The Minutemen – This ain’t no picnic

Ronald Reagan shows up in the vid, so you know it’s gotta be good.

My absolutely favorite “caption” blog in the Universe.
You probably have seen the version of the one with the economic downfall, etc., but this is the best parody of “The Bunker” with Anthony Hopkins as Hitler that I’ve seen. True, you need to be a bit “blog” savvy (e.g. recognize “Instapundit”) to fully appreciate the humor, and I realize that many of you have never heard of “Viking the Kitten”, but if you want to add some chuckles to your life, you should check him out.
And yeah…besides being very right-leaning, some of you moderates and lefties might like it, too.
Except if you like Andrew Sullivan.
Heh.

I never said I wasn’t a “sick twisted freak”. I listen to Glenn Beck, ya know

Apparently begging for us to unleash a new crusade…

A 40-Year Wish List

You won’t believe what’s in that stimulus bill.

Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus. And even many of these projects aren’t likely to help the economy immediately. As Peter Orszag, the President’s new budget director, told Congress a year ago, “even those [public works] that are ‘on the shelf’ generally cannot be undertaken quickly enough to provide timely stimulus to the economy.”…

…This is supposed to be a new era of bipartisanship, but this bill was written based on the wish list of every living — or dead — Democratic interest group. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, “We won the election. We wrote the bill.” So they did. Republicans should let them take all of the credit.

A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill. -  Ronald Reagan

Can someone tell me why Republicans are attacking Democrats for funding STD prevention? Like, where is the partisan gain in all this? Can you imagine campaign ads that say something along the lines of, Mike Pence voted AGAINST Barack Hussein Obama’s plan to prevent you from getting a sexually transmitted disease!” In a sane country, this stuff would just not be controversial.  – Brad at Sadly, No!

I know I can’t explain it.  Would any of my conservative friends care to take a stab at it?

Stimulus stupidity alert: $460,000/Coast Guard job, $1.5 bil “carbon capturing contest,” $400 mil chlamydia/HIV tests, $45 mil for ATV trails & more!

Here are some numbers/items (remember, all in the name of “saving jobs, and saving America’s economy”):

Page 41: The Coast Guard wants more than $572 million for “Acquisition, Construction, & Improvements” They claim these funds will create 1,235 new jobs. Crunch the numbers and this brings the cost of “creating” each job to a staggering $460,000+

Page 23: $200 million for Dep. of Defense to acquire alternative energy vehicles.

Page 32: $1.5 billion (with a “B”) for a “carbon-capturing contest”

Page 64: $3.5 billion for higher education facilities. This is ridiculous as I know in Georgia the Board of Regents has imposed a “temporary” (yea right!) $75 fee per student during this economic crisis. The funds from this per-student fee stays at the school and is used to offset current budget shortfalls.

We at AASU are starting construction on our new student center, all paid for by student fees. No tax money has been used during any process of this planning. How about asking other higher education institutions to do the same, or hold off on any renovations, additions, etc.?

Tom Jones notes another $200 million for DoD plug-in car stations and crunches the numbers: 53,526 plug-in cars = >$3700/car.

I’ve listened to Beck’s radio show for years when I could.
I caught his TV show on Headline News a few times (but otherwise don’t tune in to CNN, so I often missed it), and was ecstatic when I learned the FOX News Channel picked him up.
He started a week ago Monday, and he’s been a breath of fresh air.
Finally! Someone who asks the tough questions and holds feet to the fire. Witness Part 1 of his interview of Gov. Blagojevich last night. (Part 2 was aired tonight. I’m sure the link will be available soon online.)

Beck has a genuine, honest, raw, funny, sarcastic, and disarming style that I’ve always admired. And it’s way too rare among TV personalities, especially conservatives.

If you agree, do likewise and contact FOX News to praise them for adding Beck to their lineup.

Keep up the great work, Glenn!

Burn him at the stake…

James Hansen’s Former NASA Supervisor Declares Himself a Skeptic – Says Hansen ‘Embarrassed NASA’, ‘Was Never Muzzled’, & Models ‘Useless’

NASA warming scientist James Hansen, one of former Vice-President Al Gore’s closest allies in the promotion of man-made global warming fears, is being publicly rebuked by his former supervisor at NASA.

 

Retired senior NASA atmospheric scientist, Dr. John S. Theon, the former supervisor of James Hansen, NASA’s vocal man-made global warming fear soothsayer, has now publicly declared himself a skeptic and declared that Hansen “embarrassed NASA” with his alarming climate claims and said Hansen was “was never muzzled.” Theon joins the rapidly growing ranks of international scientists abandoning the promotion of man-made global warming fears.

