What?!

"There is no liberal media! The media which is, after all, owned by corporations naturally leans to the right." -- Keith Olbermann

Why is this idiot still allowed to speak in public?

Dear Mr. President,

Please stop talking about the mess that you “inherited.” Please stop hiding behind “cleaning up somebody else's mess.” It’s not somebody else’s, it’s yours. You didn’t inherit it, you saw it, you wanted it, you fought for it and you won. It’s yours. Bitching about it now is just childish. If you’re in a mess it’s either one you asked for or one you created.

Your job now is to uphold your oath. Please take the time to re-read the Constitution and familiarize yourself with what you are and are not allowed to do. There are some things you can fix if you’d like, just remember, many of the things you’d like to label a “mess” and complain about, the majority of us call freedom. Within the Constitutional Rule of Law, do your job. We’re waiting.

Sincerely,
America

How can he uphold and defend when he doesn't understand?

(From http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/55910)

(CNSNews.com) – Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) would not say what part of the Constitution grants Congress the power to force every American to buy health insurance--as all of the health care overhaul bills currently do.

Leahy, whose committee is responsible for vetting Supreme Court nominees, was asked by CNSNews.com where in the Constitution Congress is specifically granted the authority to require that every American purchase health insurance. Leahy answered by saying that “nobody questions” Congress’ authority for such an action.

CNSNews.com: "Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?"

Sen. Leahy: "We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?"

CNSNews.com: "I’m asking--"

Sen. Leahy: "Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there’s no question there’s authority. Nobody questions that."

When CNSNews.com again attempted to ask which provision of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to force Americans to purchase health insurance, Leahy compared the mandate to the government’s ability to set speed limits on interstate highways--before turning and walking away.

CNSNews.com: "But where, I mean, which–"

Sen. Leahy: "Where do we have the authority to set speed limits on an interstate highway?

CNSNews.com: "The states do that."

Sen. Leahy: "No. The federal government does that on federal highways."

Prior to 1995, the federal government mandated a speed limit of 55 miles an hour on all four-lane highways. The limit was repealed in 1995 and the authority to set speed limits reverted back to the states.

Technically, the law that established the 55 mile-an-hour limit--the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974--withheld federal highway funds from states that did not comply with it. The law rested on the Commerce Clause, which give Congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce, and Congress’ authority to dole out federal tax revenue. Someone who does not buy health insurance, critics have argued, is not by that ommission engaged in interstate commerce and thus there is no act of interstate commerce for Congress to regulate in this situation.

Stupid things people say....

"[Having the Olympics in Chicago would be important to] let people know that we understand that sports saves lives, that it makes dreams come true, that it creates visions in kids' heads to make them think they can be the next David Robinson, the next Barack Obama, the next Nadia Comaneci, the next Oprah Winfrey." --Michelle Obama
BHO and Oprah are athletes?

"Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis, and others for their brilliance and perfection." --Michelle Obama ("Mrs. Obama was 20 years old when Lewis first competed in the Olympics in 1984." --Michelle Malkin)

The Three R's in the Age of Obama: Rappin', Revolution and Radicalism

This is horrifying. Just a brief glimpse into the growing trend of moving America's schools away from actual education and toward radicalized indoctrination centers. I wonder if Ayn Rand knew her writing would end up being prophetic?
====================================================
Michelle Malkin Michelle Malkin Fri Sep 25, 3:00 am ET

Creators Syndicate – When the White House announced plans for the president's nationwide address to schoolchildren two weeks ago, worried parents were dismissed as "kooks." We pointed to the subtext of "social justice" activism rampant in American classrooms. It's time for a big fat Told You So.

Out of the spotlight, politicized lessons continue to supplant core academics.

Earlier this year, at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington Township, N.J., schoolchildren were instructed to memorize a paean to Barack Obama. A video uploaded to the YouTube account of Charisse Carney-Nunes, author of the children's book "I Am Barack Obama" and a self-described Harvard Law "schoolmate" of the president's, showed students lined up in the auditorium snapping their fingers and chanting in unison:

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama

He said all should lend a hand to make the country strong again.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama

He said we must be fair today, equal work means equal pay.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama

He said take a stand, make sure everyone gets a chance.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama

He said red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama.

Yeah! Barack Hussein Obama.

…Hello, Mr. President, we honor you today

For all your great accomplishments, we all do say hooray.

Hooray, Mr. President, you are No. 1

The first black American to lead this nation.

