Saturday, October 11, 2008

Illegal residents but responsible homeowners - Los Angeles Times

Illegal residents but responsible homeowners - Los Angeles Times: "More than 12,000 home loans were issued in recent years through a special program that relies on government-issued taxpayer identification numbers instead of Social Security numbers, according to the association.

The identification numbers, known as ITINs, were designed for foreign-born residents living legally in the U.S. but are widely acknowledged to be used primarily by illegal immigrants.

The real estate association does not keep statistics on foreclosure rates. But it has reported that the delinquency rates for taxpayer identification loans were 1.15% or lower in 2006, compared with about 3.5% for other home loans.

Although illegal immigrants are also feeling the effects of the downturn in the U.S. economy, Sandos and others cite one major factor for the success of taxpayer identification loans: stricter requirements, including larger down payments, pre-purchase counseling and fixed mortgage rates."

---------
So all the requirements that were waived for low income Americans were kept in place for illegal immigrants, and the result is the former are more likely to default than the latter. Dog bites man. Maybe the National Homeownership Initiative wasn't such a good idea?

FOXNews.com - Trillions Disappear in Stock Market, but Where Did Money Go? - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

FOXNews.com - Trillions Disappear in Stock Market, but Where Did Money Go? -: "If you're looking to track down your missing money — figure out who has it now, maybe ask to have it back — you might be disappointed to learn that is was never really money in the first place.

Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale, puts it bluntly: The notion that you lose a pile of money whenever the stock market tanks is a 'fallacy.' He says the price of a stock has never been the same thing as money — it's simply the 'best guess' of what the stock is worth."

---------------------
Oh. It was just potential money. I feel much better now.

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times: 1999: "Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.

Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.

Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.

In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent."

Monday, September 22, 2008

Taking off the gloves

McCain campaign savages New York Times: "McCain senior strategist Steve Schmidt rebuked journalists he said had failed in their duty to submit Obama to intense scrutiny and accused news organizations of hounding McCain's running mate Sarah Palin.

'Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization,' said Schmidt on a conference call with reporters.

'It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day attacks the McCain campaign, attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, and excuses Senator Obama.

'This is an organization that is completely, totally, 150 percent in the tank for the Democratic candidate, which is their prerogative to be, but let's not be dishonest and call it something other than what it is.'

'It is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic integrity and tradition to advocate for the defeat of one candidate -- in this case, John McCain.'"

--------------------
Now that is some strong stuff. And it isn't just the NYT. Listen to Saturday Night Live. Take a look at the cover of the Atlantic Monthly, read about the photographer who took that photo of McCain, and see what she did with the rest of the pictures.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

...and so were the Rosenbergs

For First Time, Figure in Rosenberg Case Admits Spying for Soviets - NYTimes.com: "In 1951, Morton Sobell was tried and convicted with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on espionage charges. He served more than 18 years in Alcatraz and other federal prisons, traveled to Cuba and Vietnam after his release in 1969 and became an advocate for progressive causes. Through it all, he maintained his innocence. But on Thursday, Mr. Sobell, 91, dramatically reversed himself, shedding new light on a case that still fans smoldering political passions. In an interview, he admitted for the first time that he had been a Soviet spy."
-----------
To this day many on the left insist that the Rosenbergs were innocent. This is nonsense. There is no way to review the facts and come away believing that they were not Soviet spies who fed nuclear secrets to our enemies. Now, what will the left have to say about Sobell's recent decision to finally, at long last, tell something that resembles the truth?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

What Did Obama Do As A Community Organizer? by Byron York on National Review Online

What Did Obama Do As A Community Organizer? by Byron York on National Review Online: "When he left for law school, Obama wondered what he had accomplished as an organizer. He certainly had some achievements, but he did not — perhaps could not — concede that there might be something wrong with his approach to Chicago’s problems. Instead of questioning his own premises, he concluded that he simply needed more power to get the job done. So he made plans to run for political office. And in each successive office, he has concluded that he did not have enough power to get the job done, so now he is running for the most powerful office in the land.

And what if he gets it? He’ll be the biggest, strongest organizer in the world. He’ll dazzle the country with his message of hope and possibility. But we shouldn’t expect much to actually get done."

---------
This is a detailed and surprisingly sympathetic account of what Obama did in his three years here in Chicago as a community organizer. The conclusion is that he is undoubtedly good at organizing and motivating people to get together, but entirely conventional and unimaginative in accomplishing anything significant with that organization. Worth pondering.

Hanging with Biden too much?


Obama Repeatedly Quotes Cartoonist While on Campaign Trail - America’s Election HQ: "On Tuesday, for the third time in four days, Obama borrowed a lengthy bubble quote from Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles. He did not acknowledge the origin of the quote the first time he used it and credited the cartoon only after the Post contacted the Obama campaign to ask about the first use."
-----------------
Obama is good enough with words that he sure doesn't need to plagiarize, but maybe he is hanging with Biden. Biden got caught stealing an entire family history from British PM Neil Kinnock. He combined plagiarism and lying. Now here is The One getting his big speech lines from Tom Toles. Add this to the 8th grade pig-with-lipstick gaffe and his obvious anger at the way the polls are going and it seems he is in danger of the wheels falling off. Too early to say, and things could swing the other way, but McCain and Palin look strong and happy and Obama looks freaked out and seriously ticked off, while Biden is...Biden. As Marc Steyn says, after the last week he may be back to smoking two packs a day by now.

Want to know who Obama is?

The Spectator: Revolution you can believe in

Read this and you can understand everything he has said and done, throughout his entire career.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love

Psycho hammers subway passenger | Philadelphia Daily News | 09/09/2008: "For five long minutes, SEPTA surveillance cameras captured the deranged attacker - who was still on the loose late last night- digging his hammer into the man's head and neck.

Through it all, disgusted investigators said, at least 10 passengers stood by and did nothing as the random attack moved from the train to the platform, when the hammer-wielding maniac tried to push his victim down onto the train tracks.

When the beating was finished and the suspect fled with the little boy, the victim staggered back onto the train, bloodied, confused and alone, said Detective Kenneth Roach, of Central Detectives.

And even then, no one tried to help him."

-----------------
I guess the cops showed up eventually. The bystanders did nothing. Any more questions about why people need the right to carry firearms?

Monday, September 8, 2008

Did U of I protect Obama from disclosure of Ayers documents?

Global Labor and Politics: Annenberg-Gate: University Tipped Off Ayers/Obama Ally on Records Release: "The President of the University of Illinois, B. Joseph White, and the University Counsel of the University of Illinois, Thomas Bearrows, contacted Kenneth C. Rolling, the former Executive Director of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) and a professional colleague of Barack Obama for many years, prior to the release of CAC records to the public late last month and offered Rolling an opportunity to recommend to the University which records of the CAC held at the University's Chicago campus (UIC) should be restricted from public access.

In response to Rollings' detailed request to prevent public access to certain CAC records Bearrows replied 'as promised, we will carefully consider the concerns that you identify...'

The request is described in documents released by the University last week pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by a third year law student in Chicago. The law student who initiated the FOIA request provided Global Labor with the documents."