“I appreciate the opportunity to add my name to those who disagree that global warming is man made,” Theon wrote to the Minority Office at the Environment and Public Works Committee on January 15, 2009. “I was, in effect, Hansen’s supervisor because I had to justify his funding, allocate his resources, and evaluate his results,” Theon, the former Chief of the Climate Processes Research Program at NASA Headquarters and former Chief of the Atmospheric Dynamics & Radiation Branch explained.

From Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin.

Russian ambassador to NATO makes plea for unity

There is an enormous distance between Europe and the Third World. There is a new civilization emerging in the Third World that thinks that the white, northern hemisphere has always oppressed it and must therefore fall at its feet now. This is very serious

If the northern civilization wants to protect itself, it must be united: America, the European Union, and Russia. If they are not together, they will be defeated one by one.

The more I read up on all of this, the more I am convinced that all the gloom and doomers know very little about it, the cyclical nature of climate change, and what really causes it. Obama and his cronies have either bought into this hook, line and sinker or are merely using it to grab power for the government based on scare tactics. Possibly both. We will see a vaster expansion of government into every aspect of your life, your business and your personal choices in the next four years than we have ever seen in the history of this nation. I guess the mob wanted change. Well, they’ve got it.

New Study Shows Climate Change Largely Irreversible, Climate Modelers Given $140 Million Bonus

‘I guess if it’s irreversible, to me it seems all the more reason you might want to do something about it,” she says. “Because committing to something that you can’t back out of seems to me like a step that you’d want to take even more carefully than something you thought you could reverse.’”

You can’t make this stuff up.

What others think:

“…all the fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated. Here I am opposing the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models. … I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. … They do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry and the biology of fields and farms and forests. They do not begin to describe the real world that we live in.”- Physicist Freeman Dyson

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand doesn’t seem like a parody anymore, but more like a reality as we move closer to directive 10-289. “Freedom has been given a chance and has failed. Therefore, more stringent controls are necessary. Since men are unable and unwilling to solve their problems voluntarily, they must be forced to do it.”

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh responded Monday to recent reported comments by President Obama.

(CNN) – Radio host Rush Limbaugh said Monday that President Obama is “frightened of me.”

“He’s obviously more frightened of me than he is [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell,” Limbaugh told listeners. “He’s more frightened of me, then he is of say, [House Minority Leader] John Boehner, which doesn’t say much about our party.”

Limbaugh’s comments followed reports Obama warned GOP congressional leaders last week that they should stop listening to the conservative talker, who had said on air he wanted the new president to fail.

“Now this is the great unifier,” he told listeners Monday. “This is the man who’s going to unify everybody and usher in a new era of bipartisanship and love.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave reporters the administration’s latest message to Limbaugh at Monday’s press briefing: “Tell him I said, ‘Hi,’” he joked.

Is it something in the water our there in California that produces people like this? Usually “family planning” is liberal slang for playing whack a baby, but apparently in this case it may actually mean prevent a baby to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars that will someday have to be paid back by, well, the descendants of all of us who chose not to partake in Pelosi’s grand prevent a pregnancy experiment. I miss the good old days when the government pretty much put up stop signs and delivered the mail.

Pelosi says birth control will help the economy. Is she right?

On ABC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended hundreds of millions of dollars in the stimulus package earmarked for family planning.

She said family planning reduces costs and explained that the stimulus plan includes assistance to states and part of that includes children’s health and education. That includes contraception, which she said will, “reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.”

What exactly did she mean? Are the millions of dollars for birth control supposed to stop people from having babies? She’s starting to sound like Chairman Mao.

On ABC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended hundreds of millions of dollars in the stimulus package earmarked for family planning.

She said family planning reduces costs and explained that the stimulus plan includes assistance to states and part of that includes children’s health and education. That includes contraception, which she said will, “reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.”

What exactly did she mean? Are the millions of dollars for birth control supposed to stop people from having babies? She’s starting to sound like Chairman Mao.

Well, that’s reassuring. And I can only say how pleased, and relieved, I am that this woman is occupying a position of power in this country. More from that “you can’t make this crap up” file.

Hillary Clinton favors diplomatic response to extraterrestrial life

Clinton’s criticisms of Hollywood stereotypes of invading aliens, alludes to her disapproval of secret national security policies concerning UFO evidence and ‘future’ relations with extraterrestrial life.

