Gee. Fox News didn't report any of this. But then, neither did CNNABCNBCCBSAP.
Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying
Yah, it's from Greenwald's site, and I don't think I could spend 10 minutes with him before disagreeing with ....most anything he says.
But there are SOME things on which we can agree, and 'pre-emptive SWAT raids' happens to be one of them.
This is horsehockey (if the report is true--and there are a LOT of them.)
And the National Lawyers' Guild affiliation doesn't help with me, either.
But IF--repeat: IF these stories are true, then there's reason to commence worrying.
Nestor indicated that only 2 or 3 of the 50 individuals who were handcuffed this morning at the 2 houses were actually arrested and charged with a crime, and the crime they were charged with is "conspiracy to commit riot." Nestor, who has practiced law in Minnesota for many years, said that he had never before heard of that statute being used for anything, and that its parameters are so self-evidently vague, designed to allow pre-emeptive arrests of those who are peacefully protesting, that it is almost certainly unconstitutional, though because it had never been invoked (until now), its constitutionality had not been tested.
"Conspiracy to commit riot?" C'mon, guys. My CHILDREN 'conspired to riot' when school started every year. Didn't get them real far, of course, as they were dragged out of the house and into the Commodious Van...
There's a lot at the link to think about.
UPDATE: There's more here:
What I wrote earlier about these conventions being a sort of “war gaming” exercise for federal, state and local law enforcement community seems to have been quite inspired. I spent a good deal of time yesterday in the “calm before the storm” in downtown St. Paul, outside the Excel Center, that is, as close as I could before the 10-foot steel gates that sliced the center’s parking lot in half and wrapped around like menacing fortifications kept me from getting much closer. Cops and apparently military, in all shades of tan and blue and black uniforms, many carrying long sticks, and donning riot helmets, others on horseback, still others packing plastic handcuffs and heavy weaponry, far outnumbered the curious conventioneers, media, and local onlookers wandering around yesterday.
...I wondered what the party faithful would have thought of this spectacle say 50 years ago? What struck me then — and this sounds cliche — was how undemocratic it all felt, and yet the media continues to cover these things like they are a party event. An American event. Truth is, unless you are ticketed, credentialed or one of the event’s Very Important Pols, go away. You are nothing if you don’t belong. In fact, you might be treated as nothing less than a potential threat if you get close enough to the perimeter.
Of course, it was the same in Denver.
All THAT tells us is that the Party-In-Government (PIG Party) is with us to stay.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The "OODA Loop" Analysis
Orv Seymer makes a good case for this.
Please allow me to explain what the OODA Loop is. It is an acronym for Observe-Orientate-Decide-Act and it is a concept that was developed about 50 years ago by the Late Col. John Boyd.
...The most important aspect of the OODA Loop are the orientation and the decision phases. In fact the decision phase is likely the most important phase. It is the ability to make decisions faster than your opponent that causes him to become disorientated and make mistakes, both physical mistakes and mistakes in judgment. Keep in mind that it is more important to make faster decisions rather than the best decision. You still have to make good decisions but it is more important to make good decisions quicker than your opponent.
It has been said that Boyd has developed the most profound change in military tactics since Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War.
...I can only speculate but I think that John McCain is well schooled in the tactics of the OODA Loop and he is using those tactics to his full advantage
...Within a little more than 12 hours after the finish of Obama's speech, McCain is out announcing his VP pick and it a complete surprise to almost everyone, especially the Obama campaign. While the Obama campaign was all geared up to attack Pawlenty, McCain got "inside of his loop" by announcing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, almost out of the blue.
When I saw Barack Obama and Joe Biden on Friday morning TV program and they were asked about McCain's VP pick, they both looked like they were completely disorientated and did not know which way was up.
Hmmmmm.
Clearly, the McCain campaign views a campaign as war by different means. It's the reverse-plus-one-step-removed of Klausewitz' observation, but it fits.
And clearly the Obama campaign is thinking in a much more 'conventional' sense: "It's all jolly well fun between us boys, and we'll use the same old/same old and get the same old, plus a few, and we win!"
(If you don't think "same old/same old" applies, folks, look how the Dems are desperately trying to tie McCain to Bush--which (I remind you) was LAST campaign's "war." Or look at the Biden pick. Talk about same-old/same-old!)
McCain's not playing that game. He's using the IntertubeWeblogthingie to MUCH greater effect than Obama's boyzzz. He's using graciousness (as Orv points out.) He's NOT using GWB to any degree worth noticing. And he dropped a bag of sand into their oilpan with the Palin nomination.
In short, he's fighting an un-conventional war against a hoary formula-politics which is best identified with (surprise!!) Mayor Daley and the Ward-Heeler gang.
The penultimate strategic 'tell' will be whether or not McCain pulls out the Rovian GOTV battleship. (And by the way, Rove's GOTV was just like the Chinese Army's approach to war: "keep sending men until the other guy gives up." It wore out staffers AND volunteers.) Obviously, some GOTV will be in play. But will it be special-ops? or infantry?
Damn! This is fun!
HT: McMahon
Please allow me to explain what the OODA Loop is. It is an acronym for Observe-Orientate-Decide-Act and it is a concept that was developed about 50 years ago by the Late Col. John Boyd.
...The most important aspect of the OODA Loop are the orientation and the decision phases. In fact the decision phase is likely the most important phase. It is the ability to make decisions faster than your opponent that causes him to become disorientated and make mistakes, both physical mistakes and mistakes in judgment. Keep in mind that it is more important to make faster decisions rather than the best decision. You still have to make good decisions but it is more important to make good decisions quicker than your opponent.
It has been said that Boyd has developed the most profound change in military tactics since Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War.
...I can only speculate but I think that John McCain is well schooled in the tactics of the OODA Loop and he is using those tactics to his full advantage
...Within a little more than 12 hours after the finish of Obama's speech, McCain is out announcing his VP pick and it a complete surprise to almost everyone, especially the Obama campaign. While the Obama campaign was all geared up to attack Pawlenty, McCain got "inside of his loop" by announcing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, almost out of the blue.
When I saw Barack Obama and Joe Biden on Friday morning TV program and they were asked about McCain's VP pick, they both looked like they were completely disorientated and did not know which way was up.
Hmmmmm.
Clearly, the McCain campaign views a campaign as war by different means. It's the reverse-plus-one-step-removed of Klausewitz' observation, but it fits.
And clearly the Obama campaign is thinking in a much more 'conventional' sense: "It's all jolly well fun between us boys, and we'll use the same old/same old and get the same old, plus a few, and we win!"
(If you don't think "same old/same old" applies, folks, look how the Dems are desperately trying to tie McCain to Bush--which (I remind you) was LAST campaign's "war." Or look at the Biden pick. Talk about same-old/same-old!)
McCain's not playing that game. He's using the IntertubeWeblogthingie to MUCH greater effect than Obama's boyzzz. He's using graciousness (as Orv points out.) He's NOT using GWB to any degree worth noticing. And he dropped a bag of sand into their oilpan with the Palin nomination.
In short, he's fighting an un-conventional war against a hoary formula-politics which is best identified with (surprise!!) Mayor Daley and the Ward-Heeler gang.
The penultimate strategic 'tell' will be whether or not McCain pulls out the Rovian GOTV battleship. (And by the way, Rove's GOTV was just like the Chinese Army's approach to war: "keep sending men until the other guy gives up." It wore out staffers AND volunteers.) Obviously, some GOTV will be in play. But will it be special-ops? or infantry?
Damn! This is fun!
HT: McMahon
There's a Better McCain
Some folks point out Cindy McCain's money.
They don't bother to talk about what she DOES with it.
[Cindy McCain] visited Mother Teresa's orphanage in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she saw 160 newborn girls who had been abandoned. The nuns handed her a small baby with a cleft palate so severe that she couldn't be fed. Another baby, also just a few weeks old, had a heart defect.
Worried they would die without medical attention, Cindy applied for medical visas to take the girls back to the United States. But the country's minister of health refused to sign the papers. "We can do surgery on this child," an official told her. Cindy, frustrated, slammed her fist on the table. "Then do it! What are you waiting for?" The official, stunned, simply signed the papers. "I don't know where I got the nerve," Cindy said.
When she arrived in Phoenix, she carried the baby with the cleft palate off the plane. Her husband met her at the airport. He looked at the baby. "Where is she going," he asked her. "To our house," she replied. They adopted the little girl and named her Bridget. Family friends adopted the other little girl.
Last week in Vietnam, Cindy relived that time as she talked to a young Vietnamese mother at a hospital in tiny Nha Trang. The woman clutched a tiny newborn with a severe cleft palate. Ditching her handlers, she went over to talk with her. "Where's the interpreter?" Cindy said. In tears, the woman told Cindy that she had been denied a consultation by the Operation Smile workers because they feared her baby was too sick to be helped. "I had a baby just like yours," Cindy slowly told her, allowing the interpreter to translate. She played with the baby's tiny fingers, recalling that her own daughter had been written off as unsavable.
She joined the mother in the observation room and listened as cardiologists told them they feared the baby might go into cardiac arrest if they were to operate. As the mother cried, Cindy, through an interpreter, told her that she knew exactly how she felt and patted her back. "That baby deserved a shot," she said, "just like Bridget did." In the end, the doctors decided to perform the surgery.
I'd take a Palin/McCain (Cindy) ticket, too...
HT: Caveman
They don't bother to talk about what she DOES with it.
[Cindy McCain] visited Mother Teresa's orphanage in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she saw 160 newborn girls who had been abandoned. The nuns handed her a small baby with a cleft palate so severe that she couldn't be fed. Another baby, also just a few weeks old, had a heart defect.
Worried they would die without medical attention, Cindy applied for medical visas to take the girls back to the United States. But the country's minister of health refused to sign the papers. "We can do surgery on this child," an official told her. Cindy, frustrated, slammed her fist on the table. "Then do it! What are you waiting for?" The official, stunned, simply signed the papers. "I don't know where I got the nerve," Cindy said.
When she arrived in Phoenix, she carried the baby with the cleft palate off the plane. Her husband met her at the airport. He looked at the baby. "Where is she going," he asked her. "To our house," she replied. They adopted the little girl and named her Bridget. Family friends adopted the other little girl.
Last week in Vietnam, Cindy relived that time as she talked to a young Vietnamese mother at a hospital in tiny Nha Trang. The woman clutched a tiny newborn with a severe cleft palate. Ditching her handlers, she went over to talk with her. "Where's the interpreter?" Cindy said. In tears, the woman told Cindy that she had been denied a consultation by the Operation Smile workers because they feared her baby was too sick to be helped. "I had a baby just like yours," Cindy slowly told her, allowing the interpreter to translate. She played with the baby's tiny fingers, recalling that her own daughter had been written off as unsavable.
She joined the mother in the observation room and listened as cardiologists told them they feared the baby might go into cardiac arrest if they were to operate. As the mother cried, Cindy, through an interpreter, told her that she knew exactly how she felt and patted her back. "That baby deserved a shot," she said, "just like Bridget did." In the end, the doctors decided to perform the surgery.
I'd take a Palin/McCain (Cindy) ticket, too...
HT: Caveman
Politics Is Hot!!
Ordinarily my long-suffering wife is perfectly happy to leave politics to me, which is natural. Men are simply more inclined to discuss politics than are women, who have much more important things to do--like raise children, watch budgets, and look for Christmas gifts for family members year-round.
But now and then, the 'politics is Hot!' button gets pressed. Don't ask me what triggers it, because I don't have an answer.
There were two previous occasions--not even (strictly speaking) "political"--when the love of my life went bonzo, watching every available moment of coverage. The first was the Clarence Thomas hearings. The next was Reagan's funeral.
Now the Palin nomination. The Beloved has watched about every minute of coverage available on Fox, NBC, and ABC. And she has become zealous about it, to the extent that she will not tolerate any cynicism from me. Period. For that matter, she's not encouraging positive remarks, either.
It's something she's simply going to absorb, completely, with no input from me or anyone else in the family.
Huh.
But now and then, the 'politics is Hot!' button gets pressed. Don't ask me what triggers it, because I don't have an answer.
There were two previous occasions--not even (strictly speaking) "political"--when the love of my life went bonzo, watching every available moment of coverage. The first was the Clarence Thomas hearings. The next was Reagan's funeral.
Now the Palin nomination. The Beloved has watched about every minute of coverage available on Fox, NBC, and ABC. And she has become zealous about it, to the extent that she will not tolerate any cynicism from me. Period. For that matter, she's not encouraging positive remarks, either.
It's something she's simply going to absorb, completely, with no input from me or anyone else in the family.
Huh.
Another Way to Look at Man
Wonder why people do what they do? G K Chesterton has the answer.
CARLYLE said that men were mostly fools. Christianity, with a surer and more reverent realism, says that they are all fools. This doctrine is sometimes called the doctrine of original sin. It may also be described as the doctrine of the equality of men.
