Wednesday, June 27, 2012

POLITICAL DIGEST 06/28/2012 CONSERVATIVE


Charities I support

Worth Reading: A Political Glossary: Part II. By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: Politicians seem to have a special fondness for words that have two very different meanings, so we are likely to hear a lot of these kinds of words this election year. "Access" is one of those words. Politicians seem to be forever coming to the rescue of people who have been denied "access" to credit, college or whatever. But what does that mean, concretely?

An Obama book the Obamas should read. By Al Kamen
Excerpt: Obama’s dope-smoking days, the constant search for where he fit in, the aloofness, the wariness — all are explored. His years in school in Hawaii, it would appear, may be the most useful for understanding Obama’s approach to dealing with people and situations. One curiosity: It turns out that many of Obama’s closest pals during and after his student years in New York were Pakistanis.

Worth reading: Global weakness: Are we out of policy tools? By John H. Makin
Excerpt With nearly two-thirds of the global economy either shrinking or slowing, the 2008 economic and financial crisis is back with a vengeance and threatens to bring on a recession that engulfs the world’s major economies. A convergence of factors—including an intensifying European financial crisis, a slated year-end US tax hike, and increased slowing of major developing economies—have increased uncertainty in the global economy. The recession may slow if Europe takes appropriate measures to stabilize its banking system and adjust its monetary policy and if the Greek election produces a cooperative government—however, these outcomes are unlikely, meaning the euro system may not survive the summer.


Solyndra Not the Only Questionable Obama Loan to 'Green' Energy. By Veronique De Rugy
Excerpt: Beyond Solyndra's failure, it's interesting to take a closer look at these programs. The economic justification for any government-sponsoredlending or loan guarantee program must rest on a well established failure of the private sector to allocate loans efficiently, meaning that deserving recipients could not have obtained capital on their own. Absent such a private sector deficiency, the Department of Energy's activities would simply be a wasteful at best, politically motivated at worst, subsidy to this sector of the economy.

How Unions Just Shot Workers in the Foot
Excerpt: Union bosses are excited that they have prevented their members from getting raises. It's a bit mind-boggling, but that's what happened. Last week, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) celebrated defeating a bill in the Senate that would have allowed raises, declaring that the legislation would have stripped workers' "fundamental rights."

UN says rights abuses spreading in Syria: Violations by government forces and rebels are on the rise as fighting spreads and sectarian killings grow, says report.
Excerpt: The panel found that the government and its allied militias were responsible for killing civilians, illegal detention and various forms of torture, while opposition forces have been torturing or executing government soldiers and those suspected of supporting them. (Pay attention. There are no "good guys" in this one. There is no al-Jefferson or el-Washington in the Middle East. ~Bob.)

European Union Prods Germany With Fiscal Plan
Excerpt: European leaders increased the pressure on Germany to move more aggressively to defend the euro on Tuesday by publishing proposalsfor a more tightly knit European Union, with phased-in moves toward central banking supervision, unified deposit insurance and more sharing of the region’s debt burden. (All Aboard the SS Titanic! ~Bob.)

Queen and Martin McGuinness shake hands
Excerpt: The Queen and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness have shaken hands for the first time. (After which both threw up. ~Bob.)

Drone strike kills 4 in Pakistan ahead of Allen talks
Excerpt: Four suspected militants were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region Tuesday night, a government official and a military official told CNN. The strike targeted a militant compound in the village of Shawal in North Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said local government official Siraj Ahmed.

Syria's chemical weapons: How secure are they from jihadists? By Nicholas Blanford
Excerpt: As Syria slides into ever worsening violence and parts of the country begin to slip out of control of the state, Syria's chemical and biological weapons arsenal, air defense systems, and ballistic missiles could be up for grabs — a potential bonanza for radical militant groups and a massive challenge for the West in attempting to check proliferation. Hard data on Syria's chemical and biological warfare capabilities is scarce, but the country is believed to have one of the largest chemical agents stockpiles in the world, including VX and Sarin nerve agents.

Team Obama's Brother Sharpton Moment. By Michelle Malkin
Excerpt: Attorney General Eric Holder's people have no shame. After months of stonewalling, misinformation and petulant disregard for the victims of the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal, President Obama's Justice Department is hiding behind the most despicable race-card demagogues on the planet. "Post-racial" America never looked so bitter, clingy and cowardly.

Sheriff Joe’s Deputies Make Huge Meth Seizure, Arrest Two Illegals in Phoenix Bust
Excerpt: Just another day in Maricopa County, Arizona – the land that the Feds have all but abandoned to drug and human smugglers and cartel criminals. But thankfully, the state’s law enforcement officers will continue to deal with the results of Federal failure to secure the border – and protect its people no matter what roadblocks the corruptocrats in Washington place in their path.

