Alexa Shrugged

On The Economy, Obama Doesn't Know His "Stuff"

2012-01-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

The man with the plan! Real Clear Politics has this clip of Obama demonstrating his economic genius:

Obama: I Want An Economy "Where We're Making Stuff And Selling Stuff And Moving It Around"

"On Tuesday at the State of the Union, I laid out my vision for how we move forward," President Obama said at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last, that has a firm foundation. Where we're making stuff and selling stuff and moving it around and UPS drivers are dropping things off everywhere."

Obama's vision for an economy with a firm foundation built to last: move stuff around. Brilliant! Such mastery and understanding of intricate economic systems! What a sound explanation of his economic proposals and philosophies! Clearly this man knows his stuff and deserves another 4 years to build on his economic success!

On a serious note, this embarrassing kindergarten-level concept of trade wouldn't be so bad if Obama had any idea of HOW to get "stuff" made, sold, and delivered. He thinks the government picking winners and losers by handing out billions in taxpayer money will get this process moving, but it's the free market that best sorts out what consumers want, at what cost, and from where. Some people may know this as "supply and demand." In Obama-speak maybe it would be "want stuff, get stuff."

A recent example of Obama's government failing to be able to judge what "stuff" people want and would get, is the Government Motors' Chevy Volt. Through various incentives the government (i.e. us taxpayers) subsidized the cost of the Volt to the tune of $250,000 per car! The result of this government economic engineering? Only 8,000 Volts were sold, and now ALL of them are being recalled for a faulty combustible battery!

If there was a public demand for a car like the Volt, all the major car manufacturers would be tripping over each other to build the best, cheapest, safest version.

The Chevy Volt example is a microcosm of all that is wrong with Obama's Big Government economic prescriptions and we see the results with credit rating downgrades, low economic growth, 8.5% unemployment, and $15 trillion debt.

Some people say that Obama is hurting our economy on purpose, but maybe it's just that he doesn't know his "stuff."

A Visual Representation of the 2012 State of the Union Address

2012-01-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

A word cloud of the most used words in tonight's State of the Union using President Obama's prepared remarks, as published by USA Today.

Created with Wordle

Update: Text of Gov. Mitch Daniel's GOP Response:

Wordle link

Related post:

What's in the Bill: A Visual Representation of the "American Jobs Act"

Watch the #ProLifeCon 2012 Live Webcast

2012-01-23T03:21:00.000-05:00

As I wrote last week, I (@AlexaShrugged) will be participating as a featured tweeter (hashtag #ProLifeCon) in ProLifeCon: The Premier Gathering of Online Pro-Life Activists.

Beginning at about 8am ET and ending at 11:30am today, please watch the online live webcast HERE:

Participate with me on Twitter:

The Obama Presidency In One Picture

2012-01-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

Yep, pretty much sums it up:

Complete with teleprompters and adoring media crowds - all in Fantasyland!

via BuzzFeed 13 Photos Of Barack Obama At Disney That Will Probably Turn Up In Attack Ads

#ProLifeCon 2012: @AlexaShrugged To Be Featured Tweeter

2012-01-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

On January 23, the day after the 39th anniversary of the horrific Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade and the morning of the national March for Life in DC, the Family Research Council will be hosting ProLifeCon: The Premier Gathering of Online Pro-Life Activists at their headquarters. It will also be available to view online beginning at 8am and running through 11:30am. I (@AlexaShrugged) will be participating online as a featured tweeter - hashtag #ProLifeCon on Twitter.

Pro-life activists like Lila Rose, Jill Stanek, Kristan Hawkins, and others will present about how to make a difference on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the rest of the online world.

Sign up now at: ProLifeCon.org. - the embedded live webcast will be here on AlexaShrugged.com - please watch and participate at 8am Monday, January 23rd!

You can also get the embed code for your blog here.

Cuteness on Ice!

2012-01-13T11:23:00.000-05:00

Daily dose of SQUEEEEEEEEEE from the Daily Mail UK:

These pics give me Happy Feet! :-D

DNC Chair Blames Tea Party for Shootings, Embraces OWS Criminals

2012-01-11T17:54:00.000-05:00

Today DNC Chair and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (DWS) gives us the latest outrage against the Tea Party.

In response to a question about a lack of civility in Congress, DWS' initial response was, "We need to make sure that we tone things down, particularly in light of the Tucson tragedy from a year ago..."

It is sick and disgusting for DWS to dredge up the slanderous and infamously false accusation that somehow political rhetoric - especially from the Tea Party - inspired the Arizona shootings that almost killed Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

To follow this she talks about the discourse in America and Congress and says, "I hesitate to place blame [YEAH, RIGHT!!!], but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement."

She continued, "You had town hall meetings that they tried to take over, and you saw some their conduct at those tea party meetings."

Seriously?? DWS is condemning the many constituents who expressed their opposition to bills like Obamacare to the officials elected to represent them?!

