“I think in 20 years’ time we will look back at this whole climate change debate and ask ourselves how on earth were we ever conned into spending the billions of pounds which are going into this without any kind of rigorous examination of the background, the science, the implications of it all. Because there is now a degree of hysteria about it, fairly unformed hysteria I’ve got to say as well.
“I mean I get it in the Assembly all the time and most of the people who shout about climate change have not read one article about climate change, not read one book about climate change, if you asked them to explain how they believe there’s a connection between CO2 emission and the effects which they claim there’s going to be, if you ask them to explain the thought process or the modeling that is required and the assumptions behind that and how tenuous all the connections are, they wouldn’t have a clue.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Environment minister Sammy Wilson: I still think man-made climate change is a con
Saturday, December 27, 2008
2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved
2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved - Telegraph
...Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions...
Friday, December 19, 2008
CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory 'Arrogant'
CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory 'Arrogant'
“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant,” Myers said. “Mother Nature is so big, the world is so big, the oceans are so big – I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or we’re going to die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure.”
Myers is the second CNN meteorologist to challenge the global warming conventions common in the media. He also said trying to determine patterns occurring in the climate would be difficult based on such a short span.
“But this is like, you know you said – in your career – my career has been 22 years long,” Myers said. “That’s a good career in TV, but talking about climate – it’s like having a car for three days and saying, ‘This is a great car.’ Well, yeah – it was for three days, but maybe in days five, six and seven it won’t be so good. And that’s what we’re doing here.”
“We have 100 years worth of data, not millions of years that the world’s been around,” Myers continued.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Halperin at Politico/USC conf.: 'extreme pro-Obama' press bias
Thanks for pointing it out, Mark. Now, go look at the last 20 issues of your own magazine and take a hard look in the mirror. Some in the mainstream media now have buyer's remorse and are trying to undo the damage they caused to their own reputations. It ain't gonna work.
Media bias was more intense in the 2008 election than in any other national campaign in recent history, Time magazine's Mark Halperin said Friday at the Politico/USC conference on the 2008 election.
"It's the most disgusting failure of people in our business since the Iraq war," Halperin said at a panel of media analysts. "It was extreme bias, extreme pro-Obama coverage."
Halperin at Politico/USC conf.: 'extreme pro-Obama' press bias - Alexander Burns - Politico.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Survey finds most Obama voters remembered negative coverage of McCain/Palin statements but struggled to correctly answer questions about coverage associated with Obama/Biden
UTICA, New York -- Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
Only 54% of Obama voters were able to answer at least half or more of the questions correctly.
The 12-question, multiple-choice survey found questions regarding statements linked to Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice-presidential running-mate Sarah Palin were far more likely to be answered correctly by Obama voters than questions about statements associated with Obama and Vice-President–Elect Joe Biden. The telephone survey of 512 Obama voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 13-15, 2008, and carries a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points. The survey was commissioned by John Ziegler, author of The Death of Free Speech, producer of the recently released film "Blocking the Path to 9/11" and producer of the upcoming documentary film, Media Malpractice...How Obama Got Elected.
"After I interviewed Obama voters on Election Day for my documentary, I had a pretty low opinion of what most of them had picked up from the media coverage of the campaign, but this poll really proves beyond any doubt the stunning level of malpractice on the part of the media in not educating the Obama portion of the voting populace," said Ziegler.
Ninety-four percent of Obama voters correctly identified Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter, 86% correctly identified Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party, and 81% chose McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned. When asked which candidate said they could "see Russia from their house," 87% chose Palin, although the quote actually is attributed to Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey during her portrayal of Palin during the campaign. An answer of "none" or "Palin" was counted as a correct answer on the test, given that the statement was associated with a characterization of Palin.
Obama voters did not fare nearly as well overall when asked to answer questions about statements or stories associated with Obama or Biden -- 83% failed to correctly answer that Obama had won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot, and 88% did not correctly associate Obama with his statement that his energy policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry. Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.
Nearly three quarters (72%) of Obama voters did not correctly identify Biden as the candidate who had to quit a previous campaign for President because he was found to have plagiarized a speech, and nearly half (47%) did not know that Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.
In addition to questions regarding statements and scandals associated with the campaigns, the 12-question, multiple-choice survey also included a question asking which political party controlled both houses of Congress leading up to the election -- 57% of Obama voters were unable to correctly answer that Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate.
For content, contact: John Ziegler at talktozig@aol.com.
Zogby Statement on Ziegler poll
"We stand by the results our survey work on behalf of John Ziegler, as we stand by all of our work. We reject the notion that this was a push poll because it very simply wasn't. It was a legitimate effort to test the knowledge of voters who cast ballots for Barack Obama in the Nov. 4 election. Push polls are a malicious effort to sway public opinion one way or the other, while message and knowledge testing is quite another effort of public opinion research that is legitimate inquiry and has value in the public square. In this case, the respondents were given a full range of responses and were not pressured or influenced to respond in one way or another. This poll was not designed to hurt anyone, which is obvious as it was conducted after the election. The client is free to draw his own conclusions about the research, as are bloggers and other members of society. But Zogby International is a neutral party in this matter. We were hired to test public opinion on a particular subject and with no ax to grind, that's exactly what we did. We don't have to agree or disagree with the questions, we simply ask them and provide the client with a fair and accurate set of data reflecting public opinion." - John Zogby
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The world has never seen such freezing heat
The world has never seen such freezing heat - Telegraph
A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. On Monday, Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore's chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record.
A sudden cold snap brought snow to London in October
This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China's official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "worst snowstorm ever". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.
So what explained the anomaly? GISS's computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. But when expert readers of the two leading warming-sceptic blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, began detailed analysis of the GISS data they made an astonishing discovery. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.
Friday, November 14, 2008
GOP road sign: Keep Right
By now you've probably heard: The GOP is becoming too regional, too white, too old to compete at a national level. Democrats look like a merging of the cast of "Rent" and Up With People, while Republicans look like diehard fans of "Matlock" and "Murder, She Wrote."
Fine, fine. The GOP needs to win over more Hispanics, young people, suburban women. That sounds perfectly plausible. But what does "win over" mean? ...
Obama quits Senate after 46 months - - 21 of them seeking another job - Los Angeles Times
Just had to post this - simply for the headline...
Ayers Says He Is a 'Family Friend' of Obama
Well look who decides to come out of hiding right after the election...
Ayers Says He Is a 'Family Friend' of Obama
ABC News: Campaign Boogeyman William Ayers Talks to 'GMA'
(ABC/AP Photo )
"We knew it was wrong. We knew it was illegal. We knew it was immoral," he said, but the group's members felt they "had to do more" to stop the Vietnam War.
