Boker tov, Boulder!

It's 3 AM. Do you know where your President is?

Drudge: 

NKorea threatens to harm USA if attacked...

Al Qaeda says would use Pakistani nukes on USA

 

Not to worry. I just read at the White House Briefing Room blog that President Obama is a responsible father, and at his official White House bio that 

As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

 

Whewf. Somebody should tell Drudge - before he goes scaring people to death - that Obama had those weapons locked up, way back when he was a senator.

 

Leftists live by the maxim: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Esther Sarah had breakfast (or was it lunch?) with a lefty friend, and to her surprise, she found that the friend had never heard about Jeremiah Wright's newest antisemitic slur. Don't ask, don't tell.

(Shhh... here's the story in case you missed it)

Rev. Jeremiah Wright says "Jews" are keeping him from President Obama

6:19 PM EDT, June 10, 2009

HAMPTON - Same brashness. Same spontaneity. Same lightning-rod remarks.

If you were thinking the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had been tempered by a national backlash that nearly derailed Barack Obama's trip to the White House, guess again.

In an exclusive interview at the 95th annual Hampton University Ministers' Conference, Wright told the Daily Press that he has not spoken to his former church member since Obama became president, and he implied that the White House won't allow Obama to talk to him.

"Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me," Wright said. "I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office. ...

"They will not let him to talk to somebody who calls a spade what it is. ... I said from the beginning: He's a politician; I'm a pastor. He's got to do what politicians do."

Wright also said Obama should have sent a U.S. delegation to the World Conference on Racism held recently in Geneva, Switzerland, but that the president did not for fear of offending Jews and Israel. He specifically cited the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group.

"Ethnic cleansing is going on in Gaza. Ethnic cleansing (by) the Zionist is a sin and a crime against humanity, and they don't want Barack talking like that because that's anti-Israel," Wright said.

Reactions to Wright's comments regarding Jews and Israel lit up Internet message boards and political blogs around the nation on Wednesday, and sparked national TV requests for an audio recording of the interview.

In Newport News, Rabbi Scott Gurdin at Temple Sinai said Wright "is missing an opportunity to build alliances and bridges."

"I want to be cautious about what I say, because I don't want to sound like Rev. Wright," Gurdin said. "But my goodness, if a prominent Jewish person said something at a rabbinical conference that was disparaging against blacks, he (Wright) would be all over it."

 

Richard Gordon, chairman of the Community Relations Commission of the United Jewish Community Center, said: "My impression is that Barack Obama ... is doing what he thinks is in the best interest of the country, and his advisers are telling him the best way to accomplish that.

 

"It would also be my opinion that he wants to distance himself from Rev. Wright because of these spurious and ridiculous accusations that he consistently and persistently makes."

 

In the interview after a nighttime sermon Tuesday at the ministers conference, Wright offered that he has no regrets over the controversy that resulted in a severed relationship with Obama, a former member of the Chicago church of which Wright was the longtime pastor.

 

"Regret for what ... that the media went back five, seven, 10 years and spent $4,000 buying 20 years worth of sermons to hear what I've been preaching for 20 years?

 

"Regret for preaching like I've been preaching for 50 years? Absolutely none."

 

Wright said that when he went to the polls, he did not hold any grudge against Obama.

 

"Of course I voted for him — he's my son. I'm proud of him," Wright said.

 

"I've got five biological kids. They all make mistakes and bad choices. I haven't stopped loving any of them.

"He made mistakes. He made bad choices. I've got kids who listen to their friends. He listened to those around him. I did not disown him."

The son of a pastor, Wright has attended the HU ministers conference since he was a child — though he was not spotted at the conference in 2008 during the heat of the campaign debate over comments he made that many branded racially divisive.

The Rev. William Curtis, president of the ministers conference, said the Wright controversy is a "personal matter" for the Chicago pastor.

"Dr. Wright is a part of the church and he is a friend of the church and his views are personal," Curtis said. "And they don't represent the statements and views of the entire African-American pulpit.

"And whether or not he believes or perceives there were some strategies behind President Obama's campaign, we are grateful to have an African-American president."

Copyright © 2009, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

Don't ask, Don't tell.  It's the leftist maxim.  Don't ask what the bill says; don't tell what it will cost. Don't ask where the money will come from; and don't tell where all that money went. Don't ask about the czars, and don't tell that they lack oversight.  Don't ask what Cap and Trade will do to Americans already in poverty; and don't tell that it will make Al Gore even richer.  Don't ask why all AmeriCorps members are issued steel-toed boots at taxpayer expense; and don't tell how they go about "foreclosure prevention."  And for goodness sake, don't ask about Obama's birth; and don't tell how McCain was treated.*

Just believe in The Won. . .

