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Saturday, June 27, 2009
RULE 5 SATURDAYIn compliance with Rule 5, the TCOTS Rule 5 Compliance Committee presents....
GINA
LOLLOBRIGIDA:
This picture courtesy of Dan Collins who calls her 'hot Vulcan Egyptian Aztec'; the Committee agrees:
Only one song will do...from Mr. Jerry Vale:
My love, forgive me,
I didn't mean to have it
end like this,
I didn't mean to have you fall in love,
in love with me.
My love, please kiss me,
arrivederci
amore, kiss me,
remember when we part, you'll have my heart,
I love you so!
It was just a slight flirtation,
that was all it was to be.
How could I know this fascination
would turn to love for you and me.
How to tell
you of my heartache?
How to tell you I'm not free?
How can I bear to see your heart break,
to see your heart
break over me.
Amore scusami se sto piangendo
Amore scusami, ma ho capito che lasciandoti
io soffriro,
Amore baciami, arrivederci amore baciami,
e se mi penserai ricordati che amo te.
I love so, I love so, I love
so!
Don't forget to check out Paco's RULE 5 for this week.
27 jun 09 @ 2:50 pm edt
IRAN XMy previous nine postings of links to reports on and analyses of the situation
may be found by clicking IRAN I, IRAN II, IRAN III, IRAN IV, IRAN V, IRAN VI, IRAN VIIa / IRAN VIIb, IRANVIII., and IRANIX. [And please check out this special posting here.]
1) The best continuing coverage still remains here...
-Atlas Shrugs
-Gateway Pundit
2) As Fox News reports:
State Department officials monitoring events in Iran from Dubai
have relayed back to Washington that Mousavi's Web site "Kalemah," his last link to the outside world, is completely
shut down.
They also noted reports on Iranian Web sites alleging that jailed Mousavi supporters have been
tortured in an attempt to force them into TV "confessions" of a foreign-led plot against the Islamic regime.
A newspaper with strong ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has published a letter calling on Iran's Justice
Minister to prosecute Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi for allegedly violating Islamic and constitutional law through her human
rights advocacy.
But keep checking in over at Atlas and Gateway.
3) A reposting from yesterday's posting at TCOTS:
From over at The Corner,
we learn this sad news [worth quoting in full]:
More Disgusting than Forced Confessions [Michael Rubin]
Word from Iran is that the authorities have forced
Neda's father to appear on state television and say that the protesters, and not the regime, killed her.
Reminds
me of something...CLICK HERE.
4) From Pam Geller over at Atlas Shrugs, I obtained this picture taken at the makeshift memorial for Neda [the thug regime won't release the body to her parents]:
27 jun 09 @ 2:25 pm edt
NOT ONE RED CENT: Extended Version / Director's CutSpeaking of Republicans in the House who voted for Cap And Trade, Robert Stacy
McCain:
Blame the NRCC The Waxman-Markey Monstrosity From Hell That Will Destroy the American Economy passed the House by a vote of 219-212last night while I was attending the inaugural Smittypalooza.
If only four votes
had gone the other way, the monstrosity would have been defeated by a 216-215 vote. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate
that Michelle Malkin has named the eight Republicans who voted for it. And I've got four words for the National Republican Congressional Committee:
Not One Red Cent. We've already said Not One Red Cent for the National Republican Senatorial Committee because Sen. John Cornyn and
the NRSC betrayed the GOP grassroots in Florida. Now, add the NRCC to the list.
What's the point of giving money
to the national party if, on key votes, Republican members of the House are indistinguishable from Nancy Pelosi?
Why give money to the campaign committee whose job is to re-elect these RINO sellouts?
- Mary Bono Mack, California
- Mike Castle, Delaware
- Mark Kirk, Illinois
- John McHugh, New York
- Frank LoBiondo, New Jersey
- Leonard Lance, New Jersey
- Dave Reichert, Washington
- Chris
Smith, New Jersey
Unless and until all eight of these swine announce their
retirements -- or are defeated in next year's primaries -- I say the grassroots answer to the NRCC should be NOT ONE RED CENT!
Who's with me?
NRSC/NRCC DELANDA EST!Please click here to read the full posting and here for a follow-up.
YOU GO GIRLOver at Pundit & Pundette, Pundette is disgusted:
I never thought I'd have this in common with Michelle Obama, but I'm not feeling so proud of my country this morning; the painful truth is that every
member of Congress was elected by American voters. And now, with lots of assistance from our chosen representatives, we're
committing societal suicide.
She then goes on to rightly slam those Republican member of the House who yesterday
voted for the American-Economy-destroying Cap And Trade Bill. After that she takes on we the people:
While we're at it, way to go, American voters, for electing such a cool president. In your addled celebrity-worship-warped minds, coolness
is all. A culture that adores the famous for being famous because fame confers coolness is a sitting duck for the likes of
Obama, whose image fits so perfectly into the template of contemporary cool. (And a tip of the hat to our msm, too, without whom none of this would be possible.)
Right on sister, right on. I appreciate coolness as much as the
next guy: its one of the reasons I get a kick out of Francis Albert and why Dino's a kick in the head. But, I don't
ever recall coolness in the executive being one of the traits that made a George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or Ronald Reagan
or Margaret Thatcher great. In fact, if you read the history of the American Presidency and have studied what makes
a leader great, what we now call 'coolness' is actually a trait of bad and destructive political leaders [German university
youth thought Hitler was 'cool'; Tony Blair was 'hip'; recall the enthusiasm for Napoleon by young men and women throughout
Europe and the celebrity-worship he enjoyed].
Yesterday, I went on about the relationship between the American People and Michael Jackson here. Pundette now offers her thoughts and, they are so spot-on, I wish I had made them in my posting:
How fitting that images of another great example of coolness, unconvicted child-molester/freakazoid
Michael Jackson, should be everywhere right now. Only an ailing culture would fall all over itself for a
performer who, at his peak (before the extreme self-mutilation), defined himself by his artificiality. It was evident in his
dance moves, in his over-produced sound, and in the silly pseudo-uniforms he wore. Eventually artificiality bloomed into bizarre
unnaturalness. A healthy culture would have averted its eyes from a man so overwhelmed with self-hatred. But we're suffering
from cultural arrested development and have developed a taste for self-destruction. Get ready for multiple tell-all books
from the inner circle (time to cash in!) that will curl your hair, and endless tributes that gloss over his pervitude.
She also wrote yesterday in a comment on my rant:
One thing that struck me last night when I went to watch an Office rerun and
found Michael Jackson instead, doing his Thriller thing, was that he spent most if not all of his life pretending. That's
fundamentally sick and his life reflected that.
I responded:
He
never left Neverland. That's sick and sad.
Its sad all around: for the deceased Mr. Jackson
and for the future of America. Bring on more circuses; Tiberius Obamacus and his minions will supply the bread!
27 jun 09 @ 1:55 pm edt
IG-GATE: 'Time to Break the Stations' EditionToday will be a fairly light posting day here at TCOTS.
Mrs. Belvedere and I will be visiting friends who we haven't seen in a year [after the hectic week that just ended, your humble
dispatcher really needs to go sit on a deck and throw back a few]. I doubt if there'll be much breaking with the IG-GATE Scandal today, but I would urge you to keep checking in over at The Other McCain in case Robert Stacy McCain hears of something. If you haven't kept up with the Scandal for a day or so, please
go over to WWU-AM and check out the IG-GATE part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS
Section for the links in green.
27 jun 09 @ 1:21 pm edt
Friday, June 26, 2009
IRAN IXMy previous eight postings of links to reports on and analyses of the situation
may be found by clicking IRAN I, IRAN II, IRAN III, IRAN IV, IRAN V, IRAN VI, IRAN VIIa / IRAN VIIb, and IRANVIII. [And please check out this special posting here.]
1) The best continuing coverage still remains here...
-Atlas Shrugs
-Gateway Pundit
2) The Guardian has also been doing some top-notch reporting comrades.
3) Its been very hard to find any information about the goings-on in Iran today because of the
news network's wall-to-wall coverage of the death of Michael Jackson. As I wrote earlier today:
...The silly and embarrassing reaction of a good number of my
fellow Americans starting at around 6 PM ET yesterday evening will grow exponentially more so as the hours and days pass,
fueled by a media hungry for ratings and/or wanting to divert attentions from the many Unwelcome Distractions plaguing our
Fearless Leader [Iran?...Cap and Trade?...Koh?...Socializing health care?...The hell with that: THE KING OF POP! is dead!
And don't forget the person NBC called an 'Angel', Farrah!]....
Thank god for Pamela Geller [Atlas]
and Jim Hoft [Gateway].
Both of them have posted a clever video done by either some of the protesters
or someone or ones outside of Iran who are with them in their struggle. Whoever it is, they've created a video of the
protests and crackdowns over there and set it to Jackson's tune Beat It:
Please take the time to click here and watch the video.
Maybe—and there's only a very slight chance—the situation in Iran will get some attention
now. It says something about the decline of The West, that the protesters have been forced to perform such a stunt.
Disgusting.
4) From Melanie Phillips over at The London Spectator:
Now the Obama administration has got really tough! It
has cancelled its invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend Independence Day celebration parties -- the very parties
that only the day before, in his pathetically feeble press conference, Obama said that the ‘Iranians will have to decide whether they want
to attend’. The Iranians must indeed be quaking now. It would be laughable were it not so serious that such a clown
is in the White House, and at such a time.
The North Koreans have been doing spit-takes for awhile now.
5) Those of us who have been enthusiastically supporting the Iranian protesters needed this sobering reminder
from Philip Klein over at AmSpecBlog. He quotes from a letter released by Mousavi:
I’d
like to thank you again for your peaceful objections which have received widespread coverage across the world, and would like
to ask you that by using all legal channels, and by remaining faithful to the sacred system of the Islamic Republic, to make
sure that your objections are heard by the authorities in the country. I am fully aware that your justified demands have nothing
to do with groups who do not believe in the sacred Islamic Republic of Iran’s system. It is up to you to distance yourself
from them, and do not allow them to misuse the current situation.
This
reinforces the point that for all the understandable enthusiasm for the idea of the Iranian people taking to the streets,
Mousavi has not been willing to challenge the Islamic system of government itself. And as long as a theocratic regime persists
in Iran, the pople will never be free.
Best case scenario: Mousavi is a very sly and crafty pol. [I'll
have more thoughts on this in a future posting]
6) SHARED DNA?
[tip of the fedora to Pam Geller for the photo of the Iranian woman]
7) Gateway Pundithas
a chilling video of snipers shooting at protesters and hitting one:
Please click here to view the video.
8) From over at The Corner, we learn this sad news [worth quoting in full]:
More Disgusting than Forced Confessions
[Michael Rubin]
Word from Iran is that the authorities have forced Neda's father to appear on state television and say that the protesters,
and not the regime, killed her.