...Despite Obama's attempt to portray their relationship as a distant one, Ayers, in a new afterward to his book "Fugitive Days," describes Obama as a "neighbor and family friend."
...Ayers remained silent during the presidential race, but his proximity to Obama was highlighted on Election Day when the two men nearly ran into each other in the same polling place.
...Obama and Ayers have several connections. The two men have also served on boards together, including the Woods Fund of Chicago and the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.
...Ayers acknowledged that he held a reception in his home when Obama began his political run for state office.
...Ayers defended his bomb-throwing past and repeated a statement that has infuriated his critics: "I don't think we did enough."
...The college professor also argued...that the bombing campaign by the Weather Underground, the group he helped found, was not terrorism.
To all of you who claimed Obama shouldn't be ashamed of his connections to Ayers - you're fine. You're sick, but you're fine.
To all of you that claimed this wasn't true - eat it!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Question posed to the blogosphere...
What will be your criteria for assessing the effectiveness of an Obama Presidency. Obviously yours will be much different from mine.
I ask because I'd like to break away from the cult of personality style politics that is the norm. My criteria applied to Bush shows such a dismal record that I have a hard time understanding how anyone can stand up for him. Obviously, the criteria is different. So what is the criteria? Can we design a presidential report card by which to hold our candidates accountable? That's going to be my next project.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
An Obama Tilt in Campaign Coverage - washingtonpost.com
awwww. how cute...the Washington Post comes out AFTER the election to admit they were in the tank for Obama.
File this one under "tell us something we dono't already know"...
Deborah Howell - An Obama Tilt in Campaign Coverage - washingtonpost.com
The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace - WSJ.com
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO
Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.
Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
AP
According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.
The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.
It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.
Post-partisan Obama, my ass...
My Way News - Obama's choice of Emanuel shows switch in tone
CHICAGO (AP) - Barack Obama is signaling a shift in tactics and temperament as he moves from candidate to president-elect, picking sharp-elbowed Washington insiders for top posts. His choice Thursday for White House chief of staff - Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan who doesn't mind breaking glass and hurting feelings - is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" surrounded himself with during his campaign.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Senator McCain's concession
Since he was 17-years old, this man has served his country in ways most of us can't even imagine. I may not have always agreed with his stances but I can never question his devotion to the United States of America.
May God bless John McCain.
ELECTION RESULTS
However, this is America and we choose our President by voting in our individual states and appointing our Electors in the Electoral College. It is by this method that Barack Obama has been elected and he is the rightful President-Elect. Let’s have none of this crap about election fraud, cheating, lying, media bias, etc.
Yes, all of those things happened and probably had a major effect on the race. It is our job as citizens to go out and fix those problems going forward.
For now, we get behind our President and extend our prayers that God will guide him to do the right things for our country and the world.
There were some very interesting things that came out of the election tonight:
- I have never seen so many important states come in so close for so long. As I sit here now, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Indiana all are showing 51-49 or closer for either candidate. That a lot of electoral votes that were truly up for grabs. Unfortunately, all of those states went for George W. Bush last time around.
- The popular vote, at least to this point, is much closer than the polls thought it would be.
- We did not lose as many seats in the Senate as were expected.
- I don’t think we will lose as many seats as expected in the House of Representatives.
Ohio will end up being MUCH closer than the networks thought. Heck, they may even end up switching to McCain before it’s over, in which case, I reserve the right to amend my comments :)
Relax, people. America is bigger than Barack Obama or John McCain. We will survive and we will recover. Be proud of your country for being able to conduct and endure elections like these.
Let the Democrats have their day in the sun.
The revolution begins tomorrow…
Things to do and expect on election day.
Second, make sure anyone you know that said they would vote McCain/Palin has done so. If they haven’t – take them and wait with them.
After that –relax. What will be, will be.
I’d love to tell you that McCain will stomp Obama and the Republicans will regain control of the House and Senate. That ain’t gonna happen.
If McCain wins, it will be by a slim electoral margin – I still hold out hope that states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin will lean our way and make it more convincing but we shall see. Even without any of those states, McCain can win. If there is any stomping to be done tonight, it will be done by Obama – let’s hope that’s not the case.
Here are some early election results to look for (not exit polls!! Results!!):
New Hampshire – We could really use a win here and it could make for very interesting electoral math if we do. Remember, urban areas tend to submit results before suburban and rural areas so the first reports will probably lean Democratic. If McCain wins here, we are probably in for a very good night. If he loses but is close (say 4 points or less), we are in for a long night of counting, and if he gets trounced here, things aren’t looking good.
Virginia – put very simply, if McCain loses Virginia, we have probably lost the night. The polls have tightened and things look ok but this state is crucial. Remember, early returns will favor Obama.
Georgia – I don’t think there’s any way McCain loses Georgia. If he does, go to bed.
Remember, exit polls mean squat – there are way too many early voters this time around – don’t listen good or bad and it may be good. Ignore the exit polls!
One interesting note: if McCain wins New Hampshire, we may see a scenario where one of Maine’s 4 electoral votes decides the Presidency. It’s highly unlikely but that sure would get people learning even more about the Electoral College.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Palin cleared by Alaska panel in power abuse probe
Imagine that! and on the day before the election after the evening news cycle. I wonder why the first (and wrong!) report came out so early.
Things that make you go 'hmmm'...
Palin cleared by Alaska panel in power abuse probe - Yahoo! News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was cleared on Monday of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power investigation into the firing of the state's public safety commissioner.
The Alaska Personnel Board report ran contrary to findings from a legislative inquiry that concluded in October she had abused the power of her office by pressuring subordinates to fire a state trooper involved in a feud with her family.
Palin, who is Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, brought the issue to the personnel board herself. The board, a three-member panel under Palin's authority, was responsible for determining if she had broken any laws.
The legislative inquiry, which Palin called a partisan effort led by Democrats, carried no penalty.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry
I'll be the folks in Pennsylvania would love to know this...
Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry | NewsBusters.org
"Let me sort of describe my overall policy.
What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."
Saturday, November 1, 2008
OBAMA 2012: HIS TRIUMPHS ABROAD
OBAMA 2012: HIS TRIUMPHS ABROAD - New York Post
OUR GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY PRESIDENT?
By RALPH PETERS
Looking back on the four years of his first administration, President Obama can be proud: He made the US welcome among the family of nations again; he reduced our reliance on military force; and he gave us peace by reaching sensible accommodations with our enemies.
The lies told about him in the 2008 election were exposed as sheer bigotry. Far from being "soft on radical Islam," President Obama was the first world leader to welcome Jewish refugees after Iran's nuclear destruction of Israel's major cities (his only caveat - a fair one - was the refusal to accept Zionist military officers and their families, in light of Israel's excessive retaliation)...
