Jon Stewart's Take On Michael Steele

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Chris Matthews' Says Happy MLK Day, Well Sort Of

I go to Republican convention; I go to Democrat [convention] and as a white guy one of the things I notice about the difference – one thing I notice about black people at different conventions [is] you go to the Democrat convention [and] black folk are hanging together, having a good time. They’re smiling and enjoying themselves. They feel very much at home. You go to Republican [convention] – you get the feeling you are all told individually ‘now don’t bunch up; don’t get together, don’t crowd or you’ll scare these people’. Is that true in the Republican Party? Is that still true in your party?



Did you fear that if you got together with some other African Americans that white guys might get scared of you?

What a jerk.  While there is no way to deny that the black community tends to vote for the democrats, that doesn't mean that republicans are afraid of them. 

Why would Chris be offended by the fact that the people of color are just treated like anyone else at the republican conventions?  Isn't that the message that Dr. King was trying to get across?  I don't care what color someone is, I care what kind of person they are.  Obviously you still need to learn that lesson Mr. Matthews.  Tell me again why I am the racist when from your statement it is the dems that "bunch them" together?  Can't they hang where they want to? 

Just Some Good Ol' Fashioned Family Fun - La Crosse Mascot Lap Dances

You know, I am not a prude.  I really am not.  But this goes way beyond the line of good taste.  There were children in attendance.  Lap dances for mascots is not something that I or anyone should be forced to explain to kids.  The sound effects were especially classy.  The team has apologized and says that it won't happen again.  I would hope not. 

What Was She Thinking?

Helena Bonham Carter at last night's Golden Globes Awards.  I hope that she didn't pay a stylist to help her pick out that outfit, because if so, she deserves a refund. 

Does The New York Times Still Want to Say Reading the Constitution was a Waste of Time? Elected Officials fail Quiz on Constitution

Well, the really sad state of this poll says that it really wasn't.  It doesn't breakdown what offices these people hold, while that matters, it is still very scary that how badly they did. 

But those elected officials who took the test scored an average 5 percentage points lower than the national average (49 percent vs. 54 percent), with ordinary citizens outscoring these elected officials on each constitutional question. Examples:



•Only 49 percent of elected officials could name all three branches of government, compared with 50 percent of the general public.


•Only 46 percent knew that Congress, not the president, has the power to declare war -- 54 percent of the general public knows that.


•Just 15 percent answered correctly that the phrase "wall of separation" appears in Thomas Jefferson's letters -- not in the U.S. Constitution -- compared with 19 percent of the general public.


•And only 57 percent of those who've held elective office know what the Electoral College does, while 66 percent of the public got that answer right. (Of elected officials, 20 percent thought the Electoral College was a school for "training those aspiring for higher political office.")

Does the left want to rethink the jokes that they are making about Bachmann arranging lectures on the Constitution?  Seems to me they are sorely needed. 

You can take the quiz yourself and see how you do.  I got 100% correct. 
H/T Jill

The Risk Factors of Mental Illness

This is the discussion we should be having instead of talking about Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.  There are no easy answers to these problems, but we need to start asking the questions and changing our laws to get help to the families that have a mentally ill person who is so ill that they don't realize that they need medical intervention. 

There She is, Miss America

Teresa Scanlon was named 2011 Miss America tonight in Las Vegas.  Teresa is 17, the second youngest to ever be named Miss America. Teresa is a home schooled practicing Christian. 

Her Bio:

Teresa is the daughter of Mark and Janie Scanlan and is from Gering, Nebraska. She was born in Colton, California, and then grew up in Gering. As the middle child of seven, Teresa was homeschooled through her junior year of high school, when she attended Gering High School part-time, and then attended Scottsbluff High School full-time for her senior year, graduating from SHS in May of 2010.



After being crowned Miss Nebraska 2010 in June and becoming the youngest woman to wear the Miss Nebraska crown, she deferred enrollment to Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, where she is now set to attend in the Fall of 2011. She plans on majoring in Government: American Politics and Policy and then attending Law School to become a Trial Attorney in Criminal Prosecution. Hoping to become a judge and eventually become involved in the political arena, her highest career goals are to become President or a Supreme Court Justice. As a Christian in the political arena, she hopes to break down the stereotype of crooked and dishonest politicians, operating instead under character and integrity.


