvement and public accountability. Where have those ancient desiderata gone? A few days ago, I asked why people weren’t up in arms about the 137 new taxes and fees with which the governor of New York was proposing to saddle his subjects (can they still be called citizens?). Glenn Reynolds speculated that these days people
only riot over select ethnic grievances; matters of governance, civil rights, and taxes — once the main reason to riot and engage in “out of doors political activity” — are now left to shouting pundits on TV.
-----------
And in case you wanted to feel a little worst, here's a post about the possibilities of the financial crisis. I may be hunting to feed my family. Will the power grid stay up? God help us.
-----------
The defining characteristic of this downturn is the unexpected breaking of links in the economic machinery. Home prices crash far beyond anything seen since the 1903’s. Major finanical institutions crash. Astonishing floods of government money poured onto the fire. Perhaps this slowed the crash, perhaps it had no effect. Every step of the way brought new surprises.
First, Mark Steyn eulogizes the auto industry and parleys that into a eulogy for the nation. Depressing.
-----------
See the USA from your Chevrolet: An hereditary legislature, a media fawning its way into bankruptcy, its iconic coastal states driving out innovators and entrepreneurs, the arrival of the new Messiah heralded only by the leaden dirge of “We Three Kings Of Ol’ Detroit Are/Seeking checks we traverse afar”, and Route 66 looking ever more like a one-way dead-end street to Bailoutistan.
-----------
Next comes Roger Kimball at PajamasMedia asking why we are not in Washington right now with torches and pitchforks.
-----------
What is so depressing about such episodes is the fact that they dramatize the decadence of our democracy. An institution becomes decadent when it maintains its outward scaffolding but loses its inner vitality. The inner pulse of a modern democracy lies in citizen involvement and public accountability. Where have those ancient desiderata gone? A few days ago, I asked why people weren’t up in arms about the 137 new taxes and fees with which the governor of New York was proposing to saddle his subjects (can they still be called citizens?). Glenn Reynolds speculated that these days people
only riot over select ethnic grievances; matters of governance, civil rights, and taxes — once the main reason to riot and engage in “out of doors political activity” — are now left to shouting pundits on TV.
-----------
And in case you wanted to feel a little worst, here's a post about the possibilities of the financial crisis. I may be hunting to feed my family. Will the power grid stay up? God help us.
-----------
The defining characteristic of this downturn is the unexpected breaking of links in the economic machinery. Home prices crash far beyond anything seen since the 1903’s. Major finanical institutions crash. Astonishing floods of government money poured onto the fire. Perhaps this slowed the crash, perhaps it had no effect. Every step of the way brought new surprises.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
"Ehtics Czar"
Of coarse the answer is "hypocrisy" (VDH)
--------------------
I don't understand why in the world — for all her obvious academic and business achievements and in all due respect — Obama associate Valerie Jarrett (or Caroline Kennedy) — never elected to a single office — would be qualified to be a U.S. senator by a fiat appointment, especially in a political climate where Sarah Palin (16 years in local and state politics, and several elections) was deemed by the media too inexperienced for high elected office.
And I don't understand why Charles Rangel mired in serial ethics and legal messes, and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd at ground zero of the Fannie-Freddie meltdown, haven't stepped down from their committee chairmanships, especially given the nexus between the money they received and the entities they were supposed to oversee.
...
In short, we need an ethics czar, pronto!
--------------------
I don't understand why in the world — for all her obvious academic and business achievements and in all due respect — Obama associate Valerie Jarrett (or Caroline Kennedy) — never elected to a single office — would be qualified to be a U.S. senator by a fiat appointment, especially in a political climate where Sarah Palin (16 years in local and state politics, and several elections) was deemed by the media too inexperienced for high elected office.
And I don't understand why Charles Rangel mired in serial ethics and legal messes, and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd at ground zero of the Fannie-Freddie meltdown, haven't stepped down from their committee chairmanships, especially given the nexus between the money they received and the entities they were supposed to oversee.
...
In short, we need an ethics czar, pronto!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Ya don't say...
LA Times:
------------
Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama's amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support.
Except, it turns out, that's not really true.
In fact, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.
------------
Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama's amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support.
Except, it turns out, that's not really true.
In fact, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
I'm all for immigration
Done the right way. Congratulation, newest fellow patriots.
----------------
Robert Looney... administers the oath of naturalization to 77 servicemembers on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2008. (image at link)
----------------
Robert Looney... administers the oath of naturalization to 77 servicemembers on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2008. (image at link)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Data: US Still Center-Right After 2008 Election
But can we keep it that way? Tony Blankley at WaPo:
-----------
... It is revealing that the exit polling disclosed that the public self-identified itself as 44 percent moderate, 34 percent conservative, 22 percent liberal, which was statistically identical (45-34-21) to the numbers after Bush's 2004 victory. ...