This would be funny if it wasn't so damned scary...and possible...
What you were never intended to know in this election
I have absolutely no idea whether this is legitimate or not, but it makes for very interesting reading.
RedState: What you were never intended to know in this election
After a long and careful consideration of all the implications and possible consequences of my actions today, I have decided to go through with this in the hope that our country can indeed be guided into the right direction. First, a little personal background… I am a female grad student in my 20’s, and a registered Democrat. During the primaries, I was a campaign worker for the Clinton candidacy. I believed in her and still do, staying all the way to the bitter end. And believe me, it was bitter. The snippets you’ve heard from various media outlets only grazed the surface. There was no love between the Clinton and Obama campaigns, and these feelings extended all the way to the top...
Study: Media coverage has favored Obama campaign
File this under the category of "duh!"
Study: Media coverage has favored Obama campaign
NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain supporters who believe they haven't gotten a fair shake from the media during the Republican's candidacy against Barack Obama have a new study to point to.
Comments made by sources, voters, reporters and anchors that aired on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts over the past two months reflected positively on Obama in 65 percent of cases, compared to 31 percent of cases with regards to McCain, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
ABC's "World News" had more balance than NBC's "Nightly News" or the "CBS Evening News," the group said.
Meanwhile, the first half of Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network broadcasters, although it was dominated by negative evaluations of both campaigns. The center didn't evaluate programs on CNN or MSNBC.
"For whatever reason, the media are portraying Barack Obama as a better choice for president than John McCain," said Robert Lichter, a George Mason University professor and head of the center. "If you watch the evening news, you'd think you should vote for Obama."
Obama Lays Plans to Kill Expectations After Election Victory - FOXNews.com Elections
Obama Lays Plans to Kill Expectations After Election Victory -
By Tim Reid, The Times of London
Confident in an Election Day win, the campaign looks to lower supporters' expectations on concerns their hopes of 'change' are unrealistic, a senior aide says
Barack Obama's senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week's election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harboring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve...
State employee says she was ordered to check out Joe the Plumber
oh, my...
The Columbus Dispatch : State employee says she was ordered to check out Joe the Plumber
State employee says she was ordered to check out Joe the Plumber
Friday, October 31, 2008 10:21 PM
By Randy Ludlow
The Columbus Dispatch
Vanessa Niekamp said that when she was asked to run a child-support check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher on Oct. 16, she thought it routine. A supervisor told her the man had contacted the state agency about his case.
Niekamp didn't know she just had checked on "Joe the Plumber," who was elevated the night before to presidential politics prominence as Republican John McCain's example in a debate of an average American.
The senior manager would not learn about "Joe" for another week, when she said her boss informed her and directed her to write an e-mail stating her computer check was a legitimate inquiry.
The reason Niekamp said she was given for checking if there was a child-support case on Wurzelbacher does not match the reason given by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Director Helen Jones-Kelley said her agency checks people who are "thrust into the public spotlight," amid suggestions they may have come into money, to see if they owe support or are receiving undeserved public assistance.
Niekamp told The Dispatch she is unfamiliar with the practice of checking on the newly famous. "I've never done that before, I don't know of anybody in my office who does that and I don't remember anyone ever doing that," she said today.
Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland and Jones-Kelley, both supporters of Democrat Barack Obama, have denied political motives in checking on Wurzelbacher.
Some interesting headlines as we head into November
Yes, these are all real news stories out there on the wires right now. Someone tell me again why I'm supposed to be a depressed, demoralized conservative???
Crude Oil Is Poised for Record Monthly Drop as Demand Declines
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, poised for its biggest monthly drop since trading began in 1983, on concern that the decline in the U.S. economy will curb fuel demand in the world's largest energy user.
ZOGBY: MCCAIN MOVES INTO LEAD 48-47 IN ONE DAY POLLING
ZOGBY SATURDAY: Republican John McCain has pulled back within the margin of error... The three-day average holds steady, but McCain outpolled Obama 48% to 47% in Friday, one day, polling. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters.
U.S. stocks rose, capping the biggest weekly gain since 1974
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, capping the biggest weekly gain since 1974, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. took steps to end the housing crisis, bank lending rates declined and earnings from companies outside the financial industry expanded four times faster than the previous quarter.
CBS swings to $12.46B 3Q loss after hefty charge
CBS Corp. posted a massive third-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $14.12 billion charge to write down the value of media assets on its books.
Washington Post Co. Earnings Plummet in Third Quarter
The Washington Post Co. today reported an 86 percent decline in third-quarter earnings compared with the same period last year, as a significant loss at the flagship newspaper offset gains at the company's education and cable divisions.
Obama aunt from Kenya living in US illegally
WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Palestinians toil for Barack Obama win
Palestinian students in Gasa are cold-calling US voters to urge them to support their hero Barack Obama.
Obama: those who don't want higher taxes 'selfishness'
"John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic," Obama continued. "You know I don't know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Report: Journalists From Three Newspapers Booted From Obama's Plane
Report: Journalists From Three Newspapers Booted From Obama's Plane - FOXNews.com Elections
Journalists from three major newspapers that endorsed John McCain have reportedly been booted from Barack Obama's campaign plane for the final leg of the presidential race.
The Washington Times reported Friday that it was notified of the Obama campaign's decision Thursday evening -- even though the paper has covered Obama from the start.
Executive Editor John Solomon told FOXNews.com that the Obama campaign said it didn't have enough seats on the plane, but "I don't think the explanation makes sense to us."
"We've been traveling since 2007 with him. ... We're a relevant newspaper -- every day we break news," Solomon said. "And to suddenly be kicked off the plane for people who haven't covered it as aggressively or thoroughly as we are ... it sort of feels unfair."
He said the newspaper protested but was turned down again by the campaign.
"I can only hope that the candidate who describes himself as wanting to unite the nation doesn't have some sort of litmus test for who he decides gets to cover the campaign," Solomon said, noting that the Obama campaign's decision came just two days after the paper endorsed McCain.
The New York Post and Dallas Morning News also have been kicked off Obama's plane...
hmm...is this the "chill wind" that Tim Robbins spoke of??
Thursday, October 30, 2008
About Obama’s Mother And Medical Bills | Sweetness & Light
Very interesting discussion of Obama's claims surrounding his mother's passing. This has nothing to do with his mother but everything to do with Obama not being able to tell the truth and constantly put his political aspirations above all else. Note the timeline of events at the bottom. "She died on November 7th 1995, before he could get there." More like "after he didn't bother to go see her because he was too busy pushing his book and starting his political career with William Ayers"
Apparently Mr. Obama touched upon his mother’s death and lack of health insurance in his infomercial last night.
