Bob's Blog

"Time to leave"

2012-02-10T19:28:00.001-07:00

Cold Fury links to Michael Yon, who has this to say about the Afghanistan war:
"This war is going to turn out badly. We are wasting lives and resources while the United States decays and other threats emerge. We led the horse to water.
Importantly, there is no value in pretending that Pakistan is an ally. We should wish the best of luck to the Afghans, and the many peaceful Pakistanis, and accelerate our withdrawal of our main battle force. The US never has been serious about Afghanistan. Under General Petraeus we were starting to gain ground, but the current trajectory will land us in the mud.
The enemies will never beat us in Afghanistan. Force on force, the Taliban are weak by comparison. Yet this is their home. There is only so much we can do at this extreme cost for the many good Afghan people. We must reduce our main effort and concentrate on other matters. Time to come home."
Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who is saying this, and I think it is a significant reason why he has such a solid base of support. http://www.michaelyon-online.com/time-to-leave-afghanistan.htm

Parpissipating

2012-02-10T19:21:00.002-07:00

Every night I have long conversations with my three youngest children. Tonight Sara told me that the highlight of her day today was that she was given a ribbon for "parpissipating" in the science fair. She couldn't understand why I found that to be so funny.

Feeling sad for Democrats

2012-02-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Brilliant political satirist Frank J. Fleming writes in the New York Post about how sad it must be for Democrats to be stuck with Obama for the 2012 election. "Democratic voters must be looking to the Republican field with envy. Having a few potentially bad choices certainly beats having just a single horrible one."

"While the American people are worried about jobs, Obama seems aloof to those concerns and just keeps talking about such left-wing boilerplate as taxing the rich and green energy."

Roseanne for President???

2012-02-10T18:16:00.002-07:00

Have you heard? Roseanne Barr has officially declared her candidacy for President of the United States on the Green Party platform. Well, at least we would have a president who could sing the national anthem...er, ah..maybe not.

Minimum wage: a disaster for the young, the poor, and especially poor blacks"

2012-02-10T18:00:00.002-07:00

Cold Fury links to an article in Town Hall by Thomas Sowell. Sowell writes the following, which I quote, "there is no excuse for not being aware of what a major social disaster the minimum wage law has been for the young, the poor and especially for young and poor blacks."

"We have gotten so used to seeing unemployment rates of 30 or 40 percent for black teenage males that it might come as a shock to many people to learn that the unemployment rate for sixteen- and seventeen-year-old black males was just under 10 percent back in 1948. Moreover, it was slightly lower than the unemployment rate for white males of the same age."

"This was not the first or the last time that liberals did something that made them feel good about themselves, while leaving havoc in their wake, especially among the poor whom they were supposedly helping.
For those for whom "racism" is the explanation of all racial differences, let me assure them, from personal experience, that there was not less racism in the 1940s."

"For those who want to check out the statistics -- and I hope that would include Mitt Romney -- they can be found detailed on pages 42 to 45 of "Race and Economics" by Walter Williams."

Read more here: http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2012/02/07/a_defining_moment/page/full/

Update: The graph above was found at http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2012/01/the-ultimate-end-of-social-democratic-labor-policy.html

Deals: environmentalists and politicians

2012-02-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Cold Fury links to a story in the LA Times about how the Mohave Desert is being "sacrificed" so that a politically favored industry can put up thousands of solar panels. "BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah solar power project will soon be a humming city with 24-hour lighting, a wastewater processing facility and a gas-fired power plant. To make room, BrightSource has mowed down a swath of desert plants, displaced dozens of animal species and relocated scores of imperiled desert tortoises, a move that some experts say could kill up to a third of them."
The photos help tell the story: http://framework.latimes.com/2012/02/04/solar-desert/#/10

Banned from going South, Canada looks East

2012-02-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

Cold Fury links to Hot Air, where Jazz Shaw writes about quick deals being made in China by its President Ho and Canada's Prime Minister Harper to ship Canada's oil and uranium to China: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/02/09/fantastic-china-canada-reach-quick-deals-on-oil-uranium/

Bbbut, he promised!

2012-02-10T15:28:00.002-07:00

Yes, left-leaning Catholics, he probably did promise to exempt you. He makes a lot of promises, but his track record for keeping promises is not very good. Read more here: http://nicedoggie.net/?p=3891
Update: Are you familiar with the word taqiyya? How about dissimulation? These words refer to the Islamic practice whereby an adherent is permitted to conceal their religion when under threat. Michael Walsh writes at The Corner that Obama is an "Alinskyite practitioner of American taqiyya, for whom subterfuge, dissimulation, misdirection, and bald-faced lying are a way of life." Read more here: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290673/what-would-dagger-john-do-part-two-michael-walsh
Update 2: The blogger at Cold Fury adds: "Living under a tyrannical totalitarian state presents people who love liberty with some tough choices, with no good outcome guaranteed. But the choice of knuckling under, working to undermine the system from within, or outright defiance is one we’ll all be forced to confront sooner or later, in one way or another. That’s the price of decades of complacency and denial, and it is pretty danged steep." Read more here: http://coldfury.com/2012/02/10/good-and-hard-3/
Update 3: Andrew McCarthy writes at The Corner that Obama "is not being pulled to extremes by his base — he is the one doing the pulling." Read more at http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290707/when-obama-voted-infanticide-andrew-c-mccarthy
Update 4: Ross Kaminsky writes about the broader subject of waivers here: http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/09/no-waiver-for-thee

God Bless America, and Happy Birthday Leontyne Price

2012-02-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

Leoontyne Price performs God Bless America at a gala after 9-11, when she was 74-years-old. She was born on this date in 1927, a fact which I learned by visiting this blog: http://coldfury.com/2012/02/10/happy-birthday-5/

Are Republican voters "anti-sausage?"

2012-02-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Is our political system a "noxious sausage-making machine" which grinds up principles? This blogger thinks so: http://classicalvalues.com/2012/02/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-whos-the-most-anti-sausage-of-them-all/

Congressman McClintock from California asks some tough questions:

2012-02-10T12:06:00.002-07:00

I found this video here: http://chicksontheright.com/2012/02/07/if-you-thought-you-loved-rep-mcclintock-already-just-wait-your-love-is-about-to-increase-by-a-factor-of-a-million/

The "Coin of the Realm"

2012-02-10T11:50:00.001-07:00

Bill Whittle talks about "unearned moral and intellectual superiority, championing things that don't work and look good...rather than things that do work and look bad, and shooting spitballs of hypocrisy and malevolence." I found this video here: http://chicksontheright.com/2012/02/08/coin-of-the-realm-bill-whittle/

Good Luck!