Teresa is working to promote her platform, Eating Disorders: A Generation at Risk, which is a personal issue to her because of a close friend's struggle with bulimia. She hopes to educate children and adults alike as to the signs and risks of eating disorders, as well as how and where to get help for themselves or a loved one. As a partner with the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, or ANAD, and the National Eating Disorders Association, or NEDA, Teresa will advocate their cause and work to implement positive attitudinal and behavioral change across the state. Throughout her year of service, she will work to inspire adolescents to make healthy choices in every area of their life in order to be the best person they can be and to achieve their goals. She hopes to help others regain confidence in themselves and challenge them to redefine beauty, based on inner qualities rather than outward appearance. As God's children, every person is unique and incredible in every way, and should embrace who they were made to be, rather than hurting themselves in an effort to change.

I wonder if Joy Behar voted for her? 

Tucson Shooting Victim Arrested for Threatening Tea Party Spokesman

J. Eric Fuller who was shot last Saturday along with Congresswoman Giffords, was arrested today after making threats to a Tucson Tea Party spokesperson.  Fuller who said:

“It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target,”  “Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled."

to Democracy Now, a progressive news service and website. 

There was a townhall of sorts today by ABC.  There were people there from all stripes including a spokesman from the local Tea Party.  Fuller was unhappy with a comment made and proceded to take a picture of Trent Humphries and told him "You're Dead".  The police escorted him out of the room and did arrest him and charged him with threats and intimidation along with disorderly conduct. 

Mr. Fuller has every right to be upset as he was victimized, but he doesn't have the right to his own facts.  There is no evidence whatsoever that political thought was to blame for the shootings last week. 

Mr. Fuller seems to have an interesting past and is a believer in social justice.  See here

Looks like those violent tea partiers are at it again.

Cross posted at PotLuck

Quote of the Day - Michael Reagan Edition

"My brother Ron was an embarrassment to his father when he was alive, and today he became an embarrassment to his mother."

Michael Reagan on his brother's claim:
 

 "Today we are aware that the physiological and neurological changes associated with Alzheimer's can be in evidence years, even decades, before identifiable symptoms arise. The question, then, of whether my father suffered from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's while in office more or less answers itself."

The problem is that their is no evidence to back up this statement. 
 

Let's start with the Alzheimer's diagnosis. It was announced in 1994. While it prompted some to suggest they knew Reagan had the disease as president, his four White House doctors said they saw no evidence of it

Ron Jr. went on his book to talk about a fall that President Reagan took off a horse shortly after leaving office in Mexico.  Ron Jr. says that he underwent neurosurgery in San Diego.  The records show that he was in the hospital in Arizona, not California.  The former president also made two public appearances shortly after this alleged surgery and there were no signs of a shaved head or stitches. 

Ron Jr. does say that he believes that had his father known he had Alzheimer's he would have stepped down as president.  It is very well known that the President and Mrs. Reagan had very difficult relationships with both Ron Jr. and his daughter Patti Davis. 

Love This Guy - Parent Robocalls School Board after 4:30 AM Call

You know I would never think of this, but I love this guy. 

Things that Make You Say Hmm

The State of Illinois just raised taxes by 67%.  How much would they have gone up if Chicago had gotten the Olympics? 

Death threats against Palin is said to be at "unprecedented levels".  It must be because of the violent tea party. 

Senator Webb is not happy with the President's job on healthcare "You can't turn something that complicated loose on the United States Congress".  Yet, he voted for it and doesn't seem to have a position on repeal. 

The University spent $60,000 for the T-shirts given out at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shooting the other night. 

Since the shooting Democrats have been talking about introducing legislation that will restrict speech in order to keep our freedoms. 

The Dems would like to change the seating at the State of the Union.  Instead of boy/girl they want dem/repub.  Yes, that will bridge the divide. 

Obama Speaks to Tucson

The President went to the memorial service held last night in Tucson.  It was a bizarre mix of solemn respect for those lost and a pep rally of sorts.  The service was held on a college campus and it seems that many in attendance were college students. 

I am not a believer in telling someone how to mourn, as it isn't my business.  But, the college students seemed to be more interested in seeing the president than they were in giving respect to the dead, but I don't think that the president can be blamed for that.  He also seemed to be taken aback at the reaction of the students as well.  But, they ate it up and it seemed that the people in attendance left with lifted spirits, which really was the purpose, to start the healing process. 

