Monday, August 8, 2011

Spare Us the Sermons, Mr. President ; And explain why your policies aren’t working.

Victor Davis Hanson "During the recent debt crisis, President Obama talked about the need for bipartisan compromise and, as in the past, he urged civility. Giving ground and engaging in polite discourse, of course, can be noble aims. But, like most one-eyed-jack politicians, Obama has rarely embraced the admirable qualities he advocates — a fact increasingly evident to a skeptical public."





Media Bias made manifest

A compilation of biased media articles .No matter how strong the conservatives' arguments are against Obama policies, they will have to get past all this to make their case known to the American people. Read these and you can understand why Republicans and the TEA Party do poorly in polls.
Civility: A Compilation of 'the GOP is Insane/Terrorists/Extremists' Articles  "There are some legitimately non-hyperbolic editorials coming out from the Left. However-- a disproportionate amount coming from actual establishment news organizations and writers should be cause for alarm. Yes, there is the regular alarm-pulling at the Nation and the Daily Kos-- but there is a troubling trend. The most heavy-- and even obscene terms are being thrown at the GOP. Below are just some examples from this month alone."

NBC's Gregory Accuses GOP of 'Politicizing' Debt Downgrade, After Allowing John Kerry to Blame Tea Party   "On Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC, host David Gregory allowed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to blame Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt on the Tea Party without challenge. However, minutes later, in an interview with Arizona Senator John McCain, Gregory was quick to accuse Republicans of "politicizing" the issue by criticizing Democrats."


The Class Warfare Will Be Televised: ABC’s ‘Revenge’ a ‘Takedown of the Rich’  "Funny how this cynical new ABC series (produced and starring the rich, no doubt) assumes average Americans are more interested in taking revenge on the rich instead of becoming rich themselves. It’s also also interesting that the show is set in the Hamptons as opposed to, say… Hollywood?"


NBC News’ Al Sharpton Under Fire from Black Journalist Association “He would be the first African American with a nightly show on cable news in years and yet he’s not a journalist, he’s obviously a liberal activist and former candidate.”

The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche [and] Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks  "Question: When was the last time Time or Newsweek put a halo around a conservative politician? Hmmm?"

How can the government promote the economy? (Updated)

Get out of the way!    "So what can the government do to promote real job growth? Quite simply, get out of the way. We don’t need to teach the grass to grow; we just need to move the rocks off of it. The rocks weighing down on the economy are government rules and regulations — in other words, bureaucracy and overregulation."
Iain Murray heads the Center for Economic Freedom at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Roadblocks for Obama’s Pro-Jobs Bus Tour  "With those as the two most serious job-creating plans the president has proposed recently, it’s no wonder employers aren’t feeling much confidence right now."

Charles Krauthammer: How the super-committee can strike a Grand Bargain  "Conventional wisdom holds that the congressional super-committee established by the debt-ceiling deal to propose further deficit reduction will go nowhere. I’m not so sure. There is a grand compromise to be had. It does, however, require precise sequencing. To succeed it must proceed in three stages:"....

U.S. Credit Rating Downgraded: Now They’ve Done It

http://terrellaftermath.com/ 

Heritage  "For decades past memory, United States government debt was deemed the gold standard of credit quality. Textbooks referred to U.S. Treasuries as the “riskless asset” against which all others were compared. Those days have passed, at least for now, because the U.S. government has rapidly piled debt upon debt and ,on its current trajectory, evidences no inclination to stop. Under the circumstances, without a fundamental policy course correction, a repeatedly threatened credit rating downgrade became inevitable, with only the timing at issue."

Our dear ruler's downgrade  "The key to maintaining our current rating, not slipping further, and hopefully bumping back up to our AAA rating will be spending cuts. Period. End of story. While the S&P says that tax increases would be nice, that is not the key for any future downgrade. The key will be spending cuts." Democrats.
Via Neal Boortz as is the following...

The blame game: credit downgrade  "The downgrade of our credit rating has validated this theory. Unable to cope with the idea that their guy, Barack Obama, royally screwed up and is now responsible for the first credit downgrade in U.S. history … they are pointing fingers. Big time.
"So the #1 scapegoat over the weekend was … the Tea Party! Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:"....
More here:


Democrats ignore AAA countries' experience  "These recommendations are nonsense, because all of the countries with AAA-rated debt (as compared to the United States' AA+-rated debt) already have lower corporate tax rates than the US does. ...."
"The frustrations against the Tea Party were rooted in the thinking that the US can continue supporting the welfare and entitlement programs at ever increasing rates as it has for the past 50 years. Instead, the frustration should be targeted against those who accept the idea that the broken programs will be sustainable much farther into the future."

Can a Free Market Support a Democratic Socialist Society? 

Neil Cavuto Challenges Rep. Kucinich On The Economy: ‘Why Are [Corporations] Responsible And Not You Guys?’   "“Why are they responsible and not you guys?” he asked, referring to Congress. “They’re chased overseas because of regulations and taxes.” “Believe me,” he argued, “they want to bring that money home, but they’re spanked big time if they do.” At this the Congressman began reading a list of corporations that paid little to no taxes, including Exxon Mobil, which Cavuto countered was “one of the top ten federally taxed corporations. Cavuto concluded, contrary to the Congressman, that corporations “would invest if they had an environment that was hospitable."

