New website about the battlefield of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg Buff    (If that link fails to work, try this one.)
I discovered this site through a Facebook link here.  The Facebook page originates in the UK and is a roundtable for those in Great Britain who are students of the American Civil War, but many of us Yanks like to visit there including Randy Drais, the webmaster of this site. Randy  writes this about his new website:


..."Why? As a descendant of a Union soldier wounded at Gettysburg and fortunate enough to live only 30 miles away from the battlefield during my entire life, I have traversed various areas of the battlefield and town on my own or on "Battle Walks" conducted by National Park Service Rangers over 350 times, and yet I am still able to find new areas and topics to learn about and explore. That then, is the intent of this website --- to help provide you with new areas and topics to learn about and explore !!!
      You will also find more than 900 photographs and over 100 links scattered throughout my website, in addition to a page devoted to listing, in what I think is in an organized fashion, other websites of interest. I will continue to expand this website by adding pages, topics, photographs, and links, as well as updating information and photographs when necessary."


Mr. Drais gives us pictures of the old, ugly Cyclorama building...

...and the new one:

I also found this UK Civil War website very interesting as well.

YES, RON PAUL IS A 9/11 TRUTHER

Right Wing Nuthouse  "Did Paul buy in to 9/11 conspiracy theories? His supporters will no doubt look at the following evidence and, just as Paul intends, spin the information using the most favorable interpretation possible.

But any fair minded person would have to conclude, based on the following, that Paul is a full blown 9/11 truther and despite his denials, is one of the heroes of the Truther movement.

This video from 2007 was taken at a reception for Paul at a private residence where the congressman became engaged in conversation with a man from the organization Student Scholars for 9/11 Truth:"

Being There — the Obama Sequel

PJ Media  "But they do know the president is the president, at least sorta. He photographs well and can be generalizer-in-chief effectively. If he is tired and outsources his policies to others, he still can make recess appointments and do lots of things without congressional scrutiny that will keep the base happy. He is the first African-American president that makes the country proud and can be alleged to make all sorts of closet racists furious. He talks well when teleprompted on the banal and mundane, and now he is dead even in the polls. He can run for reelection in the manner he is now governing — tired, sleepy, mostly quiet, an occasional Skype message to the faithful to remain faithful."
Mr. Hanson here compares Obama to Chance Gardiner, played by Peter Sellers in "Being There". 

Chance (Peter Sellers) is a middle-aged man who lives in the townhouse of a wealthy man in Washington D.C. He seems simple-minded and has lived there his whole life tending the garden. His knowledge is derived entirely from what he sees on television. When his benefactor dies, Chance is forced to leave and discovers the outside world for the first time.

Another example of Obama's naive qualities:  One Year Later: Remember Obama’s Op-Ed on Regulatory Overreach?
"Although Obama appointees and civil service hires are regulating up a storm, one does have to give the EPA special recognition for its job destruction efforts. It has even designated dirt roads as pollution “point sources,” requiring businesses that use them to obtain permits. More paperwork, more bureaucrats, more expense for forestry and agriculture and other businesses. This is hardly the sort of thing one would have predicted if the president meant what he said in that January op-ed."


This man is a disaster and meanwhile, Republicans are destroying each other in the debates.

Rick Santorum: A worthy challenger

wickedlocal.com

Charles Krauthammer  "After every other conservative alternative to Mitt Romney crashed and burned (libertarian Ron Paul is in a category of his own), from the rubble emerges Rick Santorum. But he isn’t just the last man standing. He is the first challenger to be plausibly presidential: knowledgeable, articulate, experienced, of stable character and authentic ideology."

Tonight's debate and the NH Primary on Tuesday

CBS: What to watch in tonight's GOP debate   " Romney will be looking to land punches while also avoiding the sort of gaffe he made last time around, when his offer of a $10,000 betgenerated a torrent of negative headlines. Romney is a good debater but can seem uncomfortable when on the attack; if he can be convincingly aggressive against Gingrich, it will both diminish the frontrunner and help put to rest concerns among some Republicans that he won't take the fight to President Obama in a general election."
....
"The Fox News/Iowa Republican Party debate will take place from 9-11 p.m. Eastern Time. Check back to CBSNews.com during and after the event for our reports on the biggest moments of the night as well as our take on who had a good night - and who didn't."


