Jesus Painting by David Garibaldi

American Thinker" David Garibaldi paints secular people primarily, but this is a nice "surprise" video in which he paints Jesus on the cross.
"Were you expecting such a 'twist' near the end? "

Hillary Clinton’s legacy of mismanagement abroad

Jennifer Rubin  "The mainstream media assume that, if Hillary Clinton wants the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, all she need do is give an imperial wave, accept the crown and then begin her effortless procession to the White House. Perhaps. The same was said before the 2008 election. Now Clinton has a foreign-policy record, which political reporters unschooled in the issues and too nervous to dissect accurately (she’s going to be president, don’t you know) would have us believe is positive. Rubbish.

"Here are her top 10 disasters:"  Full article here.

The above article is linked to by Alan Caruba in his commentary, Hillary's Burdens.  Mr. Caruba sums up his argument against a Hillary presidency with this assessment:

A Hillary presidency is likely to be an extension of the Obama presidency and that has not served the nation well. The huge national debt is beginning to penetrate the dull minds of liberals, the “sequester” has generated many news articles and reports about the government’s enormous waste of taxpayer dollars. Rising prices of everything are affecting Americans, no matter their political orientation. Foreign policy will be affected by events in the Middle East and elsewhere. None of this bodes well for a Hillary run for the presidency.

So Hillary, if she would run for the Democratic Party nomination, would do so with an enormous amount of political “baggage.”

If she is elected, do you really want your daughter to apply for that White House internship? Just asking.

On This Day in 1964, Democrats Filibustered the Civil Rights Act

The Gateway Pundit  "June 10, 1964, was a dramatic day in the United States Senate. For the first time in its history, cloture was invoked on a civil rights bill, ending a record-breaking filibuster by Democrats that had consumed fifty-seven working days. The hero of the hour was minority leader [Republican]Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen ...." (pictured)
You may not have known this, thanks to the shabby state of "journalism" today.
....
"Michael Zak wrote about this in his book Back to Basics for the Republican Party and reminds us that Democrats, the party of Slavery, Secession, Segregation and the KKK… fought against equality."
Hat tip to Chip Jones at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

Democrat voters back in the day. You say they have

 changed? See what they have said about Justice

Clarence Thomas and Dr. Ben Carson, to name just

two. Examples to follow:

 

The 'Uncle Tom-ing' of Ben Carson Begins

NBC News on Dr. Ben Carson: 'Blinded by the White'

NBC News Bashes Pro-Marriage Ben Carson, Employs Truther Touré 

White House Scrubs First Daughters Ski Trip Report

First Daughters' Spring Break Part II: Sun Valley  "Outrageous as it may seem to some, rather than respond appropriately to the criticism and back off from the extravagant vacations, Michelle and Barry chose instead to thumb their noses at America by flying Sasha and Malia from the Atlantis in the Bahamas to Sun Valley, Idaho to top off Easter week with a little skiing."

Big Government  "A local news affiliate in Idaho reported that the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama, are on a Spring Break ski trip in Sun Valley, Idaho. The story quickly spread across the Internet when picked up by the highly trafficked Drudge Report website.

"But hours later, the story disappeared from the KMVT website without an update or correction.  Breitbart News confirmed that the White House requested that the post be removed."
....
"In March of last year, the White House requested media outlets remove accurate reports that Malia Obama was on a trip in Mexico with over two dozen Secret Service agents."
....
"While each of these trips require a significant Secret Service presence, the White House canceled public tours this month citing Secret Service staffing costs."   Via Drudge 
Emphasis in the original.

Eyewitness: First Daughters' Security 'Shut Down' Idaho Store  "The First Family does pay for the direct lodging costs of these vacations. The travel and security costs, however, are billed to the taxpayers. The White House is currently closed to students from around the country, allegedly because of sequester budget cuts affecting the Secret Service." Store pictured here:

Oops, sorry; wrong vacation picture. I apologize. Below is the one I meant to insert: 

What really happened in Jerusalem

Charles Krauthammer
“I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with those [Palestinian] kids, they’d say, ‘I want these kids to succeed.’ ”
— Barack Obama, in Jerusalem,March 21

"Very true. But how does the other side feel about Israeli kids?

