Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The grievance franchise


 
"Of course Democrats never criticized George W. Bush."
GUEST: Let’s think about the danger here… once you start criticizing the president, who by the way, his love of, his job before coming into office was as a Constitutional professor he has that much respect for the Constitution. Once you start criticizing the president of threatening the Constitution that’s just, that’s just dirty politics.
SHARPTON: Well that’s to make him other than legitimate is to delegitimize the president.
NAACP Leader: Tea Party “Frantically Seeking People of Color To Become Mouthpieces For Their Agenda”…

Barber, the head of the North Carolina NAACP, recently caused controversy by comparing Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the lone black Republican in Congress, to a ventriloquist’s dummy at an event in South Carolina last month.


De Blasio said he would not march in the parade up Fifth Avenue because organizers refuse to allow participants to carry gay-pride signs.      

"Catholic League president Bill Donohue has blasted New York's mayor Bill de Blasio for deciding to boycott the nation's largest St. Patrick's Day parade.

" 'Personally I'm delighted," Donohue said. "I lead the Catholic League contingent every year, and I do not want to march with a public official who does not want to be associated with Irish Catholics.' "

From Spain: Obama: In Search of Lost Credibility

Cartoon: Obama se va de vacaciones (medium) by Dragan tagged obama,politics,cartoon,eeuu
Watching America  From El Pais in Spain
.."It is always possible that the opposition could pay for its current attitude at the polls. However, what is certain is that the current situation is doing a great deal of damage to Obama’s credibility. As far as the public is concerned, it is the president who is ultimately responsible if advances are not made; it is the president who needs to find the power to make changes.

"Public support for Obama is down to 40 percent, with only 30 percent of the U.S. population optimistic about the country’s direction. Although his name cannot yet be said to be toxic, there is a notable lack of interest among Democratic electoral candidates in featuring the president in their campaigns." ...

A Disturbing Conservative Reaction to the Coke Ad

Let the left have sole possession of disdain for patriotic praise.

Peter Wehner  ... "What a weird and disturbing reaction. The ad was hardly “in your face.” It was in fact an affirmation that people from different cultures and lands and tongues are drawn to America and can love her, not because it’s their native land but because it’s a special land. America is, in the words of Ben Wattenberg, the “first universal nation.” The Coke ad beautifully captures the spirit behind the phrase on the Seal of the United States: E pluribus unum, “Out of many, one.' ”
 

On Keystone, Action Can Wait

Political Cartoons by Nate Beeler
Rich Lowry   "President Barack Obama has urged that we make this a “year of action,” and he is going to do his part by acting with vigor and dispatch to continue to study the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project.

"The State Department just acted with an 11-volume, 7,000-page environmental review that concludes, like the several reviews prior to this point, that the pipeline poses no environmental hazard. You’ve got to hand it to the State Department — when it is determined to act, it moves."
....
"Of course, that’s the point. When there’s no legitimate reason to stop a project that well-funded left-wing donors and a mini-grassroots environmentalist army want stopped, the safest course is to make sure that it is always study-ready and never shovel-ready."

Fort Collins School Tells Kids They Can't Celebrate USA

Todd Starnes
 
"Students and parents at a Colorado high school are outraged after administrators turned down their request for a spirit week day honoring America because it might offend non-Americans.

“ 'They said they didn’t want to offend anyone from other countries or immigrants,” a 16-year-old member of the student council told me. “They just really did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”....
....
“ 'They said they didn’t want to be exclusive to any other country,” a 17-year-old member of the student council told me."

Full Video of the Dinesh D’Souza and Bill Ayers Debate

College Insurrection
"The video below is the entire event and it’s two solid hours. Enjoy…"

 
"Bill Ayers does a trick I've seen Marxist do over and over in comparing themselves with historic figures from the past that have nothing to do with Marxism, then is turning around and saying where would you be without us (Marxist). Ayers set off bombs in a attack against the Capitalism economic system of this country and has convinced himself he is some great freedom fighter for minority rights when the opposite is true.

"The real question is the one D'Souza stayed focused on, where would the world be without the United States and Capitalism. This is why D'souza was arrested on trumpted(sp) up charges.
 Debate1
D’Souza Vs. Ayers: Wits Clash At Dartmouth Debate   "The debate, titled “America: Good or Bad?” started right away with a few good japes, as D’Souza told the audience: “We decided not to have metal detectors for the audience, but we did have metal detectors for the speakers.' ”
....
"He took the view that despite the horrible effects of colonialism and slavery, they nevertheless precipitated the modernization of destitute nations and groups of people.
"This drew the ire of Ayers, who retorted that this implies that the existence of a Jewish state must justify the Holocaust using D’Souza’s logic. Just as Ayers’ later demonization of Israel fell on deaf ears, this comment provoked more audible horror in the audience than respect."