The Tea Parties not only were peaceful protests by law-abiding Americans petitioning their government, but they were convents compared to the filth and lawlessness coming out of the Occupy Wall Street movement that she supports.

Of these thugs, whose rhetoric has actually included calls for the murder of elected officials, DWS said on January 3, 2012: "I’ve been publicly supportive of them. I think that they are well within their rights to be frustrated.” (But apparently the Tea Party activists who took to Town Hall meetings to vent their frustrations were NOT within their rights.)

DWS conveniently ignores the REAL crimes perpetrated by OWS, including murder, rape, and theft - not to mention the trespassing and health violations inherent in their permit-less occupations. Assault and threats are common at the encampments and arrests have been in the thousands. Just today, the WaPo carried this headline: Child cruelty charge after baby found alone in Occupy camp.

Instead of railing against imagined Tea Party boogeymen, maybe DWS needs to take a look at at the real monsters in her midst.

Related post: 8+ Defamations and Threats Against Tea Party in Last Month

Update: I was alerted through reading Sundries Shack that DWS tweeted a response to the RNC Chair's tweet calling for her to apologize by saying that those outraged by her comment lacked civility:

.@DWStweets should apologize immediately for her reckless comments blaming the Tea Party for the horrific Tuscon shooting.
— Reince Priebus (@ReincePriebus) January 11, 2012

.@ReincePriebus I'd NEVER politicize Tucson-my close friend was shot. Your comment=lack of civility was talking about. bit.ly/Afqg7j
— D Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) January 12, 2012

So apparently, to quote @PoliticalMath, "if you quote @DWStweets on incivility, that's proof of your incivility." Pot, meet kettle.

And Verum Serum says:

The real question is this: What is the connection between political civility and the irrational actions of a diagnosed schizophrenic, i.e. Jared Loughner? Answer: There isn’t one. That’s why people like me are bent out of shape by Tucson being bandied about in this context.

Simply put, civility or lack thereof had nothing whatsoever to do with Tucson. That may not have been clear in the early days when hacks like Paul Krugman were stumbling all over themselves to lay blame at the feet of folks on the right, but it’s clear now. Given the facts, we’re not having any more of this nonsense from the left.

Precisely!

Youth Misery Index At All-Time High

2012-01-10T16:01:00.001-05:00

Fitting in perfectly with yesterday's post Youth Vote: Our Future, Laughed Off Stage, Young America's Foundation (YAF) spoke at Heritage's Bloggers Briefing today about their initiative on the Youth Misery Index.

The Youth Misery Index is a modern take on Jimmy Carter's Misery Index and today stands at a record 90.6!

Here's how they calculate the number:

The Youth Misery Index adds together youth unemployment, average graduating student debt (in thousands), and national debt per capita (in thousands).

Youth unemployment is at 17.4 percent—one of the highest levels since World War II. Average graduating student debt has reached a record-breaking $26,300. National debt per capita is $46,900—the highest ever. Add it up, and the Youth Misery Index comes out to 90.6 (17.4 + 26.3 + 46.9 = 90.6).

YAF's call to action reflects my point yesterday that my generation can't depend on short-sighted politicians in DC to represent our interests:

To fix these problems, young people must become more active; we cannot expect policy makers in Washington to fight these battles for us.

YAF encourages campus activism to get students involved in reaching out and teaching their peers about conservative solutions to the issues most important to them.

...In other youth misery news, George Scoville points out that the Obama Administration has reversed its position on unpaid internships at for-profit companies. Now Obama has unveiled a new "We Can't Wait" summer jobs program. The problem? Most of the positions will be "unpaid training opportunities." I guess internships are fine since Obama hasn't figured out how to create jobs. Obama's message to young people: We CAN wait for real jobs, we CAN'T wait for empty gestures designed to win back the youth vote in 2012.

Youth Vote: Our Future, Laughed Off Stage

2012-01-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

Read this article on a young voter's question to a candidate being laughed off by a crowd of older people at a campaign event in New Hampshire. I understand the laughter when he began his question, as it was said in a surprising, funny way:

“I know that many people in this room are on their way out,” the unidentified man said.

“I say that in a respectful way, that in maybe ten years, a lot of people in this room will have passed away.”

That line drew laughter from the crowd, as the man said, “I’m serious.”

I'm sure some in the crowd were laughing because they felt awkward and uncomfortable at the bluntness of the statement, but he was simply, if inartfully, stating a fact of life. But his following statements and questions did not deserve to be laughed at and brushed off so easily:

“I noticed that in my age bracket no one cares about politics because it is something for old people, I say that respectfully,” the man continued, “because it seems like a lot of the issues are catered to them.”

...“I would like to know what hope I have as a hard-working, young individual, what change will you actually accomplish in Washington? What can be done in eight years that will affect the life that I have yet to live, that you have already lived?”

That drew more laughter and applause from the crowd.

He is right. Politics IS something for old people because the issues ARE catered to them. But this is because older people are the most engaged and likely to vote. Politicians know this and thus pander to senior groups like the AARP at the expense of issues that will affect today's youth.