The speech that he gave was appropriate for a memorial service.  He talked about the victims that were lost in very personal terms with anecdotes of the six that were lost.  On the littlest victim he said:

And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, "We are so blessed. We have the best life." And she'd pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

He addressed the blame game that has taken over since the shootings:

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives - to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.

The highlight of the evening was when the president announced that the congresswoman opened her eyes while her colleagues from the congress were visiting.  Her recovery is truly remarkable and I have no doubt that she was spared because God has a plan for the rest of her life.  She will go on to do some wonderful things. 

For me the big winner of the evening was Michelle Obama.  She has always come across to me as cold.  When the president made the announcement of Gabby's eyes the camera went to her husband who was sitting next to the first lady.  The raw emotion you saw on Michelle's face was real and very heartfelt.  I believe this is the first time that I really saw that in her.  I once saw a picture of her playing with some kids where she had a big smile on her face, but that was a picture so the impact was not the same. 

From the reports that I have read the university was in charge of the planning of the service.  While it is true there is nothing that is not scripted when the president is concerned, they have said that they turned the planning over to them and the community.  I certainly hope that the White House didn't know about the T-shirts because they were wildly inappropriate.  I also think that the university officials should have done a better job at explaining to the students that booing the governor was not a good thing.  Luckily it was not that loud nor did it last that long, very tacky indeed.  I have heard some on the right compare the audience of the Virginia Tech shooting memorial to this, but I think that is unfair comparison as that shooting took place on campus and many in attendance were personally involved with the dead. 

My favorite quote of the evening:

That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.



I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.

On this we agree Mr. President.  I want the next generation to be left an America that they can proud of and that offers them the same oppurtunities that were provided to me and to you.

Here are some highlights:







You can read the full speech of the president here. 










Where you fall on the political spectrum is going to guide your opinion on this statement.  He didn't directly address the behavior of the far left, but I personally don't think it was the neither the time nor the place.  I tend to stay away from far left sites, so I am not sure what their reaction to the speech is, but the right is a little split on the speech, but I would venture to say that most felt the speech did accomplish what it set to, set a tone of healing for the families of the victims and to reach out to a nation that is still in shock over the unnecessary violence that took people too soon. 

Herman Cain Announces his Exploratory Committee for President

He is going to make it interesting that is for sure. 

What Has Gotten Lost - The Sad State of Mental Illness Awareness in America

The more that comes out about the Tucson shooter, the more disturbing the story becomes.  It seems pretty obvious that Jared is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.  A horrible disease that takes over your life.  You hear voices that paint a picture of a world that is out to get to you.  You become convinced that some obscure and bizarre thing or person is out to get to you and then become fixated on it.  Sadly, in about 10% of cases that are left untreated have a violent end.

The reality is that only a small percentage of people suffering from untreated mental illness become violent, but when they do it is sometimes done on a large scale.  Three recent examples being Tucson, VA Tech, and LI Railroad.  All killed multiple people with a gun and all gave out plenty of red flags.  While no one can say for sure if medical intervention would have stopped it, the chances for these occurrences certainly would have decreased. 

This is especially true of both the VA Tech and Tucson shooters.  Virginia and Arizona both have laws on the books that allow medical intervention to occur.  In both cases, the shooters were allowed to fall between the cracks.  While it is true that Cho didn't seem to exhibit the same symptoms of schizophrenia, he was diagnosed with anxiety disorders and was evaluated by the mental health services at Virginia Tech after his roommate reported that he was talking about suicide.  The mental health clinic didn't follow up properly when he would miss appointments, even though they had the legal right to do so.

Back in the 1960's a movement by civil rights advocates took afoot in this country with the goal of stopping the forced institutalization of people in mental health wards.  Most of these wards were barely better than a prison cell and some of the patients could have easily functioned in the outside world with outpatient care.  The laws were all skewed towards keeping the patient in the hospital, even if it was against their will (did you see the move girl interrupted?).  Many patients were given shock treatments and suffered horrible treatment.  Advocates wanted this treatment to stop.  The problem has become that we swung the pendulum too far in the other direction.  The usual unintended consequences of government intervention. 