Reminds me of something...CLICK HERE.
26 jun 09 @ 7:23 pm edt
IG-GATE: Doubleplusgood EditionI just added another link to the IG-GATE
part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section of the WWU-AM Page. Theat makes four for today.
Here's a highlight from the one just added...
From Pejman Yousefzadeh over at The New Ledger [tip of the fedora to RSM]:
Doubtless, we will be assured that there is nothing
to see here, and that we should just move along. But being an IG in the Obama Administration appears to be a dangerous and
risky thing. Congress and the media should ask why this should be the case, and why speaking truth to power is so frowned
upon.
Man, this all reminds me of when I was growing-up during the
Nixon years. God, I hope He's fool enough to have taping devices in the Oval Office [He just might: please click here to see the transcipt I uncovered this morning.]
26 jun 09 @ 6:43 pm edt
IG-GATE: Linky Love EditionI just added three more links to the IG-GATE
part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section of the WWU-AM Page.
Here's highlights from two of them [tip of the fedora to RSM]...
1) Hans Badar:
Recently, Obama fired an inspector general, Gerald Walpin, who uncovered millions
of dollars of waste and fraud in the AmeriCorps program, including by a prominent Obama supporter, endangering the Obama supporter’s ability to administer federal stimulus spending in Sacramento.
2) Nancy Lewis reporting at Youth Today:
Ironically, the investigation of [Kevin] Johnson, St. Hope Academy and its Hood
Corps was requested by CNCS after the California commission that recommended St. Hope for funding received reports of irregularities
at the program, including allegations of sexual misconduct.
It was disclosed that a female student at St. Hope
had told a teacher that Johnson had inappropriately touched her. Rather than school officials reporting the alleged incident
directly to police, Johnson's attorney interviewed the girl, who then recanted.
The teacher soon resigned, saying
in his resignation letter that "St. Hope sought to intimidate the student through an illegal interrogation and even had
the audacity to ask me to change my story."
The third link is to Robert Stacy McCain's latest posting over at The Other McCain. A quote from the most relevant part and spot-on part:
I'm sure I've missed
some important items, but this is a big story that's growing bigger, and it's getting very hard to compile a comprehensive
daily round-up. Bob Belvedere may have the best compilation of IG-Gate information.
Thanks for that RSM. It's very much
appreciated.
Please keep refreshing the WWU-AM Page throughout the day and evening for IG-GATE linkage updates...
...and keep checking over at RSM's site for his latest exclusives on IG-Gate.
26 jun 09 @ 10:10 am edt
THE GANG THAT COULDN'T GOVERN STRAIGHT, SCENE IThe Scene: the Oval Office, Wednesday morning...
Fearless Leader: Que pasa Rahmbo!
Rahm 'The Enforcer' Emmanuel: Boss, what wit all the civilians watchin'
tings in Iran and watchin' you pontificatin' on health care on ABC today and tonite, I wuz thinkin' dis might be the time
to do dat ting we talked about.
FL: What thing counseligre of mine?
R TE E: Ya know, dat ting we discussed
walkin' on da White House lawn the udder day.
FL: About the false choices on health care?
R TE E: No,
Boss. Dat ting bout doze guys down south and doze guys, ya know, 'on the road to Damascus' as it were and sooforth and
so on. Ya know...bout sendin' some of our guys to both places, all official like and all that, all official
like.
FL: Now I get ya.
R TE E: I wuz just thinkin' wit everybody distracted and all, it might be a
good time to, ya know, sneak it in unda the radar. Avoid all the attention, if ya catch my drift? A—whatta
they call it?...oh—a 'variation' of our strategizin of neva lettin' a good crisis go to waste. Ya know, 'never
let a good distraction go to waste'.
FL: [Laughs heartily] That's why I love ya Rahmbo. Let's do it.
R TE E: Sure ting Boss. Right away.
End Scene.
From Fox News,
James Rosen reporting, we learn:
The Obama administration has decided to return an ambassador
to both Venezuela and Syria after a diplomatic hiatus with both countries, FOX News confirmed Wednesday.
Please click here to read the full report. [tip of the fedora to Michelle Malkin]
SIDENOTE [30 JUN 09]:
The Gang That Couldn't Govern Straight was inspired by these postings by Paco: here and here [please check out his latest by clicking here].
26 jun 09 @ 9:39 am edt
THE KING OF FOPJonah Goldberg is spot-on in his comments:
Generally
speaking, I’m a believer in the rule that we should not speak ill of the dead. Or at least we should wait a decent interval
before doing so (if we never spoke ill of the dead, history would be meaningless). But, I must say I find the media’s
instinctive rush to sanctify Michael Jackson disgusting.
...
I know that Michael Jackson wasn’t
convicted of the despicable crimes he was accused of. And that’s why he never went to jail. Three cheers for the majesty
of the American legal system. But in my own personal view he wasn’t exonerated either. Nor was he absolved of his crimes
because he could sing, moonwalk or sell 10 million records. (Though many of us suspect the money and fame he made from
those things is precisely what kept him out of jail).
And, while I merely think he was a pedophile, I
know he was not someone responsible parents should applaud, healthy children emulate nor society celebrate.
And while we’re at it, his relatively early death wasn’t “tragic.” He was one of the richest people
in the world. He spent his money on perpetual childhood and he was perpetually with children not his own.
Meanwhile,
in the last ten days, we’ve seen or heard of remarkable people who’ve given their lives for freedom in Iran. We’ve
heard of innocents killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the last decade, America has lost thousands
of heroes in noble causes and thousands of innocent bystanders who were denied the simple joys of life through no fault of
their own. Those deaths are tragic, and we're hard pressed to think of more than a handful of names to put with the long line
of the dead.
If anything, Michael Jackson’s life, not his death, was tragic.
One of my pet peeves [and, Lord, there are many] is the serial misuse of the words 'tragic' and 'tragedy' [vaulting ambition
anyone?].
Please take the time to click here and read his full posting. [tip of the fedora to Pundette]
For those of you of a certain age, Jim Treacher's comment will resonate:
How many more icons of my youth can we lose in one day? Stay strong, Hasselhoff. Stay strong.
I am older
that that age, having grown up and been molded in the 1970's [could this be one explanation as to why I'm such a cynical and
hardboiled SOB?]. The Michael Jackson I first got to know was the pre-self-mutilated one who was lead singer for The
Jackson Five. He was a couple of years older than me and, man, could that kid sing. I was a big fan of The Jackson
Five cartoon show and looked forward to it and the Harlem Globetrotter's and Osmonds's cartoon shows every Saturday morning.
At some point mentally, the kid took a journey to out where the buses don't run—in fact all his siblings did, but not
as far out. When he made his biggest splash in the 1980's, he had begun his spiral downward—if you couldn't tell
something was wrong with the dude, you weren't looking or you were wearing rose-tinted glasses. Well, many artistes
are eccentric, so he was cut some slack. But, when the stories began to emerge about what went on at his Neverland
Ranch [pre-molestation accusations] and we witnessed the repeated self-inflicted mutilations, then it was obvious the man/boy
was mentally ill. And the media and his fans encouraged him to remain that way—they showered him with adulation,
admiration, and praise when what they should have done was condemn and shun him, perhaps forcing him or one of his so-called
loved ones to take action. But it did not come to pass. The adulation, admiration, and praise kept coming.
He was given a pass. When he was brought before the courts to face charges, many of his fans, the ones who were mindless
and soulless, stood by him despite the fact that it was very obvious that, if he did not actually molest children, at the
very least he was not a person who should be around them, even when supervised by an adult. Michael Jackson was mentally
ill. He was called The King Of Pop, but he was, in fact, in reality, The King Of Court Jesters to the sovereign:
the American People.
26 jun 09 @ 8:51 am edt
CAUSA FINITA EST Needless to say, if you've been reading this site for any decent length of time,
you know that your humble dispatcher from The Camp Of The Saints and The Beloved City is a cynical SOB. Therefore the
following should come as no shock: (1) I am not surprised at all at the over-the-top coverage being given the death of Michael
Jackson; (2) The silly and embarrassing reaction of a good number of my fellow Americans starting at around 6 PM ET yesterday
evening will grow exponentially more so as the hours and days pass, fueled by a media hungry for ratings and/or wanting to
divert attentions from the many Unwelcome Distractions plaguing our Fearless Leader [Iran?...Cap and Trade?...Koh?...Socializing
health care?...The hell with that: THE KING OF POP! is dead! And don't forget the person NBC called an 'Angel', Farrah!];
(3) The non-Western World will see this as another indication of how debauched our culture has become and use it as effective
propaganda; (4) Maybe these non-Westerners will have a point; (5) O-Rameses The Great and his minions see this as a great
gift—another multi-day circus staged in The Colissium that will divert our eyes from the evil that His henchmen
do [maybe the masses won't notice that He said he would deny treatment to the elderly and terminally sick (sayeth He: 'Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.')]; (6) All the minions and
the fellow travellers need to do to make it perfect is to hand out more bread [and they will].
26 jun 09 @ 8:12 am edt
Thursday, June 25, 2009
PAM GELLER SPEAKS FOR ME......when she writes [and I have to quote this in full] over at Atlas Shrugs:
As sad as
the passing of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson is, the media is breathing a heavy sigh of relief (as I am sure the
jihad US President is as well)
The media is devoting entire newscasts - yesterday the death of Ed McMahon,
today Farah and then Michael Jackson (of natural causes, I might add) of these "superstars".
Sadly missing
from the nightly newscast are the latest on hundreds killed, possibly thousands detained and injured in Iran marching
for freedom in Iran. These freedom fighters are the true superstars. Hollywood is entertainment (though rarely now). The tragedy
of the massacres, brutality, and beatings in Iran should carry much more importance. The inane drone of Shep (he had
to let go of the Governor Sanford story) lamenting the "tragedy" of Jackson is surreal.
"As someone who
served as Michael Jackson's publicist during the 1st child molestation incident, I must confess I am not surprised by today's
tragic news.
Michael has been on an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years.
Michael Jackson's former publicist, Michael Levine.
The real tragedy is the Iran story is dead ............... at least for the dinosaur media.
Sharpton has
the mike ..................
For continuous updates on the situation in Iran, you can't do better than to
visit her site.
Please click here to visit Atlas Shrugs [and bookmark it].
25 jun 09 @ 9:08 pm edt
IG-GATE: Splendor In The Grassley EditionI just added two more links to reports by Robert Stacy McCain in the IG-GATE
part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section of the WWU-AM Page.
Here's two highlights from one of them:
Officials of Amtrak have "systematically violated the letter and spirit of the
Inspector General Act," Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) charged Thursday, making public a 94-page legal report prepared at the request of the Amtrak inspector general who resigned suddenly a week ago.
And...
