The Samaritan Report

When Sheer Obviousness Kicks In

2008-04-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've had conversations with fellow students who try to justify any and all actions undertaken by FARC, presumably because they've been taught by the ministries of truth that FARC ain't no terrorist organization. Wrong. This terrorist group attempted as recently as six years ago to assassinate Uribe.

Even while Muslim leaders in Britain literally call for "jihad" to transform the nation into a Sharia state, our Defense Department is explicitly forbidden from recognizing this explicitly communicated goal. Perhaps they should listen to guys who understand the complexities of 21st-century counter terrorism, as opposed to those clueless Europeans.

Victor Comras lays the blame for high oil prices at the feet of speculators, and Bill West foresees a conflict in the near future between gov't and the airline industry.

Why is justice in such short supply these days? Ray Dirks got his just in time, Paul Wolfowitz' came only after his resignation, and prosecutorial abuse in the Enron case is only now coming to light.

Retired Idaho state senator Larrey Anderson calls out Anthropogenic Climate Change for what is really is - "redefining Western economics and culture." He's not wrong - Earth Day is all about destroying capitalism - even Al Qaeda is joining the party!

And Miss Malkin brings news: we're winning, they're losing.

Some Post-Penn Postulating

2008-04-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. Just when one mighta been thinking Pelosi's said and done it all, out she comes with something else! This has made enough rounds that even Rush decries the Ministries of Truths' "misquote" excuse, saying quite plainly that barring the fact she made it up, "she's got a new religion that she hasn't told us about and she's just calling it Christianity." Indeed. Jim Hoft notes this is the eighth time she's used that made-up Biblical verse in the past four years. Unless she'd been a scribe at some point in her life, what's up with this?:

"To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us"?

Paul Mirengoff takes down a WaPo hit piece on McCain's tax rate cut stances, arguing that:

John McCain may not be a whiz on economics (neither is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton) but he's intelligent enough to understand that the following two decisions -- (1) whether to support legislation that will lower tax rates in 2001 and (2) whether to support legislation that will raise tax rates in 2008 -- are independent ones. In other words, raising tax rates is not the same thing as lowering them, and the economic environment in 2008 is not the same as the economic environment in 2001.
Some politicians favor virtually every tax cut; others always oppose cuts, at least for people who are economically well off. McCain, as is typical, falls in neither camp. Throughout his time in public life, he has supported some tax cuts and opposed others. Even Weisman acknowledges as much, though you need to read a long way to see it. And the minute one recognizes these simple matters of fact, logic, and economics, the Post's claim that "McCain offers tax policies he once opposed" becomes vacuous, and Weisman's anti-McCain hit piece loses its force.

An Obama campaign slogan was "Judgment to Lead." But don't question his judgment! That's just a "distraction." Right. Because bad judgments are distractions from good judgments. And when the bad outweighs the good, count on a good four years of a distracted President. On that note here's a nice article from Human Events featuring all of Obama's socialist supporters.

Miss Malkin's got commentary on the latest outrageous enviro-nitwitism.

Ace has an interesting reaction to the concept of Vulgar Marxism. But I think he underestimates Obama, and the Christian community should be wary of the Dem party trying to latch on to its vote, much as it has done in the past with the blacks, white-collars and anti-semites (note to DNC: ain't gonna happen this time around!).

Newt's Newest Tune a Noggin-Scratcher

2008-04-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Some of y'all might have seen this:
Michelle's reaction:

I thought the Robertson/Sharpton pairing was going to be bad, but it’s nothing compared to these two stiffs on a couch peddling eco-alarmism. There was a time when Newt Gingrich and the Beltway GOP establishment could be counted on to defend free market environmentalism, property rights, and rational cost-benefit analyses. No more.

Allapundit differs:

He’s been all for market solutions in his most high-profile statements on this subject in the past and, judging from his website
, still is. Watch this snippet from his debate with Kerry last year to see what he prescribes for inducing developing nations towards conservation. Al Gore clutching Hu Jintao’s sleeve and whimpering “please?” with tears in his eyes doesn’t factor in.

Gingrinch responds to the many complaints in "Why I Took Part":

Many of you have written to me to ask why I recently taped an advertisement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for The Alliance for Climate Protection, a group founded by former Vice President Al Gore.
I completely understand why many of you would have questions about this, so I want to take this opportunity to explain my reasons. First of all, I want to be clear: I don't think that we have conclusive proof of global warming. And I don't think we have conclusive proof that humans are at the center of it.
But here's what we do know. There is an important debate going on right now over the right energy policy, the right environmental policy, and making sure we do the right things for our future and the future of our children and grandchildren. Conservatives are missing from this debate, and I think that's a mistake. When it comes to preserving our environment for future generations, we can't have a slogan of "Just yell no!"
I have a different view. I think it's important to be on the stage, to engage in the debate, and to communicate our position clearly. There is a big difference between left-wing environmentalism that wants higher taxes, bigger government, more bureaucracy, more regulation, more red tape, and more litigation and a Green Conservatism that wants to use science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurs, and prizes to find a way to creatively invent the kind of environmental future we all want to live in. Unless we start making the case for the latter, we're going to get the former. That's why I took part in the ad.