There are no easy answers to these problems.  There are no cures for many mental illnesses, just courses of treatment with medication.  There will be some mentally ill that will not stay on a course of medication unless you force it upon them.  Many of these medications have severe side effects that can be very unpleasant.  Since schizophrenics usually hear voices, those voices become almost friends and the patient is reluctant to have them stop, as carrying on regular relationships are at best difficult.  So those voices become almost like a comfort to them. 

Studies show that approximately 40% of the homeless suffer from mental illness.  How many times have you seen a homeless person on the street that is talking to themselves?  Ask yourself how much money we spend on food and shelter to address the homeless population.  A 2007 study by the U.S. Justice Department found that 56% of state prisoners, 45% of federal prisoners, and 64% of local jail inmates suffer from mental illnesses.  How much money are spending to keep these people imprisoned?  With percentages this high it must run into the billions.  Wouldn't this money be more wisely spent on treating these people?  While it is likely that some of these people will commit crimes anyway, but if you could cut it down by even 50%, that is a huge money savings.  Think about if we can get most of these people treated and they become self sufficient citizens, it would only improve our society. 



I don't think anyone is advocating going back to the practices of the 50's and 60's, but something needs to be done.  One of the things that we can do quite easily to educate ourselves about the topic of mental illness and discuss it openly.  There is still a stigma attached to the mentally ill.  This may be one of the reasons that Jared's Parents did not get the help their child so obviously needed. 

In less than four years two major shootings have occurred.  38 people are dead.  While this is a very tiny number in a country as vast in size of America, these are just two examples that got national news, how many others have occurred that we don't hear about?  In both of these cases the localities have been let down by the people who are in charge of protecting the communities.  There is no way to say that either of these shootings wouldn't have occurred had medical intervention been done, but we can say with 100% certainty that without it they most definitely did occur.  I am more than a little heartsick that this isn't the discussion that our nation is having instead of the political bashing that instead has taken over, mental illness has no political leanings. It happens to people from all cultures, all political persuasions, it can happen to any family.  While I am sure that the left and right will disagree on how to tackle this problem, but shouldn't we at least be talking about this instead of blaming/defending Gov. Palin?  She seems to be perfectly capable of defending herself. 


Crossposted at PotLuck

Principles Matter - Tea Pary Express Raising Funds from Tucson Shooting

Most everyone believes that they have principles that guide their lives.  The true test of these principles come when things are hard.  I would like to think that any thinking person would realize that trying to raise money from a tragedy is a bad thing.  I have seen a few things come across my facebook page on how some on the left are trying to raise money off the shooting in Arizona over the weekend.  I didn't click the link as I was busy and didn't have the time.  But, I have since tried to find that information and found a letter from a progressive democrat group.  The letter didn't overtly ask for money, but the wording was distasteful, because it gave the impression that the organization was looking to get some funds to continue to help elect people like Congresswoman Giffords.  I was horrified when I read that someone would try and raise money off this tragedy.  There was some hay made on the blogosphere about how the left was using this to raise money. 

This morning I while checking my email, I came across an appeal for Tea Party Express:

Dear Friends:


The attack on conservatives and the tea party movement has continued over the past 24 hours. Media figures and liberal activists continue to falsely suggest that Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Sarah Palin and the tea party movement had anything to do with the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.


They've launched this attack even though they know it is a total and complete lie.


During the past few days friends of the shooter, Jared Loughner, have stepped forward to say that they knew him to be a political liberal. He admired the Communist Manifesto and burned the American flag.


But many in the news media and the political Left are nonetheless still trying to use this awful tragedy to make people think that somehow Limbaugh, Palin and the tea party were responsible for this attack.


They are doing it for one reason: it is an attempt to silence us and make this patriotic, constitutionalist movement controversial - so they can try and stop the momentum this tea party movement has built.


Last night on MSNBC and liberal websites, we here at the Tea Party Express were called despicable and shameless because we won't back down.


Well guess what, friends - we're not going to back down. Not when we have nothing to apologize for, and certainly we won't just sit back while the media and liberals think they can slander us by calling us responsible for a mass murder.

Instead, do you know what we're going to do? We're going to fight back with even more determination and pride. Since we have to "pay" to get our message heard (the liberal media bias is on display like never before with this tragedy), we're asking our supporters to help us fight back.