A little more than a year ago Mr. Obama ran an ad featuring his mother’s death from cancer.
From the Obama campaign and the Chicago Tribune:
Obama’s mother in new ad
by John McCormick
Posted September 20, 2007
Sen. Barack Obama is using an image of his deceased mother in a new campaign ad that seeks to make the case that he is the best qualified to bring change in the way the nation delivers health care.
Called “Mother,” the 30-second ad briefly shows a picture of Stanley Ann Dunham, who died of cancer in 1995. The image includes a very young Obama in her arms….
It’s an anecdote Obama has been recently field testing on the campaign trail. This is how he told the story of his mother’s illness during a recent campaign stop in Santa Barbara, Calif.:
“I remember my mother. She was 53 years old when she died of ovarian cancer, and you know what she was thinking about in the last months of her life? She wasn’t thinking about getting well. She wasn’t thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality. She had been diagnosed just as she was transitioning between jobs.
And she wasn’t sure whether insurance was going to cover the medical expenses because they might consider this a preexisting condition.
I remember just being heartbroken, seeing her struggle through the paperwork and the medical bills and the insurance forms. So, I have seen what it’s like when somebody you love is suffering because of a broken health care system. And it’s wrong. It’s not who we are as a people.” …
Like most of Mr. Obama’s life, the details about his mother’s death are sketchy and often contradictory.
But just going on the few details we have been permitted, some questions arise.
From the Washington Post:
Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, It Is Hawaii That Made His Rise Possible
Sunday, August 24, 2008; Page A22
… But now [Obama] was drawn back to Hawaii to say goodbye to his mother. Too late, as it turned out. She died on Nov. 7, 1995, before he could get there.
Ann had returned to Honolulu early that year, a few months before “Dreams From My Father” was published. She was weakened from a cancer that had been misdiagnosed in Indonesia as indigestion. American doctors first thought it was ovarian cancer, but an examination at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York determined that it was uterine cancer that had spread to her ovaries.
Stan had died a few years earlier, and Madelyn still lived in the apartment on Beretania. Ann took an apartment on the same floor, and underwent chemotherapy treatments while keeping up with her work as best she could. “She took it in stride,” said Alice Dewey, chair of the University of Hawaii anthropology department, where Ann did her doctoral dissertation. “She never complained. Never said, ‘Why me?’”
As the article notes, Stanley Ann Dunham Soetero developed cancer in 1994 while in Indonesia (it was mis-diagnosed). She then moved to Hawaii where she died in 1995.
According to the article she was treated at the best cancer treatment center in the world, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. So so much for her lack of care.
Moreover, Sloan-Kettering often offers National Institute Of Health “protocols” where one gets treatment for free (even transportation is paid).
Did she try to get into one of these protocols. If not, why not? If so, what medical expenses did she have?
Apparently, Mrs. Soetero later received chemotherapy at the Straub Clinic in Hawaii. Straub claims to be Hawaii’s best health care organization, and may have also offered NIH protocols at the time, or have been part of the Sloan-Kettering protocol.
Obama has also at times claimed his mother was on food stamps at the time of her death. If that’s true, why wouldn’t she have been also eligible for Medicaid as well?
Also, according to the Washington Post article, Mrs. Soetero was “between jobs.” But also it states that she worked up to the time of her death.
If that is so, given that her daughter was being taken care of by her mother and Obama had long since left home, why did she need food stamps at all?
Furthermore, if Mrs. Soetero was having issues with insurance while she was dying, why didn’t Obama, a Harvard Law graduate, try to assist her instead of letting her deal with it by herself?
Also, one wonders why Mr. Obama didn’t get a better paying job to help his mother with her medical expenses — if only temporarily. He has often bragged that he could have taken jobs that would have given him outlandish figures.
And then there is the claim about Mr. Obama not being able to get to his mother before she died:
But now [Obama] was drawn back to Hawaii to say goodbye to his mother. Too late, as it turned out. She died on Nov. 7, 1995, before he could get there.
As the article notes, Mrs. Soetero died on November 7th, 1995. From all reports, such as those about his grandmother’s recent illness, Obama never went to Hawaii to see his mother in the several months before her death.
What was he doing instead?
In 1995 Barack was preparing for his Illinois State Senate race. In late summer he took time off to go around the country on a book tour for his “Dreams From My Father.”
On September 19th he launched his campaign in Chicago. In October he went on the “Million Man March.”
Where was Mr. Obama’s compassion then?
And if Mr. Obama will lie about his dying mother, is there anything he won’t lie about?
Al Qaeda Wants GOP, Bush ‘Humiliated’
Al Qaeda Wants GOP, Bush ‘Humiliated’ Sweetness & Light
From Al Qaeda’s mouthpiece, Reuters:
Qaeda wants Republicans, Bush “humiliated”: Web video
DUBAI (Reuters) – An al Qaeda leader has called for President George W. Bush and the Republicans to be “humiliated,” without endorsing any party in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to a video posted on the Internet.
“O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the Worlds, degrade and defy him,” Abu Yahya al-Libi said at the end of sermon marking the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, in a video posted on the Internet.
Libi, one of the top al Qaeda commanders believed to be living in Afghanistan or Pakistan, called for God’s wrath to be brought against Bush equating him with past tyrants in history.
The remarks were the first comments from a leading al Qaeda figure referring, albeit indirectly, to the U.S. elections. Muslim clerics often end sermons by calling on God to guide and support Muslims and help defeat their enemies…
Isn’t it odd how closely Al Qaeda’s talking points and those of the Democrat Party align?
Speaking of the DNC, somehow this video has yet to make an appearance on Google’s YouTube.
Instead, a YouTube search for Al Qaeda returns “Al Qaeda Endorses McCain” as the top hit.
Why is that, do you think?
Obama's prime-time ad skips over budget realities
Obama's prime-time ad skips over budget realities
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.
Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are—beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Rasmussen Reports™: Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Barack Obama attracting 50% of the vote nationwide while John McCain earns 47%. This is the first time McCain has been within three points of Obama in more than a month and the first time his support has topped 46% since September 24...
Folks, I follow Rasmussen EVERY day and this is MAJOR shift toward McCain. Less than a week ago, they had Obama up by eight and they've had him at 7 or 8 for two weeks straight.
Now if you recall from my earlier post here, I don't believe this is a shift is actual voter preference (although there is some of that going on). I believe this is the beginning of the "reputable" polling organizations like Rasmussen and Zogby shifting their own polling so they can say they were more "accurate" with the final results.
If you notice, the media is beginning to bang the drum a little more for McCain these days - not everywhere - but in small doses.
