IS LINDA McMAHON A SECRET DEMOCRAT? - I THINK SO.

Linda McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment (f/k/a World Wrestling Federation) has an extremely problematic political contribution history that in my opinion disqualifies her as an appropriate Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat presently occupied by the retiring Chris Dodd.

A list of Linda's political contributions can be found at NewsMeat

Several contributions stand out as so flagrantly antithetical to anti-Statist values that they should be cause for genuine concern to both the delegates to this weekend's Connecticut Republican Convention as well as to Connecticut's Republican and Independent voters generally.

These contributions include:

McMahon, Linda E. Greenwich, CT 06831 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)

-

$10,000 primary

09/29/06

This is a PAC run by Pelosi

McMahon, Linda E Greenwich, CT 06831 World Wrestling Entertainment Inc./

FORWARD TOGETHER PAC

-

$5,000 primary

05/22/06

This is a PAC run by former VA. Gov. Mark Warner. 100% of its disbursements went to Democrats. See, OpenSecrets.org

McMahon, Linda Stamford, CT 06902 World Wrestling Federation/CEO

Rahm Emanuel (D) House (IL District: 05) FRIENDS OF RAHM EMANUEL

Won

$1,000 primary

12/19/05

McMahon, Linda Stamford, CT 06902 World Wrestling Federation/CEO

Rahm Emanuel (D) House (IL District: 05) FRIENDS OF RAHM EMANUEL

Won

$1,000 general

04/14/04

Linda McMahon Stamford, CT 06902 World Wrestling Federation/CEO

Rahm Emanuel (D) House (IL District: 05) FRIENDS OF RAHM EMANUEL

Won

$1,000 primary

01/18/02

Well, we all know who he is, don't we?

In a Youtube Video (below) Linda tried to foist off the 2005 contribution to Rahm's machine as a "kind of-sort of" one-off contribution made solely in deference to the WWE's long time publicity agent Ari Emanuel (upon whom Entourage character Ari Gold is modeled)




So, my opinion is that Linda McMahon DOES NOT DESERVE the Party's nomination as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate this November.

Both Peter Schiff and Rob Simmons are far more loyal to limited government principles and, accordingly, far more deserving of the Party's nod than is McMahon.

Were I delegate, I'd vote for Peter Schiff.

Cass Sunstein - What a FRICKIN NUTJOB! How the F**K did HAHVAHD allow him to teach LAW at all?

From DBKP (Death By a Thousand Paper Cuts) comes the following piece on a genuinely strange human being ensconced in the White House - Cass Sunstein.

How is it possible that this thing is an educator at all, much less a Law Professor?

Harvard is in dire need of a metaphoric high colonic enema.

Obama Czar Cass Sunstein: Internet Mandates, Spread the Link Love

May 18, 2010

By Mondoreb

Cass Sunstein advocates Internet mandates--because he knows what's best for you

Cass Sunstein wants Internet users to know something very important: you’re stupid. At least, you’re too stupid to read on the Internet without competing views forced on you. Sunstein hopes websites will play along voluntarily; if not, he says Congress should hold hearings and enforce mandates.

Some revealing thoughts from Obama Regulatory Czar, Cass Sunstein, on the need to give Internet readers competing viewpoints–whether readers want them; whether website/blog owners want to provide them or not. READ THE REST HERE

James Galbraith Thinks we Aren't Digging Ourselves a Deep Enough Fiscal Hole. What an A$$HOLE! - UPDATED

From Shakes the Clown at Cesspool of Humanity comes the following almost unbelievable post on a recent interview with the son of one of the leading a-caca-demic gods in the "Progressive" pantheon: John Kenneth Galbraith. Well, what can I say but that James absolutely succeeds in proving himself a chip off the ole block. As Bugs Bunny would likely have opined: What a "Maroon"

UPDATE

An appropriate cartoon for this post:

Image H/T James and Credit: Go Comics

Ran at Si Vis Pacem comments extensively on Galbraith's hallucinatory economic theories here

Thursday, May 13, 2010

James Galbraith Will Prove To Be The Most Ignorant Man In America

James Galbraith actually said this to Ezra Klein:

EK: But putting inflation aside, the gap between spending and revenues won't have other ill effects?

