Is President Obama a socialist?

Jay Tea posting in Wizbang seems to think he is. And he has some background explaining why.

Think Pink
As of the first quarter of this year (the most recent numbers I could find quickly), 96.5% of all new home loans were backed by the federal government.
But Barack Obama says he is not a socialist.
Mr. President, you say you're not a socialist. And I want to believe you.
But it would really, really, really help if you'd stop acting like one.

This is the last paragraph of a long post, go read it all.

Is Soros manipulating the Gold Market?

Bloomberg seems to thinks so.

Gold Rallying to $1,500 as Soros's Bubble Inflates
by Nicholas Larkin

 In the middle of the article you see this:

Buyers accumulated almost 278 tons of gold in 2010 across 10 ETPs tracked by Bloomberg, worth $10.4 billion at this year’s average price. Total holdings are almost twice Switzerland’s official reserves of 1,040 tons, data compiled by the World Gold Council show. ETP holdings reached a record 2,078 tons July 19, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
One of the biggest buyers has been Soros Fund Management LLC, which oversees about $25 billion. George Soros, who made $1 billion breaking the Bank of England’s defense of the pound in 1992, described gold as “the ultimate asset bubble” at the World Economic Forum’s January meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Buying at the start of a bubble is “rational,” he said.

Read it all here.

Gov. Perry Wants to Meet with Obama

The president doesn't really want to talk about our border problem.

Aide: Texas Gov. Perry Denied Meeting With Obama During Visit to Fort Bliss
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas -- A governor's spokeswoman says Gov. Rick Perry has been denied a meeting with President Obama when the president visits Fort Bliss on Tuesday.
Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger says the Republican governor had asked to meet with the president on Tuesday to discuss border security. Cesinger said Monday that White House aides said the president would not be available for such a meeting.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Perry was one of the first people the president saw when he stepped from Air Force One during an Austin visit on Aug. 9. On that occasion, Perry hand-delivered a letter to Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, warning about the "dire threat" from drug violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

UPDATE: I corrected the spelling of meet in the title, I had put meed, maybe I meant a beer summit, but that would have been mead. 

Is Glenn Beck the one carrying the Message to Garcia?

This old essay "A Message to Garcia" by Earl Hubbard in 1899 was mentioned on another matter in an email I recieved today.  I wondered if it is still taught in schools or college. So I did a Google search and read it for the first time in many years.  The last lines really struck me, and I thought maybe serendipity was at work.  Here's the quote:

 And the man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing aught else but deliver it, never gets "laid off" nor has to go on a strike for higher wages.

Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals.

Anything such a man asks shall be granted. He is wanted in every city, town and village - in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such: he is needed and needed badly - the man who can "Carry a Message to Garcia."

So who will send a letter to Garcia?  

Did Glenn Beck just carry that message?  What do you think?  Read the story behind "A Message to Garcia" and the essay here.

These are some of the Black Tea Partiers the MSM doesn't want you to see

This is from Gateway Pundit:
Leftist Infiltrator Asks Black Tea Partier: “What Happened to Your African Religion?” (Video)

Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, August 29, 2010, 9:15 PM
Don’t expect the state-run media to report on this. It doesn’t fit their story line.

Saturday at the Restoring Honor Rally in Washington DC a leftist infiltrator asks a black tea party patriot:
“What happened to your African religion?”

Marooned in Marin and P/O’ed Patriot reported:


Notice the other related video at the you tube site by clicking on "watch on youtube.

media in love with its own template of the story

MI had not planned to say anything about the wall to wall coverage of "the Fifth Anniversary of Katrina" which happened this weekend.
But this morning I saw an interview of Harry Shearer who has

produced a documentary film, "The Big Uneasy" , the theme of which is (based on the conclusions of two independent forensic engineering investigations) that the flooding of New Orleans was caused, not by Hurricane Katrina, but by almost five decades of engineering design and construction errors in the "hurricane protection system" built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Read the article written by Harry Shearer this quote came from.

Note: I saw the interview on Morning Joe this morning, but the video I've linked to is from Hardball last Friday night.  Watch the video, it is very telling.  The truth as I see it is this;
it made a better story to bash Bush if they could blame it on his lack of commitment.

Read this from Nola.com:

"As the authors of the Berkeley report say, this was not a natural disaster, " Shearer said, calling to discuss the movie recently after a screening in Washington. "This was a man-made disaster, and therefore it could have been prevented -- and therefore its repetition can be prevented. But it won't just happen by wishing."

The quote is from down in the body of the article, so be sure to read the whole article.

Restoring America's Honor

If you did not watch on C-span you missed a great revival meeting.  And if you didn't watch it on C-span you missed it.  None of the cable or networks carried it. It was remarkable.  Apparently the folks at media matters claimed one remark must have been political, that was all they could find to say against it.  Even the Washington Post is admitting that probably 300,000 to 5,00,000 people attended.  You know what that means don't you? Over 5,000,000 people attended.  There were no signs, there were flags, most of them the Stars and Stripes, a few people held the Gadsden Flag and some had it on their tee shirts.  The only political type thing anyone could factually find.

If you want to watch it C-Span should replay it but they also have a link to watch a video on their site.  When I went to the site it is temporarily unavailable, probably too many people trying to view it. It is well worth the time to watch.

Rampant Discrimination in Schools! -- The Onion Scores Again

Every word of this piece scores on many different levels. Plus it's funny!


In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Shit?

An occasional good news story on Voter Verification

And we should keep it mind, it might come in handy in some disputed elections.

In Georgia, a Victory for Citizenship Verification
By Hans A. von Spakovsky

Last week brought good news for those of us who believe that illegal aliens and non-citizens shouldn’t be violating federal and state laws that prohibit them from registering and voting with impunity. The Justice Department agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the State of Georgia (Georgia v. Holder) that will allow Georgia to verify the citizenship status of newly registered voters.

Georgia filed the lawsuit in June because the DOJ objected to the state’s verification procedures, calling Georgia’s process “seriously flawed” and claiming it would have a disparate impact on minority voters. Because Georgia is covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, it cannot make any change in its voting laws and procedures without first getting the approval of the Civil Rights Division, the most notoriously partisan division in the Justice Department.


There’s an irony here: By verifying citizenship, Georgia was simply implementing another federal law, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which requires states to verify the accuracy of voter registration information.

Read it all here.

What in the World were they Thinking? No Trial for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged coordinator of the Oct. 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole?

From the Washington Post:

Administration halts prosecution of alleged USS Cole bomber
by Peter Finn

The Obama administration has shelved the planned prosecution of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged coordinator of the Oct. 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, according to a court filing.

The decision at least temporarily scuttles what was supposed to be the signature trial of a major al-Qaeda figure under a reformed system of military commissions. And it comes practically on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the attack, which killed 17 sailors and wounded dozens when a boat packed with explosives ripped a hole in the side of the warship in the port of Aden.
In a filing this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said that "no charges are either pending or contemplated with respect to al-Nashiri in the near future."

Like I said, "what were they thinking?"  Read the whole article.

President G W Bush is an American Hero

I've always liked this man. 

Former President George W. Bush helps remember Maine's fallen heroes

By Casey Sullivan

CAPE ELIZABETH — Former President George W. Bush made a surprise appearance at the third annual Run for the Fallen Maine event on Sunday, Aug. 22; the run honors Maine servicemen and women who have given their lives defending the country since Sept. 11, 2001.