Mariam Farhat

"Consider that the most revered parent in Palestinian society is Mariam Farhat of Gaza. Her distinction? Three of her sons died in various stages of trying to kill Israelis — one in a suicide attack, shooting up and hurling grenades in a room full of Jewish students.
"She gloried in her “martyr” sons, wishing only that she had 100 boys like her schoolroom suicide attacker to “sacrifice . . . for the sake of God.” And for that she was venerated as “mother of the struggle,” elected to parliament and widely mourned upon her recent passing."
....
Obama knows nothing of business but lays oppressive burdens upon businessmen; he knows nothing about fighting forces, yet uses them for his social engineering. Knowing nothing of the dangers Israel faces, Obama demands ridiculous concessions of our only civilized ally in that region.
Obama is, in fact, worse than nothing as Dr. Krauthammer lays out for us here.

In the Palestinian territories, streets, public squares, summer camps, high schools, even a kindergarten are named after suicide bombers and other mass murderers. So much for the notion that if only Israelis would care about Arab kids, peace would be possible. 

That hasn’t exactly been the problem. Israelis have wanted nothing more than peace and security for all the children. That’s why they accepted the 1947 U.N. partition of British Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Unfortunately — another asymmetry — the Arabs said no. To this day, the Palestinians have rejected every peace offer that leaves a Jewish state standing.

 

Foreign Policy Magazine; Let's hold the applause. Obama's trip to Israel was nothing new.  "As it stands now, in addition to Syria, Obama could be the president on whose watch two catastrophes befall the region. First, Iran could get the bomb, or he could go to war to stop it. Second, the window for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue could slam shut."  

Three days

 

Sense of Events

Execution day

Probe Ministries; The Answer Is the Resurrection: Sharing Your Faith in Christ  "So, our hope is a living hope for an eternal inheritance reserved for us in heaven. If I am to make a defense for this hope of eternal life, I need to be able to explain why I believe that the source of this hope has both the capability and the motivation to follow through on this offer."... Steve Cable

Media malpractice stories, beginning with "CNN Stupidly Asks: Were Americans Misled About The Cost Of ObamaCare?" But wait! There's more!

American Glob   "Were was CNN when ObamaCare was passed on a purely partisan vote using reconciliation? Where was CNN when Massachusetts elected a Republican senator to stop ObamaCare? Where was CNN in the run-up to the 2012 election, arguably the last chance to defeat ObamaCare?
"here was CNN when it was known that the Democrats hadn’t even read the bill?
"CNN is asking this question NOW???".... 

The Silence of the Shams "We have an entire industry in this country that is nothing more than a sham, pretending to be one thing while in fact, being something utterly different. That industry is, of course, the liberal media, who daily vow to bring you all the news while in fact sifting the worth of any story through a liberal sieve that has been perfected to block the passage of any story that might reflect well on the conservative view. A glaring example has come to be in the past week." Read more:

Media Ignores Lavish Obama Vacations, Slammed Bush for Mountain Biking   "And while Bush spent more time outside of Washington than Obama, it is also worth nothing that nearly all of Bush's vacations were trips back to his Texas ranch or family vacation homes in Maine.

"The Post, in 2005, conceded that Bush's vacations--unlike Obama's--were not lavish and he did not "make time for fun." "

CNN's Don Lemon Hectors Traditional Marriage Advocate "On the same day CNN CEO Phil Kent insists CNN is not a liberal news network, CNN's Don Lemon mercilessly (and ignorantly) spent seven minutes badgering Heritage scholar Ryan Anderson, a thoughtful advocate for traditional marriage who regularly writes on the subject."  Remember this classic softball a CNN reporter shamelessly threw to Obama?

No post about media malpractice could ever overlook MSNBC and Chris Matthews; Movie Mad Matthews: Pro-Second Amendment Voices Are Like the Nazis in Casablanca  "Chris Matthews on Thursday took a break from comparing conservatives to Nazis and instead compared them to movie Nazis."