Acknowledging the historic nature of Obama's presidency ("the first black American") is one thing. Deifying him with creepy spiritual references ("red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight" is cribbed from the famous hymn "Jesus Loves the Little Children"; cheering "you are No. 1") is quite another. Burlington Township school officials said Thursday the recording and dissemination of the video was "unauthorized," but acknowledged that the Obama praise session was part of the students' official curriculum.

Carney-Nunes' Obama book was on prominent display during the students' performance. It is a tool, she says, that "allows children to see themselves through the inspirational story of President Obama growing up as an ordinary child, asking, 'Who will change the world?' Ultimately, he realizes that he will." Seeing everything through the lens of Obama, as his incessantly self-referential United Nations speech demonstrated, is a trademark of the perpetual Obama campaign.

This O-cult lesson is exactly the kind of junior campaign lobbying activity that White House officials planned around the president's education speech. Alert parents and administrators called out the Department of Education's activist, Obama-centric education manuals before the event. Federal officials altered the language. Obama delivered an innocuous speech. But on cue, education radicals goaded students to engage in political activism.

White House and Hollywood moguls launched a "Get Schooled" initiative this month with Obama that urges students to lobby for higher teacher pay and to embrace the rallying cries "Know Your Rights" and "Change the System."

At the New Trier High School in Northfield, Ill., educators followed up on Obama's address with a 45-minute "extended adviser" discussion last week to explore "the significant messages inherent in his speech." Illinois writer/blogger Tom Blumer reports that "parents were not informed on a timely basis as to what was going to happen, and were given no specific instructions on how to have their child opt out of the 'discussions.'" The school's principal and assistant principal sent out suggestive questions focused on Dear Leader's Do Something missives:

— Why do you think President Obama listed the responsibilities of teachers, parents and the government before discussing your responsibility for your education?

— What are you "good at," and what do you have "to offer" your family, friends and community?

— In the speech, President Obama spoke of some of the steps of Effective Effort. Identify them, using direct quotations from the text to support your assertions.

— Respond to President Obama's final questions for you: "What's your contribution going to be? …"

In addition to radical White House Teaching Fellows like Chicago high-school educator Xian Barrett (an outspoken charter school foe who founded a "Social Justice Club" and bussed students to protest) and Michelle Bissonnette, a Los Altos, Calif., teacher who is "focused on developing my leadership as a more culturally and racially conscious educator," the White House has embraced controversial homosexual rights advocate Kevin Jennings as "Safe Schools czar." Jennings founded the controversial GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), which aggressively pushes sexually explicit, age-inappropriate books and lesson plans on alternative lifestyles.

Lost in all the chanting for change is the core commitment to impart actual knowledge. For progressives in the Age of Obama, setting high academic standards is secondary to the self-improvement of the "whole child" and "service" to the cause of social justice.

Out: readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. In: rappin', revolution and radicalism. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Michelle Malkin is the author of the forthcoming "Culture of Corruption: Obama and his Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks & Cronies" (Regnery 2009). Her e-mail address is malkinblog@gmail.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM

Who will keep their oath?

"I'm a Marine Corps vet. And, like you, I did swear an oath to defend my Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. ... Now, I heard you say tonight ... that you're going to let us keep our health insurance. Well, thank you. It's not your right to decide whether or not I keep my current plan or not. That's my decision. ... I've heard recently in the media you and some other people on the national political stage call us 'brown shirts' because we oppose [government health care]. ... A little history lesson: The Nazis were the National Socialist Party. They were leftists. They took over the finance. They took over the car industry. They took over health care in that country. If Nancy Pelosi wants to find a swastika, maybe the first place she should look is the sleeve of her own arm. ... What I want to know is, as a Marine, as a disabled veteran that served this country, I've kept my oath. Do you ever intend to keep yours?" --Marine Corps vet David Hedrick at a town hall meeting in Clark County, Washington, speaking (with resounding applause) to Democrat Rep. Brian Baird

Colorful bumper stickers

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that really made me think: Blacks for Obama. The message was displayed on a colorful background next to the busts of a couple of attractive African-Americans in what I’m guessing was meant to be traditional African dress.

My first thought was; “Are Americans really dumb enough to support and vote for a candidate simply based on his skin color?”

Unfortunately the answer to that is yes. There are many Americans, black, white and the spectrum in between, who voted for BHO solely based on the color of his skin. Is that really any way to decide the leader of our country?

