Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Former Clinton Adviser Dick Morris: 'Bill Clinton Does Not Want Barack Obama to Win'

Noel Sheppard, Newsbusters:

DICK MORRIS: "Bill Clinton does not want Barack Obama to win. I’ve spoken to several good friends who are staunch conservatives who have had exchanges with Bill Clinton in private, and at one point one of them quotes him as saying, "You have six months to save the country." "
"And he never liked Obama. They never got along. He is an in-law in a sense because she is in the administration, but, and he has to do what he has to do, which is what he’s going to do, what he did today I think in running around helping him raise money, and is going to do tonight.
"But when it comes to a little jab here or a little jab there, you can count on Clinton to do it. And this wasn't such a little jab. This was throwing Obama under the bus."

Huge exit poll disaster for all the networks in Wisconsin

Richard Baehr   "I think Walker may wind up winning by more than ten points. That is a huge miss for exit pollsters. One little known Illinois pollster, We Ask America, had Walker up 12 with big survey done on Sunday, over 1,000 voters. Nate Silver of the New York Times was skeptical of their numbers.  PPP, a Dem pollster,  had it as a 3 point race the same day. Their numbers have been very favorable to Obama in every state. 

"I bet Axelrod, Messina, and Plouffe are looking at some of the state polls tonight a bit differently.  The Obama campaign is putting out the story that in exit polls, Obama beat Romney by 11.  And if  the exit polls are wrong by ten points or more, what then?"


The Battle of Midway, seventy years ago this week

The Wikipedia account
Return to Midway; Robert Ballard ; Excerpt here.  The book.

Battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942 Overview and Special Image Selection   "Japanese Combined Fleet commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto moved on Midway in an effort to draw out and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier striking forces, which had embarassed the Japanese Navy in the mid-April Doolittle Raid on Japan's home islands and at the Battle of Coral Sea in early May. He planned to quickly knock down Midway's defenses, follow up with an invasion of the atoll's two small islands and establish a Japanese air base there. He expected the U.S. carriers to come out and fight, but to arrive too late to save Midway and in insufficient strength to avoid defeat by his own well-tested carrier air power."
This page presents a special selection of Battle of Midway views, chosen from the more comprehensive coverage featured in the following pages, and those linked from them:
Parts 2-6 found here.



Commemoration of the Battle of Midway   Many links here.
Model of the Yorktown as she now looks at the bottom of the sea, one mile deeper than the Titanic!
War Department film of the battle. Sentimental, but we have missed that feeling for decades.

AIRCRAFT OF THE AIR BATTLE OF MIDWAY  "The biggest single loss of obsolete American aircraft at Midway was sustained by the carrier borne Douglas TBD ‘Devastator’ torpedo bombers of VT-3, VT-6 and VT-8. Thirty five of the forty one Devastators which took part were destroyed. Like the Vindicator the TBD’s were not used in combat after Midway, being replaced by the Grumman Avenger."  (Below)
"The star ship-destroying role at Midway was filled by the Douglas SBD ‘Dauntless’. Both mark 2 and mark 3 versions took part, the earlier as part of VMSB-241 on Midway, the later version flying from all three American carriers as scouts and dive-bombers and sinking or mortally wounding all four IJN carriers and a heavy cruiser."  (Below)
"The front line American fighter at Midway was the Grumman F4F ‘Wildcat’, with VMF-221 flying the mark 3 version from Midway and VF-3and 8 operating the mark 4 version from all three carriers. Both versions made kills at Midway, and although the F4F's were progressively replaced by F5F Hellcats on fleet carriers, later Wildcat versions including the GM built FM-2 served on escort carriers until the end of the war." (Below)
Here is the real "celebrity" of the early war years, The Japanese Zero fighter.   "The most advanced aircraft of either side at Midway, the Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21, variously known as the Reisen, 'Zeke' and Zero, was a lethal combination of agility and range flown by battle experienced pilots. The performance advantages were gained at the expense of lighter construction, lack of armor or fuel tank protection and less power than their American opponents."
This replaces the previous photo of a "Zero" because of the helpful correction by Anonymous, who commented, "Your photograph of a "Zero" isn't actually a Mitsubishi Zero. It's a North American T-6 trainer modified to look somewhat like a Zero for a movie." We first felt the original source was accurate and we thank the commenter for this correction. TD

WW2 Air Corps training film teaching our pilots how to recognize the Japanese Zero
I believe you will all recognize the actor portraying the pilot trainee.
Also seeing first action at Midway: Grumman TBF Avengers  
The Japanese Story of the Battle of Midway (1942)  Complete with precise time lines and still classified secret at that time.
Action Report; Admiral Chester A. Nimitz to Admiral Ernest J. King  Concludes with this report: LESSONS AND CONCLUSIONS FROM THE ACTION. This portion of the report is one reason American air forces got better as the war progressed.

Politico Nails Mainstream Media for Liberal Bias

White House Dossier   "The article, by Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei and its top reporter, Mike Allen, raises a possibility that is shocking within the Beltway but which would be unremarkable to many conservatives outside of it: that the charge of liberal bias in the press “often rings true” and that it is already emerging in stories about Romney’s past.