Perfect example: DC politicians are terrified of touching "the third rail" - Social Security, which is unsustainable and fast becoming bankrupt. Washington is trying to deny that anything is wrong because any mention of reforming SS or other entitlements is met with hysterics from people who take SS for granted, with dire warnings of grandma being pushed off a cliff, in the snow, while eating cat food. Meanwhile, everyone of my generation - across the political spectrum - treats it as a common fact that we will never see any of the money we put into SS.

To Washington, our retirement is eons away. In politics, there's no future other than the short term: until the next election. As the young man indicates, our future is more than 2, 4, 6, or even 8 years away. My generation is facing a growing economic crisis made worse every day with outrageous spending, deficits, and debt piled up by politicians who will never live to see the disastrous results of their actions.

We need action to be taken NOW to prevent our demise in the decades to come, but the immediate demands of the "old people" who vote will ensure that nothing will be done in the next eight years that will affect the lives we have yet to live, that they have already lived.

The young man's questions echo the hopelessness and cynicism of my generation.

The youth of America are disillusioned by politics. For many of them, their first time voting in a presidential election was for an exciting, historic man promising hope and change but ended up delivering the opposite. No wonder this young man asks if he has any "hope;" if "change" can actually be accomplished in Washington. Never before have so many become so jaded, so quickly, so young.

What is to become of us? Because of the short-sighted selfishness of our parents and grandparents, we are faced with becoming the first generation to be left off worse than the last. Our future looks bleak.

Meanwhile, our legitimate concerns about our future are being laughed off the stage.

Related: Youth Misery Index At All-Time High

Religious Player Hating: Tebow and Suggs

2012-01-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

As a Ravens fan and a big Tim Tebow fan, I was VERY disappointed to hear Terrell Suggs (T. Sizzle, from Ball So Hard University) mocking Tebow for his prayer and focus on God. Criticize his play all you want, but don't go after his religion.

Tebow may not be a very good quarterback but he seems to be one of the most nicest, most sincere people in the world and shows amazing work ethic and heart. It is amazing how many lives he's touched and hearts he's opened at such a young age. I have no doubt that his faith is sincere and I don't like people mocking it. It's not as if he is the first pro athlete to honor God on the field, why do people insist on acting like he is some kind of freak?

T. Sizzle has to have seen his teammates praying on the sidelines before, during, and after games so it is ridiculous that he goes after Tebow for doing so. Wonder if Sizzle ever saw this Sports Illustrated cover of Ravens future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis calling him "God's Linebacker":

And here's video of Ray Lewis talking about the Raven's last second win against the Steelers on November 6, 2011 and telling the team: "Position yourself so that when God is getting ready to pour out blessings, you’re in position to receive those blessings... I kept going to them and saying, 'It's His will, let His will be done.' ... God is amazing!"

Now, the religious player haters say God doesn't care about who wins or loses football games, but God does care about each one of us individually and has a plan for us through every success and defeat in our lives. The players who are sincere and mature in their relationship with God are not praying to win games but praying/thanking God for physical protection for themselves and the other players, the blessings He has bestowed upon them, the opportunity to perform to the best of their ability, and that His will be done through them.

I see nothing wrong with players thanking God after wins (and they should thank him after loses, too) because at the very least it is displaying a humility that is not seen enough in sports or today's world. It is important to acknowledge that there is a higher being greater than oneself and that your accomplishments are not yours alone, the glory is to God.

That's why it saddens me that one of the best players on my favorite team seemed to mock it. I hope Suggs' eyes are opened and he embraces the power of prayer and faithfulness, which is greater and more everlasting than any Super Bowl win here on earth.

Happy 2012, Time To Kick Out Obama!

2012-01-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Still can't believe it's 2012! May this be the last year of Obama and a step toward a recovery for our nation!

Here's a great video from the RNC ahead of tonight's Iowa Caucuses to get you pumped!

"Years from now, you'll be able to look back with pride and say that this was the moment when it all began." - Obama in Des Moines, Iowa, January 3, 2008

What's in the Bill: A Visual Representation of the "American Jobs Act"

2011-09-14T13:57:00.000-04:00

Word cloud based on the most used words in the text of Obama's "American Jobs Act":

Wordle can also be seen here.

UPDATE: Oops! Rob Bluey at Heritage reports Obama never got a Democrat to file his bill, so Rep. Louie Gohmert jumped in to file his own bill with the name "American Jobs Act." The above word cloud is based on Obama's proposal formerly known as the American Jobs Act.

9/12: I Never Want To Forget

2011-09-12T23:22:00.001-04:00

After sharing my memories of the day of 9/11, I wanted to be sure to record what I never want to forget about living the next few months in a post-9/11 world.

I never want to forget being hesitant to go see the musical "Mamma Mia!" in Boston the following night, how it felt wrong to go out and enjoy yourself. I never want to forget the cast coming out and talking about their similar hesitation and ending with a rousing rendition of God Bless America.