Bush showed up at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth at approximately 4:30 p.m., under drizzling weather.

He greeted runners as they finished the last leg of their 65-kilometer trek from Ogunquit to pay homage to Maine's 65 "fallen heroes."

Three-year event participant Nancy Lee Kelley said meeting the former president was "a dream come true."

Kelley, a resident of Old Orchard Beach and mother of Army Capt. Christopher Cash, who died in Iraq on June 24, 2004, said this wasn't the first time she had met Bush.

She first met the former president in a schoolhouse in Kennebunkport in August 2006, when he had agreed to meet with five Maine families who lost their children in the war on terror.

Kelley said she was in disbelief when Bush on late Sunday afternoon recalled the exact date and location of the moment they had first met.

"August 2006, Kennebunkport," Bush told her matter-of-factly when he shook her hand, Kelley said.

After Kelley asked him with a mixture of shock and disbelief if he really remembered her, she said he replied, "Yep. I never forget." 

Read the rest, it's all good.

Wanna see some great ads?

American Thinker has a great article and links to a whole slew of them.  Read it and link to all the ads. You will love them. They will make you proud.

Ad Wars: Republicans Are Winning
By Rosslyn Smith
In recent years, I've been highly critical of the tired and boring ways most Republican promote their message, especially the ads run by most candidates. The images of McCain's campaign (up until he named Sarah Palin as his running mate) depressed me to no end. Two years later, it is refreshing to see many candidates taking new approaches. Some are lighthearted and campy in nature, others serious, but they all convey variations on the same message: There are too many out-of-touch politicians out there.

If you don't want to read it, here are the links, but they will mean a lot more if you read the article.

Demon Sheep Carly Fiorina
Dale Peterson and his Winchester
take off on a publishers' clearinghouse sweepstakes

READ IT ALL.

Is America Growing Islamaphobic? It Damn Well Better Be!

I just saw the news headline -- "Is America growing Islamaphobic?"

Jeez, well, let's see. Muslims -- in the name of Islam, flew planes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and would have hit the Whitehouse if they could have made it.

And they blow themselves up regularly in crowds of innocent people.

Hmmm. Well, I don't know. Is a Religion that incites and/or condones this sort of behavior something we should be afraid of?

They do it in the name of their religion, and their brethen and families, who may be more moderate, don't report them to the authorities, or speak out against it very much... if at all.

Something to fear?

YES! Are they crazy?

I think they are. Both groups -- the people who don't fear this sort of movement, and the people who are actively (or passively) supporting these movements.

And they call us the crazies for being afraid of people whose brothers, uncles, and cousins want to kill us.

It is absurd.

We should be Islamaphobic. And guess what, religious freedom stops when it enables a movement that is out to deny life, liberty and other pursuits of happiness to others. And until Muslims stop doing this, or stop protecting/turning a blind eye to their cousins who want Americans dead, I will fear Islam. Very, very much. And I don't want it in my country. They are dangerous.

And technically, a phobia is an irrational fear -- and a fear of Isalm is completely justified. So it's not a phobia.

There is tolerance and their is ignorance. Ignoring (and outright denying) the Islamic threat is ridiculous and dangerous.

This just makes me heartsick

I didn't really plan to post anything more today but when I saw this at Gateway Pundit I had to share.  I doubt it will make any of the major news.

Lib of the Day: Radical Leftist Cusses Out Holocaust Survivor at Rally- Says “He Didn’t Learn His Lesson”
posted by Jim Hoft
Disgusting.
And, to think our corrupt far left media continues to spread the lie that it’s the right-wing “teabaggers” who are the violent ones.
A radical leftist cusses out an 82 year-old man at the Ground Zero Rally this past week in New York City. The “progressive” said the Holocaust survivor “obviously didn’t learn his lesson.”
Don Surber posted the video: (Warning on Language)

A Lot about the Mosque

There is so much being written about the proposed Mosque at ground zero by the MSM I am not planning to link to any of it. Just know any MSM site will generally have something that tells us why we should be for it, if we are not we are Islamaphobes, racists, etc. and besides it is not even near ground zero.  Be aware, it is ground zero, so much so that an engine from Mohammed Atta's stolen jet crashed into it.  Many people are saying it has nothing to do with ground zero, "why, it is two blocks away."  It was only for sale because  the the jet engine crashed through and it was not possible to be restored because of it.

So now for all the stories on the mosque and the builder of it:
9/11 MOSQUE IMAM BOASTS, "Obama's historic speech in Egypt came from me!"
Be sure you read this one. Here is the main boast.

“The speech was wonderful and wise in his choice of words, the Prime Minister of Malaysia after the speech disclosed to me that it is now easy for any president of a Muslim country to establish good relations with America, and I AM NOT GOING TO HIDE FROM YOU THAT ONE OF THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN WRITING THE SPEECH, TRANSFERRED ENTIRE PARTS OF MY BOOK ‘A NEW VISION FOR MUSLIMS AND THE WEST’, which he referred to U.S. interests being compatible with top interests of the Muslim world”.

Why Can’t the MSM Investigate Rauf’s Shariah Index Project?
There is plenty of available, verifiable information that belongs in the GZM debate.
A quote from the article:

On their website you can only find pieces of information about the Shariah Index Project, one of the main activities of the Cordoba Initiative, the organization of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. But thanks to Christine Brim, chief operating officer at the Center for Security Policy, we know now a lot more about it.
Brim published a very informative background article, exposing the Shariah benchmark project run by the “close-to-Ground-Zero” imam. Be sure to read all  links.

Imam Rauf and the State Department:The Truth About our Man in the Middle East
by Ron Radosh
Imam Rauf’s Love of ‘Iranian Democracy’ by Michael Ledeen
A Test of Tolerance by Christopher Hitchens
Read all three of these last ones, they tell the truth, they are very important.

UPDATE: even more -

From an Actual Moderate Muslim, a Memo to the MSM on Imam Rauf(Also read Claudia Rosett: "And Now, Daisy Khan’s $12,000 Taxpayer-Funded Trip to the UAE.") 
As an African American Muslim convert for nearly a quarter century, I believe I’ve earned the right to weigh in on the bitter controversy surrounding the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. by Abdur-Rahman Muhammad

The Mosque Behind the Mask by Dick Morris

Those 23,000 Jobs really were just a drop in the Obama layoff bucket

When I wrote about them Idid not research beyond that story.  Sister Toldjah has the details on what Obamacare is already doing to jobs.

The price of Obamanomics: ObamaCare division
Posted by: Phineas
In an earlier post, I had described the deliberate sacrifice of 23,000 jobs in the Gulf region as a necessary part of President Obama’s economic amateurism: unfamiliar with how business operates in the real world, he was willing to eliminate the livelihoods of thousands in the magical belief that they would all come back as soon as he allowed drilling to resume.

Now we’re seeing the same processes and consequences in other sectors, as insurance and other companies begin mass layoffs thanks to our shiny new health-care reform law:

* Assurant health cutting jobs ahead of health reform implementation: “Milwaukee-based Insurer Assurant Inc. is cutting its workforce in various locations around America ahead of health care reform implementation.”
* NC’s largest health insurer to cut jobs: “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will contract with Dallas-based Sourcecorp for some data entry work… The company wants to cut its total operating costs by 20 percent, or $200 million, by 2014. That’s when much of the federal health care law takes effect.”
* WakeMed begins $87M cost-cutting effort: “Wake County’s largest hospital system plans to slash annual operating costs by as much as $87 million as it makes changes recommended by an outside consulting firm… efforts likely will include eliminating jobs in some departments… The hospital also may phase out some services where it’s not the market leader, such as providing chemotherapy and other cancer treatment.”
* Houston Employers chop 17,000 jobs in area: “Finance and health care companies are holding back on hiring because of uncertainties about recent federal regulations, he said. The moratorium on deep-water drilling has also caused energy companies to be more cautious about domestic expansion.”