JG: Is there any terrible consequence because we haven't prefunded the defense budget? No. There's only one budget and one borrowing authority and all that matters is what that authority pays. Say I'm the federal government and I wish to pay you, Ezra Klein, a billion dollars to build an aircraft carrier. I put money in your bank account for that. Did the Federal Reserve look into that? Did the IRS sign off on it? Government does not need money to spend just as a bowling alley does not run out of points.

What people worry about is that the federal government won't be able to sell bonds. But there can never be a problem for the federal government selling bonds. It goes the other way. The government's spending creates the bank's demand for bonds, because they want a higher return on the money that the government is putting into the economy. My father said this process is so simple that the mind recoils from it.

EK: What are the policy implications of this view?

JG: It says that we should be focusing on real problems and not fake ones. We have serious problems. Unemployment is at 10 percent. if we got busy and worked out things for the unemployed to do, we'd be much better off. And we can certainly afford it. We have an impending energy crisis and a climate crisis. We could spend a generation fixing those problems in a way that would rebuild our country, too. On the tax side, what you want to do is reverse the burden on working people. Since the beginning of the crisis, I've supported a payroll tax holiday so everyone gets an increase in their after-tax earnings so they can pay down their mortgages, which would be a good thing. You also want to encourage rich people to recycle their money, which is why I support the estate tax, which has accounted for an enormous number of our great universities and nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. That's one difference between us and Europe.

EK: That does it for my questions, I think.

JG: I have one more answer, though! Since the 1790s, how often has the federal government not run a deficit? Six short periods, all leading to recession. Why? Because the government needs to run a deficit, it's the only way to inject financial resources into the economy. If you're not running a deficit, it's draining the pockets of the private sector. I was at a meeting in Cambridge last month where the managing director of the IMF said he was against deficits but in favor of saving, but they're exactly the same thing! A government deficit means more money in private pockets.

The way people suggest they can cut spending without cutting activity is completely fallacious. This is appalling in Europe right now. The Greeks are being asked to cut 10 percent from spending in a few years. And the assumption is that this won't affect GDP. But of course it will! It will cut at least 10 percent! And so they won't have the tax collections to fund the new lower level of spending. Spain was forced to make the same announcement yesterday. So the Eurozone is going down the tubes.

On the other hand, look at Japan. They've had enormous deficits ever since the crash in 1988. What's been the interest rate on government bonds ever since? It's zero! They've had no problem funding themselves. The best asset to own in Japan is cash, because the price level is falling. It gets you 4 percent return. The idea that funding difficulties are driven by deficits is an argument backed by a very powerful metaphor, but not much in the way of fact, theory or current experience.

Speechless. James Galbraith and I live in different worlds. I find it hard to believe that people believe him.

As Michael Kinsley noted, if deficits aren't the problem and will never be the problem, why not spend more? Why aren't we doing more for the poor? Why aren't we doing more for the unemployed? If deficits don't have any drawbacks, why not double the deficit? Even that would be wrong if you could triple or quadruple the deficit instead without any ill effects. The reason we don't is because the whole system could collapse.

........

Are Liberals Allergic to Truth? Dick Blumenthal's Viet Nam Service Record - There Aint One!

It would seem to me that in these days of the internet and its attendant almost instantaneous communications, politicians really ought know better than to FLAT OUT LIE about their service records. But nope, like Al Gore's hilarious claims of having invented the internet, Nutmeglandia's (that's Connecticut for the rest of the world) Democrat Attorney General Richie-Rich Blumenthal has come up with an entirely fact-checkable whopper. So egregious is the falsity of his claim, that the Democrat cheer leading rag of record, - yep, that's right, I said it - The New York Times today published a story on how the Gold-plated boy from Greenwich goes around claiming to VETERANS groups that he served a tour in Viet Nam.

His Big Fat Problema is that he didn't. He served out his USMC Reserves duty in Washington D.C. building playgrounds and organizing Toys-for-Tots drives. Those are certainly admirable and valuable services rendered to the community, but they definitively are not akin to a combat tour of duty half way around the world.