Republicans cry “bias” so often it feels like a campaign theme. It is, largely because it fires up conservatives and diminishes the punch of legitimate investigative or narrative journalism. But it also is because it often rings true, even to people who don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh.
And the imbalance can do slow, low-grade but unmistakable damage to Romney: Swing voters are just getting to know him. And coverage suggesting he is mean or extravagant can soak in, even though voters who took the time to weigh the details might dismiss the storyline.
 Political Cartoons by Henry Payne

The Wisconsin Recall Stakes

The Wall Street JournalA test of whether taxpayers can control the entitlement state.
"A single election rarely determines a democracy's fate, but some matter more than others. Tuesday's recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is one that matters a great deal because it will test whether taxpayers have any hope of controlling the entitlement state and its dominant special interests."


Lloyd Marcus: Tea Party Express VII in Wisconsin: The Good and the Ugly  "Our tour bus was attacked right before our second rally of the day in Madison."

Political Cartoons by Glenn Foden 
Neal Boortz: Voting in Wisconsin Today  "What we are really talking about here are union thugs who have managed to pilfer the taxpayers for too long.  They’ve been able to come to the table and negotiate with politicians with other people’s money – your money.  If anyone should be outraged, it is the taxpayers.  Hopefully the taxpayers --- and the folks who have escaped the unions since their union dues are no longer forcibly collected --- will take the final step and head to the polls today."


Byron York : Wisconsin labor fight started ugly, ended ugly  "And in the final hours before that vote, anti-Walker activists have spread ugly and baseless rumors that Walker is about to be indicted and -- in perhaps the lowest and most ridiculous point of the entire spectacle -- that Walker fathered an illegitimate child in college.  
"The indictment rumor was the work of the lefty television network Current, relying on what appears to be guesswork and supposition. Walker called it "100 percent wrong." But the report shot through a liberal blogosphere desperate for anything to use against Walker."

If this election is close, it will get even uglier; "Recounts would either be triggered by a secretary of state or the candidates themselves. Democrats are certainly preparing for the possibility, as Politico reports:".... Hot Air


FOLLOW THE WISCONSIN RECALL ON POWER LINE LIVE  "Some would call PL Live a chat room, but we prefer to think of it as a bar–a neighborhood tavern where you can hang out for a while among friends." Click here.


Althouse: The Walker recall election is more important than the presidential election.
More here: Recall headlines, including "Wisconsin recall: Democrats prepare for recall recount." Oh, lord help us. Let the win be decisive." 

Above: MSNBC cartoon. TW had to look a bit to find one with this point of view. Most of the MSNBC cartoons were like this one at right:                                                                             
Daily Caller: Obama has now decisively intervened in the race... "with a tweet. … He didn’t even use all 140 characters. … It’s an effort so self-protective and wussy it may come to stand for the President’s ineffectuality. Next he’ll tweet his opposition to Assad. …"

Rick Moran: 5 Reasons Why Labor Has Already Lost the Wisconsin Recall Election  "State governors are watching the recall effort very closely. While the issue of collective bargaining reform will not doom Walker’s chances, the very fact that he was recalled in the first place as a result of Act 10 makes politicians nervous. Can governors take on unions with regard to their pension and health benefits, which are out of control and need to be reined in?"


This from the Chicago Sun-Times: Wisconsin gov’s collective-bargaining reforms have been resounding success

Ron Radosh: On Wisconsin! The Meaning of the Recall Effort  Walker's "reforms passed and, lo and behold, proved to be the kind of conservative reform that was effective and popular. Their implementation revealed the Democratic and trade union opposition to be not the “progressives” they claimed to be, but reactionaries who were standing in the way of necessary change." 


PJM Exclusive: Marine Vet Arrested at Wisconsin Labor Rally Speaks Out  "This disturbing video shows the arrest of a man who has done no apparent wrong. He attended a public rally in Wisconsin on Friday carrying an inoffensive political sign, encountered many who opposed his views, and was arrested by police."
Listen to the shouts of "Lock him up! 
"Willoughby served in the United States Marine Corps from 1992 to 2000 and was honorably discharged. He was also a firefighter for 10 years in the state of Florida. Willoughby says that his time as a non-union firefighter has led him to suspect that the Wisconsin police officers may be acting as union members first and police officers second."
The (union) police report read
During a political rally, subject raised a protest sign above his head in a manner that created danger to the public. Subject’s actions caused a disturbance during a political rally.
Before It's News has this account of Willoughby's detainment: 
Willoughby, a former marine, said he said he was raised in a Christian family, loves the Lord, and raises his children in a Christian home. He said he could not believe the feeling of being held in a jail cell, looking at the American flag out the window and wondering why he was there. He said, “So many Christians take their freedom for granted. They don’t realize how fragile and vulnerable our freedoms are and how important it is to stand up for our freedom. If you stand back in the shadows, your rights and civil liberties will be stripped from you.” ....