Next week, Hillary Clinton begins her first full week as the nation’s top diplomat. Her public statements and sustained interest in UFOs suggest that, if given the opportunity, she intends to create a very different national security policy concerning extraterrestrial life. As Secretary of State, Clinton will stress ‘galactic’ diplomacy over ‘future’ military confrontation with extraterrestrial life. That may represent a welcome departure to national security policies that have been secretly developed and implemented over six decades of the UFO phenomenon.

You tax dollars can certainly do amazing things. Where do I sign up for some of this “bail out” money? They should have a 1-800 number where you can just call and get yourself added to the list.

Economy Hope: Porn, Roads and Auto-Flush Potties

How many taxpayer dollars does it take to change a light bulb? Well, if you live in North Miami, Fla., your mayor says it would cost $2 million to switch households to energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.

That’s just one of 18,750 ready-to-go local job and infrastructure projects that the U.S. Conference of Mayors has proposed the federal government fund as part of the $825 billion economic stimulus plan.

There are plenty of suggestions for bridge repairs, road paving projects, new buses, trolley, garbage trucks and school improvements on the list.

But there is also $886,000 to build a 36-hole “disk-golf” course — think Frisbee throwing meets golf — in Austin, Texas, and $33,725 for automatically flushing toilets in Sumter, S.C. And don’t forget the $1.4 million children’s water park requested by Pine Bluff, Ark., and the $500,000 that Chula Vista, Calif., wants for a dog park.

The Beast lives right on the border of this town.

From Foster’s Daily Democrat:

Milton School relents, will let girl sing favorite song with word ‘Lord’

By Bill O’Connor and John Quinn

MILTON — When 8-year-old Bailey Champy climbed into the

car outside the Elementary School on Thursday, her mother asked her how her day went, just like she does every day.

But this Thursday the question was anything but ordinary for Bailey, whose eyes filled with tears as she began to speak.

Bailey explained that school officials told her she wouldn’t be allowed to perform her favorite song, “Trading My Sorrows” by Darrell Evans, for her second-grade class because it contained the word “Lord”.

That decision was eventually reversed Friday afternoon by SAU 64 superintendent Bill Landers, much to the relief of the Champy family.

“I think they’d have rather heard her sing “Baby Got Back,” said David Champy, Bailey’s father, on Friday morning, referring to the sexually charged 1992 hip-hop song by Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Everyone has heard of how “civilized” and “respectful” all 2 million people were last Tuesday at the Obama inauguration.  For that we can all be grateful.  We on this site have been preaching civility for quite some time so it is good to see that our transfers of power are marked by resolute politeness. 

But isn’t it funny how people have been making these observations as if every other inauguration, particularly the last two, have been marred by violence and arrests?  Here is a good example of the utopian state that D.C. became last week:

I wish I could effectively describe the mood and atmosphere during the ceremonies. Everyone had expressions on their faces as though they were actually “seeing” people for the very first time. White people were viewing black people in a new and different light. Black people also were viewing white people in a new and different light. I stood shoulder to shoulder with white, black, Asian and Hispanic people who had tears in their eyes as Barack Obama repeated the oath of office for president of the United States.

Everyone, all 2 million of us, went out of our way to be courteous and friendly, as if to say that this is the tone that Obama is setting and we want to be a part of it. According to news accounts, there were no arrests, not one, related to the Inauguration.

I get goosebumps just thinking about it.  Yet I wonder if liberals ever took the time to figure out that the mood was so civil precisely because they were happy?  In 2001, there were a number of protests related to the Supreme Court decision that verified the Florida victory for Bush.  Similarly, in 2005 the mall was full of the various nutjobs like Code Pink, NOW, and MoveOn.  When you cast it in that light, of course the atmosphere was more polite!  Conservatives that were in the crowd were polite, civil and well behaved thus media types wrongly conclude that Obama is ushering in a new spirit of bi-partisanship.   

No.  Conservatives are just better behaved.

Whenever I log into the wordpress site, I sometimes scan the ‘Hawt Posts’ section just to see other blogs.  When I went to check ConClub today, I was drawn to the site Proud Atheists in that section with the title: “Only in America.”   

Now normally I don’t get upset enough to even comment on sites I disagree with.  But the point of his post was to show how bad the combination of America and religion have been.  He uses such stellar facts as America ranks #33 in acceptance of evolution, some kids wear shirts with the message “God Hates Fags,” and the fact that we only have 5% of the worlds population but 25% of the worlds incarcerated population. 

