A grateful nation turns its eyes to Al Sharpton

Hot Air  "This important task reveals a new twist in the plot today, as news leaks out that the unwashed masses, crying out for a savior in the media wasteland, may finally receive an answer to their prayers. Reports are coming in that the Reverend Al Sharpton will transition from his occasional fill-in slot to having his own, regular evening show on the network."  The man Sharpton replaces is...

Cenk Uygur Says MSNBC Fired Him for Being Too Tough on Obama  "Did Phil Griffin relay a message from “Washington” that they didn’t appreciate the tough talk? That sure seems to be the story. Then again, maybe they fired Cenk for taking 17 minutes of air time to tell a simple story at the end of which you still have to refer to the NY Times account to know what happened. That could be it as well."

African American journalists criticize MSNBC for possible Sharpton hire  " In recent months, the NAACP and others have expressed concerns about the absence of African American hosts and anchors on nightly national news shows. While the hiring of Sharpton would change this, “this would still be just another non-journalist media ‘celebrity’ receiving a TV show based upon their name recognition, not their years of experience, training, ability and talent..."

Al Sharpton to Join MSNBC As a Host; He's a Perfect Fit for Network   "The past is prologue, so a look back at Sharpton's wacky pronouncements to date should be instructive. We at NewsBusters have a full archive on Al Sharpton that you can find here, but I thought we'd highlight a few items that stand out."

Ousted MSNBC Anchor Reveals ‘People in Washington’ Influence On-Air Content

Obama DOJ takes elderly pro-life sidewalk counselor to court

Hot Air  "Those who know Dick Retta describe him as a peaceful, prayerful man, who regards his sidewalk counseling outside the Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington as a ministry. Retta even conducts weekend training sessions to encourage other pro-life advocates to stand outside the facility to offer words of hope, encouragement and possibility to the young women who come and go from the abortion center. At these training sessions, one attendee says, he specifically emphasizes that the point of sidewalk counseling is not to block access, but, instead, to remind pregnant women that they do, in fact, have a choice other than abortion..."

....

 "Yet, this man, the Department of Justice describes as “among the most vocal and aggressive anti-abortion protesters outside the Clinic.” In fact, the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ has brought a lawsuit against Retta, alleging that he has repeatedly violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Act, obstructing entrance to the clinic on at least one occasion."

Debt debate: End of the beginning

Jennifer Rubin  "With apologies to Winston Churchill, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” That is precisely where we will be tomorrow after the Senate votes on “cut, cap and balance.” "

Obama Writes Empty Op-Ed on Debt Negotiations – Still Has No Plan

"Barack Obama, our leaderless leader, wrote an op-ed on the debt negotiations today at USA Today. Once again, he made it perfectly clear – He still has no plan."  Via USA Today:

Charles Krauthammer: The Half-Trillion Plan  "The House should dare the president to veto this eminently reasonable proposal."  ....

"What to do now? The House should immediately pass the Half-Trillion plan, thereby putting something eminently reasonable on the table that the president will have to address with a serious counterproposal using actual numbers."

Then dare the president to veto it.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennmccoy

QVC cancels Jane Fonda over Vietnam-related boycott threats

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennfoden/

"Jane Fonda’s scheduled appearance on QVC to promote her new memoir was canceled after the cable shopping channel got calls threatening boycotts over her Vietnam War protests, the actress wrote Saturday on her blog."  Chicago Sun-Times

Home Depot Co-Founder: Obama Is Choking Recovery (Updated)

Investors.com  "...The company thrived, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and redefining home improvement retailing. But Marcus says Home Depot "would never have succeeded" if it launched today due to onerous regulation."....

Every day you see rules and regulations from a group of Washington bureaucrats who know nothing about running a business. And I mean every day. It's become stifling.

....

IBD: President Obama has promised to streamline and eliminate regulations. What's your take?