The Bickersons*: President Obama and Fox News

Political Cartoons by Lisa Benson
Obama's fatuous claim of Fox News 'unfairness' to him   "Boo-hoo, President Obama thinks Fox News is "unfair" to him, but when challenged for examples, all he could cite was asking questions about difficult subjects.

"This was revealed in the most interesting segment of Bill O'Reilly's taped interview with President Obama, aired for the first time last night on the O'Reilly Factor (the first 15 minutes of the interview were broadcast live prior to the Super Bowl).

"Here is the relevant section of the transcript:..."
Obama to O'Reilly: Fox News Reason for My Problems!  "President Barack Obama twice blamed Fox News Channel for misinforming the public on issues that have bedeviled his presidency in the past year during a pre-Super Bowl interview with the network's Bill O'Reilly."

NBC News: Obama says Fox News's O'Reilly 'absolutely' unfair in extended interview  "President Barack Obama said that he is “in a lot of ways” less liberal than former Republican President Richard Nixon and said Fox News Channel's Bill O’Reilly has been “absolutely” unfair to him throughout his presidency in an interview that aired Monday night. "
Via Lucianne

O’Reilly: Obama Annoyed with Fox Because He Doesn’t Think IRS, Benghazi ‘That Important’    Video

Krauthammer’s Take: Obama ‘Continuing a Successful Stonewall’ on Benghazi

 
"President Obama’s repeated efforts to dismiss lingering questions about the Benghazi attacks has been his strategy from the beginning, Charles Krauthammer said on Monday’s Special Report. During his pre-Super Bowl interview, the president did not directly answer some of Bill O’Reilly’s questions on the matter, as he has all along."
 

"GASPARINO: I think he’s also talking to the mainstream media. I think this whole thing of bringing up Fox is basically to try and convince The New York Times and all the rest of the media that, you know, ‘ignore those kooks over there. You know, listen to me,’ and you know, in some –  this does resonate among reporters. I can tell you as someone who worked, I worked at the alleged, you know, I worked at The Wall Street Journal pre-News Corp buying it, I worked at Newsweek magazine – you couldn’t get any more liberal, more mainstream-media liberal than that. This is a common thread among my reporter brethren. It’s fascinating – they don’t see their own biases, they just see ours."

*The Bickersons

Thomas Sowell: Republicans to rescue Dems, betray the nation. UPDATED

Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy
WND  "Some supporters of President Obama may be worried about how he and the Democrats are going to fare politically, as the problems of Obamacare continue to escalate and it looks like the Republicans have a chance to win a majority in the Senate.

"But Democrats may not need to worry so much. Republicans may once again come to the rescue of the Democrats, by discrediting themselves and snatching defeat from the very jaws of victory.

"The latest bright idea among Republicans inside the Beltway is a new version of amnesty that is virtually certain to lose votes among the Republican base and is unlikely to gain many votes among the Hispanics the Republican leadership is courting." ...

UPDATE: McConnell: Immigration reform not going to happen in 2014   "McConnell’s comments, which came after he met with the Senate GOP conference over lunch, poured cold water over the growing buzz there could be an immigration deal this year.

"McConnell said a deal’s unlikely given what he called the “irresolvable” differences between the Senate and House."

Monday, February 3, 2014

Charles Krauthammer Explains Obama's Lawlessness in 50 Seconds


 
"Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow Andrew Kloster, who has argued that Obama’s unilaterally raising the minimum wage is likely unlawful, told The Foundry that Krauthammer is absolutely correct that the President Obama has taken an unlawful “go it alone” approach.

“ 'Whether it is making unlawful payments to congressional health care plans, making recess appointments in violation of the Constitution, or urging federal contractors to violate the WARN Act,” Kloster said, “this administration has taken numerous actions that are abusive or plainly unlawful.”

"Kloster noted that Obama’s actions are often justified on the grounds that “if Congress won’t act, I will.” He said that is not consistent with the Constitution:
Frankly, circumventing the constitutional role that Congress plays in our Republic cannot be justified, no matter what the policy goals. Every President takes an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution” and has a constitutional duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” President Obama should always put that oath and his constitutional duty first. His politics, his legacy, his party — all these should come a distant second.