Okay, so do I have a beef? It sounds like Gingrich is trying to pass off his ad as "good intentions." I'm not sure how Limbaugh would respond to that (I guess we'll find out soon), but that just might not cut it with the rest of us conservatives. In the ad he explicitly asks us to "demand action from our leaders." I believe it was Ronald Reagan who said (in his first inaugural address) who asked us to not look to our government for all the solutions. It is in this that I think Newt gravely erred in this ad since his actual intentions as he claims them to be are not presented sufficiently.

I believe Mr. Gingrich is making one other mistake as well. He is of the mind that rejecting the Anthropogenic Climate Change movement is akin to Barry voting "no" on Civil Rights, arguably causing conservatism to miss that bandwagon for at least a decade, if not ever since. However, ACG may be a mere fad. If Newt really believes there is a powerful "conservative" way to address catastrophic human-induced climate change, there are better ways of communicating that perspective than through this ad.

And finally, the number one reason not to do the climate change cult...AQ is a dues-paying member.

Throwing Caution to the Winds of Time and Change

2008-04-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

From Cathy Glick's "Fear of Democracy" we should gather that hate speech is still free speech. Incitement is entirely another thing altogether, and the worrisome part here are the UN-HRC members who get to decide it. The UN worked well in the Cold War era, but it has long overstayed its welcome.

Great - the Barbary wars are back!

You stay classy, Bill Cope!

D'you know what? I've decided John Yoo's one of my heroes.

Military Affairs Associate Director Sean Osborne of the Northeast Intelligence Network explains the crux of the Long War on Terror.

My dear, good friend Yoni, you were a good roommate and a good man, but on a crucial issue you are so, so very wrong:

"I expect the Jihadi influence to spread after the Americans’ exit from Iraq, and to move towards Jerusalem." - Zawahiri

I'm pretty sure this is just ho-hum to the high-mighty UN-HRC.

In light of the FISA fiasco, this is a pleasure to read:

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee head Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., charged that "the Bush Administration is violating the law" because the Interior Department missed a deadline on whether to add polar bears to the endangered species list.

One of Charles Johnson's lizards notes an sfgate article in which the "AP tries desperately to stir up some kind of scandal about McCain's wife's finances, but flops spectacularly":

AP really scrapes the bottom of the barrel in trying to come up with something scandalous involving McCain and his wife Cindy; but, sadly for AP, there's nothing really there worth getting worked up about. The best they can do is dredge up a 1982 investigation (when he first started politics) in which he was exonerated of any conflict-of-interest.

I can almost feel the frustration on the part of these moonbat journalists. They so want McCain to have skeletons in his closet, but they can't seem to find a single one. So -- McCain's wife is rich. Is that news? Most Senators in the US (including most Democrats) are fabulously wealthy. And because of a pre-nuptial agreement, McCain himself has no connection to or ownership of any of his wife's finances. On his own, not counting her assets, he's actually one of the poorest Senators.

Sorry, AP, you're biting on granite here.

Introducing Howard Zinn, all-American arsehole.

A cell phone projector? Okay, I'll admit, I'm impressed!

Does Islam give the ok to adultery? Haji Murad says yes.

Walid Shoebat recounts the indoctrination in his youth.

Rezko's lawyer attempts to help him by exposing more corruption in Chicago. But I don't get how a corrupt witness testifying against a corrupt defendant is supposed to help the latter. Seriously, is anyone surprised that Chicago brims with financial cock-ups? Not so much a city of Robin Hoods as Robbing 'Hoods.

Vestiges of a decomposing Cold War from a Canadian perspective.

Another "work accident" in the territories. Exit question: "mysterious" or "ambiguous?"

Well, I think Osborne (mentioned above) would have a field day with this election report from France.

See, I told you so: Kevin Rudd puts earwax in mouth, gets elected. Same Rudd playfully salutes the POTUS, gets bad press. The "I told you so" part involves the fact that Rudd like his predecessor, is still unabashedly pro-American, and in all likelihood'll be a real pal of the next POTUS, John McCain.

Today, Hamas attempted (and failed) to assassinate a Israeli state official
. In the meantime, Hiz B'Allah is making air traffic nervous. And given recent events, Israel has begun to install automated machine guns along the Gaza border. This opens up a whole new dimension to the dilemma. In the meantime, elite unit 669 gets its first Arab female recruit.