I was so incenced by this enlightened soul that I fired off this reply:

So does being atheist mean that you are required to create the most obvious straw man arguments known to man? Frankly, I am disappointed in the intellectual level of your discourse. You take the lowest common denominators in society and equate them with religious teachings and doctrines. For example:

America claims to be religious yet they have lots of prisoners, and, some very vile people wear ‘God hates fags’ shirts”

Despite my Christian leanings, I haven’t the slightest desire to debate your dogmatic atheism. But could you at least read something by Christopher Hitchens and learn how to articulate a common sense atheist argument before you embarass yourself with your vacuous arguments? Thanks so much.

I don’t really care much if you don’t believe in God or are a leftist or hate America or think Bush should die a terrible death.  None of that really gets to me.  But please, please make a rational argument if you are going to put your shit out there.  This is why I love the bloggers from both the left and right on this site.  They at least bring it. 

BTW, that comment is awaiting moderation.  We know how well our past comments have been treated on sites we oppose.  Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I just checked the status of my comment and it apparently didn’t make the cut.  The author left a quick statement that said “EtheWise, I will admit my writing could use improvement, but I am not a fan of Hitchens.  He is a war supporter.”  And just as quickly as I saw that reply, he pulled it.   I guess you now know why I rarely comment on sites of those with which I disagree.  They pull most comments, even respectful ones, of their ideological foes.

UPDATE: After two more attempts of wondering aloud why the dude wouldn’t even display my comment, it is clear that he didn’t like his arguments called into question.  He responded but quickly pulled the response (see above).  I suppose we can chalk this clown and his site up as another leftist echo chamber where those that proffer polite yet scathing observations will be scrubbed from the dialogue. 

BTW, WordPress is a  joke for “randomly” prominently displaying retards that can’t make coherent arguments.

Dang, I miss the Gipper. And I heap curses upon those who pissed away his revolution and his vision for America.

Read the rest of this entry »

I kind of like Gates and I am glad he has remained on in the key position of Secretary of Defense. Here is what he is engineering as the undoubtedly soon to be renamed “war on terror” continues.

Thousands of Troops Expected in Afghanistan by Summer, Gates Says

Gates Predicts U.S. Will be in Iraq and Afghanistan ‘for Years to Come’

U.S. Readying South Afghan Surge Against Taliban

“This evening, my thoughts return to the first night I addressed you from this house — September 11, 2001. … As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe. … America must maintain our moral clarity. Good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere.” –George W. Bush in his farewell speech.

(Let the record show that as our nation’s forty-third President made his way to the inaugural podium on Tuesday, he was greeted by the boos and chants of an utterly vulgar collection of Obama supporters and Democrat VIPs: “Na Na Na Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye.” Alas, a better successor than Barack Obama would have departed from his scripted inaugural address to condemn this unprecedented show of shoddy behavior. Alas.) – From the The Patriot Post

Obama has to do something, anything to deliver on his vague promises of “change”. This is window dressing in its purist form. He’ll tinker with this kind of showy but meaningless drivel for awhile and fulfill some promises to his gay rights and abortion cheerleading base but probably not change the true national security procedures that have kept this nation free of major terrorist attacks since 9-11. If he does, and there is another 9-11 type attack, he’ll never live it down and the Right will blame him for it until Judgement Day.

Obama to close Gitmo

Acting swiftly on a campaign promise two days after his inauguration, Obama signed a series of executive orders Thursday that call for closing Guantanamo within a year and moving out its 245 remaining detainees, shuttering CIA prisons overseas, and prohibiting harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, which gives the sensation of drowning.

I was pleased that Obama had chosen Biden as his running mate, because I thought that would seriously affect the election outcome.
Silly me.
These days, I am praying extra hard that Obama remains in good health.

It would be interesting to see the dynamic between these two over the coming years, but I suspect Obama will want to keep Joe in a closet as much as possible.

…The scene happened when Obama asked Biden to swear in some senior staff members of the new administration.

“Am I doing this again?” Biden said. He was apparently referring to the fact that he had already sworn in members of Obama’s Cabinet earlier in the day, including some people who were in the room in front of him at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

“For the senior staff,” Obama clarified.
“For the senior staff, all right,” Biden responded.

And then Biden said this: “My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts, Chief Justice Roberts.” The line drew an “oooh” from the audience, the kind one gets after serving up a zinger.

Chief Justice John Roberts, as millions of people saw on Tuesday, had slightly flubbed Obama’s original oath, which prompted Obama to do the same.

Obama did not laugh or even smile at Biden’s line. His look and body language were serious. Cable news outlets replayed the moment prominently…

Link to full story here.