Grassley's accusation of illegal actions by Amtrak, including failure
to comply properly with subpoenas, is the most serious to date in an investigation that has expanded quickly since the IG
for the AmeriCorps program was given an ultimatum two weeks ago to resign or be fired.
Please keep refreshing the WWU-AM Page throughout the day and evening for IG-GATE linkage updates.
25 jun 09 @ 8:53 pm edt
IRAN VIIIMy previous seven postings of links to reports on and analyses of the situation
may be found by clicking IRAN I, IRAN II, IRAN III, IRAN IV, IRAN V, IRAN VI and IRAN VIIa / IRAN VIIb. [And please check out this special posting here.]
1) The best continuing coverage...
-Atlas Shrugs
-Gateway Pundit
2) Pam Geller recommends this site: Tehran Bureau.
3) In responding to some rather foolish statements made by one Paul Saunders, the Capo Di Tutti Capi of Iranian experts, Michael
Ledeen, makes a point that applies to all of those who are urging the President to stay cautious in his statements on the
situation:
I have heard arguments like Mr. Saunders’s for many years, about many places.
I heard it about the Soviet Union, when we in the Reagan administration were warned that open support for Soviet dissidents
would make their lot even more miserable. Now we know that the “evil empire” speech and the practice of making
American diplomats constantly tell their Soviet counterparts that political prisoners must be released, encouraged the dissidents
and sapped the morale of the regime. The same argument was made to Franklin Roosevelt about speaking out on behalf of the
European Jews, and it is being made today to President Obama about the threats to the Jewish community in Venezuela, and about
actively supporting the people of Darfur against the regime in Khartoum, and denouncing the evil regime in North Korea, not
just for its bombs and missiles, but for the mass murder of its own people. I’m for doing the same with Iran. I don’t
think we have to wait for “the crisis (to) significantly escalate,” as Mr. Saunders puts it. I think it’s
clear enough right now.
Finally, he thinks that if Obama says “Iran must be free,” as I proposed, it
would “discredit the United States” and set back Iranians’ chances for a better future. I think he’s
got it backwards. I think our president’s failure to say “Iran must be free” is what discredits him —
most Americans surely believe Iran must be free — and I think the Iranians fighting for their freedom would welcome
those words.
Hear, hear. Will no one rid us of these troublesome 'pragmatists'?
Speaking of the RayGun...
4) COMPARE & CONTRAST...Courtesy of the Editors of Investor's Business Daily:
...with Tehran slaughtering innocent protesters on the streets, his statement to reporters
that "the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering with Iran's
affairs" sounds an awful lot like [Jimmy] Carter's tepid response to the Islamist revolution.
Obama quickly
added that "we must also bear witness to the courage and the dignity of the Iranian people." But it insults
their courage, as they brave bullets and batons in repeatedly defying the illegitimate "sovereignty of the Islamic Republic"
by taking to the streets, for the U.S. not to make a bold effort on their behalf.
Contrast Ronald Reagan's reaction
to the Soviet-backed crackdown in Poland and the massive street protests that resulted in late 1981. Fox News' Sean Hannity
this week showed video from Reagan's Christmastime statement that year.
"The courageous Polish people . .
. have been betrayed by their own government," Reagan said, adding that "brute force may intimidate, but it cannot
form the basis of an enduring society, and the ailing Polish economy cannot be rebuilt with terror tactics."
And he issued a warning: "Make no mistake, their crime will cost them dearly in their future dealings with America
and free peoples everywhere. I do not make this statement lightly or without serious reflection."
Reagan made
it clear that the series of harsh economic sanctions he was authorizing were "not directed against the Polish people."
He announced that "on Christmas Eve a lighted candle will burn in the White House window as a small but certain beacon
of our solidarity with the Polish people."
And he urged all Americans "to do the same tomorrow night,
on Christmas Eve, as a personal statement of your commitment to the steps we're taking to support the brave people of Poland
in their time of troubles."
That is real presidential leadership that helped lead to the end of tyranny in
long-suffering Poland.
Imagine Americans rallying in support of a Muslim people with some similar symbolic gesture
at the behest of a president whose father was Muslim, and who bears a Muslim name. America's moral leadership harnessed in
such a way could move mountains in the Middle East.
But Barack Hussein Obama is apparently too busy apologizing
for the U.S.A. to consider it.
5) Over at The Corner, Victor Davis Hanson asks an important question:
...as the mullahs begin the long, drawn-out work of hunting down and doing away with
dissidents in the wee hours of the night, how can an American president be seen with, talk to, or reach out toward a police
state in the systematic process of state-sanctioned terror against its own?
There is an old saying: 'The freest
man in the world is one who has nothing to lose'. I think the second freest man in the world is the man who doesn't
care'. And Barack Hussein Obama DOESN'T CARE. He doesn't like America very much, at least not before he was elected.
His only concern is to see his Leftist program implemented; nothing else much matters to our beloved Sulla.
6) Jim Hoft [Gateway Pundit] has posted a document sent to him by an Iranian human rights activist that
provides valuable intel 'regarding the individuals behind the Khomeinist brutality machinery'. Please take the time to click here and read it. Here's a highlight:
According to received reports, thirteen members of the revolutionary
guard command announced their intention to ‘exit’ their posts within the rule of the supreme leadership subsequent
to a meeting with a group of military commanders; the thirteen announced their support for the protestors, and as such they
were arrested and are being detained under torture and pressure to confess to being U.S. and Israeli collaborators; they are
being forced to confess to espionage.
It is said that one week prior to the elections, the hardliners defeat in
the elections became inevitable; a coup d’etat leadership chain of command was organized and prior to the elections,
a total blueprint was put in place for carrying out this coup d’etat....
7) Paul Rahe sent his thoughts on the situation to Scott Johnson over at Powerline. Here's a highlight:
Iran today looks something like England in the wake of Oliver
Cromwell's death. There has been a religious revolution; it never commanded full popular support; it is now seen, even by
many of its most ardent supporters, to be a failure; and there will be a scramble to attempt to sustain the polity it produced.
Ordinarily, American leverage does not amount to much. In this situation, it could nonetheless be considerable. Economically
Iran is on the ropes. If we keep the pressure on, following the policy of the Bush administration, the regime may in fact
collapse. If, however, in the interests of stability, in the manner of the so-called "realists," the Obama administration
opts to take the pressure off and, in effect, bails out Iran's bankrupt regime, it may stumble on for some years to come.
Sadly, to our ever-lasting shame, this seems likely with O-Rameses on the throne.
8) Jimmie Bise is spot-on in his comments over at The Sundries Shack [his comments worth quoting in full]:
President Obama, from yesterday’s press conference:
The Iranian people are trying
to have a debate about their future.
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs, July 17th:
I think the President has been clear that this is a vigorous debate in Iran
between Iranians about their leadership.
...
[Jimmie:] That is not debate; it is a slaughter. That is not the Iranians having a voice in their country’s election; it is Iranians having their voices silenced by hired thugs. The President may think he’s playing a great game of political strategy but he’s
not. He’s watching passively while brave, ordinary folks are butchered in the streets.
Yesterday, Barack
Obama said, pusillanimously, “The Iranian people can speak for themselves.” Well, they have been and what they are saying is “Help us.”
HE DOESN'T CARE.
8) Special Edition
of Shared DNA...
Please click here to read the full posting at Atlas Shrugs.
25 jun 09 @ 2:57 pm edt
IG-GATE: 'The Chicago Way' EditionI've just updated the IG-Gate part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section
of the WWU-AM Page four new links.
Please keep refreshing the WWU-AM Page throughout the day.
Over at The American Spectator, Robert Stacy McCain reports his latest findings. A highlight:
While Walpin's case has pushed the IG story into the headlines,
the cases of two other ex-IGs are now the subject of congressional inquiries:
• Judith Gwynn, inspector general
for the International Trade Commission, was notified last week that her contract would not be renewed. She received that notice
shortly after Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to ITC Chairwoman Shara Aranofinquiring about an incident in which Gwynn said procurement documents "were removed forcibly
from [her] possession" by a commission staffer.
• Fred Wiederhold Jr., inspector general for Amtrak,
retired without notice or explanation June 18. Grassley says the unexpected resignation came after Wiederhold was asked to
provide "specific examples of agency interference with OIG audits and/or investigations."
RSM is spot-on in his conclusion:
Several
observers see the administration's push against the IGs as emblematic of the notorious Chicago styleof political hardball that Obama learned to play early in his career. As investigators move
forward in their effort to safeguard the independence of the inspectors general, it will be an important test of whether "the
Chicago way" will prevail on the shores of the Potomac.
It will be a test whether the American people
can protect 'this thing of ours'.
The man is out there wearing down his shoe leather, doing the Lord's work on
this story.
25 jun 09 @ 10:05 am edt
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
IRAN VII: UpdatePlease click here to see the original posting from earlier today.
1) Via Fox News, we learn [tip of the fedora to Allahpundit for this and item #2]:
The White House announced
Wednesday that it has rescinded the invitations made to Iranian diplomats who may want to barbecue and watch fireworks to
celebrate Independence Day.
"As you all know many weeks ago the administration extended an invitation to celebrate
the freedom that this country enjoys. not surprisingly based on what we see in Tehran, no one has RSVP'd," said
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
"Understand that July 4th allows us to celebrate the freedom and
liberty that we enjoy. I don't think it's surprising that no one has signed up to come given the events of the last few days.
Those invitations will be no longer extended."
Which raises the question: would the invitations have
been withdrawn if any Iranian officials had accepted?
2) Regarding Neda's family, The Guardian reports:
The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran
home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world.
Neighbours said that her family no longer
lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was
killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her
family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques, the neighbours said.
"We just know that
they [the family] were forced to leave their flat," a neighbour said. The Guardian was unable to contact the family directly
to confirm if they had been forced to leave.
The government is also accusing protesters of killing Soltan, describing
her as a martyr of the Basij militia. Javan, a pro-government newspaper, has gone so far as to blame the recently expelled
BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, of hiring "thugs" to shoot her so he could make a documentary film.
...
In accordance with Persian tradition, the family had put up a mourning announcement and attached a black banner to
the building.
But the police took them down, refusing to allow the family to show any signs of mourning. The next
day they were ordered to move out. Since then, neighbours have received suspicious calls warning them not to discuss her death
with anyone and not to make any protest.
A tearful middle-aged woman who was an immediate neighbour said her family
had not slept for days because of the oppressive presence of the Basij militia, out in force in the area harassing people
since Soltan's death.
What say you, Mr. President?
3) The following are screenshots taken from
a video posted by the intrepid Pam Geller over at Atlas Shrugs:
Please click here to see the full video [scroll down to 3:07 PM]. Warning: it is very disturbing.
24 jun 09 @ 8:13 pm edt
SANFORD & HON.My thoughts and then the thoughts of others on the announcement today by Republican
Governor Mark Sanford that (1) he was having an affair and (2) his disappearance over Father's Day weekend was so he could
fly to Argentina and see his mistress.