The Washington Post has chosen to embed with the enemy. Never before in history has our media presented a bigger threat to our national security. Is it just me or is journalistic negligence utterly rampant?

Quote of the Day: "Let's be friends, guys>" - Vladimir Putin.

In the hypocrisy of the day, the U.S. is sending aid to Egypt to monitor the Gaza border.

Historically, the FRB has thrown itself behind Democrat candidates. This year will be no different.

Gee, I guess the first amendment doesn't apply to states.

Y'know, I'm not a greenie, but I appreciate a good thing when I see it. ;-)

In related hypocrisy, Zawahiri opines that civilian massacres and collateral are okay when AQ does it - but not Hamas!

Looks like Israel's starting to know what it's like when the fourth estate becomes the fifth column.

Hillary pulls a Goolsbee with Columbia. Neither Democrat candidate, it is apparent, can be trusted with economic trade. They tell constituents they're anti-free trade, and go around secretly doing the opposite. That's just wrong.

Here's a hoodie that Obama certainly will never wear.

Here's the latest NIE that'll not be in the NYT tomorrow!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember the last time an American was jailed for flag-waving.

Probably the best measure of how Palis and Israelis treat each other can be discerned from their respective treatment of sea turtles.

Violence occurs at the much-publicized anti-violence student rally in Chicago.

"Zero-Tolerance" is a disastrous policy.

NoKo, all ready suffering from a meth problem and a food shortage, faced a women's right rally. Speaking of which, the artificial ethanol craze is hurting the commodities market, which, given the U.S.'s strong share of agribusiness, could spill over into a global dilemma.

Trinity of the Righteous Times

2008-04-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

I hope my previous post was a good summation to keep y'all in the know concerning the plight of territory-based Palestinians. But I've decided I'm all but about ready to give up on eliminating antisemitism from the elite college campus. You heard me right - and if Buckley can knock anti-Semites out of the Republican party through a magazine, why can't the left half of the political spectrum shove Jew-hatred out of Case Western and Harvard?

Chertoff is suddenly tough on border enforcement.

Dr. Farish A. Noor writes of growing dissatisfaction of sharia in Malaysia.

Debbie Schlussel uncovers something that should worry everyone.

Deroy Murdock makes the case against Sharia-Compliant Financing.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has its latest press release on the building of Fallujah’s first central sewage treatment facility. You see, people who put down their morning papers are far more attuned to the realities in Iraq than are those who stick their noses in the daily Pinch garbage dispenser.

Here's a retch-worthy CNN puff-piece.

How's this for a humor filler: Obama buys more votes.

This just in: terror blast at bus station in Nepal for election run-up. Something we just don't get here.

Dinesh D'souza continues to impress.

Obama just said he's not in favor of concealed weapons. Okay - so I guess security detail for our next President is out the window. Won't do much good when a radical assassinates the apostate after Friday services.

Next: NASA astronauts to start using zero-gravity pencils!

Amir Peretz should have learned that from the moment his binocular lenses were covered, so should too his mouth.

As of this point, Democrat really have to stop whining about GOP 527s.

Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey needs to be reviewed to be believed.

In all our zeal over Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, let us not forget the battle against political Islamist forces being waged in India and central Asia.

Though I'm not all gung-ho for alternative fuels, I do take pride when Boeing flies a hydrogen-powered plane, and when efficiently practical methods devised to power hydrogen cars are explored But I digress on the issue of true nutballs.

I linked to Qadaffi's schpiel in my previous post, and now I present rebuttal from Khudayr Taher.

For those strongly against revisionism, here's the low-down on 1850s Jerusalem Jewry.

Also in my previous post, I referenced the anti-Christianity prevalent in Sudan and the Palestinian territories. Now I bring forth Pakistan and, wouldya believe it, our own US of A.

Eh...not a sure-fire way to attract a large atheist population, but Obama and Gore minions might find comfort in Austria.

Some words from a writer in Iran on the Mullah's two faves: Carter and Obama.

The one city more corrupt that Chicago is finally exposed.

Oh, I'm sorry, did you want an illegal wiretap scandal. Okay then - I'll give you one.

Howard Veit explains why the mainstream press is losing ad revenue and why Europe is getting its balls back.

And here's Howard on "market reform":

The Democrats will kill the new Treasury Proposals and an ignorant public and a media that hates Republicans will support them. The Democrats are literally in the pocket with CFTC regulated markets (commodities) and will tolerate nothing that might stop their gravy train, meaning the farm states continue to be the recipients of the biggest welfare handouts on the books (Iowa is virtually a client state). The Democrats are also for more regulation, meaning the government will oversee markets so much that we are liable to lose our place as the financial capital of the world. This is an election year and look for the biggest two bums in the Democratic Party: Charles Schumer (NY) and John Dingell (IL) to be spouting off on TV this AM. Dingell in particular is a pretentious menace. He is either stupid (very unlikely) or just one more bribe taking politician. This will be all about turf and corporate (agribusiness manufacturing, etc.) interests getting more and more government "help." This along with almost forcing companies to accept unionization, compulsory dues to unions, and new taxes.