Obama: Time for an Apology

Roger Kimball  "In a not-to-be-missed interview with Neil Cavuto ...she boiled it down to one word: “Apologize.” He should say he’s sorry for his failure of leadership. Sorry for his utopian economic illiteracy. Sorry for putting ideology above political wisdom.
http://zappatrust.deviantart.com/
"That would be the manly, the honorable thing to do. Admit he was wrong about what needed to be done to fix the U.S. economy.
"What will he do? He will blame Standard & Poor’s. Or George W. Bush. Or the Tea Party. Or all three."
....
" “Deficits went up in 2008,” Mr. York notes, “with the beginning of the economic downturn — and, not coincidentally, with the first full year of a Democratic House and Senate.” "

What Obama inherited from President Bush:
Obama partisans ignore facts when bashing Bush    "As far as tax cuts are concerned, Bush did indeed cut taxes for the wealthy -- along with everybody else who paid income taxes. But does Brown remember that tax revenues actually increased in the years after the Bush tax cuts took effect?"  Byron York.

Left's Tea Party Invective on Boil

Human Events  "Tea Partiers shouldn’t fear such leftist smears. Liberals are trying to demonize a movement that wants a constitutional federal government, less spending, low taxes and more freedom. Oh, how very “extreme” and “terroristic.” "
Brian Darling, a HUMAN EVENTS columnist, is senior fellow for Government Studies at The Heritage Foundation.


Sunday, August 7, 2011

The Blame Dance Marathon

New Health Guidelines from HHS Trample on Conscience

Heritage  "Forcing private insurance plans to pay for morally controversial offerings such as contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients raises obvious questions regarding freedom of conscience. Federal law requires respect for the conscience of health care providers on many of these issues. Unfortunately, the new HHS guidelines show disrespect for freedom of conscience."
....
The new HHS guidelines contain a conscience protection, but it is offensively narrow. Only “certain religious employers” qualify for the protection, and the guidelines make clear that a religious employer is only one that:
  • Has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose;
  • Primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets;
  • Primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets; and is a non-profit organization under particular provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
" There are at least four serious problems with this “protection” for conscience."....

Good ole Joe

Saving a Job

A Lebanese Town’s Dilemma Teaches about Islam, Freedom, and the Future of Europe

Barry Rubin  "In the Middle East, the best policy is to ally with people of Muslim religion who despise Islamist rule, like the oppositions in Turkey, Iran, and Lebanon; real democratic forces in Egypt and Syria; and Christian minorities who don’t want to be wiped out. Otherwise, nationalist dictatorships — some of which are friendly to the West; most of which had become cautious — will be replaced by Islamist dictatorships — all of which are hostile to the West, eager for sponsoring terrorism and starting wars.
"This battle isn’t against “Muslims.” It is against radical Muslims? Are all Muslims radical Islamists? Ask those who are their victims and hate them. If one-third of Egyptians seem ready to vote for Islamism, a majority don’t want an Islamist state. They may get one anyway because the Islamists are better-organized, often better-financed, more ruthless, and even often seem to enjoy more Western sympathy*."

UPDATED: Iwo Jima today -- it's still a gut-clutcher

UPDATE: Marine who led WWII charge up Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima dies   February 17, 2016  "The Marine who led the charge to place the first American flag above Iwo Jima has died.
First Lt. John Wells, 94, died Feb. 11 at the Arvada Care Rehabilitation Center in Arvada, Colorado.
Wells received the Navy Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart after leading his Marines in a frontal assault up the slopes of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
He didn’t make it to the top after taking multiple enemy rounds, but continued to command, leading his men to victory. His platoon raised the first flag atop the mountain, hours before the iconic photo of the second flag raising was captured.
. . . 
His published his memoir of the Battle of Iwo Jima, “Give Me 50 Marines Not Afraid to Die,” in 1995.
. . . "The engagement gained his platoon the distinction as the most decorated platoon to fight in a single engagement in the history of the Marine Corps." . . .


Solo's Hideaway Fun Pages


"A heavy machine gun, possibly a Japanese Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun, lies abandoned in
a bunker overlooking the landing beaches. There are still dozens of these bunkers all over
the island. Most of them were destroyed during the battle. This pillbox still bore the scars of
the fighting. It was pockmarked with bullet holes and the inside was blackened. I imagine a
flame thrower was used to clear that pillbox."
This monument was erected on the spot where Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, Michael Strank, John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes raised the American flag 4 days into the battle for Iwo Jima . Iwo Jima is like Mecca for the Marines. Visiting Marines leave personal mementos behind during their 'pilgrimages'.
The Eagle, Globe and Anchors on the left and right side of the monument are completely covered in dog tags left by visiting Marines and service men to honor the 6,131 killed.

Hat tip to Ron Gazda, Texas.