Sacred Cow Crossing

Obama AZ speech - theme from 2008 campaign site

2011-01-14T13:39:00.000-05:00

If those who received a memorial t-shirt will look at the bottom, they will see a "tag" from the DNC: "Rocking America and Rocking the Vote" ..... more evidence that what many suspected to be more like a campaign speech than a memorial and tribute to those who were either heroic, wounded and killed in Tucson last week.

Instead -- we get "Together We Thrive" text and themes from a post at Obama's 2008 Campaign site "Organizing for America" at this 2008 site.

While the site may now be difficult to load (it is occasionally "jumbled" -- which may be intentional), I and others have screen shots.

The first screen shot is HERE.

Here is also the investigative report by CFP's Judi McCleod:

The “Together We Thrive” T-shirts that starred at Wednesday’s Arizona
`Memorial’ originated from Organizing for America (here), a sad fact unearthed by The Drumbeat of Liberty Preservation of Freedom editor and Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Robert
Rohlfing.

In the controversy of the pep rally/rock concert style Memorial for those
who lost their lives in Saturday’s Arizona tragedy, the mainstream media
reported that the “Together We Thrive: Tucson & America” T-shirt given to
mourners as they entered McKate Center was the idea of University of Arizona
brass, not the Obama administration.

Yet the “Together We Thrive” slogan dates back to a post to Obama’s own
Organizing for America in a Feb. 11, 2008 post by self-described “globalist”
John Berry IV.

More than passing strange that the Obama campaign message of civility was
the same on Feb. 11, 2008 as it was in his Wednesday Memorial speech, and the
same one, too carried by the mainstream media in coverage of the
Memorial. 

“For too long Americans have been set one against the other. It
is a side affect of a free market society,” Berry IV posted. “How can
profits be maximized, how can I get the work down for the lowest possible
costs. This continually sets one group against the other, especially in
the blue collar sectors of America. It has become part of the American
Business model, whether it was indentured servants, slaves picking cotton,
sharecroppers, the industrious people that built the railroads or today’s
migrant workers. As long as we remain divided, fighting for the scraps
that America has to offer it will be one group against the other.

“What I see in Obama is a chance for revolution. (Italics CFP’s). A
chance for every group to be heard; A chance to live the American dream that has
been denied to so many…

“In a previous career, I was the global leader of Diversity for a global
fortune 500 corporation. I have studied the affects of diverse groups
working together and the results can not be denied. Together we
Thrive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

University of Arizona brass did not originate the “Together We Thrive”
T-shirt. They merely recycled it for Obama—and recycled it in time for
what should have been a dignified Memorial for the dead.

If you were a mourner who took home a “Together We Thrive” T-shirt have a
look at the bottom of your shirt. “Rocking America and Rocking the Vote”
is a common theme of the DNC, and it’s right there on your Memorial
T-shirt memento.

Welcome to the era of Obama, where cheering and standing ovations, for the
first time in history, became part of the Requiem for the Dead.

Not referenced in the article above were the boos which greeted the current AZ Governor when she spoke or the "WE LOVE YOU, OBAMA" chants that disrupted speakers. Where else BUT a campaign setting would you hear boos and chants???? Certainly not at a memorial service or a tribute to survivors.

Remember the Obama of old -- same tricks rising ....

2010-11-06T11:37:00.000-05:00

-- From American Thinker, 2008:

America waits with bated breath while Washington struggles to bring the U.S. economy back from the brink of disaster. But many of those same politicians caused the crisis, and if left to their own devices will do so again.

Despite the mass media news blackout, a series of books, talk radio and the blogosphere have managed to expose Barack Obama's connections to his radical mentors -- Weather Underground bombers William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, Communist Party member Frank Marshall Davis and others. David Horowitz and his Discover the Networks.org have also contributed a wealth of information and have noted Obama's radical connections since the beginning.

Yet, no one to my knowledge has yet connected all the dots between Barack Obama and the Radical Left. When seen together, the influences on Obama's life comprise a who's who of the radical leftist movement, and it becomes painfully apparent that not only is Obama a willing participant in that movement, he has spent most of his adult life deeply immersed in it.

But even this doesn't fully describe the extreme nature of this candidate. He can be tied directly to a malevolent overarching strategy that has motivated many, if not all, of the most destructive radical leftist organizations in the United States since the 1960s.

The Cloward-Piven Strategy of Orchestrated Crisis

In an earlier post, I noted the liberal record of unmitigated legislative disasters, the latest of which is now being played out in the financial markets before our eyes. Before the 1994 Republican takeover, Democrats had sixty years of virtually unbroken power in Congress - with substantial majorities most of the time. Can a group of smart people, studying issue after issue for years on end, with virtually unlimited resources at their command, not come up with a single policy that works? Why are they chronically incapable?

Why?

One of two things must be true. Either the Democrats are unfathomable idiots, who ignorantly pursue ever more destructive policies despite decades of contrary evidence, or they understand the consequences of their actions and relentlessly carry on anyway because they somehow benefit.

I submit to you they understand the consequences. For many it is simply a practical matter of eliciting votes from a targeted constituency at taxpayer expense; we lose a little, they gain a lot, and the politician keeps his job. But for others, the goal is more malevolent - the failure is deliberate. Don't laugh. This method not only has its proponents, it has a name: the Cloward-Piven Strategy. It describes their agenda, tactics, and long-term strategy.

The Strategy was first elucidated in the May 2, 1966 issue of The Nation magazine by a pair of radical socialist Columbia University professors, Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. David Horowitz summarizes it as:

The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.

Cloward and Piven were inspired by radical organizer [and Hillary Clinton mentor] Saul Alinsky:

"Make the enemy live up to their (sic) own book of rules," Alinsky wrote in his 1989 book Rules for Radicals. When pressed to honor every word of every law and statute, every Judeo-Christian moral tenet, and every implicit promise of the liberal social contract, human agencies inevitably fall short. The system's failure to "live up" to its rule book can then be used to discredit it altogether, and to replace the capitalist "rule book" with a socialist one. (Courtesy Discover the Networks.org)

Newsmax rounds out the picture:

Their strategy to create political, financial, and social chaos that would result in revolution blended Alinsky concepts with their more aggressive efforts at bringing about a change in U.S. government. To achieve their revolutionary change, Cloward and Piven sought to use a cadre of aggressive organizers assisted by friendly news media to force a re-distribution of the nation's wealth.

In their Nation article, Cloward and Piven were specific about the kind of "crisis" they were trying to create:

By crisis, we mean a publicly visible disruption in some institutional sphere. Crisis can occur spontaneously (e.g., riots) or as the intended result of tactics of demonstration and protest which either generate institutional disruption or bring unrecognized disruption to public attention.

No matter where the strategy is implemented, it shares the following features:

The offensive organizes previously unorganized groups eligible for government benefits but not currently receiving all they can.
The offensive seeks to identify new beneficiaries and/or create new benefits.
The overarching aim is always to impose new stresses on target systems, with the ultimate goal of forcing their collapse.

Capitalizing on the racial unrest of the 1960s, Cloward and Piven saw the welfare system as their first target. They enlisted radical black activist George Wiley, who created the National Welfare Reform Organization (NWRO) to implement the strategy. Wiley hired militant foot soldiers to storm welfare offices around the country, violently demanding their "rights." According to a City Journal article by Sol Stern, welfare rolls increased from 4.3 million to 10.8 million by the mid-1970s as a result, and in New York City, where the strategy had been particularly successful, "one person was on the welfare rolls... for every two working in the city's private economy."

According to another City Journal article titled "Compassion Gone Mad":

The movement's impact on New York City was jolting: welfare caseloads, already climbing 12 percent a year in the early sixties, rose by 50 percent during Lindsay's first two years; spending doubled... The city had 150,000 welfare cases in 1960; a decade later it had 1.5 million.

The vast expansion of welfare in New York City that came of the NWRO's Cloward-Piven tactics sent the city into bankruptcy in 1975. Rudy Giuliani cited Cloward and Piven by name as being responsible for "an effort at economic sabotage." He also credited Cloward-Piven with changing the cultural attitude toward welfare from that of a temporary expedient to a lifetime entitlement, an attitude which in-and-of-itself has caused perhaps the greatest damage of all.

Cloward and Piven looked at this strategy as a gold mine of opportunity. Within the newly organized groups, each offensive would find an ample pool of foot soldier recruits willing to advance its radical agenda at little or no pay, and expand its base of reliable voters, legal or otherwise. The radicals' threatening tactics also would accrue an intimidating reputation, providing a wealth of opportunities for extorting monetary and other concessions from the target organizations. In the meantime, successful offensives would create an ever increasing drag on society. As they gleefully observed:

Moreover, this kind of mass influence is cumulative because benefits are continuous. Once eligibility for basic food and rent grants is established, the drain on local resources persists indefinitely.

The next time you drive through one of the many blighted neighborhoods in our cities, or read of the astronomical crime, drug addiction, and out-of-wedlock birth rates, or consider the failed schools, strapped police and fire resources of every major city, remember Cloward and Piven's thrill that "...the drain on local resources persists indefinitely."

ACORN, the new tip of the Cloward-Piven spear

In 1970, one of George Wiley's protégés, Wade Rathke -- like Bill Ayers, a member of the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) -- was sent to found the Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now. While NWRO had made a good start, it alone couldn't accomplish the Cloward-Piven goals. Rathke's group broadened the offensive to include a wide array of low income "rights." Shortly thereafter they changed "Arkansas" to "Association of" and ACORN went nationwide.

Today ACORN is involved in a wide array of activities, including housing, voting rights, illegal immigration and other issues. According to ACORN's website: "ACORN is the nation's largest grassroots community organization of low-and moderate-income people with over 400,000 member families organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the country," It is perhaps the largest radical group in the U.S. and has been cited for widespread criminal activity on many fronts.

Voting

On voting rights, ACORN and its voter mobilization subsidiary, Project Vote, have been involved nationwide in efforts to grant felons the vote and lobbied heavily for the Motor Voter Act of 1993, a law allowing people to register at motor vehicle departments, schools, libraries and other public places. That law had been sought by Cloward and Piven since the early1980s and they were present, standing behind President Clinton at the signing ceremony.