Hypocrisy gusher at the White House. By Michael Goodwin
At first glance, it looks like a story straight out of The Onion. A report that the nation’s top intelligence official is determined to plug national-security leaks must be a spoof, no? After all, everybody in Washington knows the White House is in desperate need of a plumber. But protecting all the president’s men requires an elaborate pretense and great gobs of hypocrisy.

Study: Welfare Spending Up 41% Under Obama To More Than $193 Billion Per Year, Poverty Levels Unchanged
Excerpt: The federal government is not making much headway reducing poverty despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars, according to a study by the libertarian Cato Institute.

New Black Panthers Say They Are Ready For RNC Convention In Tampa: “Kill These Racist Honkeys, These Crackers, These Pigs, These Pink People!”…
Tweets from Eric Withholder's Irregulars. ~bob

Funny but sad: Lots Of Things Are 'Doing Fine' Under Obama
Excerpt: Ever since he uttered those famous six words about the private sector, President Obama has been running away from claiming that anything much in the economy is "doing fine." He's just not looking hard enough. Yes, the economy is barely eking out growth, family incomes are down, unemployment is still over 8%, corporate profits have flatlined, the stock market is moving sideways and a bunch of major banks just had their credit ratings downsized. But surely the president of Hope and Change can see silver linings in all these dark clouds. 

Jimmy Carter: We Must Stop Obama The Assassin
Excerpt: Notice he's talking about airstrikes that occurred "this year." But Carter actually goes beyond calling them airstrikes. Elsewhere in the piece he breaks out the A-word, "Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation’s violation of human rights has extended." (I think this is a clever ploy by Obama to remind us there were other terrible presidents, because I have to be on Obama's side here, against Carter. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: The Democratic Party’s resistance to holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress is crumbling. Utah Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson said Tuesday he plans to vote in favor of holding Holder in contempt over his refusal to comply with a subpoena into the Operation Fast and Furious scandal.

German Court Declares Judaism A Crime. By Walter Russell Mead
Excerpt: Hard to believe, but that’s what the decision handed down by the regional court in Cologne, Germany means: circumcising a child under the age of consent is a crime, notwithstanding the religious beliefs of the parents. .. However, Germany’s moral sensibilities are so refined and so pure today that the thought of Jewish parents (or Muslims for that matter) performing an immemorial religious rite is unacceptable.

Alternate Unemployment Charts
Excerpt: The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers.

MSNBC’s Toure No Match For 23-Year-Old Republican Guest
Excerpt: In case you have forgotten who the Toure is, recall he’s the man who was deemed a fraud of a journalist by … Piers Morgan a few weeks back, and who also has expressed his disbelief in the “official” version of 9/11. Today, he made the unfortunate mistake of assuming he was both more prepared and a more talented debater than a young guest, ridiculing a young Republican as being a “strange breed” and in need of being “saved”. Said young man responded by savaging Toure like a budding Winston Churchill.

Holder and the Race Card. By Savannah
Excerpt: I'd like to skip the synopsis and get straight to the point, but I will say this: Brian Terry died. In this entire mess, that is the most important truth. A man, who deserves our respect and gratitude, died for his country. He died by enemy fire...with our guns. Someone authorized this botched operation known as "Fast and Furious" and someone must be held accountable. Democrats were on board and gung-ho...until the investigation lead to the White House. (I have just discovered this excellent blog by a 25-year-old black female writer in NC. Check her stuff out! ~Bob.http://whatsavvysays.blogspot.com/)

Zimmerman passed lie detector on night of Trayvon shooting
Excerpt: A confidential report released Tuesday from Florida prosecutors shows that George Zimmerman passed a lie detector test the night he shot Trayvon Martin. The Sanford, Fla., police report shows that the test involved his claim that he did not confront the unarmed 17-year-old on Feb. 26 and that he feared for his life when he shot Trayvon.

Excerpt: Former presidential candidate Herman Cain and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell have teamed up to respond to Attorney General Eric Holder’s contention that voter ID laws are a ploy to suppress minority votes. In a new video, entitled “Keep America Free, Mr. Holder,” the pair of black conservatives make the case that protecting the sanctity of the vote and standing up for voter ID laws has nothing to do with race, but is rather about protecting the validity of elections and preventing fraud.

McCaskill Confirms She Will Skip Convention
Excerpt: Yet another possible setback for the Democratic party. According to the Saint Louis Beacon, Missouri senator Claire McCaskill, who is in the middle of a tough reelection fight, might skip the Democratic convention in September.