Romney Headed for Blowout in New Hampshire  "The new polls from New Hampshire all show Mitt Romney headed for a big primary win next Tuesday."

Is it racist to require a photo ID to buy drain cleaner?

THE CITY SQUARE  "CBS reports from Democrat-run Illinois:

CHICAGO (CBS) – A new state law requires those who buy drain cleaners and other caustic substances to provide photo identification and sign a log.

"Republican efforts to require photo ID for voting are labeled as a return to the racist "Jim Crow" era (examples are here, here, andhere) and provoke outrage.   However, don't minorities, the poor, and the elderly need to buy Drano too?  Where is the outrage?"


The Astute Blogger asks us to LET'S MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE THINGS YOU NEED PHOTO ID FOR  

1. TO BUY BEER.
2. TO BUY DRAINO.
3. TO BUY SUDAFED.
4. TO BUY CIGARETTES.
5. TO GET ON A PLANE.
6. TO GET INTO MOST LARGE OFFICE BUILDINGS IN NYC.

Michelle Obama and the Evolution of a First Lady

NY Times " Like many of the president’s supporters, Mrs. Obama was anxious about the gap between her vision of her husband’s presidency and the reality of what he could deliver. Her strains with the advisers were part of a continuing debate over what sort of president Mr. Obama should be, with Mrs. Obama reinforcing his instincts for ambitious but unpopular initiatives like the overhaul of health care and immigration laws, casting herself as a foil to aides more intent on preserving Congressional seats and poll numbers.

"“She does think there are worse things than losing an election,” Susan S. Sher, the first lady’s former chief of staff, said shortly after the 2010 midterm elections. “Being true to yourself, for her, is definitely more important.” Back then, Mrs. Obama sometimes talked about what would happen if her husband lost in 2012. “I know we’ll be fine,” she told Ms. Sher."

From Political Wire: Quote of the Day   "I'm not accepting it. Your punishment is that you have to stay here and get this bill done. I'm not letting you off the hook."

-- President Obama, quoted in Jodi Kantor's The Obamas, not accepting Rahm Emanuel's resignation over a stalled health care reform bill.

Huffington Post: "That revelation is one of the more explosive included in The Obamas, a new book by Jodi Kantor of The New York Times about the first few years of the Obama administration and the strains that it produced on the president's marriage -- strains that were ultimately overcome."

OBAMA AS PHARAOH   "The movie The Ten Commandments came out when I was in elementary school. The Pharaoh would issue edicts and conclude with, “So let it be written. So let it be done.” 

Quoting Michelle Malkin: 

Like Yul Brynner’s Pharaoh Ramses character in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” the demander in chief stands with arms akimbo issuing daily edicts to his constitution-subverting minions with an imperious wave of his hand. His entourage of insatiable usurpers never rests.
Can’t delude legislators into adopting a $1.5 billion Kabuki summer-jobs boondoggle? Create an unfunded program through executive fiat.
Can’t muster up a filibuster-proof majority for radical nominees? Czar-ify ‘em.

Obama's Tin Ear Returns

The American Spectator  "It may be that Obama is feeling his oats after his payroll tax cut "victory" over House Republicans and therefore trying to flex his muscles. But he's picked a stupid fight at a stupid time, with far more to lose than to gain, reminding us of the surprisingly tin-eared Chicago-style politician he spent most of 2009 and 2010 proving himself to be."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/05/95195

Jennifer Rubin: Obama’s recess appointments: The ex-law professor makes a power grab  "It also gives the Republicans the upper hand in their argument that Obama is interested not in governance, just in naked partisan power plays. That may send a tingle up the legs of the left, but to average voters it may well seem like bad faith by a president who has long since proved unable to work within the system of separation of powers."

Obama on the Campus

Obama Campus 2012  "In the next 10 months, we shall see the college campus to be a center of Democratic activity.  The reason appears in this short piece at The New Republic by Ruy Teixeira.  According to Teixeira, the youth vote is crucial to Obama's reelection, 18-29-year-olds forming one of his strongest support groups.  In 2008, the youth vote went for Obama by a 2-to-1 rate, a huge disparity that, I believe, has never been seen before in presidential elections.  If those numbers hold up, and if the youth vote turns out as well as it did in 08, when 51 percent of them went to the polls (a huge gain over the 40 percent that turned out in 2000), Obama's prospects improve significantly.  It may make the difference."