Be sure to check out Doug Ross’ post for the rest of the cheery news. Regardless of Obama’s smooth assurances that health care reform would bend the cost-curve down and save the country money, this is the reality: thousands of people are going to lose their jobs because businesses will have to adjust to the new expenses imposed by ObamaCare. And it won’t be just job losses: companies will also raise the premiums charged consumers or get out of the health-insurance business altogether.

The real world is going to make us pay for the progressives’ fantasies, so let’s make them pay in November.

RELATED: And speaking of reality messing up a fun fantasy, here’s one for all the college students who helped make history by voting for Obama: Congratulations, your school may have to discontinue your student insurance. You’re welcome.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

If you have never seen The Onion, watch this and you will see why people love it

TIME Announces New Version Of Magazine Aimed At Adults

The Non-violent Jihad

I heard this explained today and it is not hysteria. It is one of those simple undercurrents lying just beneath the surface, that you know is true, although you tangibly cannot prove it. Only time and history will reveal the truth.

This Mosque in New York -- like most mosques, but this one has a special purpose-- is part of the non-violent Jihad that is much larger and dangerous than the violent one.

Millions of Muslims who, by their faith, are pushing for conversion of all others through a path that starts with the spreading of Mosques. If it was mere conversion to a philosophy, that would keep it on par with most religions. But Islam, like other bad religions, has too many sects that aim to control your life in evil and dangerous ways. No, it's not all Muslims. But the risk is great enough for us to be FULLY JUSTIFIED in viewing efforts like this Mosque in New York with a very cautious eye.

Meanwhile, that doesn't change the fact that Islamic facism was the key motive for 9-11 Attack. Islam was the driver.

The attack on the Twin Towers was part of the violent Jihad. This mosque very much seems to be part of the nonviolent Jihad -- where (as explained by someone more knowledgable than me) the path eventually leads to "asking" for the introduction of parts of Shariah Law under the guise of religious diversity/freedom, and as conversions grow and Muslim populations grow, then there is a push for more and more control -- and more parts of Shariah Law. The goal always the same -- total control. It may seem a little "extreme" to say that outloud, but hey, it's the truth.

This model is playing out all over the world. Luckily it does not work everywhere. And every day the world grows more leery of religions who condone the abuse of women. But... the quiet, non-violent Jihad also intensifies. And it takes root in susceptible ground -- where the lessons of history are forgotten, which means that place is doomed to repeat it. Young countries, fresh and untested relative to older countries, are ripe for the Shariah plucking.

That's why Islam is having a hard time growing in Germany. The country is old and experienced. History of controlling (dangerous) philosophies is fresh in their minds.

It is much easier and safer to wage this quiet Jihad in the United States -- land of the free. Where anyone who is against you will be labeled and attacked by the great and loud left, supported by the mainstream media who will be sure not to call you a racist, but will shout the news that others are calling you a racist, or bigoted and "against freedom of religion." And they shout it in a way that rarely, if ever, supports or even shows a different point of view.

This nonviolent Jihad is the greater movement and the more dangerous one. It is so much safer to conduct. And so much easier. And it is legal.

It is erosion of our culture, values and morals from within. Not all Muslims are bad. Just the ones who are supoprting terrorism and their peers in other countries who continue to adhere to meideval codes on how to treat women and children and control all others.

We are allowing this erosion of common sense and values because it is wrapped in a thin veneer of "equality". Like plywood with an oak veneer, it is not the real thing. And when it wears off, we'll be left to deal with the crumbling remains of our American culture.

Fun Poll Results

In the Washington Post by Marc A. Thiessen.

Democrats and the 'evil eye'

Much attention has been paid in recent days to a poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showing that 18 percent of Americans incorrectly believe that President Obama is a Muslim. But the results of another Pew poll on religion released last December were far more shocking. It turns out that 36 percent of Democrats claim to have communed with the dead, and that 19 percent believe in casting a curse on someone using the "evil eye." Think about that: According Pew, more Democrats believe in the "evil eye" than Americans believe Obama is a Muslim.

The fact is you can find 20 percent of people anywhere who believe in almost anything. As The Post's Aug. 22 Outlook section noted, 20 percent of Americans believe that space aliens have made contact with humans on Earth.

The poll on Obama's religious affiliation probably would have been a one-day story had the White House not launched a surprisingly aggressive defense of the president's Christian bona fides. The White House immediately put out a statement declaring "President Obama is a committed Christian, and his faith is an important part of his daily life." We soon learned from White House officials that the president reads a daily devotional on his BlackBerry each morning and that he dialed three Christian pastors to pray with him on his birthday. The White House even made one of those pastors, Joel Hunter, available to the media to discuss Obama's Christian journey.

Clearly the White House is worried by the poll results. And it should be worried -- but not for the reasons it seems to think. It should be concerned that, after watching the president in office for a year and a half, many Americans still don't know who Obama really is -- and that a growing number have concluded that he does not believe what they believe.

Rather than trying to convince Americans that Obama is indeed a practicing Christian, White House officials should be doing some deep thinking about why the president's job approval rating has flipped -- with most polls showing that more Americans now disapprove of his performance in office than approve of how he's doing. Strong majorities now disapprove of his handling of many of the issues driving key congressional races in 2010 -- such as the economy, health care, the deficit and immigration. A recent Democracy Corps survey found that about six in 10 likely voters believe President Obama is "too liberal" and that he is a "big spender" -- and 55 percent say that "socialist" is a fair description of him.

Obama should be a lot more worried that more than half the country thinks he's a socialist than that a small fraction of the country believes he's a Muslim.

After just 19 months in office, Obama has so alienated the American people that some of his fellow Democrats are now distancing themselves from him as Election Day approaches. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) is airing a television ad in his reelection campaign in which he declares, as an image of Obama appears on the screen, that he does not work for the "Washington crowd." Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes decided to campaign 100 miles away rather than welcome the president to his state, declaring, "I'd rather be with these folks, if you want to know the truth. I'm not running for governor of Washington, D.C. I'm running for governor of Georgia." Even Obama recognizes that he's become radioactive. At a recent White House lunch with Democratic House members in tough reelection fights, he promised to help their campaigns -- by staying away.

These Democrats don't want Obama to stay away because people think he's a Muslim -- they want him to stay away because people think he's taking the country in the wrong direction. They know that come November, voters will be making decisions based on their negative perceptions of the runaway spending he has unleashed, the failure of his stimulus to create jobs or improve their lives, and the health-care bill he rammed through Congress. Making his religion more conspicuous will not change this. The problem for Obama is not that Americans do not know about his faith in God -- it's that they do not share his faith in government.

Lying to Congress - an email I received

I haven't posted emails here unless I go to the original source for the story.  This one is so good I have to pass it on.  I don't have the original source, but feel free to pass it on as an email.

A friend of my wife vented today and wrapped her frustration with Congress in a tight wad that formed a cannonball. I just had to pass along her thoughts as they parallel mine.