One picture of many from the amazingly cool site Mo linked to in a previous thread:

 Over the past few years I have had the privilege to have known a native Ugandan missionary named Mike Wangolo. He is the leader of a team of Africans called Afri-Tendo (http://www.thrustministries.org/) who make periodic trips to the United States to witness to Americans through native songs and dances. During his travels he has become a close and valued friend to many of my friends and family.

Through his story and example many people have developed a heart of love and compassion for the Ugandan people. One of the people influenced by Mike Wangolo through his trips to the United States was a young lady who eventually ended up participating in a missions trip to Uganda.

The story Susan Smith’s transformation and experiences in Uganda is amazing. Her life has been changed in a fundamental way and she has become a passionate humanitarian and missionary to the people of Uganda.

Uganda, especially in the northern part of the country, has suffered from over two decades of insurrection, lawlessness and civil strife. Over a million people were displaced from their homes during the fighting, many tens of thousands killed and orphaned, and the famous “midnight children” (thousands forced to flee their villages nightly to hide in forests, hospitals and nearby cities to avoid abduction by rebel groups) have garnered international attention.

Aids, poverty and all their assorted consequences have taken a heavy toll on the Ugandans but they have proven to be a resilient people. They have also shown themselves to be a spiritually hungry people. Blessed with a heart of service, that is where Susan Smith comes in. She has written a book about her experiences titled Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies.

This is not just some book recording mere facts and a few mildly interesting anecdotes, but a triumph of storytelling. The descriptions are vivid and the entire reading experience is more reminiscent of a good friend sharing an adventure with you than anything else. I was quickly drawn into the story that Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies brings to life. Susan Smith is a descriptive wordsmith who can paint a visual picture like few others can. She brings the places and people she describes to life in a way that places you right at the scene with her as she tells you her story. By page twenty I was hooked. This is good storytelling, and that’s what a good book should be.

You will be moved by this book. You will laugh and you might even cry. You will marvel at the twists and turns that come unexpectedly on life’s journey. And you will marvel at how God can use a person if they are willing to listen and to be used. It will make you understand and appreciate those who have sacrificed much to act upon The Great Commission to go unto all the world and spread the gospel.

Few who read this book will not re-examine their own lives, renew their Faith, and question if there is not more that they are willing and capable of doing for those less fortunate than themselves.

From the author’s website:

Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies is an inspiring glimpse inside the journal of a woman embarking on a life changing adventure in East Africa. It is her fears and doubts, successes and trials, and the surprises along the way that only God could orchestrate. She found a life she never knew existed. Be inspired, be moved and see what happens when we let God take the wheel of our lives. This is her incredible story of what happened when God stamped her passport.

It has been a long journey from Colorado to Eastern Africa but Susan Smith is now a full time missionary and is based in the city of Kampala, Uganda. She has partnered with a variety of organizations, both American and Ugandan, such as Flood the Nations, Young Arise for Christ, God’s Centre of Blessings Ministries and Gulu Community Church.

Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies is 223 pages and available for sale at http://www.lulu.com/content/4843786. A paperback copy is $17.50 and an electronic download is available for $6.25. Eighty percent of the profit proceeds go towards Susan Smith’s work in Uganda including funding churches and providing scholarships for children and youth to attend school. The author’s website can be viewed at www.Betheclay.com.

After many years of it gnawing away in my brain I decided last Friday night at about two in the morning that I was going to go ahead and write and assemble a book on the conservative ideology. It is titled No Apologies: In Defense of the Conservative Ideology. I have been working 8 to 10 hours a day since then (Sun. excluded) to bring together hundreds of my blog posts as well as dozens of quotes and my essays into a coherent, topic-organized outline of a book. I am currently at nearly 65,000 words which comes to 231 pages so far. It will also contain a significant amount of original commentary and writing which I have also been  intermittently working on. It’s ridiculous. It’s either my legacy to Western Civilization or a hobby gone horribly and tragically wrong. I’m not sure which.

I’ll be self publishing through lulu.com and then, hopefully and eventually, marketing it on this blog, my facebook page, through my columns, my homepage, friendly bloggers and whatever other venue I can think of. We’ll see if this very rare burst of brilliance, energy and interest can be sustained all the way through. I’m tired, cranky, and my eyes hurt. And my wife thinks I’m crazy. I’ve got about a week left before I enter the real, working world again so I am on a severe time limitation when it comes to getting at least the meat of the project organized and put together in chapter form. Wish me luck. I need it.

Possibly one of my favorite things ever. Plenty more at the site.

Um, no. Try 800,000

Turns out American Idol drew a bigger crowd.

From Obama’s average inauguration speech:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.