WashPost's Sally Quinn Attacks Ben Carson for Prayer Breakfast Speech... 48 Days After He Delivered It! " If Carson were a Democrat with big-government policy prescriptions and his prayer breakfast speech happened during the Bush years, it's hard to imagine that Quinn would take offense. It would, in fact be considered that the good doctor was "speaking truth to power" or being a "prophetic voice" for change."

Want an example? Try this one.  Speaking nonsense to power. President Bush, not being as petulant as, um, recent presidents, handled the affair with grace that we have not seen in some years. 

MSNBC's Touré's Racist Rant Against the GOP And Its 'Black Friends' Like Ben Carson   "The MSNBC host's words speak for themselves."

Daddy! Look what I have!

http://terrellaftermath.com/

How silly are we becoming, anyway? Check this reading list.

Buffalo Wild Wings Refuses To Serve Police Officers Carrying Guns…
"The Manassas Park Patch reports that the employee wouldn’t serve them despite the plain-clothes officers showing him their badges. The server reportedly told the officers that it was a gun-free establishment.
Scott Lupton, general manager of the Manassas Buffalo Wild Wings, apologized for what happened."

Cadbury Boasts Their Easter Eggs Are Now Sharia-Compliant…  "The essence of halal is that any food is forbidden to Muslims if it includes blood, pork, alcohol, the flesh of carnivores or carrion, or comes from an animal which has not been slaughtered in the correct manner, which includes having its throat slit. Food labelled as halal invariably involves the payment of a fee. It does not extend to chocolate but Cadbury lists 71 products which are halal, ranging from Dairy Milk to Freddo frogs to Red Tulip chocolates. The website also states: ”We do not have any kosher-certified products.”"
Emphasis in the original or I would have put it there myself. TD

And the least free state in America, is…  "The researchers calculated in factors ranging from the states’ levels of government spending and debt, tax burden, property rights protection, and health insurance freedom all the way to their policies on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, marriage, and firearms. North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma took the top five freedom spots, while Rhode Island, Hawaii, New Jersey, California, and New York came in 46th through last place." Via Lucianne. 

Time Editor Compares Obama to Nelson Mandela Naturally with the help of MSNBC

A 15-Year -Old Conservative Deals With Bullying From Public School Teachers  Benji Backer writes in this essay

"Unfortunately, experiences I have had with harassment and bullying prove that wrong. This is a timeline of the most extreme cases of harassment and indoctrination I have had in the three different public schools I have attended over the last three years. "

Ho hum, time for yet another 60s-radicals-were-misunderstood film  "The people being given sympathetic treatment in this instance, though, tried to impose their politics by murder, theft, violence, and terror. They’re not “activists,” they’re terrorists and murderers. The fact that Hollywood keeps trying to rehabilitate these people in the post-9/11 world speaks volumes about their values, especially Redford’s."

conservativedailynews

 Lawsuit abuse could choke off medical innovation  "Mike is worried that lawsuits may hamper the medical innovation that allowed him to race again. “Our fear as a family is that lawsuits will choke down the pipeline of innovation,” he says.
"Mike says the goal of the legal system should be balance. “When lawsuits dictate what companies can do and what products they develop, then we are out of balance.”"

Next is an essay on the subject of political correctness of which this excerpt is only a small portion:

Political Correctness  "Political Correctness (PC) is the communal tyranny that erupted in the 1980s. It was a spontaneous declaration that particular ideas, expressions and behaviour, which were then legal, should be forbidden by law, and people who transgressed should be punished. (see Newspeak) It started with a few voices but grew in popularity until it became unwritten and written law within the community. With those who were publicly declared as being not politically correct becoming the object of persecution by the mob, if not prosecution by the state."

 

Finally, for today: What happened to Saturday Morning cartoons?

 

Medicare has stopped paying for diagnostic tests

Are We Aware Yet? "The Obama Administration has stopped paying the bills from hundreds of health care companies, and it has nothing to do with sequestration.

"This is a story of bureaucratic mismanagement at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the harm it’s visiting on the diagnostic testing industry.