Subject: Roger Clemens and Congress

While driving home yesterday I was taken aback when I heard that baseball great, Roger Clemens, is being indicted for lying to Congress and could go to prison for 30 years. This email is by no means a defense of lying or a defense of steroids but I found it absolutely incredible when I heard the words “lying to Congress.” I actually found myself laughing. Was the announcer talking about the same Congress that we have in Washington?

I am having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the picture of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, and countless others whose names escape me now who are congressmen and women sitting in judgment of someone who lied about taking steroids when they lie, deceive, and steal from us every day. Are we talking about the same folks who don’t report all of their earnings, don’t pay their taxes, or feather their own nests or that of their spouses with government contracts, sitting in judgment of Roger Clemens? Please clarify for me…are we talking about the same people who by the sin of omission allow our borders to be a sieve and wage war against the state of Arizona for trying to protect her citizens? Surely I am mistaken that we’re not talking about the likes of Nancy Pelosi who wants to investigate 911 families or anyone else who is opposed to the victory mosque on ground zero but will not investigate who is funding the mosque.

Congress should be indicted by the American people! If we cannot throw 30 years then we need to throw them out of office forever and push for term limits.them in jail for  Every day I get more incensed at the absolute disdain our “public servants” have for us - for you and me, the American people.

I cannot tell you what to do but I just had to do something to get this subject out and discussed in the clear light of day. I will be praying, and I will write my congressmen and then wait for their form letters on the supplies that we have paid for which will undoubtedly ignore any thing I said in my letter. I heard a quote on Turning Point Monday morning related to illness and it was something like “don’t deny the diagnosis but defy the verdict.” I think we can all diagnose what is wrong with our country but please don’t sit quietly by and accept the verdict.

In Case You don't Know about the Newsbusters.org site

Today is a good day to visit.

Here are some of their stories:

Open Thread: 'Democrats That Don't Care and Republicans That Don't Dare'

In July, LA School Officials Defended RFK Taj Mahal K-12 Complex as 'More Than Justified'

WaPo, Editorially a Proponent of Church/State Separation, Worries About Too Few Muslim Chaplains in Va. Prisons

Sunday Funnies: Voters More Scared of Democrats Than 'Extremists'

Meet the Press: Dick Armey Slams Alan Greenspan's View of Bush Tax Cuts

There are many others there, just browse them all.  I recommend you read it every Monday just to see what  happened on the Sunday shows, what was dumped on slow news Friday, and what has been found from the following week.

A Good Explanation of the Obama is a Muslim poll results

This was published in David Horowitz's NewsReal blog. I think it is a reasonable and good explanation why many would answer the question in the affirmative. Notice though, this man met the young Obama while he was in Occidental College. Not many have written about that period, either because they had nothing to tell us or they did not want to tell us.

Barack Obama and Islam: As the Twig is Bent, So Grows the Tree
by John C. Drew, Ph.D.

As a political scientist, I’ve always thought of Obama as a Muslim if only because I tend to categorize people by the cultural influences which impact them as children. Early influences, for example, help us predict later political party affiliations.

Surprisingly, Pew reports that the number of Americans who believe Barack Obama is a Muslim has jumped from 12% in early 2009 to 18% in 2010. Similarly, Pew reports a decline in the number of respondents who identify Obama as a Christian – 34% today compared to 48% in March 2009 and 51% during the Presidential campaign in October 2008. As usual, there is a less decisive group floating out there – adding up to a plurality of 43% – who respond that they do not know what is Obama’s religion. These undecided respondents are up from 34% in 2009.

I’m certain that if Pew telephoned me, I would have been one of the folks who said Obama was a Muslim and who would not have been given the time to fully explain what I mean.

First, I know that Obama’s step-father, Lolo Soetoro, was a practicing Muslim. According to freely available press accounts, Soetoro took little Obama with him to the mosque to pray and enrolled little Obama in school as a Muslim. Second, I know that Obama grew up in a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia. Third, when I met the young Obama – while he was a sophomore at Occidental College – I can report that his closest friends were the Muslim Pakistani students on campus, in particular, an older Pakistani student named Mohammed Hasan Chandoo. Hasan visited Obama while he was a student at Columbia and attended Obama’s wedding to Michelle in 1992, unlike the African-Americans at Occidental who now claim they were close friends with the young Obama,.

As for Obama’s more contemporary connections to Islam, I pay the most attention to his words in his book, Audacity of Hope, where Obama calls into question the divinity of Christ. This is, in my view, a bright dividing line between being a Christian believer and being a Muslim adherent. I also know that Rev. Wright is a former Muslim and maintains close ties to the Muslim community. All of this information gives me confidence that Obama’s world view, his basic mental architecture, has more links to Islam than Christianity.

Nevertheless, I’m sure the media will spin the results of Pew’s poll as evidence of racism or religious intolerance or an effort to portray Obama as the “other.” My perspective, however, gives me an advantage over mainstream journalists who are puzzled about how Obama could be so completely foolish as to endorse the Ground Zero Mosque. In my view, he is simply defending his base, a base of Muslim adherents to whom Obama has shown considerable loyalty ever since he was a little child.

A great many of us have just used our common sense as we observed what the president has done in the past years.  He has bowed to the Saudi king, he has apologized to many of the Muslim faith and been very unfriendly to Israel.  True he also bowed to the Japanese emperor and the Chinese leader but one wonders why.  Were these just cover for the previous bow to the Saudi king?  It is odd that as leader of the United States, a very powerful nation that he would bow to anyone, or apologize for us.

I must admit I have thought his first allegiance is to Barack Hussein Obama,  I could be wrong. Thanks for JimH for sending the link.

23,000 Jobs not that important to the administration

I guess if they knew the total reported would be 500,000 they figured 23,000 was just a drop in the bucket, of oil that is.  I found this at Gateway Pundit who credited the Wall Street Journal (but the link went toYahoo and AP).

Gov't: 23K workers affected by Gulf oil drill ban

A six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would directly put more than 9,000 people out of work and indirectly affect another 14,000 jobs, according to a memo from the nation's top drilling regulator.

The federal document, which weighed the economic impact and alternatives to the ban, was sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on July 10 by Michael Bromwich.

Salazar issued a moratorium in June, but it was struck down by a federal judge in New Orleans after oil and gas drilling interests said it wasn't justified following the Gulf oil spill.

The Obama administration issued a new moratorium July 12 — two days after the memo — that stressed new evidence of safety concerns. The White House hopes the revised ban will pass muster with the courts.

The moratoriums were put in place following the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion April 20 that killed 11 people. Millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf after the rig sank.

Some energy experts, engineering consultants and Gulf Coast leaders have joined Big Oil to ask Salazar to change his mind. Drilling was safe before the BP spill, they said, and Gulf communities that depend on the industry were suffering unfairly.

Interior Department spokesman Matt Lee-Ashley said the agency has been very clear that the economic impacts of the moratorium would need to be addressed and noted the Obama administration secured an agreement with BP to set up a $100 million fund for affected rig workers.

"In light of the current risks of deepwater drilling as illustrated by the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill and the potential impacts of another spill, the moratorium is necessary and appropriate. With that said, the worst-case economic impact estimates from three months ago have not been realized. The reality on the ground suggests that the impacts are less than we initially projected as a potential worst-case scenario," Lee-Ashley said.

The reality on the ground is that the  entire economy of the Gulf Coast has been adversely affected.  Will this help anyone but the rig workers?  They are only a small part of an economy based on oil drilling.