Philippines arrests militant in American beheading
Excerpt: Philippine police have arrested a militant suspected of involvement in the beheading of an American tourist by the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group 11 years ago. National police investigation chief Samuel Pagdilao says Alawie Pasihul was arrested Thursday in southern Zamboanga city near Basilan island where American Guillermo Sobero, two other Americans and 17 Filipinos were taken after they were abducted in May 2001 from a resort.

WaPo Columnist: Exercise Your 'Civic Duty': Suggest Vacation Spot for Obamas. By Matt Vespa
Excerpt: It's almost July and the president hasn't yet announced his family's vacation plans yet. So of course Washington Post columnist Al Kamen felt obliged to direct his readers to kindly offer suggestions for vacation spots for the laid-back commander-in-chief. (I'm thinking Waziristan. ~Bob.)

‘Brothers’ of the Muslim Brotherhood. By Tarek Fatah
Excerpt: A fascist ideology whose seed was planted in the Nile Delta by radical Muslims 80 years ago has finally sprouted in Egypt, but not before spreading its roots across much of the Islamic world and in North America. Who are the “Brothers” of the Muslim Brotherhood? What do they want, and why should we in Canada and the U.S. be concerned?

Refugees In South Sudan Facing "full-Blown Humanitarian Crisis"
Excerpt: Within the next nine days, drinking water at refugee camps in South Sudan's Upper Nile state will run dry, warned the aid agency Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday. Meanwhile, refugees continue to stream into the state, as the few camps set up to house to entrants are stretched even further beyond capacity. ,,, The recent influx stems from a new round of fighting between the Sudanese military and rebels in May, violence that has included an ongoing campaign of bombing civilians.

Excerpt: Thirty-seven percent of Americans say they would be pleased if President Barack Obama's sweeping health care law is deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly ten points higher than the number who say they'd be pleased if the law is ruled constitutional.

Excerpt: "We'll find out this week if the Supreme Court is listening to the American people and following the U.S. Constitution," said Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, "or if it's becoming more and more what we've seen in the past: A partisan body no different from the Congress."(Ah, Congressman, if they are listening to the American People, they will strike down Obamacare. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: The claim that coordinated care will save money without degrading quality is a common belief behind almost all mainstream health reform efforts. Yet while the story sounds good, there is surprisingly little evidence to support it. … Despite the lack of evidence that care coordination works, CMS is working with states to develop more integrated care demonstration projects.

The Incredible Shrinking U.S.-Israel Security Cooperation. By Shoshana http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/3142/the-incredible-shrinking-us-israel-security-cooperation
Excerpt: In light of increased sensitivity to intelligence leaks, it seemed innocuous – or even admirable – when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) asked the Senate to remove a few words from the US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act: the "sense of the Senate" part of the bill included the sentence, "Expand already close intelligence cooperation, including satellite intelligence, with the Government of Israel;" ODNI wanted the words "including satellite intelligence" to go. (I recently commented on Hilary Clinton's dastardly exclusion of Israel from symbolic and meaningful actions on joint security in order to placate Turdkey (I think I will not correct the typo). It's not just the nakedly expedient Clinton. It is set in concrete Obama policy. In the following article, Ms Bryen summarizes a host of O-team policies and deeds that certainly weakens the security of both the US and Israel. Obama's policy is clearly to placate Muslim countries. Intending to reverse their amicus towards us, polls of Muslim populations and the results of recent Arab spring elections show that no matter what, the vast majority hates or resents us. Non-cooperation and active opposition of those countries who are too happy to accept US aid that throwing Israel under the bus doesn't even work as realpolitik. --Cordially, Larry Greenberg)

Excerpt: Some scoff at the idea that face-covering Islamic veils endanger public safety in any Western nation, let alone the United States, but Philadelphians do not have the luxury of blissful ignorance. As recent events highlight, their city has become the American epicenter of robberies and murders carried out by criminals disguised as fundamentalist Muslim women. Several factors help explain Philadelphia’s place at the forefront of this trend. Will other U.S. cities be next? (A progressive will always prefer that you be robbed or killed, if the alternative is him being called Islamophobic. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: One month ago, a savage massacre of civilians in the Syrian town of Houla led to international condemnation of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and intensified calls for foreign intervention in the Syria crisis. Readers or viewers of initial reports on the massacre may be excused for thinking that the UN observer mission in Syria — or UNSMIS per its official acronym — had attributed responsibility for the killings to Syrian government troops and/or government-affiliated “Shabiha” militias. … In the meanwhile, a report from Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which attributes the massacre to anti-Assad rebel forces, has sparked international controversy. (Both sides in Syria are liars and killers. Neither side will be a friend of freedom or the US. It is very hard to say if backing one side or the other is even in our interest, never mind the interests of the people of that bloody country. ~Bob.)