A Test Where 'Good" Means 'Terrible'  "I asked the teacher what I was supposed to do if a presentation was bad or poor. She looked at me and said, with a straight face, "Good means poor." "How so?" I asked. "What kind of semantic gymnastics is that? Does that mean that superior is above average, and excellent is average?" She didn't answer the question, but said that the students worked really hard on their projects and the school didn't want any of them to feel discouraged. If they scored in the 70s, then their presentation was considered bad. "But you're telling them that it is good," I said."


Both above from Manhattan Institute

Foreign Policy Experts Urge President Obama to Take Action Against Assad

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The Foreign Policy Initiative  "The letter also responds to recent statements by the Obama administration in opposition to efforts by embattled Syrian citizens to defend themselves. “Such a position is counterproductive, especially since the protesters themselves are calling for international protection from the Assad regime’s forces,” the group said. “U.S. condemnation of their armed resistance undercuts them, and could have the effect of discouraging further Syrian military defections.” "

Obama and recess appointments (UPDATED)

Now we realize that there is nothing that stands in the way of a president openly refusing to be bound by the Constitution. Who will enforce his adherence? Congress? Not when his party rules there and supports him in this as we will see below?

WaPo:  Obama’s recess appointments are unconstitutional  "President Obama’s attempt to unilaterally appoint three people to seats on the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (after the Senate blocked action on his nomination) is more than an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent the Senate’s advise-and-consent role. It is a breathtaking violation of the separation of powers and the duty of comity that the executive owes to Congress.

"Yes, some prior recess appointments have been politically unpopular, and a few have even raised legal questions. But never before has a president purported to make a “recess” appointment when the Senate is demonstrably not in recess. That is a constitutional abuse of a high order."....

"If Congress does not resist, the injury is not just to its branch but ultimately to the people. James Madison made clear that the separation of powers was not to protect government officials’ power for their sake but as a vital check on behalf of individual liberty. To prevent future tyrannical usurpations of power, Congress must act to redress this serious threat to our liberty."   By Edwin Meese III and Todd Gaziano

Obama’s Reelection Strategy: Bypass Congress  "In brief, the entire multi-trillion dollar bureaucratic apparatus of the federal government will be directed towards Obama’s reelection.  Unfortunately, these executive actions will have serious negative economic consequences in terms of compliance costs and the broad uncertainty and anxiety that comes from not knowing what arbitrary decisions will come next.  That’s terrible news for our economic recovery, and it may also mean that the Obama strategy will backfire politically with an electorate that’s desperate for job creation and economic growth." Also this:  The White House Is Wrong — The Senate Conducted Business During Its ‘Recess’

Neal Boortz says: Ceasar Obummas strikes again!   "Obama said he was going to “fundamentally transform the United States of America.”  Are you starting to understand how he intends to do that?  Let’s start with ignoring the Constitution."


Krauthammer: Obama's Recess Appointments Part Of "A Long String Of Lawless Actions"


Oops, she did it again:  "Nancy Pelosi is "glad" that President Obama ignored the Advice and Consent requirement of the Constitution on his recent appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the new bureaucratic beast, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

Weekly Standard:  ‘A Lawless Action by the President’  "As the man vested with “The executive Power” (all of it), the president must, first and foremost, faithfully serve as the nation’s chief executive — ensuring that the laws and the Constitution are carried out as written.  The very rule of law largely depends upon his fulfillment of that trust."

Update: Obama takes victory lap  "Two days after defying Republicans and appointing Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Obama visited the new agency to take a little time to gloat."

Bill Ayers Apostle Appointed White House Education Initiative Director

ed.gov

Big Government  "Jose Rico has been named the new director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, a key position that could help close the achievement gap between white and minority students.  But if his history is any indication, his influence may do more harm than good.

Perhaps most troubling is Rico’s connection to unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and communist radical Mike Klonsky through the Chicago-based “Small Schools Workshop.”"....

“Klonsky stressed: ‘Chairman Mao’s brilliant teachings on the ‘three worlds’ is a scientific application of class analysis to today’s world conditions. This thesis clearly defines friends and enemies and isolates the two superpowers, while uniting the world’s peoples.’”