2012-02-10T10:45:00.002-07:00

Found here: http://zenpundit.com/

Benefits of market freedoms and incentives

2012-02-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

A Harvard professor has released a study showing that students who were allowed to choose their middle school or high school committed significantly less crimes as young adults than did students who were not allowed to choose their schools. Cato's Andrew J. Coulson links to the study and adds that this is just one more of a long list of benefits of market freedoms and incentives.
Photo and story found here: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/school-choice-lowers-crime/

"Go ahead. Make my halftime!"

2012-02-08T21:16:00.004-07:00

As always, Rush is ready with an answer:

Marriages and civil unions

2012-02-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

Gabriel Malor writes about civil unions today at Ace of Spades. But the really interesting read comes at the end of his post, when commenters get their turn: http://minx.cc/?post=3265

"They were lying then, or they are lying now - and probably both"

2012-02-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ace links to a piece by Glenn Greenwald in Slate entitled Repulsive Progressive Hypocrisy. Read about it here: http://www.salon.com/2012/02/08/repulsive_progressive_hypocrisy/singleton/

Obamacare: "imposing a Preferred, State-Endorsed Culture"

2012-02-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the word "abortifacient?" I saw it at Ace of Spades, so I looked it up: "An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion." Oh, yes, now I know what that means. It means that Obama has lost Catholics and evangelicals, and Rick Santorum is charging to the front of the GOP candidates. Speaker Boehner is even getting in on the action. In a rare appearance on the floor of the House of Representatives, he has called for Congress to halt the attack on religious freedom by the Department of Health and Human Services. As Ace writes, "This is about imposing a Preferred, State-Endorsed Culture on people from the top down." Read more here: http://ace.mu.nu./
Update: Laura W. posts at Ace about the fact that leftist Catholics were among the biggest supporters of Obamacare's socialization of health care in America.

"The vow to love never changes, regardless of the direction of the wind."

2012-02-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

My favorite writer on things spiritual is Ann Voskamp of the blog Holy Experience. She writes today about when winds blow and love tries to hold on. You won't be sorry if you go read her at http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/when-wind-blows/

She is writing about her parents' divorce, but the words have additional meaning to me. I lost the person who I thought was my soulmate. I still love her and appreciate her, perhaps more than ever. She now lives in one of America's most beautiful places, where she has much more land and animals and a thriving farm, ranch, and dairy business to help run. We actually communicate very well with each other these days - probably better than we ever have.

Ann writes about how "despite all your prayers, things still slip through your fingers, water and wind and dreams." Then she asks, "And did God answer all our prayers? No one enters into the real joy of the Lord in spite of the hard times —- but squarely through the door of the hard times." "God’s purposes are not for me to understand His plans: His plan is for me to understand Who He is."

Grassroots Republicans have their say!

2012-02-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Rick Santorum had a great night last night, winning here in Colorado, but also in Minnesota and Missouri. Why? Well, although I have not seen any analyses yet, he certainly got the votes of conservatives. He got evangelicals, and, I presume, he got Catholics. Obama's Health and Human Services Secretary announced new rules under Obamacare last week, which would require Catholics to provide birth control, including pills that cause abortions, and that may have been the biggest factor for Santorum's victory, because he is a devout Christian (Catholic), conservative, and has the support of Tea Party Republicans.By the way, Santorum mentions this decision in his Missouri victory speech, which is posted below.

I went over to the website of the Colorado Republican Party, and if I counted correctly, Santorum won 44 counties, Romney 18, and Gingrich 1. All of those 44 Santorum counties are rural, except he also won in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, Mesa County, which includes Grand Junction, La Plata County, which includes Durango, and Larimer, which includes Fort Collins. He won the southern half of the state, and all but one of the eastern counties, the only county won by Gingrich. Romney won in the liberal, affluent ski areas, Denver, Boulder, and the far northwest counties closest to Utah.

Two of Colorado's most popular conservatives, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, and former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, announced their support for Santorum last week. They proved to be more in touch with the grassroots Republican voters than did former Governor Bill Owens, who stuck with his friend, Mitt Romney.

Here is the CSPAN video of Santorum's Missouri speech, given before the results from Colorado were counted. I saw the video first on a local news station's internet posting, and it showed more of his wife than this one does. I couldn't get that one to embed. Too bad, because I think he has a cute wife, and I'd much rather look at her than at him. I know, I'm a sexist pig. Actually, she reminds me a lot of my own daughter, Marisa, who lives in Texas, and is a beautiful woman, if I do say so myself!

Spreading the love

2012-02-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Bob's Blog has received the Liebster Award. "Liebster” is a German word that means “Dearest”, it also means ”Favorite.” We were nominated by the blog Flares into Darkness, which informs us that the origin of the award is shrouded in mystery. "Some say it is a more closely guarded secret than Obama's college transcript." I am of course honored to receive it.

It is an award that small blogs pass on to each other. The simple rules for the Liebster are as follows:

Copy and paste the award on your blog.
Link back to the blogger who gave us the award (http://yargb.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-dont-deserve-this-award-but-i-have.html)
Pick out five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs. Here, in alphabetical order, are the five blogs I have chosen to receive a Liebster:

1. Andy's Place (http://andysredneckramblings.blogspot.com/) Andy has a great sense of humor and a great family.
2. House of Zathras (http://www.houseofzathras.com/) Mrs. Who, like Andy, usually makes me laugh, and lives her life with passion, which, thankfully, she shares with us on her blog.
3. Innominatus (http://innominatus87.blogspot.com) If you are in the mood for some really good satire, Innominatus is the place to go, and he has plenty of raw material for his blog right there in Portland.
4. The Poor Farm (http://crazedpw.blogspot.com/) Jeffro drives a truck from his home base at the Poor Farm in Kansas. His sense of humor and insightful writing is right up there with the other three award winners listed above.
5. Webutante (http://webutante07.blogspot.com/) is an accomplished writer, hiker, and flyfisherwoman, and writes about things true and good, with an occasional rant of disapproval thrown in for good measure.

Negativity

2012-02-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Do you know people who, the moment you see them coming, you know they are going to complain about something? How do you handle that? I usually listen, smile, and say nothing. Then I say a silent prayer thanking God that I am not afflicted with those particular self-defeating behaviors (I have my own unique self-defeating behaviors).

Because I am aware of God's presence, God's love, to join in with a chorus of "poor me" would be to ignore, or turn my back on God's love. I believe God wants me to be happy and grateful, to be kind and cheerful to other people, so I am determined to avoid being contaminated with other people's negativity. When I realize that negativity is creeping into my own thoughts or emotions, I "step to the right," to get in touch with the right hemisphere of my brain and thereby enjoy the present moment God has given to me. That's a concept I learned from Jill Bolte Taylor's book My Stroke of Insight.