This race is NOT over and YOU will make a difference. If you can vote early - DO IT! and then take Obama's unofficial national holiday and help get out the vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
LA Times Refuses to Release Tape of Obama Praising Controversial Activist
LA Times Refuses to Release Tape of Obama Praising Controversial Activist - FOXNews.com Elections
The Los Angeles Times is refusing to release a videotape that it says shows Barack Obama praising a Chicago professor who was an alleged mouthpiece for the Palestine Liberation Organization while it was a designated terrorist group in the 1970s and '80s.
According an LA Times article written by Peter Wallsten in April, Obama was a "friend and frequent dinner companion" of Rashid Khalidi, who from 1976 to1982 was reportedly a director of the official Palestinian press agency, WAFA, which was operating in exile from Beirut with the PLO.
Click here to read the original LA Times story: 'Palestinians See a Friend in Barack Obama.'
In the article -- based on the videotape obtained by the Times -- Wallsten said Obama addressed an audience during a 2003 farewell dinner for Khalidi, who was Obama's colleague at the University of Chicago, before his departure for Columbia University in New York. Obama said his many talks with Khalidi and his wife Mona stood as "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases."...
Let's keep it moving, folks. Nothing to see here. Just a guy I worked with at the college. Heck, I was only in my twenties or thirties when this guy was the spokesman for a terrorist organization. How was I supposed to know what he stands...err...uh... stood for way back then?
Redistribution...
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read 'Vote Obama, I need the money.' I laughed.
Once in the restaurant my server had on a 'Obama 08' tie. Again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept.
He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside.
The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more.
The homeless guy was grateful.
At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more.
I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
The Founding Fathers On Redistribution
The Founding Fathers On Redistribution Sweetness & Light
This is beautiful. I have no way of verifying the accuracy of these statements but have no reason to doubt them either. Great job from S&L as usual.
From various sources:
“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan, April 6, 1816
“A wise and frugal government… shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” — Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801
“Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated.” — Thomas Jefferson
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.” — John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787
“With respect to the two words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.” — James Madison in a letter to James Robertson
In 1794, when Congress appropriated $15,000 for relief of French refugees who fled from insurrection in San Domingo to Baltimore and Philadelphia, James Madison stood on the floor of the House to object saying:
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” — James Madison, 4 Annals of Congress 179, 1794
“[T]he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” — James Madison
But maybe they were wrong and Mr. Obama is right.
After all, he is a Constitutional scholar.
Obama Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days
Obama Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days - FOXNews.com Elections
Barack Obama laughs off charges of socialism. Joe Biden scoffs at references to Marxism. Both men shrug off accusations of liberalism.
But Obama himself acknowledges that he was drawn to socialists and even Marxists as a college student. He continued to associate with Marxists later in life, even choosing to launch his political career in the living room of a self-described Marxist, William Ayers, in 1995, when Obama was 34.
Obama's affinity for Marxists began when he attended Occidental College in Los Angeles.
"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully," the Democratic presidential candidate wrote in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father." "The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."...
German philosopher Karl Marx, author of "The Communist Manifesto,"
advocated redistributing wealth in order to achieve a classless society. (AP Photo)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Just Received Word From An Insider … From The Other Side
Just Received Word From An Insider … From The Other Side
WOOT WOOT WOOT
I have known this for quite some time but for some reason, people are insanely and unhealthily attached to the crapolla from pollsters. Without giving too much away…[...] she said the results of their polling lead her to believe that McCain will definitely win FL, OH, NC, MO and NV. She says Obama definitely wins New Mexico. She said that Colorado and New Hampshire were absolute dead heats. She said she thinks there is a 55% chance Obama holds on in Pennsylvania and a 75% chance McCain wins Virginia [...]
[...] She absolutely laughed at the public polls showing Obama leading Virginia–and pointed out that all of those polls rely on Dem turnout being +4 and as much as +7, when in 2006, Republicans actually had the advantage by +3. She also pointed out that the numbers for Obama in SWVA look absolutely awful and that McCain is running 10 points better then Allen did in NoVa.
Anyway, her companies conclusion is that the election will come down to Colorado, New Hampshire and the Republican leaning district in Maine, which in her opinion might very well decide the Presidency (apparently the district in Nebraska that Obama thought he might be able to get is now off the table). She said she has very little doubt that the public polling is part of a “concerted voter suppression effort” by the MSM. She said IBD/TIPP was the only outfit doing public polling that was “worth a bucket of warm pxxs”. [...]
Now, one doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure all of this out and I would like to say something as definitively, honestly and succinctly as I possibly can...are you ready?For all of you naysayers out there in Stupid Land that have already thrown in the towel because McCain isn’t your cup of tea, KISS MY.... Putting out the cowardly tripe and mimicking Harry “Dingy” Reid and saying All IS Lost when the battle lines haven’t even been formed yet, I would like to say the following...it is a good damn thing we never served in the same Company, Brigade, Battalion or even the same TO for that matter. Damn.
What will you ever do with yourselves when the going really gets tough?
Shame, Cubed
Shame, Cubed by Bill Whittle on National Review Online
Three separate reasons to be appalled, each more disgusting than the last.
DUBIOUS DONATIONS
DUBIOUS DONATIONS - New York Post
Barack Obama has proved the greatest fund-raiser of all time by a long shot. His campaign has raised more than $600 million - $150 million in September alone. But the campaign has also failed to adopt standard protections against fraudulent giving.
...
Last Thursday, he decided to conduct an experiment.
He went to the Obama campaign Web site and made a donation under the name "John Galt" (the hero of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged"). He provided the equally fictitious address "1957 Ayn Rand Lane, Galts Gulch, CO 99999."
He checked the box next to $15 and entered his actual credit-card number and expiration date. He was then taken to the next page and notified that his donation had been processed.
He then tried the same experiment on the McCain site, which rejected the transaction. He returned to the Obama site and made three more donations using the names Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Bill Ayers, all with different addresses but the same credit card. The transactions all went through. By Saturday, he'd reported that the transactions had all posted to his credit-card account.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Point of No Return
Point of No Return by Mark Steyn on National Review Online
Across the electric wires, the hum is ceaseless: Give it up, loser. Don’t go down with the ship when it’s swept away by the Obama tsunami. According to newspaper reports, polls show that most people believe newspaper reports claiming that most people believe polls showing that most people have read newspaper reports agreeing that polls show he’s going to win.