--------------
I don't know what, if anything, was redacted. Neither does anybody else outside of the University administration and Obama's cronies. This is a most unfortunate situation.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Olbermann + Matthews = 0

MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat - NYTimes.com: "After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage. The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left."
-----------------
Perceived shift? PERCEIVED?

Friday, September 5, 2008

Boo hoo. Where's my tiny violin?


Community Organizers 'Appalled' by Their Portrayal - September 5, 2008 - The New York Sun: "The comment made by Mrs. Palin, the presumptive vice presidential nominee, that 'a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities,' prompted one of the nation's largest community organizers, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, to issue a statement saying it was 'extremely disappointed' by the 'condescending attacks.'

The tussle started with Governor Pataki asking, 'What in God's name is a community organizer? I don't even know if that's a job.' Mayor Giuliani followed with a similar comment on Fox News: 'Exactly what does a community organizer do?'"

-------------------
Community organizers read Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and devote their time and energy to making poor people even unhappier than they are already. Then they direct their pissed-off victims like missiles at their local public officials. They disrupt and take over public hearings, organize rent strikes, commit various forms of election fraud (paying people to register and vote, for example), and generally try to wreak havoc with local politics and businesses. Then they gather together, sitting on the floor in their apartments with Che posters on the walls, and smoke pot while they fantasize about a world without capitalism and patriarchy. They are supremely self-righteous about all this because they are taking on The Man, you see.

Now these folks who specialize in making everybody around them miserable are upset at having a little fun poked at them. Boo hoo. I'm playing my tiny little violin.

Not to stereotype them, or anything.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Joe Biden: talking out of both sides of his mouth on the same day

Joe Biden: no plans to prosecute Bush | Countdown to Crawford | Los Angeles Times: "The story first broke in London's Telegraph newspaper, under the headline 'Barack Obama would consider charging Bush administration over Guantanamo.' The article described a campaign event in Deerfield, Fla., in which, according to the Telegraph, vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said:

'If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued, not out of vengeance, not out of retribution, out of the need to preserve the notion that no one, no attorney general, no president -- no one is above the law.'

Asked about the comment this morning on Fox News, Biden said it is Congress -- not a potential Obama administration -- that is investigating the White House.

And he denied today that an Obama administration would launch criminal investigations against the 43rd president of the United States.

'The Obama-Biden administration is not going to start off saying, 'God, let's go take a lot at what [happened].' The American people want to know what we're going to do, not what happened.'"

----------------
Really, Biden has been such a national joke for so many years that nobody with an ounce of common sense would pick him for VP. If you read both statements, it is beyond dispute that he first said the Obama/Biden administration would consider prosecuting (an executive branch function) Bush administration officials. Then later in the same day, he said they wouldn't. Incredible. If McCain and Palin did this it would be front page news for a week. But with the Democrats, it is like this never happened.

And this poll was taken before her speech...

Poll: 51 percent say reporters are trying to hurt Palin - Yahoo! News: "Over half of U.S. voters (51%) think reporters are trying to hurt Sarah Palin with their news coverage, and 24% say those stories make them more likely to vote for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in November. Thirty-nine percent (39%) also believe the GOP vice presidential nominee has better experience to be president of the United States than Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama."
----------------
I don't know who is going to win this election in November, but I know who has already lost big: the press. They have lost circulation and viewers, stock value, and credibility. It is doubtful that they will ever get any of that back. The attacks on Palin and her daughter are the lowest, meanest and most nakedly partisan character assassination I have seen.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Good point

Bloomberg.com: News: "McCain's campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, yesterday lashed out at what he deemed ``offensive'' and ``demeaning'' coverage and questions from reporters after McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, confirmed her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

``It used to be that a lot of those smears and the crap on the Internet stayed out of the newsrooms of serious journalists,'' Schmidt said at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota."

---------
I think he's right. There seems to be no firewall between psycho bloggers (present company excepted) and the mainstream press...where Republican candidates are concerned, at least.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Is it still an insult if it's true?


CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com: "(CNN) – If Sen. Joe Biden was hurt that Republican operative Karl Rove called him a “big blowhard doofus” at an event in Minneapolis Monday, he didn’t show it.

On hearing the news, Biden grinned and said “he’s a great American.”

The blog Politicker ME reports that at a Maine delegate breakfast at the Republican National Convention, Rove, the so-called “architect” of the Bush administration, called Biden a “big blowhard doofus.” Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is notorious in Washington for being talkative at Senate hearings."

-------------
Actually, to be completely accurate Rove should have called him a "big grinning blowhard doofus."

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Why McCain chose Palin

John McCain recognizes strength of character when he sees it. He learned more about that then we will ever know while he was a POW. He saw it in Sarah Palin. She can stand up to the savage attack on her character that the Democrats are already launching. On the other side of the fence, Barack Obama is an solipsist and poseur who proved he cannot judge people intelligently when he picked dunce Joe Biden as his VP. Apparently O thinks that Joe complements him. In fact they are similar, being a pair of self-aggrandizing Senator-for-life gasbags who think talk is reality.

I don't know what the electorate will do in November. Count on Obama to have a great GOTV effort that could make the difference. But McCain has energized his base with the Palin pick, and every sleazyball effort by the Obamaniacs to crush her will only galvanize them more, so who knows.

My thought is that about four to six weeks before the election the voters will shift one way or the other, and that will be that.

The 'consensus' on climate change is a catastrophe in itself - Telegraph

The 'consensus' on climate change is a catastrophe in itself - Telegraph: "As the estimated cost of measures proposed by politicians to 'combat global warming' soars ever higher – such as the International Energy Council's $45 trillion – 'fighting climate change' has become the single most expensive item on the world's political agenda.

As Senators Obama and McCain vie with the leaders of the European Union to promise 50, 60, even 80 per cent cuts in 'carbon emissions', it is clear that to realise even half their imaginary targets would necessitate a dramatic change in how we all live, and a drastic reduction in living standards.

All this makes it rather important to know just why our politicians have come to believe that global warming is the most serious challenge confronting mankind, and just how reliable is the evidence for the theory on which their policies are based."

----------------------
Worth reading--especially if you think "the debate is over," like Al Gore.

Biden: sexist blowhard

Political Punch: "'Well there's obvious differences,' Biden said, beginning to ham it up. 'She's good looking,' he said, laughing."
-------------
Biden is already unable to treat Palin as anything other than a babe. The debate between them should be hilarious. While he is patronizing her and being a loutish sexist, all the while thinking he is utterly charming, she will eat his lunch.

Obama/Biden on how to administer a big staff...