58% Think Federal Government Encourages Illegal Immigration
Excerpt: Most voters continue to believe the federal government encourages rather than discourages illegal immigration. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of Likely U.S. Voters think the policies and practices of the federal government encourage illegal immigration. Just 24% disagree, while 18% more are undecided. (Like Obamacare, debt, jobs, the economy, and Fast and Furious, immigration is yet another issue where Obama is out of step with the American people. One would think Romney would be up by 10% in the polls. ~Bob.)

Quote from The Patriot Post
“Make sure of two things: Be careful -- microphones are always hot, and understand that in Washington, DC, a gaffe is when you tell the truth. So, be careful.” --Joe Biden. (True, dat. Just ask Cory Booker. ~Bob.)

Too Much College. By Walter E. Williams
Excerpt: Such talk makes for political points, but there's no evidence that a college education is an economic imperative. A good part of our higher education problem, explaining its spiraling cost, is that a large percentage of students currently attending college are ill-equipped and incapable of doing real college work. They shouldn't be there wasting their own resources and those of their families and taxpayers.

Excerpt: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is in the spotlight after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted to hold him in contempt because he is refusing to provide documents related to the Fast and the Furious scandal. But there’s another scandal you should know about. For over one year, he has refused to hand over documents about the Muslim Brotherhood network in the U.S. (I’m joining those now calling him, “Attorney General Eric Withholder.” Beautiful, but not original with me, alas. ~Bob.)

Good Column: Ah, to be French. By Tom Purcell
Excerpt: In the face of high taxes, high unemployment, poor economic growth, massive government spending and powerful public-sector unions that are gobbling up tax dough, the French people just voted against austerity measures to get their finances in order. President Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative, was defeated by Socialist Francois Hollande, who promises to hire more government employees and increase the tax rate for "the rich" to 75 percent. I'm just an English major, but even I know it sounds too good to be true -- and therefore, probably is.

Obama, Story-Teller: What matters is the progressive intent — not some supposed objective truth. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: A sign of an undisciplined mind is serial lapses into self-contradiction, or blurting out a thought only to refute it entirely on a later occasion. For a president to do that is to erode public confidence and eventually render all his public statements irrelevant. That is now unfortunately the case with Barack Obama, who has established a muddled record of confused and contradictory declarations. (I’ve long maintained that Progressives don’t care about the actual results for real people, as long as they can feel good for having good intentions. In case after case, this has led to heaps of dead. ~Bob.)

The Vatican Secret Archives Unveiled: Prompting some thoughts about historical amnesia and cultural suicide. By George Weigel
Excerpt: … the 1530 petition from dozens of members of England’s House of Lords, asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that the Tudor king might marry Anne Boleyn; Gregory XIII’s calendar of 1582 with the “missing ten days” in October, an excision that rectified the inaccuracies of the earlier Julian calendar; a letter from Mary Queen of Scots to Sixtus V just before her execution; Polish king John III Sobieski’s 1683 letter to Innocent XI, reporting his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna;…

'Please God, make it stop!' British female journalist, 21, describes horrific sexual assault in Egypt's Tahrir Square after election result
Excerpt: A British journalist was brutally sexually assaulted in Cairo's Tahrir Square as thousands of Egyptians gathered to celebrate the nation's presidential election results.
Natasha Smith, 21, has detailed how she was violently attacked by a 'group of animals' who stripped her naked, scratched and clenched her breasts and 'forced their fingers inside her'. (Wait, I thought journalists of all people would be appreciative of the beauty of multiculturalism, and enjoy getting a bit of the wonderful “Arab Spring” from members of the “Religion of Peace.” Not so? ~Bob. The neo-cons and lefties are well satisfied with the results of Western military and diplomatic intervention in the Middle East. Almost all of the indigenous Christians are now gone, except in Syria, which traditionally protects Christians. Nonetheless, since Russia refuses to go along with the by now obvious anti-Christian policies of Western governments, there are a few activists with their heads up their derrieres who continue to insist that Russia is the main enemy, while downplaying the role of the New World Order and its threat to our freedom. Many of these people are catering to a neo-con crowd that pays their bills and promises them fame. They are totally oblivious to the growing totalitarian threat from within. --Don Hank)

Unreal! … Chairman of DCCC Tells Democrats to Avoid Convention If They Want to Get Elected. By Jim Hoft
Excerpt: The man responsible for getting Democrats elected to the U.S. Congress this fall has a message for his party’s candidates: Stay away from the Democratic National Convention. “If they want to win an election, they need to be in their districts,” New York congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told the Reuters Washington Summit on Tuesday.

