Carol's Closet

My Afternoon at the Glenn Beck Rally

2009-11-21T19:21:00.005-05:00

I arrived about hour and a half before the scheduled three o'clock starting time for Glenn Beck's rally at The Villages in Central Florida. I should have arrived hours earlier.

Beck announced that he has a plan, aptly named The Plan. While Beck brought the crowd to its feet repeatedly, he was somewhat short on details as to what The Plan entails.

He said that he has gathered a panel of experts in education, finance, national security and health care and that they will be forming specific policy positions that will be unveiled over time.

Beck will be holding a series of seven "conventions" between March and August of 2010. The first convention will be held in Orlando on March 27th. His website, GlennBeck.Com, has details on the remaining six conventions. All of this will culminate with a rally at the Lincoln Monument in Washington, DC on August 28th.

There was a lot of speculation that Beck would announcing the formation of a national third party. Not exactly. He is trying to build a coalition of fiscally conservative citizens who, regardless of party affiliation, will join together and speak in one voice in opposition to the runaway spending in Washington. Republicans, blue dog Democrats, Independents and Libertarians have all expressed dismay at the reckless spending from Washington as well as the overreaching entitlement programs that are not only driving the country towards financial ruin but also permitting greater government interference and control over individuals lives. Beck envisions these diverse groups joining together and acting as a single group on those issues that we all hold in common.

Here in Florida we are already seeing from Charlie Crist that politicians will alter their positions if they believe that they are losing ground. Fiscal conservatives of all political stripes have turned on Crist because of his embrace of the Stimulus Bill. Beck envisions the Florida model taking off and becoming a national movement.

Time will tell exactly what Beck's "plan" involves but I will say, judging from the enthusiasm I saw at The Villages today, people are ready for a change from the "business as usual" out of Washington that has mortgaged their children's children's future.

More on the rally can be found at Memeorandum.

Going on the Road

2009-11-21T10:42:00.004-05:00

I just heard last night that Glenn Beck is going to be at the Villages of Florida, a little over a hundred miles north of here, this afternoon. My motto is "have Netbook, will travel" so I am going on the road. Beck is slated to unveil his "big plan for 2010" at the rally so I'll be posting more later.

Junk Science Exposed

2009-11-20T21:14:00.005-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

I readily admit that after years of rolling my eyes at the Global Warming I found it delicious when news broke that computers had been hacked at Hadley CRU and that the information obtained seems to back the theory that Global Warming is a crock. James Delingpole:

If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka Hadley CRU) and released 61 megabites of confidential files onto the internet. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That)

When you read some of those files – including 1079 emails and 72 documents – you realise just why the boffins at Hadley CRU might have preferred to keep them confidential. As Andrew Bolt puts it, this scandal could well be “the greatest in modern science”. These alleged emails – supposedly exchanged by some of the most prominent scientists pushing AGW theory – suggest:
Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more.

Al Gore, the chief snake oil salesman of AGW, has long used fantastic hyperbole to stifle any debate on Global Warming, comparing those who question Climate Change to Holocaust deniers. Of course Gore has a vested interest in shutting down debate-he’s made MILLIONS peddling his clap trap all the while expanding his “carbon footprint” to truly monumental levels. To his credit, he’s not the only hypocrite on the block.

Aside from the hypocrisy and fear mongering, dedicated scientists have seen their careers jeopardized by daring to disagree with the “the science is settled” shtick. Stacy McCain writes:

With the assistance of a pliant media establishment, the global-warming crowd has created the impression that all qualified experts agree with their theory, and that all skeptics are either biased or unqualified. The consensus-mongers have arrogated to themselves the authority to decide who is or is not an expert, and what does and does not qualify as evidence. Once this was Jedi mind-trick was accomplished, it was predictable that any data contradicting the "consensus" would be ignored or suppressed.

While some have perfectly good reasons for withholding judgment on the AGW revelations, I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.

More at:

Tim Blair
Sister Toldja
JammieWearingFool
Michelle Malkin
American Power

UPDATE:

From Gateway Pundit:

One of the junk science perpetrators speaks out:

Professor Michael Mann, director of Pennsylvania State University’s Earth System Science Centre and a regular contributor to the popular climate science blog Real Climate, features in many of the email exchanges. He said: “I’m simply not going to comment on the content of illegally obtained emails. However, I will say this: both their theft and, I believe, any reproduction of the emails that were obtained on public websites, etc, constitutes serious criminal activity. I’m hoping that the perpetrators and their facilitators will be tracked down and prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.”

Professor Mann is sounding a bit testy. De-lish-ous!

UPDATE II:

Andrew C. Revkin writing in the New York Times:

At first, said Dr. Michaels, the climatologist who has faulted some of the science undergirding the global warming consensus, his instinct was to ignore the correspondence as “just the way scientists talk.”

But on Friday, he said, after reading more deeply, he felt that some exchanges reflected a concerted effort to block the release of data for independent review.

He said that some e-mails mused about a way to discredit him by challenging the veracity of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Wisconsin by claiming he knew his research was wrong.
“This shows these are people willing to bend rules and go after other people’s reputations in very serious ways,” he said.