In the words of Publishers’ Clearing House, he may already have won! The battleground states have all turned blue, the reddest of red states are rapidly purpling. Don’t you know, little fool? You never can win. Use your mentality, wake up to reality. Why be the last right-wing pundit to sign up with Small-Government Conservatives For The Liberal Supermajority? We still need pages for the coronation, and there’s a pair of velvet knickerbockers with your name on it.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Signs Pointing To A McCain Victory
American Thinker: Signs Pointing To A McCain Victory
...Don't believe the Obama hype coming out of the mainstream media. If the media were truly objective and unbiased, they would be covering the race much differently. Instead of trying to browbeat the country into voting for Obama, they would be analyzing the issues and factors that favor and disfavor both candidates. Instead of focusing on college students and intellectuals, they would be focusing on working-class and middle-class voters, especially "Hillary Democrats." These voters may very well determine the election. Yet this huge story is being ignored by the MSM.
Obama's campaign staff pull their fraudulent Ohio ballots
BAM STAFFERS PULL THEIR BOGUS OHIO BALLOTS - New York Post
Thirteen campaign workers for Barack Obama yesterday yanked their voter registrations and ballots in Ohio after being warned by a prosecutor that temporary residents can't vote in the battleground state.
A dozen staffers - including Obama Ohio spokeswoman Olivia Alair and James Cadogan, who recently joined Team Obama - signed a form letter asking the Franklin County elections board to pull their names from the rolls...
move on folks, nothing to see here, these are just guys and gals Obama knows from the neighborhood...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Isn't this "precious"
(all added emphasis mine)
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGglJ4
Please note: this is the advice given by Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky of Illinois.
This message is exclusively for Obama supporters who: 1) Have grandparents who are planning to vote for John McCain or are undecided about their choice for President and 2) Know someone whose grandparents are voting for John McCain or are undecided about their choice for President.
...I have been overwhelmed and inspired by the passion and commitment of young Obama volunteers and supporters everywhere I have traveled as one of the national co-chairs of Barack's campaign. Harnessing that energy for the purpose of moving older voters toward Barack Obama seemed like a natural.
The one thing most grandparents have in common is that they have the most wonderful grandchildren in the world - so clever, so handsome, so pretty, ever so precious. Even if you are still unsure of your path in life, and even if your parents and friends occasionally wonder about you, your grandma and grandpa love you and have faith in you.
That is your weapon! "Precious" needs to get on the phone and say, "Grandpa, Grandma, I am asking you to vote for Barack Obama. This is really important to me. It's about my future. It's about the world I will be living in. It's about the world I want for my future children. (They will love that one!) Please! Do it for me!"
Isn’t it cute that the Democrats are teaching our “precious” children to manipulate their grandparents to get what they want.
New Party: Where's the Press?
The Corner on National Review Online
...With all its lengthy background pieces, has the New York Times ever noted that Barack Obama was endorsed by, and was a member of, the New Party? What about the Washington Post? Has any major television network, any national news magazine, or any major daily newspaper ever mentioned that Barack Obama was endorsed by, or was a member of, the New Party? If any such outlet has ever mentioned that fact, have they ever gone on to explain in any depth exactly what the New Party was? For example, have they laid out the extremely close ties between the New Party in Chicago and ACORN? Especially with issue of Obama’s ties to ACORN so much in the news, isn’t this a major story right now?
What if 'SNL' mocked Michelle Obama?
What if 'SNL' mocked Michelle Obama?
Perhaps the only institution in America whose approval rating is beneath that of Congress is the media.
Both have won their reputations the hard way. They earned them...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Obama's Amazing Fannie Contributions
Obama's Amazing Fannie Contributions - WSJ.com
...Mr. Waxman has apparently decided it's safe to hold a hearing after those inconveniently partisan things called elections are over. He will call several ex-CEOs of the mortgage lenders, including Mr. Raines. Republicans are already making a list of all of the inconvenient facts that won't be aired until it's too late to influence voters at the ballot box. For one, who knew that Senator Barack Obama was the largest single recipient of Fannie Mae campaign contributions over the last 20 years, save for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd? More amazing still, Mr. Obama pulled off this feat even though he had only been in the Senate for four of those 20 years.
Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.
An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:
I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Obama's Job Fetish: Beware any politician who promises to create new jobs
Obama's Job Fetish: Beware any politician who promises to create new jobs - Reason Magazine
Despite all the facile comparisons between the current economic situation and the conditions that preceded the Great Depression, the most recent figures show GDP continuing to grow, with unemployment at a historically modest 6.1 percent. But if, as widely expected, Barack Obama faces a recession when he takes office in January, many Americans will expect him to deliver on his promise to "create jobs."
They probably will be disappointed, because Obama seems to view job creation not only as something the government does with taxpayers' money but as an end in itself. That's a recipe for wasteful spending that will divert resources from more productive uses and ultimately result in lower employment than would otherwise occur.
Ohio State Prof: Obama Denies Writing Dreams From My Father
American Thinker Blog: Ohio State Prof: Obama Denies Writing Dreams From My Father
Jack Cashill
Bruce Heiden, professor of Greek and Latin at The Ohio State University, makes the fascinating claim in his website "The Postliberal" that Barack Obama agrees with my assertion that he did not actually write his own memoir, Dreams From My Father. Heiden finds his evidence in the 1995 Introduction to the book.. Says Heiden:According to Obama, he did some writing on another book, not a memoir but "an essay on the limits of civil rights litigation in bringing about racial equality" (xiii; all citations refer to the 2004 paperback edition). This book was never finished, and it doesn't exist. Obama says that his work on the "civil rights litigation" project was aborted by personal memories that forced themselves upon him: "I found my mind pulled..." (xiv). But he doesn't say how these memories turned into the book Dreams from My Father. In particular, he doesn't say he wrote the book. He says that Dreams "found its way onto these pages" (xvi).
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
John Murtha Calls Western Pa. 'Redneck'
John Murtha Calls Western Pa. 'Redneck' - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
CHARLEROI, Pa. -- U.S. Rep. John Murtha is calling many of the people who put him in office "rednecks."
The news comes one week after Murtha claimed the area is racist, then apologized for that comment.
In explaining his comments about racism, Murtha, D-Johnstown, told WTAE Channel 4 Action News on Monday it's difficult for many in the area to change. Murtha said that just five to 10 years ago the entire area was "redneck."
Now Murtha said only certain segments of the population are holding on to those racist feelings.
Well, that clears it up...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Obama Praised 'Searing and Timely' Book by Ayers
Obama Praised 'Searing and Timely' Book by Ayers - FOXNews.com Elections
Barack Obama, who has consistently downplayed his relationship with William Ayers during his presidential campaign, once gave a glowing endorsement of a book by the former domestic terrorist and was mentioned by name in the book itself.
Remember folks, this is NOT about whether Obama is a terrorist. No one thinks Obama is a terrorist. This about the type of people Barack Obama chooses to associate with. Not people who he just happens to know - people he chooses to know. It goes to the heart of the character of Obama himself that he has to distance himself from everyone who has had a significant impact on his life.