Some Liberal Hypocrisy Exposed

by Abe Greenwald in Commentary Magazine.

What Objection to the Ground Zero Mosque Is Not

Liberals who two years ago abandoned their humdrum lives to become career alarmists about Sarah Palin’s Pentecostalism now wish to be taken seriously as misty-eyed champions of America’s tolerance of diverse faiths. Whatever the intent of the planned Cordoba House Mosque Community Center Bowling Alley Drive-in Imax Nail Salon and Day Spa actually is matters not at all. It is to be celebrated because it is Islamic and because America does not discriminate on the basis of religion. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd laments that President Obama, in his muddled failure to partake in the festivities, has “allowed himself to be weakened by perfectly predictable Republican hysteria.” After all, says Dowd,“By now you have to be willfully blind not to know that the imam in charge of the project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, is the moderate Muslim we have allegedly been yearning for.”

Braille has come a long way. When I read that Rauf refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization and that he respects the doctrine of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini I could swear I took it in with my eyes. Just as I seemed to do when in 2008 I read that Dowd, the declared enemy of predictable hysteria, asked of Sarah Palin, “When the phone rings at 3 a.m., will she call the Wasilla Assembly of God congregation and ask them to pray on a response, as she asked them to pray for a natural gas pipeline?”

Feisal Rauf is A-OK with Khomeini-ism and he’s a welcome voice of reason; Sarah Palin prays and that makes her an unhinged zealot.

Religion is deserving of mockery at all turns—unless it is the Muslim strain to be practiced two blocks from Ground Zero. Of course, objections to the comparison are predictable. Palin was vying for the vice president’s office and Rauf is merely . . . the bridge-building embodiment of Muslim outreach that the post-9/11 world has been waiting for.

The Left’s shift from defamers of faith to champions of faith has come complete with the characterization of the Right as hateful bigots. That thousands of American liberals have in the past protested Papal visits, with some placards comparing Christianity to Nazism, is a testament to freedom of speech. That non-liberal Americans protest only the building of a specific mosque in a specific location is a testament both to prejudice and to indifference on religious freedom.

There is more. Go to Commentary to read the rest.

Thursday morning links August 19th

I have a doctors appointment this morning so most of my day will be in Corpus Christi.  Here are some links for you to read and ponder.  I am planning an essay on a documentary film I watched on Dish Network last night. I will plan that in my mind today and get to it later.  Here's a hint - the Holocaust - we must never forget.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/19/france.roma/?hpt=Sbin

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/544231/201008181842/Death-Panels-Begin-As-Reform-Takes-Shape.aspx

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/244120/cynical-brilliance-imam-rauf-victor-davis-hanson

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Susan-Estrich-Watch-out-for-Haley-Barbour-101016859.html

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/obamas_point_of_no_return.html

I may write more on some these later today, but for the time being just be sure you read them.

A Christians duty to America

Is America still a Christian nation? That would depend on your definition of the term Christian nation. One thing is certain for many years Christianity has been under attack in America by those on the far left and the faith of our fathers has sorely suffered as a result. I really don’t need to cite the literally hundreds of attacks on Christianity that have taken place across America in recent years. The latest attack has certainly grabbed headlines across our nation as the ban on same sex marriage approved by California voters was recently over turned by the courts as being unconstitutional. This is not the first time when mans law has come into conflict with Gods law and when this happens the bible makes it clear whose law Christians are to obey.

Yet even as the attacks against fundamental Christianity continue many Christians seem unsure what the Christians role in government should be. Is it that we are afraid to stand up and be counted; is it that we don’t feel that the best government is a Godly government based on Christian morality and Christian principles? What better leaders could America have than those who believe the Holy Bible is the unerring word of God and pray for guidance that they might lead our nation as God wills? We clearly see the fruits of Americans drift away from Christian principles; we all see the corruption and the lies that permeate American politics today.
Please do not misunderstand me it is not that God has removed his presence and his blessing from America but it is America who in many ways has turned it back on God. If Christians do not take a stand and seek out and elect men and women who by their life’s example have should a devotion to Christian teaching and principles we will have failed in our duty to our God and our country. Has not God blessed America in so many wonderful ways, does he still not have many more blessings to bestow on America?


If we are to truly be once again a Christian nation it is Christians who must lead the fight against the forces of unbelief that seek to bring America to its knees and replace her God given greatness with the fear and despair of unbelief. Let us make no mistake about, let us leave no doubt that Christians are ready willing and able to lead the fight for the heart and soul of America. Please take a stand and vote this November to elect bible believing Christians to represent us who will lead this nations by the will of God instead of the will of man.

Baldilocks has reposted one of her great blogs.

I have been reading the Baldilocks blog for years.  She is one of my favorite black conservatives.  She tells it like it is.  She has a Kenyan father just like B Obama. She has, unlike Obama, the true American experience.  For the record she has just published a book, I haven't read it but you can read about it here and just maybe buy one.
Here is her repost from July 15, 2005.

Throwing Away the Crutches

What have Republicans/conservatives done for black Americans? I hear that question constantly when I disclose that I am a conservative Republican. Often I will provide the usual facts that seem to be missing from the historical lexicon these days: freed the slaves, were 90%+ in the majority in the votes for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, something about the question sets steel to my nerves and I’ve been meaning to articulate the reasons for it here for some time now.

Implied in the question is that a political party must “do something” for blacks. Not merely the usual “something” that a government entity does for all of its constituents, e.g. provide utilities, regulate commerce, etc., but something special.

That word ‘special’ has taken on a new meaning in recent years and I think that it applies to the special items that liberals/leftists believe that the government should provide for the ‘special’ people, the “congenitally retarded” folk.

Yes, we ‘special’ people--with ‘special’ needs--require special handling: special education and special employment. You can’t expect black people to live up to the standards of ‘normal’ people. Like paraplegics or the blind or the deaf or those afflicted with Down’s syndrome, singular accommodations must be made for the great handicap of being born with black skin. To liberals/leftists, black people are a crippled class that can never be made whole just as long as they can never be made not-black. What’s this notion called?

And if anyone tries to treat us as full, competent adults, the liberals/leftists will scream in righteous anger and protest about the unfairness of it all. And if some of us ‘handicapped’ verbally express the desire to be treated like full, competent adults and act in a manner that demonstrates that desire, we are deemed as traitors by those who share the same racial makeup, but buy into the ‘handicap’ philosophy. Yes, we are “traitors,” because if some of us refuse to take advantage of the special needs offered and succeed anyway, the vast majority of America will begin to think that we don’t really require the “handicap slot.”

The vast majority of Americans will begin to think that we’re not really inferior after all. (Optimistically speaking, I believe that the vast majority think this anyway.)

"You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity," said [Rod] Paige [to NAACP leaders], who rose from segregated Mississippi to become President Bush's education chief. 

(Thanks to reader Wesley J.)

Or, as I might put it, who died and made you the head of the Brutha/Sista Card Registry?

This idea of our race-wide ‘handicap’ is so ingrained in the mindsets of some, however, that it has morphed into the very existentiality of black identity: a black person who believes that black Americans need extra help to succeed is “authentically black.” Conversely, one who doesn’t buy it “isn’t really black” and is, therefore, a traitor to black identity.

In short, blacks who believe in their own inferiority are the real deal and those who don’t, aren’t. How's that for twisted dogma?