1) My thoughts... [Since I am writing this only a few hours after
his announcement, I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks in the coming days.]
Mr. Sanford should resign
the governorship. He is a conservative. We conservatives preach high standards of moral and ethical behaviour.
We are therefore obligated to hold ourselves to those high standards. When we violate those standards and we are elected
officials who were elected based on the advocacy of said high standards, we have betrayed those who voted for us.
Therefore, the only honorable action to take is to resign the elected office.
Mr. Sanford should go and spend time
working on either saving his marriage and salving the wounds he has inflicted on his wife and children or working on making
a divorce as painless as possible for his wife and children. He should be a man and shoulder any consequences
no matter how painful to himself. Whatever way it is decided to proceed, it should be done in private for
the sake of your family and friends
Last and least, he has damaged the conservative cause at a very bad moment
for it. If he has any honor, he should figuratively take the Luger, go in his den, and do the right thing for the sake
of those of us who are struggling to save this country as it speeds down the road to perdition.
You are not damned
for eternity sir, but you are obliged to spend some time in purgatory.
2) Allahpundit has posted the press conference here.
3) Regarding the press conference, over at Beltway Confidential,
David Freddoso commented:
It took Sanford by some estimates seven
minutes of circumlocution -- including multiple apologies, reflections on life, and a brief discourse on God's law -- before
he got to the point. It was extremely frustrating to watch, and it made the admission itself seem almost anticlimactic.
It was embarrassing.
And now...time for the ladies to have at him...
4) The Anchoress:
While Iran is in tumult, the whole world
pauses: for a pathetic, sad, Sanford presser in which he admits he has been cheating on his wife.
Now, go away, sir. Bravo to your wife for not standing there with you, allowing the cameras to chronicle
her misery...
...
I'm
just so SICK of these people with power - our so-called "leadership" - sneaking around, making excuses and carrying
on while the country is in serious trouble. And it's doubly annoying when it is someone from the right; pols on the left haven't,
at least, been mouthing platitudes about values and the sanctity of marriage, give them that.
5) Pundette:
...people like Gov. Sanford make it very,
very difficult to convince our teens and young adults that all politicians aren't corrupt in one way or another. This is precisely
the kind of thing that sours the idealistic young on politics and converts them into cynics. Sanford was correct when he said
that, in addition to hurting his wife and children (the self-centered rat), he has hurt his state and his party. The conservative
movement doesn't need perfection but it does need sincere people who live the values they promote.
6) Michelle Malkin:
It's the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father's
Day weekend to indulge his "overdrive" on an Argentinian fling.
Mark
Sanford: Bastard.
If you missed Sanford's rambling, surreal
disaster of a press conference, consider yourself lucky.
He
had a hell of a lot more passion and pathos for his mistress than his own wife. He referred wistfully to the "great friendship"
and "that sparking thing" he had with the mistress for eight years - during which his wife was raising his four
children.
No excuses.
No
"but, but, look at all the dirty Democrats."
This is a
disgrace....
He called himself
"selfish" at the press conference. That's the least of it.
7) Finally, a rant from me: He says he 'spent the last five days crying in Argentina' and added that he
has 'Committed trying to get my heart right. The odyssey we're all involved with in life is the heart'. Whiskey Tango
Foxtrot Governor! What's with all the New Agey pablum puking? Looking at it ruthlessly for a moment: as a conservative
that wants to see a restoration of what the Founder's created, I'm glad this happened. I'm glad we'll be rid of another
Baby Booming, touchy-feelie, in-touch-with-his-whatsus pantywaist [the Left should have the monopoly on that kind].
Get rid of them all and bring on the John Waynes, the Ronald Reagans, the Barry Goldwaters. 'Trying to work through
something we've been working through'...ah!...he just popped in [from Argentina] to see what condition his condition was in....yeah...oh
yeah...oh yeah...
IRAN VIIA very bloody day Muslim Iran, a day The Anointed One ignores this Unwanted
Distraction because health care is so much more important.
My previous six postings of links to reports on
and analyses of the situation may be found by clicking here, here, here, here, here., and here. And please check out this special posting here.
There have been
many injuries and numerous deaths inflicted on the Iranian protesters today in Baharestan Square.
1) Pam Geller
over at Atlas Shrugs deserves a medal for her reporting today. Here are some highlights from the
Tweets she's published:
all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls
with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere
ppl run into
alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys
so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away -- we lose our group
saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense
nothing - sure that she is dead
they were waiting for us -
they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals
I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war
Her great site can be visited by clicking here.
2) Gateway Pundit is also on top of the situation. Check out also this interesting posting on Mousavi's wife.
3) The crew at Hot Air continues to do very good updating and analysis.
4) Eric Dondero, the Libertarian Republican, makes an interesting
observation that says alot about the Libertarian Movement [tip of the fedora to Jonah Goldberg]:
What
a reversal. Freedom is breaking out across Iran. We are witnessing one of the most historical events of our lifetimes, comparable
no doubt to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Yet, Libertarians, outside of this political news blog, Atlas Shrugs, the Libertarian
Defense Caucus, and a few other libertarian Republicans, are for the most part silent.
Virtually no reportage at
Reason. In the last week, just two articles on the whole Iranian Revolution at Reason, and one was more of a criticism of
how CNN was covering the event, than coverage of the event itself. Cato is similarly unengaged.
The usual suspects
on the Libertarian Left, LewRockwell.com, Justin Raimondo and AntiWar.com, and the Ron Paulists, are preaching the same "stay
the hell out" line, they've been arguing for years. Some are even cheering on Obama for not making any statements seemingly
in support of the protesters.
Incredibly, not a single press release has been sent out by the Libertarian Party
on the biggest issue of the day.
So, where are all the freedoms lovers in the United States to be found?
On the Conservative Right.
Something to be discussed and thought about further when things quiet down.
I've had a problem with the Movement since I observed their reaction to 9/11 [Randians and some others excepted].
5) From The Washington Times, Barbara Slavin reporting, we learn:
Prior to this month's disputed
presidential election in Iran, the Obama administration sent a letter to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
calling for an improvement in relations, according to interviews and the leader himself.
Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed the letter toward the end of a lengthy sermon last week, in which he accused
the United States of fomenting protests in his country in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 presidential election.
U.S. officials declined to discuss the letter on Tuesday, a day
in which President Obama gave his strongest condemnation yet of the Iranian crackdown against protesters.
An Iranian with knowledge of the overture, however, told The Washington Times
that the letter was sent between May 4 and May 10 and laid out the prospect of "cooperation in regional and bilateral
relations" and a resolution of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
The Iranian, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the letter was given to the
Iranian Foreign Ministry by a representative of the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran in the absence
of U.S.-Iran diplomatic relations. The letter was then delivered to the office of Ayatollah Khamenei, he said.
Could this be one explanation?
Tip of the fedora to William Teach over
at The Pirate's Cove. He offered this spot-on comment:
So, Obama disses leaders of countries
that are allies, such as Britain, France, Germany, Brazil, not to mention slights at those countries themselves, but is willing
to reach out to a hard line Muslim leader of a country that still stones people, hangs gays, you know the hit parade.
Can't get the tune outta my head Capt'n.
6) Greg Gutfeld is also spot-on as he discerns what our Fearless Leader means when
he says:
“We don’t know how this thing is going to play out.”
Somehow, that statement doesn’t blow your mind like “hope and change,” but that’s
exactly how Obama feels about Iran.
...
“We don’t know how this thing is going to play out.”
It would have been closer to Obama’s real concerns, if that quote ended with “for me.”
As Victor Davis Hanson has reminded us many times: Narcissism →
Hubris → Nemesis.
7) On last night's Special Report, Charles Krauthammer was rightly
critical of what the Dali Bama had to say in yesterday's press conference [tip of the fedora to NRO]:
It
had two parts. The use of the emotive words "appalled," "outraged" was new and right. But the policy of
engagement remains unchanged.
Major asked him about hotdog diplomacy, meaning the administration weeks ago had
said U.S. embassies around the world will be open on the Fourth of July welcoming for the first time in decades Iranian diplomats
as a way to symbolizing opening and negotiation.
To do that at a time when the regime is shooting people from rooftops
is bizarre. I mean, remember, even the senior Bush, the president who was the most hyperrealist and unsentimental, sent his
national security advisor Brent Scowcroft to China after Tiananmen, after the massacre, but at least they waited six months.
This would be the welcoming of Iranians into American embassies to celebrate U.S. independence ten days after the
shooting on the streets. That, I think, is disturbing in and of itself.
But secondly, the president speaks about
all of these events in an odd way. He says there is a debate happening in Iran about its future. You know, when one senator
yields to another in the Congress, that's a debate. Even, if you like, when you're having dueling demonstrations in Tehran,
you could call that a debate.
But when you have demonstrators out in the street being shot from rooftops, that
is not a debate. That's a massacre or a revolution. And the president refuses to understand or to acknowledge that what's
at stake here is the legitimacy of the regime and not just elections.
While I agree with most of what Mr.
Krauthammer says, I would just say to him: Oh...he understands sir; its just that HE DOESN'T CARE.
8) On the other hand, I think Ace Of Spades is dead solid perfect:
It's not just that Obama is
tepid, feckless, anti-democratic, appeasing, cowardly, and weak. That's his, well, that's his foreign policy. He has chosen
this foreign policy, deliberately, pre-meditatedly, and with malice aforethought.
The galling thing is that, having chosen this path, he alsowants credit for Reaganite boldness and unwavering
moral conviction in the face of evil.
9) So is Michael Goldfarb over at The Blog:
The intellectual and moral incoherence of Obama's pronouncements is staggering.
Today he decides to join Merkel, Sarko, et al in expressing concern for the brave Iranians fighting for their freedom with
his customary swagger. We should not just sit back and say better late than never. We should see the dangers of a soulless
president whose limited foreign policy instincts are all wrong, who refuses to discuss the consequences of murder with a Bush-like
swagger and who's so stubborn and rigid he won't even rescind an invitation to a barbecue. It's a shame he didn't stick to
reading the great Urdu poets.
Obama ain't got no soul...and
he ain't kosher.
Question: Will the embassies be, at least, serving Hebrew National Hot Dogs? Probably only
if The Messiah thinks He's the 'higher power'.
10) NEDA: COMPARE & CONTRAST...
-John McCain:
I know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of the people. I'm not on Ahmadinejad's
side or Mousavi. I'm on the side of the Iranian people and I'm on the right side of history. And I'm not going to walk on
the other side of the street while people are being killed and beaten in the streets of Iran. ...We can't sit by and watch a film clip on television
of a young woman bleeding to death and say that we're worried about the Iranian reaction or our ability to negotiate with
them. We have to stand up for those people. -Barack Hussein Obama:
CHUCK TODD: Mr. President, I want to follow up on
Iran. You have avoided twice spelling out consequences. You've hinted that there would be, from the international community,
if they continue to violate -- you said violate these norms. You seem to hint that there are human rights violations taking
place.