I was struck by these words which most assuredly were written to appease the left and assuage their fears of the continuation of wiretapping international phone calls.  I have said that it will be a different world when the children are given the keys to the car.  Get ready for the ride.

Does Obama realize that Lincoln was a Republican?

Just thought I’d ask.

“As long as the [New York] Times has such a burning interest in the root causes of murder, how about considering the one factor more likely to create a murderer than any other? That is the topic we’re not allowed to discuss: single motherhood. As I describe in my new book, ‘Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America,’ controlling for socioeconomic status, race and place of residence, the strongest predictor of whether a person will end up in prison is that he was raised by a single parent. … By 1996, 70 percent of inmates in state juvenile detention centers serving long-term sentences were raised by single mothers. Seventy percent of teenage births, dropouts, suicides, runaways, juvenile delinquents and child murderers involve children raised by single mothers. Girls raised without fathers are more sexually promiscuous and more likely to end up divorced. A 1990 study by the left-wing Progressive Policy Institute showed that, after controlling for single motherhood, the difference in black and white crime disappeared. Various studies come up with slightly different numbers, but all the figures are grim. A study cited in the far left-wing Village Voice found that children brought up in single-mother homes ‘are five times more likely to commit suicide, nine times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 14 times more likely to commit rape (for the boys), 20 times more likely to end up in prison, and 32 times more likely to run away from home.’ With new children being born, running away, dropping out of high school and committing murder every year, it’s not a static problem to analyze. But however the numbers are run, single motherhood is a societal nuclear bomb. Many of these studies, for example, are from the ’90s, when the percentage of teenagers raised by single parents was lower than it is today. In 1990, 28 percent of children under 18 were being raised in one-parent homes — mother or father, divorced or never-married. By 2005, more than one-third of all babies born in the U.S. were illegitimate. That’s a lot of social problems in the pipeline.”

–columnist Ann Coulter

Benediction at Obama’s inauguration, Rev. Joseph Lowery: “Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around… when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen”…

Those darn white people. It’s about time that they embrace what is right.

I miss my grandparents.  I feel fortunate to have grown up as a young child in the 1970’s still being able to see them in a real American setting.  The setting was not idyllic nor glamorous.  It was real.  They were real.  He was a WWII hero, she was one of last riders of the infamous orphan trains.  With each passing year, I appreciate them more and more.  I appreciate that house where the flag always proudly flew.

They lived in north Denver throughout my young life at a time when the neighborhoods were transforming from predominantly Italian ones to the current Mexican ones.  To be certain, the ethnicities are each unique and carry with them their own cultures and stereotypes.  Both groups have a proud heritage that shows in the small shops, restaurants and churches.  I think my grandfather would have been content to simply have the neighborhood remain Italian.  I think they often felt helpless at some of the demographic changes that occured around them.  But through it all, my grandparents steadfastly remained in that small, well kept house on 35th amidst all the changes.   

I think Walt Kowalski also felt helpless too.  Walt is not real in the traditional sense; although he is as real as you or I.  Walt is the person that Clint Eastwood portrays in the movie Gran Torino.  Walt is a Korean War hero who has seen his urban Detroit neighborhood transformed from the “all-American” haven for returning vets of the 1940’s and 1950’s to a gang-infested hotbed of inner city turmoil.  Like many men of his generation, I think Walt probably felt a deep sense of pride.  Pride in his work as an auto assembly lineman.  Pride in the nation he defended.  Pride in having a wife and kids and a small plot of land he could call his own.  Through it all he rarely bitched about that work or boasted about that service or doted on those kids.  He clocked in and clocked out, drank the same beer for decades (PBR) and went to church because his wife wanted him to. 

So when the changes occuring around Walt begin to confront Walt, he is understandable frustrated.  He speaks in the plain words that the men of his generation spoke; language that enlightened liberals of today would deem intolerable.  They would wrongly believe that Walt was evil for lamenting the “zipperheads,” “slopes” or “gooks” that have moved in around him.  They would demand sensitivity training for Walt because he has contempt for the “spooks” or “beaners” that harass others.  He lives by the rules and expects others to do the same. 

Everyone should see Gran Torino not because it is a good movie with a nice message.  They should see it because it gives a healthy glimpse at what is becoming of American cities today.  They should see what fatherless households are turning our society into.  They should see the vets that still proudly fly that flag.  And they should come to see Walt.  And get a look at the man I knew as grandpa.

Since it is sort of like Sunday for us teachers and assorted public servants I bring you the environmentally insensitive big game hunting timewaster.  The only thing that might make it better is if the carcasses were left on the field. . . or if these does were playing with you.

Rachel Lucas (one of my favorite bloggers) has once again, in her inimitable way, stated it all too well.