Marcus: His speeches are wonderful. His output is absolutely, incredibly bad. As he speaks about cutting out regulations, they are now producing thousands of pages of new ones. With just ObamaCare by itself, you have a 2,000 page bill that's probably going end up being 150,000 pages of regulations.

....

IBD: If you could sit down with Obama and talk to him about job creation, what would you say?

Marcus: I'm not sure Obama would understand anything that I'd say, because he's never really worked a day outside the political or legal area. He doesn't know how to make a payroll, he doesn't understand the problems businesses face. I would try to explain that the plight of the busi nessman is very reactive to Washington. As Washington piles on regulations and mandates, the impact is tremendous. I don't think he's a bad guy. I just think he has no knowledge of this.

Let me repeat those last words in case you didn't hear them the first time:

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/lisabenson

"I'm not sure Obama would understand anything that I'd say, because he's never really worked a day outside the political or legal area. He doesn't know how to make a payroll, he doesn't understand the problems businesses face. "

American Blacks Cannot Be Blamed For Barack Obama

J.R. Dunn  "These are not black organizations. The system that put Obama into office is a system constructed by white liberals for white liberal purposes. Obama merely learned to create the perfect persona to take advantage of it -- part sophisticated intellectual, part woebegone victim, part street-smart tough. The fact that it was so easy for him is an indictment of the liberal mindset in and of itself.

"Obama has been a disappointment to American blacks along with everyone else. (Proportionally more blacks than whites are suffering unemployment due to the Obama recession, for one thing.) Obama has served as a wakeup call to black America. It's more than possible that Obama, by his very nature, will expose the phoniness of the liberal racial system. We must not let the racist remnant wreck this opportunity."  J.R. Dunn is consulting editor of American Thinker, and author of Death by Liberalism.

Hat tip to Lucianne

No more posturing on the debt ceiling

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Victor Davis Hanson; The Global Fairness Madness

Victor Davis Hanson  "Here in the United States, the 5 percent of the population that pays nearly 60 percent of all the income taxes collected is excoriated as selfish and greedy for not being willing to pay even more. The 50 percent of the population that pays no income tax at all feels that it deserves even more from those who make more."

Media Mogul Charged with First Degree Murdoch

Ann Coulter  "So it's strange to see these defenders of the press's right to publish absolutely anything get on their high horses about British tabloid reporters, operating under a different culture and legal system, hacking into cell phones.

"Not only that, but they are demanding that the CEO of the vast, multinational corporation that owned the tabloids be severely punished.

"This is because the CEO is Rupert Murdoch and Murdoch owns Fox News."....

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/chipbok/2011/07/19/89902

"If only Murdoch's minions had hacked into the phones of George Bush, Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld , liberals would be submitting his name to the pope for sainthood.

"But now the rest of us have to watch while the mainstream media pursue their personal grudge against Rupert Murdoch for allowing Fox News to exist. They demand his head for owning a British tabloid where some reporters used illegally obtained information, something The New York Times does defiantly on a regular basis."

Cut, cap, balance

Neal Boortz  "Republicans have come up with a plan for our debt ceiling.  They are calling it “cut, cap and balance.”  The plan would cut spending in 2012 by $111 billion, cap future spending at 19.9% of GDP (Obama has raised it to about 25% of GDP), and approve a Balanced Budget Amendment."
....
 "Republicans would do well to stick to cutting spending and calling Obama on this Eisenhower era cap. That they can win. The balanced budget amendment will have to wait."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/ericallie

Obama's Step Forward on Libya

Council on Foreign Relations  "It took nearly four months, but last week the Obama administration finally did the right thing: It recognized the National Transitional Council as the rightful government of Libya. That will allow the rebels to tap into billions of dollars in frozen Libyan government accounts in the U.S. Access to those funds is crucial not only for furthering the campaign to topple Moammar Gadhafi, but also for constructing a working government in Benghazi that can eventually be expanded to the rest of the country."
Max Boot is a senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is completing a history of guerrilla warfare and terrorism.

80% of Americans want a tax increase



http://terrellaftermath.com/