I never want to forget my dad and I staying home for the first New England Patriots game when the NFL started playing again - it was against the New York Jets and the symbolism of the Patriots vs. the Jets with the potential for a terrorist attack was not lost on us - and feeling sheepish afterwards when everything was ok.

I never want to forget bursting with patriotism and American pride, covering my car with whatever patriotic sticker or American flag I could get my hands on. I never want to forget driving the lake by my house with Lisa, Amanda, Chris and Ryan, blasting "Proud to be an American" and Whitney Houston's version of the "National Anthem," stopping at any policeman, fireman, or military man we saw to say, "Thank you for serving our country!"

I never want to forget our school holding an assembly in the following days featuring speeches by state Rep. Brad Jones, and others, and worrying that people like my leftist teacher Mr. Ryan might turn it into a lovey-dovey peacefest, so I volunteered to give a speech. I've already forgotten what my speech said, but I never want to forget that my opening lines were: "Does anyone have any personal connections to the victims of 9/11? The truth is we all do. We are all Americans."

I never want to forget how the world changed on that day, how insignificant it felt to be going to high school and college, how I wanted to quit school and do something meaningful like become an army nurse. I never want to forget taking California schools off my list - if there was another terrorist attack, I didn't want to be cut off from my family for days, I needed to be close enough to drive home in an emergency.

I never want to forget the spirit of unity and patriotism that swept the country and left us with such hope for the future, and the sadness as it faded over the weeks and months and years, seeing fewer and fewer flags, watching the media get less and less patriotic - even talking "quagmire" within days of our assault on Afghanistan.

I never want to forget any of the events and actions I made in the weeks that followed 9/11, as insignificant as they may be they are mine and now they are forever.

Photo: Heartbreakingly Beautiful

2011-09-12T22:39:00.000-04:00

9/11/11

9/11: I Never Want To Forget

2011-09-11T10:22:00.000-04:00

As I sit here on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the thing I am most afraid of is forgetting. I don't cry as hard anymore. The hurt and pain, while still there, doesn't cut quite so deep. The anger isn't as raw. What if I forget my thoughts, feelings, and experiences from that day?

My memories of 9/11 aren't particularly important, meaningful, or even interesting, but they are mine, and I never want to forget. I never want to forget walking to 4th period English during my senior year of high school, passing Emily L. talking excitedly and annimatedly to John B. about a plane hitting a building. I never want to forget walking by them, not even pausing, assuming she was telling him about some new movie.

I never want to forget our substitute teacher telling us about the attacks after at least one tower had gone down. I never want to forget that Jen M. and I spent the period online trying to find out what was going on and seeing a photo of one of the towers crashing. I never want to forget how slow the internet was or how my cell phone had no service because of the millions of people searching for news and calling loved ones.

I never want to forget going to next period with Mr. Darren for social studies and talking about the attacks. I never want to forget the fearful excitement I felt when we were told there were unaccounted for planes coming up the eastern seaboard, that the State Department had been bombed, the National Mall was on fire, and buildings in Boston were being evacuated over bomb scares. I never want to forget the fear that one of those planes could be headed this way, that Boston could be next, the irrational fear that a plane could crash on my school.

I never want to forget knowing how historic the day was, using a payphone to get my parents to pick me up at lunch so I could watch tv and see what was going on. I never want to forget getting home and watching the planes hit the towers, the towers burning, then falling, again and again and again. I never want to forget hearing that up to 50,000 people worked in those buildings and the death toll could be almost that high. I never want to forget the hope that survivors would be found. I never want to forget the family members, holding pictures of their loved ones, going in front of cameras, hoping someone had seem them alive after the towers fell.

I never want to forget that the whole day felt like a movie, only without a soundtrack, and when I played the Titanic soundtrack, I broke down and cried. I never want to forget cancelling my trip to look at colleges in DC the following weekend and my dad saying everything would be fine by then - it wasn't, the airports were still shutdown and Reagan was closed for longer. I never want to forget the eerie quiet outside for days, with the airplanes grounded.

While these are things I am afraid to forget there are some things I will always remember.

I will always remember the firefighters, police and other rescue workers who ran into the buildings to save lives. I will always remember the 2,996 people who perished on that day and will keep their memories alive. I will always remember Todd Beamer saying, "Let's roll!" and the passengers of Flight 93 launching the first counterstrike in the new War on Terror. I will always remember the horror, the heroism, and the hope of that day. (More memories of the days that followed can be read here)

9-11 NEVER FORGET

9/11: I Am Overcome

2011-09-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

This video made me cry.

I also did not appreciate seeing Obama ads while watching 9/11 tributes. Look at this wording - SO WRONG:

Screen shot from this video.