ACORN's voter rights tactics follow the Cloward-Piven Strategy:

1. Register as many Democrat voters as possible, legal or otherwise and help them vote, multiple times if possible.
2. Overwhelm the system with fraudulent registrations using multiple entries of the same name, names of deceased, random names from the phone book, even contrived names.
3. Make the system difficult to police by lobbying for minimal identification standards.

In this effort, ACORN sets up registration sites all over the country and has been frequently cited for turning in fraudulent registrations, as well as destroying republican applications. In the 2004-2006 election cycles alone, ACORN was accused of widespread voter fraud in 12 states. It may have swung the election for one state governor.

ACORN's website brags: "Since 2004, ACORN has helped more than 1.7 million low- and moderate-income and minority citizens apply to register to vote." Project vote boasts 4 million. I wonder how many of them are dead? For the 2008 cycle, ACORN and Project Vote have pulled out all the stops. Given their furious nationwide effort, it is not inconceivable that this presidential race could be decided by fraudulent votes alone.

Barack Obama ran ACORN's Project Vote in Chicago and his highly successful voter registration drive was credited with getting the disgraced former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun elected. Newsmax reiterates Cloward and Piven's aspirations for ACORN's voter registration efforts:

By advocating massive, no-holds-barred voter registration campaigns, they [Cloward & Piven] sought a Democratic administration in Washington, D.C. that would re-distribute the nation's wealth and lead to a totalitarian socialist state.

Illegal Immigration

As I have written elsewhere, the Radical Left's offensive to promote illegal immigration is "Cloward-Piven on steroids." ACORN is at the forefront of this movement as well, and was a leading organization among a broad coalition of radical groups, including Soros' Open Society Institute, the Service Employees International Union (ACORN founder Wade Rathke also runs a SEIU chapter), and others, that became the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. CCIR fortunately failed to gain passage for the 2007 illegal immigrant amnesty bill, but its goals have not changed.

The burden of illegal immigration on our already overstressed welfare system has been widely documented. Some towns in California have even been taken over by illegal immigrant drug cartels. The disease, crime and overcrowding brought by illegal immigrants places a heavy burden on every segment of society and every level of government, threatening to split this country apart at the seams. In the meantime, radical leftist efforts to grant illegal immigrants citizenship guarantee a huge pool of new democrat voters. With little border control, terrorists can also filter in.

Obama aided ACORN as their lead attorney in a successful suit he brought against the Illinois state government to implement the Motor Voter law there. The law had been resisted by Republican Governor Jim Edgars, who feared the law was an opening to widespread vote fraud.

His fears were warranted as the Motor Voter law has since been cited as a major opportunity for vote fraud, especially for illegal immigrants, even terrorists. According to the Wall Street Journal: "After 9/11, the Justice Department found that eight of the 19 hijackers were registered to vote..."

ACORN's dual offensives on voting and illegal immigration are handy complements. Both swell the voter rolls with reliable democrats while assaulting the country ACORN seeks to destroy with overwhelming new problems.

Mortgage Crisis

And now we have the mortgage crisis, which has sent a shock wave through Wall Street and panicked world financial markets like no other since the stock market crash of 1929. But this is a problem created in Washington long ago. It originated with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), signed into law in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. The CRA was Carter's answer to a grassroots activist movement started in Chicago, and forced banks to make loans to low income, high risk customers. PhD economist and former Texas Senator Phil Gramm has called it: "a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks."

ACORN aggressively sought to expand loans to low income groups using the CRA as a whip. Economist Stan Leibowitz wrote in the New York Post:

In the 1980s, groups such as the activists at ACORN began pushing charges of "redlining"-claims that banks discriminated against minorities in mortgage lending. In 1989, sympathetic members of Congress got the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act amended to force banks to collect racial data on mortgage applicants; this allowed various studies to be ginned up that seemed to validate the original accusation.

In fact, minority mortgage applications were rejected more frequently than other applications-but the overwhelming reason wasn't racial discrimination, but simply that minorities tend to have weaker finances.

ACORN showed its colors again in 1991, by taking over the House Banking Committee room for two days to protest efforts to scale back the CRA. Obama represented ACORN in the Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank Fed. Sav. Bank, 1994 suit against redlining. Most significant of all, ACORN was the driving force behind a 1995 regulatory revision pushed through by the Clinton Administration that greatly expanded the CRA and laid the groundwork for the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac borne financial crisis we now confront. Barack Obama was the attorney representing ACORN in this effort. With this new authority, ACORN used its subsidiary, ACORN Housing, to promote subprime loans more aggressively.

As a New York Post article describes it:

A 1995 strengthening of the Community Reinvestment Act required banks to find ways to provide mortgages to their poorer communities. It also let community activists intervene at yearly bank reviews, shaking the banks down for large pots of money.

Banks that got poor reviews were punished; some saw their merger plans frustrated; others faced direct legal challenges by the Justice Department.

Flexible lending programs expanded even though they had higher default rates than loans with traditional standards. On the Web, you can still find CRA loans available via ACORN with "100 percent financing . . . no credit scores . . . undocumented income . . . even if you don't report it on your tax returns." Credit counseling is required, of course.

Ironically, an enthusiastic Fannie Mae Foundation report singled out one paragon of nondiscriminatory lending, which worked with community activists and followed "the most flexible underwriting criteria permitted." That lender's $1 billion commitment to low-income loans in 1992 had grown to $80 billion by 1999 and $600 billion by early 2003.

The lender they were speaking of was Countrywide, which specialized in subprime lending and had a working relationship with ACORN.

Investor's Business Daily added:

The revisions also allowed for the first time the securitization of CRA-regulated loans containing subprime mortgages. The changes came as radical "housing rights" groups led by ACORN lobbied for such loans. ACORN at the time was represented by a young public-interest lawyer in Chicago by the name of Barack Obama. (Emphasis, mine.)

Since these loans were to be underwritten by the government sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the implicit government guarantee of those loans absolved lenders, mortgage bundlers and investors of any concern over the obvious risk. As Bloomberg reported: "It is a classic case of socializing the risk while privatizing the profit."

And if you think Washington policy makers cared about ACORN's negative influence, think again. Before this whole mess came down, a Democrat-sponsored bill on the table would have created an "Affordable Housing Trust Fund," granting ACORN access to approximately $500 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac revenues with little or no oversight.

Even now, unbelievably -- on the brink of national disaster -- Democrats have insisted ACORN benefit from bailout negotiations! Senator Lindsay Graham reported last night (9/25/08) in an interview with Greta Van Susteren of On the Record that Democrats want 20 percent of the bailout money to go to ACORN!

This entire fiasco represents perhaps the pinnacle of ACORN's efforts to advance the Cloward-Piven Strategy and is a stark demonstration of the power they wield in Washington.

Enter Barack Obama

In attempting to capture the significance of Barack Obama's Radical Left connections and his relation to the Cloward Piven strategy, I constructed following flow chart. It is by no means complete. There are simply too many radical individuals and organizations to include them all here. But these are perhaps the most significant.

(See chart at original site)

The chart puts Barack Obama at the epicenter of an incestuous stew of American radical leftism. Not only are his connections significant, they practically define who he is. Taken together, they constitute a who's who of the American radical left, and guiding all is the Cloward-Piven strategy.

Conspicuous in their absence are any connections at all with any other group, moderate, or even mildly leftist. They are all radicals, firmly bedded in the anti-American, communist, socialist, radical leftist mesh.

Saul Alinsky

Most people are unaware that Barack Obama received his training in "community organizing" from Saul Alinsky's Industrial Areas Foundation. But he did. In and of itself that marks his heritage and training as that of a radical activist. One really needs go no further. But we have.

Bill Ayers

Obama objects to being associated with SDS bomber Bill Ayers, claiming he is being smeared with "guilt by association." But they worked together at the Woods Fund. The Wall Street Journal added substantially to our knowledge by describing in great detail Obama's work over five years with SDS bomber Bill Ayers on the board of a non-profit, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, to push a radical agenda on public school children. As Stanley Kurtz states:

"...the issue here isn't guilt by association; it's guilt by participation. As CAC chairman, Mr. Obama was lending moral and financial support to Mr. Ayers and his radical circle. That is a story even if Mr. Ayers had never planted a single bomb 40 years ago."

Also included in the mix is Theresa Heinz Kerry's favorite charity, the Tides Foundation. A partial list of Tides grants tells you all you need to know: ACLU, ACORN, Center for American Progress, Center for Constitutional Rights (a communist front,) CAIR, Earth Justice, Institute for Policy Studies (KGB spy nest), National Lawyers Guild (oldest communist front in U.S.), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and practically every other radical group there is. ACORN's Wade Rathke runs a Tides subsidiary, the Tides Center.

Carl Davidson and the New Party

We have heard about Bomber Bill, but we hear little about fellow SDS member Carl Davidson. According to Discover the Networks, Davidson was an early supporter of Barack Obama and a prominent member of Chicago's New Party, a synthesis of CPUSA members, Socialists, ACORN veterans and other radicals. Obama sought and received the New Party's endorsement, and they assisted with his campaign. The New Party also developed a strong relationship with ACORN. As an excellent article on the New Party observes: "Barack Obama knew what he was getting into and remains an ideal New Party candidate."

George Soros

The chart also suggests the reason for George Soros' fervent support of Obama. The President of his Open Society Institute is Aryeh Neier, founder of the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As mentioned above, three other former SDS members had extensive contact with Obama: Bill Ayers, Carl Davidson and Wade Rathke. Surely Aryeh Neier would have heard from his former colleagues of the promising new politician. More to the point, Neier is firmly committed to supporting the hugely successful radical organization, ACORN, and would be certain back their favored candidate, Barack Obama.