What do you do when the negative person tells you his "poor me" story? Also, in a similar vein, do you have someone in your life who never fails to find some fault with you, your beliefs, your decisions? It is more difficult to ignore negativity when it is directed toward you. Again, though, as Dr. Taylor writes, we need to remember that "their stuff is their stuff, and our stuff is our stuff." We do not have to let their stuff become our stuff! Listen, smile, walk away, and say a prayer thanking God for all your blessings, including the present moment! It is tempting for a guy like me, who tends to have an outrageous sense of humor, to get sarcastic or otherwise put the person in "their place." But if I refrain, I am usually glad later that I did.

Freedom Summer

2012-02-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

I am reading Bruce Watson's book entitled Freedom Summer. It is about the summer of 1963 when college students from around America spent their summer vacations helping blacks from the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee to register black voters in Mississippi. That's not exactly how native white Mississippians would characterize that summer. They saw it more like a renewal of the Civil War.

I spoke with a black woman at work, who was born in Mississippi. She told me that it has been her experience that the attitudes exhibited by white Mississippians in 1963 are still in evidence today. When she goes back to visit relatives, she does not feel welcome by whites, to put it mildly.

Medical Research

2012-02-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a book by Michael J. Fox entitled Always Looking Up. I like Michael J. Fox. It saddens me that he discovered that if he wanted to get active politically to help the cause of research into cures for Parkinson's Disease, he would be campaigning for Democrats exclusively. He asserts that there is no connection between abortion and the research he wants: the study of embryonic stem cells from in vitro fertilization. Thousands of these cells are destroyed each year. Rather than discard them, Fox wants scientists to be able to study them to see if they can be used to cure Parkinsons, Alzeimers, and other diseases. Can anyone tell me why we should not go forward with that research?

Sleaze

2012-02-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

The sleazy National Enquirer has a cover story this week with the headline "Newt Gingrich's wife Lesbian Shocker...Breaking News." Inside there is an interview conducted by the Enquirer with a woman from Minnesota who is a lesbian. She says she has been friends with Callista Gingrich since they attended the same college, and she also considers Newt a friend.

What, we can't be friends with anyone who is homosexual if we want to run for political office?

Playing for an audience of One

2012-02-06T22:43:00.002-07:00

Webutante links to this inspiring story of two football players whose lives are dedicated to Christ: http://webutante07.blogspot.com/2012/01/sunday-danny-wuerffel-one-of-tebows.html

Green plan to use waterless urinals turns high school yellow

2012-02-06T22:16:00.005-07:00

But with no water moving through the school's copper pipes to flush the urine into the sewer system, the waste produced noxious gases that ate through the metal, leaving leaky pipes that allowed urine to drip into walls and flow onto floors.

The alleged terrorist mastermind behind the July 7 London bombings is reported to have been freed from a Syrian jail by President Bashar Assad’s regime.

2012-02-06T22:04:00.004-07:00

"Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria for six years after being captured by the CIA in 2005 and transported to the country of his birth under its controversial extraordinary rendition programme.

But he is now said to have been released as a warning to the US and Britain about the consequences of turning their backs on President al-Assad’s regime as it tries to contain the uprising in the country.

Al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, was al-Qaeda’s operations chief in Europe and has been accused of planning the London bombings, in which four British-born terrorists detonated three bombs on the Underground and another on a bus, killing 52 people and injuring more than 700 others in 2005."
Read more here: http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=43889

The times they are a changin

2012-02-06T21:37:00.002-07:00

Here is footage of a massive anti-Putin rally in Russia: via http://www.verumserum.com/?p=37590

Derailing the pipeline, jobs, cheap energy

2012-02-06T21:06:00.002-07:00

The Foundry, the blog of the Heritage Society, has a story about how the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is funding environmental groups to keep energy prices high and fight new sources of energy from fossil fuels, "Details of a large non-profit’s plans to combat the Keystone XL pipeline have surfaced, and offer some insight into the strategies and tactics of groups looking to combat the use of fossil fuels.
Canadian news channel Sun News uncovered of a PowerPoint presentation from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund detailing its work with other groups to derail the Keystone XL pipeline and other similar projects it deemed parts of “a globally significant threat.”
The presentation, written in 2008, describes the allocation of $7 million to environmental non-profits for tactics that include the use of the legislative and legal systems to delay or derail energy production in the United States and Canada, and to “raise the costs” of energy in both nations.
Read more here: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/03/one-groups-strategy-to-derail-oil-pipelines-raise-energy-prices/

Milton Friedman on capitalism

2012-02-04T22:07:00.001-07:00

Pros and cons on each of the presidential candidates

2012-02-04T21:35:00.001-07:00

Datechguy is writing posts summarizing the pros and cons of candidates. Here is what he has to say about Gingrich: http://datechguyblog.com/2012/02/02/the-gop-field-pros-and-cons-today-newt-gingrich/

Here is what he said about Romney: http://datechguyblog.com/2012/02/01/the-gop-field-pros-and-cons-today-mitt-romneye-cases-pro-and-con-in-my-eyes/

Here is his excellent analysis of Rick Santorum: http://datechguyblog.com/2012/02/05/the-gop-field-pros-and-cons-today-rick-santorum/#comment-63834

Ron Paul: http://datechguyblog.com/2012/02/06/the-gop-field-pros-and-cons-today-ron-paul/

Barack Obama: http://datechguyblog.com/2012/02/07/the-democrat-field-pros-and-cons-president-barack-obama/

Keep your good humor

2012-02-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that political lefties seem to have no sense of humor? They take themselves so seriously. I hope we on the right will not make that mistake. It is a real skill to keep a good sense of humor. Never let them put you on the defensive.

Turning beauty into filth

2012-02-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that the Occupiers, union goons, and leftist protestors have one thing in common: they liberally use the word f*ck. The most hateful thing they can say is f*ck. They take the most beautiful thing two humans can do with each other, and make it into an obscenity.
Update: This from some thugs at Occupy Oakland: via http://www.verumserum.com/?p=37627

Echo

2012-02-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Via http://www.theospark.net/2012/02/generations-echoesfrom-rico.html

"Give me a break!"

2012-02-04T17:16:00.002-07:00

From the Hugh Hewitt radio program: Obama tape is played, then Mark Stein says, "Give me a break!" Steyn says if Obama wants to be his brother's keeper, he can send his brother in Africa ten dollars, which would double his income!
via http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/02/03/steyn_rips_obamas_brothers_keeper_remark_his_brother_living_on_12year.html

The blizzard of February 2012

2012-02-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

The blizzard of February 2012 is over. Here are two photos of the aftermath. One is of the driveway, which is now plowed, as is the road at the top of the driveway. I can go back to work tomorrow! The other is looking uphill from the area where the chickens live. I took the shovel down and shoveled out an area where they can eat the "Egg Layer" food. Get it, chickens? Egg Layer? Do I need to tell you that Kim's favorite dish is chicken and dumplings?

