By, of, and for Whom? The People and the Ruling Class

Chuck Colson   "But look at where we are today. The ruling class, increasingly cut off from the daily lives of ordinary Americans, has become an elites governmental equivalent of the Pharisees: “they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” That’s from Matthew 23:3-4."

Some opinions on the Michigan Republican primary

American Thinker
Romney gets the job done in Michigan and Arizona  "No doubt Santorum picked up a few votes from Democrats in Michigan, but there may also have been GOP voters who were incensed that mischief-making Democrats like Michael Moore were similarly urging a vote for Santorum, perceived to be easily beatable in a general election."
Should the fact that the Michael Moore Democrats cheat for Santorum give us a new perspective on Mitt Romney?

Did Gingrich Just Win In Michigan?   "Now watching Romney and Santorum each beat the other's brains out in Michigan I think I finally figured out what Newt is up to.  Waiting for it to finish so that he can move south and east again.  Just like he always does.  And if I'm right it means we'll look back and see that both Romney and Santorum showed up for a chess match, clutching a box of checkers."


Santorum's robocall maneuver in Michigan strikes at the heart of his message  "Reagan didn't change his principles to attract Democrats.  He just explained that his principles were theirs, too.  Enough Democrats agreed with him to create tremendous hardship for the Democratic Party for many years to come.  Santorum's maneuver actually played into the Democrats' hands because they think he will be easier to beat than Romney in November.  That's what Ron Radosh was writing about in his article for PJ Media titled "Voting for Santorum Equals Electing Obama in November."

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/walt-handelsman-1.812005

Big Government; Open Primary Shenanigans and the Santorum Democrats


Neal Boortz; Santorum loses  "My ideological choice for president is still Newt Gingrich.  My practical choice is the candidate that has the best chance of knocking Obama out of the Oval Office, hopefully to land on his bony bum right back there on the streets of Chicago (since Indonesia is a bit too much to hope for.) 
"By the way … here’s a question to consider during this campaign:

Have you ever heard Barack Obama propose a private-sector solution to ANY significant problem our country is facing?  Ever?  No?  Me either. (emphasis in the original)

Thomas Sowell writes this must-read;  Pettiness and Mud  "What could they possibly have been thinking about, in the first place, when they agreed to a format based on short sound bites for dealing with major complex issues, and with media journalists -- 90 percent of them Democrats -- picking the topics?
"The conduct of the candidates made things worse. In a world with a record-breaking national debt and Iran moving toward creating nuclear weapons, they bickered over earmarks and condoms. I am against earmarks, but earmarks don't rank among the first hundred most serious problems facing this country."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/28/96818

Taegan D. Goddard's Political Wire;   No More Talk of a White Knight?  " "The biggest impact of Romney's narrow victory in Michigan: It silences the talk of a white knight riding to the GOP's rescue. While such an outcome might not have occurred even if Romney lost -- was a Christie/Daniels/Jeb Bush really going to jump in this late in the game? -- last night pretty much closed the door on that kind of speculation, even if Romney struggles next week on Super Tuesday (which is entirely possible)."

Big Peace; Ron Paul Panders to Anti-Semitism in Michigan "Ron Paul, who has consistently engaged in anti-Semitic nonsense over the course of the past few decades, has largely attempted to hide his anti-Semitism throughout his campaign. No longer. Ron Paul has issued this Arabic-language flyer outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan:"...

"The English side promotes Paul’s “Plan to Restore America” and touts his deficit cutting prowess and dislike of the Federal Reserve. The Arabic side, however – the side shown above – is far less subtle. It says that Paul will cut foreign aid, and specifically mentions only foreign aid to Israel as the target of cutting."


WSJ; Romney's Rebound  He won in Michigan on the economy.  "But Mr. Romney also improved his case for his own candidacy, stressing a reform agenda as much as his business biography. In the final days in particular, he pressed his new plan for a 20% across-the-board income tax cut, as well as Medicare reform. He stressed his ability to revive the economy...."