 

*Senators Trying to Remove Doubt on McCain's Presidential ...

*McCain's Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules ...

*Bill Would Remove Doubt on Presidential Eligibility - New York Times

*Senate Deals With McCain's Citizenship - The Caucus Blog

*Senate Says McCain Is Qualified - New York Times

*McCain's eligibility is disputed by professor - The New York Times

*A Citizen, but 'Natural Born'? McCain's Eligibility to Be ...

Dad "Left Home Early"

Associated Press:

[The Won] spoke at length about how his father, Barack Obama Sr., left home early. The future president was just 2 at the time and saw his dad only once more, at age 10, a short visit that still left a lasting imprint.

"I had a heroic mom and wonderful grandparents who helped raise me and my sister, and it's because of them that I'm able to stand here today," he told a throng of youngsters and leaders of community organizations.

"But despite all their extraordinary love and attention, that doesn't mean that I didn't feel my father's absence. That's something that leaves a hole in a child's heart that a government can't fill."

 

My father "left home early" too, when I was ten. And then he "came home late," when I was seventeen. I will not bore you with the list of damages; the further away one is from leadership of the free world, the less such a list matters. But conversely, when one ascends to leader of the free world, your damages become public property.

So I'm just waiting for someone - like Sam Vaknin or Charles Krauthammer - to comment on the  black "hole" Obama admitted to having in his heart from childhood ... a hole that even Big-G Government "can't fill." 

Is that what all his government expansion is about? trying to fill a psychological emptiness, that by his own admission, "government can't fill"?  

If so, ladies and gents, we are in deep deep trouble.

 

Galaxies possibly containing black holes, which can appear bright as they suck in all nearby light. Via PBS > NOVA > Monster of the Milky Way > Catalogue of the Cosmos.

 

What If ???

 

What if

• Obama had said this in April, about the Tax Day Tea Parties across America?

"The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

... suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The [American] people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the [American] government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the [American] peoples’ belief in that truth..."

or What If

...  this had been the POLITICO report on Obama's response to the protests in Iran yesterday?

... President Barack Obama took direct aim at the ... demonstrations that have cropped up over the last [week] and took a veiled shot at [Twitter and YouTube], the network[s] closely associated with the protests.

... Obama seemed to be repressing a smile as he jabbed critics of [the Iranian mullahs] ...

"Those of you who are watching certain news channels on which I'm not very popular, and you see folks waving [signs] around," Obama said, “let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about what a "great civilization" the Islamic Republic of Iran is ... 

“But,” Obama continued, “let's not play games and pretend that the reason [for the protests] is because of the [election]."

It’s the president’s most direct response so far to the protests that flared up...

... White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters:  “I don't know if there's a specific response to protests..."

 

Now there might be some folks who want to jump on this and criticize my comparison as tasteless or unfair, given the contrasting level of risk involved, but I'm going to leave it to readers to decide whether it's really apples and oranges, or not.

Obviously, it's my opinion that Obama's approach to "universal rights" is neither honorable nor consistent, since it varies -- depending on who is assembling and what their speech is about. 

 

 

 

 

 

Shavua Tov: Starting the week with an inconsequential Whine

This may seem petty, and hardly a good way to start the new week, but while Rome - er, Tehran - burns, this president is degrading and devaluing the office of the Presidency... not to mention, making a spectacle of the the White House Lawn! 

I wonder if I will live to see our national dignity restored.

Friday, June 19th ... an event "in conjunction with fatherhood"

Also Friday, the White House Blog released the official portrait of the Obamas' dog, for crying out loud.

And then yesterday, while most of the world was glued to the twitters and YouTubes being snuck out of Iran, at a time when I would have hoped the President of the United States would be working:

President Barack Obama gets ready to take a bite of frozen custard in front of The Dairy Godmother in the Del Ray area of Alexandria, Va. Saturday, June 20, 2009.

President Obama went to suburban Washington with daughters Sasha Obama, 8, and Malia Obama, 10, to get frozen custard. (AP)

We can only wonder whether he took the motorcade to Alexandria before or after someone in the Office of the Press Secretary released this "Statement from the President on Iran."

The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said - "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.