ACORN

Obama has spent a large portion of his professional life working for ACORN or its subsidiaries, representing ACORN as a lawyer on some of its most critical issues, and training ACORN leaders. Stanley Kurtz's excellent National Review article, "Inside Obama's Acorn." also describes Obama's ACORN connection in detail. But I can't improve on Obama's own words:

I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career (emphasis added). Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work. - Barack Obama, Speech to ACORN, November 2007 (Courtesy Newsmax.)

In another excellent article on Obama's ACORN connections, Newsmax asks a nagging question:

It would be telling to know if Obama, during his years at Columbia, had occasion to meet Cloward and study the Cloward-Piven Strategy.

I ask you, is it possible ACORN would train Obama to take leadership positions within ACORN without telling him what he was training for? Is it possible ACORN would put Obama in leadership positions without clueing him into what his purpose was?? Is it possible that this most radical of organizations would put someone in charge of training its trainers, without him knowing what it was he was training them for?

As a community activist for ACORN; as a leadership trainer for ACORN; as a lead organizer for ACORN's Project Vote; as an attorney representing ACORN's successful efforts to impose Motor Voter regulations in Illinois; as ACORN's representative in lobbying for the expansion of high risk housing loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that led to the current crisis; as a recipient of their assistance in his political campaigns -- both with money and campaign workers; it is doubtful that he was unaware of ACORN's true goals. It is doubtful he was unaware of the Cloward-Piven Strategy.

Fast-forward to 2005 when an obsequious, servile and scraping Daniel Mudd, CEO of Fannie Mae spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus swearing in ceremony for newly-elected Illinois Senator, Barack Obama. Mudd called, the Congressional Black Caucus "our family" and "the conscience of Fannie Mae."

In 2005, Republicans sought to rein in Fannie and Freddie. Senator John McCain was at the forefront of that effort. But it failed due to an intense lobbying effort put forward by Fannie and Freddie.

In his few years as a U.S. senator, Obama has received campaign contributions of $126,349, from Fannie and Freddie, second only to the $165,400 received by Senator Chris Dodd, who has been getting donations from them since 1988. What makes Obama so special?

His closest advisers are a dirty laundry list of individuals at the heart of the financial crisis: former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson; Former Fannie Mae CEO and former Clinton Budget Director Frank Raines; and billionaire failed Superior Bank of Chicago Board Chair Penny Pritzker.

Johnson had to step down as adviser on Obama's V.P. search after this gem came out:

An Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) report^[1] from September 2004 found that, during Johnson's tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae had improperly deferred $200 million in expenses. This enabled top executives, including Johnson and his successor, Franklin Raines, to receive substantial bonuses in 1998.^[2] A 2006 OFHEO report^[3] found that Fannie Mae had substantially under-reported Johnson's compensation. Originally reported as $6-7 million, Johnson actually received approximately $21 million.

Obama denies ties to Raines but the Washington Post calls him a member of "Obama's political circle." Raines and Johnson were fined $3 million by the Office of Federal Housing Oversight for their manipulation of Fannie books. The fine is small change however, compared to the $50 million Raines was able to obtain in improper bonuses as a result of juggling the books.

Most significantly, Penny Pritzker, the current Finance Chairperson of Obama's presidential campaign helped develop the complicated investment bundling of subprime securities at the heart of the meltdown. She did so in her position as shareholder and board chair of Superior Bank. The Bank failed in 2001, one of the largest in recent history, wiping out $50 million in uninsured life savings of approximately 1,400 customers. She was named in a RICO class action law suit but doesn't seem to have come out of it too badly.

As a young attorney in the 1990s, Barack Obama represented ACORN in Washington in their successful efforts to expand Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) authority. In addition to making it easier for ACORN groups to force banks into making risky loans, this also paved the way for banks like Superior to package mortgages as investments, and for the Government Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to underwrite them. These changes created the conditions that ultimately lead to the current financial crisis.

Did they not know this would occur? Were these smart people, led by a Harvard graduate, unaware of the Econ 101 concept of moral hazard that would result from the government making implicit guarantees to underwrite private sector financial risk? They should have known that freeing the high-risk mortgage market of risk, calamity was sure to ensue. I think they did.

Barack Obama, the Cloward-Piven candidate, no matter how he describes himself, has been a radical activist for most of his political career. That activism has been in support of organizations and initiatives that at their heart seek to tear the pillars of this nation asunder in order to replace them with their demented socialist vision. Their influence has spread so far and so wide that despite their blatant culpability in the current financial crisis, they are able to manipulate Capital Hill politicians to cut them into $140 billion of the bailout pie!

God grant those few responsible yet remaining in Washington, DC the strength to prevent this massive fraud from occurring. God grant them the courage to stand up in the face of this Marxist tidal wave.

2009-02-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

Unless you're part of the Obamanation, there are few things more sacred to Americans than the Constitution. Look who's defying it now. Nothing is sacred when the Obamatrons are concerned!!!

from Over the Hill Oracles:

The answer to the census question may be decided by the Supreme Court, but watch Obama’s clandestine maneuvers to assign “responsibility” for the census from the Secretary of Commerce to the White House.

Here’s the law:

The Congress, by law directed that:

“The Secretary [of Commerce] shall perform the functions and duties imposed upon him by this title, may issue such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out such functions and duties, and may delegate the performance of such functions and duties and the authority to issue such rules and regulations to such officers and employees of the Department of Commerce as he may designate.”

Credit those folks over at Samizdata ….

As I read it, the Director of the Census must, by law, be within the Department of Commerce and under the direction of the (Senate approved) Secretary of Commerce who then reports to the president. Am I missing something?
Correction: From reading through Title 13, Chapter 1 it appears obvious to me that the POTUS has no role in the census whatsoever beyond, with Senate approval, selecting the Secretary of Commerce and, also with Senate approval, selecting the Director of the Census who ” shall perform such duties as may be imposed upon him by law, regulations, or orders of the Secretary.” Hhmmm… No president mentioned.

The Secretary of Commerce is the only authority the law recognizes. Since as commenter Laird points out, the Constitution did not place the census function in Article II - the Executive branch but in Article I - the Legislative branch, it is not at all within the President’s reach unless the legislature places it there.

And watch for Obama to still try and put ACORN in charge of the census ….

Any question about WHY there are so many Obama-watch sites on the web???

More blurbs from the blogs:

– Stimulus Plan (Porkarama) updates are here ….

Biden: Ignore the voters

HERE’S a good question: why doesn’t Obama tell us specifically HOW this money will resolve his “now or never” crisis? We won’t see any jobs outta this political payback package for years.

– Obama has again voted “present” on this bogus stimulus plan. How to hype a crisis in two steps …. So where exactly is the change we (?) hoped for??? Forget it. It’s the same ole way with a Chicago twist ….

– BREAKING: Obama tells Gates to “stand down” on the troop surge in Afghanistan …..

Is he looking for ‘out‘ in Afghanistan???

– World opinion on Obama is fading ….

From London to America: What have you done?

Pakistan to the US: Show us the money!!!

Russia forms Alliance with six central Asian nations: Take THAT, America.

Ecuador expels US Embassy official: South America rejects the “Chicago way” …

– USS Cole mom is disgusted with Obama …. article and video

Pending: More and more parents and (retired) naval personnel are speaking out about the way the killers of their loved ones are being released ….

more pending …..

ACORN to do census? Out of Afghanistan???

2009-02-08T14:33:00.001-05:00

from Over the Hill Oracles:

Here’s the law:

The Congress, by law directed that:

“The Secretary [of Commerce] shall perform the functions and duties imposed upon him by this title, may issue such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out such functions and duties, and may delegate the performance of such functions and duties and the authority to issue such rules and regulations to such officers and employees of the Department of Commerce as he may designate.”

Credit those folks over at Samizdata ….

As I read it, the Director of the Census must, by law, be within the Department of Commerce and under the direction of the (Senate approved) Secretary of Commerce who then reports to the president. Am I missing something?
Correction: From reading through Title 13, Chapter 1 it appears obvious to me that the POTUS has no role in the census whatsoever beyond, with Senate approval, selecting the Secretary of Commerce and, also with Senate approval, selecting the Director of the Census who ” shall perform such duties as may be imposed upon him by law, regulations, or orders of the Secretary.” Hhmmm… No president mentioned.

The Secretary of Commerce is the only authority the law recognizes. Since as commenter Laird points out, the Constitution did not place the census function in Article II - the Executive branch but in Article I - the Legislative branch, it is not at all within the President’s reach unless the legislature places it there.

And watch for Obama to still try and put ACORN in charge of the census ….

Any question about WHY there are so many Obama-watch sites on the web???

More blurbs from the blogs:

– Stimulus Plan (Porkarama) updates are here ….

Biden: Ignore the voters

– BREAKING: Obama tells Gates to “stand down” on the troop surge in Afghanistan …..

Is he looking for ‘out‘ in Afghanistan???

– World opinion on Obama is fading ….

From London to America: What have you done?

Pakistan to the US: Show us the money!!!

Russia forms Alliance with six central Asian nations: Take THAT, America.

Ecuador expels US Embassy official: South America rejects the “Chicago way” …

– USS Cole mom is disgusted with Obama …. article and video

Pending: More and more parents and (retired) naval personnel are speaking out about the way the killers of their loved ones are being released ….

more pending …..

Obama's character SHOULD count --

2008-10-16T16:10:00.002-05:00

Character, integrity and credibility are relevant in a leader. Especially in a person who aspires to the highest office in the world.

Charles Krauthammer agrees.

Obama: 9/11 was "a failure of empathy"

2008-09-11T00:03:00.001-05:00

Eight days after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Obama -- the man who would be Commander in Chief -- blamed the terrorist attacks on "a failure of empathy."

The July 20 issue of the New Yorker magazine got a lot of attention for its cover, which carried a "satirical" cartoon depicting Michelle and Barack Obama that Obama supporters found tasteless and offensive. Buried inside that issue's feature story, however, was a reaction by Obama to 9/11 that all voters should find even more tasteless and offensive.

The article reprised a piece published in Chicago's Hyde Park Herald on Sept. 19, 2001, and written by a then-unknown and otherwise undistinguished state senator from Illinois. The senator, a former community organizer, wrote that after tightening security at our airports and repairing our intelligence networks, we "must also engage . . . in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness."

