9-11 conspiracy theories "In a 2008 poll of 17 countries, 15% of those surveyed believed the US government was responsible for the attacks, 7% believed Israel was and another 7% believed some other perpetrator, other than al Qaeda, was responsible. The poll found that respondents in the Middle East were more likely to name a perpetrator other than al Qaeda. The most prominent conspiracy theory is that the collapse of the World Trade Center and 7 World Trade Center were the result of a controlled demolition rather than structural weakening due to fire. Another prominent belief is that the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by elements from inside the U.S. government or that a commercial airliner was allowed to do so via an effective standdown of the American military. Motives cited by conspiracy theorists include justifying the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and geostrategic interests in the Mideast, including pipeline plans launched in the early 1990s by Unocal and other oil companies.
NY Fire Department's 9/11 Radio Dispatches "The Fire Department of New York's radio dispatches from the morning and early afternoon of 9/11. For over three years, they fought in court to keep these recordings secret but were finally forced to release them in August 2005."
There are many other links as well, but we had to be circumspect in our choices; many sites are "truther sites". More on these in a later post featuring the intellect of Rosie O'Donnell. TD
Federal Authorities Probe Possible Terror Threat Around 9/11 Anniversary "Details trickled in throughout the evening. The potential threat is said to focus on New York City or Washington, D.C., and involves possible suspects tied to Al Qaeda, sources said. Authorities have received a "general description" of two or three possible suspects but don't necessarily have names, one source said. Authorities are trying to determine if such suspects might already be in the U.S." Graphic images from 9-11-2001
Al-Qaeda planning 9/11 anniversary attack? "The general info on the threat was developed from intel we got in Abbottabad after killing Osama. Allah takes that one step further and points to the recent capture of al-Qaeda's international operations chief in Pakistan as a possible source for more specific information:"...
Three Al Qaeda Suspects Sought in ‘Credible But Unconfirmed’ 9/11 Terror Threat "The plot has been linked to three "seasoned" Al Qaeda operatives, whose common names have made their location difficult to determine, the Daily News reports. One of the suspects is an American citizen and two of them are thought to have U.S. documentation. The men are believed to have entered the United States through the Pakistan and the United Kingdom last month, with the Timesreporting that they came originally from Afghanistan, selected by Osama Bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri to set off vehicular attacks on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday."
How al Qaeda Prepares Attacks against the West: What the July 7-8 Rollup Revealed "We should not expect al Qaeda-linked attacks against the West to occur independently of one another. Instead, the network of violent Islamist movements led by al Qaeda produces and manages attacks against the West through a three-phase terror attack assembly line: recruiting, pre-deployment and training, and coordination with deployed operatives prior to attacks."
Which word was missing from Obama’s speech last night? "If Obama was serious about economic expansion, we’d have heard a serious approach to domestic energy production last night. The fact that we didn’t demonstrates Obama’s lack of depth in economics, perhaps even more than his retread of Porkulus did." Here is the Text of Obama's speech; look for any trace of an energy discussion.
Hugh Hewitt:The Speech That Broke The Patience of the Country?"If the president refuses to engage the country or his political opposition seriously, then the country should revoke the presumption that the president deserves a serious hearing. "The speech was a joke, and the man who gave it is perilously close to becoming one as well."
Michael Barone: The unhappy warrior "When Barack Obama says, “This isn’t political grandstanding,” you have a pretty good clue that that is exactly what it is. Lest anyone doubt that, consider this from the third-to-last paragraph. “You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of the country.”" NBC First Read calls the speech "The Fiery Obama" and says it was the Obama his base wanted to see. Stephen Hayes and Charles Krauthammer referred to it as the first campaign speech ever given before Congress.
Reaction Roundup: Heritage Responds to Obama’s Jobs SpeechOne contributor's thought: "The President tonight missed an opportunity to constructively address one of the major problems facing the economy: regulation.