“They think we’re more enlightened now.”
The Russians do, that is. Because we elected a black man. The Russians now think we’re enlightened, as do the French, English, Japanese, and so on. WELL THANK GOD.

Naturally, an article like this one has special meaning to me since I’m about to be an American living overseas. I think I’m supposed to be relieved or something but instead I just keep muttering “oh piss off you bastards.”

Read the whole thing!

Received via email without attribution to the author.

You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

A quick search of Al Gore’s Amazing Internet™ revealed that it was from the late Adrian Rogers.

No free lunch, indeed.

I am doing some research on a possible project/book on my writing experiences and on the conservative ideology in general and in doing so I revisiting some of the old blogs that I have been involved with. We haven’t really spoken about it here but three of the Conclub bloggers – DFV, E and myself (along with a fourth person) first tried our hand at public blogging as The Faithful Few. As I searched through the pages I found it very interesting how we viewed the Iraq war and the second election of Bush at the time.  The blog was more extensive and long lived than I remember and it was certainly a nostalgic journey down memory lane. After that, I blogged alone for some time as The Infidel Sage and it was at that time that I connected with The Hairy Beast who had his own blog by the same name and is now also an occasional contributor to this blog. Ah, the memories. I am glad they are still up. They are a treasure trove of information that is coming in extremely handy at the moment.

The Origins of Political Correctness

We call it “Political Correctness.” The name originated as something of a joke, literally in a comic strip, and we tend still to think of it as only half-serious. In fact, it’s deadly serious. It is the great disease of our century, the disease that has left tens of millions of people dead in Europe, in Russia, in China, indeed around the world. It is the disease of ideology. PC is not funny. PC is deadly serious.

If we look at it analytically, if we look at it historically, we quickly find out exactly what it is. Political Correctness is cultural Marxism. It is Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms. It is an effort that goes back not to the 1960s and the hippies and the peace movement, but back to World War I. If we compare the basic tenets of Political Correctness with classical Marxism the parallels are very obvious.

It puts sharing a sleeping bag with your fellow G.I. or showering together into a whole new perspective. Should one really be forced to share incredibly close quarters with someone who views you as the opposite gender and a potential sexual partner?  I am probably now in the minority when it comes to this but I think the entire idea is outrageous, ridiculous and a slap in the face to the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces and will deal a blow to unit integrity. But as long as those who are pushing their social reengineering agenda upon the rest of us are happy then I suppose I shouldn’t worry my pretty little head about it.

Obama To Push Gay Agenda On The Military

Not reported in the media or discussed by advocates are the opinions of the men and women actually serving our country that would be affected by this change in policy. A poll of some 2,000 active duty military taken in December by the Military Times found that 58 percent opposed a policy change. Of those polled, 10 percent said they would not reenlist, and 14 percent reported they would consider not reenlisting if the policy is changed to please homosexual activists.

Essentially, the United States military, the greatest fighting force ever assembled, has had a policy in place against homosexual conduct since its formation. This policy annoys certain liberals who want to force their social agenda on the rest of the country and ignore those affected.

President Bush was far from perfect but one thing nobody can take away from him is the undeniable fact that he and his administration kept America safe from terrorist attack for seven years. Now Obama and the Dems are faced with the same responsibility and it’s got them nervous. They’re facing two unappetizing prospects. Do they:

a. Dismantle the security apparatus they fought against  – The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, etc – and attempt to keep us secure without these proven tools?

or

b. Keep them in place and face the wrath of their nutroot base while tacitly admitting that their original opposition was more about scoring political points against what they saw as the real enemy than concern about preventing Bush&co from “shredding” the Constitution?

The stakes are high. The Democrats have never enjoyed primacy on national security. If they dismantle the Bush security apparatus and another 911 were to occur on their watch the damage could linger for decades. We are already seeing a moderation of rhetoric against Guantanamo Bay, security intercepts, harsh interogation techniques and so on. The far Left is already starting to freak out.

You have to feel a bit of pity for the nutroots. . They must feel like the chess club president who gets a prom date with the hot cheerleader but comes back from the punch bowl to discover she took off with the Captain of the football team.  The nutroots are not going to get their defeat in Iraq. They’re not going to get their vast expansion of the Welfare State (the money’s going to bail out the Unions and Corporate Fatcats) they’re not going to get their Impeachment or their indictment orgy. In a few days Obama will put his hand up to take the oath of office and all those lofty lefty fantasies will come crashing down to the hard stony ground.

A little ditty from the Dropkick Murphys called Kiss me I’m S–t Faced.