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: I'm not hinting. I think that
when a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car, that's a problem.
CHUCK TODD: Then why won't you spell out the consequences that the Iranian --
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: Because I think, Chuck, that we don't know yet how this thing is going to
play out. I know everybody here is on a 24-hour news cycle. I'm not.
CHUCK
TODD: But shouldn't -- I mean, shouldn't the world and Iran --
BARACK HUSSEIN
OBAMA: Chuck, I answered --
CHUCK TODD: -- but shouldn't the Iranian regime know that there are consequences?
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA I answered the question,
Chuck, which is that we don't yet know how this is going to play out.
Those eyes are looking at you Mr. President.
11) If you've been wondering of there's anything you can do
to help the Iranian protesters: Jimmie over at The Sundries Shack offers this [worth quoting in full]:
If you’re looking for a simple way you can give
a small bit of assistance to the Iranian protesters, here’s an idea I’ve seen making its way around Twitter. If you use Twitter, set your location to Tehran & your time zone to GMT +3.30. Iranian security forces are hunting
for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces
trying to shut down Iranians’ access to the internet.
I’ve
seen several reports that Iranian security forces have been hunting around Twitter, trying to shut down the one reliable (thus
far) means of communications for the protesters. It takes about thirty seconds and if it makes the Mullah’s lives a
bit more difficult, then it’s definitely worth the time.
24 jun 09 @ 2:25 pm edt
IG-GATE: Perry Mason EditionI've updated the IG-Gate part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section
of the WWU-AM Page this early afternoon with two new links—that makes four so far today.
Please keep refreshing
the WWU-AM Page.
From Andrew McCarthy:
Jerry Walpin is a
superb lawyer, a terrific guy, a patriot, and a real public servant who performed with dedication and skill as inspector general.
I understand, and am not surprised at all to hear, that he was highly regarded by his staff. I haven't yet heard a good explanation
for why there was not a prosecution in the case that caused him to cross swords with the Obama administration: At the U.S.
Attorney's Office I worked in, people who appeared to have committed fraud with public money were aggressively investigated
and, if culpable, prosecuted — regardless of party affiliation.
24 jun 09 @ 1:49 pm edt
PULLING THE TARP OVER THE FIELDOver at the Greenroom, Doug Powers reports that Comrade Obamnin
will be throwing out the first pitch at this year's All Star Game. He also has obtained an Executive Order issued by
the President which mandates changes to the rules of America's pastime. Three highlights:
5: A team that falls behind by several runs can apply for a “run stimulus,” which will be provided by
taking away runs from other teams in future games.
11. Members of the media will be allowed to towel off the president
twice per inning. Reporters awarded this honor will be chosen via lottery (the president has granted an MSNBC request for
Chris Matthews to take home all used towels in lieu of one year’s salary).
12: If one team gets down by more
than five runs, the government will take the team over, hire a manager who doesn’t know anything about baseball, regulate
the players’ pay, cancel the game and use the ballpark for an ACORN pep rally.
Please click here for the full report. Mr. Powers also posts this photo of our Fearless Leader practicing:
24 jun 09 @ 1:28 pm edt
THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE HEALTH CARE AWAY HA HAI've just added five more links to the SOCIALIZING HEALTH CARE
Section of JUST THE FACTS, MAM [sorry Senator Boxer] over at the WWU-AM Page, making a total of twelve added in the past two days. Please keep coming back for the latest aggregations
of background information and analysis—ie: ammunition for the battle.
There's been a lot of hyperbole from
the Leftists on the current state of health care in the U.S.—actually, its hysteria. Over at Red State,
Warner Todd Huston, who has been doing the Lord's work on this subject, looks at another case of mental derangement:
See, we know that it isn’t wild-eyed, hyperbole to say that slavery is “just
like” our current healthcare debate because Glenn W. Smithof the extremist left-wing site Firedoglake helpfully tells us that “this is not hyperbole.”
See? Conflict solved. I’m glad we settled THAT one, I have to tell ya.
Unfortunately, one would have to cast
aside all ability to think intelligently to be assured by so casual a disclaimer. It most certainly is hyperbole to claim
that our current healthcare debate is “just like” slavery but not only does Smith indulge in such hyperbole, he
also employs some of the sloppiest arguments I’ve seen with any debate for quite a while. On second thought, there isn’t
much by way of “debate” in this thing because Smith just assumes the concept as a matter of fact and goes from
there. There is no attempt to plum the logic of the principle at all.
Let’s get to Smith’s send up…
er, I mean premise.
Please take the time to click here and continue reading Mr. Huston's treatment of this poor, lunatic soul.
24 jun 09 @ 11:27 am edt
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSECharles Crawford has some good thoughts and observations on the rise of bloggers
and the decline of 'The Commentariat':
We are reverting to something like the hubbub
of three hundred years ago, when countless noisy pamphlets and broadsheets ('news-papers') and other forms of written
material jostled for position. Gradually that led to consolidation as some people bought the expensive kit to let them distribute
on a national scale.
But now the point is that mass distribution is mainly free. And competition as always
is driving down prices, in this case towards zero.
The Commentariat's days as an elite getting paid for what they
do are numbered. For better or worse, and no doubt both.
Exactly. As a self-described '18th Century
conservative', I think it will be enjoyable watching how this all shakes out. Now about the wenches...
Please take the time to click here and read his full posting. Also check out the main site for some very interesting thoughts posted on anonymous blogging.
24 jun 09 @ 11:00 am edt
MEET THE NEW NUT, SAME AS THE OLD NUTThere have been stories floating around that ACORN has changed its name in light
of all the controversy surrounding its illegal, immoral, and thuggish activities. The story is a bit more complicated
then it seemed at first. Michelle Malkin [per usual] sets the record straight over at her site. From the
introduction to her posting:
There is some confusion over the story about ACORN
“changing its name” that needs to be cleared up and given context. Getting it right is important.
I
provided a link to the piece by Kevin Mooney at the Examiner on Mondayin my post focusing on Project Vote/ACORN’s lawsuit against whistleblower Anita Moncrief.
The link was a sidebar to my main story, but I should have spelled out the facts on the name change more clearly,
and so should everyone who has mischaracterized the story and glossed over the real reason for the name change:
ACORN
hasn’t changed its name. ACORN International has.
She's gotten a hold of an internal memo
and other documents. As you probably can guess, the reality is much more slimy and insidious than a simple name change.
Please take the time to click here and read her full posting.
24 jun 09 @ 10:48 am edt
OF RAHM ENEMAUELThanks to Ivan Betinov [and Paco], we now know where The Administration gets the
numbers it uses:
The Obama Administration today revealed the source of the numbers
used to calculate vital statistics, such as the cost of government programs, market trends, and unemployment rates. “Basically,
we pull them out of Rahm Emmanuel’s ass,” said Senior Staff Numerologist William Montego. “We can’t
afford to let a good crisis go to waste. So when we need a good number to shore up a presidential position in a hurry, we
rummage around for hard data in Rahm’s trousers. This precious national resource has provided a firm foundation for
Administration positions, and allows the White House to make sound claims based on reliable information.”
Please take the time to click here and read Comrade Betinov's full report over at The People's Cube. [tip of the fedora to Paco]
On a related matter...
Vice President Joe Hill Biden has done it again: at a fundraiser
at a pastrami farm in Florida, he inadvertently revealed the location of the President's secret, hideaway office:
24 jun 09 @ 10:39 am edt
FEDERAL BAILOUT MONEY IS PEOPLE!Ford Motors is 'going home'.
From J.G. Thayer over at Contentions:
Well, Ford can no longer resist the bait, and has accepted almost $6 billion in a federal “loan” to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Apparently,
Ford thinks it is exempt from the governing rule about accepting federal money: once you go into business with them, you end
up the very junior partner in the deal. You will find yourself pushed to cater to the demands of several hundred new CEOs
in the White House, in Congress, and in countless other bureaucratic sinecures.
Strike 3—you're out!
24 jun 09 @ 10:24 am edt
IG-GATE: The Moral EditionI've updated the IG-Gate part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS Section
of the WWU-AM Page this morning with two new links.
1) From Byron York's latest posting over at The Washington
Examiner:
One of the mysteries surrounding President Obama's firing of AmeriCorps
inspector general Gerald Walpin is what prompted the White House, supported by the board of directors of the Corporation for
National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps, to try to get rid of Walpin so quickly and quietly?
On
the evening of Wednesday, June 10, an official of the White House counsel's office called Walpin to tell him he had one hour
to resign or be fired. The action flew in the face of a law (sponsored by Barack Obama when he was a senator) that requires
the president to give Congress 30 days' notice, plus cause, when he intends to fire an IG. In this case, the White House
apparently wanted to dispatch Walpin quickly by pushing him to resign, which would not have required the president to go through
the congressional notification process. Instead, Walpin refused to quit, and only then did the White House tell Congress.
Why the rush?...
Why indeed. Please take the time to click here and find out what Mr. York has uncovered.
Kudos to Byron York and Robert Stacy McCain for working this story so hard.
2) Over at NTC News, Jimmie Bise is spot-on:
Our government relies on the checks and balances that keep one branch from becoming
more powerful than any other. The Inspectors General are a vital balance against overreach from the Executive Branch. We need
to make sure that balance is maintained.
I've worked for over a quarter of a century for government.
The IG's are an absolute necessity to keep everyone honest. When word gets to a department or agency that their IG is
on the hunt, the staff worry. And rightly so. I have yet to see an IG playing politics. The vast, vast majority
take their independent role very seriously and do their jobs admirably. For Tiberius Obamacus's royal court to
'put the muscle' on the IG's of the Executive Branch and for His minions in the Congress to ignore this, makes me fear for
the future of the republic. We cannot afford to let men like Mr. Walpin be bullied—if anything for our own sakes.
But, mainly, because we have a moral obligation to them as the ultimate holders of the sovereignty.
24 jun 09 @ 7:28 am edt
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
DISPATCH FROM THE WHIRLWINDIts been quite a busy day here in The Beloved City.
Links added over
at WWU-AM...
-THE WAR OF THE WORLDS: 3 [Victor Davis Hanson and Andrew McCarthy]
-THE
ROAD TO SERFDOM: 1
-THE OUTFIT TRANSCRIPTS: 1
-IG-Gate in
UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS: 10
-JUST THE FACTS, MAM [sorry Senator Boxer]: 9
=SOCIALIZING HEALTH CARE = 8 [including 3 from Keith Hennessey]
=Joseph Lawler
on the President's disbanding of his Council On Bioethics
The latest on Iran.
I've got some more I wasn't able to get to in other sections of this site that I will post tomorrow.