"After acknowledging that “there are some rules and regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, and claiming credit for the small steps taken so far toward reform, he then slipped into a rhetorical — and rather cartoonish — description of the issue.
" “What we can’t do,” he said, “is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety.” " Another Heritage contributor also noted the absence of the word "energy".
Pajamas Media:Obama Versus the Strawmen"During his jobs speech, the president offered as the alternative to his approach a collection of absurd positions suggesting the Republicans want the end of government." .... "This president can not make any speech on the economy without injecting a class warfare approach. He did it again tonight, calling for millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share, and offering another strawman test"...
One of the Marx brothers.
Obama can not be taken seriously as anything other than the proverbial bull in a china shop: destructive in the extreme and anything he accomplishes that makes America stronger is caused by sheer dumb luck. TD
Heritage:More ‘Stimulus’ from President Obama"...President Obama is insisting Congress immediately pass a bill that doesn’t exist. No legislative details have been offered; nothing has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office; there has been no debate or negotiation; and there is no accompanying plan on how to pay for it. " (Emphasis added)
Rick Moran:The 'hidden meaning' found in Obama's words "...people have lost confidence in Obama's ability to do anything positive for the economy. Once the feel good rhetoric fades away, the stark reality of a nation in crisis with a president who doesn't know what he's doing will return.
No need for "code words" to figure that one out.
Thomas Lifson: Using a Joint Session of Congress as a Prop; "Make no mistake: the president cheapened and degraded the majesty of an address to both Houses of Congress. We have every reason to expect that with the precedent now set, Joint Sessions are fair game for appropriation by future presidents seeking a majestic backdrop for political posturing."
Dana Milbank:The irrelevancy of the Obama presidency "Obama spoke quickly, urgently, even angrily. Rep. Jesse Jackson ... stared at the ceiling. Rep. Peter Welch ... scanned the gallery. Rep. Jim Moran ... was seen reading a newspaper. And Republicans, when they weren’t giggling, were mostly silent."
Obama: Paul Ryan Is Right "“Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement….But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. And if we don’t gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it won’t be there when future retirees need it. We have to reform Medicare to strengthen it.”
"Isn’t that what Paul Ryan and the House Republicans have been saying for months, while Obama has been busy demagoguing their plan?"
The Patriot Post "The solution isn't even a return to the status quo as it stood before the current administration began its war on American exceptionalism. We cannot return to a system that alternates between Republican and Democratic Progressives. We must make a break with the post-Reagan past. We must return to the fundamentals that made America the greatest nation the world has ever known: individual liberty and free enterprise safe guarded by a written constitution, and a federal representative republic operating on democratic principles.
"The solution is simple. How we get there is the subject of this article and hopefully a sign pointing in the direction of change."
Pajamas Media "Ask yourself: when was the last time you freely discussed any conservative view with friends at work, or on campus, or in public — without hedging your every word?"
"Everywhere one goes, save conservative websites, Republicans are widely connoted with tinges of racism, hate, selfishness, greed, war-mongering, and conspiratorial theocratic designs against democracy. Fox News has some opinion shows that try to give an ounce of conservative balance to the airwaves and they’ve paid for it with an all out war declared against them by leftist activists."....
"Towards that goal, here is my top-5 list of why Republicans keep losing the propaganda war."
5. Modern media favors perception over reality, charisma over intelligence, and personality over character. Republicans remain the party dominated by reality, intelligent reason, and high character; they lose. "But liberal bias does stack the deck profoundly towards Democrats being able to field candidates with none of the essential reality, intelligence, and high character, as long as they possess the façade of charisma. Hence, we have President Barack Obama, in large part because his opponent possessed no media skills whatsoever.
4. When openly mocked and ridiculed, Republicans are stymied "Instead, McCain’s pitiful surrender to Goldberg’s propaganda ploy allowed the audience to conflate the original topic of Roe v. Wade (a Supreme Court decision) with a ratified amendment to the constitution. It was a moment that will live in American civics infamy.