"Bearing witness" is New Age gibberish for voting 'present.'  And even if it actually meant something, he wasn't bearing witness, he was taking the girls out for ice cream.

((( They don't have ice cream in the White House? )))

Granted, there are bigger things in the world to worry about, but I find all this so damaging to the country's morale.  Who wants to see a First Lady picking corn on the White House lawn?  Or a President flipping burgers? Okay, steaks... whatever. 

Like the man said, "the world is watching."

Besides, who runs for president if they and their family just want to live like a "normal American family"?  The Obamas could have done all this in their backyard in Chicago, where it wouldn't have tortured me so.

Waaahh.  I just hate it. 

Why would anybody have wanted a community organizer in the White House, when we could have had a hero?  I don't get it.  Never have, never will.

"When he was a candidate for president, Barack Obama struggled to connect with Appalachian voters, and West Virginians in particular."

June 21, 2009: Happy Crossover Day!

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 32% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President [while] Thirty-four percent (34%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2.

That’s the President’s lowest rating to date and the first time the Presidential Approval Index has fallen below zero for Obama.

 

 

 

I would say, "As West Virginia goes, so goes the Nation," but I think that might be pushing it.

What KIND of state?

My friend Elan came up with the brilliant insight that Netanyahu's speech changed the conflict from one of state vs. no state to what kind of state?

 

 

Remember Life Magazine? This was 1970.

Not much has changed in the nearly forty years since then. The new "Palestinian Arabs" are just like the old "Palestinian Arabs," still trying to kill Jews in between donor conferences and civil wars. Their "pride and unity" may wax and wane over time, but at least now their children have matching uniforms and more guns 'n stuff.

'Natural Growth' Quote of the Day

 

Rick Richman at contentions:

It is ludicrous for the U.S. to be negotiating with Israel on the number of births that can be permitted in areas already effectively promised to Israel as part of the borders necessary to defend itself — unless the Obama administration plans to break that promise as well.

 

Liberal Advice: Don't call it CAP & TRADE - call it instead "Clean Energy Incentives"

As they scramble to sell us their National Energy Tax, the Dims seem to think that we mere-citizens are so blind and irresponsible as to not see beyond their subtle advertising campaign: 

 

 

 Nice and Clean ... and Green!

  

 

 

~ VS ~

 

 

    ew!dirty         

 Icky, old and dirty coal-mining produces energy, generates electricity, provides jobs and creates national wealth. Could anything be worse?  

 

A prominent Democratic pollster has given Democrats the answer to winning the ongoing energy debate in Washington: use the language of Republicans’ “all of the above” strategy to sell their national energy tax scheme.

Today’s Greenwire has the details:

“Democratic efforts to sell their agenda on energy and climate change aren’t reaching voters, a prominent Democratic Party polling firm is warning.”

“The strategy memo from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and the think tank Third Way also warns that while few voters expect a national energy overhaul to be inexpensive, Democrats are susceptible to Republican arguments that energy proposals will be overly burdensome.”

 

“The 12-page memo was based on a dozen focus groups conducted with swing voters in six states.  Based on those sessions, the memo says clean-energy advocates face ‘significant’ challenges in selling their agenda.”

 

In the memo, the Democratic pollster makes some specific recommendations for lawmakers attempting to sell Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax to a highly skeptical American public.  Among the suggestions:

 

• “Own and define ‘all of the above.’” 
• “Drop ‘cap and trade’; replace it with ‘clean energy incentives.’” 

The recommendation to “own and define ‘all of the above,’” is quite ironic, since Republicans have been supporting an “all of the above” energy plan for years.  In fact, the House GOP has introduced the American Energy Act to increase environmentally-safe energy production to reduce prices and create jobs, promote the use of alternative fuels that will reduce carbon emissions, and encourage increased efficiencies and cutting edge technologies to maximize America’s energy potential. 

 

And as far as “dropping ‘cap and trade,’” less than two months ago, the New York Times reported on an environmental outfit dubbed “ecoAmerica” recommending that Democrats drop the language and replace it with “cap and cash back” or “pollution reduction refund.”

 

Here’s the point that Democrats and their special-interest allies are missing:

 

No matter what words they use, they cannot escape the fact that their plans amount to nothing less than a national energy tax to be paid by anyone who drives a car, buys an American-made product, or flips on a light switch.  That tax will drive up energy costs by up to $3,100 per family each year and drive millions of American jobs overseas to China and India....

 

 

G-d gave burdens, also shoulders.