It started snowing Thursday evening and continued through this morning. Now, the sun is out and the blue Colorado sky has returned.

"I've done nothing wrong!"

2012-02-04T16:01:00.002-07:00

From the Volokh Conspiracy blog: "Yesterday afternoon, at the OccupyDC protest in Washington, DC, a police officer tased a protester. As I understand it, the police were putting notices around the protest site that all camping supplies had to be removed because the site was no longer going to be made available for the protest. A protester in a red shirt proceeded to tear down the notices after the police left them, and he is heard screaming at the police: “Let them clean up the trash in the fucking parkway! It was your fucking trash, you fucking pigs!” The police then walked after the protester, who ran away from the police. A bunch of officers then surrounded the man, who started repeating that he had done nothing wrong. Two officers then went to grab him, but he resisted; after he continued to resist, a third officer tased him. Here’s the video: http://volokh.com/2012/01/30/reader-poll-on-tasing-of-occupydc-protester/
After watching the video, blog readers were asked to vote on whether or not they thought the police officer acted appropriately in using the taser on the thug. Surprisingly to me, only 46% thought she acted appropriately, while 38% thought she did not. Count me in with the 46%.

Recently I spoke with an elementary school teacher who told me he had gone down to Denver's state capital grounds to speak with the Occupiers camped out there. He told me that he was very disappointed in "the police presence" there. I am glad Sara and/or Greg do not have this guy as a doormat, er, ah I mean, teacher.

Update: Chart found here: http://www.theospark.net/search?updated-max=2012-02-03T12:08:00Z&max-results=40

So far left, they are already sitting on the tomb of Karl Marx!

2012-02-04T10:53:00.002-07:00

Ethics and judgment problems

2012-02-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

Cassandra writes a lengthy post about Newt Gingrich's ethics problems: http://www.villainouscompany.com/vcblog/archives/2012/01/newt_gingrichs_1.html#more

The Onion: GOP race now two-way race between Mitt Romney and total voter apathy

2012-02-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

Poll: GOP Nomination Now Two-Way Race Between Mitt Romney, Total Voter Apathy

"It is cold in Moscow"

2012-02-03T17:38:00.003-07:00

This blogger believes Putin has lost Moscow and the "intelligentsia." Read more here: http://blog.american.com/2012/02/despite-the-cold-russian-protesters-message-is-loud-and-clear/

At least he's obnoxious!

2012-02-03T17:11:00.001-07:00

This blog post sums up the way I am feeling about the GOP race right now:
"Romney’s a nice guy, especially considering that his spine was replaced with molded gelatin in a bunker laboratory contained within Bain Capital’s headquarters atop Establishment Mountain. Also, his “very poor” remarks show he’s very tone-deaf for someone whose long-term job has been running for office. We know we’re going to get a president who’s not a true conservative, so we may as well get someone who’s at least obnoxious.
Gingrich’s campaign is as unstable as he is. But what other option do we have? When facing a fantastically woeful record like the one belonging to Barack Obama, the last thing we need is someone who will recoil from mouthing off about it."
Read more here: http://www.conservativecommune.com/2012/02/tricky-newt/

The Solyndra story in a brief video

2012-02-03T16:40:00.002-07:00

Border agent slain protecting COWARD POLITICIANS

2012-02-03T15:29:00.003-07:00

Brian Terry's mom speaks out on Facebook: http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/02/03/mother-of-brian-terry-lashes-out-at-eric-holder-on-facebook-calls-him-a-coward-politician/
Cartoon found here: http://www.theospark.net/2012/02/new-doij-motivational-poster.html

Does our alliance with Israel help to keep us safe?

2012-02-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/how_israel_keeps_us_safe.html

"Under the radar" (and across the border)

2012-02-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

What is the connection between the illegal gun-running scheme of the Department of Justice and the ownership of guns by law-abiding American citizens? Read this blog post: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/covering_up_fast_furiously.html

Obama's rhetoric and reality: not tracking

2012-02-03T13:23:00.002-07:00

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/obama_on_energy_an_exercise_in_nuance.html

Update: Who supports the Keystone Pipeline? I found the graph below here: http://blog.american.com/2012/02/who-supports-keystone/

When superpowers decide to stop being superpowers

2012-02-03T12:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/02/a_falklands_war_round_ii.html

Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg says other countries constitutions are better than ours!

2012-02-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Justice Ginsberg advises Egyptians to look elsewhere than the United States for a constitution! http://www.thepiratescove.us/2012/02/03/supreme-court-justice-ginsberg-to-egypt-dont-look-to-that-stuffy-old-us-constitution-as-a-model/

First instincts

2012-02-03T10:41:00.002-07:00

Is Mitt Romney's first instinct to pander, when challenged by the press? This blogger thinks so: http://netrightdaily.com/2012/02/is-mitt-romney-out-of-touch/
Update: Steve McCann makes so many good points in this piece that I can only urge you to read more here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/two_bad_days_for_the_gop.html
Update 2:
"What is so worrisome to me is not Romney’s words, which are relatively cogent to the rational audience. Rather, the indication that the media is so willing to distort an innocuous phrase to this extent, and the Romney campaign retreats.
It’s the appearance of spinelessness in the face of the the Postmodern media that moves the Not Mitt Romney crowd. Mitt has got to point out, loudly, this false propaganda mongering more or less daily, and not reprise John McCain’s complacency." Read more here: http://theothermccain.com/2012/02/03/the-media-is-the-gaff-that-romney-courts-the-gaff-is-the-worrisome-part/

Obama is Betraying America! Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!

2012-02-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Obama is Betraying America! Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert!

Are Gingrich's space ideas really "zany?"

2012-02-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

"If the next President does decide to build a space-based missile-defense system, he will, as usual, be faced with a huge political uproar from people who, in a disconnect of logic, somehow believe that if the US is undefended, no-one will then wish to attack it. He will also be faced by the question of how to deploy a large number of orbital interceptors at a reasonable cost. But if the US is to stay defended, it is necessary to deploy them quickly -- at the very most within four years."
Read more here: http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2808/newt-gingrich-space-policy

It would be worse: we could be living in China!

2012-02-02T09:58:00.002-07:00

http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2805/china-zhu-yufu-sham-incitement-trial-no-verdict

Delta reroutes flights because of solar storms

2012-02-01T22:11:00.002-07:00

Read more here: http://spacestation-shuttle.blogspot.com/2012/01/flights-rerouted-as-enormoussolar.html

"too much time in the Occupy Oakland encampment"

2012-02-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

Orphaned again.

Friends and relatives said Susan Poff and Robert Kamin of Oakland were the perfect pair to adopt a foster child.They had dedicated their careers to helping others escape poverty, she as a physician assistant in a city-run clinic in the Tenderloin and he as a clinical psychologist for inmates in the San Francisco County Jail system.
But now, less than a decade after they adopted, their 15-year-old son stands accused of strangling both Poff, 50, and Kamin, 55, then hiding their bodies in the back of the family's PT Cruiser.
[...]
Co-workers said Poff and Kamin were having some arguments with their son, some of it having to do with him spending too much time in the Occupy Oakland encampment....