We want to have our largest fundraising day in the history of our organization and we need your help to achieve this success.


Please, make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express - CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.


You can contribute as little as $5 all the way up to the maximum allowed $5,000. And since the 2010 Midterms are over, our "maxed out" donors from before can once again contribute as much as they so choose.


To contribute, just click the button below. We're hoping more than 1,000 patriots such as yourself can afford a more generous contribution of $100, $250, $500 or more.


As always, if you prefer, you may also make a contribution via mail, by sending a check to:


Tea Party Express
8795 Folsom Boulevard, Suite 103
Sacramento, CA 95826-3720

This is even more morally repugnant as it is a direct appeal regarding the murder of a 9 year old child many others.  This is the same organization that released a letter about the NAACP that was called nothing more than satire.  While the author of that letter no longer is with Tea Party Express, but it certainly seems that they learned nothing from that experience. 

While I agree with the Tea Party movement I cannot sit back and not say anything about this.   Tea Party Express not only needs to apologize, but they need to fire the person who came up with this idea.  Principles only matter when you stand by them.  While I don't want to go after a tea party organization, I cannot allow this pass.  I have sent them letter to voice my disgust with this, and I hope that everyone else will do the same.  If it was distasteful when the left did it, then it has to be equally distasteful when the right does it. 

 info@teapartyexpress.org is the email address. 

Shame on you Tea Party Express.  This type of depraved indifference to the lives lost over the weekend are not principles that I choose to stand by and I find it disgusting that you are an organization that does. 

See Americans Can See the Truth - Not Buying the Lefts Blame Game

A new poll is out today that the majority of Americans have rejected the falsehoods that were spewed over the past few days about the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords.  The largest portion of people who did believe the spin were democrats:

Overall, 57 percent of respondents said the harsh political tone had nothing to do with the shooting, compared to 32 percent who felt it did. Republicans were more likely to feel the two were unrelated - 69 percent said rhetoric was not to blame; 19 percent said it played a part. Democrats were more split on the issue - 49 percent saw no connection; 42 percent said there was.


Independents more closely reflected the overall breakdown - 56 percent said rhetoric had nothing to do with the attack; 33 percent felt it did.

But even the majority of the democrats that were polled felt that the election rhetoric is simply that, rhetoric.  This is a hopeful sign as in people can see for themselves once the facts come out.  There can be little doubt the shooter has problems that have nothing to do with Sarah Palin.  His obsession with the congresswoman started in 2007, the chances of him knowing who Gov. Palin was at that time are very low indeed. 

I would venture to say that number will be even higher as more has come out. We now know that this kid had some sort of satanic alter in his backyard, top that with the creepy mug shot that has been released, and even more people will see that as much as the Krugmans of the world would like to blame conservatives for this tragedy, people just are not buying it.  Once again, common sense prevails.  While the families are certainly the most impacted by this horrible act, but the media is going to pay a high price for this.  People are on to the bias that has been so obvious for the past three days. 

Maybe now we can start having the discussions that we should be having.  Why did the police in Tucson ignore the warning signs that this kid was so mentally unbalanced that he was a direct danger to himself and others?  Arizona has some the most lenient laws when it comes to getting a person to a doctor for care.  We also need to discuss how the left in this country have pushed for changes in the mental health laws that make it very difficult for families to get help for a loved one, even when they know that they need it.  While there is no question there was abuse in the mental health system, we have swung too far in the other direction which has caused more problems.  The usual unintended consequences of government intervention. 

As always, prayers for the families that have lost their loved ones, and continue good wishes to the congresswoman, who seems to be taking more steps towards her recovery.  She gave a thumbs up on command.  Praise God for giving her the strength and the fortitude to survive everything she has been through. 

After the Vitriol, After the Hate

Two full days have almost passed since the shootings in Tucson.  Over the weekend we saw the ugliest side of left possible.  You can go over to Michelle Malkin to see some of the lefty hate over the years.  The vast majority making Sarah Palin's map look like child's play in comparison.  The right has reacted by pointing out all of the hate that comes from left.

Some have called to hit back on the left and to hit back hard. A few other voices have said that may not be the best way to handle this. I will have to go with the minority. My reasons for that are really quite simple. The truth is that majority of the country doesn't pay attention to this kind of thing. The hate machine is big fat turn off and people just tune it out.