UPDATE III:

A man after my own heart:

The people involved have defiled Reason in the name of fraudulent politics, fat budgets, and international fame. I’d like to see every one of them shamed so thoroughly that they’d be lucky to get jobs flipping burgers.
On the good side, these temple prostitutes for the Church of Global Warming just might have done something that the diligent work of skeptics and plain evidence could not — drive an ash stake through the heart of Anthropogenic Global Warming. A guy can dream.

Another Day, Another Thunderstorm

2009-11-18T22:13:00.004-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

My favorite saying is the golden oldie-don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining. Under the current administration, every day is monsoon season.

Today was Attorney General Eric Holder's turn to go singing in the rain. I am no fan of Sen. Lindsey Graham , he managed to stay dry today despite Holder's best efforts.

Allahpundit:

Per the last post, here’s how “carefully” Holder consulted the law before pulling the trigger on KSM. Not only does Graham have to tell him that there’s no precedent for trying battlefield detainees in civilian court, but Holder’s emphasis on how we don’t need a confession to convict Bin Laden completely misses the larger point Graham’s trying to make. The real worry in a district-court trial isn’t what’ll happen to archterrorists like Osama or KSM, whose perpetual detention is assured; the worry is that those trials will establish precedents that’ll be exploited by lesser jihadis at their own trials later on. KSM won’t be released because the political consequences to the administration are too dire, but what about some other terrorist who’s less well known to the public and whose guilt, while certain to the CIA, is less provable under normal evidentiary rules? A confession in a case like that might be critical — but what if he wasn’t Mirandized before he confessed? What then? That’s Graham’s point, and Holder seems to want nothing to do with it.

Andy McCarthy goes through Holder's testimony point by point. Suffice to say, Holder doesn't fare well. Oddly, the Left, long known for its wussiness, is using the decision to try KSM in a civilian court as a show of bravery, a theme that Holder, tried, and failed to advance:

In a civilian trial, America will see KSM for the coward that he is — Holder: "I am not scared of KSM." Submitting a war criminal to a military commission is not an exercise in fear; it is an exercise in justice. We already know all about what kind of animal KSM is, thanks to the exrtraordinary information that has come out in the military proceedings and the CIA interrogations. You could fill a book a book with it, which the 9/11 Commission did. We don't need to bear the risks of a civilian trial either to learn more about KSM or so Mr. Holder can show how brave he is.

This trial will take years to run through. For the next three years this administration will be spinning away. Keep an umbrella handy.

Smitty gets the "Title of the Day Award" Graham goes jackass hunting, finds Holder, flogging ensues.

The World Loves Us, Really

2009-11-18T20:38:00.003-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

I for one have stayed up nights worried about "The World's" opinion of the United States so you can imagine my relief when I read that Obama has restored our reputation:

A little more than a year after his election, President Obama said his administration has laid the groundwork for success on global and domestic matters.

"I think that we've restored America's standing in the world, and that's confirmed by polls," he told CNN's Ed Henry in a wide-ranging interview this week during his trip to China.

"I think a recent one indicated that around the world, before my election, less than half the people -- maybe less than 40 percent of the people -- thought that you could count on America to do to the right thing. Now it's up to 75 percent."

Unfortunately, the Iranians, Hondurans and Czechs and Poles were unable to participate in the polls.

Obama has spent the better part of his young administration prostrating and apologizing for the United States to the rest of the world. He's sucked up to tyrants and screwed over allies. Generally speaking Obama's message has been that American has been a screwup but now that he's in charge he'll put us on the right path. No doubt it is a message that the Eurocrats approve. For all of Obama's scraping and bowing, we've gotten next to nothing in return.

Dan Riehl reacts:

What an ignorant, naive doofus this guy is. He seems to put a lot more stock in world polls than he does domestic ones. He dismisses those when it conflicts with his policy goals. This arrogant basturd cares more about what the world thinks of him, than what Americans do. And if he honestly believes the nation's that are important to us in the world, especially potential threats, are going to treat us any differently because of his image obsessed presidency, the guy is as dangerous, as he is clueless about world politics.

The man's a superficial fool, a fraud and a Leftist tool.

Sounds about right.

Andrew Sullivan: Delusional Fantasist

2009-11-18T20:07:00.003-05:00

I’d been storming around in a snit for three days and frankly, it had ceased to be fun. I needed something to giggle about and God bless him, Andrew Sullivan came through:

… And the fact that she is now the leader of the Republican party and a potential presidential candidate, makes this process of deconstruction an important civil responsibility. We take this seriously as we always have. We want to be fair to her, and to her family, and to the innocent people she has brought into the spotlight. And we are not reporters. We are merely analysts trying to make sense of evidence already in the public domain, evidence that points in all sorts of directions, only one of which can be true.

Since the Dish has tried to be rigorous and careful in analyzing Palin's unhinged grip on reality from the very beginning - specifically her fantastic story of her fifth pregnancy - we feel it's vital that we grapple with this new data as fairly and as rigorously as possible. That takes time to get right. And it is so complicated we simply cannot focus on anything else.