To his credit, Dick doesn't pretend to have graduated Law School, unlike Al Gore, he actually did.

Read this cautionary tale of political woe by clicking the linked title below.

Candidate’s Words on Vietnam Service Differ From History

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.

Many politicians have faced questions over their decisions during the Vietnam War, and Mr. Blumenthal, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, is not alone in staying out of the war.

But what is striking about Mr. Blumenthal’s record is the contrast between the many steps he took that allowed him to avoid Vietnam, and the misleading way he often speaks about that period of his life now, especially when he is speaking at veterans’ ceremonies or other patriotic events.

Sometimes his remarks have been plainly untrue, as in his speech to the group in Norwalk. At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left on audiences can be similar. [Read the rest here]

Also discussing this is Chris Fountain at FOR WHAT ITS WORTH

And Sammy at The Lid

Color Me Shocked !!! Well, Not Really... Auntie Zeituni Gets Asylum

As Gomer Pyle would enthusiastically proclaim to his permanently exasperated Drill Sargeant Vincenzo Carter, Well SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...

Only none of us should be surprised living under this, the cleanest, most ethical and transparent Administration in our history.

A Federal Judge has granted asylum to B'Oz's Half - Aunt Zeituni Onyango. Of course, we'll never know the basis for the Grant of Asylum because the petitions are sealed:

From the Associated Press in part:

"The asylum process is confidential and she wants to keep it that way, - [I would too if I were a potential source of severe embarrassment for my half nephew POTUS] - so we can't get into details on why the judge granted asylum or the exact basis for her claim," said her attorney Scott Bratton. He added: "She doesn't want people to feel sorry for her." [Mr. Bratton: I doubt there are very many people feeling particularly sorry for her, especially Asylum seekers whose petitions have been denied]

Another lawyer, Margaret Wong of Cleveland, said last year that Onyango first applied for asylum "due to violence in Kenya." The East African nation is fractured by cycles of electoral violence every five years.

Medical issues also could have played a role. In a November interview with The Associated Press, Onyango said she was disabled and was learning to walk again after being paralyzed from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. [In this regard, I do feel sympathy for Ms. Oyango]

Well, here we go again.... Just another day in Paradise.

ISLAMIC RULE #5 POST

I've been particularly dilatory in my slavish devotion to observing Stacey McCain's blog promotion Rule set, so, in an effort at rule compliance and in a truly earnest desire to be inclusive of all human traditions - Nyuck, nyuck - I here tender my first ever ISLAMIC RULE #5 POST:

Image courtesy of Weasel Zippers

Kiss of Death Political Endorsements

This in from poor Mike Fedele who's run for CT Governor seat isn't going at all well....

Note to Mike: RINO endorsements are not what you want these days.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chris Shays Endorses Mike Fedele for Governor

Congressman in 4th District from 1987 to 2008 Backs Fedele

Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele today announced that he has been endorsed for Governor by Christopher Shays, the former member of Congress who served from Connecticut's 4th District from 1987 through 2008.

"I have known Mike Fedele for over thirty years and there is no candidate who is better prepared for the enormous job of being the next Governor of Connecticut," Chris Shays said.

"Mike has demonstrated his commitment through a lifetime of public service on the Stamford Board of Representatives, the Republican Town Committee, and as a State Representative. Mike did all this while supporting his family and building his business because it is important to him to give back to this country for all that it has given him."

"Mike is the kind of businessman who has been successful by hard work, innovating and by creating quality jobs right here in Connecticut not by dismantling companies and sending jobs overseas."

"Our state has drifted away from economic growth and job creation. Mike will bring a stronger focus to Connecticut's business climate, get it back on track, and help bring confidence to our employers so they can create the jobs and put our unemployed residents back to work", concluded Shays.

"I am grateful to have the support of an outstanding leader like Chris Shays," Lt. Governor Fedele said. "He has dedicated his career to making our state better. His record of public service and his love for Connecticut are unmatched. In Congress, Chris Shays didn't toe the line - he set the standard. He is a man of principle who stands up for what is right."