 Have a great weekend everyone.

After the defection of Ariel Sharon and a mass exodus from Likud to the newly formed “moderate” Kadima party, it looked as if Benjamin Netanyahu was left with nothing but a hollow shell of a political party and his fond memories of the past. Now just a few years later, Kadima is discredited, riddled with scandal, and until very recently seen as “weak” when it came to dealing with Israel’s enemies. The Gaza war with Hamas has strengthened the hand of the Kadima party going into the upcoming elections, but will it be enough to derail “Bibi”? We shall soon see. Netanyahu on the other hand has reemerged from the political desert and seems poised to lead the rallied Likud into the promised land. Likud is emerging “cleaner” than before without the appeasers and mushy moderates. The cleansing that was once seen as the death of the party I believe has only freed it from the chains and policies of the past and left it focused and internally stronger than before.

Netanyahu Reshapes Likud, Builds Shadow Cabinet

Former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, energized by more than two years in opposition, is launching his Likud party into Israel’s general election campaign with a new look and a new top echelon.

DEBKAfile’s political sources report he is remolding it into a center-right party with a new leadership made up of the middle generation of Likud stalwarts and an infusion of outsiders from non-political occupations, rival parties, and at least two ex-generals.

Negotiating in person, he is close to deals with a mixed bag of would-be star performers.

They include, according to our exclusive sources, Benny Begin (son of the late prime minister Menahem Begin), Yair Shamir , Dan Meridor , former chief of staff, Lt. Gen. (Res) Moshe Yaalon , NU lawmaker Effie Eyta (a former general, who holds the key to the national religious vote), and former cabinet minister Nathan Sharansky , who is well-connected in Washington.

Likud has also offered incentives to MKs Zeev Elkin and Marina Solodkin for quitting Tzipi Livni’s party and crossing the floor. Both are reputed vote-catchers among the large Russian-born electorate.

They don’t respect pantywaists who want to sit and talk all the time. They respect strength and action.

From the article here:

Two captured terrorists interviewed by Maariv/NRG say that Hamas was not expecting Israel’s response to the escalation in missile attacks on Israeli targets that preceded Operation Cast Lead. One of them, a 52-year-old victim of a premature detonation who had already done time in an Israeli jail, said, “Hamas took a gamble. We thought, at worst Israel will come and do something from the air – something superficial. They’ll come in and go out. We never thought that we would reach the point where fear will swallow the heart and the feet will want to flee. You [Israel] are fighting like you fought in ‘48. What got into you all of a sudden?”

Gee, I dunno. Maybe they were fed up letting terrorist a*holes get away with their s**t.

President George W. Bush’s farewell address to the nation.

Part I

Part II

Full Text (not as prepared but actually delivered):

Read the rest of this entry »

photo courtesy of CNN

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now about the US Airways jet that crashed in to the Hudson River today. Since I live in the NYC area let me attempt to paint you an even more vivid picture than you may be hearing on the news. First of all it is COLD today. Damn cold. We got up to a nice balmy high of 20 degrees this afternoon after this morning’s snow and we had a couple of little snow squalls blowing through over the course of day and winds have been gusting on and off all day. 

In these conditions pilot Chelsey B. “Sully” Sullenberger reportedly struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff disabling at least one and possibly two of his engines. The veteran commercial and former fighter pilot (the military trains them well don’t they) cooly turned the plane around in an attempt to get to Teterboro, a smaller local airport. Realizing he couldn’t make it there he piloted the crippled jet a scant few hundred feet over the George Washington bridge and set it down gently in a half mile wide stretch of the Hudson River.

Just to put it into perspective the man piloted this jet over a heavily travelled bridge and landed it safely into an icy river dividing downtown Manhattan from Jersey City and Weehawken, some of the most densely populated real estate in America, with ZERO fatalities and ZERO serious injuries. This could have gone so much worse in so many ways. Not only did the man save the lives and the 155 people on board but probably those of countless others on the ground as well. God was clearly watching over many people this afternoon.

Some well deserved praise also goes to the New York fire and police departments and the Coast Guard, from whom we have come to expect such courage and skill, for quickly snatching the passengers out of the water. Kudos also to a heads up ferry captain who piloted her vessel over to the crash site to throw life jackets to some of the passengers.

As one last act of heroism after everyone else was off of the plane Sullenberger made two more passes through the sinking plane to make sure that no one was left behind. Mr. Sullenberger hats off to you my good man. May we all be able to face life’s trials with such bravery, decisiveness and integrity. God bless.

What a pity…

Israel has killed another Hamas leader