23 jun 09 @ 8:18 pm edt
REVOLTINGFrom the President's Press Conference today:
CHUCK TODD: Mr. President, I want to follow up on Iran. You have avoided twice
spelling out consequences. You've hinted that there would be, from the international community, if they continue to violate
-- you said violate these norms. You seem to hint that there are human rights violations taking place.
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: I'm not hinting. I
think that when a young woman gets shot on the street when she gets out of her car, that's a problem.
CHUCK TODD: Then why won't you spell out the consequences that the Iranian
--
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: Because I think, Chuck, that we don't
know yet how this thing is going to play out. I know everybody here is on a 24-hour news cycle. I'm not.
CHUCK TODD: But shouldn't -- I mean, shouldn't the world and Iran --
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: Chuck, I answered --
CHUCK
TODD: -- but shouldn't the Iranian regime know that there are consequences?
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA I answered the question, Chuck, which is that we
don't yet know how this is going to play out.
Yes, Mr. President, we do...
I'll state it again: HE DOESN'T CARE.
23 jun 09 @ 8:06 pm edt
IG-GATE: Shoe Leather Edition
23 jun 09 @ 7:16 pm edt
IG-GATE: 'Get On The Bus!' Edition
23 jun 09 @ 11:46 am edt
IRAN VIAnother day of bloodshed and terror in Muslim Iran, another day The Anointed One
smirks at this Unwanted Distraction.
My previous five postings of links to reports on and analyses of the
situation may be found by clicking here, here, here, here, and here.
1) Over at Pajamas Media, the Capo Di Tutti Capi of Iranian experts, Michael Ledeen,
posted an update last evening of what he has heard and what he thinks. Two highlights:
–Fifth, that there are cracks in the regime’s edifice,
ranging from declarations of small groups of Revolutionary Guards calling on their brothers to defect to “the people,”
to a phenomenon that is just beginning to be discussed here and there, mostly on the Net but originally in an Arab newspaper. Steve Schippert postedon it and did a first-class analysis. Steve starts with a report from al Arabiya that
says senior ayatollahs have been meeting secretly in Qom to discuss significant changes in the structure of the Iranian state.
In addition to the Iranian clerics, there was a foreigner: Jawad al-Shahristani, the supreme representative of Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, the foremost Shiite leader in Iraq.
If this is true, it is, as Steve says, huge. Because
it means that senior religious leaders in Iran are talking to the representative of an Iraqi Imam who believes, as most Shi’ites
did before Khomeini’s heresy, that the proper role of religious leaders is to guide their people from the mosque, not
from the political capital. In other words, they are talking about the most serious form of regime change.
Watch that story.
And...
Those who think they can foresee the outcome
of this revolutionary war have greater confidence in their prophetic powers than I. I don’t think Mousavi or Khamenei
has any such confidence; they are fighting it out, as they must. Victory or defeat can come about slowly or rapidly,
the result of cunning, courage or accident, and most likely a combination of all three.
One thing seems certain:
the Iranian people were right when they realized that nobody in the outside world would help them. They’re on
their own.
Which is indeed a great pity, and a terrible stain on our national virtue.
A very
large stain. I think we need to Clorox The White House.
2) Victor Davis Hanson may have the best understanding of the reasoning of Barack The Unready in this matter [although he does offer several other plausible ones—I think this is the most likely one]:
It’s a personal thing that interferes with Obama’s ego, and messianic personal diplomacy. Obama himself
is not comfortable with those abroad who emulate American values and seek to have the freedoms and rights we take for granted.
The post-colonial industry mandates that the Other is a perpetual victim of colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and racism
with justified grievances. Only elite American intellectuals of singular insight and empathy understand the calculus of the
oppressed, and so, through apologies, accommodations, and concessions, they alone on our behalf can deal with an Ahmadinejad,
Chavez, Ortega, Castro, Morales, Nasrallah, etc. But when we see a purple-finger election, a statue of liberty at Tiananmen,
or the current Levi-clad, cell-phoning, English-placard-carrying Iranian grassroots resistance, all the above is rendered
null and void. Obama wants to rise above his country; but when his country is not held in disrepute (as is true among the
Iranian people), he is an actor without a role.
People abroad really do prefer freedom and true constitutional
government to autocratic grievance mongers who loot their country and brutalize the free. In such conditions, old-fashioned
Americans, often inarticulate and perhaps clumsy, but honest in their belief in the universal appeal of human freedom, do
better than all the nuanced Kennedy School intellectuals (e.g. They laughed at the reductionist “Tear Down This
Wall” and “Evil Empire” and apparently preferred “No Inordinate Fear of Communism”). So a deer-in-the-headlights
Obama wonders, ‘Wait, why aren’t they shouting the boilerplate ‘Death to America!’ and invoking, like
I did, 1953 and the CIA crimes? Don’t they know the things that we did to them and I apologized for? Don’t they
see that I am as separate from the US of the 1950s as they are? What’s this grass-roots rejection of an anti-Western,
anti-colonialist indigenous Iranian government all about? (cf. his moral equivalent comparison of Mousavi to Ahmadinejad as
equally anti-American).
3) Over at The Corner, Andrew McCarthy offers his opinion on the reasoning of Tiberius Obamacus:
The key to understanding Obama, on Iran as on other matters, is that he
is a power-politician of the hard Left : He is steeped in Leftist ideology, fueled
in anger and resentment over what he chooses to see in America's history, but a "pragmatist" in the sense that where
ideology and power collide (as they are apt to do when your ideology becomes less popular the more people understand it),
Obama will always give ground on ideology (as little as circumstances allow) in order to maintain his grip on power.
It would have been political suicide to issue a statement supportive of the mullahs, so
Obama's instinct was to do the next best thing: to say nothing supportive of the freedom fighters. As this position became
increasingly untenable politically, and as Democrats became nervous that his silence would become a winning political round
for Republicans, he was moved grudgingly to burble a mild censure of the mullah's "unjust" repression — on
the order of describing a maiming as a regrettable "assault," though enough for the Obamedia to give him cover.
But expect him to remain restrained and to continue grossly understating the Iranian regime's deadly response. That will change
only if, unexpectedly, it appears that the freedom-fighters may win, at which point he'll scoot over to the right side
of history and take all conceivable credit.
I think Victor had this right on Saturday: "Obama is almost more at ease with virulent
anti-Westerners, whose grievances Obama has long studied (and perhaps in large part entertained)," (though I'd have
omitted the "almost"). Mark Steyn made the same point in a post last week (about a Robert Kagan
column that Pete Wehner also discussed).
It's a mistake to perceive this as "weakness" in Obama. It would have been weakness for him to flit over to the freedom fighters' side the minute it seemed politically expedient.
He hasn't done that, and he won't. Obama has a preferred outcome here, one that is more in line with his worldview, and
it is not victory for the freedom fighters. He is hanging as tough as political pragmatism allows, and by doing so he
is making his preferred outcome more likely. That's not weakness, it's strength — and strength of the sort that
ought to frighten us.
I think both gentlemen are correct—God help us.
4) Daniel Pipes offers some analysis in a short interview with Kathryn Jean Lopez here:
Q: What
do you find most surprising/revealing about this post-election crisis in Iran?
A:I am taken aback by the nearly complete absence of Islam in the
discussion. One hears about democracy, freedom, and justice, all of which do play a role, but the key issue is the Iranian
population’s repudiation of the Islamist ideology that has dominated its lives for the past 30 years. Should the regime
in Tehran be shaken by current challenges, this will likely have profound implications for the global career of radical Islam.
5) Miss Lopez also interviews Michael Ledeen here.
Bravo Miss Lopez.
6) Don't forget to keep checking over at the following sites for up-to-the-minute
updates and analysis...
-Gateway Pundit
-Atlas Shrugs
-Hot Air
-NTC News
-and a new one I discovered: Pejman Yousefzadeh's blog over at The New Ledger
7) William Teach links to this heartening report from the Business Wire:
Rebtel, the people’s global communications company, today announced it is offering
Iranians around the world a quarter of a million minutes of free calling home in support of the non-violent protesters that
have taken to the streets over the disputed presidential elections 10 days ago.
“No strings attached –
just call home on Rebtel and make sure your family and friends in Iran are okay,” said Hjalmar Winbladh, Rebtel’s
chief executive officer.
To receive 20 minutes of free calling to Iran go to http://www.rebtel.com
1. Click ‘Try Now’ and register
2. Enter the voucher code “iranelection”
3. Click ‘Redeem now’
8) We end with this spot-on commentary from Micheal Ramirez over at
Investor's Business Daily:
23 jun 09 @ 9:05 am edt
Monday, June 22, 2009
IRAN V: 'I'M BURNING, I'M BURNING!'WARNING: At the end of this posting, after Item #7, there
will be a graphic photo of Neda Agha-Soltan, as she lay dying.
Another day of bloodshed in Muslim Iran,
another day The Anointed One wishes this Unwanted Distraction would go away.
My previous four postings of
links to reports on and analyses of the situation may be found by clicking here, here, here, and here.
1) Hot Airshould win a medal for their excellent
ongoing coverage of events. Ed Morrissey and Allahpundit deserve special mention. Please take the time to click here and visit the main site. And what follows are links to individual postings:
-Endgame
-Can Obama still want talks with Iranian mullahs?
-Iran escalation [with several updates]
-Contrast: Iranian Protestors Shot As Obama Goes for Ice Cream
-Remember "Ahmadinejad Won. Get Over It."
-State Dep't: Iranian diplomats still welcome to
celebrate July 4th with U.S.
This last posting links to an AFP report:
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats
to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.
President Barack Obama's administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy
barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"There's no thought to rescinding
the invitations to Iranian diplomats," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.
Barack
Hussein Obama has no sense of decency. Hillary Rodham Clinton we already knew had none. I hope the Iranian thugs
show up and BBQ some State Department weenies.
2) Benjamin Netanyahu [tip of the fedora to Jennifer Rubin]:
Obviously,
you see a regime that represses its own people and spreads terror far and wide. It is a, a regime whose real nature has been
unmasked, and it’s been unmasked by incredible acts of courage by Iran’s citizens. hey, they go into the
streets, they face bullets. And I tell you, as somebody who believes deeply in democracy, that you see the Iranian lack of
democracy at work. And I think this better explains and best explains to the entire world what this regime is truly about.
3) Andrew McCarthy commenting on the President's handling of the situation is dead
solid perfect:
A lot of commentary...surmising that
Obama the "realist" has made up his mind to stay on the sidelines, holding to his mulish determination to "engage"
the mullahs, and therefore taking no steps to undermine their legitimacy. I agree with that, but then there's the rationale offered
for Obama's posture (by Rich [Lowry] and seeming accepted by Michael Rubin) : He thinks the central imperative is to stop Iran from getting nukes, and building
on his overtures to the regime — so the argument goes — is the key to that goal. With due respect, I find that
unpersuasive. I think the Obama administration is resigned to Iran's getting nuclear weapons and has no intention of doing
anything meaningful to stop that from happening. From a political standpoint, Obama's goal is to look like he's making efforts
to bring Iran around on nukes while concurrently inuring our country to the idea that the Iranian nuke is an inevitability
— so that when this self-fulfilling eventuality comes to pass he won't take too much of a hit in the polls.