Fedele has so far earned the support of more than a third of the Republican members of the General Assembly and nearly half of Connecticut's Republican Mayors and First Selectmen. Lieutenant Governor Fedele has also gained the endorsements of 24 "super-delegates" to the Republican Convention on May 22, 2010.

Chris Shays began his public service with the Peace Corps in 1968. Beginning in 1974, he served for 13 years as a State Representative in the Connecticut General Assembly. In 1987, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th Congressional District.

2 GOP Senators [Useful Idiots] praise Kagan after meetings on Hill

To paraphrase Hillary Clinton when she was still a Senator from NY (before being politically neutered by her B'Oz):

It takes a willing suspension of disbelief to believe that Elena Kagan is qualified to sit in SCOTUS.

Hey, Olympia: Kagan told you that the Court has a limited role right? Well, she's right about that, but only because it is still dominated by conservative justices who more or less respect the constitutional limits imposed upon it and who do not want to legislate from the bench. What she obviously didn't tell you was that she would look for the very first opportunity she could find to expand the Court's role beyond recognition. You really are quite dim-witted aren't you Ms. Snowe[d]?

From The Washington Post (Title linked)

2 GOP senators praise Kagan after meetings on Hill

By Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 13, 2010; 5:10 PM

Returning to Capitol Hill for a second day Thursday, Elena Kagan drew praise from two Republicans who could eventually support her nomination to the Supreme Court: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.).

Collins, after an hour-long meeting with Kagan, declared herself "very impressed" and said she saw little reason for the GOP to consider a filibuster. She rejected the complaint by some Republicans that Kagan is not qualified because she has never served as a judge.

"I do not believe her lack of judicial experience in any way disqualifies her," Collins said. She added, "what I was most pleased to hear her say was that she viewed the court as having a limited role."

Brown, after meeting with Kagan, said he was convinced the former Harvard Law School dean was supportive of the U.S. military. He said he and Kagan extensively discussed her support of colleges, including Harvard, that sought years ago to bar military recruiters from campus in protest of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

"It was very clear to me after we spoke about it at length that she is supportive of the men and women who are fighting to protect us, and very supportive of the military as a whole," Brown said. "I do not feel that her judicial philosophy will be hurting the men and women who are serving."

Neither Brown nor Collins committed to voting for Kagan, now the U.S. solicitor general. But she is likely to be confirmed simply because of the 59 Democratic-leaning votes in the Senate. Supreme Court nominees are almost never blocked through the use of the filibuster, a tactic the 41 Republicans in the Senate have employed against some Obama administration appointees.

As she did Wednesday, Kagan spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with senators. Along with the two Republicans, she spoke to five Democrats, including John Kerry (Mass.).

In the sessions, she offered some hints of her judicial views, but little that was groundbreaking. For example, she told Collins she viewed Roe v. Wade as "settled law," the senator said.

The Senate has not set a date for Kagan's confirmation hearings. The Judiciary Committee on Thursday sent her a 10-page questionnaire requesting information on her previous jobs, writings, speeches and her finances.

New Yorkers Think Obama a Hypocrite?

Well it comes 18 months too flipping late, but it seems that New Yorkers might well be cooling on B'Oz big time. That's one for the "No Shit, Sherlock!" file.

DANG I MISS TRACK-A-CRAT. I can only believe he'd have had a lot of fun with this one

H/T Drudge

From WCBSTV.com:

Obama Called A Hypocrite For Coming To NYC

New Yorkers Don't Like: Timing With Anti-Terror Cuts Looming, President Blasting Wall St., Then Taking Its Money

NEW YORK (CBS) ―Despite the harsh criticism of the possible New York City anti-terror cuts, President Barack Obama walked straight into the lion's den on Thursday.

He met with NYPD officers whose budgets may be slashed, then took cash from the Wall Street fat cats he's very publicly ripped apart.

The irony is hard to ignore – President Obama schmoozing with New York's Finest, thanking them for their handling of the Times Square bomb scare, just one day after the White House said it may be slashing the city's terror-fighting fund.

On Thursday, President Obama promised federal support.

"And we want to make sure that we continue to work with you to get the resources that are needed for you to continue to be effective," Obama told the NYPD.

"He's talking out of both sides of his mouth," one New Yorker said.