According to Barack Obama, the madness that drove terrorists to turn passenger jets into manned cruise missiles aimed at our centers of finance, government and military power "grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."

As if the answer to the attacks should have been food stamps for al-Qaida.

Sen. Obama advised caution and warned of overreacting. "We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad," he wrote. "We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent."

We should also be just as concerned, he felt, with American anger and bigotry as we were about al-Qaida.

In an opinion piece in Commentary magazine, writer Abe Greenwald commented on Obama's belief that the 9/11 attacks were rooted in poverty and despair. "Strange," he called it, "considering our attackers were wealthy and educated, connected and ecstatic."

As Greenwald put it, Obama "could have asked (terrorist and colleague) Bill Ayers, 'Bill, did your 'failure of empathy' stem from your impoverished upbringing as the son of the CEO of Commonwealth Edison?" Did poverty and despair also cause the Weather Underground member and host of Obama's first fundraiser to bomb government buildings?

Fact is, the roster of terrorists and their handlers reads like a list of of Ivy Leaguers:

Osama bin Laden, the son of a Saudi billionaire, studied engineering. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, architect of 9/11 and other major attacks, has a degree in mechanical engineering. Mohammed Atta, who flew a jet into the World Trade Center, is the son of a lawyer and earned a master's degree in urban planning at Hamburg University. Ayman al-Zawahri is an eye surgeon. Seven doctors were involved in the London-Glasgow bomb plots.

You get the idea, even if Barack Obama doesn't.

In a speech before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20, 2001, President Bush pointed out the real reasons Islamofascists hate us: "They hate what they see right here in this chamber — a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."

Bush aptly called the 9/11 terrorists and their ilk "the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century."

"By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism," he said.

Knowing the nature of your enemy is the key to victory. On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, we should all thank President Bush for keeping America safe. Along the way, he brought freedom and democracy to the Middle East, draining the terrorist swamp.

Bush gets it. So does John McCain. This is one thing we shouldn't want to change.

I have no idea how Obama's comments have failed to resonate with the American people. Hopefully, those words will resonate before it's too late.

Credit: Gull

NoBlahma -- Oh Bama -- n' Obama

2008-09-07T13:42:00.002-05:00

Huh?

Go ahead, speak o' toothless wonder ......

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Mitt Romney: Leadership for Tomorrow --

2008-01-07T14:16:00.000-05:00

Today.

Now more than ever.

The Repub Debate: Piling on Romney

2008-01-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

Mitt Romney took the shots they gave him with class and unruffled demeanor. More will come tomorrow night --- be strong and resolved, Mitt.

From Gull:

Make no bones about it. Mitt Romney is facing the battle of his political
life. Not just in New Hampshire. Not just in Iowa. In every
state. In the headlines of newspapers, in the lead stories in alleged
"news" reports and on the Internet via allegedly unbiased bloggers.
With the MSM (including Fox news) portraying Mitt's "comparison" ads as negative -- while ignoring the personal attack ads by the Huckster and John McCain -- it's going to be a fight to the finish. Keep up the campaign, Mitt. America
needs you .....

Read it all.

The Real John McCain --

2007-12-31T20:52:00.000-05:00

From Perish the Thought:

I've always held the Vietnam vet in high esteem. I was with them -- literally and figuratively -- and experienced first-hand the harassment and spite they have endured. That being said -- I have historically distrusted John McCain for how he has used his military service (particularly as a POW) as a crutch to further his political career.

His political career always has that subliminal disclaimer: "...yeah, but he was a military hero ..." As if he's "entitled" to forgiveness when straying from his conservative roots.

My contention is that, had his father not been an admiral, his lack-luster record (including the loss of at least 2 airplanes) would have gotten him thrown out of the military or notably demoted. For whatever he didn't accomplish -- it was not until his POW status that he gained any esteem.

Is this relevant to his run for an office to which he has always aspired?

I think so. There are too many correlations and incidents of self-service, entitlements and compromise in his background to qualify him as a reliable conservative candidate for POTUS. Much less as commander-in-chief in a volatile time.

If you choose to disagree -- fine. But when you do, keep in mind his voting record, his defense of amnesty, his history of sanctions by his peers, his emotional instability, his flip-flops and inconsistencies in promoting basic conservative tenets.
----------------

From Pat Murphy:

Those who've known John McCain since he began his Arizona political career two decades ago made two mistakes. First, we underestimated the Washington media's gullibility for a political schmooze job. Second, we underestimated McCain's mastery in reincarnating himself as a lovable maverick glowing with political virtue and amiable charm while camouflaging his bullyboy and deceitful ways.

If McCain were to become president, Americans would wake up to more than a commander-in-chief with a prickly temperament and a low boiling point. McCain is a man who carries get-even grudges. He cannot endure criticism. He threatens. He controls by fear. He's consumed with self-importance. He shifts blame. McCain's thin skin and demand to have it his way have been obvious since infancy, when he held his breath until he was unconscious, and later in Washington, where he has resorted to pushing and shoving colleagues when irritated.

McCain is a man obsessed with political ambitions but plagued by self-destructive petty impulses. It was vintage McCain who exploded when the Arizona Republic questioned whether the man dubbed "Senator Hothead" in Washington is fit to be entrusted with presidential powers. Instead of conceding what's common knowledge about his volcanic personality, McCain exploded in denial, blaming a newspaper vendetta and George W. Bush for "orchestrating" the criticism. When his claims drew snickers, McCain shifted to another explanation: He explodes when he sees "injustice."

But this sort of blame-fixing works where it counts--with reporters who've come to blindly lionize McCain as a high-minded champion of political virtue fighting demons of political corruption. Perhaps McCain's master stroke in inoculating himself from serious media
scrutiny was his early fusillade of confessions--his adultery ruined his first marriage, the Keating Five scandal was a blemish on his reputation, he indulged in wild and reckless misbehavior as an Annapolis midshipman. He finally endeared himself to the media with
his Quixotic promise to reform campaign financing and by holding court with reporters aboard his "Straight Talk Express" bus.

The new journalism of dwelling on personalities rather than tedious investigative digging gives McCain a free ride from the national media. Swooning media ensure McCain special treatment in the right places: 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace cooed on the air that he likes McCain so much, he might leave TV to become his press secretary. Salon's Jake Tapper dubbed him "basically just a cool dude." Newsmen of another generation note that reporters covering McCain also are reluctant to seem tough on a man with McCain's painful experience as a prisoner of war.

One who hasn't been so quick to fall in line is Washington Post columnist David Broder, who warned on NBC's Meet the Press that "after the experience we all had with President Clinton [ignoring Arkansas reports of his misdeeds], I'm not inclined to discount the view of home-state reporters and journalists who have covered a candidate over the years." A few enterprising non-Arizona journalists have peeled back the McCain veneer. Boston Globe reporter Walter Robinson spent several weeks digging into McCain's Arizona behavior and reporting his dark side. Ditto Ted Rose of Brill's Content. And the acknowledged Arizona media expert on
McCain, reporter Amy Silverman of the Phoenix New Times (more on her later), gave readers of Playboy a McCain portrait not found elsewhere. ABC's Sam Donaldson came close to giving millions of viewers a clearer picture in a taped interview with Silverman for 20/20. But
the segment was canceled the night before airing, fueling speculation that McCain's oversight of broadcasters as Senate Commerce Committee chairman makes the networks wary of offending him. Several years ago, when NBC refused to support his TV-rating system, McCain wrote a letter to NBC President Robert Wright, threatening to ask the FCC to review licenses of the network's locally owned stations.

I'm among the swelling ranks of onetime McCain acquaintances ostracized for not being slavishly loyal. After McCain settled in Arizona with his young second wife, a millionaire, he asked me at dinner for help with a political career. As editorial page editor (and later publisher) of the Arizona Republic, I declined to be his political coach. However, we socialized, including dinners at his home. We even discussed writing a book. The relationship ended, however, when our newspaper exposed McCain as a liar who used an underhanded political trick.

Here is what happened: McCain boasted to my wife and me over lunch in Washington that he had planted complex questions with the Senate Interior Committee chairman to sabotage the testimony of Arizona Gov. Rose Mofford, a Democrat, about the Central Arizona Project, the multibillion-dollar Colorado River water delivery system for Arizona urban areas. When I protested to McCain that the project had enjoyed bipartisan support for nearly 50 years, from conservative Barry Goldwater to liberal Morris Udall, McCain retorted: "I'm duty bound to embarrass a Democrat whenever I can."

When reporters later asked McCain about planted questions, he feigned insult and injury and denied any such ploy. Editors in Phoenix were informed of McCain's deceit. After a news story and editorial appeared, McCain went into meltdown, shrieking on the phone: "I know you're out to get me!" (Several years later, McCain admitted the dirty trick and apologized to Mofford, who was then out of office.)

When Barbara Barrett, wife of Intel CEO Craig Barrett, ran against McCain's protégé, Gov. Fife Symington, McCain offered to buy her out of the 1994 GOP primary. She refused. Furious, McCain threatened revenge. Barrett lost, but Symington later was forced out of office after being convicted of seven counts of fraud (his conviction was overturned and is under appeal). McCain's wife was a front-row regular at Symington's criminal trial in Phoenix. McCain still calls Symington "my friend."

While Barrett, a successful attorney, emerged mostly unscathed, others weren't so lucky. Maricopa County (Phoenix) schools superintendent Sandra Dowling, a Republican, refused McCain's demand to abandon support of Barrett. Dowling told Morley Safer during a 60 Minutes interview about Arizona politics (which never aired) that McCain exploded and threatened to "destroy" her. Thereafter, her son lost his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where McCain sits as an ex officio member of the Board of Visitors. McCain denied any connection. Even former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, McCain's onetime senior aide who considered succeeding him in Congress, was purged from the senator's circle for investigating Symington and refusing to seek McCain's advice as a loyal understudy.