My next thought was; “What reaction would I create had I slapped a ‘Whites for McCain’ sticker on my Jeep with a Rebel Flag for a background?”

What sort of derision would I have faced in my diverse work environment? Would my vehicle have been safe in the ethnically rich neighborhoods and shopping areas I frequent?

My third question was; “How can I write about this without sounding racist?”

I decided I don’t care. It’s no secret that I’m not at all a fan of BHO, but it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. I don’t care what color he is, I just wish no one else did either.

Every now and then...

Now --
“Just last Friday, the House of Representatives came together to pass an extraordinary piece of legislation that will finally open the door to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, preventing the worst consequences of climate change, and making clean energy the profitable kind of energy. Thanks to members of Congress who were willing to place America's progress before the usual Washington politics, this bill will create new businesses, new industries, and millions of new jobs, all without imposing untenable new burdens on the American people or America's businesses.” --BHO on the cap and tax bill

Then – (January)
“Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket ... because I'm capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas ... you name it ... whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations. That will cost money.”

Way to turn around, bright eyes.

What's the difference?

Earlier this week a late-term abortionist was murdered by an extreme right-wing nut job who had too much gunpowder in his morning cereal. BHO immediately condemned this act of violence and had his attorney general send federal marshals out to protect doctors and nurses and clinics that are in the abortion business. The media went nuts, condemning everyone to the right of John Kerry as contributors to the doctor’s murder.

The next day, one soldier was killed and another wounded outside their recruiting station by a muslim extremist who said he wanted to shoot more. It took BHO two whole days to condemn that one. Did you hear anything from the media labeling all muslim extremists as America-haters? Didn’t think so.

No empathy for me, thank you

Like an off-brand Cialis pill, the GOP leadership has gone too soft too fast on Sotomayor. So I’ll say it; she’s a racist and should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

She’s not overtly racist as in, “I hate white/black/whatever color people.” Hers is a more subtle racism which is worse. It’s easy to ignore overt racism, but when it’s not so obvious, it can sneak up on you.

Those entrusted with a seat on the Supreme Court need to be blind to color/race/ethnic background, etc… Sotomayor, however, has made it perfectly clear that she sees all of those differences in vivid color. That empathy that BHO said he wants on the bench is exactly what she’ll give him, and it’s exactly wrong. She may not use her seat to obviously rule against a specific race or color, but what she will do is use that position to rule in favor of those she deems in need of a little help. She’ll look at the law as though standing in their shoes.

She’s wrong for the bench, she’s wrong for America. Until she says the law looks the same no matter whose shoes you’re standing in, she should not get anyone’s support.

America is still full of bigots, and New Haven, Conn. sucks.

This is already old news, but I was reminded of it again today so here I am. If you’ve not heard the story yet of Frank Ricci you can Google his name and find plenty.

In a nutshell, he’s a fireman from New Haven, Conn. who worked his butt off to get promoted and when all his hard work paid off and he passed his exam he was then told the city was throwing out the test results because none of the applicants who passed the test were black.

The city of New Haven was afraid the promotion of an all-white class (there was one Latino who passed) would anger the black community. They threw out the test results and set to work creating a new test that would guarantee a more “balanced” outcome.

Frank has been a fireman for 11 years and he wanted this promotion so bad, he bought $1000 worth of textbooks and he quit a second job so he could spend more time studying them for the exam. Did I mention Frank is dyslexic? A friend read his textbooks onto tape for him to make the studying easier.
He was competing against his peers for one of eight available promotions to lieutenant. He placed sixth on the exam, soundly earning him one of those spots. If only he had been born black.

New Haven officials contend that the absence of any black firemen who made the grade for promotion proves discrimination. Never mind the fact that the architects of the original test paid specific attention to ensuring the questions were race neutral. What if the NBA threw out every victory that didn’t include points scored by white players?

More and more often, bigotry is rearing its ugly head in the form of political correctness. Seven white men and one Latino got the best scores and earned their promotions. There is not one valid reason for them to not be proudly wearing lieutenant bars on their uniforms now.

Cool things Presidents have said….

Franklin Pierce in vetoing an 1854 bill that would have provided federal dollars to help mentally ill people:
“I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity”…such spending “would be contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and subversive to the whole theory upon which the Union of these States is founded.”