--Heretics
CARLYLE said that men were mostly fools. Christianity, with a surer and more reverent realism, says that they are all fools. This doctrine is sometimes called the doctrine of original sin. It may also be described as the doctrine of the equality of men.
--Heretics
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Gustav Prep in New Orleans
Reported via Free Republic:
We just got a call from Devline Rossell, a charter captain based out of Venice, Louisiana. He was shopping in New Orleans to get some supplies before the arrival of Gustav (currently listed as a tropical storm that has left at least 22 dead in the Caribbean) and reported that the item most in demand was not food, clothing or shelter.
“I just left a sporting goods store and you would think that the number-one selling item would be plywood or potable water or gasoline right now,” he said. “Apparently it is AR-15s and .223 ammo. I watched at least 20 people buy AR-15s and cases of .223.”
FWIW, they were not buying 'cases' of .223 ball, the military .223. You can't get those anymore, except on rare occasion--and you'll pay a fortune for them.
More likely .223 target, or .223 "heavy" (extra lead grains) are available in those quantities.
In any case, those are prudent folks.
We just got a call from Devline Rossell, a charter captain based out of Venice, Louisiana. He was shopping in New Orleans to get some supplies before the arrival of Gustav (currently listed as a tropical storm that has left at least 22 dead in the Caribbean) and reported that the item most in demand was not food, clothing or shelter.
“I just left a sporting goods store and you would think that the number-one selling item would be plywood or potable water or gasoline right now,” he said. “Apparently it is AR-15s and .223 ammo. I watched at least 20 people buy AR-15s and cases of .223.”
FWIW, they were not buying 'cases' of .223 ball, the military .223. You can't get those anymore, except on rare occasion--and you'll pay a fortune for them.
More likely .223 target, or .223 "heavy" (extra lead grains) are available in those quantities.
In any case, those are prudent folks.
Favre to Chicago!
An emailer reports as follows:
The NYJets have decided they do not want Favre and returned him to the Packers yesterday.
Ted Thompson immediately traded Favre to the Chicago Bears.
In return, Chicago has given back Egg Harbor, the Dells, Rhinelander, and the left lane of all Wisconsin interstates PLUS Hy. 41.
Additional details at 10:00 PM.
The NYJets have decided they do not want Favre and returned him to the Packers yesterday.
Ted Thompson immediately traded Favre to the Chicago Bears.
In return, Chicago has given back Egg Harbor, the Dells, Rhinelander, and the left lane of all Wisconsin interstates PLUS Hy. 41.
Additional details at 10:00 PM.
Andra moi ennepe, mousa, poloutropon, 'os mala
Maybe 3 of you will recognize the title line (and using English letters to imitate the Ionic didn't help, did it?)
Well, you can have the translation from IowaHawk, who does a DAMN good job with Homer.
Well, you can have the translation from IowaHawk, who does a DAMN good job with Homer.
Another Commie Beneficiary of Annenberg Foundation
My, my.
Blithe notes that the Annenberg Foundation awarded $175K to a fellow who commented on this post from a Lefty Chicago online publication.
The commenter is Mike Klonsky.
He is Mike Klonsky, who is named as a major Chicago Annenberg Challenge beneficiary, he and William Ayers picking up a bundle — $175,000 –– for “small school workshops.”
Blithe did a little digging and found a blog-entry from a fellow named Diamond, who observes:
[Klonsky is] one of the most destructive hardline maoists in the SDS in the late 60’s who emerged from SDS to form a pro-Chinese sect called the October League that later became the Beijing-recognized Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist).
As chairman of the party, Klonsky travelled to Beijing itself in 1977 and, literally, toasted the Chinese stalinist leadership who, in turn, “hailed the formation of the CP(ML) as ‘reflecting the aspirations of the proletariat and working people,’ effectively recognizing the group as the all-but-official US Maoist party.” (Elbaum, Revolution in the Air, 228).
Observes Blithe:
Klonsky was a “red-diaper baby,” son of a Communist Party USA founder, writes Elbaum (p. 102). He’s a type, in other words, one who ate and drank Marxism but in later years, being no dummy, saw that there was no future in communism, so turned to radicalism — as in public school systems, the bigger the better. In Chicago, if not sooner, he found Ayers, who found Obama, who at best has been a useful idiot.
One wonders if the deceased Mr. Annenberg had ANY IDEA what his money was used for...
Blithe notes that the Annenberg Foundation awarded $175K to a fellow who commented on this post from a Lefty Chicago online publication.
The commenter is Mike Klonsky.
He is Mike Klonsky, who is named as a major Chicago Annenberg Challenge beneficiary, he and William Ayers picking up a bundle — $175,000 –– for “small school workshops.”
Blithe did a little digging and found a blog-entry from a fellow named Diamond, who observes:
[Klonsky is] one of the most destructive hardline maoists in the SDS in the late 60’s who emerged from SDS to form a pro-Chinese sect called the October League that later became the Beijing-recognized Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist).
As chairman of the party, Klonsky travelled to Beijing itself in 1977 and, literally, toasted the Chinese stalinist leadership who, in turn, “hailed the formation of the CP(ML) as ‘reflecting the aspirations of the proletariat and working people,’ effectively recognizing the group as the all-but-official US Maoist party.” (Elbaum, Revolution in the Air, 228).
Observes Blithe:
Klonsky was a “red-diaper baby,” son of a Communist Party USA founder, writes Elbaum (p. 102). He’s a type, in other words, one who ate and drank Marxism but in later years, being no dummy, saw that there was no future in communism, so turned to radicalism — as in public school systems, the bigger the better. In Chicago, if not sooner, he found Ayers, who found Obama, who at best has been a useful idiot.
One wonders if the deceased Mr. Annenberg had ANY IDEA what his money was used for...
Palin's Independence
A more hard-bitten Conservative blog reaction:
John McCain’s never seemed to me to merit his “maverick” moniker, but the Palin pick is clear evidence of an independent spirit. He met the women only in February, barely knows her, yet was clearly sufficiently smitten to disregard all professional party insider advice and the heavy neocon lobbying to choose Joe Lieberman, Bill Kristol’s pick to ensure Americans will be fighting Mideast wars in perpetuity. Watching McCain camp followers react to the choice is a bit like seeing the middle aged heirs of a very rich man feign pleasure when they learn Daddy has decided, very late in life, to marry a woman he just recently met, who happens to be forty years his junior.
If you don't think that is accurate, then look no further than "PowerLine" today:
...there are two streams of thought in the Republican party about how America should relate to the world, and one of them is the Buchanan/Chuck Hagel approach. And there are three main possibilities when it comes to Palin: (1) she agrees with what is now the mainstream, Bush/McCain approach, (2) she agrees with the Buchanan/Hagel approach, and (3) she hasn't thought much about it.
My guess is that the answer lies somewhere between (1) and (3). But I'd rather be able to examine a track record than guess...
PowerLine is always ready to Fight Wars--preferably in the Middle East. Somehow, they conclude that "mainstream" = "fight wars."
They're wrong, of course. If the Surge hadn't worked as well as it did, the polls would be radically different than they are today.
John McCain’s never seemed to me to merit his “maverick” moniker, but the Palin pick is clear evidence of an independent spirit. He met the women only in February, barely knows her, yet was clearly sufficiently smitten to disregard all professional party insider advice and the heavy neocon lobbying to choose Joe Lieberman, Bill Kristol’s pick to ensure Americans will be fighting Mideast wars in perpetuity. Watching McCain camp followers react to the choice is a bit like seeing the middle aged heirs of a very rich man feign pleasure when they learn Daddy has decided, very late in life, to marry a woman he just recently met, who happens to be forty years his junior.
If you don't think that is accurate, then look no further than "PowerLine" today:
...there are two streams of thought in the Republican party about how America should relate to the world, and one of them is the Buchanan/Chuck Hagel approach. And there are three main possibilities when it comes to Palin: (1) she agrees with what is now the mainstream, Bush/McCain approach, (2) she agrees with the Buchanan/Hagel approach, and (3) she hasn't thought much about it.
My guess is that the answer lies somewhere between (1) and (3). But I'd rather be able to examine a track record than guess...
PowerLine is always ready to Fight Wars--preferably in the Middle East. Somehow, they conclude that "mainstream" = "fight wars."
They're wrong, of course. If the Surge hadn't worked as well as it did, the polls would be radically different than they are today.
UPDATE: Even MORE Polling Problems for Obamama
As if the below weren't bad enough, it gets worse for Obamamamamama and Sancho.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday is the first to include reaction to both Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin to be his running mate. The numbers are little changed since yesterday and show Barack Obama attracting 47% of the vote nationwide while John McCain earns 43%. When “leaners” are included, it’s Obama 49% and McCain 45%.
Essentially, it's margin of error--and that's BEFORE Palin.
Comments Morrissey:
In other words, except for the fundraising activities associated with it, the Obama speech was essentially a bust.
I did see the last 10 minutes or so, and it was not exceptional, either in delivery or content. And although I'm not Peggy Noonan, I do know something about speechifying. Just sayin'....
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday is the first to include reaction to both Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin to be his running mate. The numbers are little changed since yesterday and show Barack Obama attracting 47% of the vote nationwide while John McCain earns 43%. When “leaners” are included, it’s Obama 49% and McCain 45%.
Essentially, it's margin of error--and that's BEFORE Palin.
Comments Morrissey:
In other words, except for the fundraising activities associated with it, the Obama speech was essentially a bust.
I did see the last 10 minutes or so, and it was not exceptional, either in delivery or content. And although I'm not Peggy Noonan, I do know something about speechifying. Just sayin'....
Palin's "Trooper Problem"
Well, as usual, there's more to the story than the LeftoSphere wants to tell you.
Of course, there is nothing that has suggested Palin had any direct involvement with pressure brought against her former brother-in-law, and it was her aides that were accused of wanting the state trooper fired.
And perhaps part of the reason the governor's aides wanted this trooper fired wasn't because he was part of a divorce, but because he shot a cow moose... out of season.
It could also have been because he was caught driving drunk... in a patrol car.
May be it even might have had something to do with the fact he tasered his 11-year-old-son.
I think the HIRING of this moron should be investigated, not the firing....
But hey--he could always run on the (D) ticket for AG/Wisconsin, right?
HT: Confederate Yankee
Of course, there is nothing that has suggested Palin had any direct involvement with pressure brought against her former brother-in-law, and it was her aides that were accused of wanting the state trooper fired.
And perhaps part of the reason the governor's aides wanted this trooper fired wasn't because he was part of a divorce, but because he shot a cow moose... out of season.
It could also have been because he was caught driving drunk... in a patrol car.
May be it even might have had something to do with the fact he tasered his 11-year-old-son.
I think the HIRING of this moron should be investigated, not the firing....
But hey--he could always run on the (D) ticket for AG/Wisconsin, right?
HT: Confederate Yankee
The O-and-Savior's Numbers: Wrong Way
As the ever-astute Shoebox points out, not only did McCain suck all the oxygen out of what shoulda/woulda/coulda been O's air over the weekend--but O-and-Savior and his trusty companion, Sancho, have another and larger problem:
A majority of likely voters and Catholics are at odds with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on the critical issue of abortion and “when life begins,”
And this:
Would you support or oppose a ballot measure in your state that stipulates only marriage between a man and a woman will be legally recognized?” [Roughly opposite the O-and-Savior position]
Fifty-eight percent of likely voters said they would support such a measure, while only 36 percent would oppose it. Among likely voters who are Catholic, 60 percent would support the ballot measure, and 36 percent would oppose it
Seems that all McPain has to do is allow the O-and-Savior and Sancho to speak. Then the 60+% conservative majority of Americans will respond.
A majority of likely voters and Catholics are at odds with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on the critical issue of abortion and “when life begins,”
And this:
Would you support or oppose a ballot measure in your state that stipulates only marriage between a man and a woman will be legally recognized?” [Roughly opposite the O-and-Savior position]
Fifty-eight percent of likely voters said they would support such a measure, while only 36 percent would oppose it. Among likely voters who are Catholic, 60 percent would support the ballot measure, and 36 percent would oppose it
Seems that all McPain has to do is allow the O-and-Savior and Sancho to speak. Then the 60+% conservative majority of Americans will respond.
Really Big Savings?
These numbers are extremely large.
A program that provides birth control and other reproductive health services to minors and low-income women saved state health programs an estimated $487 million from 2003 through 2007, a state report says
...or about $125 million/year.
The report, by what is now the state Department of Health Services, also found that the program met its primary purposes of preventing unintended births; reducing Medicaid spending on births to low-income women; and improving reproductive health care
OK...
The average cost of each birth that year was $5,791. The child, mother and father, if the child’s parents are married, also would be eligible for state health programs after the birth.
Uh-huh...
The report was done in March. But Newman, who also is executive director of Family Planning Health Services Inc., which operates seven clinics in central Wisconsin, did not learn of the estimated savings until this week.