Who but Sully could be so earnest and so silly all in a single breath? But there he is saving the Republic from the greatest threat it has faced since Yoko Ono married John Lennon and destroyed the Beatles. Were it not for Sullivan, the Wild Woman of Wasilla would not doubt march on Washington unimpeded. But fear not, he’ll focus on nothing else ‘til the pretender to the presidency is sent packing back to the tundra.

Cassandra speaks for all of us when she says:

Once he's done deconstructing Sarah Palin's 5th pregnancy, hopefully he'll have time to catch us up on the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline divorce. I think we're all feeling a bit safer today, knowing Sully is on the case.

More at:

Memeorandum
Villainous Company
Pundit & Pundette
Riehl World View

A Preview of Things to Come

2009-11-17T20:10:00.004-05:00

Forty thousand women die of breast cancer in the United States every year. This number has steadily declined since 1990 and that decline can be summed up in two words-early detection. Consider this from Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

What a difference six months — and a health-care overhaul proposal — can make! Just six months ago, the U.S Preventive Services Task Force, which works within the Department of Health and Human Services as a “best practice” panel on prevention, sounded a warning signal over a slight decline in annual mammograms among women in their 40s. In fact, they warned women of this age bracket that they could be risking their lives if they didn’t get the annual preventive exam (via HA reader Devil’s Advocate):

The downward trend, however slight, has breast cancer experts worried. Mammograms can enable physicians to diagnose the disease at early stages, often before a lump can be felt. “When breast cancer is detected early, it often can be treated before it has a chance to spread in the body and increase the risk of dying from the disease,” says Katherine Alley, medical director of the breast health program at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.
The U.S Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts working under the Department of Health and Human Services, recommends that women older than 40 get a mammogram every one to two years. The task force finds the test most helpful for women between ages 50 and 69, for whom it says the evidence is strongest that screening lowers death rates from breast cancer. Other groups, including the American Medical Association, suggest a more rigorous schedule, saying the test should be done every year; insurers often pay for annual tests.

But today, that same panel says … never mind:

“We’re not saying women shouldn’t get screened. Screening does saves lives,” said Diana B. Petitti, vice chairman of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which released the recommendations Monday in a paper being published in Tuesday’s Annals of Internal Medicine. “But we are recommending against routine screening. There are important and serious negatives or harms that need to be considered carefully.”
What changed? ObamaCare. Government run health care programs universally cut funding for preventative tests in order to hold costs down. What is the government panel’s reasoning? Consider this:

While annual mammography for all women beginning at age 40 reduced the death rate from breast cancer by at least 15 percent, the modeling studies indicated that the added benefit of starting before age 50 was modest, the researchers concluded. (emphasis mine)
The panel admits that screenings save lives but not enough to justify the cost. Welcome to nationalize health care ladies, your life has just been reduced to dollars and cents. But wait, it gets even better-the panel is also recommending against women performing self examines!

Think you’ll just ignore the new recommendations? You are free to do that and your doctor is free to order a mammogram, but any tests outside of the panels recommendations will be paid by the patient and not covered under the government program. Your covered by a private program? Guess how private companies decide what procedures to cover-yep, the decision is based on the panel’s recommendation.

I’ll leave you with these words from Wizbang:

ObamaCare hasn't even passed the Senate yet, and already this task force seems to be implementing cost cutting measures in anticipation of the government's increased financial stake in the health care of millions of Americans. And if this doesn't concern you, keep in mind that Pelosi's health care bill that just passed the House is chock full of new government health care task forces that will issue all manner of new recommendations, the vast majority of which will probably be that citizens should postpone screenings for various cancers, illnesses, and disorders.

And President Obama said no one should come between you and your doctor. What he meant is that no one should come between you and your doctor - except a government health care task force.

h/t Memeorandum

Can We Cut the Racist Crap?

2009-11-16T21:51:00.004-05:00

What is with the Left and this racist crap? Honestly, I'm over it. It seems that no matter what any Conservative does or says everything boils down to race as far as the Moonbats are concerned.

Well here we go again. Sarah Palin is a racist because her co-author Lynn Vincent is a racist because she co-wrote a book with Stacy McCain who everybody knows is a racist. Thursday night I hugged Stacy McCain so I'm a racist. Done deal.

Not so much. Ben Smith concludes that, well actually, Lynn Vincent isn't a racist but he left the accusation against Stacy hang out there. Why? Is it too difficult for a reporter of Smith's stature to investigate accusations prior to printing them?

Stacy had this to say about this tripe:

One of the things I have sought to avoid over the years is the "some of my best friends" defense. If my friends are aware of these attacks, they will defend me. If they are unaware of the attacks, it would be wrong to involve them in a dispute that is not of their concern. My enemies are my enemies, and I would do my friends no favors by siccing my enemies on them, so as to expose my friends to these guilt-by-association attacks.

Stacy treated me like a friend long before we met Thursday night so I'm going to put this in real simple terms: jump off.

Anybody who has a problem with Conservative values man up and debate those values. I defy anyone to show anything about our values that are racist in anyway. But I'll tell you this, there is plenty that is racist about "progressive" values. So stop the projecting.

