Quote of the Day
Choose thy love. Love thy choice.
German proverb
Donald Trump: SHUT UP About Obama! Talk about the ISSUES!
What is wrong with this guy? Now Trump is claiming that Obama is hiding his Columbia transcripts, that he didn't deserve to be admitted to Harvard Law School in the first place, and it sounded like we were arguing about Bakke (University of California, Board of Regents) all over again (i.e., reverse discrimination). I can't believe that Donald Trump has me actually defending President Obama. Let me be clear, Trump: what you are doing is unworthy of a legitimate candidate for higher office. The fact of the matter is however Obama got into Harvard, he got a law degree magna cum laude, which meant he graduated in the top 10% of his class. So what's Trump's point? Even if Obama got in with a so-so transcript, he still had to perform to make high honors.
Fortunately, there is a highly articulate man in the race whom is accomplished and yet tactful: Mitt Romney. As to Trump, Romney said, "He's a terrific guy and I wish him the very best. I hope he runs, come on in, the water's fine." As for Obama: "He's a nice guy, but he just doesn't understand what it takes to get the economy going." Spot on! Conservatives, take notice: in a poll released late last week from Dartmouth: Romney beats Obama by 8 points in New Hampshire. Trump loses to Obama by 22 points and Palin by 27 points.
Ray Stevens Video: Obama/"Helicopter Ben" Bernanke MONEY
On a Matter of Civility
You know that progressives simply have no shame when they write departure-from-reality things like: "Folks on both sides of the political aisle often agree that former President George W. Bush was one of the most incompetent commander-in-chiefs this country has ever had, but he was never disrespected (barring the shoe throwing incident by an Iraqi journalist) the way our incumbent president has been." First of all, it's hard to think of any two Presidents more incompetent on or less able to deal with military affairs than Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, neither of them whom served a day in the military or National Guard. (It seems their military moves consist largely of firing missiles and aircraft, but real control must be won with boots on the ground.)
I have issues with Bush's management of nation building, level of military staffing, and delays in changing a strategy that wasn't working, but the cited writer is in a state of denial: in fact, the Taliban, which refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, was ousted, and Saddam Hussein was deposed; and while the Democratic-majority Congress in 2007 wanted to cut and run from a seemingly out-of-control Iraq, Bush's change of strategy indisputably worked--over the explicit opposition of one Barack Obama. That singular difference proves that Bush was a more competent Commander in Chief than Obama will ever be.
Bush did not dictate military strategy and tactics but basically delegated authority to DoD and the Chiefs of Staff, something you would expect of a capable manager, versus (say) LBJ micromanaging the Vietnam War; you may disagree with the military command's decisions or recommendations, arguing there were tactical or even strategic mistakes made, but it's difficult to argue that experienced, knowledgeable military leaders were incompetent. (Human performance engineering studies show that even experts make mistakes, although at a low stable rate.)
But in terms of disrespect: anyone who seriously thinks that Barack Obama has gotten even as much as one-tenth of the disrespect as George Bush is in a state of denial. (At least this guy is honest enough to recognize the Iraqi journalist showing his shoes at Bush was disrespectful--but most of his fellow progressives were ecstatic (or angry at the journalist for missing or suggesting things other than shoes). Any cursory Google search will reveal links to the "Top 10 Bush Shoe Throwing Games". There have been literally thousands of "George Bush is stupid" jokes (never mind the guy has earned two Ivy League degrees, started a business, and was an executive for the Texas Rangers), and I got over 5.7 million hits on "George W. Bush" and "monkey".
Even the late night shows (particularly David Letterman) still take shots at George Bush more than 2 years out of office. To give a simple example, Letterman made this recent "joke", a not-so-subtle reference to former Presidents GHW Bush, GW Bush, and Governor Jeb Bush : "Hosni Mubarak was arrested near the Red Sea. They found him in hiding with his two sons, Hosni W. and Jeb." Unlike the constantly Bush-bashing Obama, I've never heard the Bush family EVER take cheap shots at the opposition; it speaks well of how they were raised. I try to pick a couple of late-night jokes to ad lib to, and I rarely find anything decent from Letterman. I don't find the above joke funny at all; it's just a cheap shot. In fact, I really think my jokes are much better than anything in Letterman's repertoire, and to be honest, I rarely see or hear a decent Obama joke; the late night comics make fun of his teleprompter, his ears, etc. Pathetic lack of creativity.
