Political Vultures; The sick art of turning insanity into politics

Paul Krugman

Victor Davis Hanson  "Third, the outrage of Daly, Krugman, Sullivan, and others is partisan and transparently self-serving. Paul Krugman would have more credibility on the topic of extreme rhetoric had he written a column a few years ago warning Americans that it was one thing to oppose George W. Bush, but quite another to publish a novel envisioning the assassination of the president, or to award first prize at the Toronto Film Festival to a “docudrama” constructing the shooting of Bush, or to compare one’s opponents (as Al Gore and John Glenn did) to “brownshirts” and “Hitler.” Did we ever hear from Andrew Sullivan to cool the sick rhetoric about Sarah Palin, in worries that his incessant rumor-mongering about her supposed faked pregnancies had reached the point of dehumanization?

"If crazed gunmen are sadly a periodic characteristic of American culture, so are political vultures who scavenge political capital as they pick through the horrific violence.

That Krugman article: Assassination Attempt In Arizona  "You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.
"Update: I see that Sarah Palin has called the shooting “tragic”. OK, a bit of history: right-wingers went wild over anyone who called 9/11 a tragedy, insisting that it wasn’t a tragedy, it was an atrocity.
"Update: I’m going to take down comments on this one; they would need a lot of moderating, because the crazies are coming out in force, and it’s all too likely to turn into a flame war."

Back to Court to Stop Ground Zero Mosque

American Center for Law and Justice "Our legal case to stop the building of the Ground Zero Mosque in New York City is moving forward with an important filing today at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, where we already have filed a lawsuit challenging the project."

Lawsuit Filed to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque  "The group also pointed to the developers' application for $5 million in public funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation as an indication that the project is moving forward."  Atlas Shrugs.

Watching Obama’s Tucson Speech from Behind Enemy Lines

Pajamas Media  "Over the course of visits here, my life and politics have steadily moved right, even as the retreat staff seems to have moved left. Most people I encounter here during “talking meals” never met a war or any armed conflict they tolerated, or an illegal immigrant they didn’t embrace with open arms. I’ve been tempted to ask whether these kind pacifists approved of the Revolutionary or Civil Wars but have bit my tongue and let it go. So I’ve learned to keep to keep a tight lip and keep my motto in Tucson: stay contemplative and quiet with controversy."

If you missed the rock concert memorial service but still want to pick-up a T-shirt, no worries: Ebay has you covered.

Tucson Shooting Victim Who Blamed Palin Arrested for Death Threat

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion "I posted yesterday about Eric Fuller, who blamed Sarah Palin and others for the Tucson shooting by Jared Loughner.

"Now Fuller has been arrested for making a death threat against a local tea party leader:"

http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/

Tucson tea party leader Trent Humphries was threatened today during an interview with ABC.

"UPDATE….. The unhinged leftist J. Eric Fuller was charged with with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct."

Tucson Shooting Survivor: "It Looks Like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the Rest Got Their First Target"
From DemocracyNow.org

Mexican gunman fires across border toward U.S. highway workers

El Paso Times  "Drug cartels use this busy smuggling corridor in between the Quitman Mountains and mountains in the northwestern part of Chihuahua state to traffic marijuana and sometimes cocaine, Doyle said."....

"The shots from across the border angered U.S. Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco, R-Texas, who represents the area.

""It is completely unacceptable that Americans at work, doing their job in America, come under gunfire from across the border in Mexico," Canseco said in a statement. "Our border is not secure from violence that threatens American lives. Securing our border against the cartels and their violent threat must be a top priority.""

The End Of Sarah Palin?

Outside the Beltway   "...Doyle McManus asserts that the Arizona shootings, and most importantly, Palin’s not-very-well-received response to the controversy that erupted thereafter, will effectively mark her end as a serious political force. McManus acknowledges, and I agree, that the argument that Palin is in any responsible for the shootings is absurd, but, he argues, that doesn’t really matter:"

I do appreciate Sarah Palin very much and have always thought she would make a excellent vice-president; much better than Joe Biden. And I feel she has been much more qualified than Barack Obama, who would have been the ideal vice president for a Bernie Sanders administration.

Fidel Castro on Obama’s speech in Arizona

Taken from CubaDebate  "When he began his speech yesterday, I observed that he was tense and highly dependent on the written pages. He soon recovered his serenity, his usual presence on the stage and the precise words for expressing his ideas. What he did not say was not said because he did not want to say it.
"As a literary piece and just praise of those who deserve it, it could be given a prize.