I found this at http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/

The Gunwalker Scandal defined

2012-02-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

What is the Gunwalker Scandal? From the blog that has covered and uncovered every aspect of it, here is a summary:

There are five key accusations against ATF and DOJ made by ATF whistleblowers and other sources within FedGov:
1. That they instructed U.S. gun dealers to proceed with questionable and illegal sales of firearms to suspected gunrunners.
2. That they allowed or even assisted in those guns crossing the U.S. border into Mexico to "boost the numbers" of American civilian market firearms seized in Mexico and thereby provide the justification for more firearm restrictions on American citizens and more power and money for ATF.
3. That they intentionally kept Mexican authorities in the dark about the operation, even over objections of their own agents.
4. That weapons that the ATF let "walk" to Mexico were involved in the deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE agent Jaime Zapata, as well as at least hundreds of Mexican citizens.
5. That at least since the death of Brian Terry on 14 December, the Obama administration is engaged in a full-press cover-up of the facts behind what has come to be known as the "Gunwalker Scandal."

Abortion back in the news

2012-02-01T18:54:00.002-07:00

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, may be the next one Obama throws under the bus. She has issued new regulations that require the Catholic Church to pay for birth control, including abortions, for employees!

Also, the breast cancer awareness group Komen has defunded the abortion group Planned Parenthood.
Update: Komen reversed it's decision. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46243184/ns/health-womens_health/#.TywUr4FdDz4
Update 2:

"What we’ve witnessed this week is how bullies beat down their victims. It’s sad, unfortunate and most seriously, a tragic turn of events for the dignity and preservation of the defenseless victims of abortion."

Read more here: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290143/komen-foundation-was-bullied-left-jim-daly

"Ronnie turned over the torch to Newt"

2012-01-31T20:36:00.002-07:00

Sarah would vote for Newt in Florida to "keep the process going"

2012-01-30T22:00:00.001-07:00

"No one drowns in the truth!"

2012-01-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Recently I wrote about a book I had begun to read entitled The 7, by Glenn Beck and Keith Ablow. Now that I have finished it, I want to give it a very high recommendation. It is kind of a marriage between the best principles of psychotherapy and Christianity. The "7" concepts discussed in the book are courage, faith, compassion, truth, friendship, family, and common sense.

The book is chocked full of ideas about how we can go about changing our lives for the better. Can we make changes and grow as human beings without confronting pain? Nope! Should we be afraid to learn the truth about ourselves? Nope! In fact, the closer we get to truth, the closer we get to God, who is Truth! By hiding from the truth, living in denial, and avoiding learning and disclosing the truth about ourselves, we are essentially saying that we are not yet fully welcoming God's love in our lives. On the other hand, the more we move toward realizing in our thoughts and actions the best in ourselves, the closer we move toward God.

Can you forgive yourself? Can you forgive others? Is that not the essence of the Christian faith? Do you have the courage to resist the fears, anxieties, and other negative loops being run by your storyteller left brain? Okay, now I am mixing together the concepts in this book with my favorite book, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight. That book and The 7 encourage us to resist negative patterns that we know will harm us, and both books give lots of practical suggestions as to how to implement change that will enrich our lives.

My earlier post is here: http://bobagard.blogspot.com/2012/01/facing-truths.html

A father's love

2012-01-29T20:41:00.001-07:00

Rick Santorum is off the campaign trail to be home with his three-year-old daughter, who has fallen ill. According to Newsmax, "Isabella Santorum has Trisomy 18, a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. When asked about her, Santorum says his daughter was not expected to survive until her first birthday and often has to catch himself to stop from tears."

The quote from Santorum that caught my eye was this one: " I look at the simplicity and love she emits," Santorum said in a Web video his campaign released after his scheduling drew questions, "and it's clear to me we're the disabled ones." That reminds me of Jill Bolte Taylor's book My Stroke of Insight. Dr. Taylor writes that she will never again look with pity on people who are so-called disabled, because from her experience as a stroke victim she realizes that so-called disabled people may well have strengths and insights that we so-called able people do not have.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Santorum-Daughter-cancel-Republican/2012/01/29/id/425838?s=al&promo_code=E100-1

Yes, there is a record this time

2012-01-27T20:09:00.001-07:00

via http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Worth-a-Thousand-Words

"Adopting the worst tactics of the left...to use against those to their right"

2012-01-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Jeff Goldstein adds his unique voice to those of us who refuse to be rounded up into the Romney camp:

"I’m curious why you’d expect me to reward a candidate who, in every election cycle, uses his money and his surrogates and sycophants to level insidious attacks against his opponents — not on the substance of their ideas, but rather in an attempt to smear them personally and, frankly, to ruin them. (The tell came last evening when Romney suggested to Wolf Blitzer that, in fact, Gingrich had indeed used a certain phrase, making his attack valid even if the phrase was taken completely out of context, and he knew it to be out of context.)
Watching the “pragmatic” center-right electability-jackals go after Newt Gingrich the last couple days — in a concentrated, concerted, and organized way — suggests to me that the establishment sector of “our” movement has adopted the worst tactics of the left, which it will use, amazingly, only against those to their right.
That is, these “pragmatists” are willing to smear and demonize conservatives (while pretending to define contemporary conservatism, in that way moving it leftward), and yet they make it their mission to woo the moderates and independents with pleasing panders and populist pablum.
And for this they deserve my vote?
Sorry, but that’s how Obama made his political bones. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to support that kind of behavior just because those reveling in it wear flag lapel pins and check R on their voter registration forms.
In fact, I hope they fail."
http://proteinwisdom.com/

Will larger crowds mean more votes?

2012-01-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Gingrich is drawing larger crowds in Florida than the other three candidates: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/gingrich-draws-thousands-in-fla-while-romneys-santorums-2123241.html
via http://primordialslack.com/?p=2138

"She's ready for 'em!"

2012-01-27T17:57:00.001-07:00

I found this here: http://primordialslack.com/?p=2144

Why are the Dems and unions already going after Romney?

2012-01-27T17:45:00.001-07:00

This should be a huge story. Obama and the Democrat National Committee and unions are spending lots of money attacking Mitt Romney in Florida. When Nixon's team did that in 1972, to promote the candidacy of George McGovern, whom Nixon beat handily, it was called "Dirty Tricks." Does this mean that the Dems think Romney would be their strongest opponent? Reporter Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel (not the New York Times, not the Washington Post, not the Wall Street Journal, etc.) broke the story here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-democrats-against-romney-20120124,0,7825399.story

What is America all about?