"Until Republicans understand that that the Left lies with full intent to destroy America as we know it, the GOP will remain rhetorical road kill."
3. Many Republicans don’t understand the Left’s value system and make the horrible mistake of projecting their own conservative values onto their opponents. "In other words, for liberals the state is their church substitute. As they are inclined towards rejecting set guidelines of good and evil, they generally feel satisfied with themselves if they verbally and electorally support government “charity” as opposed to actually giving it themselves."
2. Republicans don’t know how to use their yang in the Democrats’ yin-dominated politics. When hit with a Democrat hissy-fit, Republicans cower like whipped dogs. "Paul Ryan, the Republican, sees the coming debt train wreck and uses logic to draw up a real plan and publicly goes to bat for it. In response, the liberal group, Agenda Project, ran ads showing a Paul Ryan lookalike pushing granny over a cliff in a wheelchair."
1. Many Republicans have undiagnosed Stockholm Syndrome. "When one side of a philosophical divide is willing to employ such bully tactics with ferocious tenacity, the other side understandably — quite humanly — begins to psychologically identify with their abusers, just as hostages come to identify with their kidnappers and abused spouses come to identify with their abuser. This phenomenon, called Stockholm Syndrome, now afflicts many Republicans and forces them into a defensive, fetal-like position more often than we would ever like to admit."
Media Overlook Violent Talk on the Left " While ABC, CBS, and NBC were compelled to notice, there was virtually no outrage. Indeed, The Washington Post and The New York Times skipped right over it."...."Normally, an expose of alleged conservative rhetorical excess is followed by the pressure to apologize. In Hoffa’s case, however, there’s been none. Not only that, but when asked, Democratic Party chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz flat-out rejected the notion. “I know you'd like to focus on language, that's not what the American people are focused on,” she told Fox News."
Civility for Thee, Not for MeOf course President Obama will not criticize Jimmy Hoffa’s ugly rant. "Unless the economy rebounds suddenly, President Obama will be left with only one option next year — winning ugly. He will have to make his opponent even more unacceptable than he is, and if the past is any guide, he’ll do it without scruple. All Obama’s promises about process are highly conditional. He jettisoned his support for the public funding of campaigns in 2008 as soon as it became clear he could raise $750 million. He sloughed off “post-partisanship” when he had the congressional majorities necessary to ram through major legislation on a partisan basis. And now he’s saying goodbye to civility, too.
"So be it. If civility is a good in its own right, the functioning of our big, unruly democracy has never depended on it. It will survive Hoffa’s ham-handed metaphors and Obama’s hypocrisy. But next time, Mr. President, please spare us the pose and the lectures." Rich Lowry
Michael Barone "The biggest mystery about the Reagan Library/MSNBC debate last night is why the Reagan Library allowed MSNBC to be the co-sponsor. Brian Williams, whom I haven’t watched much in recent years, seems to have been drinking liberally of the MSNBC kool-aid; many of his questions were so steeped in liberal distaste for Republican positions that it was embarrassing."....
"Let me go over the candidates’ performances, in the order in which they appear in the most recent realclearpolitics.com average of recent polls."
Reagan debate leaves Perry, Romney in control "Gingrich went after the moderators again, which at least gives him some real value to the other Republicans on stage. Don’t expect to see Perry or Romney asking to get Newt out of any debates in the future. Cain is always engaging on stage and scored points on economics, but no more so than in any other debate. Santorum was mainly a non-factor, while Ron Paul was … Ron Paul. He jabbed Perry over HillaryCare, and Perry jabbed him right back over his 1987 letter to the RNC repudiating his party membership because of Ronald Reagan, which left Paul sputtering."