His friend and co-worker of ten years, Bill Ayers - who's "just a guy" in his neighborhood
His friend and major fundraiser, Tony Rezko - Whose name he will not speak.
His priest of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright - whose sermons he apparently never listened to.
His friend, Khalid al-Mansour, former Black Panther leader that helped get him into Harvard - um...who???
His neighbor of 15 years, Minister Louis Farrakhan - apparently Obama doesn't know who he is.
None of these people would disqualify Obama from running for President - so why does Obama insist on minimizing his relationships with people who obviously had so much of an effect on his life?
Remember people, the trouble with Clinton wasn't that he had oral sex with an intern in the White House (no matter how much the Democrats want you to think it was). It was about his dishonesty about it - both under oath and with the American people. Character matters people!
Countdown to rant about Bush by Mad Sociologist in 3...2...1...
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Isn't it funny...
Isn't it funny that the liberals think that convicted felons should be able to vote without restrictions, and yet a hard-working plumber who falls behind a little bit shouldn't be able to ask a simple question of their messiah?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
NYT Reporter Sends Facebook Message to Violate McCain Daughter Privacy
NYT Reporter Sends Facebook Message to Violate McCain Daughter Privacy NewsBusters.org
Talk about sleazy tactics! Wizbang has obtained a copy of a Facebook e-mail sent by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor in order to snoop into the private life of John McCain's youngest daughter, Bridgette. Here is that Kantor message via Wizbang...
An interesting exchange
You said you would publish it if I could produce some lies told by John McCain. I did a quick search. I used Politifact and some other programs. I included only the statements that are demonstrably false, and I excluded those instances in which McCain could have misspoke or where the issue was so petty it didn't even matter. Here's what I have (and I'm sure I could compile more)
There is a BIG difference between a lie and something you disagree with. Allow me to respond point by point:
Obama's health care plan is going to fine small business...That's a lie...it doesn't
It probably will. If only Obama would define what a "small business" is. The SBA generally defines a small business as having less than 500 employees with revenues ranging anywhere from a few million to ten of millions of dollars per year.
Obama seems to classify small business as any schmuck who fills out a Schedule C at tax time.
"I have never asked for a single earmark..." Yes, McCain has a pretty good earmark record, but "never" is stretching it. He asked for $10 million for the University of Arizona and $5 million for a waste water facility. These may be good things, but they are earmarks.
While this may a bit technical and nit-picky, neither of these are 'earmarks' - and they were intentionally designed that way. These were presented as stand-alone bills for the Senate to vote up or down on. They are not allocations of money hidden in a bigger bill so that the people don't get to see what's going on. I can't imagine being more transparent than this. However, if some want to call these earmarks, I won't quibble. I simply disagree.
"I have a perfect voting record from veterans of foreign wars, American Legion and all other veterans groups." Perhaps he wasn't aware that Disabled American Vets gave him a 20%, Iraq and Afghanistan Vets of Am. gave him only 58% and even Vietnam Vets of American state he voted their way around 50 percent of the time.
I'm not sure how an organization ratings are proof of someone lying but since there are no facts here to check - who knows? Perhaps we could ask the folks that rated Obama the most liberal member of the Senate and Biden number three...
(update: had to go back and re-read this one, my bad... I'll do some homework and check on this)
He claimed to have won the majority Republican vote in NH and SC...He didn't. Ron Paul and Mitt Romney did.
You're joking right? Perhaps he mis-spoke and should have siad "plurality" but that is a very common mistake. If you think adding Romney's 32% to Paul's 8% beats McCain, then Ross Perot and Bob Dole won the popular vote in 1996. In any case, Romney and Paul STILL didn't get a "majority" when added together. A majority is 50% plus one. A plurality is the most votes - which McCain received.
We spent $223 billion on a bridge to nowhere. That's not true. The earmark for the bridge was not approved.
Wrong again, the earmark for the bridge was approved by both houses of Congress and, only later, was the earmark for the actual bridge removed - even then they still allocated the money to Alaska to use as it saw fit until it was later stripped out. Whether the money was actually "spent" depends on how you define the term but Congress most definitely approved it.
Bill Ayers and Obama ran a radical education foundation. Not true. The foundation was started by a former Reagan supporter and was certainly not radical by any stretch of the imagination. And Ayers was not an officer on the board.
There is a BIG difference between the Annenburg Foundation (started by the Reagan supporter) and the Chicago Annenburg Challenge (which received a grant from the foundation), run by Ayers and Obama and - yes - Obama WAS on the board of the CAC and - yes - he was approved as Chairman of that board by William Ayers. How do we know? Because in the documents granting the $49 million to the CAC, William Ayers is the only person who had the legal right to approve him. No one else could have done it. William Ayers received the grant appointed Barack Obama was the Chairman of the Board and President. I'm sure this is purely coincidence since Ayers is just a guy in his neighborhood. Man I wish some guy in my neighborhood wouldgive $50 million to play with...
Obama voted 94 times to raise taxes. That's not true...at least not really. The way the McCain campaign counted them it comes out to 94 times, but this includes bills that deal with multiple taxes and also includes voting against tax cuts. By the same methods used by the McCain campaign, their own candidate voted 477 times to raise taxes (true, McCain's been in the senate longer).
Messing with statistics may be sneaky politics, but it isn't a lie. If it were, most "news" organizations would have no credibility...come to think of it...
Every objective observer knows that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapons program...if by objective he means nobody actually involved with understanding anything about Iran.
You may disagree with this statement - in which case, I most certainly disagree with you - but that doesn't make it a lie.
We must start drilling for oil to "deal with the hear and now." McCain knows as much as anyone else who is paying attention that we could start drilling for oil right now and it would take at least ten years before it influences the market. Drilling is not dealing with the hear and now.
When should we start drilling then? 10 years ago? How, exactly do we do that? And the 10-year estimate is out to lunch. It could take "up to" 10 years to reach full capacity but there most certainly would be positive results very quickly. Since solar and wind are nowhere near efficient enough yet and wont be for decades, does that mean we shouldn't do it? Using your standard - that would be the case.
It's common knowledge that Iran is training Al Qaida. It isn't. Al Qaida and Iran have conflicting religious ideologies and will not cooperate.
I would consider this more a mistake than a lie but I'll let you have it. Iran is most certainly training terrorists but they are, most likely, not al Qaida (quaeda, qaeda, whatever...) as you have pointed out. Sunni or Shia - a terrorist against the U.S. is the same.
He lied last night when he said that "vouchers work." Well, to be fair, maybe he just wasn't familiar with the research, but they don't. (to be fair, Obama supports charters, and there's no proof that they work either).