NRO Symposium; Michigan’s Verdict  "Our experts weigh the evidence. "....it has become extremely difficult to see who in this field can ever defeat him. Romney has managed to win the middle 40-49 percent of voters in New Hampshire and Florida, and now Arizona and Michigan. If he can do it again next week in Ohio, that should effectively be the end of the race." "
Even so: 

http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/0/222167/all-cartoons

Good Grief… Now Team Obama Wants to Blow Up 3 Dams In the Name of Junk Science

Gateway Pundit "Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder…
"The Obama Administration now wants to demolish three dams in northern California to supposedly save the salmon… But the whole reason to support the move was based on shoddy and inconclusive scientific data."

"Now a scientist is challenging the junk science behind the decision.
The City Square reported:

Against intense local opposition, the Obama administration wants to demolish three dams on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California. Low-cost clean hydroelectricity as well as water for irrigation would be lost if the dams were removed. Removal of the dams would also cause chaos for ranchers, homeowners, and small business who live and work in the downstream of the dams. Despite this, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been trying to force dam removal for the supposed benefit of some salmon and steelhead spawning habitat.

Now, Prof. Paul R. Houser of George Mason University alleges that the administration’s plan is all based on junk science. In his role as science advisor to the Bureau of Reclamation, he was closely involved in the project. He has filed a formal complaint (PDF) alleging “intentional falsification” and “intentional . . . compromise of scientific and scholarly integrity.”

The State of the World: Explaining U.S. Strategy

STRATFOR  "The same strategy is in place with Iran. Sanctions on Iran are unlikely to work because they are too porous and China and Russia will not honor them. Still, the United States pursues them not for what they will achieve but for what they will avoid -- namely, direct action. Rhetoric aside, the assumption underlying U.S. quiescence is that regional forces, the Turks in particular, will be forced to deal with the Iranians themselves, and that patience will allow a balance of power to emerge."
Basically, Obama's policy is "World, you're on your own!" We need that policy here at home.
....
"The weakness in Obama's strategy is that the situation in many regions could suddenly and unexpectedly move in undesirable directions. Unlike the Cold War system, which tended to react too soon to problems, it is not clear that the current system won't take too long to react. Strategies create psychological frameworks that in turn shape decisions, and Obama has created a situation wherein the United States may not react quickly enough if the passive approach were to collapse suddenly."
However, as David Letterman's writers would say, "Obama is just too competent" to find fault with.


What a great title by Ken Blackwell: Mr. Obama's 'Grovel-Ready' Foreign Policy  "President Obama began badly. He went to London and bowed low before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The famous red "reset" button he had Hillary present to the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, was intended to give Moscow a pass for its aggression against the neighboring Republic of Georgia. The button was even spelled wrong. How do you spell "appeasement" in Russian?"
....
"The president has yet to visit the only real ally we have left in the region -- Israel. Lucky Israel. It's the only friend of America that that has not been de-stabilized by this president's feckless* policies."   Also from Patriot Post

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/28/96829

*Feckless;  Feckless describes someone who is ineffective or irresponsible. (adjective)

A person who cannot be trusted to take on responsibility is an example of someone who would be described as feckless. yourdictionary.com

The Tunnel Wall cites the following Michael Ledeen column as an example: 

Obama Administration Ignored Iranian Opposition’s Advice  "It cautions that any agreement with the regime would require the United States to recognize the legitimacy of the regime, promise to maintain silence on questions of human rights inside the country, and abandon the Middle East.  And even if the regime promised to abandon its nuclear program and cease its support for terror, it would not honor these commitments.  It needs both terror and nukes in order to survive.