...Consider that in 1980, when Ronald Reagan won his first presidential election, the public was self-identified as 46 percent moderate, 28 percent conservative and17 percent liberal. But by the 1984 Reagan re-election the public had shifted to 42 percent moderate, 33 percent conservative and 16 percent liberal - a statistically significant shift to the right. In those four years Mr. Reagan had convinced 5 percent of the electorate to move largely from moderate to conservative. And that 5 percent have stayed conservative for 24 years, right through the 2008 election. It is that 5 percent that has made America a center-right country, rather than a centrist country - allowing a fairly conservative Republican Party to win both congressional and presidential elections most of the time.
-----------
... It is revealing that the exit polling disclosed that the public self-identified itself as 44 percent moderate, 34 percent conservative, 22 percent liberal, which was statistically identical (45-34-21) to the numbers after Bush's 2004 victory. ...
...Consider that in 1980, when Ronald Reagan won his first presidential election, the public was self-identified as 46 percent moderate, 28 percent conservative and17 percent liberal. But by the 1984 Reagan re-election the public had shifted to 42 percent moderate, 33 percent conservative and 16 percent liberal - a statistically significant shift to the right. In those four years Mr. Reagan had convinced 5 percent of the electorate to move largely from moderate to conservative. And that 5 percent have stayed conservative for 24 years, right through the 2008 election. It is that 5 percent that has made America a center-right country, rather than a centrist country - allowing a fairly conservative Republican Party to win both congressional and presidential elections most of the time.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Death by a thousand cuts
(I try to reserve this statement only for emergencies.)
This is a MUST READ.
Bush has walked us down this isle and McCain tried to continue it. "Compromise" is not a noble cause. "Healing the nation" is not synonymous with defending the Constitution. (Mark Steyn)
------------
“The greatest dangers to liberty,” wrote Justice Brandeis, “lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”
Now who does that remind you of?
Ha! Trick question! Never mind Obama, it's John McCain.
This is a MUST READ.
Bush has walked us down this isle and McCain tried to continue it. "Compromise" is not a noble cause. "Healing the nation" is not synonymous with defending the Constitution. (Mark Steyn)
------------
“The greatest dangers to liberty,” wrote Justice Brandeis, “lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”
Now who does that remind you of?
Ha! Trick question! Never mind Obama, it's John McCain.
Rookie Miskates?
You know how you like an actor, then you see him on the Tonight show and your image is shaken? I'm afraid many people are going to get that feeling about President-elect Obama soon. Powerline
----------------
The only news Barack Obama made in his first post-election press conference was when, in a classless moment, he falsely ridiculed Nancy Reagan for holding "seances" in the White House. He was then compelled to call her to apologize for what he termed his "careless remark."
It appears that Obama may have been careless again yesterday, with international consequences. He spoke with the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, on the telephone. Afterward, Kaczynski wrote that Obama "said that the missile-defense project would continue." The Obama camp then released a statement to the effect that Obama had said no such thing: "President Kaczynski raised missile defense but President-elect Obama made no commitment on it."
It's possible that President Kaczynski deliberately misquoted Obama, but that seems highly unlikely. It's much more probable that Obama indulged in his usual ambiguity, failed to choose his words carefully, and thereby conveyed a misleading impression.
Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. ...
----------------
The only news Barack Obama made in his first post-election press conference was when, in a classless moment, he falsely ridiculed Nancy Reagan for holding "seances" in the White House. He was then compelled to call her to apologize for what he termed his "careless remark."
It appears that Obama may have been careless again yesterday, with international consequences. He spoke with the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, on the telephone. Afterward, Kaczynski wrote that Obama "said that the missile-defense project would continue." The Obama camp then released a statement to the effect that Obama had said no such thing: "President Kaczynski raised missile defense but President-elect Obama made no commitment on it."
It's possible that President Kaczynski deliberately misquoted Obama, but that seems highly unlikely. It's much more probable that Obama indulged in his usual ambiguity, failed to choose his words carefully, and thereby conveyed a misleading impression.
Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. ...
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Enemy #1
From Pajamas Media:
---------------
When the object is to win, it would seem that the most salient key to victory lies in properly gauging the true character of one’s opponent. And in this regard, it seems to me that our beloved Senator McCain — outstanding war hero and statesman that he is — failed to comprehend the reality on the ground regarding Barack Obama and that army of trench fighters backing his candidacy.
---------------
The irony is that Obama and the democrats will bend over backwards to negotiate, compromise and appease the enemies of the United States. But when if comes to Republicans, the Democrats are more than willing to fight rather than compromise.
---------------
When the object is to win, it would seem that the most salient key to victory lies in properly gauging the true character of one’s opponent. And in this regard, it seems to me that our beloved Senator McCain — outstanding war hero and statesman that he is — failed to comprehend the reality on the ground regarding Barack Obama and that army of trench fighters backing his candidacy.
---------------
The irony is that Obama and the democrats will bend over backwards to negotiate, compromise and appease the enemies of the United States. But when if comes to Republicans, the Democrats are more than willing to fight rather than compromise.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