Critics said the timing of Obama's Big Apple tour could not be worse.

"New York is a tough town," Obama said.

Three weeks ago, in a push for tougher banking regulations, the president went on verbal assault against Wall Street's big wigs. But on Thursday night Obama was taking their money as the wealthy forked over thousands of dollars for a swank fundraising dinner with him at the tony St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan.

"That I agree with him wholeheartedly. They're the only people that have money right now," one person said.

"He's being a hypocrite," another added.

Each posh plate went for $15,000, $30,000 a couple or $50,000 for the VIP reception and dinner.

Blame Barney for Fannie Mae's $7 Trillion in Liabilities

From Chris Fountain at For What its Worth comes this "surprising " news.

Gee, thanks a lot Barney.

Fannie Mae – “we’re even more bankrupt than we’ve admitted”

$7 trillion in liabilities, oh, taxpayer – that’s half the US debt. This one you really can blame on Barney “Fannie Mae is in no danger” Frank. This should be fun.

From ZeroHedge:

The bankruptcy of America is getting borderline hilarious, even as stock capitalization surges by about $1 trillion based on funny money to be printed by the ECB with the Fed’s assistance. In the second coming of moral hazard, one piece of news that some may have missed is Fannie Mae’s earlier announcement that the mortgage lender is now more bankrupt than ever before – the firm lost $13.1 billion in net income on $3 billion in revenue. “The first-quarter loss resulted in a net worth deficit of $8.4 billion as of March 31, 2010, taking into account a $3.3 billion reduction in our deficit related to the adoption of new accounting standards, as well as unrealized gains on available-forsale securities during the first quarter. The Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has therefore asked Treasury to provide us $8.4 billion on or prior to June 30, 2010.” Additionally, the Fed backstopped entity also announced that “there is uncertainty regarding future of business after conservatorship terminated and expect this uncertainty to continue.” But since in America asset prices have not reflected fundamentals in over a year, nobody gives a rat’s ass. And the political whores in DC feel like beating up anyone who even dares to mention this particular $7 trillion dollar question mark which is equivalent to 50% of total US debt, so expect no reform to happen here, just like nothing happened with HFT, until the markets hits 1 quadrillion or zero. For all intents and purposes, the two outcomes are equivalent.

Seals Vindicated: All 3 Not Guilty. About Damned Time!

UPDATED Below

[Original post: May 7, 2010] I'm surprised I missed this one yesterday (H/T to Ran at Si Vis Pacem for his post linking to the Ace of Spades post reproduced below), but I'm very happy and grateful for the end result. Those great men should never have been put through their Kangaroo trials in the first place. In an honorable world the REMFs who refused to stand up to B'Oz and Eric Holder would resign their commissions in shame.

---------------------

UPDATE

LawHawkSF posted an excellent discussion of the Seal Acquittals over at Commenterama. Click HERE to read his take on it all.

---------------------

May 06, 2010

Navy SEAL Not Guilty Of Hitting Terrorist

Color me shocked and by shocked I mean, pissed these heroes were put through this.

Virginia military jury found a Navy SEAL not guilty on charges of punching a suspected Iraqi terrorist.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class, was facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

The suspected terrorist McCabe was accused of punching is Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is the suspected masterminded the grisly killings of four American contractors in Iraq six years ago.

This follows four days of pre-trial motions, jury selection and testimony before a Judge Advocate General, Captain Moira Modelewski, at the Naval Station Norfolk.

Another one of the Navy SEALs charged, but acquitted in connection with the Abed case, Petty Officer First Class Julio Huertas, took the stand for the defense Thursday morning.

He said that he and the other two Navy SEALs, McCabe and Jonathan Keefe, did visit the detention facility where Abed was being held on the night of the alleged incident.

But, he insists, there was no assault. Huertas and Keefe were found not guilty last month in separate trials in Baghdad.

Just remember, each of these SEALS were given the opportunity to face Non Judicial Punishment which more or less would have been a slap on the wrist in terms of punishment (compared to trial). It would however have been the end of their SEAL service and even worse...accepting it would have meant accepting they did something wrong. Instead, they exercised their right to a Court Martial and the chance to clear their names. They also risked jail time in the process but they didn't accept dishonor for something they did not do.