"So far as I can tell, the demands for American silence on Iranian affairs, recognition of the regime’s legitimacy, and withdrawal from the region are precisely what  the Obama administration has received through all their contacts with the Iranian regime."

http://conservativedailynews.com/2012/02/iran-scam/

Random thoughts from Argus Hamilton

The Patriot Post  

Argus Hamilton

"Joseph Kennedy III filed for Congress for the seat left by Barney Frank. He's RFK's grandson and Teddy's nephew. Young Joe is a Middlesex County prosecutor, and only someone from Middlesex can bridge the gap between the Kennedys and Barney Frank."
....
"Mitt Romney fell behind in the Michigan polls despite getting Donald Trump's endorsement. This information could save Israel. If we can just get Donald Trump to endorse Iran's nuclear weapons program, the missile won't be able to carry its home state."
....
"New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin forgave a fired ESPN copywriter who unintentionally wrote an anti-Asian term. Lin's parents fled China where saying the wrong word could cost you your job and ruin your life. Now ESPN copywriters are fleeing America for the same reason." 
More at the link...
"Who is Argus Hamilton, and why is everybody quoting him?  Meet the funniest topical comedian in America, the man Robin Williams once called "the Will Rogers of the Baby Boom." "

Obama: “Trying To Climb To The Very Top” Is Not What America’s “About,” It Is “Greed”…

Weasel Zippers  “America’s not just looking out for yourself, it’s not just about greed, it’s not just about trying to climb to the very top and keep everybody else down,” Obama said at the UAW’s annual National Community Action Program Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Instead, Obama – who climbed to the very top of American politics just three years ago – said that instead America was about being “all in it together,” and giving people “a hand up.”

This man is a socialist demagogue and we must fear what he will do with four more years. Yet the American voters do not seem to realize the danger in this man or there would be a groundswell of support to remove him.


Carney: Obama's Speech To UAW "Not At All" A Campaign Speech  "Question: "The speech today wasn’t just the president touting the auto bailouts then. A good amount of time was on rhetoric was from campaign fundraising speeches. He took some shots at politicians who didn’t support the bailout. We know that the Republican candidates fall on that side. I wonder why the White House is so reluctant to acknowledge that the president might be focused on the campaign."" Hat tip to Weasel Zip.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/27/96809

Republicans are losing the class warfare fight  "No doubt Barack Obama would love to reprise Ronald Reagan’s 1984 “Morning in America” reelection campaign, but the anemic economy is not cooperating. Without a robust recovery to trumpet, the president is betting his reelection on class warfare — focusing on “income inequality” and “fairness.” Class warfare is not a winning strategy, but it is the only card Obama has to play.
"That’s the good news for Republicans. The bad news is: Right now, the GOP is blowing it."

Michael Moore: My friends are voting for Santorum

Beltway Confidential  "I have to tell you a lot of my Democratic friends will vote for Santorum in something they are calling Operation Hilarity." Moore delightedly reported, referring to the left-wing plot to disrupt the Republican primary.
How can you ever trust open primaries?

Crossover voting encouraged in Mich. GOP primary  "The Michigan Democratic Party recently sent an e-mail to voters encouraging them to take part in the GOP primary. Mark Brewer, the party's executive director, said "Republicans will only have themselves to blame" if such a tactic has an impact."


The Daily Beast; Michigan’s Primary Party Crashers: Democrats Crossing Over to Thwart Romney   "The key demographic in today’s Michigan Republican primary may be Democrats. Not conservative Democrats, not Reagan Democrats, or any other type of crossover Democrats. Just plain, old-fashioned, bleeding-heart liberal Democrats.
...."The Democrats-for-Santorum push was started by such mischief-makers as Democratic consultant Joe DiSano, who discussed it in a Huffington Post article, as well as in a campaign of robo-calls and mass emails to selected Democrats."