Sharpton Keen on Extending Social Security, Medicare and Food Stamps – to Illegal Aliens
Excerpt: Here’s Sharpton on his MSNBC “PoliticsNation” show Friday night, talking with Florida Democratic Party chair Rod Smith and “HuffPost Live” host Alicia Menendez about President Obama’s end-run around Congress on the DREAM Act.

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff admits ‘government misconduct’ took place in Fast and Furious, undermining executive privilege claim. By Matthew Boyle
Excerpt: California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff admitted on Wednesday that “government misconduct” took place in the execution and explanation of Operation Fast and Furious — an admission that could undercut President Barack Obama’s assertion of executive privilege.

Air Force Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. By Eric Erickson
Excerpt: Those dirty Republicans are outspending him, he cried to a sympathetic audience. In fact, this may be the first time Barack Obama has ever been outspent and he just can’t handle rejection. In 2008, the Annenberg Public Policy Center reported that Barack Obama outspent John McCain 3 to 1 and “raised more money than anyone in the history of U.S. politics.” (Folks who can’t help slamming McCain for losing to Obama might remember this and the economic collapse of September, 2008, blamed on Republicans because bush was President. I was still sending as much as I could afford to the McCain campaign after I knew it was hopeless. ~Bob.)

UAW Race Baits in Mississippi Union Drive
Excerpt: As more and more localities declare their independence from budget-destroying unions, the United Auto Workers is reaching into its bag of liberal magic tricks to help breakup non-union plants in the Deep South. It’s the last gasp of the UAW that knows it must perish if it is not successful in breaking into non-union shops operating in the U.S., such as foreign automakers Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Quote
Washington is a city of people doing badly what should not be done at all. –Robert Gurney

AI Will Keep You Safe…
Excerpt: One of the most fearsome predictions made by George Orwell in his novel 1984, was of the development of a technology capable of monitoring people 24/7, during every waking (and even sleeping) moment of their lives. He called it the Telescreen – and through it, Big Brother (or rather, Big Brother’s minions) kept watch over you.

A Small Thing Can Lead to Big Trouble
Excerpt: Let’s say you’re unlucky enough to live in a state that has a mandatory “buckle up for safety” law. But you prefer not to wear a seat belt – for any of several perfectly valid personal reasons, none of which are anyone else’s business or at least, not the government’s business. Not unless you also believe that whether you eat your veggies, exercise three times a week and get a good night’s sleep each night are also ticket-worthy matters of public concern.

Stockton set to declare bankruptcy
Excerpt: In opting to become the nation's largest city to seek federal bankruptcy protection, this river port of 290,000 took a rare financial step of last resort after struggling with the economic downturn, soaring pension costs and contractual obligations. Thirteen cities, counties and other government entities filed for bankruptcy protection last year — the highest annual level in nearly two decades. Stockton was the seventh U.S. municipality to file this year and the first California city since Vallejo, which sought protection in 2008, according to James Spiotto, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney who tracks municipal bankruptcies. (Only the start, as decades of vote buying with borrowed money finally collapse the house of credit cards. ~Bob.)

“Your Name is Missing” e-mail
“Robert, just wanted to double-check - did you want to add your name telling Barack you support health care reform before tomorrow’s decision? Click here to add your name: I Support Obamacare. Thanks, Robby” Get, Robby, I’m a tad busy right now working to pay taxes and trying to figure out how I’ll live after retirement.

Arab Apartheid Against Palestinians. By Khaled Abu Toameh
Excerpt: The Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are considered the worst in the region in terms of poverty, health, education and living conditions, according to a report published this week by the American Near East Refugee Aid [ANERA], one of the largest American not-for-profit organizations working in the Middle East. This does not mean, of course, that Palestinians living in refugee camps in Jordan and Syria or other Arab countries are happy. But when it comes to Lebanon, the living conditions of the Palestinians are appalling. (The Arabs are hypocrites. By any definition of apartheid, there is none practiced by Israel. They invert their own foul practices of persecuting Christians in their own states and treating their Palestinian "refugees" as pariahs. By the legal (even UN-legal) definition of refugee status, there are very few left from the 1948 war. These people are born and resident in those countries. Arabs of pre-Palestinian descent are proliferating all over the Arab world, consigned to statelessness and camps. Liberal Lebanon is arguably the worst. Cordially, Larry Greenberg)

We saw Brave with the granddaughter. Fun movie. ~Bob


-- 
Robert A. Hall

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