Incidentally, Smith wrote this:

*UPDATE: Edited for clarity. And McCain disputes his critics' characterization of his views on race.

Mighty white of him.

h/t Memeorandum

They're Baaaack!

2009-11-16T19:22:00.004-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

"They" are death panels and it isn't Sarah Palin bring them up, it is the Wall Street Journal. Granted, they are not called "death panels", but as they say, "the devil is in the the details. From The Rationing Commission:

As usual, the most dangerous parts of ObamaCare aren't receiving the scrutiny they deserve—and one of the least examined is a new commission to tell Congress how to control health spending. Democrats are quietly attempting to impose a "global budget" on Medicare, with radical implications for U.S. medicine.

Like most of Europe, the various health bills stipulate that Congress will arbitrarily decide how much to spend on health care for seniors every year—and then invest an unelected board with extraordinary powers to dictate what is covered and how it will be paid for. White House budget director Peter Orszag calls this Medicare commission "critical to our fiscal future" and "one of the most potent reforms."

On that last score, he's right. Prominent health economist Alain Enthoven has likened a global budget to "bombing from 35,000 feet, where you don't see the faces of the people you kill."

Nothing personal, Granny.

The Left's line from day one has been that we already have rationing because insurance companies make care decisions every day. That is absolutely true. However, I haven't heard from the Left why it is okay for a government panel to make life and death decisions and wrong for an insurance company to do the same. Perhaps the difference is because the insurance companies represent the free market which is open and rollicking and frankly, undisciplined whereas the government represents the comforting nanny who imposes order and makes the tough choices on behalf of unruly children.

Some may think that they are too young to be affected by the panels. More or less true. Older people will be represent the largest group that will be denied health care. First, the baby boomers are a huge segment of the population and they (we) are aging. Second, they (we) develop more health problems with age. The WSJ uses the example of the state of Washington's medical board to let us know what we have to look forward to:

The Washington commission, called the Health Technology Assessment, is manned by 11 bureaucrats, including a chiropractor and a "naturopath" who focuses on alternative, er, remedies like herbs and massage therapy. They consider the clinical effectiveness but above all the cost of medical procedures and technologies. If they decide something isn't worth the money, then Olympia won't cover it for some 750,000 Medicaid patients, public employees and prisoners.

So far, the commission has banned knee arthroscopy for osteoarthritis, discography for chronic back pain, and implantable infusion pumps for pain not related to cancer. This year, it is targeting such frivolous luxuries as knee replacements, spinal cord stimulation, a specialized autism therapy and MRIs of the abdomen, pelvis or breasts for cancer. It will also rule on routine ultrasounds for pregnancy, which have a "high" efficacy but also a "high" cost.

Currently, the commission is pushing through the most restrictive payment policy in the nation for drug-eluting cardiac stents—simply because bare metal stents are cheaper, even as they result in worse outcomes. If a patient is wheeled into the operating room with chest pains in an emergency, doctors will first have to determine if he's covered by a state plan, then the diameter of his blood vessels and his diabetic condition to decide on the appropriate stent. If they don't, Washington will not reimburse them for "inappropriate care."

In the Washington state model it isn't just Granny who is in deep doo.

Let's be honest about what health care reform entails. More importantly, our politicians need to be honest with us about the true effects of health care reform. But, they won't be unless we insist on honesty and accountability from them.

On a personal note, my eighty-one year old, severely disabled father underwent surgery this afternoon. He's doing well. Under ObamaCare, he'd be dead.

Chistopher Hitchens Misses the Mark on "Populism"

2009-11-15T21:05:00.003-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

Christopher Hitchens doesn’t like Sarah Palin. Hitchens has a penchant for unmasking charlatans and in the Newsweek article Palin’s Base Appeal, he appears to be unmasking Palin but it is those that he perceives as “her base” that he has taken aim at.

Populism is a political ideology based on the perceived interests of ordinary people. Reading the article, it struck me that Hitchens considers “ordinary people” to be nasty little uneducated beings whose interests don’t interest him nor in his estimation should they interest anyone else of substance. In Hitchen’s view, if Palin has had any measure of success it lies in her ability to pull the wool over the eyes of the way too gullible unwashed masses.

They say a good writer writes about what he knows and Hitchens is altogether unacquainted with ordinary people. He does not have a clue why people are angry and if truth were told, he probably believes the anger is caused by the mundane nature of their small lives. But such people are too far below his station to grant any consideration or thought.

Should Hitchens care to actually research the subject of ordinary people before he opines on them again I would be happy to clue him in. But that would most likely bore him.

Us Yokels R Two Dumb Too Know Good Manners

2009-11-15T17:27:00.007-05:00

Turns out us redneck yokels blue it agin. We is stupid and ain't got good manners. Obama's bow is good manners. I apologized fer my being dumb.

Other dumb people:

Thank you to the moderate person at The Moderate Voice

We will work hard two learn our manners soes we didn't make same mistake again.