More of McCain's style:

McCain indulges in hypocrisy with a flair. He attacks tobacco but ignores alcohol. Why? His wife's millions flow from the family beer and wine distributorship, Arizona's largest.

The affable, candid, gregarious candidate, who mingles with reporters and yuks it up in the back of the bus, is no friend of free speech, and merely tolerates and uses the press as part of his political strategy. In Arizona, McCain tries to subdue reporters by threatening to have them fired when he's displeased with their pieces. Upset about critical reporting in the Phoenix New Times by Amy Silverman, McCain complained to her father, Richard, general manager of the Salt River Project, an Arizona hydroelectric utility. McCain's intent seemed clear: muscling the federally chartered SRP in hopes Silverman would pressure his daughter to back off.

One of my Arizona neighbors, Dianne Smith, wrote McCain protesting his criticism of Anita Hill in confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. A widow then in her sixties, Smith was flabbergasted when McCain telephoned her, shouting at her for "questioning my integrity."

McCain promised Arizona voters, "I've never tried to exploit my Vietnam service to my country because it would be totally inappropriate." But his presidential campaign is festooned with reminders of his POW years, from campaign videos to speeches to best-selling books, trying to capture the veterans vote.

Even as he moralizes about corrupt corporate money, McCain rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars from Washington lobbyists and asks corporations for use of their jets for campaigning. Last year, the Washington Post documented thousands of dollars of donations to McCain's political war chest from K Street lobbyists who do business before the Senate Commerce Committee.

McCain himself has acknowledged that he intervenes before regulatory agencies with letters on behalf of campaign donors, but claims he's merely performing a "constituent service"--the same explanation he used when initially defending himself in the Keating Five scandal. As a peevish lobbyist told Newsweek: "He sees no connection between twisting our arms for money and then talking about how corrupt the system is."

The John McCain glamorized by the national media is a total stranger to Arizonans who are painfully familiar with a far coarser and more foreboding man. His victory in the New Hampshire primary may bring greater scrutiny. Instead of treating him as a lovable maverick and quotable long shot, the national media that have been fawning over him are certain to begin digging seriously into the McCain background that has turned so many of his home-state Republicans against him.

I Was with MLK and George Romney

2007-12-23T10:04:00.000-05:00

... in Grosse Pointe and I'm with Mitt Romney on the issues.

It amazes me that the fear-Mitt crowd continues to harp on whether Mitt's father had joined MLK in a march through a Michigan community. Why?

There is no denial that George Romney was a visionary leader in the civil rights movement. Why the issue on whether or when he marched with MLK?

The answer: to discredit his son, Mitt Romney.

Find another issue, you idiots.

You're shadow boxing a flash from the past. For every written account and witness that say "yes, I marched with them," there will always be another "witness" to refute their claims.

Like one of those gotcha questions.

We deserve better from our media.

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Get Back on the Raft, Huck!

2007-12-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

We're paddling upstream and you're slowing us down!

Speaking as a moderate conservative, I find Mike Huckabee a drag against the current, a cumbersome anchor of resistence to progress and prosperity.

The other things I think about him are discussed in depth at PTT. If you prefer to weather another eight years of Bill and Hill in the White House, then jump in with the Huckster.

Otherwise, paddle like hell, 'cause we going to need all hands on deck to withstand the "perfect storm."

Mitt. Mitt Romney. We need a true leader at the helm.

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Mitt on Experience

2007-11-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

... and he's right. The Presidency of the United States is NOT an internship ....

Direct link.

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Return of the Chinese Crookie Monster!!!

2007-10-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

Funny. HaHa funny. Hirrary Crinton in the kitchen again, eh?

Fortune Crookies.
The whole sheet of them.
Crookies.

Return of the Chinese Crookie-Monsters! EEEEEEKS!!!!

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Saying NO to Bill Clinton ----

2007-10-05T08:45:00.001-05:00

Make that a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

America neither needs nor wants a disbarred lawyer, liar, rapist and womanizer filandering around the globe at taxpayer expense. Again.

Here's what Billy-Bob told the Guardian:

If Hillary Clinton wins the US presidency, Bill Clinton will be given the
job of repairing America's damaged international reputation, the former
president tells the Guardian in an interview today.

Mr Clinton, 61, reveals that his wife has said she would ask him to "go out
and immediately restore America's standing, go out and tell people America was open for business and cooperation again" after eight years marked by unilateralist policies that have "enrage[d] the world".

America WILL be open for "business and cooperation" again, Billy-boy.

But not the type of business and cooperation your reputation implies.

credit: Perish the Thought

The REAL Protest Message

2007-09-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

THIS is the message that protesters wanted to convey this weekend in Washington.

Message received.

Now, take your Soros-funded anti-America protest-for-hire money and return to the rock you crawled out from under.

God bless our troops and their families.

Thanks to the thousands of Eagles and GOE III participants who confronted the cowards in Washington this weekend.

hat tip to Gull.

Beyond Murphy: Laws of Life

2007-08-25T06:26:00.000-05:00

Next time you say, "There oughta be a law ...." stop and consider there may already be one. Especially one that goes wayyyyyy beyond Murphy's:

Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, Your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the Stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, The very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start To move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically When you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theater
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of the Dance
If there are only two people on the dance floor, they will run into each other.

Law of Rugs/Carpets
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location
No matter where you go, there you are.

Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

Doctors' Law
If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, By the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

Yeah. I agree. There oughta be a law against laws.

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Algore vs. Belching Cows and Farting Mooses?

2007-08-22T23:17:00.000-05:00

While cow's breath (the odor -- not the flower) is not one of my favorite fragrances (I never could figure out how "sour" grass could be converted to "sweet" milk), Algore may have met his match as a hot air blow-hard.

Take that anyway you choose. I do, however, recommend NOT lighting any matches for the rest of this post.

The Algore environmental crowd are sniffing out bovine gastrointestional odors as another cause of global warming. They're now blaming cows and moose for melting snow caps and homeless polar bears.

And speaking of belching and farting -- Algore obviously never met my Dad.

Dad's belches would rattle the neighbor's windows; his farts brought tears to the eyes of anyone within 50 feet.

Funny thing is, I always figured algore as a "pull-my-finger" sorta guy.

But I digress.

So read the article.

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Mitt Herds the Cow(ard)s Outta Iowa

2007-08-12T16:29:00.000-05:00

The sports world should be so lucky. You know you're going to lose, so to save face -- you decide not to play.

No, this doesn't work in sports and it certainly doesn't work in politics.

Rudy and John (and Ron Paul, for that matter), can make all the excuses they want. True is, they took their ball and went home.

In addition to "offending" the most historic straw vote state in the nation, they failed to make opening curtain in the first event of the 2008 election year!

That's worse than blowing your lines with a cue card behind the camera, Fred. You all have heard of Fred!, haven't you? Fred! Thompson .... that undeclared, "I'll let you know soon" guy who continues to line his pockets with "testing the water" money while changing his campaign staff as often his youngest changes diapers.

What kind of political candidate for the Presidency of the United States "declines" to campaign? What does that say to the American public about determination and faith in -- not only the process -- but in their position on the issues????

When you hear someone criticize Mitt Romney or "alibi" his winning margin --- remember what happened in Iowa.

If conservative candidates are afraid of Mitt's organizational skills in a (as they describe "meaningless") preliminary state, what will they do when facing him in subsequent state polls? Will they feel more confident in "matching" his well-organized team in states less conservative?

Will Rudy and John be able to match the enthusiasm and focus Mitt demonstrated in this speech in Iowa yesterday?

Time will tell ..... May the best candidate win. And if Iowa is any indicator -- it will be Mitt Romney.

Romney Goes Spirited AND Spiritual

2007-08-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

This is the man we need as POTUS. Mitt Romney --- spirited AND spiritual.

Yankee Gov with Southern Values

2007-07-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports:

Family was center stage both literally and figuratively as Ann Romney launched her fist solo bus tour throughout South Carolina Tuesday.

Oversized blown-up family pictures of the Romney family draped the campaign sites. On display front and center was the real life version: daughter-in-law Mary Romney and grandson Parker Romney whom were by their CFO “Chief Family Officer’s” side at each event.

Crowds of mostly women waited eagerly to hear from the mother of five, the grandmother of ten, and the potential next future first-lady of the United States.

Mrs. Romney served as the perfect spousal surrogate: touting Mitt Romney as a loving husband, valuable father, and successful businessman, volunteer and governor. But she said he’s not done yet, “Wait until he gets his hands on Washington…he’s going to tear it up.”
Referencing the political environment that Governor Romney had risen from in Massachusetts, Mrs. Romney admitted, “It’s been quite an experience, being conservative and living in the North East,” and joked that she liked it when people called her husband, “the Yankee governor with Southern values.”

Taking aim at the characteristically liberal political culture of Massachusetts she continued, “… living with Kennedy and Kerry as your Senators: Mitt often likes to joke that he will trade anyone in the country – your two senators for his two senators. Would you guys like to trade?” The crowd, comprised mostly of Republican party members, shouted “no” in response as roars of laughter followed.

Mrs. Romney described the successes her husband had while in office, recalling the governor promising not to raise taxes in response to the health care problem, a la what the Romney’s refer to as “a Hillary takeover of health care.” Mrs. Romney, pinpointing health care as one of the most important voting issues of the 2008 presidential election, promised that her husband was one of the only candidates who’s had a successful track record, by finding a solution to universal health care coverage without having new takes through market-based initiatives.

Professing she’s having a “great time” touting her husband’s background and qualifications to win the White House, Mrs. Romney gushed how wonderful it is to have her family by her side.

Describing the campaign trail as sometimes “rough and tortuous” grandma Romney brought a little light-hearted humor into the mix, introducing her grandson Parker as the “biggest drooler ever” and later making it up to him with an ice cream cone break between events on the trail.
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One nice thing about egotists... and other ponderings

2007-07-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just what I needed. A few more rhetorical questions .....

1. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
2. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?
5. The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
7. What if there were no hypothetical questions?
8. If a deaf person swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?
9. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
10. Is there another word for synonym?
11. Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?"
12. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
13. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
14. Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
15. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?
16. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
17. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?
18. If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to start speaking?
19. Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?
20. How do they get deer to cross the road only at those yellow road signs?
21. What was the best thing before sliced bread?
22. One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people.
23. Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra?
24. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
25. How is it possible to have a civil war?
26. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown, too?
27. If you ate both pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?
28. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
29. Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have "S" in it?
30. Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "assteroids"?
31. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?
32. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
33. If you spin an oriental man in a circle three times does he become disoriented?
34. Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

Thanks, Gull. You've disrupted another afternoon nap.
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Romney on .... Well, About Everything

2007-07-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

This is one of the most comprehensive and thought-provoking speeches I've heard from a candidate for the Presidency -- in years.

"We've just come from celebrating the 4th of July. For me, it was parades in
Iowa and fireworks in Idaho. You know, the kind of celebrating the Democrats
usually reserve for April 15th.

"But this week, we were celebrating our nation's birthday. July 4, 1776 was an inflection point in history - a moment that set a new course for America.

"Today, we face what is sure to be another inflection point in American history. A new generation of challenges, unprecedented challenges, means that we must change our present course. Domestically, our addiction to spending and borrowing is breaching crisis proportion. Competitively, our citizens choose to buy hundreds of
billions more from foreign nations than they buy from us. And militarily, we face an entirely new type of threat - violent Jihad whose sponsors seek nuclear weapons.

"To confront unprecedented challenges, we must change. Both parties claim to be the party of change, and I think both are right. But there's a big difference in the direction their change would take us.

"Republicans look to our American heritage. The 4th of July marked our
independence from England. But there was more to it than that. The Founding
Fathers established a nation where the people were sovereign, not the state, not
the king. We would not rely on the divine right of kings, or their whimsical
beneficence. We would rely on ourselves. Succeed or fail, America would be the
land of opportunity. So when Republicans talk of change, we are talking about
opportunity and freedom. We are talking about people, not government.

"Democrats look beyond our heritage - they look to the Europe of the past. When Democrats talk of change, they are thinking about big government, big welfare, big taxes and big brother. But those are the very policies that led to Europe's decline. In short, big mistake.

"Look at how Democrats like Senator Clinton think about the economy. She said that it is 'time to reject the idea of an "on your own" society and replace it with shared responsibility.' She says she prefers a 'we're all in it together society.' I see, out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx!

"Don't Democrats see that individual initiative is at the heart of America's unprecedented march to world economic leadership? Adam Smith wasn't heartless. Adam Smith saw that individual initiative would produce the greatest wealth for the entire society.
"Can't Democrats see that since the 1970's while Europe's growth stagnated,
America created 57 million new jobs? Look at unemployment, look at growth -
America won, Europe lost. That's why Europeans are beginning to elect
conservatives. Come to think of it, with her economic plan, Hillary Clinton
couldn't be elected president of France!

"Senator Clinton's economic plan goes beyond utopian visions of collective good. She also has a special program for corporate taxes: she wants to raise them. It's time, she says, to require corporations 'to pay their fair share.'

"The last time I checked, American corporations were subject to the second highest tax rates in the industrialized world, just a smidgen below Japan. In our new 'flat' world economy, many corporations can move their headquarters and their operations almost at will. Just look at the economic boom produced by Ireland's move to lower corporate taxes.

"Let's not raise taxes on the employers who create jobs and national wealth, let's lower them!

"Corporate taxes aren't the end of it. Democrats have their sights on 2011 for a record-breaking personal income tax hike. And whenever you take money away from citizens, and give their money to government, you slow down the economy.

"When Democrats talk about change, they're referring to what you'd have left in your pockets.

"I have a different answer. Let's make the Bush tax cuts
permanent. Let's kill the Death Tax. And let's have a new tax rate for middle
income Americans who want to save their money, who are investing in America. The tax rate on their interest, dividends and capital gains should be...exactly zero!

"Our fiscal problem is not that we are taxing too little; it is that Washington is spending too much.

"Shame on both parties in Congress for all the earmarks, the waste, the duplication, and the failure to reform entitlements. I am proud to be the first presidential candidate to have signed Grover Norquist's tax pledge. But I have made another pledge as well. If I am elected President, I will cap non-defense discretionary spending at inflation minus one percent. That alone will save $300 billion over ten years. If Congress sends me appropriations that exceed that cap, I will veto them. I don't care if it's a Republican or a Democratic Congress. I will veto.

"And I know how to veto. I like vetoes. I vetoed hundreds of spending appropriations as Governor. And by the way, if Congress doesn't want to do the cutting itself, then give me the line-item veto.

"Of course, I will do more than veto. I will personally lead a top-to-bottom review of government programs, agencies, procurement and spending. It's time to cut out the mountains of waste and inefficiency and duplication from the federal government. Only in Washington would someone think that 342 different economic development programs make sense.

"Cutting waste, streamlining, benchmarking - this is what I do. I
have done it in business, I've done it in the Olympics, and I've done it in
state government. I simply can't wait to get my hands on Washington!

"Funny thing, Democrats talk about raising taxes on people. We talk
about cutting spending by government. For them, it's always government first,
people last. Here's an inconvenient truth Al Gore won't tell you about – one
thing you can count on if America elects a Democratic president is higher taxes.

"Time and again when Hillary and the Democrats see a problem, they think
government first. There are 45 million people who don't have health insurance.
That's not good for those people, and it's not good for everyone else either.
When people who don't have insurance get sick, they go to the hospital and get
free care. Free for them, that is, but expensive for you because you are the
ones that pay their bills, either in your taxes or in your insurance premiums.

"The Democrats' solution? Government-managed universal healthcare. But
the last thing America needs is socialized medicine - Hillary-care!

"At least Barack Obama had the courage to admit that his plan means
higher taxes. It's just like P.J. O'Rourke said: 'If you think healthcare is
expensive now, wait till it's free!'

"The right answer for healthcare isn't government, and the new Secretary of Health and Human Services should not be Michael Moore.

"Let's provide people with their own private, affordable and portable insurance by insisting on personal responsibility and the principles of the free market. Let's not have the same bureaucracy that ran the Katrina clean-up manage our healthcare!

"The Democrats have a plan for illegal immigration as well. It's amnesty. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and their colleagues insist that every illegal immigrant become a legal permanent resident of this country. Some people think that their position has less to do with compassion than with calculation - they hope these illegal immigrants will vote them in power forever.

"But this is not about power or politics. It is about sovereignty and security. And it is about fairness. Millions of applicants are waiting to come here legally, to be joined with family members, to bring education and skill that will strengthen our nation,
not burden it. Legal immigration is a boon to our nation. We are made a greater
nation when immigrants come here legally, seeking opportunity.

"Let's secure the border, install an employment verification system and tell illegal
immigrants to get in line with everyone else. There should be no special pathway
to permanent residency or citizenship for those who have come here illegally!

"Amnesty didn't work before and it won't work now!

"Beyond our domestic challenges, we face a very different world around us. Asia is emerging from generations of poverty. It's becoming a far more effective competitor in the marketplace than we have ever faced before. In the past, we've competed
primarily with Europe. We know how to compete with Europeans - they are a
lot like us. They like short work weeks and long vacations. But China and India
are very different. Their workforce is almost never-ending; and it is very hard-working. Americans are buying hundreds of billions of dollars more from them than they do from us.

"The Democrats see this challenge and shrink from it. They don't think the American people can compete. They want to pull up the drawbridge to protect us. They're so pessimistic about Americans that they have been trying to scuttle free trade agreements with nations in Latin America and Central America. Are they kidding? We can't compete with Colombia?

"Our only choice is to compete.

"Fail to compete and you end up with a Soviet-style economy - laughable products, anemic standards of living and economic collapse. The answer for America is not to retreat, it is to lower the ramps and charge into the emerging Asian marketplace.

"Invest in our people. Invest in technology. Democrats fear the strength of others,
Republicans believe in the strength of Americans!

"The new generation of challenges we face today includes challenges to our national security as well. Violent Jihadists are intent on replacing moderate Muslim governments with a Caliphate or Imam. And they seek the collapse of our economy, our government, and our military.

"During this last week, they sought to maim and kill innocent civilians in London and Glasgow. These were not impoverished malcontents; they were doctors serving in Britain's public health system. They were Jihadists. Theirs is a face of evil not seen in the civilized world since the gas chambers of Hitler's horror.

"I know that it is popular today to be critical of the President. And he is not above making mistakes. But we should thank him for doing everything in his power to keep us safe. Against the objections of Democrats and even some in our own party, he pushed though the Patriot Act. He made sure that someone was listening in when Al Qaeda was calling. He made sure we were interrogating terrorists to learn how we could prevent attacks on our citizens.

"When Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was captured, he said, 'See you with my lawyer in New York.' Nope, that's not at all what he saw: he saw the CIA and our GI's at Guantanamo!

"All this talk of Jihadists, Salafi Muslims, and the War on Terror makes Democrats like John Edwards uncomfortable. Senator Edwards says there isn't a War on Terror - it's only a slogan. Tell that to the people in London and Glasgow. And to the people in Bali and Malaysia, Pakistan and Lebanon, Tanzania and Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Tell that to the people of New York and Boston and Washington, D.C.

"One thing you can count on if I am President, if there is a war being waged by the terrorists, there will be war waged on the terrorists. And we will win!

"This convergence of challenges is why I am convinced that America is at an inflection point in our history. Our over-spending, our dependence on foreign oil, the emergence of Asia, the Jihadist threat to world civilization – these challenges will force us to change. And that change will either make us stronger or it will make us
weaker.

"America will either remain the world's superpower or instead become just another member of the family of nations. If we choose strength, we will be remembered by our children as a great generation. If we choose weakness, we will be remembered as something much less.

"Conservatism, Republicanism, is a philosophy of strength. We believe in a strong military, a strong economy, and in strong families and values. We believe in the American people.