(This is why Condoleezza Rice comes in for special scorn among the liberals/leftists, especially black ones. Having been born with not merely one, but the proverbial two strikes against her, her very existence gives lie to the entire notion of black inferiority: she has succeeded through innate intelligence, raw talent and hard work. I’m sure that white supremacists hate her just as much. Now there's a marriage made in...somewhere.)

So when some black people find out that Republicans don’t want to “do anything” for them except to encourage them to take part in the American dream of prosperity, stemming from work and ingenuity, they’re like, “WTF? Where’s my money?” So it is that white Republicans/conservatives, those whose ideology purports to treat blacks as equals are considered Devils. We blacks who agree with this are merely the Devils’ minions.

Those that have wondered why the vast majority of the Republican party don’t spend time on “minority outreach” miss the point. Republicans do outreach already. They just don’t do handicapped outreach, not unless you're really handicapped.

Thanks, Juliette, for giving me permission to copy the whole thing. And remember, go buy her book, Tale of the Tigers.

It runs in the family- a great post on Consent of the Governed

This is by my niece, Linda, who blogs as High Meadow Lady. She has titled it "Do You Consent?"
First she gives background:

If you've read any of the original writings of the Founding Fathers, you saw that history clearly records that the Founders established our nation upon Biblical principles. As they wrote the Declaration of Independence, and then the Constitution, they drew upon Scripture to instruct them in the ways of wisdom and liberty.

The Declaration states that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed -." In the years prior to the American Revolution, 1 Samuel 8 was a favorite text preached in churches throughout the colonies. The same passage was Thomas Paine's primary theme in his pamphlet "Common Sense."  

The Israelites decide they no longer want to be a Theocracy, they want a king like all the other nations, so they go to Samuel to ask him to appoint a king for them. Samuel goes to God about their request and He tells him to grant the people their request, for they have forsaken God as their king and want to go after other gods. But - and here's the kicker - God gives them advance warning about how a king will reign over them.
[....... ]
The nation of Israel consented.......
........American Christians have consented to the government we now have.
........The government is not "them," it is "us." "We the People" have given our consent. Will you continue to consent, or will you withdraw it?

Go read it all here. I am a proud auntie and you will see why.

Chicago Politiics and the Mosque

I just don't know when this mosque news will end but here is an interesting new twist on the story.  This is from the Weekly Standard.

Who is Funding Alexi Giannoulias?
Influence.
By Daniel Halper

The Ground Zero mosque controversy has reawakened concerns about some Islamic Centers in the United States and their funding sources. As Claudia Rosett recently noted, we really don’t know where Feisal Abdul Rauf found $100 million to fund his mega-project in lower Manhattan. Congressman Peter King has asked the New York attorney general to investigate the piece of the puzzle as well, and Senator John McCain thinks, “If they move forward, [Rauf’s financing] clearly needs to be investigated.” 

The timing of all of this couldn’t be worse for Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias who faces questions of his own regarding who is funding his campaign. Take Mohammed Sahloul for example, who contributed $1,000 to the Giannoulias campaign on June 22.  

Sahloul is the former president of the Mosque Foundation, a Bridgeview mosque that has numerous links to terrorist organizations. The Mosque Foundation contributed roughly $400,000 to four Islamic charities that were later shut down by the federal government for links to terrorism. According to the Chicago Tribune, the organizations receiving funds were: the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Benevolence International Foundation, the Islamic American Relief Agency, and Global Relief Foundation. 

In 2004, the Chicago Tribune wrote of one instance where Sheik Jamal Said, the mosque’s imam, raised $50,000 from his congregants for the legal defense of Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor who pled guilty in 2006 to raising money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. While soliciting the contributions, Said reportedly called Israel “a foreign, malignant and strange element on the blessed land.” 

There’s a lot of talk about radical influences and funding these days. Someone might want to take a closer look at these influences in political campaigns as well.

Indeed, someone should take a closer look at every politicians money bags. There are a lot of dots to be connected in these stories.

Mosque backer backpedalling, too?

I noticed this yesterday but didn't follow through on it. I hope it is true.
This is from Haaretz:

Muslim leaders to abandon plans for Ground Zero community center
Insiders say Muslim spiritual leaders behind the controversial initiative are considering giving up on the former World Trade Center location, in a gesture of appeasement.
By Shlomo Shamir

After weeks of heated debate over plans for an Islamic community center near Ground Zero - the site of the 9/11 attacks on New York - it seems Muslim leaders will soon back down, agreeing to move to a new site.

The decision follows a high-profile campaign against the project that included advertisements on New York buses showing images of the burning Twin Towers, an iconic landmark razed when al-Qaida terrorists flew packed passenger planes into them in 2001. The New York Republican party is also said to be planning a hostile television campaign.

Sources in New York said on Monday that Muslim religious and business leaders will announce plans to abandon the project in the next few days.

New York Governor David Patterson said last weekend that Muslim leaders had rejected outright his proposal tto swap the site in for another in Manhattan.

But several people familiar with the debate among New York's Islamic activists now claim that the leaders are convinced abandoning the site is preferable to unleashing a wave of bitterness towards Muslims.

They also hope the move will be seen as a show of sensitivity to families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, and to the American public generally.

Another factor in the apparent climbdown is a lack of funds to pay for construction of the center, estimated to cost a hundred million dollars. Backers hope moving it will lead to a wave of support, accompanied by cash donations.

It is also possible that the decision was also influenced by comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday, in which he appeared to reverse an earlier show of support.

Obama said that when he went on record backing the center, he meant only that it was the right of every religious group to establish its own places of worship – but he did not intend to justify building the center specifically at Ground Zero.

We know the imam in charge is in the middle east trying to get the funds he needs to build it, perhaps they are telling him to cool it. 

Why a ground Zero mosque?

Let’s get to the bottom like on this Ground zero Mosque controversy. I like all of you have heard the pros and cons over and over again and just like you I am getting a little tired of all the liberals defending the building of this Mosque and those who want to erect it so near to ground zero. Certainly I agree that in America a Mosque can be built just about anywhere, but this is not about the building of another Mosque it’s about where they want to build it.

We need to ask our selves why build it so close to ground zero? For those of you who believe it’s being built as a bridge between the Christian and Muslin faith I have a used car I’d like to sell you. It was only driven on Sunday by a little old lady never mind the 250,000 on the odometer who are you going to believe me or your own eyes?

The only reason they want to build this Mosque near ground zero is to remind Christian America of the great victory that was won by radical Islam of that terrible day when so many innocent Americans lost their lives. In other words they want to rub Christian America noses in the stench of Americans dead. So called bridges could be built anywhere but this Mosque will be simply be a monument to Islamic radicalism and their murder of thousands of Americans. Let us also understand that if the shoe was on the other foot and Christians wanted to build a church near the site of a terrible muslin tragedy these same liberals who howl like banshees, yes their uproar would be long and loud.

This Mosque will most likely be built and it will be built by money from terrorist organizations and the liberals will sit in their ivory towers and nod their collective heads in agreement, but let us remember them as we never forget those who died on that terrible September day. What can we do, not much as Washington long ago stopped listening to middle America, but on November 2nd we can vote them out of office, we can show the liberal elitists who control Washington just what the will of the people really is. Congress has forgotten that they are servants of the people, now is the time we stop the madness in Washington and return the government back to the American people.

Two Muslim Writers Make the Case -- Against the Ground Zero Mosque

Good for Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah. These two Muslim writers make many very good points about the proposed mosque near Ground Zero.