“It’s 15 times what we expected,” Newman said. “It’s remarkable.”
$125 million/year?
A program that provides birth control and other reproductive health services to minors and low-income women saved state health programs an estimated $487 million from 2003 through 2007, a state report says
...or about $125 million/year.
The report, by what is now the state Department of Health Services, also found that the program met its primary purposes of preventing unintended births; reducing Medicaid spending on births to low-income women; and improving reproductive health care
OK...
The average cost of each birth that year was $5,791. The child, mother and father, if the child’s parents are married, also would be eligible for state health programs after the birth.
Uh-huh...
The report was done in March. But Newman, who also is executive director of Family Planning Health Services Inc., which operates seven clinics in central Wisconsin, did not learn of the estimated savings until this week.
“It’s 15 times what we expected,” Newman said. “It’s remarkable.”
$125 million/year?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Palin: The Signal of "Change"
Quite a pick.
At first, I thought that McPain was being too clever by half--trumping Obama with a woman. But some would read that as sexist, I suppose, in the hyper-sensitive world of Lefties.
The real motives became clear as she spoke, and as I read the various opinions on the inter-blogo-spheric-net:
"Change" is the word. McPain actually may trump Obamamamama on "change"!
More to follow, of course--the Convention speechifications should prove enlightening.
But both McPain and Palin are clearly 'non-conventional' Pubbies. On the other hand, Obamamamama's speech last night boiled down to "more of the same" Democrat yappaflappa about "investment" and "taxes,"--and, of course, anti-Bush.
Well, McPain is an "anti-establishment" guy (and not all to my liking...) and Palin certainly qualifies in the same category.
This will be fun, folks!
At first, I thought that McPain was being too clever by half--trumping Obama with a woman. But some would read that as sexist, I suppose, in the hyper-sensitive world of Lefties.
The real motives became clear as she spoke, and as I read the various opinions on the inter-blogo-spheric-net:
"Change" is the word. McPain actually may trump Obamamamama on "change"!
More to follow, of course--the Convention speechifications should prove enlightening.
But both McPain and Palin are clearly 'non-conventional' Pubbies. On the other hand, Obamamamama's speech last night boiled down to "more of the same" Democrat yappaflappa about "investment" and "taxes,"--and, of course, anti-Bush.
Well, McPain is an "anti-establishment" guy (and not all to my liking...) and Palin certainly qualifies in the same category.
This will be fun, folks!
Only in Madistan...
Un-friggin'-believable.
Madison police would no longer be allowed to fine the homeless for public urination and sleeping in parks under ordinance changes to be introduced soon by Ald. Brenda Konkel.
With limited shelter space and no new city programs for the homeless population coming down the pipe in 2009, Konkel said the ordinance changes she will introduce at a City Council meeting in September are intended to spark a discussion about how the city treats the homeless
Umnnnnhhhh...
Under the equal-treatment laws, why only "the homeless?"
HT: Scoffer
Madison police would no longer be allowed to fine the homeless for public urination and sleeping in parks under ordinance changes to be introduced soon by Ald. Brenda Konkel.
With limited shelter space and no new city programs for the homeless population coming down the pipe in 2009, Konkel said the ordinance changes she will introduce at a City Council meeting in September are intended to spark a discussion about how the city treats the homeless
Umnnnnhhhh...
Under the equal-treatment laws, why only "the homeless?"
HT: Scoffer
"Law and Order" in Denver?
This is disturbing.
Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.
...The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later, he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.
I suppose that the first matter to be resolved is whether or not, in fact, the hotel actually "owns" the sidewalk.
If they do, well, the producer was in the wrong.
But that is not the commonly-accepted understanding. Sidewalks have, by and large, been treated as 'public property,' owned by the municipality. In fact, most munis have a "60-foot rule," (or similar), meaning that the land 30 feet on either side of the centerline of a street is PUBLIC property.
I don't really care that the ABC guy was looking for dirt on the Dems. He could have been doing the same thing in St Paul, with the Pubbies. Makes no difference to me whatsoever.
I do NOT like the attitude of the cops, nor their un-professional aggression.
And I particularly do NOT like the restriction on information-gathering by a nationally-known news organization.
Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.
...The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later, he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.
I suppose that the first matter to be resolved is whether or not, in fact, the hotel actually "owns" the sidewalk.
If they do, well, the producer was in the wrong.
But that is not the commonly-accepted understanding. Sidewalks have, by and large, been treated as 'public property,' owned by the municipality. In fact, most munis have a "60-foot rule," (or similar), meaning that the land 30 feet on either side of the centerline of a street is PUBLIC property.
I don't really care that the ABC guy was looking for dirt on the Dems. He could have been doing the same thing in St Paul, with the Pubbies. Makes no difference to me whatsoever.
I do NOT like the attitude of the cops, nor their un-professional aggression.
And I particularly do NOT like the restriction on information-gathering by a nationally-known news organization.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Very Loyal Dissent
Derbyshire, a fellow curmudgeon, takes on the Ollie Optimist (enthusiast) Club.
Every age has its characteristic follies, and those follies have their correctives. The folly of the present age in America is a facile, infantile optimism, that recognizes no limits to human abilities or the wonders that can be wrought by politicians, bureaucrats, and generals. The corrective is a firm, measured pessimism.
The natural home of that fool's optimism in this age is the political Left, so the corrective must come from the Right.
...We must revive the fine tradition of conservative pessimism. In this age, optimism is for children and fools. And liberals.
Some children will be left behind. You cannot "remake the Middle East" or "defeat evil." The poor will always be with us. Black and white will never mingle together in unselfconscious harmony. Corporations will not research and explore without hope of profit. Russia will not become Sweden. Forty million immigrants speaking a single language will not assimilate.
Conservatives used to know all this.
Some — the infallibly sapient Roger Kimball, for example — still do
Others--some who call themselves "conservative"--betray their liberalism, or more accurately, they simply deny Original Sin.
HT: Vox
Every age has its characteristic follies, and those follies have their correctives. The folly of the present age in America is a facile, infantile optimism, that recognizes no limits to human abilities or the wonders that can be wrought by politicians, bureaucrats, and generals. The corrective is a firm, measured pessimism.
The natural home of that fool's optimism in this age is the political Left, so the corrective must come from the Right.
...We must revive the fine tradition of conservative pessimism. In this age, optimism is for children and fools. And liberals.
Some children will be left behind. You cannot "remake the Middle East" or "defeat evil." The poor will always be with us. Black and white will never mingle together in unselfconscious harmony. Corporations will not research and explore without hope of profit. Russia will not become Sweden. Forty million immigrants speaking a single language will not assimilate.
Conservatives used to know all this.
Some — the infallibly sapient Roger Kimball, for example — still do
Others--some who call themselves "conservative"--betray their liberalism, or more accurately, they simply deny Original Sin.
HT: Vox
"Fraudulent Concealment": Belleville Diocese Pays
This is not (necessarily) going to make Abp. Dolan's day:
In a rare civil judgment against a US local church, an Illinois jury yesterday found the diocese of Belleville guilty of "fradulent concealment" of the records of an abusive priest, ordering the diocese to pay $5 million in damages to a survivor who claimed five years of abuse in the 1970s.
The jury found that the diocese had "fraudulently concealed" evidence that Kownacki, 73, of Dupo, was known by church leaders from reports as early as 1973 to be a violent rapist and child sex offender but kept reassigning him to parishes without warning the public.
Similar charges are being litigated in Milwaukee at this time.
In a rare civil judgment against a US local church, an Illinois jury yesterday found the diocese of Belleville guilty of "fradulent concealment" of the records of an abusive priest, ordering the diocese to pay $5 million in damages to a survivor who claimed five years of abuse in the 1970s.
The jury found that the diocese had "fraudulently concealed" evidence that Kownacki, 73, of Dupo, was known by church leaders from reports as early as 1973 to be a violent rapist and child sex offender but kept reassigning him to parishes without warning the public.
Similar charges are being litigated in Milwaukee at this time.
Obama Wanna Play Rough? Don't Go There
Obamamamamama's boyzzz just don't like the Ayers connection.
So they want the US Department of Justice to 'investigate' the donor(s) who made this video possible.
Well, the target of the Obamamamama-ites' campaign thinks that two can play that game.
Of course, should the Department decide to yield to the pressure from the Obama Campaign and undertake its requested ‘investigations’ of donors to politically related conservative causes, the Department would necessarily be required to do so in an even-handed, non partisan and non-ideological approach. In that regard, the Department would be required to review all donors to all causes and political / policy organizations, whose contributions exceed $5,000 per calendar year to any such causes, the vast majority of which are donors to liberal causes, not conservative ones.
Based on calculations from the Center for Responsive Politics (www.crp.org ) the following are leftwing donors whose substantial contributions to political causes in the last three election cycles have consistently landed each of them on the top donors list and surely each of these donors warrant the Department’s review, scrutiny and prosecution, if the Obama Campaign standard is to be applied evenly:
George Soros:
2004: $23,450,000
2006: $ 3,542,500
2008 (to date) $ 4,650,000
Steven Bing:
2004: $13,852,031
2008 (to date) $ 4,850,000
Peter Lewis:
2004: $22,997,220
2006: $ 1, 624,375
2008 (to date) $ 850,000
Herb and Marion Sandler:
2004: $13, 008, 459
Linda Pritzker:
2004: $3,300,000
2006: $2,101,000
John Hunting:
2006: $1,647,000
2008 (to date) $1,243,000
Alida Messinger
2004: $ 3,580,200
2006: $ 1,042,000
2008 (to date) $ 883,000
Pat Stryker:
2006: $ 1,331,293
2008 (to date): $ 300,000
Jon Stryker:
2006: $ 1,271,313
2008: $ 604,054
The missive also mentions the group which announced that it would be "targeting" donors to Conservative causes for reprisals. (They did not mention Epic Systems.)
OK, Obama. Let's play.
HT: Malkin
So they want the US Department of Justice to 'investigate' the donor(s) who made this video possible.
Well, the target of the Obamamamama-ites' campaign thinks that two can play that game.
Of course, should the Department decide to yield to the pressure from the Obama Campaign and undertake its requested ‘investigations’ of donors to politically related conservative causes, the Department would necessarily be required to do so in an even-handed, non partisan and non-ideological approach. In that regard, the Department would be required to review all donors to all causes and political / policy organizations, whose contributions exceed $5,000 per calendar year to any such causes, the vast majority of which are donors to liberal causes, not conservative ones.
Based on calculations from the Center for Responsive Politics (www.crp.org ) the following are leftwing donors whose substantial contributions to political causes in the last three election cycles have consistently landed each of them on the top donors list and surely each of these donors warrant the Department’s review, scrutiny and prosecution, if the Obama Campaign standard is to be applied evenly:
George Soros:
2004: $23,450,000
2006: $ 3,542,500
2008 (to date) $ 4,650,000
Steven Bing:
2004: $13,852,031
2008 (to date) $ 4,850,000
Peter Lewis:
2004: $22,997,220
2006: $ 1, 624,375
2008 (to date) $ 850,000
Herb and Marion Sandler:
2004: $13, 008, 459
Linda Pritzker:
2004: $3,300,000
2006: $2,101,000
John Hunting:
2006: $1,647,000
2008 (to date) $1,243,000
Alida Messinger
2004: $ 3,580,200
2006: $ 1,042,000
2008 (to date) $ 883,000
Pat Stryker:
2006: $ 1,331,293
2008 (to date): $ 300,000
Jon Stryker:
2006: $ 1,271,313
2008: $ 604,054
The missive also mentions the group which announced that it would be "targeting" donors to Conservative causes for reprisals. (They did not mention Epic Systems.)
OK, Obama. Let's play.
HT: Malkin
Pelosi Dodge/Duck on Abortion, Chapter 3 (Biden, Too)
Queen Nancy has a NEW story on her abortion problem.
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the speaker's position as a "pro-abortion Catholic", not because the Church is unclear on when life begins, as earlier stated, but because Catholics routinely contravene "clear Catholic teaching" against abortion.
In a statement praising Pelosi's appreciation for "the sanctity of the family," Brenda Daly, speaking for Pelosi, said, "While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view."
Brenda Daly's statement says that Pelosi is not justified in her pro-abortion stance due to vague Church teaching, but on the basis that many other "Catholics" also violate Church teaching
This from someone who is, by title, the most important law-maker in the House of Representatives?
"Well, Mom and Dad, Suzie and Billy and Joey get to drink at the prom. Why can't I?"
As it turns out, Queen Nancy is, essentially, plagiarizing Joe Biden.
Just like Pelosi, in an April 27, 2007 interview, also with Meet the Press, Biden defended his support for abortion with references to ancient Church leadership, which he interpreted as questioning abortion. "Even within our own church, there's been debates about life, you know, from, from 'Summa Theologica,' Aquinas, and 40 days to quickening and right to, you know, you know, Pius IX, animated fetus doctrine and so on."