Once again, disagreeing with someone doesn't make them a liar. Vouchers absolutely DO work.
He is lying in the face of history when he claims that cutting taxes for the wealthy will stimulate growth and result in greater pay for everyone. We've been cutting taxes on the wealthy pretty consistently since Reagan and yet working Americans are no better off, and are in many ways worse off than they've ever been. McCain is either lying or is so isolated in (how many houses does he have?) his own universe that he doesn't know what is going on with working Americans.
Once again, your opinion. Where do you think all the VC money for the technology companies' development came from in the 90's? Do you think the middle class dumped their nickles in a bucket together and the companies just took off?
No, that investment money came for the uppper class (yes I said UPPER class) getting tax breaks from Reagan and investing that money in the future of our country.
It was only when people got greedy in the late 90's (yes, I said 90's!!) that these companies became overvalued and the tech bubble burst.
Whether you like it or not, "trickle down" economics works. Of course you probably think people got to be better off in the 90's because Clinton raised their taxes?
By the way, McCain doesn't own any houses. His wife is the wealthy one and he signed a pre-nup so he doesn't get any of it.
He was lying when he said that nuclear power offers "no problem." there are many problems. So many that there are almost no investors in nuclear energy unless the government is willing to subsidize huge percentages of the cost and guarantee that the companies will not be sued in the event of a NUCLEAR ACCIDENT like for instance a meltdown that kills a whole city.
Again, your opinion and, in my opinion, wrong. I have worked in nuclear power plants before and they are safer than ANY other forms of electricity production currenty in use. You are partially correct about the investors though, they are afraid of getting sued but they have no fear of ACTUAL danger from nuclear power, nor should anyone else. Meltdowns don't kill whole cities unless your shooting a Jane Fonda / Michael Douglas film. Meltdowns don't kill anybody. We have no plants like Chernobyl here and never will.People fear nuclear power because they do not understrand nuclear power.
These are lies. There are many instances where the things that McCain says are kinda sorta true in a way. By the standards that you've offered to me, those count as lies. Yet I do not include those here.
And yes, I know I could have come up with a similar list for Obama, but you are on that. I'm sure you won't let any slip. I really wish you would go to my blog. I have a write up on Obama's and McCain's honesty that I think you would like. I'm sure that I can come up with more lies from McCain. I don't know your standards for confirmation. I have a feeling they would be much lower if I were coming up with a list for Obama, but it is your blog.
Now that we're done, feel free to provide some actual lies with proof - or simply prove me wrong - I don't mind.
Complaint hits Rezko land deal
Washington Times - Complaint hits Rezko land deal
A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status, says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama.
Nothing to see here, folks. Move on. This "just a guy" in Obama's neighborhood. Probably never even spoke to him.
Never mind the fact that he purchased a piece of property that Obama couldn't afford and then sold him the usable portion of it for way less than market value.
Never mind the fact that he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama.
Never mind that Rezko has been convicted of soliciting kickbacks from companies wanting to do business with the State of Illinois (remind me, who was a state senator there?).
Never mind all of that. We've got a picture of President Bush and you can actually see Jack Abramoff in the background - he's the real criminal, your honor...
If America manages to elect this character (or lack thereof), the people that voted for him will get exactly what they deserve. The rest of us will just have to suffer along with them.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Patterico’s Pontifications » L.A. Times: Joe the Plumber Has Liens!!!!
Patterico’s Pontifications » L.A. Times: Joe the Plumber Has Liens!!!!!!
The Los Angeles Times reports:
According to court records, creditors have secured at least two liens against [Joe the Plumber] Wurzelbacher, whose legal name is Samuel. Ohio has a $1,182 lien for owed taxes and St. Charles Mercy Hospital has filed a 2007 lien for $1,261.
I think we can all agree that this is critical information.
Not because it says anything about Joe the Plumber, mind you. But it does serve a useful function: it warns any future citizen who might dare question Barack Obama that his life will be closely scrutinized for any irrelevant but embarrassing information.
So, you know. Critical in that sense.
Oh — I almost forgot to mention: Martin Nesbitt, the treasurer of Obama’s campaign, has tax liens. So do his companies.
You’d think that matters more than the tax liens of Joe the Plumber, wouldn’t you? But good luck finding a Big Media story about Nesbitt’s liens.
ACORN Voter Fraud in NM
Amanda Carpenter : ACORN Voter Fraud in NM - Townhall.com
The liberals defending ACORN's fraudulent voter registration efforts have said again and again voter registration fraud doesn't lead to voter fraud.
Well, we didn't have to wait till Election Day to find out they're wrong.
The Associated Press reported Friday that the New Mexico GOP found 28 people who voted fraudulently in Albuquerque during the June Democratic primary by absentee ballot. One of the ballots was cast from someone named "Duran-Duran"
The GOP's review was conducted in House District 13 and only included 92 ballots. That means roughly a third of the ballots examined found by the GOP were fraudulent.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Secret Service says "Kill him" allegation unfounded
The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Tuesday’s Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.
The Scranton Times-Tribune first reported the alleged incident on its Web site Tuesday and then again in its print edition Wednesday. The first story, written by reporter David Singleton, appeared with allegations that while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd and mentioned Obama’s name a man in the audience shouted “kill him."
News organizations including ABC, The Associated Press, The Washington Monthly and MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann reported the claim, with most attributing the allegations to the Times-Tribune story.
Agent Bill Slavoski said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.
“I was baffled,” he said after reading the report in Wednesday’s Times-Tribune.
He said the agency conducted an investigation Wednesday, after seeing the story, and could not find one person to corroborate the allegation other than Singleton.
Slavoski said more than 20 non-security agents were interviewed Wednesday, from news media to ordinary citizens in attendance at the rally for the Republican vice presidential candidate held at the Riverfront Sports Complex. He said Singleton was the only one to say he heard someone yell “kill him.”
“We have yet to find someone to back up the story,” Slavoski said. “We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it.”
Hackett said he did not hear the remark.
Slavoski said Singleton was interviewed Wednesday and stood by his story but couldn’t give a description of the man because he didn’t see him he only heard him.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
McCain Letter Demanded 2006 Action on Fannie and Freddie
McCain Letter Demanded 2006 Action on Fannie and Freddie - HUMAN EVENTS
Sen. John McCain's 2006 demand for regulatory action on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have prevented current financial crisis, as HUMAN EVENTS learned from the letter shown in full text below.
McCain's letter -- signed by nineteen other senators -- said that it was "...vitally important that Congress take the necessary steps to ensure that [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac]...operate in a safe and sound manner.[and]..More importantly, Congress must ensure that the American taxpayer is protected in the event that either...should fail."
Sen. Obama did not sign the letter, nor did any other Democrat.
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