Matter of fact they turn it off to the point that they become disgusted with both the right and left. The vitriol has gotten so bad with this shooting any rational person will come to the proper conclusion; the far left is crazy and will do anything to put people on the right down, and the media is all too willing accomplice. This can only help the right as long as they don't go as far. The very last thing we should be doing is making a bad situation worse. Let the left stew in their own juices and pay the price for the disgusting display they have put on for the past two days. The truth about the gunman is out, he is a crazy lunatic that was in no way motivated by politics, be it right or left. By most estimates it seems that he is a schizophrenic.  And, as a wise man has said, crazy isn't an ideology. 
. 


Personally, I would rather spend my time and energies talking about the heroism that was on display on Saturday, people running towards the gunman to stop further carnage. A husband who jumped on his wife in order to save her from the bullets, who sadly gave his own in order to save hers. Let’s think about the father who is in mourning over the loss of his 9 year old daughter and still asking that we don’t walk away from the openness that our government provides. I would like to think that Americans can and will overcome the craziness and horror of Saturday, and that we can do it without showing the hate that the likes of Krugman, The Daily Kos, Jane Fonda, and Keith Olbermann can't seem to resist. They have shown their true colors, we don't need to add anything. They have done a good job all on their own

Quote of the Day - Evan Thomas Edition

“It ain’t because of Congress, the unemployment will go down a little bit but the game in Washington will still be this unreal game. Health care though – I got to say, is one place where I think where Republicans are right.”


“The health care bill is a disaster, we’re sort of slowly learning – it’s not working. It’s interesting – they’re implementing it and it’s not working out at all as people anticipated. There’s all sorts of wildly wrong projections. As it’s being practiced – it’s failed.”

Evan Thomas of Newsweek

Ya think?  We told you two years ago it wouldn't work. 

Video of the Day - Meghan Kelly and Pima County Sheriff

He likes free speech, but only up to a point I guess.  He won't come out and say it, but he blames the tea party.  But the real problem is that he admits that this obsession started in 2007; long before the tea party or most people knew who Sarah Palin even was. 


After hearing this it is even more reason for people to just shut up and stop trying to put the blame anywhere other than on the kid who picked up the gun.  He, and he alone, is the one who did this. 


read a great post on the little girl who died. She seems to be getting lost in all the rhetoric, which is tragic.

Quote of the Day - Rand Simberg Edition

The loony left in the media (i.e., most of them) blames “right-wing” haters, the Tea Party, and particularly Sarah Palin (as though no one else has ever used a cross-hair list in a political campaign). The “right” points out that the left was angry at her for voting against Queen Nancy last week. The Brady bunch can’t wait to wallow in the still-warm blood to demand that the citizenry be disarmed. Fans of Jonah Goldberg will point out that the shooter’s choice of reading material, including both Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto, is in no way incongruent, and, as with Timothy McVeigh, many will declare him a Christian (with an implication that this explains his acts) in the face of not only no evidence, but in the face of counterevidence.



As usual, the event will be used as an excuse for everyone to saddle up their political hobby horses. In the coming days, we can count on renewed demands to do things that either wouldn’t have prevented this, or would so restrict our freedom and way of life as to have allowed this particular terrorist to win. The gun grabbers will demand that the guns be grabbed. There will be proposals for armed guards at all political events and for all politicians who ever have the temerity to go out in public. There will be calls for policing the Internet and talk radio to prevent the “hate speech” that allegedly caused it (though only “right-wing” hate speech, of course). We’ve been through all of this before.

Rand Simberg is a recovering aerospace engineer and a consultant in space commercialization, space tourism and Internet security. He offers occasionally biting commentary about infinity and beyond at his weblog, Transterrestrial Musings. He is an Adjunct Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

This man is 100% correct.  This is a horrible tragedy that is being politicized by both sides of the aisle, and it shouldn't be.  A young kid has destroyed lives, including his own, for reasons that we probably will never fully understand.  From what we can gleen so far from what is available of the shooter, his views are incoherent and make little to no sense whatsoever. 