Obama vs. his staff - Politico.com Print View: "Just hours after his campaign issued a first statement Friday ripping the addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket, Barack Obama backed away from that statement — or at least its tone — and said that his own campaign had misrepresented him. Obama often speaks of how important his staffers are to his bid and would be to his administration, and he’s praised them for covering for each other’s mistakes. But in the heat of the campaign, he’s publicly called them out for everything from missing an event to misrepresenting his policy positions to using his office to aid a donor. When asked about his campaign’s attack on Palin, attributed to top spokesman Bill Burton, at a Friday afternoon media availability at a Pennsylvania biodiesel plant, Obama referred to a statement he and running mate Joe Biden had since issued that hardly touched on policy issues and called Palin “an admirable person and … a compelling new voice.” Obama disavowed his campaign’s first response, telling journalists that “I think that, uh, you know, campaigns start getting these, uh, hair triggers and, uh, the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments,” he said."
-----------------
I have to admit that it would be entertaining to watch these two professional blowhards try to run the federal executive branch. They are quite a pair. Neither one has ever done anything except talk, and they can't even get that right.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Obama masters art of speaking from both sides of mouth

Obama Campaign Sends Mixed Messages About McCain’s New VP Pick - America’s Election HQ: "Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement calling Palin an abortion-rights opponent and “the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience.”

Soon thereafter, with the plane over the Midwest, a spokeswoman gave reporters on board a much kinder statement from Biden and Obama.

“Her selection is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics,” their statement said. “While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward, Gov. Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign.”"

---------------
If Obama didn't have the press propping him up he would have been out of the race in 2007.

I guess he really can bring back The Dead

FOXNews.com - Grateful Dead Back Together for Obama - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

Friday, August 29, 2008

Answer: There aren't any...

Charles Krauthammer -- And Where Are The Witnesses To His Ability?: "The air of unease at the Democratic Convention this week was not just a result of the Clinton psychodrama. The deeper anxiety was that the party was nominating a man of many gifts but precious few accomplishments — bearing even fewer witnesses."
--------------------
...because he has never done anything except write about himself, make speeches about himself, and run for office.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Obamaniacs should read this

Media Blog on National Review Online: "The experience was surreal, amusing, and chilling. In a matter of hours, a major national campaign had called on its legions to bully a radio show out of airing an interview with a legitimate scholar asking legitimate political questions. Coupled with the Obama campaign's recent attempts to sic the DOJ on the creators of a truthful political advertisement —which also happened to feature Obama's relationship with an unrepentant terrorist— last night's call to action represents an emerging pattern. Any criticism of Obama's unknown past is to be immediately denounced as a 'smear,' and the messenger is to be shut down at all costs."
------------------
This is an account of what happened when Milt Rosenberg had the temerity to put Stanley Kurtz on the air for 2 hours, on WGN. The Obama campaign refused to send a speaker to debate Kurtz. Instead, the campaign sent out an email urging their followers to shut down the broadcast. And many of them tried to do just that. Tactics like these are reminiscent of 1930s Germany.

Michelle Obama, Axelrod, and Jarrett: dumping poor patients

U. of C. shunning poor patients? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Barack Obama: "Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities.

Michelle Obama -- currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital -- helped create the program, which aims to find neighborhood doctors for low-income people who were flooding the emergency room for basic treatment. Hospital officials say such patients hinder their ability to focus on more critically ill patients in need of specialized care, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants.

Obama's top political strategist, David Axelrod, co-owns the firm, ASK Public Strategies, that was hired by the hospital last year to sell the program -- called the Urban Health Initiative -- to the community as a better alternative for poor patients. Obama's wife and Valerie Jarrett, an Obama friend and adviser who chairs the medical center's board, backed the Axelrod firm's hiring, hospital officials said."

-------------------
So this is the hope and change we can believe in? I wonder how deep the New York Times and Chicago Tribune and the networks and CNN will bury this story.

Why the surprise? This is what Obama does.

As nation watches Denver, Obama campaign muscles Chicago station over ex-radical Ayres | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: "In a surprising attempt to stifle broadcast criticism of its candidate, the presidential campaign of freshman Illinois senator Barack Obama is organizing supporters to confront Chicago's WGN radio station for having a critic of the Illinois Democrat on its main evening discussion program."
--------------------
Behind the smile and lofty rhetoric beats the flinty heart of a Chicago machine politician. He ascended to the state senate by knocking all his Democratic opponents off the ballot. He got into the US Senate when his top Democratic challenger and then the Republican nominee were conveniently forced to pull out because his pals at the Chicago Tribune sued to divulge their sealed divorce records and then smeared them all over the front page. Obama ran against a nonentity (right wing lunatic Allen Keyes, who ended up on the ticket as a carpetbagger from Maryland) and won overwhelmingly. Now Obama is seeking criminal prosecution of stations airing the Ayres ad and applying harsh economic pressure to WGN as an example to other stations: run anything that hurts The One and you pay a big price.

This is what we call "The Chicago Way."

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Barack Obama to address supporters from god-like setting :: Philip Sherwell


Barack Obama to address supporters from god-like setting :: Philip Sherwell: "Just wait for the accusations that Barack Obama thinks he's a god. The presidential candidate will deliver the most important speech of his political career this week from what Reuters is describing as an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple."
------------
"Godlike?" What do you mean, LIKE? "THINKS he's a god?" THINKS???

Justices Reject Curbs on Wine Sales


Justices Reject Curbs on Wine Sales: "The Supreme Court gave a boost to commerce between wineries and their far-flung customers yesterday, ruling that states that permit in-state vintners to sell directly to consumers may not deny that right to out-of-state producers."
------------------

Somebody has the global warming scare figured out...


Will Wilkinson / The Fly Bottle » Blog Archive » Ranting Cant: "Climate eschatology really is the ultimate in big lie crisis politics. The far-left has failed so comprehensively to make the case for its vision of society and economy that the only thing left to do is to brazenly and repeatedly assert that the world will literally collapse unless we implement this otherwise indefensible vision."

Monday, August 25, 2008

Drought stricken, Iran buys US wheat for first time in 27 years

Drought stricken, Iran buys US wheat for first time in 27 years: "Wracked by drought, Iran has turned to the United States for wheat for the first time in 27 years, marking a setback for Tehran's search for agricultural self-sufficiency."
----------------
See if you can find this in a major newspaper. If this happened when Clinton was president it would have led the evening news.

But I thought this was worse than the Great Depression

Average Income Rises Above ’00 Level - NYTimes.com: "Americans enjoyed higher average income in 2006 for the first time since 2000, when the last economic expansion ended, the latest tax data show.

Adjusted gross income reported on tax returns in 2006 averaged $58,029. In 2006 dollars that was an increase of $739, or 1.2 percent, from the $57,289 average in 2000, analysis of Internal Revenue Service data showed."

--------------
Somebody better tell the O and Joe Show.

Clinton expected to release delegates Wednesday - Yahoo! News


Clinton expected to release delegates Wednesday - Yahoo! News

Sunday, August 24, 2008

This stinks, and UIC looks bad

Global Labor and Politics: Obama/Ayers Update: Annenberg Mystery Tour Continues: "In sum, the CAC records at UIC were more than likely in the valid possession of UIC when Dr. Kurtz asked to review them. No alarm bell should have been set off and he should have been allowed to review them freely and without hindrance. The University has now increased public uncertainty by refusing to disclose all of the relevant facts that surround this controversy. Until they do so, doubts will remain over whether the CAC collection is complete."
-----------------------
Steve Diamond (law professor and political scientist) presents circumstantial evidence suggesting that things may have unfolded like this: somebody in the UIC library realized that an Obama critic had been given permission to see the records, and contacted somebody outside the library, at which point alarm bells were raised, and then a bogus excuse concocted in order to delay while the records were purged of damaging material.