The Windbag deliberately sprays foofoodust on the question. The Church has taught, since the 1st Century, that abortion is a grave moral evil, no matter the 'quickening' or 'animation.' St. Augustine speculated ONLY on the 'degree' of gravity--never on the fundamental question. Thomas Aquinas speculated on the 'moment of ensoulment,' NOT on whether abortion was a grave evil.
There is some debate as to whether these people are liars or ignoramuses. In either case, they should not hold responsible office in the United States of America, whose first principles were listed as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
No accident that "life" was first listed.
A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the speaker's position as a "pro-abortion Catholic", not because the Church is unclear on when life begins, as earlier stated, but because Catholics routinely contravene "clear Catholic teaching" against abortion.
In a statement praising Pelosi's appreciation for "the sanctity of the family," Brenda Daly, speaking for Pelosi, said, "While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view."
Brenda Daly's statement says that Pelosi is not justified in her pro-abortion stance due to vague Church teaching, but on the basis that many other "Catholics" also violate Church teaching
This from someone who is, by title, the most important law-maker in the House of Representatives?
"Well, Mom and Dad, Suzie and Billy and Joey get to drink at the prom. Why can't I?"
As it turns out, Queen Nancy is, essentially, plagiarizing Joe Biden.
Just like Pelosi, in an April 27, 2007 interview, also with Meet the Press, Biden defended his support for abortion with references to ancient Church leadership, which he interpreted as questioning abortion. "Even within our own church, there's been debates about life, you know, from, from 'Summa Theologica,' Aquinas, and 40 days to quickening and right to, you know, you know, Pius IX, animated fetus doctrine and so on."
The Windbag deliberately sprays foofoodust on the question. The Church has taught, since the 1st Century, that abortion is a grave moral evil, no matter the 'quickening' or 'animation.' St. Augustine speculated ONLY on the 'degree' of gravity--never on the fundamental question. Thomas Aquinas speculated on the 'moment of ensoulment,' NOT on whether abortion was a grave evil.
There is some debate as to whether these people are liars or ignoramuses. In either case, they should not hold responsible office in the United States of America, whose first principles were listed as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
No accident that "life" was first listed.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
First Time I've Ever Seen This
It's a bit unsettling.
The O-and-Savior is running a new ad--the usual: McCain=Bush=suppression of the peoples, vs. Obama=suppression of the suppressors....
Yadayadayadayada...
At the end, the tagline:
The O-and-Savior is running a new ad--the usual: McCain=Bush=suppression of the peoples, vs. Obama=suppression of the suppressors....
Yadayadayadayada...
At the end, the tagline:
Obama. President.
I have never seen that before, and it was a bit unsettling. I'm not prepared to call it "presumptuous," because it's not....quite.
But it runs the risk of being offensive to some--especially those who think the title is won, not arrogated.
Michelle My Belle's Oratory, (Condensed Version)
As usual, Planet Moron has the goods.
For those of you who missed Michelle Obama’s speech, here is the condensed version:
Craig Robinson (intro)
Michelle is my sister.
We were working class.
Our father died.
She has daughters!
Michelle Obama
I have a mother and a brother!
My father is dead, though.
But I have daughters!
Did I mention my father is dead? Because he is. He was really sick, too!
We were working class. Barack was working class too. We were all working class.
I have children. I mentioned that, right?
Barack left Wall Street where he made other people money and went into public service where he spent other people’s money. I bring it up because that’s better!
My father was sick. Not sure if that was already clear.
I love this country!
I left a law firm where I made money to go into public service where I could spend other people’s money, just like Barack. We have so much in common!
Barack is going to make everything super great!
He’ll do that by bringing us together with sharing and hope and threads or something.
For those of you coming in late, I have a daughter.
So, just to recap: 1) Father dead. 2) I have daughters.
Vote Obama.
Yay America!
You choked up there a little at the end, didn’t you? It’s okay. There’s no shame in it.
I'm sorry to report that I missed the original, but happy to have read the Dick and Jane version.
For those of you who missed Michelle Obama’s speech, here is the condensed version:
Craig Robinson (intro)
Michelle is my sister.
We were working class.
Our father died.
She has daughters!
Michelle Obama
I have a mother and a brother!
My father is dead, though.
But I have daughters!
Did I mention my father is dead? Because he is. He was really sick, too!
We were working class. Barack was working class too. We were all working class.
I have children. I mentioned that, right?
Barack left Wall Street where he made other people money and went into public service where he spent other people’s money. I bring it up because that’s better!
My father was sick. Not sure if that was already clear.
I love this country!
I left a law firm where I made money to go into public service where I could spend other people’s money, just like Barack. We have so much in common!
Barack is going to make everything super great!
He’ll do that by bringing us together with sharing and hope and threads or something.
For those of you coming in late, I have a daughter.
So, just to recap: 1) Father dead. 2) I have daughters.
Vote Obama.
Yay America!
You choked up there a little at the end, didn’t you? It’s okay. There’s no shame in it.
I'm sorry to report that I missed the original, but happy to have read the Dick and Jane version.
Voter Mismatches? Ahhh, Screw It!
So say the three retired judges who blocked any action that would have required voters to show ID at the polls if they hadn't corrected any mismatched information.
Names? Sure:
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
Three others thought it would be a good idea to check ID's.
Tom Cane, Victor Manian and Gerald Nichol
Pretty clear which of the above like maintaining the integrity of the vote in Wisconsin.
Also pretty clear which of the above don't really give a rip about vote-integrity in Wisconsin:
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
Remember those names, folks.
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
The "Who Gives a Rip" judges.
Names? Sure:
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
Three others thought it would be a good idea to check ID's.
Tom Cane, Victor Manian and Gerald Nichol
Pretty clear which of the above like maintaining the integrity of the vote in Wisconsin.
Also pretty clear which of the above don't really give a rip about vote-integrity in Wisconsin:
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
Remember those names, folks.
Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse
The "Who Gives a Rip" judges.
Pelosi to Bishops: "Shove It!"
Queen Nancy does not like what she's heard from several Bishops and Cardinals (who are, after all, specifically charged with teaching Church doctrine--as opposed to politicians, who are...ahh, nevermind.)
Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said in a statement Tuesday that she ``fully appreciates the sanctity of family'' and based her views on conception on the ``views of Saint Augustine, who said: '... the law does not provide that the act (abortion) pertains to homicide, for there cannot yet be said to be a live soul in a body that lacks sensation ...'''
The statement from Rigali and Lori said ``uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology'' in the Middle Ages led ``some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church's moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.''
The operative terminology here is "penalties." Daly is parsing with very poor foundation. The fact that there were across-the-board penalties for abortion is foremost. The degree of penalty is secondary.
It's not all that much different from 'Law and Order,' where the discussion revolves around whether the perp should be tried for 1st-degree or 2nd-degree murder, folks. It's still murder.
Pelosi's stiff-necked resistance to instruction has larger implications.
The Obama campaign has asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to shut her mouth, but in as nice a way as they possibly can. That isn't to say they aren't mad about her recent activities.
"It's like 'Thanks, madam speaker, you've done quite enough. Please move along,'" says one Obama adviser. "She got us stuck on three different issues that we wanted no part of. She's no master strategist, no matter what she may believe. You may see more of her, but if her mouth is open, what comes out won't be anything that our campaign wants anything to do with."
Queen Nancy thinks that defining "the beginning of life" is within HER paygrade; Obama, a Presidential contender closely associated with Queen Nancy by Party affiliation, does not think it is within HIS paygrade.
Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said in a statement Tuesday that she ``fully appreciates the sanctity of family'' and based her views on conception on the ``views of Saint Augustine, who said: '... the law does not provide that the act (abortion) pertains to homicide, for there cannot yet be said to be a live soul in a body that lacks sensation ...'''
The statement from Rigali and Lori said ``uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology'' in the Middle Ages led ``some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church's moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.''
The operative terminology here is "penalties." Daly is parsing with very poor foundation. The fact that there were across-the-board penalties for abortion is foremost. The degree of penalty is secondary.
It's not all that much different from 'Law and Order,' where the discussion revolves around whether the perp should be tried for 1st-degree or 2nd-degree murder, folks. It's still murder.
Pelosi's stiff-necked resistance to instruction has larger implications.
The Obama campaign has asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to shut her mouth, but in as nice a way as they possibly can. That isn't to say they aren't mad about her recent activities.
"It's like 'Thanks, madam speaker, you've done quite enough. Please move along,'" says one Obama adviser. "She got us stuck on three different issues that we wanted no part of. She's no master strategist, no matter what she may believe. You may see more of her, but if her mouth is open, what comes out won't be anything that our campaign wants anything to do with."
Queen Nancy thinks that defining "the beginning of life" is within HER paygrade; Obama, a Presidential contender closely associated with Queen Nancy by Party affiliation, does not think it is within HIS paygrade.
Biden Perverts "Catholic", Too
...and he provides irony along the way. From today's Christian Science Monitor:
"The animating principle of my faith, as taught to me by church and home, was that the cardinal sin was abuse of power," he said in an interview with the Monitor. "It was not only required as a good Catholic to abhor and avoid abuse of power, but to do something to end that abuse."
So, Joe...in which scenario is the unborn child more powerful?
....Aaahhh. Nevermind.
More:
"My views are totally consistent with Catholic social doctrine," says Biden, a six-term Democratic senator from Delaware.
Oh, yah. "Catholic social doctrine" actually begins in the womb, Joe.
You lying sack.
HT: Ignatius
"The animating principle of my faith, as taught to me by church and home, was that the cardinal sin was abuse of power," he said in an interview with the Monitor. "It was not only required as a good Catholic to abhor and avoid abuse of power, but to do something to end that abuse."
So, Joe...in which scenario is the unborn child more powerful?
....Aaahhh. Nevermind.
More:
"My views are totally consistent with Catholic social doctrine," says Biden, a six-term Democratic senator from Delaware.
Oh, yah. "Catholic social doctrine" actually begins in the womb, Joe.
You lying sack.
HT: Ignatius
The "Public Service" Line of Crap
Via Dreher, this from Clive Crook:
It's starting to annoy me that Barack keeps telling us how he turned down Wall Street for a career in "public service". By this he means politics. Just how great a sacrifice is that? The kind of ambition that gets you into the Senate and maybe the White House is not exactly renouncing the world and all its temptations, is it? And now here we have Michelle doing the same thing. She gave up lawyering, she says, and chose "public service"--the kind that leads in due course to a 300k-plus salary. I've no problem with it. I just don't want to keep being asked to admire the sacrifice.
Aside from the ego-stroking office staff, the worship (and money) from various interest-groups, and the VERY nice pension and health-benefits, if you can assemble a few sentences into a book (or two) one can do very well, indeed in "public service."
And a $1million house in the in-burbs.
If "public service" is such a challenge, howcumizzit that virtually no "public servants" quit?
It's starting to annoy me that Barack keeps telling us how he turned down Wall Street for a career in "public service". By this he means politics. Just how great a sacrifice is that? The kind of ambition that gets you into the Senate and maybe the White House is not exactly renouncing the world and all its temptations, is it? And now here we have Michelle doing the same thing. She gave up lawyering, she says, and chose "public service"--the kind that leads in due course to a 300k-plus salary. I've no problem with it. I just don't want to keep being asked to admire the sacrifice.
Aside from the ego-stroking office staff, the worship (and money) from various interest-groups, and the VERY nice pension and health-benefits, if you can assemble a few sentences into a book (or two) one can do very well, indeed in "public service."
And a $1million house in the in-burbs.
If "public service" is such a challenge, howcumizzit that virtually no "public servants" quit?
The New Democrat "Drill Now" Scam
No wonder Kagen reversed course on drilling.
Nancy authorized it. Of course, what you see is not necessarily what's good for the country.
Call it the Pelosi Poison Pill Petroleum Piffle...
Human Events (8/25) in Capital Briefs, reports:
According to (D) leadership sources....Pelosi is insisting on adding numerous poison pills to energy legislation she is drafting. [The bill] is designed to immunize [House democrats]..
...it would include, among other things, a "renewable portfolio standard" ...[an] anti-coal provision ...require utilities to produce 15% of their power from wind, solar, and other renewable sources by 2020...
....also wants to eliminate various tax incentives for oil companies--a provision which would make gasoline more expensive...
Details matter. You can expect a lot of smoke-and-mirrors from Pelosi, who can (and does) lie grotesquely, if loudly, at the drop of a hat.
Expect Kagen to follow her lead.
Nancy authorized it. Of course, what you see is not necessarily what's good for the country.
Call it the Pelosi Poison Pill Petroleum Piffle...
Human Events (8/25) in Capital Briefs, reports:
According to (D) leadership sources....Pelosi is insisting on adding numerous poison pills to energy legislation she is drafting. [The bill] is designed to immunize [House democrats]..