10th Anniversary of 9/11: Remembering Flight 11 Passenger Mildred Rose Naiman

2011-09-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

For the last several years, I have posted this Project 2,996* September 11th tribute to Mildred Rose Naiman. Gives me chills rereading it now on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The following is the text from my original 2007 post on the sixth anniversary of 9/11:

My September 11th tribute as part of Project 2,996 is to Mildred Rose Naiman, 81, from Andover, MA, the town next to my hometown. According to WBZ Boston, over 200 people with ties to Massachusetts died on 9-11-01.

"Millie," as she was known to her loved ones, was on her way to California to visit her 2 sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren when she was killed. She was aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to be hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center.

Born on March 24, 1920, Mildred Naiman worked at Western Electric Co. as a tester. In her later years, she lived in a self-proclaimed "bachelorette pad" - her apartment in a retirement community - where she was active in planning and organizing events with her friends.

In a profile published on January 6, 2002, her daughter-in-law, Carol Naiman, told the New York Times, "She had a little bit of a lead foot. She had been stopped for speeding and was totally insulted the officer would give an old woman a ticket."

Although the feisty great-grandmother had had several knee replacement surgeries, cataracts, and other health problems, she still loved to travel. Her son Russ said, "If something was wrong with her, she'd go to the doctor and say, 'Fix me up; I've got a lot of traveling to do.' "

While she needed the help of a wheelchair at the airport, she still managed to visit her family twice a year. The Sunday before her fatal flight, a family member had asked if she was afraid of flying; her granddaughter, Hope, remembers her reply: "No, I've gone everywhere already--to Germany, the Bahamas. I'm not afraid to fly."

Incredibly, on July 24, 2004, the New York Post reported that the medical examiner's office had identified her remains. Many 9-11 victims are still unaccounted for. I hope her family gained some sense of closure with this discovery and was able to finally put her body to rest.

Today, on the sixth anniversary of her death, we celebrate the life of Mildred Rose Naiman.

May she, and the other 2,995 tragically murdered on that day, rest in peace.

9-11: NEVER FORGIVE, NEVER FORGET

____________________________________________
*Project 2,996 is an important online initiative to keep the memory of those who died on 9/11 alive and to honor them each through individual memorials. For those of us who were fortunate to not have lost anyone on that day, it really personalizes and brings home each loss. Their individual lives can get lost in the intolerable and overwhelming number killed on 9/11, so we owe it to each of them to make them more than just one of 3,000. Because links have gotten old and broken, there are thousands of 9/11 victims who no longer have a memorial blog post - please go to Project 2,996 to learn more and participate on your own blog.

8+ Defamations and Threats Against Tea Party in Last Month

2011-09-06T16:46:00.000-04:00

The epithets and threats thrown out against the Tea Party and Republicans have gotten worse and worse. I remember back in the day - summer of 2009 - when it seemed the worst we were called was "un-American" by Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, and an "angry mob" by the DNC. Now, it is somehow acceptable for commentators and elected officials - including the Vice President! - to publicly and triumphantly call the Tea Party "terrorists," "racists," "barbarians," and "sons of bitches." Here are 8 despicable things said about the Tea Party - only in the last month!

UPDATE: And now there's an online game called Tea Party Zombies Must Die - you get to go through the Americans for Prosperity and Koch Industries offices killing Tea Party Zombies and the Koch Brothers! INSANE!

9/5/11

Hoffa Threatens GOP At Obama Event: "Take These Son Of Bitches Out"

Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa had some profane, combative words for Republicans while warming up the crowd for President Obama in Detroit, Michigan on Monday. ...

"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong," Hoffa added.

9/5/11

Biden At AFL-CIO Rally: "You Are The Only Folks Keeping The Barbarians From the Gates"

8/31/11

MSNBCer Suggests GOP Rejected Obama's Request for Speech Because of 'Color of His Skin'

"The interesting question is: What is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the Office of the President? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let's face it, the color of his skin."

8/30/11

Rep. Carson: Tea party wants to see African Americans ‘hanging on a tree’

“I’m saying right now, under (CBC) Chairman Emanuel Cleaver’s leadership, we have seen change in Congress ... but the tea party is stopping that change,” Carson said at the event, according to the video. “And this is beyond symbolic change. This is the effort that we’re seeing, of Jim Crow.”
“Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens,” Carson continued. “Some of them in Congress right now with this tea party movement would love to see you and me — I’m sorry, Tamron — hanging on a tree.”

8/22/11

Beware the tea party, Jesse Jackson, Frederica Wilson and black Democrats say at jobs meeting

The tea party opposing Obama, Jackson said, should be called the "Fort Sumter Tea Party that sought to maintain states' rights and slavery." (Apparently he read this article in Salon.)

"The tea party is a new name on an old game," he said. "Dr. King fought a 'tea party' in Alabama...He had no weapons, but he confronted the tea party."

8/21/11

Maxine Waters: ‘The tea party can go straight to hell’

“I’m not afraid of anybody,” the California congresswoman told constituents in footage that appeared on ABC affiliate KABC in Los Angeles, not backing down from comments made about President Obama earlier in the week. “This is a tough game. You can’t be intimidated. You can’t be frightened. And as far as I’m concerned — the tea party can go straight to hell.”