MSNBC does not spell "Journalism"

Why are we wasting our time discussing what they say at MSNBC?
"Trust me I'm not complaining! 
"There are a few things that I figured out about MSNBC yeas ago:

"1) The network lacks maturity, from stupid tweets to on the air remarks about Romney's grandchild.  MSNBC is a mess, as reported by The NY Post:
"In the past two months alone, three MSNBC anchors - Martin Bashir, Alec Baldwin and Melissa Harris-Perry - experienced damaging cases of foot-in-mouth syndrome and had to apologize.  
Two - Bashir and Baldwin - lost their jobs."
"2) Most people see MSNBC as opinion rather than news:"

But "Law & Order" promoted them in their scripts many times.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin Claims Station Has No Ideology   "MSNBC’s current line-up begins with Morning Joe from 6 to 9 AM and continues with news oriented programs from 9 AM to noon. From there, he pointed out that the afternoon programs are more opinion oriented shows like the panel show The Cycle and Now With Alex Wagner. “Then you have the big voices of Ed Schultz, Rev [Al Sharpton], and Chris [Matthews],” Griffin added, “and then the big deeper thinkers of Chris Hayes, Rachel [Maddow], and Lawrence [O’Donnell].”

" 'In other words,” Grove jokingly asked Griffin, “if MSNBC’s day becomes increasingly Commie?”

" 'I prefer not to describe it that way,” Griffin said with a laugh. “We get more analytical as the day goes on.”

"Griffin says that Fox News, which draws more viewers than MSNBC, CNN, and HLN combined, has a definite ideology. “I think they do have an ideology,” Griffin said, “because every Republican who’s in trouble goes on that network to be taken care of… They’re owned by News Corp., which is Rupert Murdoch. Roger Ailes runs it, and he comes out of the Republican Party.” On MSNBC, Joan Walsh Said Bill O’Reilly’s Interview With Obama Was “Borderline Racist”…

Joan Walsh

Walsh said, ..."It means, again, that O’Reilly and Ailes and their viewers see this president as unqualified and ungrateful, an affirmative action baby who won’t thank us for all we’ve done for him and his cohort. The question was, of course, deeply condescending and borderline racist." ...  Emphasis in the original.

Reading assignments: What about the Obama-O'Reilly interview before the Super Bowl?

Full interview here. Speakers on.

Super Bowl: Obama Blasts Fox News In Testy O’Reilly Interview
Obama Super Bowl Interview
... "Earlier, the Fox News host interrupted Obama with a “you’re not going to answer that?” as the President replied to a question about why he didn’t fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius after the botched online launch of Obamacare." ...Via Drudge.
 
Video: Obama Says Scandals Keep Resurfacing Because Fox News Promotes Them   Via Drudge

Big Journalism claims: President Obama Fumbles Super Bowl Interview with Bill O'Reilly  ... "It grew increasingly painful, and even embarrassing, when Bill read a question from a woman who asked why Obama found it necessary to "fundamentally transform" the nation. As Breitbart News reported, his response suggested that he was not even aware that he had made such a statement, and O'Reilly reminded him that those were his own words." 

 
Ann Althouse didn't care for O'Reilly's interrupting That is the same reason I have trouble watching the guy interview someone I really want to hear. But in Obama's case, you are almost forced to as Bret Baier found out when the President filibustered each of his questions. If you have two minutes to interview Mr. Obama, he will make sure to take the full two minutes to sidestep your question, then our time will be up. TD
 
Anyway, here is Ms. Althouse's intro to her piece:
"Here's Bill O'Reilly interviewing Barack Obama. Full video and transcript at the link. I'll just excerpt the part about the IRS scandal, and I invite you to consider — in addition to the substance — whether this kind of interruption is unacceptably disrespectful or justifiable to prevent the interviewee from running out the clock with propaganda:" (Transcript of this question follows)
Obama denies 'even a smidgen' of IRS wrongdoing in O'Reilly interview 
"To me, the biggest story of the Bill O'Reilly interview with a slippery Barack Obama was the president's absolute denial of "even a smidgen" any IRS wrongdoing:"
...."Isn't he signaling his campaign donor heading the investigation that there is to be no finding of corruption allowed?"  Thomas Lifson

Obama Battles O’Reilly in Pre-Super Bowl Interview: ‘You and Your TV Station’ Push Benghazi, IRS  via Lucianne  "The tensest moments came on Benghazi, with the host and the president talking over each other and at times sniping at each other.
“ 'Your detractors believe that you did not tell the world it was a terror attack because your campaign didn’t want that out,” O’Reilly said. “That’s what they believe.' ”

Baier, Fox and Friends Respond to Obama Interview: IRS, Benghazi Are ‘Fox’s Fault’? Video of interview.  

Sunday, February 2, 2014

State Department names groups behind Benghazi strike

Fox News  "The State Department on Friday for the first time blamed specific groups and militants for the 2012 Benghazi attack, designating them as terrorists -- a move that further undermines initial claims the attack was spontaneous.

"The department announced that it was labeling Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi and Ansar al-Sharia in Darnah as terror organizations, in part over their role in the Benghazi attack. It applied the same label to Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, over a separate attack on Americans in Tunis." ...