"At issue is the way that Medicare reimburses everyone from the big laboratory companies such as the Laboratory Corp of America (LH:NYSE) and Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX:NYSE), to the molecular diagnostic labs inside academic hospitals, and especially smaller firms that make proprietary tests used by doctors to more effectively target treatments to patients with conditions like cancer.” "

ObamaCare's effects are not just on patients and doctors, but are beginning to be felt in research and development:
Forbes Magazine states:  "This is having a profound impact on the market for developing new tests. Investors are shunning new investments as this gets sorted out. It says nothing about how these rates are ultimately going to be established, and whether the prices that the government assigns will reflect the value and innovation that these products offer."

Alabama School Bans the Word ‘Easter’

NRO  "Citing “religious diversity conflicts,” Alabama’s WHNT reports that an elementary-school principal has decided to allow teachers and students to hold normal Easter celebrations, but banned the use of the term “Easter.”
"Heritage Elementary School in Madison, Ala., still had an egg hunt and a costumed rabbit last week, but principal Lydia Davenport said neither could be referred to using the word “Easter.” For the hunt, Davenport also produced a compromise, insisting that the contest could go on, but that the prizes had to be of different shapes, rather than just eggs (no word on how much oblong obloquy this decision in particular raised). The celebration still featured a bunny, but Davenport said “we just make sure we don’t say ‘the Easter bunny’ so that we don’t infringe on the rights of others because people relate the Easter bunny to religion.”
"“I don’t get upset about too many things, but this upsets me. What is this world coming to?” one parent wrote in an e-mail. “I am a Christian and proud to announce it. But even non-believers enjoy a good egg hunt. Kids need to enjoy being kids.” "

legalinsurrection.com 

Another source for Civil War buffs

The Gettysburg Magazine  "Published twice a year, The Gettysburg Magazine brings its readers the best material being published on the Gettysburg Campaign of the Civil War. Each issue contains 128 pages with no advertising. Filled with scholarly articles that are well researched and footnoted and supplemented with maps and both period and modern photographs, subscribing to The Gettysburg Magazine is like getting a new book on Gettysburg sent right to your door every January and July."

This will be the year for sources on the Battle of Gettysburg, since this 4th of July will be the 150th anniversary of the pivotal battle as well as the Battle of Vicksburg. In fact, 1863 was perhaps the most eventful year of the entire war and perhaps the bloodiest for American youth.
This May will be the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville, perhaps the most dramatic victory for Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee had total moral domination over General Joseph Hooker and one had only to look at a map of the troop dispositions in the latter part of the battle to see that.

"Flashback: When Democrats Swore They Would Never Back Gay Marriage."

Althouse  "[A] short video composed of the floor speeches some top Democrats made about SSM. At the time, Republicans wanted to block gay marriage in Massachusetts by amending the constitution with an official marriage definition. Democrats argued against that, but they didn't argue in favor of gay marriage. They argued that DOMA made such an amendment unneccessary. They assured people like Rick Santorum that the slippery slope case for gay marriage was bogus." 

The Case for Fewer Primary Debates

allvoices.com

Political Wire  "Former Mitt Romney strategist Stuart Stevens backs the RNC's call for fewer presidential primary debates.

"This debate escalation is somewhere between silly and dumb and serves no public good. We pick a president with three general-election debates but it takes 20 debates to understand that maybe Ron Paul wants to blow up the Federal Reserve? Other important national questions are decided more expediently: it only takes 12 shows for The Bachelorette and The Bachelor to pick a mate."

"The RNC report recommends cutting the number of debates in half and shortening the debating season. That's a good start. But I think we should go further. To improve the quality of the debates and eradicate the commercial toxicity tainting the events, news organizations should get out of the business of sponsoring debates. Let's don't kid ourselves. These 'debates' have become phony entertainment spectacles not serious news events."

But...but the 2012 format worked so well for the Republicans.

