On Obama’s Speech

Jonah Goldberg  "Will he hold to the spirit of his speech? Who knows? Bill Clinton’s Oklahoma City remarks were more high-minded than people remember. It was his comments the day after that were so horrendous and shameful.
"Like the man said, trust but verify.
"One last point. It is amazing how moving to the center amounts to taking the high road. Obama wants to be president again. That requires being a better one than he has been. The press will launch its usual lick-bath fawning, but I doubt they’ll acknowledge the subtle rebuke they’ve received."



http://townhall.com/cartoons/stevebreen



Punishing the Victims of Islamic Gender Apartheid?

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=32312

Phyllis Chesler "She is marked for certain death.
"Her final hearing takes place on Friday, January 14, 2011. If American Immigration decides to deport her back to her Muslim family in Africa, she will, without doubt, first be genitally mutilated and then honor murdered for insisting on remaining a Christian, for having fled an arranged Muslim marriage—and for having secretly married a Christian man.
"I doubt she will be able to take her case to the United Nations. After all, that august body has condemned free speech/truth speech as hate speech, especially where Islam is concerned. Incredibly, presumably “progressive” European countries have increasingly launched criminal investigations against their own politicians, human rights activists, academics for daring to tell the truth about Islamic gender apartheid if that truth shows Islam in a negative light."

Fire Krugman, Olbermann Now For Blood Libel Against Palin, Americans, In AZ Shooting

Big Journalism  "This week, a senior Democrat operative apparently told Politico.com that Obama needs to “deftly pin this on the tea partiers just like the Clinton White house deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”
"Well, it looks like media like Krugman and Olbermann are doing their best to help them out. In the light of this tragedy, it is unfortunate to have to reduce it now to political terms. It would not be the first time a tragedy was misused by both politicians and the media. As some commentators have correctly pointed out, some members of the media didn’t wait even 24 minutes before trying to exploit, degrade, and distort this true American tragedy for their own gain. They should be worse than ashamed.
"They should be fired."

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH

Neal Boortz  "Another thing ... no matter how wonderful Obama was last night in Tucson, we cannot let his expert and moving performance cause us to forget the agenda he harbors for our country. This speech does not mean that he suddenly believes in American exceptionalism; that he now realizes that the private markets are not "the enemy;" and that more government is not the answer to every problem, no matter how trivial, that faces us. He is still proceeding with his goal to radically transform our country ... and the Tucson tragedy doesn't give him that license."

The Non-Accusatory Case for Civility  by Rich Lowry  "The pep-rally atmosphere was inappropriate and disconcerting, but President Obama turned in a magnificent performance. This was a non-accusatory, genuinely civil, case for civility, in stark contrast to what we’ve read and heard over the last few days. He subtly rebuked the Left’s finger-pointing, and rose above the rancor of both sides, exactly as a president should. Tonight, he re-captured some of the tone of his famous 2004 convention speech. Well done."
  Via National Review

Instapundit  "ANOTHER UPDATE: “It was pretty close to a rebuke to his liberal supporters. He was telling them, and everyone, that the entire process of casting blame for a lunatic’s crime is foolhardy and simply wrong. He deserves credit for that. This sounded like much of what I and others have been writing since Saturday.”"

The Tab Comes Due in 2011

Victor Davis Hanson  "On a variety of fronts — health care, the budget, energy, defense, and politics — we have heard lots of easy rhetoric the last two years. But now the reckoning comes due in 2011 — and it may be not a pretty thing to watch."

We Don't Fetishize the Constitution; We Dread Tyranny

Pajamas Media  "What we recognize is that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. That is, what it says must be followed, until the text is amended or a new basic law enacted. Because a Constitution that is not knowable, a Constitution that is twisty-stretchy and dictated by the needs of the moment, is no Constitution at all. When the law becomes whatever the current ruling clique decrees, then we have taken the first step (and middle, and last) on the road to serfdom."

The True ‘Cost’ of Defeat in Afghanistan

Max Boot  "Norquist seems quite enamored of Ronald Reagan’s pullout from Lebanon after the suicide car-bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. Perhaps he is not aware that this incident was routinely cited — along with the U.S. pullout from Somalia in 1993 — by Osama bin Laden in the 1990s to justify his belief that the U.S. was a “weak horse” that could be attacked with impunity. Note to Grover: Even the great Ronald Reagan was not infallible." Via Weekly Standard

A US Foreign Policy Marked By Competence and Strength  by Victor Davis Hanson: "...appearing weak only encourages such violence. After the three-week brilliant victory in March-April 2003, Gaddafi gave up his WMD arsenal, Syria got out of Lebanon, Dr. Khan was shut down in Pakistan, and the Gulf states curbed their subsidies to terrorists. By 2007, however, anti-Americanism in Middle Eastern nations arose again commensurate with our apparent incompetence in Iraq. And yet by 2010 and apparent victory in Iraq, the US was regaining greater influence among the Arab community, especially as it looked for our leadership to stop Iran. Proven competence and strength, especially in pursuit of a good cause, can do far more than expressions of good intentions; a weak nation that is most considerate and full of deference will nevertheless be ignored or despised if it loses wars — given the universal nature of man."