Grover Cleveland in vetoing an 1887 budget appropriation intended to assist drought-plagued counties in Texas:
“I feel obliged to withhold my approval of the plan to indulge in benevolent and charitable sentiment through the appropriation of public funds. … I find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution.”

How cold is it in Hell?

I agree with the Taliban.

Reuters reports today that the Taliban has rejected a U.S. offer of “honorable reconciliation.”

Hillary babbled some nonsense about this at a conference on Afghanistan today. But the rejection by an official Taliban spokesman refers more to BHO’s lunacy last month when spoke about reaching out to “moderate” Taliban.

“They have to go and find the moderate Taliban, their leader and speak to them. This is a lunatic idea,” said Zabihullah Mujahid.

I heartily agree. It’s a lunatic idea.

Stupid Quote of the Day

BHO re Auto industry leadership: “We cannot continue to excuse poor decisions.”

When are the American people going to wise up and say that about the current administration?

ex post facto

The AIG bonus fiasco is still that – a fiasco.

BHO gave them our money, the people got angry at how AIG used it. Now BHO has decided he’s angry too and wants to take the money back in the form of a new law that would tax the bonuses in question at a whopping 90%

BHO screwed up, and his answer, as it seems to be for just about everything, is another tax. As questionable as those bonuses may have been, a specific tax on a specific group of people is abhorrent. Better than that, it’s illegal.

Despite his oath, I’m pretty sure BHO has not read the Constitution. Somebody needs to. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 reads: No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

I’m not a lawyer, nor a constitutional scholar (scholar of any kind for that matter,) but I’m pretty sure what that means is Congress cannot pass a law that punishes an act already past that was not illegal at the time of its commission. If I paint a cow purple today and it is not illegal, and a law is passed tomorrow that makes painting cows illegal, I cannot be punished for it.

Let me know if I’m wrong.

Misdirected anger

We’ve heard a lot the last few days about AIG and the $165 million (or $173 million, depending on which source you’re paying attention to) worth of bonuses paid to executives in the department that dragged the company under. Many have been giving BHO and his flunkies props for their supposed outrage at AIG’s usage of taxpayer dollars to pay these bonuses.

But who should we really be mad at? I think anger toward AIG is misdirected. Outrage should be poured first on BHO and his fraudulent use of our money. It was idiotic practices that got AIG in financial trouble in the first place. What did the government think was going to happen when it started dropping billions of dollars into the pockets of incompetent people?

It would be nice to believe that these already millionaires would void their own contracts that required the bonuses in order to help the company that made them rich in the first place, but human nature is never that benign. Anger at the company is wasted energy. Any thinking person would know what was going to happen when BHO delivered another truckload of money to the failing company.

Instead, level anger and protest where they belong: at the steps of the White House. BHO and his useful idiots are spending our money willy nilly with no end in sight. Look past his “outrage,” he paid those bonuses out of your pocket.

Stimulus: Creating job

It’s off to a slow start, but I think BHO’s “stimulus” is actually creating job. No, that’s not a typo. He’s created a job. Now he’s got a guy whose job it is to explain why more taxes are a good thing when they end up meaning less taxes.

Following Al Gore further down his rabbit hole, BHO is pushing to auction off carbon pollution permits -- cap and trade. And what happens when those corporations have an increase in their cost of doing business? We the consumers get taxed in the form of higher prices. For electricity, gas, heating oil…the list goes on.

His plan is to use the money he raises there to pay for his “Making Work Pay” tax credits – the $400 - $800/year less the IRS will be stealing from us. (Is that really a tax break, or are they just going to deduct less? I can change my W-4 any time I want.)

Recap (and trade): Charge corporations more to provide services which will now cost us more and use the money to pay for not taking as much money from us to begin with so we can pay for the more expensive services.

I don’t get it either. Good thing Mr. Orszag’s job is to explain it all.

Wrong answer

".... The American people are watching. They need this plan to work. They expect to see the money that they've earned, that they've worked so hard to earn, spent in its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud." -- BHO

Wrong answer, sir. What the American people need, but unfortunatley cannot expect, is to see the money we have earned not be pilfered by a bloated government. Shrink that pork-fed monster called government by half and you won't need to take what is ours. At least explain why it's OK for you to take the money I work hard to earn and give it to those who won't earn for themselves.

I'm hot for teacher.....

Usually it’s democrats and other useful idiots who find themselves the subject of my wrath and scorn here. Today is different. Today I’m upset with one of my favorite columnists, Ann Coulter.