Two simple ones:
New York currently boasts 30 mosques. There is no shortage of worship space.
$100 Million is a lot of money that could go to starving Muslims in other countries.

Three salient ones:
A religious group looking to improve its reputation with Americans would do things like:
Include a synagogue and church in the building.
Include a memorial to the 9/11 victims.
Reduce the size of the building and donate a chunk to the 9/11 victims.

And a big one:
"It's like "permitting a Serbian Orthodox church near the killing fields of Srebrenica where 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered..."

Sigh.

The argument that to be against a mosque near Ground Zero is counter to America's relgious freedoms is absurd. This isn't about religious freedom. It's about political correctness metastatising into a cancer. Apparently it's cancer of the eye. We are now blind and cannot see clearly. Common sense is absent.

Our hope lies in these two authors -- who are the "good Muslims" we keep hearing about, but never hear from. Well, here they are, we've finally heard from them -- and they are denouncing the location of this mosque as well as their religion's treatment of women and other "bad Muslim" things.

It is good to hear from them. The alleged silent majority of "good Muslims" could learn a lot from these two. And so can anyone who thinks it's okay to build that huge Islamic Center near Ground Zero -- a place where a small group of Muslims killed a large group of Americans.

Go read the whole piece here.

Walking Back the mosque speech

It didn't take long. Already, in less than 24 hours, he is trying to walk it back. And he is getting a little help from his MSM friends.  Ace at Ace of Spades has that story.

Laura at Ace of Spades manages to untangle the story Obama tells of the early Muslim influence in America.  Have you ever heard of the Barbary Pirates? Muslim influence. There! told you so.

They tell it much better than I can. Go over and take a look.  I suspect there is going to be a lot more on this before it's over.

November 2nd a day of destiny

November 2nd a day of destiny for America, will either be a new beginning for America or the end of America as we know it. Make no mistake about it by the morning of the 3rd of November it will become clear what the fate of America will be. Never before has the choice been so clear or critical as this mid term election is not really between Democrats and Republicans but is in fact a battle for the heart and soul of America. Two opposing forces are fighting for the future of America; on one hand we have the powerful progressive democratic forces whose vision of America has been clearly shown since President Obama assumed office. Can any doubt that President Obamas vision for America is one of a socialist welfare state run by a leftist elite for the benefit of the non working poor which has been aided and abetted by a rubber stamp Democratic controlled congress. In the last 18+ months many of his goals in turning America into a cradle to grave welfare state have been accomplished. Appositions by an out gunned and out of power Republican Party has been swept aside as Obama continues too push his socialist agenda down the throats of a bewildered America.

Opposing the democratic blitzkrieg is a coalition of conservative groups under the banner of the Republican Party, a party hampered by past missteps and distrusted by some who doubt their commitment to the conservative cause. Yet the issues are many and critical for the future of America. Some of the many issues that confront America are a crushing federal deficient, an every expanding intrusive federal government; a tepid economy with high unemployment and massive illegal immigration, but let us make no mistake about it; these issues are just symptomatic of the vast chasm that exists between the two visions of the future of America.

There are only two choices before us, one choice is an amoral socialist America where not even marriage is scared, an America ran by a democratic leftist elite who ignore the working middle class tax paying American while supporting special interest groups and those who are increasingly dependent on a federal cradle to grave welfare state for their very existence. The only other choice is to return to a government by and for all the people who make up this great nation, a nation led by middle class working Americans who believe that Christian leaders, principles and Christian morality are essential to the American way of life.

This November will decide if we will live in an America where the government is in control of her citizens or where her citizens are in control of the government. Obamas vision is of an America where the working middle class serve the government who in all its wisdom consider us to be at best naughty small children who need a strong intrusive guiding hand via the federal government to lead and instruct us while they make the decisions that we are to ignorant to make for ourselves. This is not my vision of America nor is it I feel yours and is certainly not the vision of our founding fathers as the framed the constitution of the United States. For those of us who do not want to see our great Nation turned into a socialist nation in which the federal government is all powerful there is only one choice to make this November. If we believe in individual freedom, Christian principles and responsibilities we must defeat those who have failed America and stop the madness that is consuming Washington and our freedom.

The Lead Dog and Racism are themes at the American Thinker Blog today

There are some great minds writing over there. Click these link and go read what they have to say.

When the lead dog falters 
.......In speaking with some of the participants, it became apparent that the common element for success boils down to one thing: The lead dog. Sometimes called the Alpha, the lead dog is crucial as he follows the musher's commands and encourages the remainder of the team to mimic his stride and pace. The lead is always the strongest dog. The relationship between the musher and this dog is paramount to a successful team. Without it, there is confusion, competition within the team and eventual failure.

The glut of events over the past 18 months have brought me to the realization that our country, much like the sled dog team, is in serious jeopardy because of a self absorbed lead dog; our President. The "alpha" dog we have chosen is not the strongest in the pack...he is merely the one that had the saddest eyes and what we thought was a kind spirit. This dog is guiding his team (the Congress) as if the success of the same is unimportant. He has a finish line in mind, but it's not the same finish the musher is aiming for.

Racism is dead
Aaron Gee
In today's Wall Street Journal regular column, "Best of the web" author James Taranto gives us one humdinger of a quote;

"Racism is dead, and its killers were heroes. Nostalgia for racism lives on in the imagination of liberals who only wish they could be so heroic."

I could not have said it more succinctly. As democrats continue to try to play the race card, more and more American's are ignoring it. Victor Hanson observes in his article;

"....we have devolved to the point where promiscuously crying "Bigot!" and "Racist!" signals a failure to persuade 51 percent of the people of the merits of an argument."

I told you they are good, these are only snippets, click each title and read it all.

Private Property Rights

Michelle Malkin has a well researched and long post about how the government, Uncle Sam, wants you , make that wants some of your property if it fits the agenda. A lot of it does.

How Obama is locking up our land

Have you heard of the “Great Outdoors Initiative”? Chances are, you haven’t. But across the country, White House officials have been meeting quietly with environmental groups to map out government plans for acquiring untold millions of acres of both public and private land. It’s another stealthy power grab through executive order that promises to radically transform the American way of life.

Go read it all, it is important.   Executives orders will be the death of America as we know it.  

Obama and the Mosque

My husband has always said our president is a Muslim.  I have said I don't believe he worships much but himself.  It seems I was wrong.  More and more he is telling us he is a Muslim.  This article seems to say he is a multiculturalist, or thinks he is. A Muslim multiculturalist, if that is possible.
From Power Line by John Hinderaker:

An Awful President, A Worse Theologian
I was working on a post about President Obama's enthusiastic endorsement of the Ground Zero mosque when I saw that Paul had already done one. So I will just add this coda: Obama's lecture on religion was a classic of brain-dead multiculturalism. Early in his remarks, he said:

Here at the White House, we have a tradition of hosting iftars that goes back several years, just as we host Christmas parties, seders, and Diwali celebrations.

I confess, I had to look it up--Diwali is a Hindu festival. But who cares? Under multicultural dogma, these events are all the same. This was the climax of Obama's lecture:

For in the end, we remain "one nation, under God, indivisible." And we can only achieve "liberty and justice for all" if we live by that one rule at the heart of every religion, including Islam-that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

This is revealing: the ultimate destination of multiculturalism is platitudinous stupidity. All religions, Obama tells us, are really the same, and can be summed up in the Golden Rule. Actually, there is no religion that can be reduced to the Golden Rule, least of all Islam. Islam does not enjoin believers to do unto infidels as you would have infidels do unto you. On the contrary! Islam tells its followers to subdue infidels; to kill them; to, at best, reduce them to dhimmitude. The Golden Rule is antithetical to Islam. Here is a thought experiment: compare HADITH Sahih Bukhari [4:52:176] with the parable of the good Samaritan.