...it would include, among other things, a "renewable portfolio standard" ...[an] anti-coal provision ...require utilities to produce 15% of their power from wind, solar, and other renewable sources by 2020...
....also wants to eliminate various tax incentives for oil companies--a provision which would make gasoline more expensive...
Details matter. You can expect a lot of smoke-and-mirrors from Pelosi, who can (and does) lie grotesquely, if loudly, at the drop of a hat.
Expect Kagen to follow her lead.
Things That Make You Think
So I'm on I-94 northbound, just south of Oklahoma Avenue, in the left lane.
And in the left-hand distress lane is a pile of parts--actually, two piles, separated by about 100 feet or so.
The front- and rear- brake-pad assemblies from a large truck.
First question: how in Hell did THAT happen? Where's the rest of the assembly--like, for example, the brake drum? Wheel?
And if the brake-pad assemblies managed to escape from the drum, without the drum coming off, HOW?
Hmmmmmm.
And in the left-hand distress lane is a pile of parts--actually, two piles, separated by about 100 feet or so.
The front- and rear- brake-pad assemblies from a large truck.
First question: how in Hell did THAT happen? Where's the rest of the assembly--like, for example, the brake drum? Wheel?
And if the brake-pad assemblies managed to escape from the drum, without the drum coming off, HOW?
Hmmmmmm.
"Down-Ballot" Impact of The O-and-Savior
Good analysis here.
First, the quote from Gallup:
Within the Democratic Party, Obama’s losses are primarily evident among the relatively small group that describes its political views as conservative. The 63% of conservative Democrats supporting Obama over McCain in Aug. 18-24 polling is the lowest Obama has earned since he clinched the Democratic nomination in June. At the same time, there have been no similar drops in support for Obama in the preferences of liberal or moderate Democrats.
Sez Morrissey:
It’s not just conservative Democrats, either, although that has to be Obama’s main concern at the moment. Blue-dog Democrats have to run for tough Congressional races in the fall, and they will get linked to Obama regardless of whether they publicly embrace him or not. If Obama is losing credibility among conservative Democrats, the Blue Dogs will find that Obama’s impact on their race will become a net negative and could cost some of them their seats — most of which they won from Republicans in 2006.
I'd suggest that we watch the Kagen race. If he imports Obama to joint-appear someplace, it tells us that Gallup is all wet.
First, the quote from Gallup:
Within the Democratic Party, Obama’s losses are primarily evident among the relatively small group that describes its political views as conservative. The 63% of conservative Democrats supporting Obama over McCain in Aug. 18-24 polling is the lowest Obama has earned since he clinched the Democratic nomination in June. At the same time, there have been no similar drops in support for Obama in the preferences of liberal or moderate Democrats.
Sez Morrissey:
It’s not just conservative Democrats, either, although that has to be Obama’s main concern at the moment. Blue-dog Democrats have to run for tough Congressional races in the fall, and they will get linked to Obama regardless of whether they publicly embrace him or not. If Obama is losing credibility among conservative Democrats, the Blue Dogs will find that Obama’s impact on their race will become a net negative and could cost some of them their seats — most of which they won from Republicans in 2006.
I'd suggest that we watch the Kagen race. If he imports Obama to joint-appear someplace, it tells us that Gallup is all wet.
Independent Businessman
I've spent several very enjoyable hours with AB, and have heard more similar stories, so I think when he talks about Big Pilot here, he's not making this up. Big Pilot runs a charter service with a VERRRRY nice jet plane, and is listed in the phone book. So now and then he gets phone calls about possible charters. Hereafter, BP= AB's pal, SC= Silly Customer
BP….Hello, Big Pilot Charters, Big Pilot speaking.
SC….I’d like to know if you can fly me and three others from xxxx to Denver on 8/24?BP….You’re lucky, I have just had a cancellation and can take you. Do you need a return flight?SC….Well, yes we do, on Sunday, August, 31.
BP….OK…now, you understand that I have to charge a “relocation fee” since I have to fly to your city to pick you up. Is that OK with you?
SC….Ummmm…..OK, I can see that. I’m going to the Democratic Convention, can you give us a discount?
BP….Fuck You. {CLICK}
Even if AB does NOT have 'the tape' he references, that's probably verbatim.
BP….Hello, Big Pilot Charters, Big Pilot speaking.
SC….I’d like to know if you can fly me and three others from xxxx to Denver on 8/24?BP….You’re lucky, I have just had a cancellation and can take you. Do you need a return flight?SC….Well, yes we do, on Sunday, August, 31.
BP….OK…now, you understand that I have to charge a “relocation fee” since I have to fly to your city to pick you up. Is that OK with you?
SC….Ummmm…..OK, I can see that. I’m going to the Democratic Convention, can you give us a discount?
BP….Fuck You. {CLICK}
Even if AB does NOT have 'the tape' he references, that's probably verbatim.
SOX: Constitutional?
For those of you who know and love Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), this could bear watching.
Sarbanes-Oxley was found constitutional by a 2-to-1 decision in the DC Appeals Court. Hopefully the Supreme Court will take the case.
The question posed by the case, Free Enterprise Fund and Beckstead and Watts, LLP v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board et al., ...is whether Sarbanes-Oxley's creation of an agency to police auditors of public companies violated the doctrine of separated powers
...The chief constitutional problem with the law is that the five board members at this new agency — the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the suit's caption — aren't appointed by the president...Instead the commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who are presidential appointees, get to do the hiring and firing for the new Oversight Board. And the firing can only be for cause
The O'sight Board is, therefore, a combination of judiciary and executive, according to the thesis.
HT: Lott
Sarbanes-Oxley was found constitutional by a 2-to-1 decision in the DC Appeals Court. Hopefully the Supreme Court will take the case.
The question posed by the case, Free Enterprise Fund and Beckstead and Watts, LLP v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board et al., ...is whether Sarbanes-Oxley's creation of an agency to police auditors of public companies violated the doctrine of separated powers
...The chief constitutional problem with the law is that the five board members at this new agency — the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the suit's caption — aren't appointed by the president...Instead the commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who are presidential appointees, get to do the hiring and firing for the new Oversight Board. And the firing can only be for cause
The O'sight Board is, therefore, a combination of judiciary and executive, according to the thesis.
HT: Lott
AFSCME President: Our Union Racists a Problem
It's what he said, folks.
A prominent union leader on Tuesday blamed racism for Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) failure to build a big lead over GOP rival Sen. John McCain.
Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said many workers are considering voting for McCain (R-Ariz.) because of his military service and status as a hero of the Vietnam War
McEntee said several union members had approached him, saying they could not vote for Obama because of his race. He also said some local union presidents have failed to support Obama out of fear.
“There are some local union presidents that are afraid — yes, that’s the word, afraid — to hand out literature for Barack Obama,” said McEntee.
Perhaps McEntee should review the history of the labor movement for a clue.
A prominent union leader on Tuesday blamed racism for Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) failure to build a big lead over GOP rival Sen. John McCain.
Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said many workers are considering voting for McCain (R-Ariz.) because of his military service and status as a hero of the Vietnam War
McEntee said several union members had approached him, saying they could not vote for Obama because of his race. He also said some local union presidents have failed to support Obama out of fear.
“There are some local union presidents that are afraid — yes, that’s the word, afraid — to hand out literature for Barack Obama,” said McEntee.
Perhaps McEntee should review the history of the labor movement for a clue.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Hustle
Went to the local branch of a large national bank today. Had college kid in tow.
She's off to another continent for a few months and we chatted with the Branch Manager about her preparedness. As I predicted to her (fruitlessly) the Bank did not have Euros in the vault and could not get them until long after she departs.
(Old fart 1, kid 0.)
Then we got The Hustle. It was pretty clear, even to the college kid, that this was....
...well, read on:
The Branch Manager pulled out the mental script and launched into a "what about an emergency?" line--in case she was unable to utilize her debit card while overseas---
His solution: a friggin CREDIT card! (Low, low, low introductory rate of a bazillion percent, plus...)
Why?
Would the Bank's debit card fail to operate overseas? Did he expect her to over-spend her (rather fat) account balance? Did Western Union go out of business yesterday? Are all the US ambassadorial offices in Europe closed until Christmas? Does the College Kid have NO friends with 50 Euros to spare? Will the Russkis execute another DDOS attack on the Bank network on the Continent?
Daddy waved him off, a bit forcefully, with a reference to the people who would be overseeing College Kid in Europe--competent, professional, years-over-there, yada yada.
Not deterred by that, the Branch Manager (maybe 29 years old) then pulled out Line Two: if she didn't have a credit card, she would not have a credit record, and likely wouldn't get a job after graduation because, after all, employers check credit records, and without one, she'll wind up sweeping coal-dust in some Public Works Project and be subject to a life approximating that of Oliver Twist, never well-shod nor well-groomed, and likely without running hot water in the walkup flat or Rescue Mission she's destined for.
I do not exaggerate (much.)
This 29-year-old twit was working on selling a credit-card to someone who simply doesn't need one--and drawing up fictitious scenarios about her Future Without a Responsible Job.
So happens I have some credentials on the topic of employment (I actually had jobs) and employment practices. I felt like reaching out and slapping the piss out of this twit--hard. First, for thinking that he was talking to a typical suburban dumb-chick--but even more, for thinking that the Old Fart in attendance was a box-of-rocks recently fallen from the loft in the hay-barn. Hey, fella! State Fair ended two weeks ago!!
The junior officer standing by was embarrassed, to say the least...
The Bank did not cover itself in glory, folks.
But that Branch Manager has a future in politics--or maybe at the State Fair, selling knives or mops, or wonder-chamois-cloths.
And the College Kid left without a credit card.
(Old Fart 2, kidz 0)
She's off to another continent for a few months and we chatted with the Branch Manager about her preparedness. As I predicted to her (fruitlessly) the Bank did not have Euros in the vault and could not get them until long after she departs.
(Old fart 1, kid 0.)
Then we got The Hustle. It was pretty clear, even to the college kid, that this was....
...well, read on:
The Branch Manager pulled out the mental script and launched into a "what about an emergency?" line--in case she was unable to utilize her debit card while overseas---
His solution: a friggin CREDIT card! (Low, low, low introductory rate of a bazillion percent, plus...)
Why?
Would the Bank's debit card fail to operate overseas? Did he expect her to over-spend her (rather fat) account balance? Did Western Union go out of business yesterday? Are all the US ambassadorial offices in Europe closed until Christmas? Does the College Kid have NO friends with 50 Euros to spare? Will the Russkis execute another DDOS attack on the Bank network on the Continent?
Daddy waved him off, a bit forcefully, with a reference to the people who would be overseeing College Kid in Europe--competent, professional, years-over-there, yada yada.
Not deterred by that, the Branch Manager (maybe 29 years old) then pulled out Line Two: if she didn't have a credit card, she would not have a credit record, and likely wouldn't get a job after graduation because, after all, employers check credit records, and without one, she'll wind up sweeping coal-dust in some Public Works Project and be subject to a life approximating that of Oliver Twist, never well-shod nor well-groomed, and likely without running hot water in the walkup flat or Rescue Mission she's destined for.
I do not exaggerate (much.)
This 29-year-old twit was working on selling a credit-card to someone who simply doesn't need one--and drawing up fictitious scenarios about her Future Without a Responsible Job.
So happens I have some credentials on the topic of employment (I actually had jobs) and employment practices. I felt like reaching out and slapping the piss out of this twit--hard. First, for thinking that he was talking to a typical suburban dumb-chick--but even more, for thinking that the Old Fart in attendance was a box-of-rocks recently fallen from the loft in the hay-barn. Hey, fella! State Fair ended two weeks ago!!
The junior officer standing by was embarrassed, to say the least...
The Bank did not cover itself in glory, folks.
But that Branch Manager has a future in politics--or maybe at the State Fair, selling knives or mops, or wonder-chamois-cloths.
And the College Kid left without a credit card.
(Old Fart 2, kidz 0)
Cdl. Egan: Gloves-Off on Pelosi
Here's a guy who doesn't do the nice-nice dance.
STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.
We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith.
Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.
Edward Cardinal EganArchbishop of New York
The USMC couldn't have issued a more direct and forceful statement, short of an armed assault.
HT: Fr. Z
STATEMENT OF HIS EMINENCE, EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN CONCERNING REMARKS MADE BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.
We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous beings manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith.
Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.
Edward Cardinal EganArchbishop of New York
The USMC couldn't have issued a more direct and forceful statement, short of an armed assault.
HT: Fr. Z
Quip of the Day
From Hugh Hewitt, via BlitheSpirit:
"Slow Joe is the perfect running mate on a perfect ticket for a party betting on wind to solve the energy crisis."
Damn, that's good.
"Slow Joe is the perfect running mate on a perfect ticket for a party betting on wind to solve the energy crisis."
Damn, that's good.
McCain Going All-Biden?
So last night John McCain appears on Leno's show and gets the question about houses.