Israel's Insightful Cynicism

STRATFOR  "Presently a real underlying worry for Israel appears to be Jordan. Yes, King Abdullah has so far expertly manipulated the growing unrest there, but to speculate about the collapse of the Hashemite dynasty is only prudent. More anarchy. More reason to heed Ariel Sharon's analysis of four decades ago to the effect that Jordan is the real Palestinian state, more so than the West Bank. And because Jordan and Saudi Arabia could conceivably unravel in coming decades, maybe Israel should seek to avoid attacking Iran -- which along with Israel is the only real state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Iranian Plateau. Iran may have a repulsive regime, but its society is probably healthier than most in the Arab world. So there is some hope." Read more: 
 Emphasis added.

60% of M.D.s To Retire Early Because of Obamacare

floppingaces

I know we need to look at statistics with a jaundiced eye* because so many outrageous claims are made to promote liberal causes. This article includes the source of the claims for you to evaluate yourself.

Yid With Lid From the looks of  it there will be a few industries that will have great years because of Obamacare.  Industries such as retirement communities, travel and golf equipment.  At least according to the latest Deloitte survey, which asks physicians feelings about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The survey suggest that up to 60% of doctors will retire early so they won't have to deal with Obamacare.
....
"The early retirement of Doctors is one of those "unexpected" consequences of Obamacare that was predicted by the bill's opponents. When you combine the fact that there will be fewer doctors with the reality of millions of people added to the medical rolls expect very long waiting times to see a physician in the near future....thank you Obamacare."  The full study here by Jeffrey Dunetz
Hat tip to Jeffrey Dunetz at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

"Jaundiced eye"  "The phrase "Jaundiced eye" means to looks at something with a prejudiced view, usually in a rather negative or critical manner.
It was thought that people who suffered with jaundice saw everything ini(sic) yellow tones, but evetuallyl(sic) the phrase "jaundiced eye" came to mean a prejudiced view instead."

Good Luck Finding a Doctor under Obamacare  "The health overhaul law expands health insurance to millions more people without significantly increasing the number of physicians or other providers. And Obamacare has exacerbated the physician shortage because many are considering leaving the practice of medicine altogether rather than practice under the dictates of Washington bureaucracies."

Three Years Later, Obamacare Is Even Less Popular  "In 2010, the Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress in open defiance of public opinion, and an incensed citizenry responded by giving Republicans their biggest gains in the House of Representatives since before World War II.  Now, coinciding with tomorrow’s 3-year anniversary of President Obama’s signing Obamacare into law, new polling suggests that his namesake is now even less popular than it was at the time of its passage."

Cartoon and the following text from Frugal Café 

 Let me get this straight…we have passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president who also is exempt from it and hasn’t read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s broke.

 What the hell could possibly go wrong?

Obama Vacation, March 2013

Exclusive: Judicial Watch Investigating Cost of Sasha, Malia Bahamas Trip  "When Malia Obama went on a spring break trip to Mexico last year, she brought at least 12 friends and 25 Secret Service agents. According to Judicial Watch’s findings, the cost of that trip was $115,500.87.
"Per Judicial Watch, specific details for Malia’s Mexico trip include:"....

More than a Vacation a Month for Obamas in 2013   "Of course, there's no reason to begrudge the first family for enjoying a good vacation. But at a time when the White House is closed to the public, it all might seem a little odd."

Spring Broke  "And while there's nothing wrong with the girls having a little fun, it does seem pretty tacky to rub Americans' noses in the Obamas' conspicuous wealth (and willingness to also use taxpayer money) while the Whitehouse itself is closed to the young paupers and working-class riff-raff who had hoped to visit during their own spring breaks."

The Left's Continuing War on Women

neveryetmelted.com

Ann Coulter  "As is usually the case when liberals start proposing gun restrictions, they assume only men will be disarmed by laws taking guns from those subjected to temporary restraining orders. But such orders aren't particularly difficult to get. It doesn't occur to liberals that an abusive man could also get one against his wife, whether or not his accusations are true.
"Rather than helping victims of domestic abuse, this -- and other Times' proposals on guns -- only ensures that more women will get killed. A gun in the hand of an abused woman changes the power dynamic far more than keeping a gun out of the hands of her abuser, who generally can murder his wife in any number of ways."