2012-01-27T17:28:00.002-07:00

Charles Murray believes America is coming apart. What has been your exposure to America? Take a test here to see: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=how-thick-is-your-bubble
My score was nine.
via Power Line: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/01/bubble-what-bubble-my-bubble-score-is.php

Do Republicans live in caves?

2012-01-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Chris Matthews interviewed Republican strategist Ron Christie:
Chris Matthews: In other words, there is no manmade influence on climate change? Is that your belief, Ron Christie? I didn’t know that. Are you out there with the full-mooners on this one?
Ron Christie, Republican strategist: Let me enlighten you on this one, Chris. I think global climate change is the biggest fraud that’s been perpetrated in this country. The scientific evidence isn’t there. This is something that Al Gore and his cronies have made millions of dollars of perpetuating a myth. That’s what I think.
Matthews: How are you standing on evolution these days?
Christie: I’m feeling pretty good in evolution.
Matthews: Do you believe in it?
Christie: God it our creator and I think that we all fall from the good Lord.
Matthews: So you don’t believe in evolution?
Christie: I believe that God is our Creator and we all from the good Lord.
Matthews: What is with the troglodyte? The Luddites? What is the party that used to believe in things?
Christie: Troglodytes? It’s true. One of the things you’re missing here is faith. You’re missing faith in this country.
Matthews: Excuse me, I don’t want to just plum the depths the position the party is taking that is so far right these days. Let’s go back to life on this planet here.

Watch the video here: http://patdollard.com/2012/01/chris-matthews-people-who-believe-god-is-their-creator-are-troglodytes/

I looked up troglodyte in the dictionary:

A member of a supposed prehistoric race that lived in caves or holes, a caveman.
(by extension) Anything that lives underground.
The cave was populated by albino scorpions, blind salamanders, and other troglodytes.
A reclusive, reactionary or out-of-date person, especially if brutish.
(computing) A person who chooses not to keep up-to-date with the latest software and hardware.

Is Obama "Putin's patsy?"

2012-01-27T14:27:00.001-07:00

This writer believes that Obama is "Putin's patsy." She documents her case here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/russia_re-elect_obama_or_its_world_war_iii.html
and here: http://pjmedia.com/blog/clueless-obama-still-trying-to-reset-with-russia/?singlepage=true

J.C. Watts says Newt has the record

2012-01-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Add J.C. Watts and Laura Ingraham to those who laugh at people who say Gingrich is not a conservative. While Ingraham praises Romney today on her radio program for being extremely well rehearsed on the delivery of his message, and winning last night's debate, J.C, Watts points out Gingrich's record of real accomplishments such as balancing the budget. He reminds us that Margaret Thatcher said, "Win the argument, and you'll win the vote." Isn't balancing the budget one of the most important issues we have confronting us in this election?

Limbaugh, Reagan, O'Reilly note smear campaigns against Gingrich

2012-01-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Newsmax has two posts today quoting Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Reagan, and Nancy Reagan praising Newt Gingrich's conservative credentials.
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Limbaugh-Reagan-Gingrich-Romney/2012/01/26/id/425666
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Bill-OReilly-Talking-Points/2012/01/26/id/425704?s=al&promo_code=E092-1

Confusing, deceptive words

2012-01-27T12:03:00.001-07:00

Obama was here in Colorado giving a fifteen minute speech to a specially selected closed-to-the-public audience that was "hushed," missing obvious applause lines, according to Denver Post reporter Jeremy P. Meyer. Meyer said the crowd seemed "strangely silent," and, at one point, Obama had to encourage the crowd to clap! Maybe they were confused at his message, which was that we should have "an all-of-the-above energy policy," given the fact that he had just nixed the pipeline from Canada to Houston, which would have created thousands of jobs.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_19831727?source=bb
Update: Perhaps there is another reason why there was a hushed, strange silence:
http://pjmedia.com/barryrubin/2012/01/27/as-the-state-of-the-union-speech-shows-the-problem-with-obama-isnt-just-political-or-ideological-its-ignorance-inexperience-character-and-incompetence-too/?singlepage=true
Update 2: It turns out that increased oil production is coming from non-federal lands. Oil production on federal lands has plummeted since Obama was elected: http://www.coloradopeakpolitics.com/diary/977/fact-check-the-real-obama-energy-policy-is-killing-job-growth-in-the-west
Update 3: Darleen Click reminds us that Sarah Palin is the one who first popularized "the all-of-the-above" energy strategy Obama in now mouthing: http://proteinwisdom.com/

Hurting

2012-01-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

David Goldman (Spengler) brings us four graphs of the Obama years. One shows the rise in unemployment of African American young men, another shows the fact that real estate assets of American households have lost one-quarter of their value, another shows the 16 million people who should be working but aren't, and the fourth shows unemployment rates. There are a whole lot of people hurting: http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2012/01/24/obama-is-toast/

Asian-Pacific region embraces the U.S. military

2012-01-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

China is rising as a military power, and being more assertive in staking claims to disputed territories, such as the energy-rich South China Sea. That might explain why countries such as Australia, Singapore, and the Phillippines seem happy to have as their guests various units of the United States military: http://www.neptunuslex.com/2012/01/26/baliktican-come-in/

Michael Reagan supporting Newt

2012-01-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Michael Reagan is supporting Newt Gingrich. Megan Kelly tries hard in this interview with Michael on Fox to get him to agree with Newt's critics, but Michael, like his famous father, is unshakeable.

Mark Levin reminds us: this is about defeating Obama!

2012-01-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Santorum supporter Mark Levin talks about the "establishment's" effort to "clear a path for Romney." He reminds his listeners that Romney did the same thing to Fred Thompson (who is supporting Gingrich) and Rudy Giulliani in 2008. Levin concludes that "Newt Gingrich did more for the conservative movement than virtually all of his present critics put together!"
Listen to the whole thing here: http://www.therightscoop.com/mark-levin-newt-did-more-for-the-conservative-movement-than-virtually-all-of-his-critics-today/

Reagan's mention of Gingrich in his diary

2012-01-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Fred Barnes unearthed what is perhaps President Reagan's only mention of Newt Gingrich in Reagan's diary: “Newt Gingrich has a proposal for freezing the budget at the 1983 level. It’s a tempting idea except that it would cripple our defense program. And if we make an exception on that every special interest group will be asking for the same thing.”
I found this here: http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/50402

Framing the debate

2012-01-26T14:27:00.001-07:00

Newt Gingrich is framing the debate: attacking Romney and Obama, as he flies around Florida with his wife at his side smiling and applauding.
I found this at http://ace.mu.nu./
Update: rdbrewer at Ace, though accompanying his post with a photo of Frankenstein, has decided, like I have, that Newt is the better candidate to go up against Obama.