I do not know what happened. I do know this, though. UIC is being portrayed on a national stage in the worst light imaginable for an academic institution. National Review is a major publication with resources and connections, and they will not let go of this. We are looking at three months of bad press if this isn't dealt with.

There is only one way to redeem UIC's reputation: full disclosure of the entire chain of communication and details of all actions taken from the time Kurtz first inquired to the present. If there was any tampering with the records, that has to be fully disclosed and the responsible parties identified.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

CapeGazette.com - Covering Delaware's Cape Region - Bayshore Homeowners Association

CapeGazette.com - Covering Delaware's Cape Region - Bayshore Homeowners Association: "In an effort to get homeowners to attend an annual meeting, a Long Neck condominium association has threatened to fine homeowners $100 if they don’t attend or at least return a proxy."
-------------
What a brilliant idea. This should certainly fire up the spirit of participatory democracy.

But is everything still there?

University to release Obama records: "WASHINGTON (AP) - The University of Illinois at Chicago said Friday it is releasing records of Barack Obama's service to a nonprofit organization linked to former 1960s radical William Ayers."
----------------
The University and the Machine have had a week in which they could have gone through the records to make sure that when they are made public there is nothing left to embarrass The One. I'm not saying they did that, because I don't know. But this being Chicago, and Ayres being a UIC professor, it wouldn't surprise me.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obama the reformer

Transcript: David Fredoso, author of The Case Against Barack Obama: "DF: Well you know, this is very typical, just like those other things, just like what you’re talking about now, the enormous raise, she [Michelle Obama] got a $200,000 dollar raise right after he was elected to the United States Senate, and he proceeded a year later to earmark a million dollars for her employer [the University of Chicago]. And people can decide for themselves what that looks like. I think it is an appearance of impropriety anyway. But you hear Senator Obama talk a lot about how the problem in Washington is that people with good lobbyists and good connections, and who donate the most money, always end up getting what they want. Well, I would submit that the reason for that is there are so many politicians like Senator Obama, because that’s basically what he’s done throughout his entire career. It’s a really remarkable and audacious claim he makes about hope and change, just considering how he is right up there with all of the worst practices that he criticizes. He’s performing them. He votes for the Bridge To Nowhere, whose purpose was the funnel millions of dollars to contractors who would build it, and to help people whose land values on a worthless island in Alaska with no people on it, so that their land prices would suddenly explode."
------------------
This link goes to the transcript of this two-hour interview. If you don't know how Obama got elected to the state senate, or the US Senate, or his relationships with questionable people, or his evasive legislative practices, or much else because the press refuses to cover it, you can get the general idea from this interview.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Global warming alert!


MaineToday.com | News Update: Brrr! Farmers' Almanac says cold winter ahead: "Households worried about the high cost of keeping warm this winter will draw little comfort from the Farmers' Almanac, which predicts below-average temperatures for most of the U.S.

'Numb's the word,' says the 192-year-old publication, which claims an accuracy rate of 80 to 85 percent for its forecasts that are prepared two years in advance.

The almanac's 2009 edition, which goes on sale Tuesday, says at least two-thirds of the country can expect colder than average temperatures, with only the Far West and Southeast in line for near-normal readings."

------------------
It's no wonder the public has lost interest in the global warming scare. The weather has been cold for years. Last winter was brutal. This summer is cool. The upcoming winter is predicted to be cold. Computer projections and Hollywood movies don't cut much ice (pun intended).

Is UIC protecting Barack Obama?


Global Labor and Politics: "Annenberg-Gate" - It's not the crime, it's the cover up
This is from Steve Diamond, a law professor and political scientist at the University of Santa Clara. It is his take on the bizarre refusal of UIC to permit a researcher to see documents in the library that deal with the relationship between Barack Obama and UIC education professor and former Weatherman/terrorist Bill Ayers. The internet is going nuts over this and UIC looks bad. It looks at this point like UIC may be protecting Obama, who may have been a lot closer to Ayers than he has admitted. The documents deal with something called the Annenberg Challenge, an education initiative that both of them were deeply involved with, it seems. You can read this blog entry and see if you think it is a coverup or not.

Bush administration Iraq withdrawal deal?

News from The Associated Press: "BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi and U.S. negotiators have finished work on a draft security agreement that would see all American troops leave Iraqi cities by June 30 and the rest of the country by the end of 2011, Iraqi officials said Wednesday."
--------------
If this is agreed to the Iraq war issue would shrink in importance, and the 2008 election would presumably become more about domestic issues and, of course, the disturbing increase of tensions between the US and Russia over eastern Europe.

Elaborating on the obvious

Conservative Group Finds Networks Positive on Obama | The Trail | washingtonpost.com: "It's no secret that Barack Obama has gotten awfully good coverage from the media in this campaign, and plenty of it.

Now the conservative Media Research Center says the imbalance is far greater than anyone imagined.

The advocacy group, which lives to complain about liberal bias, has studied the coverage on the network evening newscasts from May 2000 (the first mention of the senator from Illinois) through the end of the Democratic primaries in June. Overall, the group says, 34 percent of the stories about Obama were positive and 5 percent negative. The rest were characterized as neutral."

--------------------
This campaign has been a huge embarrassment to the major media, but they don't seem to care. They have lost credibility, circulation, and money, but they keep on rooting for The One even as the electorate seems to be increasingly skeptical about him.

John Edwards: plumbing new depths of cynicism

EDWARDS' CRUEL WIFE JAB: REPORT - New York Post: "Just before the former presidential contender confessed his adultery to ABC News on Aug. 8, he secretly flew Rielle Hunter and her 6-month-old child, Frances Quinn, from California to the US Virgin Islands, according to the National Enquirer, which first exposed their affair.

And after the interview, in which he denied loving Hunter or fathering the baby, he called her to say, 'We'll be together when Elizabeth is gone,' the tabloid reported."

--------------------
It appears that Edwards has set up a neat little arrangement with Ms. Hunter that is going to come to fruition after his wife dies. In the meantime, he lies about the whole thing and Hunter just stays in hiding. Quite a guy. I wonder how his supporters feel about him now. I also wonder if they are questioning their own judgment, as they should, because it was obvious long ago that Edwards was the most dishonest candidate for president in memory. Many columnists were pointing out that he had simply reversed himself on every issue and remade his image between 2004 and 2007, going from centrist to leftist because he saw the market for that kind of candidate. This man has no soul.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Bigfoot hoax? I am shocked...shocked!


FOXNews.com - Bigfoot Body Revealed to Be Halloween Costume - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News: "I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot.'

That jibes with what Jerry Parrino, owner of Internet Halloween-costume retailer TheHorrorDome.com, told FOXNews.com last week.

'It definitely looks like our [Sasquatch] costume,' Parrino said after viewing photos of the body.

The Biscardi team immediately went into crisis mode. Biscardi called Whitton and Dyer at their California hotel. They admitted it was a hoax and agreed to sign a promissory note at a meeting set for 8 a.m. Pacific time at the hotel.