He launches into his POW experience and mentions that he did not have a kitchen table at the Hanoi Hilton.
What the hell is THAT all about?
He DID manage to mention, indirectly, that it Cindy's family's wealth had something to do with the number of residences--which is all he had to say.
Did Kerry ever mention, by the way, that he served in Vietnam?
Perhaps McCain was playing to the 3.2 people in the USA who don't know about his sterling and heroic past.
OK. Now they know, John. Let's get on with it.
He launches into his POW experience and mentions that he did not have a kitchen table at the Hanoi Hilton.
What the hell is THAT all about?
He DID manage to mention, indirectly, that it Cindy's family's wealth had something to do with the number of residences--which is all he had to say.
Did Kerry ever mention, by the way, that he served in Vietnam?
Perhaps McCain was playing to the 3.2 people in the USA who don't know about his sterling and heroic past.
OK. Now they know, John. Let's get on with it.
Another Ally-With-Problems?
The President of Georgia, who seems to think that having the US as an ally means he can tweak the nose of The Bear with impunity, is not our only problem.
Now there are problems with Maliki, President of Iraq.
Reports over the last week have suggested that the Iraqi government, under the direction of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, wants to completely disband the some 99,000 Sunni fighters on the American payroll. That they have been largely credited by the US with chasing al Qaeda out of town seems not to matter to Maliki’s now-emboldened government, which apparently sees them (perhaps rightly so) as a potential threat down the road. In a surprisingly candid admission that got no mainstream news coverage, Gen. David Petreaus said last week that Maliki hasn’t been doing its part to give these Sunnis jobs — as promised — in exchange for their help in The Surge
Oh, great. But that's hardly all:
Two days later, the Los Angeles Times reports Maliki has launched “an aggressive campaign to disband a U.S.-funded force of Sunni Arab fighters that has been key to Iraq’s fragile peace, arresting prominent members and sending others into hiding or exile as their former patrons in the American military reluctantly stand by.”
Well, that's one way to make certain of re-election: simply push the other guys out of the country, or into jail.
Now there are problems with Maliki, President of Iraq.
Reports over the last week have suggested that the Iraqi government, under the direction of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, wants to completely disband the some 99,000 Sunni fighters on the American payroll. That they have been largely credited by the US with chasing al Qaeda out of town seems not to matter to Maliki’s now-emboldened government, which apparently sees them (perhaps rightly so) as a potential threat down the road. In a surprisingly candid admission that got no mainstream news coverage, Gen. David Petreaus said last week that Maliki hasn’t been doing its part to give these Sunnis jobs — as promised — in exchange for their help in The Surge
Oh, great. But that's hardly all:
Two days later, the Los Angeles Times reports Maliki has launched “an aggressive campaign to disband a U.S.-funded force of Sunni Arab fighters that has been key to Iraq’s fragile peace, arresting prominent members and sending others into hiding or exile as their former patrons in the American military reluctantly stand by.”
Well, that's one way to make certain of re-election: simply push the other guys out of the country, or into jail.
The Guerilla Advantage: Your Ignorance and 'SmallMoney'
P-Mac explains that SmallMoney funds terrorists (or guerillas, if you prefer.) He quotes WaPo's Craig Whitlock article:
"Although al-Qaeda spent an estimated $500,000 to plan and execute the Sept. 11 attacks, many of the group's bombings and assaults since then in Europe, North Africa and Southeast Asia have cost one-tenth as much, or less.
"The cheap plots are evidence that the U.S. government and its allies fundamentally miscalculated in assuming they could defeat the network by hunting for wealthy financiers and freezing bank accounts, according to many U.S. and European counterterrorism officials."
The point? That 'Big Petrodollars' are not really required to finance the Wal-Mart budgets of these characters. (This is something that John McCain hasn't yet figured out either, judging from his remarks last night on Leno's show...) They do very well by running small-time scams, and could almost execute their ops with the proceeds from purse-snatching.
So purchasing oil from the Arabs ain't necessarily "funding terrorism."
Whitlock is not the first to note this. Another blog (Counter-Terrorism) also brought up the topic in the last week or so, and argued that deploying large armed forces to counter terrorists is going to bring diminishing returns--that really, SOG's could be a better investment, assuming the intel is available to find the critters.
Another interesting finding, from MI5: terrorists are not necessarily "religiously literate," and are generally lower-social-strata folks (at least in the UK).
Terrorist suspects, the study found, are mostly British nationals and the remainder are, with few exceptions, legal immigrants. Still, while some are well-educated and some are not, most are employed in low-grade jobs suggesting a lack of economic mobility and social integration are a big part of the problem in the UK.
Many lack religous literacy and are therefore susceptible to radical interpretations of extremist preachers or internet sites. There is evidence, British analysts suggest, that a well-established religious identity could protect against violent radiclization. In other words, the problem may not be too much but too little religion.
This, of course, could put Robert Spencer out of business.
Expect a counter-attack. There are several very potent interest groups which will not like the line of thought--Spencer is hardly alone. I can think, for example, of a Middle Eastern country which has been very happy to identify "terrorists" with "Islam." And while some elements of the Pentagon could gain, the 'Large Forces' bunch will not.
Lessons:
1) Terrorism, like guerilla warfare, is cheap, and does not require Government or Big Wealth backers (although that may exist);
2) Likely terrorists are socially-isolated and not upwardly mobile;
3) It is not really Mohammedanism--rather, it is a lack of Mohammedanism.
Interesting, eh?
"Although al-Qaeda spent an estimated $500,000 to plan and execute the Sept. 11 attacks, many of the group's bombings and assaults since then in Europe, North Africa and Southeast Asia have cost one-tenth as much, or less.
"The cheap plots are evidence that the U.S. government and its allies fundamentally miscalculated in assuming they could defeat the network by hunting for wealthy financiers and freezing bank accounts, according to many U.S. and European counterterrorism officials."
The point? That 'Big Petrodollars' are not really required to finance the Wal-Mart budgets of these characters. (This is something that John McCain hasn't yet figured out either, judging from his remarks last night on Leno's show...) They do very well by running small-time scams, and could almost execute their ops with the proceeds from purse-snatching.
So purchasing oil from the Arabs ain't necessarily "funding terrorism."
Whitlock is not the first to note this. Another blog (Counter-Terrorism) also brought up the topic in the last week or so, and argued that deploying large armed forces to counter terrorists is going to bring diminishing returns--that really, SOG's could be a better investment, assuming the intel is available to find the critters.
Another interesting finding, from MI5: terrorists are not necessarily "religiously literate," and are generally lower-social-strata folks (at least in the UK).
Terrorist suspects, the study found, are mostly British nationals and the remainder are, with few exceptions, legal immigrants. Still, while some are well-educated and some are not, most are employed in low-grade jobs suggesting a lack of economic mobility and social integration are a big part of the problem in the UK.
Many lack religous literacy and are therefore susceptible to radical interpretations of extremist preachers or internet sites. There is evidence, British analysts suggest, that a well-established religious identity could protect against violent radiclization. In other words, the problem may not be too much but too little religion.
This, of course, could put Robert Spencer out of business.
Expect a counter-attack. There are several very potent interest groups which will not like the line of thought--Spencer is hardly alone. I can think, for example, of a Middle Eastern country which has been very happy to identify "terrorists" with "Islam." And while some elements of the Pentagon could gain, the 'Large Forces' bunch will not.
Lessons:
1) Terrorism, like guerilla warfare, is cheap, and does not require Government or Big Wealth backers (although that may exist);
2) Likely terrorists are socially-isolated and not upwardly mobile;
3) It is not really Mohammedanism--rather, it is a lack of Mohammedanism.
Interesting, eh?
Parenting....
From a friend:
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.
'Hello ? '
'Is your daddy home?' he asked.
' Yes ,' whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?'
The child whispered, ' No .'
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, 'Is your Mommy there?'
'Yes.'
'May I talk with her?'
Again the small voice whispered, 'No .'
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is anybody else there?'
' Yes ,' whispered the child, ' a policeman '.
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with the policeman?'
' No, he's busy ', whispered the child.
'Busy doing what?'
' Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ,' came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, 'What is that noise?'
' A helicopter ' answered the whispering voice.
'What is going on there?' demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, ' The search team just landed a helicopter .'
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, 'What are they searching for?'
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle...
' ME .'
Why parents drink ..
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.
'Hello ? '
'Is your daddy home?' he asked.
' Yes ,' whispered the small voice.
May I talk with him?'
The child whispered, ' No .'
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, 'Is your Mommy there?'
'Yes.'
'May I talk with her?'
Again the small voice whispered, 'No .'
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, 'Is anybody else there?'
' Yes ,' whispered the child, ' a policeman '.
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, 'May I speak with the policeman?'
' No, he's busy ', whispered the child.
'Busy doing what?'
' Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ,' came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, 'What is that noise?'
' A helicopter ' answered the whispering voice.
'What is going on there?' demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, ' The search team just landed a helicopter .'
Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, 'What are they searching for?'
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle...
' ME .'
Monday, August 25, 2008
Realtors' Spin
Don't you just love the spin from Realtors?
Sales of existing homes rose in July, surpassing expectations...
Then the reality-check:
...as buyers snapped up deeply discounted properties in parts of the country hit hardest by the housing bust
And it gets more interesting:
the number of unsold properties hit an all-time high
Which is not really the Realtors' problem--but it's making homebuilders unhappy.
Sales of existing homes rose in July, surpassing expectations...
Then the reality-check:
...as buyers snapped up deeply discounted properties in parts of the country hit hardest by the housing bust
And it gets more interesting:
the number of unsold properties hit an all-time high
Which is not really the Realtors' problem--but it's making homebuilders unhappy.
Pelosi: Delusions, Not Facts, on Catholicism
These remarks by the corrupt Ms. Pelosi are merely an extension, demonstrating that the corruption extends to her cerebral cavity's innards.
Brokaw got to the question of abortion/when life begins.
I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, [really?] this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. [Largely to find excuses for her position.] And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months. [Maybe Thomas Aquinas said that. In 1250 or so, before OB/GYNs were invented...] We don’t know. [Wrong. YOU prefer NOT to know.] The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose. Roe v Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child–first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There’s very clear distinctions. This isn’t about abortion on demand, [Flat-out lie, think "health/wellbeing of the woman" tripe] it’s about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and–to–that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this [Yah. Tertullian, around 275 AD or before, discussed it--and the Didache before him--and both UNequivocally condemned abortion.]
Then the real shocker: Brokaw says that the Catholic Church, of which Pelosi claims to be an "ardent" member, defines the beginning of life as conception.
And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that.
This is, my friends, the very definition of "deluded." For her to claim that the Roman Catholic Church arrived at its definition of abortion 'in the last 50 years or something...' tells me that Ms. Pelosi, at the very best, is suffering from serious brain damage.
From ProEcclesia, quoting Abp. Chaput of Denver:
Ardent, practicing Catholics will quickly learn from the historical record that from apostolic times, the Christian tradition overwhelmingly held that abortion was grievously evil. In the absence of modern medical knowledge, some of the Early Fathers held that abortion was homicide; others that it was tantamount to homicide; and various scholars theorized about when and how the unborn child might be animated or "ensouled." But none diminished the unique evil of abortion as an attack on life itself, and the early Church closely associated abortion with infanticide. In short, from the beginning, the believing Christian community held that abortion was always, gravely wrong.
Corrupt, yes. Catholic? By baptism only.
There's a fine discussion at the link (below.)
HT: MWBH
Brokaw got to the question of abortion/when life begins.
I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, [really?] this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. [Largely to find excuses for her position.] And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months. [Maybe Thomas Aquinas said that. In 1250 or so, before OB/GYNs were invented...] We don’t know. [Wrong. YOU prefer NOT to know.] The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose. Roe v Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child–first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There’s very clear distinctions. This isn’t about abortion on demand, [Flat-out lie, think "health/wellbeing of the woman" tripe] it’s about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and–to–that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this [Yah. Tertullian, around 275 AD or before, discussed it--and the Didache before him--and both UNequivocally condemned abortion.]
Then the real shocker: Brokaw says that the Catholic Church, of which Pelosi claims to be an "ardent" member, defines the beginning of life as conception.
And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that.
This is, my friends, the very definition of "deluded." For her to claim that the Roman Catholic Church arrived at its definition of abortion 'in the last 50 years or something...' tells me that Ms. Pelosi, at the very best, is suffering from serious brain damage.
From ProEcclesia, quoting Abp. Chaput of Denver:
Ardent, practicing Catholics will quickly learn from the historical record that from apostolic times, the Christian tradition overwhelmingly held that abortion was grievously evil. In the absence of modern medical knowledge, some of the Early Fathers held that abortion was homicide; others that it was tantamount to homicide; and various scholars theorized about when and how the unborn child might be animated or "ensouled." But none diminished the unique evil of abortion as an attack on life itself, and the early Church closely associated abortion with infanticide. In short, from the beginning, the believing Christian community held that abortion was always, gravely wrong.