"As a political speech it left much to be desired."

Castro's expectations were high, most likely because he saw the Che posters along with Cuban and Soviet flags at Obama offices and rallies.
Photo: outsidethebeltway

Blame Palin

National Review  "In the week since the Arizona shootings, much of the media’s commentary exemplified Palin Derangement Syndrome. It became a joke: On Twitter, one of the most popular “hashtags” was #blamePalin, which was used to, well, blame Palin for TV-show cancellations, malfunctioning toilets, and bad restaurant service.
"Unfortunately, for all the joking of the Twitterati, liberals were serious. Here’s a list of the top ten most inane comments connecting Palin to the shootings."
Now if Democrats could only blame George W. Bush for Sarah Palin they would have all bases covered. I'm just sayin'.

10 principles for improved business climates

insider online : "A good business climate encourages existing businesses to grow, people to start new businesses, and national and international businesses to invest in an area. A poor business climate does the opposite."
1. Keep total tax burden low.
2. Keep taxes on businesses low.
3. Avoid corporate welfare.
4. Remove privileges enjoyed by labor unions.
5. Lower or eliminate minimum wages.
6. Reduce workers compensation costs.
7. Keep housing affordable.
8. Reduce the burden of regulations.
9. Discourage lawsuit abuse.
10. Attract members of the creative class.
Do not expect these principles to be adopted by the current administration.

Are we as free as we once were?

Economic Freedom Is Foundation Of All Other Freedoms  "Next Monday, January 17, is the 50th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address. The speech is most commonly remembered for President Eisenhower’s warning about the “unwarranted influence” of the “military-industrial complex,” but often left out of the story is Ike’s warning about profligate federal spending as well: “We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.” Ike went on to call for “balance in and among national programs” including “balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable.”"
I think we are now at the stage where opposing the "comfortably desirable" is likened to genocide and/ or racism by liberals.

Why Does Religious Freedom Matter? "The American model of religious liberty takes a strongly positive view of religious practice, both private and public. While it does not mean that anything and everything done in the name of religious liberty is not subject to the rule of law, it does mean that the law ought to make as much room as possible for the practice of religious faith. Far from privatizing religion, it assumes that religious believers and institutions will take active roles in society, including engaging in politics and policy-making and helping form the public’s moral consensus. In fact, the American Founders considered religious engagement in shaping the public morality essential to ordered liberty and the success of their experiment in self-government."  Jennifer Marshall

Religious Freedom On Trial At Mt. Soledad  "The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court panel ruled that the 43-foot Mt. Soledad Cross, which has occupied a seaside hill in La Jolla, California for over 50 years, violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution."...
"Despite the cross’s memorializing purpose and its incorporation into a national tribute to fallen soldiers, the Ninth Circuit wrote in their opinion: “The history and absolute dominance of the Cross are not mitigated by the belated efforts to add less significant secular elements to the Memorial.""
What now about the thousands of crosses on soldiers' graves around this country and in Europe?  The American Civil Liberties Union seems to prefer the population have fewer civil liberties rather than offend even one person. Yet strangely, when I wrote to a TV program that I found their many uses of the exclamation, "oh, my god!" to be extremely hurtful, they wrote back saying, basically, tough toenails.

Making It Up As We Go Along

Victor Davis Hanson  "Gone is Bush the great Constitution-shredder. Tribunals, renditions, Predators, wiretaps, Iraq, Guantanamo, preventative detention — these are now either embraced or expanded. Iraq (“the surge is not working”) is Obama’s “greatest achievement.” The public I think believes Obama demagogued all those protocols for political advantage, then as commander-in-chief looked at the intelligence, and quietly adopted them all. Okay, politicians do that. But how can one “virtually” oppose all that he embraces? Does he just make things up as he goes along, assuming we all have collective amnesia?"

Federal policies failing the Central Valley

Hot Air  "The crisis in the Central Valley comes directly from the application of the Endangered Species Act to the Delta smelt, one of a number of bait fish species indigenous to the area. The order by a federal judge relying on that law cut off irrigation to a massive area of arable land and created a vast wasteland out of a farming bonanza, all to protect one species of inedible fish. Congress needs to curtail the ESA and get the water turned back on in the valley."

calwatchdog