But when Biscardi got there, he 'found that they had left.'"

-------------------
These jokers got a ton of publicity by lying about a Halloween costume. Truth had nothing to do with it. It was all about the buzz. There is a message here for all of us. Take a look at the political campaigns this year.

When global warming strikes...

Turoa claims largest snow base ever - 19 Aug 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news: "Mt Ruapehu is claiming the biggest snow base ever recorded for a New Zealand skifield with over 4.5m of snow on the ground."

Credit crunch may take out large US bank warns former IMF chief - Times Online

Credit crunch may take out large US bank warns former IMF chief - Times Online: "Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a leading academic economist, said there was yet worse news to come from the worldwide credit crunch and financial turmoil, particularly in the United States, and that a high-profile casualty among American banks was highly likely.

“The US is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say the worst is to come,” Prof Rogoff said at a conference in Singapore.

In an ominous warning, he added: “We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we’re going to see a whopper, we’re going to see a big one — one of the big investment banks or big banks,” he said."

-------------
He also says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to go bye-bye. You can't accuse him of being a Pollyanna.

It wasn't above his pay grade in 2001 and 2003...

Barack Obama & Born-Alive Infants Protection Act: "In 2001, Senator Barack Obama was the only member of the Illinois senate to speak against a bill that would have recognized premature abortion survivors as “persons.” The bill was in response to a Chicago-area hospital that was leaving such babies to die. Obama voted “present” on the bill after denouncing it. It passed the state Senate but died in a state house committee.

In 2003, a similar bill came before Obama’s health committee. He voted against it. But this time, the legislation was slightly different. This latter version was identical to the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which by then had already passed the U.S. Senate unanimously (with a hearty endorsement even from abortion advocate Sen. Barbara Boxer) and had been signed into law by President Bush."

-----------------
Once again, the blogs are doing the examination of Obama's record that the media won't do.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Obama's abortion pay grade

Don Surber » Blog Archive » Obamabortion
Obama said deciding when a baby gets human rights is "above his pay grade." Here is evidence that 7 years ago it was not above his pay grade to oppose defining a fetus as a person. What a surprise--the baby loses. Wow. I never saw that coming.

Quoth His Magnificence:
------------------
“Number one, whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the Equal Protection Clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a — a child, a 9-month old — child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. I mean, it — it would essentially bar abortions, because the Equal Protection Clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an anti-abortion statute.”
------------------

Friday, August 15, 2008

Chain-link cells with razor wire readied for those arrested at Democratic convention -- Newsday.com

Chain-link cells with razor wire readied for those arrested at Democratic convention -- Newsday.com
Sounds like Abu Ghraib. I wonder if they will be waterboarding people.

How China gets things done

'Ethnic minority' children at Olympics ceremony were fake: report: "Children from China's dominant Han population were used in a key part of the Olympics opening ceremony, not youngsters from all 56 ethnic groups as claimed, an official said in comment published Friday.

If true, it would be the third high-profile faking incident of the ceremony, after it was revealed a girl was substituted as a singer because she was deemed too ugly, and supposedly live fireworks on the TV broadcast were pre-recorded."

-------------------
Oh, and half of the little girls on the "women's" gymnastic team still have most of their baby teeth.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Granholm: Don't use woes of mayor against Obama | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Granholm: Don't use woes of mayor against Obama | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Wednesday it would be 'incredibly cynical and wrong' for Republicans to use Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's growing controversy as a bludgeon against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama."
------------
Yes, it would. But that hasn't happened, has it? You know what else would be incredibly cynical and wrong? If a staunch Clinton supporter such as Granholm put Obama and Kilpatrick in the same sentence in order to remind the media that Obama spoke highly of Kilpatrick until the scandal blew up, while super-cynically claiming that she was just warning people about what those evil Republicans were going to do.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

How Russia observes a cease fire

Russian convoy rolls through Gori, violating truce - Los Angeles Times: "GORI, Georgia -- Russian tanks and armored units rolled through this key Georgian city today hours after its leaders accepted a peace deal in which Moscow would pull its troops back to positions before hostilities between the country began over the disputed breakaway region of South Ossetia six days ago."
-------------------
I wonder what percentage of the US population even remembers the Cold War. And fewer recall how the USSR conducted itself within the confines of its empire. There are good reasons why all those former satellite nations and republics became independent.

Foreclosure Of 88-Year-Old Leads to Police Standoff - News Story - WNBC | New York

Foreclosure Of 88-Year-Old Leads to Police Standoff - News Story - WNBC | New York: "SADDLE BROOK, N.J. -- Authorities said a son held Bergen County sheriff's officers at gunpoint as they tried to evict his 88-year-old mother from her foreclosed home."
--------------
I gather this was a mortgage foreclosure.

Obama's mandatory volunteer program has begun

Required To Volunteer? Obama Ticket Giveaway Causes Confusion - Politics News Story - KMGH Denver: "DENVER -- The Obama campaign has begyn notifying people who got tickets for the big acceptance speech at Invesco Field the final night of the convention.

Many of those who received tickets told 7NEWS they have come with a caveat.

Those viewers said the campaign told them they must volunteer six hours for the campaign by Friday in order to get a ticket."

---------------
Recall that The One said he wanted a civilian national security force and mandatory "volunteer" work in order to graduate from high school or college? Well, he is putting that principle into practice already. Want to hear the Big Speech? You are required to do six hours of "volunteer" work.

Global warming alert!!


Decade has had fewest 90-degree days since 1930 -- chicagotribune.com: "August is the wettest and often the muggiest month of the year. Yet, summer heat continues in short supply, continuing a trend that has dominated much of the 21st Century's opening decade. There have been only 162 days 90 degrees or warmer at Midway Airport over the period from 2000 to 2008. That's by far the fewest 90-degree temperatures in the opening nine years of any decade on record here since 1930."
----------------
I saw a headline the other day lamenting the fact that Americans are growing less worried about global warming. Pretty hard to panic them with doom and gloom predictions when they can't feel the heat.

Expiring minds want to know!

<b>SEX, MORE LIES & VIDEOTAPE</b> - Celebrity News | Gossip - National Enquirer: "After Edwards confessed the affair to his wife, he restarted it, and was sexually involved with Rielle when she became pregnant. Despite his denials, Edwards WAS aware that his former finance committee chairman, Fred Baron, was funneling money to Rielle. Experts are now calling for a federal investigation into Edwards' use of campaign funds."
----------------
If Edwards paid off his mistress with campaign funds, lying to his wife and the country will be the least of his problems.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Russia, US Swap Warnings as Condoleezza Rice Visits Georgia | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 10.07.2008

Russia, US Swap Warnings as Condoleezza Rice Visits Georgia | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 10.07.2008
This is for background. On July 9, the Secretary of State was in Georgia trying to head off the military conflict that began a month later. The article describes some of the things the US and its allies in Eastern Europe have been doing that made Russia feel threatened. One big issue is the deal with the Czech Republic allowing the US to install part of a missile defense system there. That system is a major problem for Russia.