BTW: the BS regarding capital gains is just that: BS. The truth is that the imposition of the Alternate Minimum Tax (ATM) rules on cap gains mean that most taxes on capital gains hover around 23%. The Republicans sat on their asses in Congress and did nothing (what?) for eight years and cap gains inertia and failure to reform the odious ATM are simply another couple of reasons that they are being thrown out on their asses. When history is writ you will find that Republicans killed capitalism. They are just plain bums.

More on the Democrat love affair with commodities, and Dr. Sanity throws the media into the mix with its "economic hallucinosis."

Burning midnight oil in NY: Once again, the state legislature is going to be passing budget bills in the middle of the night, and taxpayers will feel the burn once the new taxes and fees hit home.

Indeed - compare, for example Los Angeles and Japan. I recommend readers read Geoff Colvin's take on taxes. And Mike Volpe schools Barney Frank and the Dem POTUS candidates.

Coulter arguably flattens the Obama candidancy with this book review, while Nina May smacks down his Philly speech. And slowly, but surely, the Rezko trial is slowly creeping ever closer to Obama.

Today's slowly evolving revolt against Blagojevich is highly amusing. Cellini and Peters and Levine slowly cave while the Rezko connection magnifies. Blagojevich is facing a downfall. This whole thing is bigger than most realize. This extends to voter fraud in MO and the NYC Council Speaker.

Rush asks listeners to focus on liberal ignorance of historical American economic liberties.

Julian Krasta talks foreign policy, Tom Blumer delivers a blow to social security, and Newt Gingrich displays traditional conservatism.

Gore's antidepressant is expiring.

Did you hear that? Taxation doesn't lead to Kyoto. But even with the discovery of Bakken (#4), and the Wyoming governor is endorsing Obama (#6) because neither wants to drill for the portion of the formation in that state.

Moreover, Rush deciphers the reality of Obama, as does Rove:

Have you gotten to know Hillary or Barack to any degree?
Yes, I have.

What have been your dealings with them?
Well, you know, I used to have her office at the White House. And I got to know [Obama] because we have a mutual friend, Ken Mehlman, who was his law-school classmate at Harvard. And so as a result, whenever in the last three years he's been around at the White House, I've gotten to see him, and we sort of would hang around and chitchat about things. I'm actually in his book. He wrote that "people like Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, Ralph Reed, and Karl Rove say we are a Christian nation." And I did not say that. I confronted him about it. At the White House.

And what did he say?
Well, first he denied that I was in the book! And then he denied that it said that I said that it was a Christian nation. And then when I pulled out the thing [he had a copy of the offensive page with him] and showed it to him, he sort of blah-blah-blah-blah-blah- blah-blah. And I thought, That's who he is. I mean, look, he may claim that he's for a different kind of politics, but that was a cheap shot. And I'm not certain if any of the four said it either. But it was like, you know, Let's just strap it in there and see if it goes someplace. Another example: Him saying, "We honor John McCain for his fifty years of service" was a cheap shot. He was going out of his way to say John McCain's old.

Certain Reservations, Bar None

2008-04-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Planned Parenthood has accepted money to abort Black babies. Don't read too much into this. It's exactly as it sounds, euthanasia with a smiley face and a side dose of racism. And a terror gang plotted to blow up transatlantic airlines with liquid bombs, as heard in court. No, this is not gov't making up a case to crack down on our individual liberties. This is terrorism that would have rivaled previous acts if successful. Qaddhafi’s version of the origin of America, NATO, Iran and the Ummah. They say a fool is a man who cannot shet his trap. He's a smug fit for that description. The plight of terrorized Sudan Christians is ignored. Two million Sudanese Christians died as a result of the 05 war. Yes – that’s two with six zeros. Meanwhile, a Christian cemetery in Shechem (Hebron) was desecrated. Well, lives in Sudan, property in territories – par for the course.

Muslims are converting from Islam in droves, and
the decline in Palestinian Arab fertility should matter, particularly as Jewish refugees’ assets are double their counterparts’ and Arab nations are being stingy with their pledges to PA.

In true Pallywood style, a German news agency pays Arabs to riot. After Condi forced the IDF to loosen some checkpoint security, the latter encountered and eliminated six armed militants. Hamas is hiding weapons under UNRWA schools, and its new Iranian mortars are more deadly than the Qassams.