 Tony Branco 

RE-CREATING AMERICA: Cultural Sensitivity in Wisconsin Schools

 

Wisconsin Education Officials Want Students to Wear ‘White Privilege’ Wristbands "Geared towards high school students, the program “seeks to build capacity in schools and districts serving low-income families to develop an effective, sustainable, research-based program of family-school-community partnerships,” according to its Facebook page.

That sounds reasonable enough.
"But the program’s approach becomes a bit suspect when one reads the Gloria Steinem quote on the top of its webpage: “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” "

Republican Doctors Caucus Marks Grim Milestone of Obamacare

FreedomWorks  "FreedomWorks recently hosted a conference call for bloggers and reporters with the House Republican Doctors Caucus. The forum allowed caucus members to make statements regarding the third anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, and the murky future of this deeply flawed legislation. Bloggers and reporters were given the opportunity to ask questions of the caucus members, leading to a lively discussion on the future of health care under this onerous bill."
"Dr. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) opened the call with this statement:"....

Hat tip to Jeff Reynolds at Facebook

The Unaffordable Care Act  "As Obamacare begins to roll out, its champions are beginning to have to confront reality. But because they’re getting a lot of leeway and protection from the political press, the results of this confrontation with the consequences of the law’s poor design and misguided economic assumptions often take the form of little nuggets of truth buried in mountains of frantic, wishful obfuscation. Such was the little nugget buried in the middle of a story that was itself buried in the back of the A section of last Friday’s New York Times."....

The article concludes with this: "These are just a few of the many increasingly evident reasons why Obamacare in its current form has no future. For now, you’ve got to dig pretty deep in your newspaper to see it. But it’s going to become clearer and clearer to real voters as implementation proceeds."

Actual AP Story: Virginia Voter ID Passed Because “A More Modest Voter Identification Law Failed To Prevent Obama From Winning”…

Weasel Zippers posted this today:
"I don’t want to hear any crazy wingnut “liberal media bias” conspiracy theories because they’re not true, the MSM is 100% objective and is in no way biased in favor of Dems." Here is the story:

McDonnell signs bill mandating photo ID to vote  Here is the way the report was worded: 

Virginia joins four other states that have strict photo ID requirements in place for elections, an action Democrats decried as a Jim Crow-era tactic to suppress the votes of the elderly, minorities and the underprivileged.

"This is merely a continuation of attempts by Republicans to suppress the vote of individuals who are not likely to support their right-wing agenda. I guess it's true that if you can't win elections the right way, cheat," said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton and chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

 

http://arranewsservice.com/

A Stark Choice for America’s Budget

Heritage  "Congress has four distinct budget plans to compare and contrast, and eventually on which to base its decisions. Two are from Republicans and two are from Democrats, each competing to be the guiding vision of America’s fiscal future.

"President Obama is the only one still missing in action as he, in direct contravention of the law, is late in producing his own budget—not by days or weeks, as is his habit, but by months. The nation still awaits the release of the foremost governing document by the newly reelected commander in chief."

Alan Caruba; A Carbon Tax Would Destroy America

Warning Signs  "If you want to know what a carbon tax on emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would do to America you need only look at the destruction of industry and business in Australia, along with the soaring costs for energy use it imposes on anyone there.
" “The carbon tax is contributing to a record number of firms going to the wall with thousands of employees being laid off and companies forced to close factories that have stood for generations”, Steve Lewis and Phil Jacob reported in a March 18 issue of The Daily Telegraph, a leading Australian newspaper."

 http://terrellaftermath.com/

Unhappy Birthday for Obamacare

http://terrellaftermath.com/

John Fund  "Skyrocketing insurance premiums, a slowdown in medical innovation, longer waiting times for appointments. Obviously, Obamacare isn’t solely to blame for the long-standing problems with American health care. But it clearly isn’t making matters better. Last week, 33 of the Senate’s 53 Democrats voted to repeal Obamacare’s 2.3 percent tax on medical-device makers, a levy that Senator Al Franken (D., Minn.) complained was hurting U.S. medicine: “The industry is being punished for its innovation and growth.”