Other peoples who is yokels two:

It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy

2009-11-15T14:59:00.009-05:00

Via Memeorandum

Gee, it can't be a good thing when a picture of a tipped tank is used to illustrate a politician's career, but hey, in this case, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

According to FitNews.Com Sen. Lindsey Graham's popularity is tanking in South Carolina. He's not only losing the confidence of Republican voters, he's also in a freefall with the all important Independent voters. Pardon me for a moment while I snicker.

Graham served in the House from 1995 to 2003 when he moved on to the Senate. At some point during the last fourteen years he decided as an incumbent he was a) in like Flynn and as a result b) his constituents could go to Hell. Apparently, his constituents disagree.

FitNews:

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s public support is collapsing in South Carolina – driven by a wholesale revolt among the GOP electorate and a steady erosion of his support amongst independents.

Already consistently loathed by a solid third of GOP voters, Graham’s recent leftward bent – including his co-authoring of a controversial “Cap & Tax” proposal supported by President Barack Obama and liberal Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) – has him locked in a “terminal free fall,” according one prominent Republican consultant.

“A chunk of the GOP has always detested him, but in the last month a damn has broken,” said the consultant, who was granted anonymity to discuss the impact of two recent polls that were conducted in South Carolina (one allegedly by Graham’s own advisors). “More Republicans now oppose Sen. Graham than support him. Independents are also deserting him in huge numbers.”

So who is backing Graham? According to FITS, he's being back by the Truman National Security Project a liberal front group aimed at training “progressives” in their efforts to co-opt the debate over national security, which is typically one of the GOP’s bread-and-butter issues.

What a coincidence. Charlie Crist, who Graham endorsed, also has "progressive" donors. Usually, people donate to a candidate because the donor and the candidate share an ideology. Sometimes the donor expects something from the candidate in return. And, of course, sometimes the donor and the candidate share an ideology AND the donor believes that they will receive something in return. I smell RINO.

Just recently I've taken to including a small picture of pink flip flops to symbolize Crist on my posts relating to him. My bet is that Graham will be doing a flip flop of his own soon. Maybe I can find a green pair for Graham to symbolize his support for Cap & Trade.

Perfect!

Cross posted at Not One Red Cent

Defining "Real American

2009-11-15T13:13:00.003-05:00

It is very rare that I see the Glenn Beck Show. I am either at work when the show comes on or driving home from work. But when I read at The Daley Gator that Clifford B. of Another Black Conservative would be at Glenn's Friday the 13th show I knew I would have to watch. I had taken Thursday and Friday off from work to attend the Orlando Tea Party so it was "all systems go."

The show was both enjoyable and informative. I love Charles Payne on "Cashin' In" and "Bears and Bulls" so I was thrilled to see that the show began with him. Prior to the show I had never heard of Lisa Fritsch, a radio talk show host, but I was so impressed by her that after the show I googled her to learn more. All and all, watching the show was a very worthwhile experience.

Today I came across a post at No Sheeples Here titled The Dumb White Guy at Crooks and Liars . Much to my surprise (yeah, why would I still be surprised by anything lefties write anymore) David Neiwert took exception to the show. Sigh. Among Neiwart's tidbits:

Glenn asked the audience why they call themselves African Americans!

Personally, I don't care one way or the other. I don't call myself an Irish American (except on St. Paddy's Day) but I also don't sit around worrying about what other people call themselves. We are all Americans. On the other hand, if I were describing someone to a person who was unfamiliar with the person I was describing, I would be more likely to say, "he's the black guy that sings the Tea Party Anthem" than I would be to say "he's the African American...". I'm not sure why Glenn asked the question but I also don't see a problem with asking either.

When white people say "real Americans" they are excluding black people.

How so? What is Neiwert basing this on-his own prejudices? Does Neiwert think that white people have a pecking order or how exactly does the whole thing work. For instance, are Anglo-saxon Americans more American than Mediterranean Americans who are more American than Asian Americans and so on until we reach African Americans, who we, the real Americans, don't include? I've got news for Mr. Neiwert, it is the Left who labels and pigeon holes everyone. On my side of the fence, if you love this country, you are an American.

Glenn Beck, as well as all white people, are idiots for quoting Martin Luther King.

Dr. King's own words lay waste to that argument. The next time Neiwert reads Dr. King's words I suggest that he take a moment to actual think about the words.

The MSM treats Conservative Blacks (and Conservative Women) like sideshow freaks. I applaud any effort to show that the Conservative movement isn't white, black, brown, or as my uncle would say, "sky blue pink". Sadly, people like Neiwert are too entrenched in their own narrow vision to realize how broad the Conservative Coalition is. His loss.

Reaction:

No Sheeples Here
Another Black Conservative
Left Coast Rebel
Memeorandum

In 2006 Sen. Obama Backed Trying KSM in the Military Court

2009-11-15T12:10:00.004-05:00

Via Memeorandum

In 2006, Sen. Barack Obama defended KSM being tried before a military tribunal. He makes it clear that as an enemy combatant, a military trial is the right and proper way to go. So what has changed? Now that he is President Obama, he has a base to satisfy. His base, the farthest of the far left, are not happy with Obama on several counts so he’s going to throw them a bone, jeopardizing the security of the United States, by putting George Bush on trial. Sure, KSM will be the defendant, but make no mistake, this is a show trial highlighting the policies of the Bush administration.