"Democrats believe that government is the source of our strength. They're wrong. I love what Ronald Reagan said: 'It's not that liberals are ignorant, it's just that what they know is wrong!'

"The American people are the source of our strength - hard working, educated, risk
taking, opportunity loving, God fearing, willing to sacrifice for their family and their country, freedom loving American people. They have always been the source of our strength and they always will be!

"And when you need to call on the strength of America, you don't strengthen government, you strengthen the American people.

"You strengthen the American people by letting them keep more of their own money, not by taxing them more when they earn, taxing them when they save and taxing them when they die!

"You strengthen the American people by making sure that the voice of millions of voters trumps the voice of a handful of unelected judges.

"You strengthen the American people with the world's best healthcare, the world's best schools, and the world's strongest families. We must preserve the institution of marriage - every child deserves a mother and a father!

"This is not a time for our party to shrink from conservative principles. It is a time to hold them aloft.

"We didn't suffer losses last year because we were conservative. We
suffered losses because we strayed from conservative principles. Too much
spending, too little ethics and a war that everyone recognizes was not
effectively managed.

"The way forward is not to look left. The way
forward is to look ahead. There is too much at stake to do otherwise.

"Shimon Peres, the President-elect of Israel, visited Boston not too
long ago. He was asked what he thought about the conflict in Iraq.

"'First,' he said, 'I must put that in context. America is unique. In
the history of the world, whenever there's been war, the nation that wins takes
land from the nation that loses. That is because land has been the source of
value in the world. One nation in history, and this during the last century,
laid down hundreds of thousands of lives and took no land. No land from the
Germans, no land from the Japanese.'

"The only land America takes is enough land to bury her dead.

"America fights for freedom - for itself and for freedom-loving people around the world.

"This is the America our parents chose, a nation that is good, a nation that is strong. And now it is time for us to choose what America will be. I know what I choose. I
know what you choose. We choose a strong America."

Mitt Romney's got my vote. No one -- declared or undeclared -- has his awareness of America's future -- in terms of pitfalls and prosperity.

Honoring our Nation

2007-07-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, America --

An "Over-the-Hill" Coalition Tribute -- July 4, 2007

Mutts4Mitt

2007-07-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

You should have expected this blog to appear .... MUTTS4MITT has some hilarious pet images and quotes.

You mean pets can't vote?

Not even undocumented dachshunds? Illegal Irish Setters? How about unclassified collies? Unregistered Rottweilers?

Doggone it.

I was hoping .... Nevermind.

Lawyers Tell Employers How to Defraud Americans To Hire Immigrants

2007-06-19T12:05:00.000-05:00

If you have ever believed that money and corporate power are NOT behind the push to pass the current immigration reform bill without sending it through usual committee review -- worry no more. Here's the proof in the pudding.

It's time to let Congress know that we will not tolerate their undercutting legislative process, the American public's right to work AND right to know what corporations will do to keep the money in their own coffers.

If your blood is not boiling after watching THIS video (the law firm removed the original copy), then you're either a lawyer or an employer.

Tancredo Promotes Romney!

2007-06-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

How noble of Tom to acknowledge that Mitt Romney not only LOOKS presidential, but that he is also smart and competent!

Thanks, Tom. We who already knew this appreciate your insight!

The Bull Horn

2007-06-10T02:08:00.000-05:00

Bull horn = political news. It's the new list in the sidebar .... The second word in the title will change, depending on who's on the horn. If you know what I mean.

Click and read to your heart's content.

Almost forgot --

I was going to blog about the immigration bill vote, but I was so sick of reading and thinking and getting upset, I'll let you read it for yourself on the Bull Horn. Or if you share my feelings on the shamnesty bill, changing the second word in the title may be all I need to post. If you know what I mean.

Murtha's Personal Drug Program

2007-06-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

If graft and corruption have a cousin in Washington, DC, he must look a lot like Jack Murtha. Wouldn't you say?

I'm sure the ole wart hog hardly glanced up from the trough as he was censored for the threat ....

McCain and Rudy Avoid Immigration Topic

2007-05-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

Rudy and John shared the podium in NY this week (Thursday), but neither addressed the hottest topic on the national scene: the Immigration Reform bill.

McCain, of course, helped shape the immigration compromise that has so many
conservatives in open revolt. For his part, Giuliani issued a statement in which
he didn't really take a position on the bill, which would provide amnesty for
millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. He ignored that part
and emphasized his commitment to border enforcement in general.

Conservatives hoping for either candidate to elucidate his position were
left wanting.

Neither candidate talked about the proposed compromise.

Instead, both largely stuck to the same talking points they've recited
dozens of times before, although Rudy tailored his in order to capitalize on his
personal connection with New York and New Yorkers. "I didn't take a city that
was unmanageable and ungovernable and make it into a city that was the best
example of urban renaissance in the 1990s," Rudy told his fellow New York
Republicans. "I didn't do it. You did it. We did it as a team. We did it with
ideas that are the ideas we're going to put into place in Washington, and
Washington needs these ideas badly."

Faced with the failure of the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill, McCain had little to say .... Rudy, of course, reminded constituents of how great a mayor he was.

Bless both of them for their previous service.

McCain needs to retire and write his memoirs. Rudy needs to run for re-election in NYC.

If you want to read about the Immigration Reform Bill heading to the Senate on Monday, skip on over to Humbug or Gull's blogs.

Everytime I try to talk about it, I get sick to my stomach and mad as hell.

Politics over Human Tragedy?

2007-05-13T15:32:00.000-05:00

I'm as sickened by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' comments about the government's lack of response to the Greensburg tornado recovery as I am about the allegations that Howard Dean and his democrat co-horts told Sebelius to say them.

One Greensburg survivor shares my sentiments: "The poor response thing is just political BS," Greensburg resident Mike Swigart, 47, who lost his house and four vehicles from the storm, told wcbstv.com in an exclusive interview. "I saw her on television and I'm disappointed in that because she doesn't know what she's talking about."

Gull has a summary of stories circulating on the net.

It's time MSM stopped taking sides and tell the truth -- including revealing the hypocrites who politicize human tragedy in order to discredit the Bush administration.

Will the REAL Fred Thompson Step Forward?

2007-05-05T16:02:00.000-05:00

Who is the real Fred Thompson? Is he the man who spoke in California last night? Is he the man portrayed in this 1996 portrait?

I'm not sure.

I do agree with John at Powerline, however. I'm not happy with Thompson's performance right now. Either he is jerking us around, letting others do his ground-work (he's never been referred to as industrious) before jumping into the mix or he's just a mythical figure created by conservative idealists in their quest for another Ronald Reagan.

I agree with Gull and others. We don't need another 80's Ronald Reagan-type to restore 2008 American credibility on the global or home fronts. We don't need a flashback to the Clinton Era, either.

We need a new direction, a new approach to solving the issues that confront America. My support remains for Mitt Romney. As another blogger suggested, Thompson has the "sound" of Mitt, but without the bite.

Example:

In his speech last night, Thompson spoke of bipartisanship, particularly in resolving problems such as the fate of Social Security. His audience was notably quiet; even Thompson had failed to inspire bipartisanship when he was prosecuting Bill and Hillary Clinton's finance scandals during his term in the Senate.

For the past few years, he's been involved in the background -- garnering support for either Scooter Libby or conservative SCOTUS appointments. Good enough. But is that (lobbying) his best political attribute?

It remains to be seen.

First, he's got to make the decision to run.

Then he's got to belly up to the fire and prove that he's actually the leader -- not just the mythical image -- that America needs.

Endorsing Mitt Romney is the Easy Part

2007-04-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

I've already joined Team Mitt, and if I had to explain why -- I'd push you over to Gullspirit's post at Perish the Thought.

Gull has filled in the "blanks" on why we need Mitt Romney as President. I can't wait for Thursday's debates. Here's another reason why I'm supporting Mitt Romney.

Boots on the Ground

Senate Spectre Swills

2007-04-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Souieeeeee! Souieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

The trough is open, porkers. Belly up, boyz!!!

Message to Pelosi and Reid:

2007-04-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

Don't guess they'll be taking any junkets to THAT part of the Middle East anytime soon ....

From Gull et al

The HOKIE Nation

2007-04-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

The tragedy of 4-16-07 has touched all of us.

To say that we share the excruciating pain felt by the families and friends of those lost in a senseless tragedy is one thing ....

At this time, the best we can do is to display a symbol of our respect for their loss, to pray that the healing will be timely, and to join a nation in sharing the heart-felt sympathy for those who were touched by this tragedy.

God-speed.

Bob Parks --- The Right Words

2007-04-08T00:02:00.001-05:00

I'll be in DC on May 26, 2007 with the Eagles to honor our troops.

Thanks, Bob -- and thanks to our military personnel.

credit: Perish the Thought

Positive Reports on ADULT Stem Cell Research

2007-04-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

BAD news for those opposing embryonic stem cell research and GOOD news for those favoring adult stem cell research:

A week before the U.S. Senate again grapples with the explosive issue of
embryonic stem cell research, one of the most stunning reported advances in
bio-technology in years comes from stem cells not harvested from human embryos
but derived from a non-controversial source.

British researchers have for the first time grown part of a human heart,
using "adult" stem cells derived from bone marrow, British media reported this
week.

If trials in animals such as pigs and sheep prove successful later this
year, the London-based team led by professor Sir Magdi Yacoub said such
replacement tissue could be used in transplants for heart disease patients
within three years.Yacoub, professor of cardiac surgery at Imperial College,
told The Guardian newspaper that a whole, functioning heart could be produced
from stem cells within a decade, a goal he described as "ambitious ... but not
impossible."

The researchers hope to grow a heart valve that will not be rejected by the
patient's body - because the stem cells are the patient's own - and that will
have a longer life than artificial (plastic or metal) valves currently being
used in heart patients.Using the tissue could ultimately preclude the need for a
heart transplant, they said.

The researchers' achievements are due to be published in August in the
Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions journal, in a special
edition on "Bioengineering the Heart."According to the U.N.'s World Health Organization, some 17.5 million people around the
world died of cardiovascular disease in 2005 - 30 percent of all global deaths.
Of those, an estimated 7.6 million deaths were due to coronary heart disease and
5.7 million to stroke.

