Thursday, July 1, 2010

(Even a Few) Words Matter

Victor Davis Hanson  "Even little words and gestures still matter in high-stakes international relations. Bad actors look hard for even the smallest sign that they might get away with aggression without consequences.
"A deferential and apologetic President Obama may think he is making those abroad like us --and he may be right in some cases. But if history is any guide, aggressive powers are paying close attention to these seemingly insignificant signs Soon, they may turn their wild ideas into concrete aggression -- once they convince themselves that America neither wants to nor is able to stop them."Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a recipient of the 2007 National Humanities Medal.

Neville Chamberlain and his appeasement of Hitler "In March, 1939, the German Army seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. In taking this action Adolf Hitler had broken the Munich Agreement. The British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, now realized that Hitler could not be trusted and his appeasement policy now came to an end."

ODD Humanitarianism

Mike Adams "Erica: No, there’s more to it than that. I know he has ODD because of the hateful words he uses when he’s upset. He is just so spiteful and so bent on gaining revenge against anyone he thinks has wronged him.
"Me: So, in other words, the boy is a jerk.
"Erica: I guess you’re right. He is a jerk."

Obama’s Stirring Immigration Speech Slightly Tainted by Misquote of ‘The New Colossus’

NY Magazine "Obama employed a familiar formula: identifying what the extreme left wants to do (straight-up amnesty), identifying what the extreme right wants to do (round up every illegal and kick them out), and then placing his vision for immigration reform squarely in the middle."
Arizona Gov. to Obama: Do your job!  "The same day President Obama is delivering a high profile speech on immigration, a web video is making the rounds featuring a frustrated Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer imploring the president to "do your job" when it comes to securing the borders."

Make Case For Afghanistan — Or Get Out

LARRY ELDER  "What happens if we leave before the Afghan government can maintain security? Will it again become a base of operation for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups? Will they step up their efforts in neighboring Pakistan, a country with nuclear bombs? Will a defeat in Afghanistan confirm the enemy's assumption that we can and will not make the necessary commitment to defeat them?
"Obama now seems to speak of summer 2011 less as a fixed date for withdrawal and more as one based on conditions. But it's hard to say what the president believes. In any event, the mixed signals give comfort to the enemy."

The Humbling of an American President

Peter Wehner " It is simply not correct that “every economist” who has looked at the stimulus bill says it did its job. In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, for example — on the very day Obama claimed universal support among economists for his stimulus package — Allan Meltzer, a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, began his op-ed this way: “The administration’ s stimulus program has failed.” "

 Why Obamanomics Has Failed "Uncertainty about future taxes and regulations is enemy No. 1 of economic growth." Allan Meltzer.

Paying President's 'Price On Carbon'

Investors.com "Energy Policy: The administration plans to use sleight-of-hand politics to sneak through an economy-killing tax on energy as necessary to save the Earth. Make no mistake: Cap-and-trade is a tax every American will pay in every aspect of his or her life."  And it's coming. Consider every Democrat in Congress a "yes" vote for Cap and Trade.

Former Justice Department Lawyer Accuses Holder of Dropping New Black Panther Case for Racial Reasons

Fox News "J. Christian Adams, now an attorney in Virginia and a conservative blogger for Pajamas Media, says he and the other Justice Department lawyers working on the case were ordered to dismiss it.  "I mean we were told, 'Drop the charges against the New Black Panther Party,'" Adams told Fox News, adding that political appointees Loretta King, acting head of the civil rights division, and Steve Rosenbaum, an attorney with the division since 2003, ordered the dismissal."

DOJ Slimes Whistleblower Adams in Panthergate Case "If this were another administration — no doubt if this were the Bush Administration — a veritable army of reporters would be assigned to this story with visions of Pulitzers dancing in their heads.But given our current media environment, this is the kind of potential scandal that could easily be swept under the rug.
"Pajamas Media will continue to work with Chris Adams to get his story out. He will have more details for us next Tuesday, after his scheduled testimony before the United States Commission on Civil Rights." Roger L Simon

Confronting the unsustainable welfare state

Washington Times  "And within the past two years, the gains under [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] have come to a screeching halt. Last year's "stimulus" package included a little-noticed provision depositing $5 billion in a TANF Emergency Fund. This fund once again incentivized the states to enlarge their welfare rolls, with little or no emphasis on job acquisition.Less than 16 percent of the "emergency" spending has gone to support work strategies.
"The situation is untenable. With the nation facing massive deficits, spending cuts are unavoidable. But policy reforms must guide the surgeon's hand."  That was another Obama change.

Shocker. Obama’s Radical Mentor Caught On Tape Praising Marxism (Video) "Barack Obama’s spiritual mentor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright expresses his affection for Marxism and socialism. He also states in the footage that America is the “land of the greed and home of the slave”." 
"This guy sits in the middle of the biggest pity pool in the world. Is it really unusual for him to want to be “taken care of” by Marxism? " From the comments to this article.

Obama to call for comprehensive immigration bill at American University

Washington Post "But he is not expected to announce any new policy during the 10:50 a.m. address at American University's School of International Service in Northwest Washington, officials said. Nor is the Justice Department going to announce its decision on a lawsuit in Arizona, where a new law makes it easier for police to detain suspected illegal immigrants.
"Obama officials have been widely critical of the law since it was passed and signed by the Arizona governor this spring. But in the Virginia suburb of Prince William County, about 40 minutes from Washington, local leaders have called for passage of a similar law."

Obama immigration speech will not offer timeline for action "But on the issues of immigration reform and energy, Obama and his aides have said only they would like to do something this year or as soon as possible. In April he conceded Congress might not have the “appetite” to act on immigration this year."

Rep. Stark Mocks Border Security Advocates: Who Are You Going to Kill Today?
 "Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., no stranger to controversy, mocked the idea that the borders are not secure when asked about the federal government’s lack of activity on border security."

The Limitless Power of the Obama-Kagan Congress

Heritage "The fact that we as a nation came together every year to celebrate this document might lead many Americans to believe that a Supreme Court Justice should take the Declaration of Independence into account when they are interpreting the Constitution. Elena Kagan is not one of those Americans. Under questioning from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) yesterday, Kagan admitted: “To be honest with you, I don’t have a view of what are natural rights independent of the Constitution.”"

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Kagan Hearings Surpass World Cup For Most Boring TV Event

Ann Coulter "But liberals see the Supreme Court as their backup legislature, giving them all the laws Democrats can't pass themselves because they'd be voted out of office if they did. Can't get Americans to approve of abortion? Get the Supreme Court to do it! Can't get Americans to ban the death penalty? Get the Supreme Court to do it! Can't get Americans to release criminals? Get the Supreme Court to do it!
"Usually Democrats denounce the idea that they want an activist judiciary as a vicious, right-wing lie. But now they're complaining that the court's not activist enough -- and they need Kagan up there to "get some things done"!"