Practicing seven wonders

2012-01-26T14:17:00.001-07:00

I finished reading The 7, by Glenn Beck and Keith Ablow. It is about how our lives can change for the better, if we allow ourselves to experience these seven "wonders:" courage, faith, compassion, truth, friendship, family, and common sense. I appreciate the authors sharing how these seven wonders have enriched their lives, even though at times it was painful for them to face the lack of these qualities in their own lives. I know I have benefited from reading the book, and I hope I can inculcate and practice some of these qualities in my life better than I have in the past.

Courting the West

2012-01-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today President Obama comes to Colorado, after visiting Arizona and Nevada, three states he needs to win in November. His more-of-the-same agenda includes opening up public lands for clean-energy private investments, spurring the military to go green, and doling out more tax incentives to the domestic clean energy sector. That worked well with Solyandra, you may recall. I like this photo of Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona pointing her finger at the Prez. Obama does not do well with women with whom he works, as reported in Ron Suskind's book Confidence Men.
Update: Iowahawk notes that the Sunday Washington Post has recognized that Solyandra is a "scandal," even though the Post's liberal perspective misinterprets who are the real victims of the scandal. http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2011/12/journalistic-sun-stroke.html
Update 2: "This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy," and "except the Keystone pipeline." That's what you call an "internal contradiction." http://onecosmos.blogspot.com/

Not jumping on the bandwagon

2012-01-26T11:47:00.003-07:00

Today Ace analyzes why he and others are not jumping on the Gingrich bandwagon: http://ace.mu.nu./

Special Ops to the rescue!

2012-01-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

This 32-year-pld American aid worker was rescued today by American Special Operations troops in Somalia. She had been kidnapped in October by Somali pirates. All nine of the terrorists who were holding her hostage are now dead.
Update: This is another public relations coup by Obama, and deservedly so. He called the woman's father after his State of the Union Address to let the father know that his daughter was okay.

The Republican Bill Clinton?

2012-01-25T20:38:00.003-07:00

Rich Lowry says Newt Gingrich is the Republican Bill Clinton. I hope that means he'll be President for eight years. Like the others at National Review, Rich has few positive things to say about Newt. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/288989/gingrich-republican-clinton-rich-lowry

Obama's numbers

2012-01-24T21:13:00.002-07:00

Mike's America has a great graphic illustrating Obama's numbers from Jan 2009 to now on a variety of important subjects: http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2012/01/viewing-guides-for-obamas-state-of.html

Some aliens will resort to anything for a good steak!

2012-01-24T20:43:00.002-07:00

I found this here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/114658

Blah, blah, blah

2012-01-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I had to do a lot of driving in the car, so I listened to talk radio. The sports show was boring. NPR was trying their best to take down Newt Gingrich. Mark Steyn was in for Rush. He ain't no Rush. Glenn Beck and his two sidekicks were hard to listen to because each was trying to out-sarcasm the other, and all were obviously for Rick Santorum, as they took turns bashing Newt and being bored by Romney. I slid an audio book into the player. It was Glenn Beck's book The Seven. In it Glenn writes about the painful but ultimately happy process of overcoming addictions and finding authenticity. I sure wish this authentic man would spend less time with the sarcasm on his radio program. It gets really old. By the way, did you know that the only place you can get real news is on GBTV and the Blaze? Yup, I heard it from Glenn!

Adventures with Sara by Sara Agard, age 8

2012-01-24T19:35:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time there was a girl named Sara. She owned a horse named Peanut. She lived on a farm. She liked to play with cats, make things, and pretend she was a pirate who doesn't wear shoes. She had six dogs. She liked to make up things using her imagination. She loved cats. On her wall there were lots of pictures of cats. Sara had five cats. She was the smartest person in her class. She had 112 friends. There were 88 people in her class. She had one best friend named Cora. She had a little brother named Ang and a little sister named Mo.

There was a castle right in back of her house. Prince Zuko was banished from the castle. No one was supposed to talk about it, or else they would also be banished from the kingdom. Zuko was in a meeting with one of the lords who run the kingdom. Mo came into the meeting and asked why Zuko was banished. Sara told the lord not to talk to her sister like that. They never did find out why Zuko was banished from the castle.

Complete vindication of Gingrich on ethics charges

2012-01-24T18:52:00.003-07:00

http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2012/01/gingrich-ethics-charges-cnn-report-complete-vindication-john-lewis-claim-of-massive-tax-fraud-a-fraud-video/

Transcript of tonight's State of the Union address

2012-01-24T17:33:00.002-07:00

I have obtained a copy of tonight's State of the Union address:

“Thank you, thank you please be seated. You are all starting to look like the liberal media with all this idolatry. Ok, I am going to keep this short tonight. Tee off is 6:30am in Pebble Beach and I need enough time to get to the west coast. (turn head and ask “Does Nancy still have the jet? That would help a lot”). Before we start I would like to thank Senate majority leader Harry Reid for helping me to stall a lot of legislation in the Senate. Thank you to Vice President Biden for his gaffes which allows Fox News to focus on him for a while. And a special “thank you” to Speaker Boehner for single handedly solving the worlds’ water problems with all those tears (wait for laughter to die down).

Since I have been elected President in 2008 I have been hard at work for you, the American people. In fact, sleep is at a premium these days because I have been working tirelessly pandering to union bosses to make sure my campaign donations don’t dry up. In three short years as your Commander in Chief we have accomplished many things for the citizens of this once great nation and most particularly for the middle class.

Our debt and deficits are at dangerous levels…they are too low. How can we possibly look to restrain the size of government intervention in your lives if we continue to have people demanding for government to live within its means. That’s why we haven’t passed a budget in 1,000 days….to give overpaid bureaucrats the much needed freedom to continue spending on their favorite pet projects like teaching shrimp to run on a treadmill or counting the number of male prostitutes in Vietnam or putting poems in zoos. These are the things that put Americans back to work. These are the spending projects that the middle class is demanding.

We have killed the Keystone XL Pipeline which would have brought oil from Canada to our refineries in Texas and Louisiana. We did this for two major reasons: one, strategically we wanted China to get this oil so they can continue to import cheap products to the U.S. so the Chinese will have the money to loan us, and, two, as your President I want oil prices to stay high so traveling for you would be too expensive. Middle class families would then be forced to stay home and cook dinner and watch T.V. This is all part of Michelle’s “Keeping The Family Together Energy Dependence Plan”. It will work. Just give it some time and it will show the same fruits as our stimulus plan. Who do the Canadian’s think they are anyway? It’s not like they are a staunch ally of ours like my good friend Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

And finally we will continue to focus on education. Tonight I am rolling out my new “Occupy The Classroom” initiative. This will allow students to go to college under a special grant that never has to be re-paid as long as you tell us in good faith that you are trying to find work after you obtain your degree. If you cannot find work within 10 years, the federal government will erase the debt.

