Oliphant

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Theism and Belief

Mike Adams, Townhall "This all leads to my belief that I’ve been wrongly defining liberalism for years. I think a new definition of the liberal is in order: A liberal is someone who only wants to be free from the consequences of freedom. "

AP Exclusive: The Christmas attack interrogation

Yahoo News "The Associated Press has a fascinating blow-by-blow account of the interrogation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab that adds several new details to previous reports on his handling. Overall, however, this news does not change the disturbing picture of the reflexive, law-enforcement-first approach the Obama administration took with the al Qaeda operative. And with the new details come new troubling questions."

Obama's bank bashing killing wealth creation

Ron Lipsman, AT "This is what we get for electing an ignorant community organizer with no expertise in running a newsstand, much less a country. Republicans might be happy that his Presidency is going up in flames, but that brings scant comfort to those whose wealth he is shrinking. As for the Democrats, if I may quote Monty Pelerin in a blog in the Jan 23 issue of this magazine: The only happy Democrat today is Jimmy Carter. He probably senses the chance to pass his heavy mantle of "worst President in my lifetime" on to "The One." "

IPCC scientist admits Glaciergate was about influencing governments

American Thinker "The scientist behind the bogus claim in a Nobel Prize-winning UN report that Himalayan glaciers will have melted by 2035 last night admitted it was included purely to put political pressure on world leaders."

When Tolerance Trumps Principle

American Thinker  "Until both parties put aside agendas and assent to truth, legislative and political process based on tolerance of each other's beliefs is futile and laughable...or at least it would be, were the consequences not so serious. The result is a wasteland of abandoned principles. Tolerance is the pry bar by which the modern liberal moves boundaries."  (Emphasis added.)

For 2010 Election Strategy Dems Decide To Blame Bush For Their Failed Economic Policies

Gateway Pundit  "But, things changed in 2007. Democrats took over Congress, gas prices started to rise, and at the end of the year and into 2008 several financial institutions started to crumble as the housing bubble began to burst. Of course, it should be noted that President Bush publicly called for the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 17 times in 2008 alone before Congress acted. Democrats, on the other hand, blocked reform numerous times. It was later reported after the 2008 election that Bush had nothing to do with the financial crisis. ... Scott S. Powell wrote ...that the present crisis began in the 1970s, during the Carter administration, with passage of the Community Reinvestment Act to stem bank redlining and liberalize lending in order to extend home ownership in lower-income communities. This risk was acknowledged in the Bush administration’s first fiscal-year budget, released in April 2001. Sadly these warnings were ignored by Congress."

PJM Book Club: Blogging Rules for Radicals

Pajamas Media  "My optimism didn’t last long. The moment Obama announced Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff, every radical and former radical in the country knew where we were headed — though few could imagine how quickly we could get there. Then again, if you know your Alinsky and are beginning to fathom the extremism of Obama’s czarist empire, it should seem no surprise at all."

A YEAR AGO IT WAS ALL “HOPE AND CHANGE,” but now it’s Leviathan stirs again.

Instapundit  "Mr Obama’s appeal for pragmatism has some value: conservative attempts to roll back government regulations have led to disaster in the finance industry. But left-wing attempts to defend entitlements and public-sector privileges willy-nilly will condemn the state to collapse under its own weight."

Did the Obama administration blow an opportunity in the Flight 253 case?

WaPo  "...The Obama administration had three options: It could charge him in federal court. It could detain him as an enemy belligerent. Or it could hold him for prolonged questioning and later indict him, ensuring that nothing Mr. Abdulmutallab said during questioning was used against him in court. It is now clear that the administration did not give serious thought to anything but Door No. 1. This was myopic, irresponsible and potentially dangerous."  A mistake that can be rectified, part 4  "...But the decision to try Mr. Abdulmutallab turns out to have resulted not from a deliberative process but as a knee-jerk default to a crime-and-punishment model."

Would the White House Fall for This?

Jennifer Rubin   "Everything is fine, perfectly fine. According to Rich, the real issue is that Obama was not angry enough or wasn’t everywhere enough. Or Left-leaning enough. You can almost sense Republican candidates and operatives holding their collective breath, smilingly nervously and whispering to each other, “They couldn’t be that obtuse, could they?” "