8/1/11

Sources: Joe Biden likened tea partiers to terrorists

Vice President Joe Biden joined House Democrats in lashing tea party Republicans Monday, accusing them of having “acted like terrorists” in the fight over raising the nation’s debt limit, according to several sources in the room.

Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.

“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”

Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists.”

8/1/11

NYT: Tea Party’s War on America

By JOE NOCERA
You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them.

These last few months, much of the country has watched in horror as the Tea Party Republicans have waged jihad on the American people. Their intransigent demands for deep spending cuts, coupled with their almost gleeful willingness to destroy one of America’s most invaluable assets, its full faith and credit, were incredibly irresponsible. But they didn’t care. Their goal, they believed, was worth blowing up the country for, if that’s what it took. ...

The level of hatred on public display from the Left is truly sick, especially coming just 8 months after a call from President Obama for civility in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Giffords.Santorum

What Elle Magazine Got Wrong About Feminism And Conservative Women

2011-08-19T15:20:00.004-04:00

Interesting article in Elle magazine by Nina Burleigh (who infamously said of Clinton, "I'd be happy to give him [oral sex] just to thank him for keeping abortion legal") called The Best and the Rightest about conservative women, which featured Ashley Sewell (aka TXTrendyChick). It's a 4 page article, but the paragraph that stuck out most for me was this one:

The young women I interviewed for this article share almost every goal of feminism. They want to be—and in many cases, already believe themselves to be—“empowered”: educationally, financially, sexually. But they resist any effort to put advancing their fellow women front and center. That means opposing everything from gender-based affirmative action, such as government-mandated quotas for female athletes under Title IX, to equal-pay-for-equal-work laws. So on the one hand they may lament that there are only a handful of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies and only 17 female U.S. Senators—“It does matter,” Sewell says. “A woman’s perspective is different from a man’s.” But on the other hand, they’re not going to take to the ramparts to try to increase the numbers.

To the author, the only way to advance our fellow women is through laws and government mandates like affirmative action, quotas, and wage legislation. How is that in any way empowering? It doesn't even occur to her that you can advance women without government help. Conservative women are not empowered by government handouts. We want to do things on our own, not have the government give them to us. Of course we want women to go into whatever field they want and can succeed in, play whatever sport they enjoy, and be paid based on merit, not gender. But instead of government mandates or forcing public tax dollars on specious programs that are prone to mission creep, we turn to families, churches, and local communities to make this happen; we choose to support charities or volunteering to mentor girls. It is ridiculous to say we "resist any effort to put advancing [our] fellow women front and center."

We also don't want our success to come at the expense of others, such as when men's sports programs are canceled because there aren't enough women's ones to match them as a result of Title IX. It shouldn't be a zero sum game, everyone should have the chance to succeed based on desire and merit - not gender, ethnicity, etc. The fact that women and men are different and have different interests or skills is another important factor that the author misses. And women shouldn't be advanced just based on the fact that they're women, they have to be the best.

I don't know what the author means by "take to the ramparts" regarding the lower numbers of women as CEOs and Senators, but it sounds like she wants us to raise hell and shakedown companies to hire based on gender or force laws requiring minimum numbers of women in government. We're not going to elect women just because they are women, they have to share our values and be the best candidate in the race.

Meanwhile, the author ignores groups like Smart Girl Politics, which I (along with Ashley Sewell and Dana Loesch, who is mentioned in the piece, too) am a member of, a community that encourages conservative women leaders to run for office and gives them the tools, training and support they need to make it happen. 2010 was the "Year of the Conservative Woman" with record numbers running for public office. A woman just won the Iowa straw poll, and a second woman might be entering the presidential race soon. These are glaring omissions.

Finally, it is interesting that in her list of "almost every goal of feminism" the author does not refer to abortion, which, ironically, to second and third wave liberal feminists, is the litmus test for bearing the title. I attribute this to the author trying to get rid of feminism's current connotations as a dirty word along with an attempt to make the conservative women profiled in the article appear hypocritical. On the other hand, it could be a nod to the fourth wave conservative and pro-life efforts to break the glass ceiling and finally allow diversity of thought in modern feminism.

The new movement of pro-woman, pro-life, embodied by the group Feminists for Life, is an encouraging shift from the radical feminism that has dominated since the 1960's. We want equal rights with men, but how is abortion an equal right? Rights do not extend to the destruction of another human, no matter what the law says.

It is important to remember that the abortion on demand version of feminism is a relatively recent development. The suffragettes, the original "first wave" feminists, opposed abortion (all following quotes from FFL). Elizabeth Cady Stanton explicitly contrasted abortion as antithetical to the rights of women: "When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."

She also used the "evil" of abortion to make the case for women's right to vote, with suffrage being the remedy to abortion: "There must be a remedy even for such a crying evil as this. But where shall it be found, at least where begin, if not in the complete enfranchisement and elevation of women?"