When I took office I said this would be the most transparent administration in history and I have kept that promise. During my campaign I told everyone that would listen what I would do when President. Did you really expect for me to govern from the center? So, in closing, I will say this…and let me be clear…class warfare benefits everyone…redistribution of wealth benefits everyone…reckless government spending benefits everyone. Let’s continue to prey on the uninformed and together, we will finish our transition to a bankrupt European nation.

God bless you and God bless the United Socialist States of America! (slowly back away and don’t trip over teleprompter)
P.S. Don’t forget to take our online poll: “What are you most afraid of happening in 2012?”…. Barack Obama getting re-elected or the world coming to an end on Dec. 21st? Cast your vote HERE
via http://governmentgonewild.org/stateofunionaddress

Payback

2012-01-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

Arizona is getting in some payback with Eric Holder. The state is looking into whether or not the Feds broke Arizona laws in allowing guns to walk into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="video" width="400" height="340" data="http://www.abc15.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=16926">

My man Fred endorses Newt

2012-01-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Fred Thompson endorsed Newt Gingrich tonight. "I have come to the growing realization that Newt Gingrich is the guy who can articulate what America is all about," Thompson told Fox News.

Coulter and Christie, Romney's "spokesbigmouths"

2012-01-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

The Right Scoop features a segment of Mark Levin's radio program today in which Mark defends Gingrich against "Krispie Creme" Christy of New Jersey for being Romney's "Spokesbigmouth" repeating left wing b.s. charges against Gingrich. Ann Coulter, of all people, accuses Gingrich of being "bombastic!"
Here is Levin on Christie: http://www.therightscoop.com/mark-levin-blasts-christie-for-parroting-old-left-wing-ethics-propaganda-against-newt/
Here is The Professor on Coulter: http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/01/coulter-world/
Update: John Hinderaker of Power Line is another conservative who does not seem enthusiastic about Newt: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/01/congratulations-newt.php

Naked pictures, or get groped?

2012-01-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

Senator Rand Paul was detained by the TSA in the Nashville airport today after he refused to go through their procedures. Sunny decides to do this video about the TSA. This is her funniest one yet that I have seen.

Red meat

2012-01-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

With people like Ann Coulter sad about Romney's decline and Gingrich's advance, how do we analyze the situation? Ace of Spades works really hard today to give Romney some advice: http://ace.mu.nu./

Facing truths

2012-01-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book written by Glen Beck and psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow. It is entitled The 7. It is about discovering the truths about who each of us really is. Did you know Glenn's mother committed suicide? Glenn's confusion, sadness, and anger over this event caused him to turn to drugs and alcohol, have lousy personal relationships, and go from job to job. Meeting his second wife, Tonya, was a key turning point, followed closely by his finding faith in himself by finding faith in God through his participation in the Mormon church.

It is about "the 7 wonders" that a person can experience on the way to personal transformation and fulfillment. The first two wonders are courage and faith. The book seems very sound to me, both in its religious and psychological concepts.

Update: "Without question, truth is the most important value of a civilization." What is truth? "Well, for one thing, it is the thing that results in bad stuff happening if we fail to appreciate it." http://onecosmos.blogspot.com/

he Tale of the Trolls: The birth of the beginning by Jon Agard, age eleven

2012-01-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

Prologue:
A starship soared through the blackened space, leaving a trail of roaring fire to dissolve. In a split second peaceful flying turned into complete chaos. Beep, beep, beep, the siren blared. The pilot ran into the sleeping hanger and yelled, "Up, up up: Emergency!" We are heading into a black hole! The ship morphed through the vortex, leaving the passengers extremely uncomfortable. The doors were opened, and the three captains piled out. Even in their pain, they were speechless - for there in front of their eyes was a land of intense beauty. They found many amazing things; waterfalls the size of skyscrapers, vast deserts, trees with roots over fifteen miles long. and, to their great surprise, aliens! Thousands of different species of aliens! They could not believe what they had finally found: life!

The aliens made friends with the men, and they all learned great things. The aliens taught them their language and ways, and the men taught them their technology. Soon a whole new world was born.

The three captains that landed the ship were named Harold Sheridan, Sandoval Sarvis, and Jerry Hellsting. One day the three men were taking a hike, exploring the new land. They walked over a hill. Jerry saw something. There was a giant pit filled with crystals. A huge earthquake happened. One guy fell into the pit. The others asked him if he was alright. "Yeah, I am, he said, as he all of a sudden flew up out of the pit, saying "What the...I'm flying!" The crystals were sources of power. Sarvis said, "We can use this power to take over the universe. Hellsting said, "No, we can use these crystals for good, keep peace among all living beings." Sarvis grabbed a crystal and ran away with it. Hellsting and Sarvis became enemies.

Chapter One:
Five hundred years later an alarm clock rang and danced on a desk. A male in his thirties awoke and scratched his head. He rose out of his bed and checked his calendar. A small sprinkle of rain fell along the streets of Tenochtillen City. The man opened his garage door and hopped on his motorcycle. As John McMurpheen drove along the roads, he swerved around a crazy stoopid, a small creature with a loud voice and a big mouth. A few minutes later, doors were opening and cars started filing onto the streets. The rumbling of John 's motorcycle stopped as he walked into a dreary bar that had a sign that read Parkinson's Pub. A man with a hump on his back bellowed, "Hey, John, how're ya doing?" "Pretty good, a raspy voice replied." "Got a few people who answered your ad," said Rumble the bartender. "Oh, good," said John. "They'll be here soon," said Rumble. "Do you want a drink while you wait?" "I'll have a coffee," replied John.

To be continued...

Pay attention to the roar!

2012-01-22T19:52:00.004-07:00

Here is a blog post that gets it right:

The math is clear. While negative ads can be effective if run in huge numbers -- as in Iowa -- what the voters are craving in the debates and on the stump is someone who can look liberals squarely in the eye and tell them why we are right and they are wrong. The American conservative base has had to put up with being called stupid, racist, greedy and unfair for decades by not only the Democrats but the vast majority of the media. The pent up frustration of these decades is magnified by the fact that George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush and John McCain would not or perhaps could not confront this.

In fact, rare is the Republican candidate at any level who refuses to put up with this and fights back. When they do, they become sensations. Even Chris Christie and Donald Trump -- neither one a real conservative -- earned the love of the Republican base by simply deigning to fight back. Marco Rubio and Allen West are far more popular and well known than they have any right to be simply because they refuse to accept the

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/psst_hear_the_roar_and_pay_attention.html#ixzz1kFJp9OhJ

No more bowing to Saudi Kings!

2012-01-21T21:11:00.001-07:00

via http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/01/newt-victory-speech-no-more-bowing-to-saudi-king/

GOP voters in South Carolina choose a fighter

2012-01-21T21:06:00.000-07:00