What a disappointing performance

With Georgia, Russia at war, where's Condoleezza Rice? | Countdown to Crawford | Los Angeles Times: "Rice went to Tbilisi, Georgia, in July, trying to calm the situation, seen here with President Mikheil Saakashvili at a press conference after their talks. Publicly, she talked about Georgia's 'territorial integrity.' State Department officials said she privately warned the Georgians not to provoke Russia.

But critics told the Wall Street Journal that Rice may not have responded quickly to Russia's muscle-flexing on Georgia's border because she has been focused elsewhere -- preoccupied with Iraq, Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict -- and delegated the Soviet account to more junior officials."

----------------
She delegated the Soviet account to more junior officials? Say what?

I wonder if those junior officials still have jobs in the State Department.

Obama ordains cease fire


John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President: "On Fox this morning, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine explained how Obama saved Georgia:

“It was a bad crisis for the world. It required tough words but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in. And I’m very, very happy that the Senator's request for a ceasefire has been complied with by President Medvedev.”

Of course the Russians complied with his request. They've also started inflating their tires in order to reduce domestic demand and free up oil for export markets. It's like we don't even need to elect Obama to the White House--he can stop the rise of the seas, heal the planet, and bring us peace in our time just by issuing press releases from the comfort of his Hawaiian retreat."

-----------------
The arrogance of Obama and his entire campaign defies parody. Kaine is one of the top contenders to be The One's VP candidate. With John "Baby Daddy" Edwards presumably out of the running, I guess Kaine's chances went up, and now that he has set an all-time record for brown nosing, they went up another notch. I give him three brown noses out of a possible three.

McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Steve Huntley

McCain, not Obama, was right about Georgia :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Steve Huntley: "One who was up to speed on Georgia and the menace it faced from Russia was veteran Sen. John McCain. He had visited the Caucasian nation three times in a dozen years. When fighting erupted, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate got on the phone to gather details and issued a statement Friday summarizing the situation, tagging Russia as the aggressor and demanding it withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Georgia. It took first-term Sen. Barack Obama three tries to get it right. Headed for a vacation in Hawaii, the presumed Democratic candidate for commander in chief issued an even-handed statement, urging restraint by both sides. Later Friday, he again called for mutual restraint but blamed Russia for the fighting. The next day his language finally caught up with toughness of McCain's."
--------------------
Picky, picky, picky. So Obama fumbled around like President Bush. What really matters is that Obama is bringing Hope and Change!!!

By the way, why didn't Bush and his vaunted Russia expert, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, handle this situation better? They seem to have been caught by surprise by something they should have at least anticipated, and maybe been able to head off.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Commentary » Blog Archive » The MSM’s Latest Embarrassment


Commentary » Blog Archive » The MSM’s Latest Embarrassment: "The Edwards mess is the most recent and visible, but hardly unique, example of the mainstream media’s hear no evil/see no evil approach to newsgathering. How many other stories has the MSM missed, denied or avoided? From Rathergate to Reverend Wright to the success of the surge, the pattern is the same: MSM stalls, shuffles its collective feet, and doggedly ignores information for as long as possible until they can no longer do so with a straight face. The fact that these stories without exception work to the detriment of Democrats is apparently a grand coincidence."
--------------------
The outcry over the major media's covering for Edwards is getting more intense.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

OBAMA!! The Movie. Coming to a theater near you!


Don Surber » Blog Archive » Quote du jour: "Republican Sen. John McCain: “Taking in my opponent’s performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in, realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall.”"

Don't bet on this...

ABC News: Mistress' Family Challenges Edwards to Take DNA Test: "The family of John Edwards' former mistress, Rielle Hunter, is challenging the former senator to take a DNA paternity test after his claim that he did not father Hunter's 6-months-old child."
-----------------
Adulterer and liar John Edwards said he "would" take a paternity test, whatever that means. Would, if what?. Why didn't he just take the test and establish that he isn't the child's father...if that's what he really believes? Now he has been challenged by his mistress' family to follow through on his "would" and take the test. His bluff, if that's what it is, has just been called.

I think if he had any real intention of taking a test, he would already have done it. On the other hand, if he is lying (again) about the affair ending in 2006, and it really continued until about May of 2007, which seems to have been when the baby was conceived, then he might be a little nervous about that paternity test. That is one possible explanation for "would" instead of "did."

Maybe he figures if he just doesn't respond to the challenge, the media will let him off the hook. That would be consistent with their behavior so far.

While Americans watch the Olympics...

Georgia: Russia enters into 'war' in South Ossetia - Telegraph: "Columns of Russian tanks plunged the two neighbours into war as they filed into South Ossetia, marking the Kremlin's first military assault on foreign soil since the Soviet Union's Afghanistan intevention, which ended in 1989."
---------------
This is ugly. Georgia has been independent of Russia since 1991. The region called Ossetia is partly in Russia (North Ossetia) and partly in Georgia (South Ossetia). South Ossetia acts like an independent nation and wants to be joined to North Ossetia as part of Russia. Georgia is trying to reclaim South Ossetia. They have just been confronted by Russia, which has sent tanks into South Ossetia. In other words, Russia just invaded the sovereign nation of Georgia.

Two other issues: Georgia is a US ally that wants to join NATO. And there is an oil pipeline through the area that Russia wants to control. Ugly.

Here's someone who gets it

Old media dethroned - Los Angeles Times: "When John Edwards admitted Friday that he lied about his affair with filmmaker Rielle Hunter, a former employee of his campaign, he may have ended his public life but he certainly ratified an end to the era in which traditional media set the agenda for national political journalism."
----------------------------
The tabloids and the blogs and AM talk radio had the truth and they printed the truth. And the "traditional media," meaning print media and tv networks, had the truth and decided to withhold it from the public. Why? To protect the Democratic party. Edwards was, until yesterday, on Obama's short list for VP.

If the affair and love child had been Mitt Romney's, this story would have been front page news since 2006.

Friday, August 8, 2008

ABC News: Edwards Admits to Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate


ABC News: Edwards Admits to Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate: "John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today."
-------------
Gee, what a surprise. If you rely on the mainstream media, that is. How about this part: "When the National Enquirer first reported the alleged Edwards-Hunter affair last October 11, Edwards, his campaign staff and Hunter vociferously denounced the report. "The story is false, it's completely untrue, it's ridiculous," Edwards told reporters then. He repeated his denials just two weeks ago. Edwards today admitted the National Enquirer was correct when it reported he had visited Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton last month."

So, Edwards is a serial liar and adulterer. The mainstream media are once again proven to be in the tank for the Democrats because they refused to report on the hotel incident and all the other evidence. And National Enquirer was proven to be right. And the blogs were right.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Love child allegations inching into the media

Edwards’ Party Role Clouded by Allegations - America’s Election HQ: "John Edwards’ reluctance to refute allegations that he had an affair and child with his former videographer could jeopardize his potential role as a Democratic National Convention speaker and surrogate for his party’s presumptive nominee."
--------------
This story has been all over the tabs and the blogs for weeks now but, bizarrely, the major media refuse to cover it at all. Eventually they will have no choice. With Fox getting on it, I guess the time has come.