I hope each of these men gets some well deserved leave and then get back to work removing terrorists from the land of the living.

More B'Oz Administration Corruption. Cathy Zoi poised to make Millions with "Cap & Screw America"

Conflict of Interest Central; The B'Oz Administration!

Read some more here:

Pajamas Media » More Global Warming Profiteering by Obama Energy Official

Generation Patriot: On the Brink of a Financial Storm…

Jordan at Generation Patriot has just posted an excellent essay on the Financial "Caca Storm" that threatens to devour Greece and, ultimately, the Euro Zone.

Correction:

It was Michelle who posted the excellent piece linked below

Read it here:

Generation Patriot: On the Brink of a Financial Storm…

Stupid "Liberal" Apologist Tricks

Here's one for the SQUIRMING LIBERAL APOLOGISTS file

Seems that five High School students in the Bay Area were ordered home on Cinco de Mayo by their Principal for insensitivity to Mexican students. The Offending conduct: Wearing American Flag bandannas and Tee-Shirts.

Read the nauseating stupidity here

I smell a non-frivolous lawsuit!

UPDATE



Ran at Si Vis Pacem has honored me with a "Post Title Excellence" prize for this post. Ran: I'm deeply grateful for the nod!

For any who don't regularly stop by Ran's site, you do yourselves a great disservice.

Harry Reid Says Republicans 'Making Love to Wall Street', but in 2008 Goldman Sachs Gave to Democrats 3 to 1 over Republicans. Can Anyone Spell PUTA?

From The Hill comes this story on Harry Reid's allegations of a secret tryst between Wall Street and the Republicans:

Reid: GOP is 'making love to Wall Street'

By Alexander Bolton - 05/05/10 01:19 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused Republicans Wednesday of “making love to Wall Street.”

Reid charged that Republicans are stalling action on a Wall Street reform bill because “they are having difficulty determining how they’re going to continue making love to Wall Street” by resisting banking regulation. Click the linked Title above to read the whole clumsy smear

But OpenSecrets.org reports that in the 2008 election cycle, Goldman Sachs PACS and Employees gave money to Democrats at a rate of 3 to 1 over Republicans.

Here's how the numbers break down: $4,468,388 (75%) of Goldman largess went to Demoncrats compared to a relatively anemic $1,459,961 (25%) to Republicans. What does this make Harry Reid and his Party? Professional "Sex Therapists" perhaps?

Source: OpenSecrets.org


Harry, you really are a transparent stupid piece of work.

-------------

Similar stuff: James at Reaganite Republican has a parallel story here on BP's generosity to B'Oz over the last 20 years. Its very much well worth the read.

Tim at LeftCoastRebel also discusses Obama's campaign cash affair with BP here

GM Exec Whitaker's Fuzzy Math - GM Pays Back TARP Loan Money with TARP Escrow Money

Hat Tip to Tyrone of Wake up Black America

Watch this and weep for the Republic....






Here's another video on the same theme, but spoofing Ed Whitaker's recent GM Ads with voice-overs. H/T to Consent of the Governed

Rob Simmons Has Really Disappointed Me.

Yesterday I started thinking about hopping off the fence and making a decision about which of the two Republican U.S. Senate contenders I would endorse on this blog (I don't consider Linda McMahon even remotely credible or qualified): Peter Schiff or Rob Simmons. I was leaning toward Simmons as the candidate most likely to be successful against Dick Blumenthal in November, even though I agree with Peter Schiff on most matters. Then Rob Simmons just had to dump this poorly reasoned Press Release today. What a disappointment!

For Immediate Release
May 5, 2010

SIMMONS CALLS FOR NEW MEASURES TO SECURE AIR TRAVEL AND DEAL WITH AMERICAN TERRORISTS
"I Urge Attorney General Blumenthal To Reverse His Prior Position Supporting Civilian Trials For Terrorists Who Fit Shahzad's Profile"

(MYSTIC) - Rob Simmons, candidate for US Senate, made the following statement on the need to enhance aviation security measures and to treat citizens who engage in acts of terrorism against the United States as enemy combatants to be tried in military tribunals:

"The attack at Fort Hood and Sunday's attempted attack in Times Square show a growing trend of foreign groups training, inspiring and coordinating with American citizens to commit acts of terror within our borders. And in the case of the Times Square Bomber and the Christmas Day Bomber, we see that nearly nine years after the 9/11 attacks, the federal government has still failed to implement even basic security measures to prevent known terrorists from gaining access to commercial aircraft.