Considerations of Islamic ideology have been discouraged in this country since 9/11
— lest we detect a nexus between Muslim doctrine and Muslim terror. Consequently, there is general ignorance about the
Islamic political program (Islam is not just a religion, it is a comprehensive socio-political program). But for a few nettlesome
differences (like equality for women and hostility to homosexuals), the Islamic political program — especially
the totalitarian version regnant in the Islamic Republic of Iran — is something the American Left would be very comfortable
with. Obama understands this, and I think it is a better explanation for his solicitude toward Khamenei than any hope of reversing
Iran's nuclear ambitions.
4) Over at Red State, Josh Painter has written a great posting explain
just who the Basji Militia are:
If you've watched any of the televised
images from Iran since the people first went into the streets to protest their country's rigged election, you've seen them
in action. That bunch of thugs wearing civilian garb and clubbing protesters with nightsticks are the Basij - Niruyeh Moghavemat
Basij is the formal name - the militia the mullahs use to maintain control of Iran's population.
In addition to their nightsticks (some of which
are electrically charged), members of the Basij (pronounced buh-SEEJ) also wield chains, knives and axes, and they ride around
on small motorbikes. A commenter on CNN this weekend described them as "a cross between Hell's Angels and Al-Qaeda."
While their motorbikes are small compared to the hogs the Angels ride, don't laugh. The little bikes have more than enough
power to chase down young Iranians who are fleeing for their lives.
5) Jim Treacher has up some spot-on comments, his tweets, and good links
over at the Greenroom. A highlight:
It isn't about the ice
cream. People need to start realizing that Obama isn't the President of the United States; the United States is the throne
upon which Obama sits. "Let them eat soft-serve."
P.S. In honor of Obama's commanding leadership, Ben
& Jerry's has announced 6 delicious new flavors: Truncheon Crunch, Ayatollhouse Cookie Dough, Lemon Loin-Gird, Ineffectual
Fudge, Let Them Eat Cake Batter, and Toffeetalitarianism.
6) Gateway Pundit has been doing
top notch aggregating as well. Please take the time to click here, scroll down, and check out his numerous postings. [Related to Basij thugs, Jim has published some great pictures here.]
7) Pamela Geller, per usual, is doing the Lord's work over at Atlas
Shrugs. Please take the time to click here, scroll down, and check out her numerous postings
and pictures. Here's a highlight from a recent update from this evening:
3:21 pm: U.S. Navy Hangs Back in Persian
Gulf as Questions Mount About Defecting Iranian Revolutionary Guard (Foxnews.com)
President Pantywaist:
the last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those
forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States. That’s what
they do. That’s what we’re already seeing. We shouldn’t be playing into that. There should be no distractions
from the fact that the Iranian people are seeking to let their voices be heard.
That's the American president talking. COWARD! Playing to the mullahs. No one thinks this about America, fool.
No,
Miss Geller, the bastard thinks its all about him.
8) The following is a picture of Neda Agha-Soltan after she
was shot by government murderers:
At 3:30 the two friends spoke. "I told her, 'Neda, don't go,'
" she recalled, heaving with sobs. But she was as stubborn as she
was honest, Golshad said, and she ended up going anyway.
"She said, 'Don't worry. It's just one bullet and its over.' "
"She couldn't stand the injustice of it all," Panahi said. "All she wanted was the proper vote
of the people to be counted."
REMEMBER
THAT FACE. That is what the Iranian Islamic Regime stands for. Have you even looked at it Mr. President?
Over at The Los Angeles Times, Borzou Daragahi does some great reporting on when she was shot and the reactions
of her friends and family. [tip of the fedora to Allahpundit]
I obtained this picture from this posting at Dan Collins's site Piece Of Work In Progress [thanks Mr. Collins].
22 jun 09 @ 7:41 pm edt
IG-GATE: The Chicago Outfit EditionAs promised, I've updated the IG-Gate part of the UNWELCOME DISTRACTIONS
Section of the WWU-AM Page. Eight new links have been added. Here are highlights from three of them...
1) John Kass of the Chicago Tribune understands The Obamleone Family:
The use of political muscle may be prohibited
in the mythic transcendental fairyland where much of the Obama spin originates, sprouting green and lush, like the never-ending
fields of primo Hopium.
But our president is from Chicago. Obama's Media Merlin David Axelrod and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel come right from Chicago Democratic machine boss Mayor Richard Daley. They don't believe in fairies.
...
It's the Chicago Way. Now, formally, it's also the Chicago on the Potomac Way.
2) So does Michael Barone:
...he does business Chicago-style. His first political ambition was to be mayor of
Chicago, the boss of all he surveyed; he has had to settle for the broader but less complete hegemony of the presidency. From
Chicago he brings the assumption that there will always be a bounteous private sector that can be plundered endlessly on behalf
of political favorites. Hence the government takeover of General Motors and Chrysler to bail out the United Auto Workers,
the proposal for channeling money from the private nonprofits to the government by limiting the charitable deduction for high
earners, the plan for expanding government (and public employee union rolls) by instituting universal pre-kindergarten.
Chicago-style, he has kept the Republicans out of serious policy negotiations
but has allowed left-wing Democrats to veto a measure upholding his own decision not to release interrogation photos. While
promising a politics of mutual respect, he peppers both his speeches and impromptu responses with jabs at his predecessor.
Basking in the adulation of nearly the entire press corps, he whines about his coverage on Fox News. Those who stand in the
way, like the Chrysler secured creditors, are told that their reputations will be destroyed; those who expose wrongdoing by
political allies, like the AmeriCorps inspector general, are fired.
3) Sitting at his desk, unlit cigar stub covered in saliva, half bottle of Scotch by his side, fedora tilted back,
tie undone, half-eaten sandwich on the other side, Robert Spencer Tracy McCain is typing:
Conservatives can be excused for thinking that rampant Obamaphilia in the press corps
will protect The One from any possible consequences for malfeasance or error, if only because this has hitherto been the case.
But . . .
Honeymoon kisses ain't news. An FBI investigation of an alleged cover-up is news. The snobs and sycophants in the White House press corps might be
predisposed to ignore or dismiss this story but -- believe it or not -- there are still a handful of real old-fashioned reporters
in America who get excited at the prospect of scoring an exclusive, and who don't give a damn what the political consequences
are.
Not every reporter in America is part of the Washington press elite. But if some reporter at Sacramento Bee aspires to join that elite, what better way than to dig in on this Walpin/St. HOPE/Kevin Johnson/AmeriCorps story and try to turn it into an award-winning investigative series?
It doesn't
matter what the political angle is. The hotshot California reporter who scores scoop after scoop on a story of national consequence
can build a stack of clippings demonstrating his investigative chops, get some of his stories linked by Drudge and cited by
other news organizations and, next thing you know, somebody's paying his round-trip plane fare to Washington or New York to
interview for a big new job.
Upward mobility in a declining industry? Kinda cool.
22 jun 09 @ 2:52 pm edt
ENOUGH IS ENOUGHAs your probably heard last week, the most deliberative body in the world, the
U.S. Senate, voted in favor of a resolution unanimously [the Stupid Party rides again] apologizing
for slavery in America. Two of my favorite bloggers offered two different and spot-on commentaries related
to this action...
1) Monique Stuart speaks, I think, for a lot of us:
All this makes me think is that the Senate is full of a bunch of idiots. Did we really
need a resolution apologizing for slavery? Do these people have nothing better to do with their time? I hope they are only
apologizing for themselves. No one I have ever met in my life owned a slave. I have nothing to be sorry for. Slavery was wrong,
but I’m not the one that committed that wrong so this apology better not be on my behalf.
Hear, hear.
I've never owned a slave; I have never condoned slavery. I believe in being colorblind as did MLK. I've got nothing
to apologize for here.
So now the professional oppressed-class-grievence leaders must be appeased, right?
No way ofay. As The Washington Post reports [tip of the fedora to Miss Stuart]:
The Senate's apology follows a similar apology
passed last year by the House. One key difference is that the Senate version explicitly deals with the long-simmering issue
of whether slavery descendants are entitled to reparations, saying that the resolution cannot be used in support of claims
for restitution. The House is expected to revisit the issue next week to conform its resolution to the Senate version.
...
As with all congressional apologies -- but especially this one -- concerns about liability for restitution
were part of the political calculations, in this case because of the long-running debate about whether the descendants of
slaves should be compensated.
Charles Ogletree, the Harvard law professor who has championed restitution, was consulted
on the Senate's resolution and supports it, but he said it is not a substitute for reparations. "That battle will be
prolonged," he said.
Randall Robinson, author of "The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks," said he
sees the Senate's apology as a "confession" that should lead to a next step of reparations. "Much is owed,
and it is very quantifiable," he said. "It is owed as one would owe for any labor that one has not paid for, and
until steps are taken in that direction we haven't accomplished anything."
2) Over at The Other McCain, Smitty thinks this as good enough a time to abolish Affirmative Action:
Now, Affirmative Action is by no means the same thing as slavery, in the practical
sense of brutally abusing people in every physical way possible. But, at a high enough level of abstraction, both involve
discriminating against people on the basis of DNA.
There is no sense arguing against history. Slavery was wrong.
Affirmative Action happened historically as an effort to redress aspects of discrimination that were less severe than slavery,
but no less insidious. One can buy off on the notion that, historically, two wrongs may have driven the situation in a desirable
direction.
At what point does Affirmative Action "jump the shark" and become an exercise in bootlicking?
The assertion: "We have not done enough to apologize for slavery" is not falsifiable. As long as the guilt lever remains in place, some Archimedes can move the world. If any
good has come of the election of 2008, and this exercise in political silliness on slavery, one hopes that "We the People"
can elect some people who have the word "Enough!" in their vocabulary. Throw the lever away, cease the bootlicking.
Right on brother. AA jumped the shark a long time ago.
Since its beginnings in the days of
the French Revolution and a short time later in the writings of Karl Marx, it has been part of the Modern Left's playbook
to actively promote conflicts between class, racial, ethnic, etc. groups. The Left feeds off such conflicts like
some kind of hovering gaseous cloud in the Star Trek universe. It encourages the escalation of a conflict, hovers around
the scene, and waits for the right moment to jump in on one side as the Anointed Ones who possess THE ANSWER.