Hmmmm...

Have the Clintons Gotten Over It? - TIME: "In private conversations, associates say, Clinton remains skeptical that Obama can win in the fall. That's a sentiment some other Democrats believe is not just a prediction but a wish, because it would prove her right about his weaknesses as a general-election candidate and possibly pave the way for her to run again in 2012. Clinton is also annoyed that Obama has yet to deliver on his end of an informal bargain, reached as part of their truce, that each would raise $500,000 for the other. 'Hillary has done her part in that regard,' says an adviser. 'Obama has not.'"
-----------------
And she seems to be insisting on having her name placed in the running at the convention, and a roll call vote. People are starting to take note that His Magnificence hasn't been able to break 50% in the polls yet and wondering if that will continue until the general election. And here is Clinton, finding subtle ways to say, "I told you so, and I'm still here..."

It seems inconceivable that Obama could be unseated as the Democrat nominee, but anything is possible.

More Anti-American angst from Obama


Breitbart.tv » Obama to 7-Year-Old: ‘America Is No Longer What It Could Be, What It Once Was’
In which Obama manages to be both inarticulate, inane, and inappropriate at the same time. You don't say things like that to a 7 year old. Period. And given how far this clown has gone while contributing so little, I don't see what he and his whiny wife are complaining about. His kids are living in luxury; they live in a mansion their daddy acquired due to his sleazy political connections; their father is a Senator who has gotten rich and famous by writing about himself and not much else; their mother has a huge paycheck...which of the above does this empty suit not want for his children, exactly?

Life in this country has never been better than it is today, and anybody who doubts that should come up with a time when it was better. And life here is better than anyplace on earth.
University students 'cannot spell' - Telegraph: "Many undergraduates misspell basic words such as 'their', 'speech' or even 'Wednesday' in essays, it is claimed. First year students are the worst offenders, despite already spending at least 13 years in the education system. Standards have deteriorated to such an extent that one leading academic has been forced to ignore common errors altogether. Dr Ken Smith, a senior lecturer in criminology at Bucks New University, said 'atrocious' spelling was rife among new undergraduates, with many failing to apply basic rules, such as 'i before e, except after c'. The words 'weird', 'seize', 'leisure' and 'neighbor' are regularly misspelled by students, he said."
--------------
These are Brits, but the same holds true here in the US. It even happens in papers written using word processors that have instant spell checkers.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Don't expect to see this in the major media

Moqtada Packs It In - WSJ.com: "Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr plans to announce Friday that he will disarm his Mahdi Army, which was raining mortars on Baghdad's Green Zone as recently as April. Coupled with the near-total defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq, this means the U.S. no longer faces any significant organized military foe in the country. It also marks a major setback for Iran, which had used the Mahdi Army as one of its primary vehicles for extending its influence in Iraq."
-----------------------------
Remember this fellow? He was headline news when he was leading this army and they were wreaking havoc and making us look bad. But now he is out of business.

Monday, August 4, 2008

What do you mean, "if"?

The Rosett Report » Please Lay Off the Kool-Aid, Mr. President: “If North Korea were to end up with a nuclear weapon, it would be very destabilizing and very troubling for all of us.” – President Bush, July 30, 2008, Interview with China Central Television (Yes, this week he really said that)

“If” –?? What is Bush talking about? That ship has sailed. That train has left the station. That bomb is out of the bag. North Korea already has a nuclear weapon, and more likely it has a number of them.

----------------
I hope and trust this is some complicated diplomatic double-speak designed to produce some mysterious and subtle effect. Maybe it has to do with their promises to dismantle their weapons (does anybody believe that promise?). Or maybe President Bush was misquoted. Or...I hesitate to speculate further.

CRAZY DRIVERS!!

Pedestrian accidents are a 'huge problem in the city' :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News: "Here's a sobering fact to consider when you're out for a walk -- on average, 71 pedestrians are killed and 930 are seriously injured every year in Chicago. Nearly one-third of the accidents are hit-and-runs."
----------------
So we have 2 or 3 serious injuries per day, and one or two fatalities every week. I'm not surprised. I walk from Union Station to UIC, and I have to dodge idiot drivers all the time. They act as though there are no pedestrians or bikes around. Blowing red lights at high speed is routine. Fifty mph down Jackson toward the loop. Turning right without stopping at the light. Talking on cell phones. Turning from the wrong lane. Blocking crosswalks.

Where are the cops, may I ask? Has anybody ever seen them issue a traffic citation, or is that perhaps somebody else's job? I see them going in and out of the 7-11, so I know they exist.

Here is a helpful suggestion...

Ohio inmate says he's too fat for execution
I know how to solve this problem. Perhaps a firing squad would be in order.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Obama is chicken


The Associated Press: Obama backs away from McCain's debate challenge: "WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, 'I think that's a great idea.' In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

Obama's reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he's adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls."

--------------
He doesn't have much of a lead and it is shrinking. The reason he is backing down from the town halls and will only do three conventional debates with zero town halls is simple: he is a lightweight who knows McCain would clean his clock, and he is afraid (with good reason) that he will make gaffes that will expose his glib, superficial, shallow political persona for the charade it is.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Obama Wants You

Obama Wants You: "Election '08: Barack Obama calls it 'Universal Voluntary Public Service.' We call it a plan for national involuntary servitude. Kennedy asked us what we could do for our country. Obama has ways to make us volunteer."
-----------------
Somebody finally decided to write about this. Don't expect the issue to surface in the Obama media unless McCain kicks it into the middle of the floor during the debates. That is, if His Lordship deigns to interrupt his inauguration plans long enough to debate.
Involuntary HOA?: "The Sand Lake Hills Homeowners Association, hereinafter SLH, and a group of property owners who own 57 lots in Section 3, have taken it upon themselves to attempt to remake Sand Lake Hills into something it was never intended to be: a development controlled by a homeowner association which can levy mandatory assessments against all of the owners, even those who don’t want a homeowner association and who don’t want to pay assessments. SLH has stated that membership in the association is not mandatory for current owners. However, they say that even those members who didn’t join will still have to pay."
-----------
So say the supporters of this lawsuit. It appears some owners have sued to prevent being assimilated by the Borg. Thanks to Beth Young for the link.

Obama plays race card again

My Way News - Obama says Republicans trying to scare voters: "Democrat Barack Obama, the first black candidate with a shot at winning the White House, says John McCain and his Republican allies will try to scare them by saying Obama 'doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.'"
---------------
Nobody has made mention of race except the Anointed One himself. He is going to argue that all criticisms of him are actually "coded" references to his race. At the same time, while playing the racial polarization card over and over and over, he will argue that he is trying to transcend racial polarization. And he's counting on his cheerleaders in the press to give him a pass on this rank hypocrisy.

Audacity isn't the word to describe this. Mind-boggling arrogance and duplicity might be a better fit.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Dana Milbank: President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour

President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour: "Barack Obama has long been his party's presumptive nominee. Now he's becoming its presumptuous nominee.