"Specifically, rather than relying on untrained airline staff to check passengers against inconsistent and often outdated no-fly lists, we must have trained security officials checking passengers against uniform watch lists which are updated in real time. A fractured system with airlines responsible for checking lists invites security gaps. Further, simple misspellings in no-fly list entries can prevent detection of terrorists, such as occurred with the Christmas Day bomber, suggesting the technology used by our government is not even up to par with that used by average Google users. It's time for the federal government to come out of the stone age, and put available 21st Century technologies in place to protect our nation.

"Further, it appears Faisal Shahzad is a strong candidate to be tried by military tribunal, not civilian courts. Although he is a citizen, America has a long history of trying citizens involved in military actions against the state in military tribunals. In fact, the Americans who conspired to assassinate President Lincoln were tried by military tribunal.

"While we continue to establish the facts in this case, the perpetrator has admitted he was involved in a foreign terrorist conspiracy and as such is an enemy combatant. If facts bear out Shahzad's admission of involvement with foreign terrorists, he should be tried by tribunal where we can ascertain important intelligence that is kept secret from our enemies, and prevent the terrorists from exploiting a high profile public relations platform. I urge Attorney General Blumenthal to reverse his prior position supporting civilian trials for terrorists who fit Shahzad's profile.

"Finally, I support Senator Lieberman's bill to strip citizenship from terrorists like Shahzad who join foreign terror groups. This important step would update current laws that deprive citizenship for Americans who join foreign armies.

"The American government must recognize that terrorists are part of a global movement at war against the United States, not common criminals. They must be treated accordingly."

Fear and Loathing in Liberaldom - or, How to Provoke an Islamist Attack

From Ralph Peters - New York Post


I couldn't possibly say this more succinctly myself. Bravo Ralph!

h/t to Sammy Benoit at YidWithLid

The smell of our fear

By RALPH PETERS

Last Updated: 12:34 AM, May 5, 2010

Posted: 11:32 PM, May 4, 2010

Appeasement doesn't work. It doesn't work with dictators, and it doesn't work with terrorists. The attempted Times Square bombing was yet more proof.

We've allowed Islamist extremists to dictate what we can say, print or portray. We don't want to offend them. The First Amendment bows before Islam.

The Obama administration has ducked all unwelcome evidence that such appeasement doesn't work. Instead, it goes to absurd lengths to convince Muslim radicals that we respect their views.

Our counterfactual assumption is that, if we're really, really nice, the fanatics will stop being grumpy and blowing us up. But Islamist extremists haven't read our actions (or inactions) as an admirable exercise in tolerance. They read our bowing and scraping and apologizing as weakness.

The mean-dog law applies: Let that pit bull sense that you're afraid, and you're going to feel its teeth.

Instead of applauding our ecumenical decency, terrorists just smell fear.

So we've had yet another attempt to ignite an inferno in the heart of Manhattan, to slaughter the innocent and teach America a lesson.

Since the Obama administration deepened our submissive attitude toward Islam -- banning all references to "Islamist terror" or "Muslim radicalism" from government documents and statements -- the number of terror attacks on our soil has gone up. Does any reader believe this is just a coincidence?

The dogs of terror smell fear. Terror's response to our president's Cairo valentine to fanaticism last year was the Fort Hood massacre, the attempted Christmas Day bombing, now the botched bombing of Times Square -- and a swelling number of foiled plots.

The Times Square near-miss was particularly revealing. When it looked like the bomber might be a forty-something white male, the media's delight and the relief of our politicians was palpable: At last, another Timothy McVeigh! It isn't only Muslims!

Boo-hoo. The perp turned out to be another Islamist terrorist we can't call an "Islamist terrorist."