Anyway, what made the progressive blogger so upset was an alleged Orange County (CA) Tea Party activist Marilyn Davenport sent out a family picture of apes with Obama's face superimposed over the baby ape's, reportedly with a caption suggesting this was the reason there was no birth certificate. (The GOP county chair has called for her resignation.) Let me be very clear: whatever I think of President Obama and his policies, it's politics, not personal. I respect the office of the Presidency, and this sort of nonsense is unacceptable, period.
We have a massive federal deficit, 45% of workers exempt from paying a penny of federal government overhead, a health care "reform" law which exacerbates inflation (in which the "consumer" only pays about 10% out of pocket), the highest corporate tax rate in the world, and the jokers in Washington are doing little more but paying lip service to the national debt--but these conservative activists spend their time trying to keep alive a fake controversy over the indisputable fact of the President's birth citizenship--and add an offensive picture that does little to debunk the persistent progressive talking point over the past year that there are racist elements to the Tea Party. Where is RNC Chief Reince Priebus? You need to show some leadership here.
Obama: Sanctions Against Syria? YES!
I have to admit I've been intrigued by the fact that Syria, Iran's ally in the volatile Middle East, has been caught up in the African/Middle East contagion sparked by the Tunisia revolt. I have been sickened, of course, by news reports of the second generation minority strongman leader Bashar al-Assad, directing Syrian security to violently open fire on protesters, killing some 400 to date and another 1000 detained.
More Persecutions/War Crimes Against Christians in Africa
Ivory Coast has exploded into sectarian violence as President-elect Allasane Ouattara from the largely Muslim north part of the country defeated Laurent Ghagbo, whom has refused to give up power. The Obama Administration is backing Ouattara's side in the dispute. Atrocities have been reported for both sides, but one particularly sickening incident is the apparent murder (by gunshot or even machete) of more than 1000 civilians in a Roman Catholic mission in Duekoue overrun by primarily immigrant Muslim militia Ouattara allies. The mainstream media accounts I've seen to date are not really phrasing this in terms of a Christian/Muslim dispute; I'm mostly seeing this subject discussed in these terms by other conservative bloggers, whom seem to think the Obama Administration is not doing enough to protect the Christian minority. I want to be fair and point out that Ouattara forces have distanced themselves from this atrocity. I'm mostly concerned about stabilizing this situation and not letting it become another Rwanda.
Glenn Beck and the Power of Kindness
This blog has often criticized Glenn Beck for a variety of reasons, but there is no doubt that he has motivated many of his listeners to perform acts of kindness. He discussed one such example on his show today. Good job, Glenn.
Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update
The only major blog update (of the handful of blogs I regularly follow) is for the Hiroshima Syndrome blogger whom starts off by noting the little-observed fact that none of the recent offshore Daiichi site area seawater samples met or exceeded LNT thresholds (in fact, 9 of the 10 showed no measurable trace of radioactive iodine). Temperatures/pressures remain steady; just one of the 2 reactor temperature indicators (the bottom one) for reactor 3 remains above cold shutdown stage. The blogger points out that the European press, stung by Japanese (much-restrained) criticisms of anti-nuke hyperbolic foreign coverage, has counter-charged that there is a lack of sufficient debate in Japan, i.e., the Japanese must be suppressing local anti-nuke voices (and hence they are speaking up on behalf of the Japanese little guy). (In fact, there is Hiroshima Syndrome all over Japan--as this blog has reported; the Japanese have instituted some bureaucratic changes, the government has forbidden shipping of foods anywhere near LNT thresholds, Fukushima refugees are discriminated against, only recently have there been attempts to recover the bodies of tsunami victims, etc.) Finally, there are the usual 'is-America-facing-its-own-Fukushima-Daiichi' queries going on; the blogger notes that America's nuclear plants are not located in Japanese-like earthquake zones and have been built to withstand much stronger earthquakes, tougher standards for backup power, redundant power supplies, etc., were implemented years before this nuclear incident. Do you really think facts are going to stop the anti-nukes from spreading Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt?
Political Humor
"President Obama released his 2010 tax return. It turns out that he made $1.7 million and spent $14 trillion." –Conan O'Brien
[This year President Obama decided to use GE's accountants and discovered with his Kenyan investments he didn't owe any taxes at all last year.]
"Trump is very reluctant to release his tax returns. Either he doesn’t make as much money as he wants people to think he does, or he doesn't want anyone to know he claims his hairpiece as a dependent." –Jimmy Kimmel
[Trump is willing to provide an official receipt that his tax form is on file, but his 1040 cannot be released due to the same privacy laws covering Obama's original birth certificate.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
ABBA, "Money, Money, Money"