22 jun 09 @ 2:19 pm edt
WE WANT OUR UPDATES UNCLE BOB!Sorry for the delay in posting today. I had some issues with my ISP and
I was roaming through the ether for the latest updates info on Iran and IG-Gate [updates to be posted throughout the afternoon
and evening for both].
I would like to thank Smitty [and RSM] for the RULE 5 linkage yesterday, and the RULE 2 Reach Around on Saturday.
Forward men—its going to be a devilish march...
22 jun 09 @ 1:45 pm edt
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'This one was worth
the fight.
And it's only one fight in the battle, and we have to keep fighting.'
—Doug
Hoffman
The Restoration will not be televised; it will be blogged.
—Robert Belvedere
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'Bob Belvedere may have the best compilationof IG-Gate information.'
—Robert Stacy McCain
'Robert Belvedere at The Camp
of the Saints appears to be maintaining the definitive index of all things PIG-gate...at TCOTS. ...This is an excellent resource.
We thank you, sir.'
—Smitty 'More great commentary and juicy
links on l'affaire IG from Camp of the Saints..'
—Paco
Captain Ohab:
'From hell's
heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned Fox News.'
I may be reached at
Robert.Belvedere AT gmail DOT com
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T E R M S
Let us make precise and clear-cut the terms we should be using.
Aristotle wrote that A is A; you may also call it B, but
it always remains A. A thing is what it is and, to say it is something else, is to deny reality. There is a lot of denial
of reality going around these days.
As John Adams wrote: 'Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes,
our inclinations, the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence'.
POINT 1: There is no "War in Iraq"
or "War in Afghanistan". Like the Pacific and Europe in World War II, Iraq and Afghanistan are
just parts of a larger war. Unlike them, they are not separate from each other. Therefore,
they are part of the Middle East Theatre of Operations [METO] as the Pacific was the PTO and Europe the ETO.
POINT 2: Many on the Left and some on the Right want to "end
the War". There are only two ways to end a war: (1) by achieving Victory or (2) by being Defeated.
A pullout, before Victory is achieved, is Defeat. They want Defeat. Pullout may
be the best policy―I am not arguing that here―but, leaving without achieving our objective is Defeat.
POINT 3: We are engaged in a War Against Islam.
The term is more correct than "War against Islamo-Fascism" or "War On Terror".
Islam has been at war with all non-Muslims since the
time of its founder, Muhammad [his name be cursed]. Like the Hundred Years' War, there have been periods
of peace in this long conflict, but the Muslim has never stopped believing that he is at war with all non-Muslims.
He can't: Allah commands that all of the world be conquered in his name and he must submit, in all things, to the
will of Allah [the word Islam means "submission", sometimes rendered as "surrender"]. Any
periods of peace we in the West have enjoyed have only occurred after we have dealt them such a devastating blow that they
have not been able to wage their jihad and then have pursued polices that have kept them subjugated. This
began to fade in the latter half of the 20th Century as we forgot the dangers posed by this militant religion and
as they regrouped under new and committed leaders.
If you
doubt that Islam is at war with all non-Muslims, keep in mind this:
Islamic apologists
often point out that Islam is not a monolith and that there are differences of opinion among the different Islamic schools
of thought. That is true, but, while there are differences, there are also common elements. Just as Orthodox, Roman Catholic,
and Protestant Christians differ on many aspects of Christianity, still they accept important common elements. So it is with
Islam. One of the common elements to all Islamic schools of thought is jihad, understood as the obligation of the Ummah to
conquer and subdue the world in the name of Allah and rule it under Sharia law. The four Sunni Madhhabs (schools of fiqh [Islamic
religious jurisprudence]) -- Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali -- all agree that there is a collective obligation on
Muslims to make war on the rest of the world. Furthermore, even the schools of thought outside Sunni orthodoxy, including
Sufism and the Jafari (Shia) school, agree on the necessity of jihad. When it comes to matters of jihad, the different schools
disagree on such questions as whether infidels must first be asked to convert to Islam before hostilities may begin (Osama
bin Laden asked America to convert before Al-Qaeda’s attacks); how plunder should be distributed among victorious jihadists;
whether a long-term Fabian strategy against dar al-harb is preferable to an all-out frontal attack; etc. [Source: Gregory M. Davis, Islam 101, section
4g, found at http://www.jihadwatch.org/islam101/]
They have been at war with us for
centuries and we, therefore, have been at war with them. We are engaged in a War Against Islam whether
we want to say so or not. In an interview with a Pakistani TV network on 23 July 2008, Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid,
Al-Qaeda's No. 3 man and top commander in Afghanistan, has this to say: “Islam does not distinguish between the
American people and the American government, since both are in a state of war with Islam”. [Source: http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD200008]
POINT 4: The term "Islamo-Fascism" seems
to have been created by Leftists. Since (1) they wrongly place fascism on the Right, (2) they believe [rightly]
Muslims want to establish a theocratic regime on Earth, and (3) anything political that has any connection with religion is
bad and emanates out of rightwing thinking, the term makes sense to them. Therefore, the term is nothing
but a way to associate Islam with the right-wing. Muslims believe in a totalitarian way of governing; in
submission [that word] to an all-powerful Islamic leader or leaders.
POINT 5: As to the term "War On Terror",
it is just plain silly: how can you wage war on a thing?
POINT 6: What is fascism? It is when a government
allows private property to exist, but controls and manages the use and disposal of property in all its forms. Citizens
retain all of the burdens and responsibilities associated with property ownership, but are not allowed to control and shape
its use.
As an economic system, fascism is socialism with a capitalist veneer. The word derives from fasces, the Roman symbol of collectivism and power: a tied
bundle of rods with a protruding ax. In its day (the 1920s and 1930s), fascism was seen as the happy medium between boom-and-bust-prone
liberal capitalism, with its alleged class conflict, wasteful competition, and profit-oriented egoism, and revolutionary Marxism, with its violent and socially divisive persecution of the bourgeoisie. Fascism substituted the particularity of nationalism
and racialism—“blood and soil”—for the internationalism of both classical liberalism and Marxism.
Where socialism sought totalitarian control of a society’s economic processes through
direct state operation of the means of production, fascism sought that control indirectly, through domination of nominally
private owners. Where socialism nationalized property explicitly, fascism did so implicitly, by requiring owners to use their
property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it. (Nevertheless, a
few industries were operated by the state.) Where socialism abolished all market relations outright, fascism left the appearance
of market relations while planning all economic activities. Where socialism abolished money and prices, fascism controlled
the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically. In doing all this, fascism denatured the marketplace. Entrepreneurship was abolished. State ministries, rather than consumers, determined what was produced and under what conditions.
[Source: Sheldon Richman, The Concise Encylcopedia Of Economics,
Liberty Fund, found at http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html]
On the political spectrum, therefore, it is located between modern liberalism
and socialism.
POINT 7: What is socialism? It is when a government
allows no private property to exist, and controls and manages the use and disposal of property in all its forms.
Citizens are not allowed to control their lives and are subject to the whims of bureaucrats and officials. If they
retain freedoms and liberties, they do so at the discretion of them. On the political spectrum, therefore, it
is the next logical stage after fascism; some would argue that it lies between fascism and communism.
POINT 8: What is pragmatism? It is a tool used by Leftists,
or those operating under the influence of Leftist logic, to achieve Utopian ends—heaven on earth through social, political,
cultural, and spiritual engineering. It is merely a tool of ideology, part of the means to an end.
POINT 9:The Big Lie - When confronted with truths that reflect
unpleasantly on them, the Leftists deflect it buy claiming over-an-over ad nauseum that these truths apply to and are products
of the Right. This practice is known as The Big Lie. It has been successfully practiced by the
Left since, at the very least, the French Revolution. Thus, we have the now-widespread belief that the Nazis and the
Black Shirts of Italy were right-wingers when the reality-the truth-is they were both people of the Left. I suspect
the violent objections from the Left to conservatives use of the term 'fascist' arise from the fact that they have spent well
over seventy years trying to convince the world of The Big Lie that it is not and never has been a Leftist
ideology.
How does one practice this distortion truth and why is it effective? In a report issued during
World War II by the OSS, the author provided an explanation for all practitioners by describing how Hitler practiced it:
His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault
or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame;
concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than
a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.
By repeating
their lies over and over, the Left creates a false reality that supplements the real world. In this false reality, the
lie is the truth, the truth is the lie. A is not A. [But we know that A must always be A.]
The Left
also practices a variation of The Big Lie that I like to call The Big Deception which involves
a Big Deflection away from the reality of the situation. None of their policies or actions can survive
direct questioning, so the Leftists must turn the tables on the questioners and make it seem as though the inquisitors have
bad or evil intentions. Overtime and after constant and unrelenting hectoring, the Left's way of thinking triumphs.
They successfully infect enough people so that this diseased mode of thinking becomes chronic, deep-rooted, instinctual. If
the Devil's greatest triumph was that he convinced people he did not exist, the Left's greatest triumph has been to convince
people that the Leftist way of thinking is normal. It is not. It is a perversion of reason and a horribly mutant
form of logic. It is antithetical to human life. Nothing but decay and destruction are left [pun intended] in it's wake.
What They're Saying
About
BOB BELVEDERE &
The Camp Of The Saints... 'Sir Bob of Belvedere'
—Smitty—
'So many good things at Camp of the Saints that you need to just click and keep scrolling.'
—Paco—
'Go, read it, fine stuff over there!'
—GatorDoug—
''Belvederus Maximus'
—Smitty—
'You are contributing to a noble yet futile cause -- the butchification of metrosexuals.
TCOTS
roolz!'
—Red—
'[H]e takes retro dame blogging to a new, narrative noir level.'
—Smitty—
'Staunch Rule 5 aficionado Bob Belvedere, is shameless indeed (I have so much respect for this man)!'
—The Classic Liberal—
'Who knew he was such a fan of the undead?'
—Smitty—
'We need fighters, and I suspect Beck will fight 'til ev'ry foe is vanquished.
Bob Belvedere gets it. Phyllis Chesler gets it.
We defend truth and
liberty against lies and tyranny. Every eye is upon us and we are surrounded by enemies as numerous as the grains of sand
on the shore. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer.
WOLVERINES!'
—Stacy McCain—
'Bob Belvedere, you're a nasty piece of work.'
—Anonymous—
'you charming rogue'
—Robert—
'The sad decay of Bob Belvedere into a Rule 5 junkie saddens us all.'
—Smitty—
'Belvedere went slightly crazy on us.'
—Smitty—
'And thank you, Dr. Belvedere, for setting me straight on Rule 5! I tell ya, that Belvedere Dude
is Funny!'
—Irish Cicero—
'Kevin Binversie is not nearly so shameless a blogwhore as Troglopundit . . .
but then again, nobody really is. OK, maybe Bob Belvedere, as if anyone could compete with Bob.'
—Stacy McCain—
'Lord Fatheringay von Whoopsie of the Dung Heap Hooter'
—Anon. —
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