In the meantime, Czechs support Israel joining NATO, and Australia to Continue to Support Israel at UN.

The Midnight Train

2008-04-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Democrat voters must be very happy. The guy who's currently winning the popular vote (largely due to Cook County and the absence of Florida and Michigan) also might get more superdelegates. The catch that goes with "change we can believe in": Because he can dish out more money.

Looks like the Supreme Court doesn't want to get involved in the Legislative-Executive tug of war, even when doing so endangers foul play. Here's a memo to the Supremes: a lower court decided it could have a say in federal affairs by striking down an even lower court's decision to limit corruption. You guys can do the right thing. Meantime, you just sent Legislators a message that they can get away with shit without much apprehension. Great job.

A lot of people are starting to notice the Arrogance of Obama. He'd previously described Wright as "mentor," "spiritual adviser," "moral compass" and "sounding board." But on The View:

"I feel badly that he has been characterized in just this one way. But he was my pastor. I think people overstate this idea of mentor or spiritual adviser. He was my pastor."

An AT contributor writes:

The real question is, why do major NATO powers such as Germany oppose NATO expansion into Tbilisi and Kyiv? The answer is simple and extremely short sighted. Several West European powers have sold their souls to Russia to make sure that they can get a steady supply of oil.

While Russia may have a different mindset from European democracies, and the Russian people whom I have met overseas do not really want a Western style democracy, the fact of the matter is that Russia should not be allowed to interfere in NATO decisions. And Gazprom, the Russian State oil company, has proven itself to be an unreliable trading partner. Gazprom has threatened to shut off supplies to not only The Ukraine and West Europe, but has also threatened the same with its own allies like Belarus. With friends like Putin and Gazprom, who needs enemies?

As many of you know, a storm of controversy has been ignited by Obama calling unplanned teen pregnancies "punishments." Even the Washington Post has dug through Obama's past. Of course, at issue on this is the next couple of Supreme Court Justices, and the fact that every child born after the mid-70s can look their parent in the eye and know that they could have been that constitutionally aborted fetus, which might explain the possible upsurge in pro-lifers.

We can still take advantage of Germany acting the hypocrite.

Not Saying That I Agree With This, But...

2008-03-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

Aprils Fools STILL Just Around The Corner...

2008-03-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

In something far to neat-o to be ignored-o, Snarky Bastard "Tom" has hit his head on a rock and incurred a revelation: Obama is the Dem's Kwisatz Haderach.

"He's the token black. He mouths gauzy inspirational platitudes. He can electrify an audience. He's...Black Vulcan!":

Democrat-leaning voters might want to reconsider the claim that their party is the party of the "little guy."

An excellent post over at American Thinker ought to dispell incorrent notions of America an an intentionally vile imperialist machine.

INCREDIBLE: just as Wolfowitz was vindicated, so too might appear to be the case with the Enron "scandal."

Oh, some things in life just don't stop getting better. Not only does Obama have the support of stark-raving-mad anti-Semites, he's got the French socialist vote as well!

The Start of More to Come

2008-03-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is great: a liberal Chicago black liberation lawyer talks about a Clinton “character gap.” Yeah. That’ll work.

The juiciest number of the day: U.S. contributions to UNRWA for '08 is nearly $150 million, just six million short of last year's total. A hell of a lot of good that's doing!

Michael J. Totten has a good piece in which he relates Kosovo's status as "Israel of the Balkans."

The Integrity Cage Match

2008-03-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

In order that the Holocaust is not repeated, its survivors need to tell their stories - and they need the full resources at their disposal in order to do so. Any less is a perversion of, or at worst a will to repeat, history.

Europe is at last full of an unseemly mix of internationalists and political Islam apologists - and they may find they're not good bedfellows.

At the very least, even though it's taking a different method to confront terrorists (namely, diplomatic capitulation to tribal leaders, which changes much of the dynamic along the Pakistan-Afghanistan war), the Pakistani government is making some headway.

And hey, here's a few people's parting shots at Eliot Spitzer.

This story of the Hamas manifesto published by Obama's Trinity Church has been getting plenty of traction these days, as it particularly should for the Jewish community. New details on this emerge every day.

The MSM never ceases to amaze me. Power Line's Scott Johnson absolutely rips into the BBC, and Charles Johnson catches the BBC once again in the act of performing its usual Ministry of Truth tactics. Rosslyn Smith dissects how the media will be expected to treat McCain into the general season. Patterico also takes on the latest LATimes hit job on the Maverick.

Easter-Time Hoedown!

2008-03-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

The Marijuana issue might come to a head before long, at least once the basic arguments are fleshed out. Of course, the complexities of the issue are probably what make Obama so nervous about taking a firm stance on the issue. New Politics. Heh. Some still wonder if Obama has got this Wright thing under control. In fact, it sees that the Dem party's gotten worse and worse at nominating men of convictions. Rand Simberg, for one, has finally had it with John Kerry.