I am not a lawyer but I am assuming that in a civilian trial Miranda will come in to play. Was KSM given his Miranda rights? No. How will that affect the statements he made? Will they be admissible? No search warrants were executed. Will the property seized, and the evidence gathered be admissible?

I believe that the government will get a conviction. An acquittal would carry too high of a political cost and Obama is all about Obama. But every step of the way, the focus will be on the Bush Administration and giving the Left something to chew on.

Not everything should be political. As President of the United States, Obama should put the country’s security first. The 9/11 Families for America are gathering signatures on a petition to tell the President that he needs to stand by his remarks of 2006 and try KSM before a Military Tribunal. Show your outrage by signing the petition.

Video via Breitbart.tv

Other commentary:

Legal Insurrection
Atlas Shrugs

Update:

Pat at And so it goes in Shreveport writes:

Bloomberg is concerned, and rightly so, with the security issue. While it's true that New York has been increasing their terrorist detection threats over the past eight years, why on earth should the citizens of New York have to deal with such a threat at all? Haven't they been through enough? The city was outraged at the insensitivity of the Air Force One flyover for a photo op in April of this year. What in the world will come out of Pandora's box with KSM in town?

With regard to the issue of classified information, KSM will certainly request and be entitled to receive documents and information about the government's case against him. He and his attorneys will have access to hundreds of classified documents which will be a bonanza to the jihadists waiting in the wings. To assume that the information won't get leaked or transmitted is naive.
More here.

For the Love of God, STAND UP!

2009-11-14T18:20:00.002-05:00

President Obama is on the Asian leg of his “We’re Not Worthy” tour and I’ve got to say that for an arrogant SOB he sure does a lot of bowing. I copped the video below from Donald Douglas at American Power (who also has an impressive roundup of blogs posting on our President’s most current silliness).

During my adulthood there have been three presidents with a (D) after their name. Carter had a killer rabbit, Clinton had an intern under his desk (and a cigar). Obama has been in the Oval Office less than a year and folks, things ain’t looking good.

Gee, Do You Think That Power Point Presentation Might Have Been A Clue?

2009-11-14T16:54:00.003-05:00

Paco kindly sent me a link to his post Hasan's Famous Slide Show. Paco's post has a must see link to Maj. Hasan's infamous Power Point presentation on Muslims in the military. I watched the presentation and I've come to the conclusion that Hasan never made attempt to hide where he stood regarding Islam or his duty as a Muslim. Everything was right out there in the open but the people who could have stopped the Ft. Hood massacre refused to see.

How many people throughout the last few years could have prevented the shootings at Ft. Hood had they not put political correctness above the lives of our soldiers? In light of the various statements being made by General Casey and others, why would we believe that Ft. Hood won't happen again? And again?

The men and women who risk their lives for this country have the right to know that their government has their back. Currently, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Universal Auto Insurance

2009-11-14T10:56:00.004-05:00

For the umteenth time I just heard someone say, "The government makes you buy auto insurance, why not health insurance?" You would think that common sense would answer that question but apparently not. Let me give it a whirl.

First, the government does not require that every man, woman and child have car insurance. Driving is a privilege (unless you are an illegal alien in Florida and then it is a right. By the way, that was "snark") and those who wish to have the privilege of driving are required to purchase insurance to protect those other people who are exercising the privilege to drive. My great aunt never drove and she never had car insurance. No law requires that my grandchildren to have car insurance and nobody is threatening to send them to jail because they don't have it. But that is not the biggest flaw in the car insurance/health insurance false analogy.

Can you imagine what it would cost if auto insurers were forced to cover all drivers regardless of their driving records? How about if auto insurers couldn't cancel a policy for any reason? Now, before someone blasts me for "comparing" a previous diagnosis of cancer to a previous record of speeding tickets that is not my point. On the other hand, if the analogy is good for the goose it is good for the gander-deal with it. Insurance is based on risk. The higher the risk, the more difficult it is to obtain a policy and the more it costs if you do obtain a policy.

There are plenty of problems with our health care system but politicizing the system will only make those problems worse. The Dems have laid waste to their claim of the moral high ground by refusing to pass tort reform. Yeah, they're compassionate just so long as their compassion doesn't negatively impact a major contributor like, oh, I don't know, trial lawyers. And remember those "golden" employer provided insurance policies? Well, Congress is upping the level on them because otherwise the taxes would fall on, drumroll...union members. Compassion my ass.

This is a power grab that has nothing to do with compassion. If it were, they would target the reform at the problems, donors be damned. And while I am on a rant, Obama ain't going to pay for this from "his stash." The government is broke. The government doesn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. That "stash" belongs to those of us who get our happy asses out of bed everyday and go to work whether we want to or not. I am tired of people who talk about about "fairness" who don't give a rat's ass about being "fair" to the taxpayers who are going to be forced to pay for all this.

Well, I started at one place and ended up somewhere else. Not unlike ObamaCare.