The Obama Nation's Accommodation

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Outrage! Bradley Manning Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

http://dailyimagebuzz.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-cartoons.html

The Weekly Standard  "Army Pfc. Bradley Manning has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, the Associated Press reports. Manning is most famous for allegedly leaking troves of classified documents, including State Department cables and Military files, to WikiLeaks. He was arraigned last week in Ft. Meade, Maryland and is being charged with "engineering the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history." "

Here are Two Other Nobel Peace Prize Winners:

 Yasser Arafat  "While his critics condemned the award, calling Arafat an "unrepentant terrorist with a long legacy of promoting violence," his supporters offered praise and compared the Palestinian leader to Nelson Mandela." 
Barack Obama  "Barack Obama was chosen for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," which raised more than a few eyebrows, considering the nomination came just 12 days after he took office." This made Time Magazine's top ten Obama backlash moments  " Former Polish President Lech Walesa, himself a Noble laureate, echoed many when he responded, "So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far." " 

 Like a teenager with his first car and an inflated (by everybody) sense of celebrity, Obama seemed to be very much full of himself.

Manning's legacy: Taliban Use Wikileaks to Hunt, Murder Named Afghans  

"Anyway, so the Taliban are doing exactly what I said they would do, in my pieces for PBS and CJR: they are vowing to hunt down and murder anyone who is identified in the Wikileaks archive as having worked for the U.S."

How green can this country get, based on corrupted facts?

California Chevy Volt Owners Will Be Allowed To Drive Solo In Carpool Lanes, Given $1,500 State Rebate…
"Commuters who use carpool lanes in Southern California save an estimated average 36 minutes a day, or about a third of their total driving time."

Hat tip to Leslie Vaughn Burckard

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Fakegate.org "On February 20, Peter Gleick confessed to stealing documents from The Heartland Institute with the intent of exposing its funding sources and damaging its reputation. He also disseminated a fake “climate strategy memo” that he and other environmental activists on the left claim describes Heartland’s “secret strategy” to mislead the public about the true nature of climate change.

...."In 2009 and again in 2011, a whistle blower inside the University of East Anglia leaked emails showing the loudest “roosters” of the global warming movement conspiring to limit debate, hide uncertainty, and destroy data. The scandal has been called “Climategate.”

"Another global warming scandal began on January 27, when someone stole the identity of a member of the Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute, a nonprofit research organization, in order to trick a staff member into giving him confidential documents."

If Republican candidates, presidential and congressional, want to gain any traction with the electorate this year, they must address this fairness myth head on.

Daily Caller    "If President Obama is re-elected in November, it will be for one reason: the American people believe that the rich are not paying as big a percentage of their income in taxes as everyone else.
"That will be a sad day, for America will have elected its leader based on a premise that is entirely false."

MSNBC!

.... "The president cannot be allowed to win re-election based on a false premise. That, in fact, would be unfair."
Joseph Petros is an associate at the law firm of Warren and Young PLL in Ashtabula, Ohio. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he served as executive editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy
Hat tip to  Neal Boortz. 

 Never Met a Tax He Didn’t Like  "The defining trait of Obama’s presidency." “He’s a bit gullible on jobs,” the congressman says. “He has no economic experience and no gut instinct on job creation.” He doesn’t understand “a single business or the entire business climate in the United States.”

Obama’s tax-rate demagoguery  Threat to raise capital-gains tax targets middle class

"It’s going to be politically difficult for the president to say Mr. Romney favors the rich when he calls for cutting taxes on Americans earning below $200,000, the very middle-class income bracket Mr. Obama says he wants to protect from higher taxes."

Afghan Apologies Beside the Point

Jonathan S. Tobin   "America’s dilemma is that it is locked in a life-and-death struggle with Islamist forces. After all, the only reason we are in Afghanistan is that its Taliban government allowed its soil to be used a base for attacks on American citizens such as the 9/11 atrocities. In order to prevail we must seek and win allies within the Muslim world who want nothing to do with the Islamist agenda of unending war. To do that, we must show respect to their faith but so long as we accept a situation where we do not demand or expect respect in return, we are doomed to failure."