Oh, and take note: if our government were only a little bigger, and Wright only a little more of a fanatic, we'd have this.

And the Spitzer thing ain't over. Charles Johnson caught the AFP labeling the governor, now that he's a known wrongdoer (or so I'm imagining is their excuse), a Republican. The AFP, whether it was purposeful or just a reflex, immediately corrected itself. Charles also noted the excquisite timing of Spitzer's bad-assery. He's getting curiouser and curiouser or more and more obvious. That said, the transition isn't going smooth, either.

And this week has seen a lot of weird weather in the U.S. Hail in Los Angeles. A tornado in the ATL. And now, floods right down the middle.

Now that McCain's the obvious Republican choice while the Dems will battle it out until the convention, Paul Mirengoff suggests the Maverick kick an economic advisory into high gear asap.

More evidence that a bastion of crapola can be found within the UC system.

For those fellow Jews who are not yet convinced that McCain is a better preference than is Obama on our one common issue, well...just click on those hyperlinks.

Former candidate Sharpton's trying to do a favor for the childlike Obama by not endorsing him even when explicitly asked for one by pulling a leaf out of Limbaugh's book of presidential election campaigning.

Yeah, um... Anti-semitic. Blood libel. In Russia.

Here's what happens in the sharia-laden Saudi kingdom.

84% of Palestinians supported the slaughter at the Yeshiva. And Dick Cheney just now had the gall to say: "“Terror and violence do not merely kill innocent civilians, they also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people." Charles Johnson appropriately notes that

“Terror and violence” are “the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people.”

If someone wants to contest this notion, then I'd like to see the evidence.

In a vote that caused global sighs of relief, Taiwan chose not to piss of China any more than it all ready is, what with the Olympic boycotts and Tibet stuff and all.

And finally, here's a reality check on nation of dwindling hopes: NoKo.

The Soft Approach

2008-03-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

Oh, I just love the '08 Democrat primaries! What could be better than the Clinton campaign calling Richardson Judas over Easter! Hah!

The Obama has a strange attraction to anti-Semitism. And no, I cannot explain it, I'll need a volunteer (Yoni, you there?). 'Twas Powers, then Wright, now McPeak. Speak up, Obama, or stay the hell away from the White House!

Another crop of military-hating hippies crops up again in the usual places.

When the passport story came out, the Obama campaign thought it nabbed a bombshell. Well, not so much.

And in addition, I haven't ever seen a film treated with as much opprobium.

Spelling Out the Cost of Selling Out

2008-03-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

First, here's info on black liberation theology's negative reception.

Now, as we're all aware Obama gave a big speech a few nights ago. That most obvious lie encountered amidst the platitudes aside, Ed Morrissey notes the narrowness of Barack's intended audience and Allahpundit offers his own original viewpoint, upon which Ace comments while gathering other opinions. Paul Mirengoff presents the central dilemma of the liberal mentality:

By peddling a mind-set of victimization and by failing to support meaningful education reform out of deference to teachers’ unions, the Obamas, like nearly all modern-day liberals, represent the problem, not the solution.

Paul additionally notes it's up to voters whether they can stomach the Obama-Wright package, and asserts this association is problematic for Obama.

Jim Hoft has, meanwhile, approached a number of angles. He takes down the apologists, notes Obama's shameful grasp of history and later shock at the reaction and his ever-changing opinions of Wright, and finally learns the media on fair coverage.

Of course, there's so much criticism to offer here, so I'll do my best. Jim Geraghty wonders why Obama knew of Wright's rhetoric and still brought his daughters. Charles Krauthammer calls the speech fraudulent. Shelby Steele calls the speech another part of the "Obama Bargain" and Limbaugh claims it was a Rorschach test designed to intimidated the media. To IBD, Obama used the speech to change the subject, while to Scott Ott Obama was calling for racial unity to overcome capitalism. What confuses some is Obama's cluelessness concerning Rezko simultaneous with his willingness to embrace Wright. Some say we should be suspicious of Obama's mentality, others say of his past, and still others of his authenticity. The latter is truly a sticking point for some.

Still others were unhappy about Obama's comments and later follow-up regarding his grandmother.

And yet, quite unfortunately, commentary wasn't devoid of raves.

Wright Before That Speech

2008-03-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Whew! So, we've a lot on which to catch up. Let us examine some reactions to Wrightgate from before Obama's speech.