Now the question of most interest about the terrorists' latest Manhattan Project is whether Faisal Shahzad, a newly naturalized citizen (great vetting job!), chose Times Square just because it's a powerful symbol and always crowded -- or if he also hoped to hit Viacom's headquarters as punishment for South Park's (promptly self-censored) lampoon of Mohammed.

This matters. South Park may not embody all that I admire about America, but its irreverence is an important manifestation of our freedom of expression. What politically correct and cowardly madness have we come to, when we allow murderous Muslim fanatics to censor our laugh lines?

I don't like gratuitous provocations directed at any religion. But freedom of speech applies: We can't have an anything-goes rule for every other faith, and a don't-touch rule for Islam.

When those Danish cartoons mocking Mohammed were first published several years ago, I found them tasteless, stupid and gratuitous. But the moment Islamist bullies reached into our civilization to threaten the cartoonists and publishers with death, we should have dug in our heels.

If the Saudis, or the Pakistanis, or the Iranians in their respective spiritual tenements don't want to watch South Park or look at cartoons of Mohammed, fine. They're entitled to their own house rules.

But they are not entitled to dictate to us what we can depict, describe or, yeah, laugh at. In our house, you have to play by our rules.

We should have taken a stand years ago. Now our appeasement-addicted administration won't. Comics will go on ripping up other faiths for their stand-up routines, but the religion that's spawned such ungodly terror will get a pass.

All of our self-censorship, bowing, kowtowing and apologizing has had no positive effect, whatsoever, on our enemies. Not one terrorist organization has disbanded, nor has one terrorist converted to the Malibu lifestyle.

The only thing we've done by caving in to every cultural demand from Islamist fanatics has been to encourage them to make more demands.

Our enemies believe we're cowards. We're also fools.

Ralph Peters' new book is "Endless War."

MIKE BLOOMBERG PULLS 180 DEGREE TURN ON POSSIBLE HOMEGROWN TERRORIST'S MOTIVES; WELL NOT REALLY...

Much has been written by my fellow bloggers about Shahzad and his thankfully incompetently executed bomb plot, so I will only touch on it peripherally, specifically in the context of how it was played by obnoxious Mayor-for-Life, Michael Bloomberg.

After learning that ICE, FBI and Police had arrested the Pakistan born Shahzad for the plot, Bloomberg said: "We will not tolerate any bias or backlash against Pakistani or Muslim New Yorkers."

Fine as far as it goes, but it seems Bloomie has an astonishingly short memory, in as much as only the night before he opined on Couric's broadcast that it was as likely as anything that it was a homegrown terrorist "angry at the health care Bill" who was responsible for the attempt.

Now the little twerp seems to suggest people angry at the Health Care Bill might also be angry enough at Shahzad that they would inappropriately target innocent Muslims and/or Pakistanis.

Note to Mikey: If you read this, try to grasp this single simple concept - Just because a great many people around the country oppose Obama's controlling agenda and are angry at both him and you alike for your control-freak propensities and political ambitions, it doesn't mean that we are unable to channel that anger appropriately and take it out on you and your political kin at the proper time and place; specifically in November at the ballot box.

Also discussing this: LeftCoastRebel (H/T).

GLOBAL WARMING MOUTHPIECE & SERIAL GRAD SCHOOL DROPOUT SNAPS UP $8.875 MILLION BEACH HOUSE

From the L.A. Times comes this news that Albert Gore Junior, everybody's favorite serial grad school dropout and delusional Climate Change cultist has just bought himself a beautiful new spread in Montecito Kalifornicate... Where d'ja get all that money Al? Was it carbon credit trades?

Hat/Tip to my Friend Chris Fountain - Sarcastic ex-lawyer penning For What its Worth

latimes.com

Al Gore, Tipper Gore snap up Montecito-area villa

The Italian-style home has an ocean view, fountains, six fireplaces, five bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

4:24 PM PDT, April 28, 2010 Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have added a Montecito-area property to their real estate holdings, reports the Montecito Journal.

The couple spent $8,875,000 on an ocean-view villa on 1.5 acres with a swimming pool, spa and fountains, a real estate source familiar with the deal confirms. The Italian-style house has six fireplaces, five bedrooms and nine bathrooms.