"If the only people being punished by Obamacare were medical-device manufacturers, we’d be lucky. The truth is, the biggest victims of Obamacare are the vast majority of the American people, and polls show that more and more of them are recognizing that unpleasant reality."

Kagan 2009: “There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage”

Legal Insurrection  "That’s the statement Elena Kagan made back in 2009 when she was going through confirmation proceedings to become Solicitor General (emphasis added):

1. As Solicitor General, you would be charged with defending the Defense of Marriage Act. That law, as you may know, was enacted by overwhelming majorities of both houses of Congress (85-14 in the Senate and 342-67 in the House) in 1996 and signed into law by President Clinton.
a. Given your rhetoric about the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy—you called it “a profound wrong—a moral injustice of the first order”—let me ask this basic question: Do you believe that there is a federal constitutional right to samesex marriage?
Answer: There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
b. Have you ever expressed your opinion whether the federal Constitution should be read to confer a right to same-sex marriage? If so, please provide details.
Answer: I do not recall ever expressing an opinion on this question.

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Barack Obama

PJ Media  Louis Bonaparte, Barack Obama: history repeats itself.
"The ultimate goal of such programs is neither compassi
on nor social justice, but building a political base of dependents made up of program recipients and program administrators on one hand and crony capitalists on the other. And so, we are in the era of another purveyor of an alien culture, a pretender who is all things to all people, and a demagogue who is hoisted on the shield of the social periphery that is constantly plied with sausages and then sausages anew. Welcome to the Eighteenth Brumaire of Barack Obama."
 

Remember Burma-Shave?

http://terrellaftermath.com/

GOP rising: The oppo battle is joined

Jennifer Rubin  "Last week former Mitt Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades and two young Republican sharpshooters, Tim Miller and Joe Pounder, announced they would set up a new organization, America Rising, devoted to the collection, dissemination and deployment of opposition research against Democrats and a counterpart to the hugely successful American Bridge on the left. On Friday I sat down with Miller and Pounder at a Capitol Hill Starbucks to talk about their new venture."
....
"They argue that 2014 will provide a target-rich environment, given the number of House and Senate Democrats whose voting records diverge from their home-state images as moderates. The essence of good research is simple, Pounder explains: “Good research matches what someone does with what they say — whether you call that pandering, hypocrisy or flip-flopping. Whenever it occurs on video it’s even better. It is the old classic show and tell. Don’t tell them  — show them.” That means a new effort on tracking candidates and following their speeches, votes, appearances and now even their tweets. America Rising plans to develop a bank of material not only about current candidates but also about candidates coming up in future races.

We're talking real mass destruction here

What difference does it make?

The Red and the Black; "What have the Democrats done for you lately?”

Deroy Murdock  "Republicans should start asking black Americans that question — early and often. Doing so could become the

GOP’s secret weapon.
"As Republicans regroup after presidential and Senate campaigns that they should have won easily last November, they should seek votes among the 41 million black Americans whom Democrats take for granted, and Republicans lately have written off. Here’s why engaging black voters could revitalize the GOP.
"Republicans need not win the black vote, or even a third of it. Securing 15 percent of the black electorate severely erodes the stalwart-Democrat base. If 20 to 25 percent of blacks vote GOP, it’s curtains for Democrats."

Bill Whittle on Obama’s Sequester Scheme: “Making It Hurt” (Video)

Nice Deb   "Bill Whittle puts into words as only he can, the diabolical sequester scheme of the Narcisissist in Chief,  which he says  is the most “petty, malicious, mean spirited, cowardly and hateful thing” he’s done, so far.
" “He’s deliberately inflicting as much pain on the American people as he can possible muster so he can accelerate our way into bankruptcy,” Whittle says." 