One of the things that has often been the subject of her wrath and scorn over the years has been, and I think rightly so, the public school system. It’s broke. Kids who survive it are stupid compared to their world-wide peers.

But today, she went after not just the idiotic bureaucracy that is the Department of Education, she went after the teachers themselves in general terms that are altogether inaccurate and hurtful.

In her condemnation of BHO’s stimulus/rescue/spending/whatever-you-want-to-call-it plan in general and its planned outpouring of dollars to the DoE in particular, she described the teachers as “lethargic incompetents who kick off at 2 p.m. every day and get summers off. Actually, that's not fair: Some teachers spend long hours after school having sex with their students.”

My wife is a high school teacher in the toughest ghetto school in our area where she enjoys the distinction of being in what is by far the minority of the teaching staff. I know for a fact that most of the teachers in that school do in one way or another fit Ms. Coulter’s description. My wife works her butt off and earns every penny of her meager salary.

At least once a week, I hear complaints about her coworkers leaving early while she stays, even when her last block of the day is free. She works hard developing lesson plans that her department peers then use for their own classes. She cares about her students while others send them out to buy lunch.

Recently, my wife was awarded her National Board Certification. She worked weekends for months bettering herself and still found the time to help other (undeserving) teachers who were also going through the process.

In the Marine Corps we have a saying, “Every unit has its 10 percent.” Among every large group of people there will always be those few who disgrace themselves regularly. Unfortunately for teachers, their numbers are upside down. It’s the 10 percent who are the good ones; the ones whom the other 90 need to aspire to be.

So Ms. Coulter, do those outstanding human beings the well deserved courtesy of acknowledging them. Liberals by definition are wrong headed and thus easy for you to generalize. Teachers are not a group you can so wholly condemn.

I know, let's give it cancer!

It’s scary when intelligent, or at least educated, people say stupid things. Scary because when they do, they often present these stupid ideas in such a way that doesn’t look that bad to someone who might not be paying close attention.

I was reading a column by Erica Etelson this morning (I know, I could have avoided the heartburn by stopping when I saw Berkeley in the dateline), and as a whole I think she said fairly accurate things about the economy. But she also said this: “Meanwhile, the one measure that should and could be instituted immediately is a floor for the retail price of gas. If, for example, the minimum were $4 a gallon and the market price was $2, the government would pocket the difference and find itself with billions to spend on mass transit.”

When are these numbskulls going to figure out that the government needs to stay out of the economy? I’m not an economist. In fact, most of what I hear about the economy today goes right over my head. But I do know that the government is about as good at fixing an ailing economy as I am at fixing a broken space shuttle.

The economy (I’m already sick of saying that word) lives and breathes like an organism. Sometimes it gets sick. And then it heals itself. Government involvement is like a really bad episode of House where the patient gets exponentially worse and worse while the doctors try more and more. Then the (well-intentioned) doctors just stop meddling and the patient gets better because it was just a case of dehydration to begin with.

Problem is the people in Washington who want the government to continue doing more and more are not well intentioned. They kind of look like they are if you don’t really pay attention, but they’re not. Liberal policy and practice put the economy where it is today. Now liberals are using the fear of economic meltdown to push the idea that the government MUST do something NOW! They are using today’s crisis to rush all sorts of crap (pork) past the normal scrutiny it would be subjected to. They have been trying for years to spend more (of our) money on their pet projects. Now they’ve found a way to do just that.

The economy has a cold, let it heal. Government intervention is just like feeding it a big, steaming bowl of cancer.

I’m rambling, sorry. I’ll shut up now.

Well isn't that interesting.....

Welcome back, sometimes reader. Fans of Stephen King will recognize the almost plagiarism. Can that man tell a story, or what?

Anyone who has paid any bit of attention here probably understands that most of my rambling comes from my frustration at the idiocy of others – mostly politicians or the media. I’m generally unhappy with most of what they are doing, but every once in a while one of them would raise the level of my pisstivity or amazement to the point where I could hold it no longer and I needed to vent. Remind me to thank whoever invented the blog.

In the weeks and months leading up to last November’s elections there was simply too much of this. Every single day there was something new to make me angry and I couldn’t keep up. Those things that just make your jaw drop and eyes go wide or your fists clench, and you say to yourself, “are you freakin’ kidding me?”

So now I’m back here and going to try to vent some more. I think it will be good for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll even get around to writing about something other than the idiocy of others.