Multiculturalism, in short, reduces its adherents (like President Obama) to a low intellectual plane. If you really think that all religions are the same, and they all exemplify the Golden Rule, then you won't understand the point of Cordoba House.

Of all the articles and posts I've read on the President's Ramadan speech this is the one that sums up my thinking.  We've all wondered which church the Obama's would attend in Washington.  We should have been asking, "which mosque?"

Teachers and Jobs and Obama

And editorial in Investor's Bussiness Daily:

Rose Garden Thorn
Federal Spending: When the president urged Congress last week to pass $26 billion in emergency aid to help save the jobs of laid-off teachers, one of his human props was out of place. It was a mistake he may regret.

Flanked in the Rose Garden by teachers, President Obama said last Tuesday: "We can't stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe."

Later in the day, Obama signed the bill that Democrats say will save the jobs of 300,000 teachers and police officers who've been laid off due to budget problems in state and local governments.

While that claim is debatable — so far, federal spending legislation intended to save jobs has failed miserably — this one isn't: The Obama team made a mistake with one of its human props, an error that will draw attention to an uncomfortable issue .

The scene didn't look unusual. Next to Obama during his morning plea from the Rose Garden were two teachers, one of them Shannon Lewis, who had been laid off at Hampshire High School in West Virginia. Everything looked so normal that we even included in our I&I pages a photo of her at the evening bill signing.

But Lewis wasn't laid off because the government could no longer afford to pay her. She was laid off "because of an enrollment decline in Hampshire County," the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

"Even if the state were in boom times, the current school aid formula would not support her salary."

Which brings up a question the White House is going to wish hadn't been asked: How many other teachers are there who, like Lewis, lost their jobs not because of low tax revenues but simply because they were not needed, and will now be paid ... for what?
There might not be many. But this question leads to another place the White House doesn't want to go:

Public school employment, the Cato Institute reported in its @ Liberty blog, has increased 10 times faster than public school enrollment since 1970 — and the result has been stagnant test scores.

Despite these facts, Democrats continue to funnel money into teachers' pockets, rewarding them for a job poorly done. And the party is getting a rich return. Democrats are heavily supported by teachers union money — the top two teachers unions make 95% of their political donations to Democrats, according to opensecrets.org — and union members' votes.

This is another set of unsavory facts the Democrats want the public to forget. But when the party's top operator tries to hoodwink voters by bringing in what amounts to a shill for a photo op, he reminds everyone of this unwholesome alliance.

Every time one of these funding mistakes is shown I wonder how much we should multiply it by, tens, hundreds, thousands or more? And remember, with this bill they cut school lunch money to keep their union buddies at work.

Another reason California is in so much trouble

This is from the Orange County Register's OC Watchdog via Drudge.

The mystery of Jerry Brown’s pension
by BRIAN JOSEPH

As Jerry Brown grabbed the spotlight with his criticism of Bell city officials and their outrageous pensions, The Watchdog got to wondering: How much will the Democrat for Governor make in retirement?

That, as it turns out, is a very difficult question to answer. After more than a month of investigation, the Watchdog can only say for certain that Brown and a handful of other top officials are eligible for generous benefits under a special pension fund so obscure that few people in government know how it works and many thought it had been eliminated 20 years ago by outraged voters.

Under the law, Brown should have accrued, at most, 16 years of service credit in this special fund, known as the Legislators’ Retirement System, or LRS. Actuarial statements produced by LRS, however, indicate that an unnamed person of Brown’s age and earning Brown’s exact salary has been credited with 25 to 29 years of service. The difference would mean tens of thousands of dollars in additional pension payments for Brown each year.

Brown’s campaign staff acknowledge the unnamed person sure looks like the gubernatorial candidate but have been unable to explain the discrepancy over service.

  Read it all here.  Mr. Brown seems to speak with forked tongue.

Most Transparent Administration? Not!

This is one reason he isn't that popular anymore and fits right in with the previous post. This is from The Washington Examiner.

Obama closes curtain on transparency
by Timothy P. Carney


President Obama has abolished the position in his White House dedicated to transparency and shunted those duties into the portfolio of a partisan ex-lobbyist who is openly antagonistic to the notion of disclosure by government and politicians.

Obama transferred "ethics czar" Norm Eisen to the Czech Republic to serve as U.S. ambassador. Some of Eisen's duties will be handed to Domestic Policy Council member Steven Croley, but most of them, it appears, will shift over to the already-full docket of White House Counsel Bob Bauer.

Read more at the Washington Examiner.

Ten Reasons why His Ratings are Tanking

Nile Gardiner writing in the Telegraph UK explains:

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown

The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are growing increasingly weaker and divided.

Against this backdrop, the president’s approval ratings have been sliding dramatically all summer, with the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll of US voters dropping to minus 22 points, the lowest point so far for Barack Obama since taking office. While just 24 per cent of American voters strongly approve of the president’s job performance, almost twice that number, 46 per cent, strongly disapprove. According to Rasmussen, 65 per cent of voters believe the United States is going down the wrong track, including 70 per cent of independents.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls now has President Obama at over 50 per cent disapproval, a remarkably high figure for a president just 18 months into his first term. Strikingly, the latest USA Today/Gallup survey has the President on just 41 per cent approval, with 53 per cent disapproving.

[..................................]

Can it get any worse for President Obama? Undoubtedly yes. Here are 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in serious trouble, and why its prospects are unlikely to improve between now and the November mid-terms.

1. The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people

2. Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership

3. Obama fails to inspire

4. The United States is drowning in debt

5. Obama’s Big Government message is falling flat

6. Obama’s support for socialised health care is a huge political mistake

7. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill has been weak-kneed and indecisive

8. US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration

9. President Obama is muddled and confused on national security

10. Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness

Go here to read the explanations of each numbered reason.

Democrats who are Socialists

Admitted, card carrying socialists.  They don't care if you know this, they are probably proud to claim the name.  This is from Gateway Pundit.

American Socialists Release Names of 70 Congressional Democrats in Their Ranks
by Jim Hoft
The Socialist Party of America announced in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently belong to their caucus.

This admission was recently posted on Scribd.com:
American Socialist Voter–
Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA?
A: Seventy

Q: How many of the DSA members sit on the Judiciary Committee?
A: Eleven: John Conyers [Chairman of the Judiciary Committee], Tammy Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Luis Gutierrez,Melvin Watt, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler, Linda Sanchez [there are 23 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of which eleven, almost half, are now members of the DSA].

Q: Who are these members of 111th Congress?
A: See the listing below
Co-Chairs
Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)
Vice Chairs
Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)
Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)

Senate Members
Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)

House Members
Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)
Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)
Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)
Hon. Madeleine Bordallo (GU-AL)
Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)
Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)
Hon. André Carson (IN-07)
Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)
Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)
Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)
Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Rep. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)
Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)
Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)
Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)
Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)
Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)
Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Hon. John Hall (NY-19)
Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)
Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)
Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)
Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)
Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)
Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)
Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)
Hon. George Miller (CA-07)
Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)
Hon. John Olver (MA-01)
Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)
Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)
Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)
Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-47)
Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)
Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)
Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)
Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)
Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)
Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)
Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)
Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)