The Dream of a World Without Oil

American Thinker  "The New York Times devoted most of the front page of its Sunday Review section to a story promoting the green dream of "Life After Oil and Gas." The story cites an article by Stanford engineers published in the journal Energy Policy, titled "Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power." According to the lead author, Mark Z. Jacobsen, "It's absolutely not true that we need natural gas, coal or oil -- we think it's a myth." The authors "suggest producing all new energy with WWS [wind, water and solar] by 2030 and replacing the pre-existing energy by 2050. Barriers to the plan are primarily social and political, not technological or economic."
"Jacobsen provides a shopping list that details what will be required to move to a post-carbon future:" Each item is discussed in more detail at the link.

•  3,800,000 5 MW wind turbines.....
•  49,000 300 MW concentrated solar plants....
•  40,000 300 MW solar PV power plants....
• 1.7 billion 3 kW rooftop PV systems....
• 5350 100 MW geothermal power plants....
• 70 new 1300 MW hydroelectric power plants....
• 720,000 0.75 MW wave devices....
• 490,000 1 MW tidal turbines....

Obama doesn't bluff

legalinsurrection.com

Seven Myths About “Women in Combat" UPDATED

Michael Yon posted this article by G.S. Newbold, Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.). TW has included only excerpts of each point the general has made. 
Myth #1 – “It’s about women in combat.”
"No, it’s not. Women are already in combat, and are serving well and professionally. The issue should be more clearly entitled, “Women in the infantry.” And this is a decidedly different proposition."

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Michelle Berglin trains for an upcoming

deployment at Camp Pendleton in January.

Myth #2 – “Combat has changed” (often accompanied by “There are no front lines anymore”).  ...."The standard for ground combat unit composition should be whether social experimentation would have amplified our opportunity for success in that crucible, or diminished it. We gamble with our future security when we set standards for warfare based on the best case, instead of the harshest one."
Myth #3 – “If they pass the physical standards, why not?”  ...."Any study of sexual harassment statistics in this age cohort – in the military, academia, or the civilian workplace — are evidence enough that despite best efforts to by sincere leaders to control the issue, human instincts remain strong. Perceptions of favoritism or harassment will be corrosive, and cohesion will be the victim."

Picture your daughter in this Marine unit:

Myth #4 – “Standards won’t be lowered.”  ...."Pity the truthful leader who attempts to hold to standards based on realistic combat factors, and tells truth to power. Most won’t, and the others won’t survive."
Myth #5 – “Opening the infantry will provide a better pathway to senior rank for the talented women.”  ...."Those who might meet the infantry physical standard will find that their peers are expected, as leaders, to far exceed it (and most of their subordinates will, as well)."....
Myth #6 – “It’s a civil rights issue, much like the integration of the armed forces and allowing gays to serve openly.”   In the process, they demean initiatives that were to provide equally skilled individuals the opportunity to contribute equally. In each of the other issues, lowered standards were not the consequence.

Stalingrad

Myth #7 – “It’s just fair.” ...."Direct ground combat, such as experienced in the frozen tundra of Korea, the rubble of Stalingrad, or the endless 30-day jungle patrols against a grim foe in Viet Nam, is the harshest meritocracy — with the greatest consequences — there is.
"And psychology in warfare is germane – the force that is respected (and, yes, feared) has a distinct advantage.
"Will women in our infantry enhance a psychological advantage, or hinder it?
Second, if it’s about fairness, why do women get a choice of whether to serve in the infantry (when men do not), and why aren’t they required to register for the draft (as men are)?"....

General Newbold

And the General concludes with an assessment of how political-correctness has stifled open, reasoned discussion and ruined careers of those who dare to tell things as they are:
"It may be that we live in a society in which honest discussion of this issue, relying on facts instead of volume, is not possible. If so, our national security will fall victim to hope instead of reality. And myths be damned."

Gregory S. Newbold served 32 years as a Marine infantryman, commanding units from platoon to the 1st Marine Division. His final assignment before retiring in 2002 was as director of operations for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
 
Update: This comment was posted on Facebook:

Racism alive in well in the Country.... U go! I guess they wanted Osama Bin Laden to blow up the rest of us I guess.... Bush lover!

A response:  "That is your best argument against this General's points? Nothing more? "


Such is the state of reasoned dialog between our ever more balkanized society.