Why I Hesitate To Tell People That I Am A Feminist

2009-11-14T09:40:00.003-05:00

As a woman I can vouch that there plenty of women who would sooner have their pictures taken while wearing horizontal stripes than be defined as a feminist. Stacy McCain explains why:

Every so often, some feminist writer will come out with an essay bemoaning the fact that, despite all that The Sisterhood claims to have done for womankind, most women don't identify themselves as feminists.

Why is this? I would suggest it's because any woman who has set foot on a college campus during the past 20 years automatically identifies "feminist" as a term synonymous with "maladjusted, overprivileged, angry, ugly Women's Studies major."

Stacy is being kind. I would say the term feminist is synonymous with "dour, sour, humorless, bitch." No offense.

In 1976, when I started college, we were told that we could be and do anything that we put our minds to. Nothing was "off the table", the world was our oyster. Well, that was then.

Want to get a degree AND be a wife and mother? No way, chickie. If you have those kinds of aspirations, you are taking a college slot from a woman who would take their degree and do something "meaningful" with it. Blah, blah, blah.

A narrow, small-minded cabal of women have hijacked feminism and redefined it in their anti-vibrant image. We have gone from "be all you can be" to "you can be all we tell you is acceptable." Thanks but no thanks. I'm just fine.

The Carrie Prejean Sex Tape: A Teachable Moment

2009-11-14T08:55:00.002-05:00

I have avoided the Carrie Prejean sex tape dust up for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it just makes me uncomfortable. No, not because I did something of a similar nature in my misbegotten youth. It wouldn’t have occurred to me in my teens because, well, I am old enough that being a “good girl” was still highly valued and getting a “reputation” would ruin a girl back then. Things like this creep me out because I have a young granddaughter who is being raised in a society that puts pressures on young girls that I couldn’t have even imagined growing up.

Donald Douglas asks if Carrie Prejean can still speak for Conservatives to which I would give a qualified “yes”.

According to a nationwide survey, 20 percent of teens admit to “sexting”-send nude pictures and videos of themselves via cell phone. From that, one can assume that either one out of five teens is being raised in a “bad family” or that despite their parents best efforts, one in five teens succumbed to peer pressure. I’ll go with the latter.

It wouldn’t surprise me if at least one out of five adults in my age group occasionally have an “I can’t believe I did that” moment when reflecting back on their teen years. But as society has changed (devolved?) the definition of what constitutes a youthful indiscretion has also changed and unlike “back in the day” the advent of cell phones, with their capacity for video and picture taking, now captures the indiscretion for posterity.

Back in March, Stacy McCain wrote Mamas Don’t Let Your Daughters Grow Up To Be Downloads. Well now that Carrie Prejean has become a download, who better to talk to drive home to our young people the message that “it can happen to you”? The message to young people should be, if you think it is embarrassing for your ex-boyfriend to show his friends the nude pics of you now, how embarrassing would it be if ten years from now he sends them to your boss?

Teenagers are notoriously shortsighted. Prejean is in a position to talk to youth about how one impulsive act can come back to bite you years later. Prejean can still speak for Conservatives but she should speak more honestly going forward. Good roll models aren’t people who are flawless but people who have overcome flaws and use their experience to help others avoid mistakes. Our children, and particularly our daughters, are sexualized at a very young age. Prejean can give them a point of view that they will not get from their peers.

MSNBC Pulls Out Its Silly Stick (Again)

2009-11-13T17:55:00.004-05:00

Via Memeorandum:

I say let the sniping begin but let’s face it, the sniping never stopped. Sarah Palin has started her media blitz ahead of the release of her book “Going Rouge” and the MSM is responding with its typical snark. MSBNC, drawing on the juvenile humor of David Letterman, came out with “Top 10 Reasons America is Obsessed with Sarah Palin.” Found on the list is the cutesy “She sticks to her guns.” Get it, her guns. Yes, well. Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete without mention of her family (#1) and her looks (#s 9, 5 and 4). All the usual tripe.

Personally, I say snipe away. If anyone has shown that they can handle it, it is Sarah Palin. But I can’t help noticing that most of the jabs have nothing to do with Palin’s policy positions. Liberals don’t want to talk about policy because to talk about it is to legitimize those policies. Instead, they subject Palin to silliness in order to have her policies be perceived as silly without having to deal with those policies directly. This only happens to conservatives.

So, as much as the silliness annoys me, I remind myself that the MSM is incapable of dealing with issues in a serious manner. Well, that, and in the case of MSNBC, nobody watches them anyway.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Greetings From Orlando!

2009-11-12T17:30:00.007-05:00

Well I made it! We're about thirty minutes away from the arrival of the Tea Party Express but the crowd is already fired up.

No sign of Stacy yet but in this crowd I'm not sure I'll be able to hunt him down.

The speakers have started so I'll be back later.

Here's a few pictures I've taken. More to come.

The one lone counter-protester. Too bad he didn't have any friends to bring along but I admire his determination.

Lone protester is now walking through the crowd looking for offensive posters to take pictures of.

He looks disappointed.

Looks like a wolf in a sheep's clothing.

Reminds me of a song from my mis-spent youth-"Smiling Faces".