We will start with some commentary from Paul Mirengoff:

Wright has been Obama's pastor for 20 years. He married Obama and his wife Michelle, baptized their two daughters and is credited by Obama for the title of his book, The Audacity of Hope. Obama says he was not at the church on the day Wright blamed America for 9/11. "It sounds like he was trying to be provocative," is the best Obama can offer on this one.
[snip]
Wright isn't just someone with whom Obama is friendly. To criticize Obama for having friends with controversial, or even abhorrent, views would constitute guilt by association. But Wright is Obama's spiritual leader. To be sure, no thinking person always agrees with his minister, priest, or rabbi on political and social issues. But it's unusual for a thinking person to retain an affiliation with a church whose leader attacks his country unless, at a minimum, that person considers those attacks not "particularly controversial."
Obama should explain why he retained his apparently close affiliation with Wright and his church in more persuasive terms than he has to date. Otherwise, I think it's reasonable to draw adverse inferences based on that affiliation, including the inference that Obama doesn't quite measure up as a "post-racial" figure.

After reacting to Obama's lame defense of the pastor, Paul goes on to conclude that:

In sum, Barack Obama's close and longstanding affiliation with Wright and his church probably does tell us something important about the man. It doesn't tell us that he agrees with Wright's most extreme ravings, but it suggests that Obama is enough of a leftist to be attracted to, and comfortable at, a place where Wright's most extreme views, though controversial and provocative, are not outrageous.

And perhaps readers who might consider supporting Obama in the general would do well to consider the contents of the first sermon Obama heard from Wright that compelled the title of Obama's memoir. And it should come a shock to no one that the mainstreamed press did its utmost to flatten reaction to Wright, even before Obama's speech. What went on behind the scenes in the media is quite eye-catching!

The No-Pigment Curse

2008-03-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Vogue's guilty of original sin?

Dear Moscow...

2008-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

A Jupiter move under the radar that can affect the world power system in ways unseen since the Reagan era. Ed Morrissey reports.

Conveyed The Due Credit

2008-03-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the sexiest conflict in the world, and everybody wants to be involved.” So said Israel FM Tzipi Livni. Why? Because "before the IDF attacks Qassam workshops or warehouses it distributes flyers asking the residents to evacuate the area. But Hamas exploits the flyers and places small children on the rooftops in order to foil the attacks. And thus because of this trick the IDF is forced to halt many such bombings at the last moment...We are working with our hands tied because of all these laws and because we are part of the free world and because this is part of our values."

Credit should still be given where it's due, especially when Israel does something rare like avoid civilian casualties. Palestinians still explode bombs in their hands and bury themselves alive during smuggling runs. And these are just the reported cases! Meanwhile, two out of every five Mauritanians are slaves. Some might call that a monstrous crime.

Now, what is big government? Rush explains that Texans and Californians have learned the hard way concerning traffic law in the former and gasoline in the latter. But Rush seems to think it also applies to water rates in the south, applying it to conservation rather than the more likely and most obvious culprit, the drought.

All Hands Below Deck

2008-03-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

An Israeli Arab went on a total rampage, and now the mastermind has been fully brought to justice.

I hope the GOP knows what the hell it's doing concerning the location of its convention. That said, I think the Denver one for the Democrats is just gonna be hilarious. Nonetheless, they need to keep an eye on these guys.

Mama Clinton, cheerleader.

The foreign policy jist: Rice'll be chillin' with Medvedev's diplos tomorrow about Putin's demands for a drawdown of European missile defense. Other than that, favoring Russia over Georgia and Ukraine to back up Pakistani overflights on which we rely for communication with Afghan deployments is NATO's likely preference.

Don't be surprised when those student protests in Iran become full-out revolution.

Good God! First we got the NRSC putting up Keyes against Obama and then flubbing a chance to contest Mark Pryor's AK seat. Now, not only did the NRCC once again fail to seat Oberweis in Hastert's place, they got a scandal going at the link. Is Pelosi still fair game?

It finally comes out that the House Dems not only warped FISA to placate their trial lawyer buddies, but also to placate their constituencies.

Michelle O, Uncut and Revisited

2008-03-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

I figure what with Obama having to let Wright and Powers off the hook, and getting his nose mixed up with Underground Weather and the Rezko trials, it's time to review the other personnel of Obama policy, Obama's wife:

America is a nation divided, yet not devoid of cynics, sloths, complacents, "just downright mean," "guided by fear," “just jammed up, and it’s gotten worse over my lifetime. And, doggone it, I’m young. Forty-four!”

"What I notice about men, all men, is that their order is me, my family, God is in there somewhere, but me is first. ... And, for women, me is fourth, and that's not healthy." - Kind of stupid when Hall of Fame Bears running back Sayers puts God and family first.

"Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." - Well that's not a quote; that's the title of her thesis. Relevance? Unavailable at Princeton library through November 5, '08 (until Politico picked it up).

“Let me tell you, don’t get sick in America” - and don't read The New Yorker.

"Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual."

"Every woman that I know...is struggling to keep her head above water."

And of course the golden nugget:
"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."

Empty Forest, No Megaphone

2008-03-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

So many talk of the "end" of conservatism, whatever that means, as a result of WFB's passing. But this is the press at work that as usual gets ideological dividends from democrats telling us in Hitlerian fashion that Conservatives are disintegrating. Who after all wants to side with a non-underdog minority?

But maybe, this election season, it's the Democrats who're really splintering.

David Weidner of MarketWatch opines:

"It's the editors and reporters who stepped out of their roles when it came to making Spitzer too good to be true. Big papers dutifully leaked embarrassing details about Spitzer's targets, generated by the attorney general's office, while protecting the source of the information. In most cases, reporters put careerism ahead of fairness or, at least, questioning the tactics of one of the state's leading law-enforcement officials.
At the height of his power, Spitzer was in control, and instead of challenging him, the media was part of his machine."

It appears that due to the Wright Wrevelations, the real Obama has stood up.

That's right: Porkorrupt Barack.

Half the Battle

2008-03-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Obama infatuation concerns me. He's had to deal with Wright, Powers, Farakkhan, Rezko, Michelle, Underground Weather and Chicago politics. Personnel defines policy. And still Anderson Cooper, diligent in the Lebanon War, yet a vigilante for climate change believes Romney's affiliation with Mormonism (amazingly all these guys let Reid off the hook on this one) is far more pertinent than is Obama's ties with the Trinity Church.

But expect the media to spiral downward in its bottomless pit of cluelessness, as I'll bet even Cooper is incapable of reading in between the lines, to say nothing less of the lines themselves.

I'm not surprised to see the press won't cover the unethical passage of ethics reform in the Pelosi House.

What could be better news to cover right now, after all, than the divulged Saddam-AQ connections. They're as real as this hyperlink.

Great - as if there wasn't enough foreign policy headache to worry over, the Tibetans are once again going head-to-head with China (casualties included).

Ah, now that it's tax time, how about we review Obama's church? Obama accused pointed observations of "God Damn America" as cherry-picking. He then proceeded to aid the United Church of Christ in defending his former pastor. Obama's complacency with Wright's shenanigans is disturbing. A taste:

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people... God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."
"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye."
"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost."

Obama cannot pick and choose where his money goes.

Common Sense in Most Welcome

2008-03-14T06:22:00.001-07:00

Never has a House Speaker been more critical than Pelosi's reaction to the fact that

"While the House bill would not grant immunity, it would allow phone companies to present their defense in a closed-door U.S. district court, with the judge given access to confidential documents about the surveillance program."

by saying that

"I think that is the proper way to decide whether they should have immunity or not -- not members of Congress' voting on it."

And now, a special KFI linkfest:
LAUSD School Administrator Charged With Sex Assault Has Been In Trouble Before
Trying to quit smoking? Do some Pot!
Elderly dudes drink way to much. Does this explain the driving?
Infant suffocation is *gasp* preventable!
Almost a fifth of 6th-graders drink. Early prep for Rush.
Hey, Joe (Jax)? You might want to contact your doctor.
Lose some, win some. That's the way of the home video business.
Wikipedia has no business to speak of whatsoever.
Does politics have an effect on cheated spouses?
People say the future is now, but those people are either PR hacks or inherently stupid.
California Republicans show their guts. Took 'em long enough!
Rush is right: watching the Dems' Florida recount in an exercise in exuberance for the GOP.
More evidence of Chicago-style "post-modernism."

Don't Stare, I'm Busy

2008-03-13T22:07:00.001-07:00

The presses, you see, cannot bring themselves to admit Spitzer's guilt (and of course his wives' statements following Monicagate are getting plenty replay in light of all this) largely due to his party affiliation. One LATimes columnist even demanded as a result of this fiasco that prostitution be legalized. Why? Because a Democrat was caught doing it - ergo, it must be ok! I can bet you now that if a Democrat jumped off a cliff tomorrow, expect a gaggle of reporters to be close behind. It is to be, sadly, expected these days.

Speaking of fiascos, Ed Morrissey recounts the Metzenbaum-Doggett debacle concerning the Justice Thomas hearings in light of Metzenbaum's recent death and in the added context of Doggett's well-spoken-of conversion to conservatism. Oh well, happens to everyone at some point...

Ah, far too good to ignore....Rocky Reid said our Founding Fathers were earkmark-o-philes! Eh, Rocky, it's factual history for you on line 3! Well, this is to be expected from the pork-&-tax-loving 110th!

Y'know, I respect Howard a lot, but now he's on the tail of...the Russian Mafia!?

Just So You Knew

2008-03-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

There is no other armed forces that is as afraid of its nation's civilians.