Corrupt, yes. Catholic? By baptism only.
There's a fine discussion at the link (below.)
HT: MWBH
G K C on Women
This should set the Feminazis buzzing.
THERE are only three things in the world that women do not understand; and they are Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
--What's Wrong With the World
He's right, of course, if you think about it.
THERE are only three things in the world that women do not understand; and they are Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
--What's Wrong With the World
He's right, of course, if you think about it.
ART: The Dem Platform; and Response to Sykes' Question
Simple platform, and acronymic-friendly too.
To obtain Prosperity for All, the Democrat Party proposes three methods:
They should be used in combination for maximum effect.
Charlie asked why the Left has a fixation with referring to Republicans, and specifically Bush, as 'Hitler' redux.
It's what the shrinks call "projection," Charlie. Look at the salient features of the Dem platform and you find the same kinds of things that the Nazis endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree.
The Left wakes up, looks in the mirror, and sees George Bush.
To obtain Prosperity for All, the Democrat Party proposes three methods:
1) Abort Our Way to Prosperity
2) Regulate Our Way to Prosperity
3) Tax Our Way to Prosperity.
They should be used in combination for maximum effect.
Charlie asked why the Left has a fixation with referring to Republicans, and specifically Bush, as 'Hitler' redux.
It's what the shrinks call "projection," Charlie. Look at the salient features of the Dem platform and you find the same kinds of things that the Nazis endorsed, to a greater or lesser degree.
The Left wakes up, looks in the mirror, and sees George Bush.
Kristol: Edging Toward Insanity
BillyBoy Kristol, warmonger-with-a-grin, suggests that McCain can, indeed, dump on the base for the sake of Mo'War.
Kristol puts it more subtly, describing Lieberman as a “bold choice” and a “country first” selection,...
...Kristol pooh-poohs Lieberman’s liberal voting record, writing “…he is pro-abortion rights, and having been a Democrat all his life, he has a moderately liberal voting record…” An interesting description, making it appear that his Democratic party ties somehow coerced Joe into voting against his conscience. And, in reality, Lieberman is much more liberal than that except on foreign policy issues. NARAL Pro-Choice America rates him at 100% on pro-abortion voting while in Congress and the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) gives him an 87% on homosexual issues. The NAACP gives him an 86% favorable rating on affirmative action. Not exactly a normal Republican, is he?
Whatever, BillyBoy. Kill babies for the sake of Mo'War.
HT: The American Conservative
Kristol puts it more subtly, describing Lieberman as a “bold choice” and a “country first” selection,...
...Kristol pooh-poohs Lieberman’s liberal voting record, writing “…he is pro-abortion rights, and having been a Democrat all his life, he has a moderately liberal voting record…” An interesting description, making it appear that his Democratic party ties somehow coerced Joe into voting against his conscience. And, in reality, Lieberman is much more liberal than that except on foreign policy issues. NARAL Pro-Choice America rates him at 100% on pro-abortion voting while in Congress and the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) gives him an 87% on homosexual issues. The NAACP gives him an 86% favorable rating on affirmative action. Not exactly a normal Republican, is he?
Whatever, BillyBoy. Kill babies for the sake of Mo'War.
HT: The American Conservative
Georgia: State Dep't Agreed w/Russia
Gee.
Maybe 'taking out Russia' over the "invasion" isn't a good idea, and the NeoCon warmonger crowd will have to find a new cause.
The US ambassador to Moscow, endorsing Russia's initial moves in Georgia, described the Kremlin's first military response as legitimate after Russian troops came under attack.... This was the first US admission that Georgia was the aggressor in South Ossetia and showed cracks in their hitherto solid support for president Mikhail Saakashvili.
Somebody should send a memo to BillyBoy Kristol.
HT: Vox
Maybe 'taking out Russia' over the "invasion" isn't a good idea, and the NeoCon warmonger crowd will have to find a new cause.
The US ambassador to Moscow, endorsing Russia's initial moves in Georgia, described the Kremlin's first military response as legitimate after Russian troops came under attack.... This was the first US admission that Georgia was the aggressor in South Ossetia and showed cracks in their hitherto solid support for president Mikhail Saakashvili.
Somebody should send a memo to BillyBoy Kristol.
HT: Vox
Michelle, My Belle v. Poor Minorities
Umnnnhhhh....
Michelle Obama is on leave from her $317,000-a-year job at the University of Chicago Medical Center, which is now under scrutiny - along with Obama campaign chief David Axelrod and two other staffers - for a scheme that, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "steers patients who don't have private insurance - primarily poor, black people - to other health care facilities."
"The medical professionals who have come to me are accusing the university of dumping patients on its neighboring institutions," Toni Preckwinkle, alderman for the 4th Ward, told the paper.
Well.
One can hardly afford $317K if one actually takes patients who cannot pay...
HT: Powerline, quoting Andrew Breitbart
Michelle Obama is on leave from her $317,000-a-year job at the University of Chicago Medical Center, which is now under scrutiny - along with Obama campaign chief David Axelrod and two other staffers - for a scheme that, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "steers patients who don't have private insurance - primarily poor, black people - to other health care facilities."
"The medical professionals who have come to me are accusing the university of dumping patients on its neighboring institutions," Toni Preckwinkle, alderman for the 4th Ward, told the paper.
Well.
One can hardly afford $317K if one actually takes patients who cannot pay...
HT: Powerline, quoting Andrew Breitbart
Bike Paths: Environmental Danger
Planet Moron discusses the enviro-dangers of a proposed bike path in Maryland. Seems to me that they are universally applicable to bike-paths.
--We’re not just talking about a simple old-fashioned bike trail as it must be built to accommodate increasing numbers of middle-aged mothers and their fertility drug induced triplets in massive three-across jogging strollers, packed with diaper bags, sippy cups and gray-market prescriptions for Vicodin.
--Wrecked bikes could end up littering the sides of the trail as Washingtonians accustomed to driving their cars attempt to send text messages, fix their hair, heat up a burrito, make obscene gestures to fellow riders, and peddle all at the same time.
--Two words: Powerbar Wrappers.
--You think hybrid drivers produce excessive levels of smug?
--No, seriously, have you seen Barack Obama in a bicycle helmet?
Enough to scare me...
--We’re not just talking about a simple old-fashioned bike trail as it must be built to accommodate increasing numbers of middle-aged mothers and their fertility drug induced triplets in massive three-across jogging strollers, packed with diaper bags, sippy cups and gray-market prescriptions for Vicodin.
--Wrecked bikes could end up littering the sides of the trail as Washingtonians accustomed to driving their cars attempt to send text messages, fix their hair, heat up a burrito, make obscene gestures to fellow riders, and peddle all at the same time.
--Two words: Powerbar Wrappers.
--You think hybrid drivers produce excessive levels of smug?
--No, seriously, have you seen Barack Obama in a bicycle helmet?
Enough to scare me...
Another Biden-Problem: Manufacturers
It's no surprise that Biden worships Moloch/abortion. (HT: Overlawyered)
His record would indicate that he'd also like to abort manufacturing:
110th Congress (2007-2008): 11% — unofficial
109th Congress (2005-2006): 11%
108th Congress (2003-2004): 18%
107th Congress (2001-2002): 0%
106th Congress (1999-2000): 29%
105th Congress (1997-1998): 38%
He's also a special pal of the Trial Lawyers (another Doh!):
Record on legal votes, 106th-109th Congress: 0%
And as far as he's concerned, you can freeze in the winter and walk to work, too:
Record on energy votes, 106th-109th Congress: 18%
(NAM statistics)
His record would indicate that he'd also like to abort manufacturing:
110th Congress (2007-2008): 11% — unofficial
109th Congress (2005-2006): 11%
108th Congress (2003-2004): 18%
107th Congress (2001-2002): 0%
106th Congress (1999-2000): 29%
105th Congress (1997-1998): 38%
He's also a special pal of the Trial Lawyers (another Doh!):
Record on legal votes, 106th-109th Congress: 0%
And as far as he's concerned, you can freeze in the winter and walk to work, too:
Record on energy votes, 106th-109th Congress: 18%
Hope/Change=Abort/Sue...and if that doesn't work, shut off the energy.
(NAM statistics)
Madonna Endorses Obama
...and I'm sure he's happy about it.
Pithy comment from Moonbattery:
This latest endorsement should give Obama a lock on the crucial postmenopausal prostitute vote
Pithy comment from Moonbattery:
This latest endorsement should give Obama a lock on the crucial postmenopausal prostitute vote
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Dear Sen. Biden: Please Stay Away from Communion
That's not my line, folks.
That's Abp. Chaput of Denver.
Biden "has admirable qualities to his public service," Chaput said in his statement. "But his record of support for so-called abortion 'rights,' while mixed at times, is seriously wrong. I certainly presume his good will and integrity — and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion, if he supports a false 'right' to abortion."
Evidently the (now-deceased) Bishop of Delaware also did not care for Biden's "fanatically pro-abortion" voting record.
HT: Rocco
That's Abp. Chaput of Denver.
Biden "has admirable qualities to his public service," Chaput said in his statement. "But his record of support for so-called abortion 'rights,' while mixed at times, is seriously wrong. I certainly presume his good will and integrity — and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion, if he supports a false 'right' to abortion."
Evidently the (now-deceased) Bishop of Delaware also did not care for Biden's "fanatically pro-abortion" voting record.
HT: Rocco
He Took on the IRS--and Won
Not only did he win, but the victory may mean something to a LOT of people.
It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute
Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory.
The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies.
A federal court recently agreed with his interpretation.
More at the link. If you owned a policy with a mutual insurance company that went public, you got common shares. This guy thought (and proved) that you're not liable for income on the initial value of those shares; thus your taxable capgains are only due if you sold the shares for more than their initial value.
Kudos!
By the way, he picked this fight with IRS when he was about 67 years old...
It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute
Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory.
The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies.
A federal court recently agreed with his interpretation.
More at the link. If you owned a policy with a mutual insurance company that went public, you got common shares. This guy thought (and proved) that you're not liable for income on the initial value of those shares; thus your taxable capgains are only due if you sold the shares for more than their initial value.
Kudos!
By the way, he picked this fight with IRS when he was about 67 years old...
Fun Today in Eagle
The annual pilgrimage to McMiller happens today.
Some daughters will learn a bit more about safely using deadly weapons.
Papers will be punched; brass will be stowed in the cans.
Shoulders may ache a bit if they don't snug up that .30-06.
The smell of gunpowder in the AM, and PM!!
UPDATE: Wow, that place was busy. Must have been 150 shooters out there all day--space was tight on the 100 yard and 50 yard ranges.
Girls did OK. They're acclimated to the .357 6 gun and the 9mm semi now, and all save one have fired the .30-06 without permanent shoulder damage.
About 500 rounds fired, mostly .22LR. A good day altogether.
Some daughters will learn a bit more about safely using deadly weapons.
Papers will be punched; brass will be stowed in the cans.
Shoulders may ache a bit if they don't snug up that .30-06.
The smell of gunpowder in the AM, and PM!!
UPDATE: Wow, that place was busy. Must have been 150 shooters out there all day--space was tight on the 100 yard and 50 yard ranges.
Girls did OK. They're acclimated to the .357 6 gun and the 9mm semi now, and all save one have fired the .30-06 without permanent shoulder damage.
About 500 rounds fired, mostly .22LR. A good day altogether.
Civil Libertarians v. Biden
Not exactly a love-fest from The Agitator on Joe "Catholic" Biden:
But from a policy perspective, it’s a disaster. Biden has sponsored more damaging drug war legislation than any Democrat in Congress. ...Think the title of a “Drug Czar” is sanctimonious and silly? Thank Biden, who helped create the position (and still considers it an accomplishment worth boasting about).
Biden’s record on other criminal justice and civil liberties issues is just as bad. Opponents of the federalization of crime might note that the 1994 crime bill he sponsored created several new federal capital offenses. Biden also wants to expand federal penalties for hate crimes. He supports a federal smoking ban. His position on the federal drinking age is, and I quote, “absolutely do not” lower it to 18. He believes “most violent crime is related to drugs” (if he had said “drug prohibition,” he’d be closer to the truth). Biden also has an almost perfect anti-gun voting record. He said last year he favors “universal national service,” either in the Peace Corps or the military. Sounds like conscription to me.
...His seems to be a meddling, interventionist, Clinton-esque foreign policy. His first instinct seems to be that the U.S. military’s objective include some vague notion of “doing good in the world.”
... He’s an overly ambitious, elitist, tunnel-visioned, Potomac-fevered Beltway dinosaur, with all the trappings
As you can tell, The Agitator's positions are not entirely in agreement with mine (think drugs); I cite this as a matter of interest for the Innerleckshuls who read this blog.
By the way, The Agitator called this nomination in February!