This group of young people from The Young Conservatives of Central Florida.

It makes me happy to see young people getting involved. These are the people who will be most affected by the choices that our politicians are making.

More soon.

Yours truly with Lloyd Marcus. The crowd went absolutely nuts when he sang the Tea Party Anthem. Marcus is a great entertainer and a really nice guy.

And speaking of great guys...

I found Stacy!

Um, is it just me or do Stacy and I have UFOs flying over our heads?

That is Andrea Shea King with us. Very nice lady. Check her out at Radio Patriot.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures:

All and all it was a good day. Stacy told me that seven thousand people RSVP'd for the event and he estimated that there were over four thousand there. I am exhausted but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I will sleep well tonight knowing that there are so many people who care about what is going on in this country and are dedicated to putting us back on the right track.

The Big Day is Here!

2009-11-12T13:12:00.002-05:00

I'm getting ready to take off for Orlando to meet the Tea Party Express. Stacy McCain has rolled in to Orlando so I am hoping to get the opportunity to meet him and thank him for the advice he gave me when I was trying to get this blog going.

On the GREAT NEWS front, my blog buddy Gator Doug just became Uncle Gator! Congratulations on the GatorNiece!

Well, I've got a three hour drive ahead of me-two to drive there and an hour to get lost (I always get lost) so I'd better get in gear.

I'll post as soon as I get back.

Lefty Wit

2009-11-11T21:30:00.004-05:00

mor·al e·quiv·a·lence:

Moral equivalence is a term used in political debate, usually to criticize any denial that a moral hierarchy can be assessed of two sides in a conflict, or in the actions or tactics of two sides. It could be considered a form of the rhetorical fallacy of equivocation.

id·i·o·cy:

an offensive term meaning extreme lack of intelligence or foresight.

Digby, in a fit of idiocy, takes moral equivalence to all new heights by comparing the treatment of erectile dysfunction to abortion:

I have a moral objection to paying for any kind of erectile dysfunction medicine in the new health reform bill and I think men who want to use it should just pay for it out of pocket. After all, I won't ever need such a pill. And anyway, it's no biggie. Just because most of them can get it under their insurance today doesn't mean they shouldn't have it stripped from their coverage in the future because of my moral objections. (I don't think there's even been a Supreme Court ruling making wood a constitutional right. I might be wrong about that.)

Many of the men who are prescribed this medication are on Medicare, so I think it should be stripped out of that coverage as well. And unlike the payments for abortion, which actually lower overall medical costs (pregnancy obviously costs much, much more) banning tax dollars from covering any kind of Viagra would result in a substantial savings....

sat·ire:

use of wit to criticize behavior: the use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to criticize faults.

Digby's post is long on sarcasm and ridicule and totally lacking in wit and irony. On the other hand, if Digby's intent was to post juvenile tripe I'd say he nailed it.

Via Memeorandum

Charlie Has Way Too Much Time On His Hands

2009-11-11T20:15:00.007-05:00

The unemployment rate for Florida is currently 11.2 percent. Florida has the third highest foreclosure rate in the nation. Floridians are hurting. Under the circumstances, you'd think that Gov. Charlie Crist would have his hands full but based on a post by Pat at And so it goes in Shreveport it appears that he has way too much time on his hands:

If that weren't enough, Crist is now acting as his own press secretary:

In terms of press coverage lately, Crist has been having a bad stretch -- largely of his own doing. (The stimulus support he insists he never gave, Obama man-hug tape notwithstanding; his insistence he didn't know Obama's recent Florida itinerary; the uproar over an anti-Rubio Web site that had the participation of an RPOF paid consultant; and public floggings by former press buddies Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews, etc.)

Crist also lately has been acting as his own press secretary -- calling the Times' Adam Smith to set up an interview on Political Connections, and arranging the Times' recent interview in Gainesville with himself and first lady Carole Crist. The governor also recently instructed reporters to call his cell phone directly -- rather than using a "go-between" in the press office.(The emphasis is mine)

I freely admit that I don't know the inner working of being a governor, and maybe all governors pass out their personal cell phone numbers out to reporters, but I doubt it. Given the dire straights that this state is in, maybe Charlie should less time campaigning and more time governing.

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T18:40:00.005-05:00

How often does the average person think about their heart beating? Probably not often. Our hearts beat whether we think about it or not and typically we take for granted that it will continue to do so. For those of us in the United States, freedom isn't something we spend a lot of time thinking about it. We've always had it and we take for granted that we always will.

So, once a year we recognize our veterans and say "thank you" for our freedom. Tomorrow, the sentiment of today will be tucked away until next year. And so it goes.

Unlike so many in the world, we are blessed to be able to take our freedom for granted. We are able to go about our business unconcerned because of the men and women who serve or have served in our military and sacrifice their personal freedom every single day.

We owe it to our servicemen to do our part for freedom. Each of us has a duty to educate ourselves on the issues that threaten our way of life, to be engaged in our communities and to hold our elected representative accountable for their actions. We can honor our veterans every day by being active participants in the protection of our freedom.

Thank you to all of our troops and to their families. Happy Veterans Day.