The push to use stem cells to treat a range of diseases and injuries is at
the forefront of modern bio-science endeavor, but the sourcing of the cells
remains a pressing ethical issue.Proponents of embryonic stem cell (ESC)
research say cells from early-stage human embryos are likely to be the most
effective and have the greatest potential to turn into many different types of
cells ("pluripotency"), but the fact that the embryos are destroyed in the
process makes the work highly controversial.

"Adult" stem cells from alternative sources, such as bone marrow,
placentas, umbilical cords and nasal passages, are already reportedly being used
in scores of treatments, and for many who oppose ESC research,
this is the work that should receive more attention and more taxpayer
funding.Supporters of "adult" stem cell research also note that cells from a
patient's own body do not share problems of rejection often experienced in the
case of embryonic stem cells.ESC research is being carried out in many parts of
the United States, but largely with private funding, since President Bush in
2001 restricted federal funding to work on a limited number of then-existing ESC
colonies.

Next Wednesday, the U.S. Senate is due to vote on a bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,
mandating federal funding for ESC research.The House of Representatives passed a similar bill last January but will also have to vote
on the Senate bill before it can be sent to the president.Bush has already
pledged to veto the bill, as he did with similar legislation last year.Another bill before the Senate next Wednesday is an alternative
sponsored by Sens.

Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), seeking federal funding
for stem cell research that would not harm embryos.'Dubious notion'The latest
breakthrough, like many previous ones - including Australian trials that have
reinjected patients' own stem cells into their hearts to repair damaged muscle
tissue - uses "adult" cells, not embryonic ones.But most media coverage of the
news downplayed that fact, with the descriptor "adult" rarely appearing."As I
always say: Most biotechnology is not controversial," bioethicist and Discovery
Institute senior fellow Wesley J. Smith said in reaction to the news from
Britain. "This is a wonderful example. Let us hope that the reality meets the
dream."Proponents of ESC research have frequently dismissed or downplayed the
importance of "adult" cells.Last year, the New England Journal of Medicine
reported that while many hospitals around the world now routinely inject bone
marrow stem cells into the blood vessels surrounding the heart to induce
recovery of damaged heart muscle cells, the intervention offers little
benefit.In an article called "The Politics and Promise of Stem-Cell
Research,"

NEJM deputy editor Robert Schwartz took issue with the White House position
that "adult" stem cells offer far more promise than embryonic ones."The notion
that adult stem cells have the same developmental potential as embryonic stem
cells, let alone 'more promise,' is dubious," Schwartz wrote."

There is evidence in laboratory animals that an adult stem cell can
differentiate into a cell that normally belongs to a different/super /nosupersub
lineage ... but such reports of a pluripotent stem cell that can
transdifferentiate have been challenged," he said.Meanwhile, at the University
of Dusseldorf in Germany, scientists have found bone marrow stem cells useful in
dealing with advanced cancer of the liver.According to a study published in the
April issue of the journal Radiology, some patients with advanced liver cancer
cannot undergo surgery because removing the large cancer would leave too little
of the liver - less than 25 percent - remaining to support the body's
functioning.

Seven patients underwent a standard treatment involving diverting the blood
supply from the cancerous part of the organ to the healthy part, while another
six patients received that treatment plus an injection of liver stem cells taken
from each patient's own bone marrow.The latter six patients' livers grew twice
as fast as the others, the doctors reported."Based on our results, we also
believe that adult stem cell administration may be a promising therapy for
regenerating livers damaged by other chronic and acute diseases," the journal
quoted the study's co-author, Jan Schulte am Esch, as saying.

Those looking for proof of the validity of adult stem cell research should take heart ..... Congress would do well to take note in their deliberations next week!

Pelosi's Spring Break Buddies

2007-03-31T08:41:00.000-05:00

horn tip: Perish the Thought

Wheeeee Whoooooooo! Talk about lining up a P.A.R.T.Y. for spring break ---- Let the good times roll! Nancy Pelosi certainly knows how to pen a guest list!

Guess who's on Pelosi's flight to the Middle East!!??

Give up?

Keith Ellison (Muslim from MN), Holocaust Survivor Tom Lantos and Republican David Hobson (Ohio).

How's that for bipartisan planning? Wonder who gets to stand next to her in Israel? In Syria? In the West Bank? How about in Iran? Iraq?

Uhhhhh ..... somehow, I don't think she'll be too welcome in Iraq right now. Or Afghanistan. Or anywhere her immediate safety might depend on the troops she's under-cutting.

She's also got Democrat Reps. Henry Waxman of Los Angeles, Louise Slaughter of New York and Nick Rahall of West Virginia with her.

On second thought, she could let Hobson walk in front while in the Green Zone and Ellison could maybe ride shot-gun if she dares to venture beyond the Zone ..... Look for Lantos in Israel.

The Slow-Bleed Bonanza

2007-03-27T19:38:00.000-05:00

Dems have figured out how to buy votes legally (unlike what can be done in a general election when folks go to prison for doing it). Pad the bill with pork! Hungry politicians will swarm like flies to tainted meat.

Meat tainted with the blood of our troops.

Enjoy those broccoli and shrimp and parking lots and pay raises and beef and fruit. Gorge yourselves on the blood of our troops, you traitors.

Soon we'll have your names to nail on the wall like skunk skins. Bad meat, bad smell. Bad for our troops who stand between the President and the slow-bleeders' desire to play politics with their blood.

See how the vultures voted today (to exclude any reference to timelines for troop withdrawal from Iraq) at the DEFEAT CAUCUS.

We'll watch for the vultures to vote again this week.

Nancy's BBQ: Pork 'n Murtha = Pink Pickle

2007-03-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

Ouch. The far left is not happy with Speaker Pelosi right now. eh. eh. eh. Pinko protesters were escorted from her hallowed halls today.

Who cares. She and Murtha had just porked up a bundle of billion$$$ in add-on's to entice Dems and 2 Pubbies to vote for the war funding request -- including a section to pull troops from Iraq in 2008.

May their sidewalks be layered in cow pies.

President Bush responded to today's House vote:

"...The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq. They set rigid restrictions that will require an army of lawyers to interpret. They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground. And they tacked on billions for pet projects that have nothing to do with winning the war on terror. This bill has too much pork, too many conditions and an artificial timetable for withdrawal.
As I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk. And because the vote in the House was so close, it is clear that my veto would be sustained. Today's action in the House does only one thing: it delays the delivering of vital resources for our troops. A narrow majority has decided to take this course, just as General Petraeus and his troops are carrying out a new strategy to help the Iraqis secure their capital city...."

What "pork" was attached?

Check out these for starters:

$500 million for emergency wildfires suppression; the Forest Service currently has $831 million for this purpose;
$400 million for rural schools;
$283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program;
$120 million to compensate for the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries;
$100 million for citrus assistance;
$74 million for peanut storage costs;
$60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath River region in California and Oregon;
$50 million for asbestos mitigation at the U.S. Capitol Plant;
$48 million in salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;
$35 million for NASA risk mitigation projects in Gulf Coast;
$25 million for spinach growers;
$25 million for livestock;
$20 million for Emergency Conservation Program for farmland damaged by freezing temperatures;
$16 million for security upgrades to House of Representatives office buildings;
$10 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission for the Rio Grande Flood Control System Rehabilitation project;
$6.4 million for House of Representative’s Salaries and Expenses Account for business continuity and disaster recovery expenses;
$5 million for losses suffered by aquaculture businesses including breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish as a result of viral hemorrhagic septicemia;
$4 million for the Office of Women’s Health at the Food and Drug Administration; and
A minimum wage increase, which is the subject of separate legislation.

In the Senate, these are the anticipated pork attachments:

$1.5 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers for recovery along the coast, including funding for Hawaii for an April 2006 flood;
$850 million for Department of Homeland Security grants ($625M for rail/transit grants, $190M for port security grants, and $35M for urban area security grants);
$660 million for the procurement of an explosives detection system for the Transportation Security Administration;
$640 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
$425 million for education grants for rural areas;
$388.9 million for a backlog of Department of Transportation projects;
$165.9 million (including $60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath Basin region) for fisheries disaster relief;
$75 million for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;
$48 million in disaster construction money for NASA;
$25 million for grants through the Safe and Drug Free Schools program;
$25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Power Plant;
$24 million to sugar beet producers;
$22.8 million for geothermal research and development;
$20 million for reimbursements to Nevada for “insect damage;”
$12 million for Forest Service money requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget
$3.5 million for guided tours of the Capitol;
$3 million for sugar cane; and
Allows the transfer of funds from holiday ornament sales in the Senate gift shop.

Updates later .....

A.N.S.W.E.R. COWers

2007-03-20T20:40:00.000-05:00

It was cold and CrOWded. Especially if you were a protester. Not much room (unless you took to the middle of the street or an isolated parking lot near the Pentagon) for antics or outrage.

They came, they saw, they COWered.

Let this video be a warning to those who were herded in the anti-war protest in DC Saturday ....

Cud you replay it, please?

Plaming Cow

2007-03-17T00:42:00.000-05:00

I'd throw up, but I have this cud in my mouth which I MUST swallow.

Uh, do witnesses rehearse their speeches with committee chairmen? It sure sounded as if Plame and Waxman had been practicing before they met today.

Get the full joke here and here.

Not sure who was more effective -- Plame or the she-man in the pick shirt performing behind her.

Fool me once ....

2007-03-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

HA! It's a no-no to "bait and switch" in the real world, but not in politics.

Watch this Salon video.

Sacred Cows and Trojan Horses

2007-03-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

We're not in the problem-solving business, so don't get too excited about this blog. OK?

We will be looking at a few topics (scenarios) which are often treated as sacred cows -- persons or things routinely considered immune to criticism or questioning.

The list is in the right sidebar. It may be updated without warning. After all, nothing is sacred around here -- especially a list of allegedly sacred cows.

peace.