But from a policy perspective, it’s a disaster. Biden has sponsored more damaging drug war legislation than any Democrat in Congress. ...Think the title of a “Drug Czar” is sanctimonious and silly? Thank Biden, who helped create the position (and still considers it an accomplishment worth boasting about).
Biden’s record on other criminal justice and civil liberties issues is just as bad. Opponents of the federalization of crime might note that the 1994 crime bill he sponsored created several new federal capital offenses. Biden also wants to expand federal penalties for hate crimes. He supports a federal smoking ban. His position on the federal drinking age is, and I quote, “absolutely do not” lower it to 18. He believes “most violent crime is related to drugs” (if he had said “drug prohibition,” he’d be closer to the truth). Biden also has an almost perfect anti-gun voting record. He said last year he favors “universal national service,” either in the Peace Corps or the military. Sounds like conscription to me.
...His seems to be a meddling, interventionist, Clinton-esque foreign policy. His first instinct seems to be that the U.S. military’s objective include some vague notion of “doing good in the world.”
... He’s an overly ambitious, elitist, tunnel-visioned, Potomac-fevered Beltway dinosaur, with all the trappings
As you can tell, The Agitator's positions are not entirely in agreement with mine (think drugs); I cite this as a matter of interest for the Innerleckshuls who read this blog.
By the way, The Agitator called this nomination in February!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
If or When Obama Loses...
A very savvy commenter at Grim's Hall (Southern Democrats, folks) has discerned the tactics and the long-term strategy.
First, we note that Salon has decreed that if Obama loses, it is due to racism, pure and simple. (H/T to Grim here, too...)
What with the Bush legacy of reckless war and economic mismanagement, 2008 is a year that favors the generic Democratic candidate over the generic Republican one. Yet Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race, is running only neck-and-neck against John McCain, a sub-par Republican nominee with a list of liabilities longer than a Joe Biden monologue.
...let's be honest: If you break the numbers down, the reason Obama isn't ahead right now is that he trails badly among one group, older white voters. He does so for a simple reason: the color of his skin.
Hmmm.
Next, here's the perspicacious and pertinent comment at Grim's:
In the long run, if Obama wins the Presidential election all this will die down and he'll retain control of the Party because he will have proved he can alienate some of the traditional Democratic groups and rely on his new coalition (young, elite, academic, etc added to African-Americans) to win. If Obama loses the Presidential election, things get interesting. Unless Obama can blame his loss on factors outside his control and make a believable case for why he should run again in 2012, those of his supporters who support *him* rather than the Democratic Party generally are going to wander off.
So clearly, if "racism" is the reason Obama loses, then he CAN blame his loss on 'factors outside his control' and retain viability for 2012--AND his supporters stay on board, AND he retains control of the Party.
It's now a "win/win" for Obama. He either gets the Presidency or the Party leadership.
Of course, that's assuming that he isn't found dead in the middle of an intersection in Arkansas.
First, we note that Salon has decreed that if Obama loses, it is due to racism, pure and simple. (H/T to Grim here, too...)
What with the Bush legacy of reckless war and economic mismanagement, 2008 is a year that favors the generic Democratic candidate over the generic Republican one. Yet Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race, is running only neck-and-neck against John McCain, a sub-par Republican nominee with a list of liabilities longer than a Joe Biden monologue.
...let's be honest: If you break the numbers down, the reason Obama isn't ahead right now is that he trails badly among one group, older white voters. He does so for a simple reason: the color of his skin.
Hmmm.
Next, here's the perspicacious and pertinent comment at Grim's:
In the long run, if Obama wins the Presidential election all this will die down and he'll retain control of the Party because he will have proved he can alienate some of the traditional Democratic groups and rely on his new coalition (young, elite, academic, etc added to African-Americans) to win. If Obama loses the Presidential election, things get interesting. Unless Obama can blame his loss on factors outside his control and make a believable case for why he should run again in 2012, those of his supporters who support *him* rather than the Democratic Party generally are going to wander off.
So clearly, if "racism" is the reason Obama loses, then he CAN blame his loss on 'factors outside his control' and retain viability for 2012--AND his supporters stay on board, AND he retains control of the Party.
It's now a "win/win" for Obama. He either gets the Presidency or the Party leadership.
Of course, that's assuming that he isn't found dead in the middle of an intersection in Arkansas.
Biden: A Pro-Abort "Catholic"
I didn't know this.
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record
Biden is described as "relentlessly pro-abortion" by ALL, although he supports the Hyde Amendment forbidding Fed funding of abortion, and contra the Savior, he voted to ban partial-birth abortions.
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record
Biden is described as "relentlessly pro-abortion" by ALL, although he supports the Hyde Amendment forbidding Fed funding of abortion, and contra the Savior, he voted to ban partial-birth abortions.
The Slippery Slope: NRLC (And See Update)
It's well-known that the Wisconsin branch of the National Right to Life Committee (Wisconsin Right to Life) is favored by the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Timothy Dolan, over the Catholic-dominated American Life League, whose local affiliate is Pro-Life Wisconsin. Certainly, the Wisconsin RTL leader, Barbara Lyons, is a charismatic, effective, and very bright woman; and WRTL has fought, at some expense, the Feingold 1st Amendment-Destruction Law to a standstill. Kudos are deserved.
(It can also be inferred that Kevin Fischer has a distaste for Pro-Life Wisconsin types; on yesterday's show he referred to people who objected to abortion-for-rape-and-incest-victims as "zealots," a term which has ALWAYS been a slur. See below for the possible rationale.)
Anyhoo, NRLC has a problem, and it's called "the slippery slope." From What's Wrong With the World:
Some of you may be old enough to remember that a ban on federal funding for research using tissue taken from aborted fetuses was a big deal in the Reagan and Bush, Sr., administrations. Then came William Jefferson Clinton and, with the cooperation of Congress, that ban on federal funding was lifted in 1993. The NIH could fund research using tissue from aborted children...
...The National Right to Life Committee reported faithfully on this subject and consistently opposed such funding, contending that it normalized abortion and made women think that perhaps they could "do some good" by having their child killed.
...In the same year, [2000] we find an article called, unambiguously, "Fetal Tissue Harvesting: An Ethical Free-fall," in which ethical arguments for and against fetal tissue use are expressly discussed and the pro-life position made clear
And then, something changed. My careful search of the NRLC archives indices from 2001 on has been unable to turn up a single further article in which such statements were made
What happened, of course, was a Presidential primary and election.
...from 2001 on, while the ethical disapproval is implicit in NRLC's very desire to point out that such research is failing to provide treatments, never again--that I can find--after 2000 do we find an express discussion of the ethical issue or an express statement of the usual pro-life arguments against it, nor do we find any discussion of federal funding
...NRLC whipped its members soundly into line to vote for George W. Bush. ...hesitations to do so arose from a number of sources, including Bush's support for legal abortion in cases of rape and incest and also his curious hesitation to talk about the issue at all.
Hmmmmm. "Rape and incest." How interesting!!
One of their reasons in several articles for their urgency was the possibility that if Bush were not supported in the Republican primary, the nomination might be won by John McCain.
Then, in 2002, word appeared briefly on the Internet: Bush's NIH had funded research using stem cells derived from aborted fetuses. Rather to everyone's surprise, it turned out that Bush's famous Aug. 9, 2001 "line in the sand" applied only to stem cells derived from unimplanted embryos, not to stem cells derived from aborted fetuses. There was no limit on federal funding for those stem cells to children killed prior to Aug. 9, 2001.
Oooopsie!!
NRLC came out in full defense mode. Their defense was two-pronged. First, they argued that the Bush NIH's "hands were tied" by the 1993 legislation permitting federal funding for aborted fetal tissue research. More importantly, and to head off the obvious question ("Then why doesn't Bush, and why don't you, try to get that legislation changed?"), they implied that Bush was right not simply to fund the research as (they said) required by law but to do nothing to urge that the state of the law be changed. The new worry was...wait for it...embryonic stem-cell research. That was the new focus, and that was where the energy should go, what with the possibility of "embryo farms" and what-not. Evidently, vocal and active opposition to federal funding for fetal tissue research was just soooo nineties
There will never again be a presidential candidate who will be asked by the major U.S. pro-life organization to make it clear in his campaign that he opposes the use of federal funds for fetal tissue research. The organization changed its priorities.
NRLC should be ashamed of itself, but then, with the Rockefeller Republican "rape and incest" endorsement of the 1970's, this is hardly a surprise.
Either you are pro-life, or not. Ain't no middle ground--for the simple reason that there is no "middle" between life and death.
And if being pro-life means that Kevin calls me a "zealot", or the Archbishop of Milwaukee likes the other guys, so be it.
UPDATE:
K. Fischer insists, strenuously, that he did NOT use the term "zealot" during his program, and he listened to the podcast to make certain of that. Further, he contends that this blog-entry mis-characterizes his position on the question of rape/incest. It's likely that Kevin will be writing his own entry on the program and the questions he raised.
(It can also be inferred that Kevin Fischer has a distaste for Pro-Life Wisconsin types; on yesterday's show he referred to people who objected to abortion-for-rape-and-incest-victims as "zealots," a term which has ALWAYS been a slur. See below for the possible rationale.)
Anyhoo, NRLC has a problem, and it's called "the slippery slope." From What's Wrong With the World:
Some of you may be old enough to remember that a ban on federal funding for research using tissue taken from aborted fetuses was a big deal in the Reagan and Bush, Sr., administrations. Then came William Jefferson Clinton and, with the cooperation of Congress, that ban on federal funding was lifted in 1993. The NIH could fund research using tissue from aborted children...
...The National Right to Life Committee reported faithfully on this subject and consistently opposed such funding, contending that it normalized abortion and made women think that perhaps they could "do some good" by having their child killed.
...In the same year, [2000] we find an article called, unambiguously, "Fetal Tissue Harvesting: An Ethical Free-fall," in which ethical arguments for and against fetal tissue use are expressly discussed and the pro-life position made clear
And then, something changed. My careful search of the NRLC archives indices from 2001 on has been unable to turn up a single further article in which such statements were made
What happened, of course, was a Presidential primary and election.
...from 2001 on, while the ethical disapproval is implicit in NRLC's very desire to point out that such research is failing to provide treatments, never again--that I can find--after 2000 do we find an express discussion of the ethical issue or an express statement of the usual pro-life arguments against it, nor do we find any discussion of federal funding
...NRLC whipped its members soundly into line to vote for George W. Bush. ...hesitations to do so arose from a number of sources, including Bush's support for legal abortion in cases of rape and incest and also his curious hesitation to talk about the issue at all.
Hmmmmm. "Rape and incest." How interesting!!
One of their reasons in several articles for their urgency was the possibility that if Bush were not supported in the Republican primary, the nomination might be won by John McCain.
Then, in 2002, word appeared briefly on the Internet: Bush's NIH had funded research using stem cells derived from aborted fetuses. Rather to everyone's surprise, it turned out that Bush's famous Aug. 9, 2001 "line in the sand" applied only to stem cells derived from unimplanted embryos, not to stem cells derived from aborted fetuses. There was no limit on federal funding for those stem cells to children killed prior to Aug. 9, 2001.
Oooopsie!!
NRLC came out in full defense mode. Their defense was two-pronged. First, they argued that the Bush NIH's "hands were tied" by the 1993 legislation permitting federal funding for aborted fetal tissue research. More importantly, and to head off the obvious question ("Then why doesn't Bush, and why don't you, try to get that legislation changed?"), they implied that Bush was right not simply to fund the research as (they said) required by law but to do nothing to urge that the state of the law be changed. The new worry was...wait for it...embryonic stem-cell research. That was the new focus, and that was where the energy should go, what with the possibility of "embryo farms" and what-not. Evidently, vocal and active opposition to federal funding for fetal tissue research was just soooo nineties
There will never again be a presidential candidate who will be asked by the major U.S. pro-life organization to make it clear in his campaign that he opposes the use of federal funds for fetal tissue research. The organization changed its priorities.
And where is NRLC today on the issue?
So, what about embryonic stem-cell research? That, after all, was Douglas Johnson's urgent reason for ditching the issue of fetal tissue research. That was the new thing, the dangerous thing, the thing we had to concentrate on. And now, NRLC eagerly supports a candidate who has always openly and vocally supported federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research
NRLC should be ashamed of itself, but then, with the Rockefeller Republican "rape and incest" endorsement of the 1970's, this is hardly a surprise.
Either you are pro-life, or not. Ain't no middle ground--for the simple reason that there is no "middle" between life and death.
And if being pro-life means that Kevin calls me a "zealot", or the Archbishop of Milwaukee likes the other guys, so be it.
UPDATE:
K. Fischer insists, strenuously, that he did NOT use the term "zealot" during his program, and he listened to the podcast to make certain of that. Further, he contends that this blog-entry mis-characterizes his position on the question of rape/incest. It's likely that Kevin will be writing his own entry on the program and the questions he raised.