Susan B. Anthony addressed what are now common modern day excuses for abortion and decried men's role in pressuring women to abort, "No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!"

Finally, Alice Paul, author of the original 1923 Equal Rights Amendment, powerfully said, "Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women."

These feminist foremothers knew - as today's pro-life feminists know - that, as opposed to helping women, abortion hurts and degrades women. This is true feminism and I hope the "Fourth wave" wins out.

So the author of the Elle article is right that conservative women "share almost every goal of feminism," she is just wrong on which aspects of it we truly resist and how we advance women.

Choice: After IVF, Woman aborts one twin because idea of managing two infants "terrified her"

2011-08-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

Horrifying NYT article on pregnancy "reduction" - killing at least one but not all of the multiple babies growing in your womb. I've only gotten through the first couple paragraphs but already the woman featured is a grotesque stereotype of all that is wrong with "choice" in America. My reaction in black bold:

The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy

As Jenny lay on the obstetrician’s examination table, she was grateful that the ultrasound tech had turned off the overhead screen. She didn’t want to see the two shadows floating inside her. [Typical. She doesn't want to see the truth of the life of her children and face the reality of killing one of them. Another reason why pro-aborts HATE allowing women considering abortion to see ultrasounds] Since making her decision, she had tried hard not to think about them, [Thinking is bad. It might lead to some uncomfortable feelings] though she could often think of little else. She was 45 and pregnant after six years of fertility bills, ovulation injections, donor eggs and disappointment — and yet here she was, 14 weeks into her pregnancy, choosing to extinguish one of two healthy fetuses, [This is just beyond comprehension. Killing a desperately wanted, healthy child that you've spent countless time, energy, and money to have.] almost as if having half an abortion. As the doctor inserted the needle into Jenny’s abdomen, aiming at one of the fetuses, Jenny tried not to flinch, caught between intense relief [Sick] and intense guilt.[Good. Hint: Shame and guilt mean you've done something wrong.]

“Things would have been different if we were 15 years younger or if we hadn’t had children already or if we were more financially secure [These are the same excuses most older women who abort make ... except they didn't spend 6 years TRYING to get pregnant! It is despicably selfish to kill your child because it is inconvenient to you.],” she said later. “If I had conceived these twins naturally, I wouldn’t have reduced this pregnancy, because you feel like if there’s a natural order, then you don’t want to disturb it. [A profound paradox. She is messing with nature, she has already disturbed it.] But we created this child in such an artificial manner — in a test tube, choosing an egg donor, having the embryo placed in me — and somehow, making a decision about how many to carry seemed to be just another choice. [This is a horrific consequence of our scientific advancement - the idea that we are our own Gods, we control nature, both its creation and destruction, because we own it. It's like all the dire slippery slope arguments and science fiction-like warnings are coming true.] The pregnancy was all so consumerish to begin with, [Children are becoming commodities whose values are only determined by the immediate needs and whims of their owners. It's like going to Costco and buying the jumbo 2 pack of mayo. You don't need the second one, it will only go bad and that would be messy and inconvenient, so you toss it in the trash. There is no moral difference between mayo and baby - hey, they both come from eggs.] and this became yet another thing we could control.” [And that's what it is all about these days. The obsessive need for control. And choice. And power. Holding a life in the balance must be the ultimate power trip.]
...
Jenny’s decision to reduce twins to a single fetus was never really in doubt. The idea of managing two infants at this point in her life terrified her. [Maybe she shouldn't have been trying to get pregnant!!! You'd think after 6 years of trying, she'd have thought this through a little more. And what makes her thing she can manage ONE infant at this point in her life?] She and her husband already had grade-school-age children, and she took pride in being a good mother. She felt that twins would soak up everything she had to give, leaving nothing for her older children. Even the twins would be robbed, because, at best, she could give each one only half of her attention and, she feared, only half of her love. [Another common abortion excuse - as if your love is a zero sum game, there's a limited amount of love to go around and giving one child love, means you're taking away some from another. I'm not a mother yet, but every one I've ever met has said that they love all of their children equally and in different ways. There is always more room in a mother's heart. Also, she is robbing her own kids of their brother or sister. This is a particularly grievous loss to the surviving twinn] Jenny desperately wanted another child, but not at the risk of becoming a second-rate parent. [WHY?! Why, why, WHY?! I thought she was 15 years too old, had other children, and wasn't financially secure? What is the reasoning behind her need for another child?!] “This is bad, but it’s not anywhere as bad as neglecting your child or not giving everything you can to the children you have,” [This woman is living in a sick world where death is better than having a busy mother. I guess telling herself that is the only way she can sleep at night.] she told me, referring to the reduction. She and her husband worked out this moral calculation on their own [I also hate that we live in a world where people get to make their own moral calculations about life and death. Life is life, no matter what, it's not something that's definition should be allowed to vary from person to person. The woman whose "moral calculation" is that abortion is ok up until the minute of birth - or even after - is not equal or as morally valid as one who knows that life begins at conception. You get to have your own opinions, but not your own facts.], and they intend to never tell anyone about it. Jenny is certain that no one, not even her closest friends, would understand, and she doesn’t want to be the object of their curiosity or feel the sting of their judgment. ["Jenny," wherever you are, I hope you feel the sting of my judgment!]