My friend the Old Scouter has written a letter to his grandson, so full of love that it will make you cry. This love is not the stuff of valentines, though, not a fleeting feeling that is experienced and then lost with the next wave of emotion.  This is a deep, deep love, recognized and lived as a responsibility to be met.  To me, it represents the very best of masculinity.  We should celebrate this kind of love -especially with Fathers' Day coming up- by emulating it to the best of our ability.

Take a lesson from an Old Scouter who has his share of burdens. Also very broad shoulders.

TO MY GRANDSON

 

Dear Keirick;

Your eighth birthday is fast approaching, and I wanted to put down some thoughts as you finish up Second Grade, and prepare for next year.

I was very proud on your first day of school, when you were the only one in your class of five and six year olds who knew the pledge of allegiance.  When your teacher asked you to lead the class in the pledge, my heart swelled.

You surprised me when you asked Grandma to get you a policeman costume for Halloween.  I had not appreciated how much you admired your uncle and two cousins who are police officers.  Your comments about police protecting and helping people were wise beyond your years.

I put copies of the pictures you and I took at the Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge on your Mom's computer.  That way, you can look at them any time you want.  I know from the questions you ask, that you worry about your Uncle Patrick and Cousins Keith and JoAnn while they take on their very important jobs.  I hope you understand my answers, and know why they can’t always be with us when we want.  I worry about them too, but we both know they are very smart, and they know what they are doing and how to take care of themselves and their friends. Like all of our family, they want to protect you, but sometimes must be away while they do that.  Just remember to include them when you say your bedtime prayers, and all of the men and women in the military.

You won’t understand this part for awhile, but you were a very big help to your Mom when she was sick from the cancer medicine.  She tells me that you have even made dinner for both of you when she was too tired from her college classes and medicine to cook.  I don’t know how or when you learned to do some of the things you help your Mom with, but I do know that every time you help it is just like saying “I love you” to your Mom.

When you started first grade, you were able to officially join the Cub Scouts.  You have already been to Scout Camp many times, helping your Mom and me with different Scout activities.  That means you know some things the other Cubs won’t know yet, and will be able to do some things they haven't learned.  Don’t be a show off about the things you know, but help your fellow Cubs learn how to do those things themselves.

Like all parents and grandparents, I wanted my children and grandchildren to be smarter, healthier, happier, freer and more prosperous than my generation.  Your test scores have already shown that you are much smarter than I was, and your level of activity is an indication of your health.  What worries me now is the prospect that you may not have the same freedoms and opportunities that I had.  And for that, I take responsibility.

I had the duty to future generations to insure that the principles upon which our Nation was founded were protected, nurtured and grown.  And in this regard, I have not kept that duty well.  While so many adults are worried about the economy, jobs and finances, we have looked in the wrong places for the answers to our questions.  We are relying on others to fix things, instead of fixing things ourselves.  And the ones who we look to for help are often the same folks who caused our problems.

As a Scout Leader, I have tried my best to be true to the twelve points of the Scout Law.  To me, the most important is to be Trustworthy.  But I have broken that law, by allowing people who are not trustworthy to become the leaders of our country.  Many of our elected officials have lied, cheated and even stolen from others.  Yet I, and others like me, have not cared enough for your future to demand better behavior from those who have authority and power.  And now, they are taking away the freedoms I had all of my life.  By the time you reach adulthood, I fear you will have been given a country very different from the one I found as a young man.

I want to make a promise to you, and I know that you trust me to keep my promises.  I will do whatever I can to help bring our country back to our values and character.  I will not just let things happen, but will take a more active role in becoming a true citizen, trusting in our founding principles to give you a country and a future that cherishes our freedoms and opportunities.  I cannot guess how things will be as you grow up, but I will do my best to give you a country where you can make your dreams come true; and that will make my dreams come true.

With Love

Grandpa

 

Victor Davis Hanson's Guide to Understanding Age of Obama

When a crazed lone gunman murders someone outside the Holocaust Museum or shoots an abortion doctor, we should worry about growing right-wing and Christian extremism. But when an African-American Muslim convert brags about his murder of a military recruitment officer or an Islamic group plots to kill Jews and blow up a military jet, these are largely isolated incidents without larger relevance.

The Great VDH explains     as it pertains to The Budget, Unemployment, The Private Sector, Race and Gender, Random violence (as above), Terrorism, Iraq, The West, The Media, and George W. Bush.  Read it all.