Congressional Security and the Tucson Shooting

STRATFOR  "A common mindset of politicians and their staffers is that better security will limit their accessibility and thus hinder their ability to do their job (and win elections). In fact, there are a number of measures that members of Congress and other public officials can institute for better security without limiting accessibility. While staying in a secure facility would be the safest, it isn’t a realistic option. What is realistic — and effective — is the prudent employment of protective intelligence as well as some measure of physical protection on the move."

Liberals Seek Ban on Metaphors in Wake of Arizona Shooting

Ann Coulter  "Every friend of Loughner who has characterized his politics has described him as liberal. Not one called him a conservative.
"One friend says Loughner never listened to talk radio or watched the TV news. Throw in "never read books" and you have the dictionary definition of a liberal. Being completely uninformed is precisely how most liberals stay liberal."

 Krauthammer wonders at the delusions of the media  "Krauthammer dissects the the media’s hysterical and fact-free ranting about fantastical links between Sarah Palin and the Tea Party and the shootings in Arizona and neatly skewers the raging hypocrisy of it."

The U.S. Loses Ground on Economic Freedom

Wall Street Journal "Austerity is the name of the game for governments whose promises have outstripped their ability to pay. Sustainability, not the faddish environmental sustainability that has dominated political circles for almost two decades, but rather the true sustainability of economic growth and job creation, is back in style."

The Government Spending Threat to Economic Freedom  "All told, 117 countries, mainly developing and emerging market economies, improved their Economic Freedom Index score. Meanwhile the U.S. dropped to 9th place, remaining “mostly free,” weighed down by the burden of President Obama’s spending spree." From Heritage

Tucson Tea Party Will Counter-Protest Westboro Cult

Gateway Pundit  "The Tucson Tea Party sent this out last night.They are planning to counter-protest the Westboro cult at the funeral of the Tucson shooting victims.
"This came after the Westboro cult announced that they will protest the funeral of Christina Green."

We ask everyone to make sure that our overall tone is civil and respectful in accordance with the serious and somber circumstances of the day. Do not allow yourself to be provoked and bear in mind that our presence is about the victim and her family and loved ones and not about political ideology. The family has also asked for no media, so preserving the privacy and dignity of the family is our highest priority.
Please adhere to the following code of conduct:
*Please be peaceful with all other attendees and possible protestors at all times
*This is a non-partisan gathering of many members of our community, so please refrain from political discourse
*Please do not wear any clothing that has logos for political, activist or community groups. It has been requested that our community members that will be at the funeral to support the family all wear white.
*Please do not pass out any literature or use this gathering as an opportunity to promote a group or individual or religious viewpoint
*Please do not bring any signs. This is not a rally or protest, and signs and banners are not appropriate for a funeral.
*Please do expect a diverse gathering of supporters for the family. The tragedy has brought our entire community together in unity to support the victims and their families.

...."

The charlatans' response to the Tucson tragedy

George Will  "Three days before Tucson, Howard Dean explained that the Tea Party movement is "the last gasp of the generation that has trouble with diversity." Rising to the challenge of lowering his reputation and the tone of public discourse, Dean smeared Tea Partyers as racists: They oppose Obama's agenda, Obama is African American, ergo . . .
"Let us hope that Dean is the last gasp of the generation of liberals whose default position in any argument is to indict opponents as racists. This McCarthyism of the left - devoid of intellectual content, unsupported by data - is a mental tic, not an idea but a tactic for avoiding engagement with ideas. It expresses limitless contempt for the American people, who have reciprocated by reducing liberalism to its current characteristics of electoral weakness and bad sociology. "

ONE HAND ... OVER-PLAYED "But the left has no real choice here but to push the attack ... to carry on. Polls show that 57% of the American people aren't buying it, but they'll carry on because they have no way out right now. Soon this latest onslaught against talk radio will die down, and the leftists will sharpen their weapons for the next assault ... just waiting for the next tragedy to exploit. " Neal Boortz

A Horrid Crime, a Dishonest Debate "The same Left that embraces terrorist Bill Ayers seeks a tactical victory in Tucson." Andy McCarthy

The Extreme Rhetoric about Extreme Rhetoric "But this debate about the “tone” of American politics is ideologically unidirectional, designed not to elevate debate but to vilify a political enemy. The call for calm—with its frequent invocations of Tea Party “fascism”—is stupid partisan politics dressed up as incoherent moral politics."

Nate Beeler


















Bozell Column: Liberal Sickos Exploit a Rampage  "This flood of slanderous sludge is designed for nakedly political benefit: to paint a permanent black mark on conservatives as accessories to murder, and criminalize any expression of conservatism as a dangerous anti-government conspiracy.
"Happily, after a few broadcasts of this vomit, CBS pollsters found 57 percent of Americans questioned on Sunday and Monday didn’t accept the notion that the country’s “harsh political tone” had anything to do with the Tucson rampage."  More posts"

Rush Nails It: Giffords’ Shooter Has The Full Support of The Democratic Party…

A solemn presidential duty awaits Obama in Tucson Via The Freedomist. Perhaps he will address the role of the left in poisoning discourse in the nation.