Fresh from his presidential-style world tour, during which foreign leaders and American generals lined up to show him affection, Obama settled down to some presidential-style business in Washington yesterday. He ordered up a teleconference with the (current president's) Treasury secretary, granted an audience to the Pakistani prime minister and had his staff arrange for the chairman of the Federal Reserve to give him a briefing. Then, he went up to Capitol Hill to be adored by House Democrats in a presidential-style pep rally."

--------------------
Milbank thinks that the press may turn on Obama. I doubt it. But there may be those in the electorate who find his arrogance troubling, if not insufferable.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Come on into the tank! The water's fine!


Obama notes 'tragic' US past | starbulletin.com | News | /2008/07/28/: "When Obama walked on stage at the McCormick Center, many journalists in the audience leapt to their feet and applauded enthusiastically after being told not to do so. During a two-minute break halfway through the event, which was broadcast live on CNN, journalists ran to the stage to snap photos of Obama."
--------------------
When this campaign is over there will be a round of stories in the press about how they humiliated themselves by gushing over Obama like a bunch of teeny-boppers at a Mylie Cyrus concert. But by then they will have succeeded or failed in their efforts to elect him.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Barack Obama - Operation Board Games For Slumlords | The Smirking Chimp

Barack Obama - Operation Board Games For Slumlords | The Smirking Chimp
Devastating analysis of Obama and his cronies who have been working the government-sponsored housing business for all it is worth.

Friday, July 25, 2008

His Lordship is mocked in the European press

He ventured forth to bring light to the world | Gerard Baker - Times Online: "And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow."

------------
...but don't expect to learn about it from the US media.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up | NEWS.com.au


Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up | NEWS.com.au: "FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist.
And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades."

--------------------
Just in time for the new X-Files movie, although I understand it is a monster-of-the-week movie instead of an alien conspiracy movie.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Daily Pulp: Bob Norman's Blog - Bill O'Reilly Nails Robert Wexler

Congressman evades CC&Rs?: "Bill O'Reilly did a good number on 'local' Congressman Robert Wexler tonight. And I think Wexler is in a bit of trouble. You see, the longtime Democratic rep says he lives in Delray Beach and he's required to maintain a residence in his district. But he really lives in Potomac MD. The house in Delray that he calls his 'offical residence' is owned by Lawrence and Roslyn Cohen, the parents of Wexler's wife, Laurie. And it's in a restricted over-55 community, which makes it impossible for Wexler and and his three children to reside there."
----------------
Somebody has some explaining to do.

Reason Magazine - Excuse Me While I Get My Gun

Reason Magazine - Excuse Me While I Get My Gun: "Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia had violated the Second Amendment by making armed self-defense in the home impractical and banning the most popular weapons used for that purpose. Last week the D.C. Council responded by unanimously approving a law that makes armed self-defense in the home impractical and bans the most popular weapons used for that purpose.

D.C.'s political leaders know they are inviting another Second Amendment lawsuit, but they are determined to defy the Supreme Court and the Constitution for as long as possible."

-----------------
As Instapundit points out, this is like the "massive resistance" that southern public officials practiced after the USSC's school desegregation decisions.

Friday, July 18, 2008

DailyTech - Myth of Consensus Explodes: APS Opens Global Warming Debate

DailyTech - Myth of Consensus Explodes: APS Opens Global Warming Debate: "The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming. The APS is also sponsoring public debate on the validity of global warming science. The leadership of the society had previously called the evidence for global warming 'incontrovertible.'"
-----------------
Somebody tell Al Gore that the debate isn't over.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Volokh Conspiracy - -

The Volokh Conspiracy - -
Does the Heller case recognize a constitutional right to self defense? Eugene Volokh thinks so.

The Volokh Conspiracy - -

The Volokh Conspiracy - -
Does the Heller case recognize a constitutional right to self defense? Eugene Volokh thinks so.

Don't tell me the media aren't pushing Obama...

3 Anchors to Follow Obama's Trek Abroad: "The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza.

Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.

John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the past four months, all unaccompanied by a single network anchor."

--------------------------
Read the ridiculous excuses they offer for this blatant flacking for The Man in the Empty Suit. He doesn't even have to pay them.

Ordered? Say what?

World Court: U.S. must delay Mexican death sentences - Yahoo! News: "THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The World Court ordered the United States on Wednesday to do all it could to halt the imminent executions of five Mexicans until the court makes a final judgment in a dispute over suspects' rights."
--------------------------------
Since when does the World Court "order" the US around in matters of internal criminal justice?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

'The Dumbest Generation' by Mark Bauerlein - Los Angeles Times

'The Dumbest Generation' by Mark Bauerlein - Los Angeles Times: "In the four minutes it probably takes to read this review, you will have logged exactly half the time the average 15- to 24-year-old now spends reading each day. That is, if you even bother to finish. If you are perusing this on the Internet, the big block of text below probably seems daunting, maybe even boring. Who has the time? Besides, one of your Facebook friends might have just posted a status update! Such is the kind of recklessly distracted impatience that makes Mark Bauerlein fear for his country. 'As of 2008,' the 49-year-old professor of English at Emory University writes in 'The Dumbest Generation,' 'the intellectual future of the United States looks dim.'"
-------------------
Well...what say you to this critique of the Millennials? As one who has taught thousands of them, I have a few observations, all of which are generalizations. First, the stereotype that they are technologically sophisticated is nonsense. Apart from using simple consumer electronics that anybody can master, few of them fit that profile. All the majority of them can do is fiddle with cell phones, mp3 players, and and video games. So what?

Second, their knowledge of the world is distorted. They pick up cues from tv and movies and advertising and see things in them that I would miss. But they have no knowledge of history at all, and they don't keep up on current political events unless forced to. For example, many of them love Barack Obama but know practically nothing about his views or his background. They like his media image, and that is something they can read with ease.

Third, they are well-intentioned and community-oriented and would like to make the world a better place, but they have no interest in making major adjustments in their lives to accomplish that. The Obama campaign seems to get that they will sit in front of their computers and donate money and chit chat electronically, because they think that's a cool way to change the world, but that's about it.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

His Lordship finds American rubes' inability to speak French embarrassing...


Gateway Pundit: L'Horreur!... Obama Embarrassed Americans Cannot Speak French On Our Vacations to Europe (Video)
-----------------
You have to watch the video to get the flavor of this--the sneering, elitist tone. How many languages does His Majesty speak, and his kids, and his wife, I wonder? Obama sees most Americans as a bunch of hicks.

Global Warming Delusion Syndrome?

Doomed to a fatal delusion over climate change | Herald Sun: "'A 17-year-old man was referred to the inpatient psychiatric unit at Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne with an eight-month history of depressed mood . . . He also . . . had visions of apocalyptic events.'

'The patient had also developed the belief that, due to climate change, his own water consumption could lead within days to the deaths of millions of people through exhaustion of water supplies.'"
----------------
But this is pretty much what the public schools and the news media keep telling us, isn't it?

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK's top judge | Mail Online

Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK's top judge | Mail Online: "The most senior judge in England tonight gave his blessing to the use of sharia law to resolve disputes among Muslims.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family and marital arguments and to regulate finance."

--------------------
Amazing.