SICK SICK SICK. My heart weeps for her, her children, and the future.

Telf Photo Tribute

2011-07-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

My good friend Erik Telford is leaving his post at Americans For Prosperity for the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity in August. Let's take a stroll down memory lane and look at the best pictures of him during his tenure at AFP ...

Telford about to eat us at the MRC Gala 2011

Telford excited about Right Online 2011

Telford sorry I can't make Right Online 2011 this year

Telford belting out Total Eclipse of the Heart with Tabitha at CPAC 2011

Telford enjoying some delicious Ronald Reagan cake at CPAC 2011

Telford excited about the Citizens United film that led to the court case that led to Obama demonizing AFP

Can't wait to see what kind of pictures his new job will bring!

Candidates Lure Voters With Bacon - YUM!

2011-07-07T12:53:00.000-04:00

MMMMMMM...bacon

Bacon is one of the best foods on the planet - and now it looks like some presidential candidates are tapping into Americans' love of bacon in their logos.

I once called Mitt Romney's logo "Patriotic Bacon"

Now here's Michele Bachmann's logo with what just looks like actual bacon:

Subliminal messaging? It just makes me hungry.

Can Prayer Cause Irreparable Harm?

2011-06-03T00:09:00.004-04:00

This is a pretty unbelievable story. How could anyone “suffer irreparable harm” from hearing the words "prayer" or "amen"??? Are they vampires who will burn at the sight of a cross? Are they demons afraid of being cast out? THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!!!

And even if you're a freedom FROM religion type of person, you should at least be appalled by a judge banning not only prayer, but the use of specific words or phrases - punishable by jail. Could there be a more clear violation of "abridging the freedom of speech?"

All this because the student in question felt "anxiety." Since when is anxiety irreparable harm? This kid needs to go out into the real world and learn to interact with others and deal with LIFE. Yeah, there are people and situations out there that will cause you worry or concern but you can't always go run and hide under a judge's robes.

How sad that to protect one student's right to ... not be anxious, other students' legitimate right to free speech is stripped. Worse, that this decision was made by a federal judge - it drives me CRAZY that illiterate people like him control our legal system!!!

Where in the Constitution does it say that certain words can be banned? Maybe look somewhere between separation of church and state and penumbras formed by emanations.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

Federal Judge Prohibits Prayer at Texas Graduation Ceremony

forbids students from using specific religious words including “prayer” and “amen.”

The judge declared that the Schultz family and their son would “suffer irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the ceremony.

Judge Biery’s ruling banned students and other speakers from using religious language in their speeches. Among the banned words or phrases are: “join in prayer,” “bow their heads,” “amen,” and “prayer.”

He also ordered the school district to remove the terms “invocation” and “benediction” from the graduation program.

“These terms shall be replaced with ‘opening remarks’ and ‘closing remarks,'” the judge’s order stated. His ruling also prohibits anyone from saying, “in [a deity’s name] we pray.”

Should a student violate the order, school district officials could find themselves in legal trouble. Judge Biery ordered that his ruling be “enforced by incarceration or other sanctions for contempt of Court if not obeyed by District official (sic) and their agents.”

“It [prayer at graduation] caused [student in lawsuit] a great deal of anxiety,”

“At graduation, I would love to be able to speak from my heart,” she told the TV station. “But in this situation I feel my freedom of speech and my First Amendment is being infringed upon if I can’t say what I feel.”

Read more at www.foxnews.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a14eoy

Abortion ends in death. Can you live with that?

2011-04-25T23:51:00.007-04:00

Abortion ends in death. Can you live with that? I couldn’t. -Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood Director

via LifeNews.com: New Abby Johnson Television Ad Takes on Planned Parenthood

I was a Planned Parenthood Director and Employee of the Year. I used to tell women that abortions removed a mass of tissue, but that’s not true. I had to account for the body parts of aborted babies. Yes, Planned Parenthood prevents pregnancies, but they also provide over 320,000 abortions each year. They won’t protect your child, there’s no money in doing that. Abortion ends in death. Can you live with that? I couldn’t.

Meanwhile, there's this sick article: Celebrating the “Sacred Work” of Planned Parenthood on Good Friday

Boehner, You Can Act Like a Man!

2011-04-06T18:49:00.001-04:00

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?????????!!!!!!!!

ABC's The Note: John Boehner Cries Amid Government Shutdown Standoff

You know, I am REALLY getting sick and tired of Boehner crying all the time! I feel like slapping them Godfather-style and shouting, "You can act like a man!"

He better overcome this weepyness and stand strong in the budget battle!