Scoring the Debate "The big loser tonight is Barack Obama. By comparison to all but one of the candidates, the president comes off poorly. He delivers a speech before tomorrow night’s NFL kickoff that will not be as substantive or as interesting as this debate. Despite the atmosphere of a joint session of Congress he will seem small because his ideas are small and he is a proven failure in his office. I doubt that Americans will have any qualms replacing him next year with a solid, credible Republican, and there were many of those engaged in this debate tonight."
Jonah Goldberg "I don’t mean that as an ideological thing. They’re professionally dumb. MSNBC gets terrible ratings. Some of Fox’s repeats beat MSNBC’s prime-time fare. This debate offered the network a golden opportunity to reintroduce themselves to many viewers (including me) who’ve come to ignore them for all the obvious reasons. Instead of offering something like an interesting, balanced, panel. They went with Al Sharpton, Lawrence O’Donnell, Eugene Robinson, and Ed Schultz, moderated by Rachel Maddow — with extra commentary from a seemingly drooling Chris Matthews (I particularly liked Al Sharpton sharing his insights on what turns off moderates and independents). In other words they doubled down on their MSNBCness. ....Liberals might respond that Fox does the same thing, except it really doesn’t. They always have at least one Democrat or liberal, particularly for something like a Democratic debate.
Now look at them moonbats. That's the way they do it Talking heads MSNBC That ain't reportin'. That's the way they do it Shultz, Chris Matthews and Maddow That's just spinnin'. That's the way they do it I can tell their viewers are dumb Maybe got a listener in California A few more with their minds all Numb They report those Liberal opinions No one watching anything They got these loser viewer ratings Now where's that Olbermann show? ....
Is Obama Insane? "A frank assessment of Obama's fiscal stewardship of our country would conclude the following: 1) He is committed to long discredited economic theories, in spite of their utter and repeated failures, and 2) he is unwilling -- or unable -- to consider any other course of action. Having tried the only thing he knows -- spend, spend, spend -- Obama is now at a complete loss. His flawed theory is now our failing economy.
"God help us."
Nobody messes with the Packers - not even Obama "At least Packers fans have a reasonable perspective about what the president will say. They'd rather hear about how Aaron Rodgers will attack the Saints blitzing than listen to an increasingly irrelevant politician offer little in the way of hope on the jobs front."
"As a Packers’ fan and in the spirit of public service, I directed our staff to comb through the hundreds of speeches President Obama has already made to give you a concise two-minute preview of his latest ‘big speech.’"
These three from Nealz Nuze:
1. Remember this while listening to Dear Ruler "It is the government that will decide where the new jobs will be (green jobs?) and it is the government that will decide which industries flourish and which will die."
3. Down the competitive crapper we go "Heading into Obama’s jobs speech tonight, what do we have to thank him for? Well, let’s go through the list, again, shall we?"
It lives! Obama to unveil ‘Son of Stimulus’ Package tonight. "“The president will unveil tonight The American Jobs Act, a plan of bipartisan ideas to create jobs right now and is fully paid for,” Communications director Dan Pfeiffer told ABC News."
Football tonight! Also, Obama. "Some presidential addresses can overshadow sporting events. Richard Nixon’s resignation speech temporarily halted nine major-league baseball games, two pro tennis matches and a contest in the World Football League. It would take an oration of great moment to force the delay of the opening game of the NFL season between the past two Super Bowl champions. Barack’s paean to government spending isn’t it."
The Greek-columns kid, etc. "From what I know about the speech President Obama will deliver on Thursday, he does not need the U.S. Congress as his venue — SEIU headquarters will do. But, of course, Obama is addicted to grandiosity. At the convention in Denver in 2008, he had his “Styrofoam Greek columns,” as Sarah Palin put it.
"Here is a fearless prediction: The 45th president, whoever he (or she) is, will be less pompous than the 44th. You can’t run for president — or be president — without a healthy ego, maybe even a whopping ego. But, holy Moses, Obama takes the cake."
We go first to that engineering elite, Rosie O'Donnell to discuss the lie that one can actually melt steel with fire. 