Read entire article here

Quote of the Day - Democratic Opertative Edition

“They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”

 This is truly disgusting.  Anyone that uses the shooting for political gain is simply a horrible human being.  There is no other way to look at it.  Congresswoman Giffords is fighting for her life as I write this, a very bright 9 old is dead, an aide to the congresswoman has a fiance that is in total shock at the death of the man she planned to spend the rest of her with, a well respected judge went to say hello to someone he was friendly with and got killed.  These are the stories we should be telling, these are the issues that we should be dealing with. 

The Politics of a Tragedy - Tea Party Must Be Guilty

Gabrielle Giffords, a congresswoman from Arizona, was shot today while having a townhall of sorts at a local Safeway.  Luckily it seems that the congresswoman will survive the shooting even though she was shot through the head.  According to reports she was even talking before being sedated to reduce the pressure on her brain.  Sadly, many others were not so fortunate and at least five have died, including a federal judge and a nine year old child. My deepest sympathies to the families of all the victims for this senseless loss of life.

Before anything was known about the shooter many automatically decided that somehow the Tea Party is to blame for this tragedy.  Both Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck's name came up on some comments I saw when I was looking up to see if the congresswoman was still alive.  The reports about this shooting have been fuzzy at best and conflicting reports about if Ms. Giffords survived were all over the internet and television news. 

Jane Fonda and Paul Krugman couldn't even bothered to wait until more information was known before they decided to weigh in and blame the right for this horrifying act of violence.  Krugman came out with his statement before the name of the shooter was known and what the press was reporting was that he was a war vet.  There is enough information about the shooter now for Krugman to realize that this is a matter of a very delusional young man who didn't seem to have grip on reality.  In one you tube video he is burning the American flag, in other he has a diatribe about the constitution and mind control. 

His favorite books according to his you tube page are as follows:

I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver's Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno

Not exactly the books you would find in the library of any tea party member.  But so far Krugman has yet to make a retraction of his statement.  After all, why let facts get in the way of the narrative that he has been creating since the beginning of the tea party movement. 

Politicizing the murder of five people and the injury of at least 10 others before the facts are known is irresponsible as well as being intellectually lazy.  This young man seems to have many problems and may very well be delusional.  There are reports that he had met the congresswoman before.  But this seems to be a statement from a woman who says she knew him in high school.  So, we have to wait and see if that actually pans out.  

While it is understandable for some of the reporting to be incorrect during the fog of the incident, this is not about the fog.  This is about wanting to blame your political enemies for a horrid act simply because you are trying to prove that your belief system is superior.  But, all these two have proven is that they are lazy and wrong.  This woman wasn't gunned down by some crazed right winger because Glenn Beck told him to, or by some graphic that Sarah Palin released about a year ago.  This was a sad and sick man who had no real core or any sense of compassion to fellow human beings.  Comment on that Paul and Jane, maybe then you can get back some of your creditability. 

Thomas Sowell on the Economic Recovery

Thomas Sowell is a brilliant man when it comes to economics.  Obama should be hiring him.  Hey, one can dream. 

Drugs V. Welfare State

I found this a very interesting debate between a libertarian and conservative on the "war on drugs".  While I can see both sides of this, it is very difficult to deny how much money we spend on putting people with small amounts of pot into jail. 

Quote of the Day - Harry Reid Edition

“The American people love government, but they don’t like too much politics in government”

Really?

Let me count the ways that I like the government. 

Ok, we can start with the DMV.  Boy, I just can't wait until I have to go there again. 

Then we can move onto the Post Office.  Boy, how utterly efficient they are huh?  Oh, and good with money too. 

Oh, we can't forget the IRS. 

I think we should ask New Yorkers how much they like government after their year end snow storm because they did such an excellent job cleaning the streets. 

Next, we can move onto the parents of children in failing urban schools how much they like the government. 

Quote of the Day - Jason Altmire Edition

"[T]here's 13 Democrats remaining that voted against the healthcare bill, myself included. I've talked to a lot of them — I think we all have the same concerns. We think, by and large, it was a bad bill, it did more harm than good. But to repeal it all, including the few provisions that were beneficial, just doesn't make any sense."



emphasis mine.


Yeah, this make sense.  It is a bad law that was done by hook or by crook, it is a perversion of the constitution, yet  lets let it stand.  What happened to this guy?



Can it be that now that every dem vote counts he no longer stand up to the party, the president, or Nanny Pelosi? 

This is Ok, but we need to change Huck Finn?

How bizarre is it that this is considered art, but Huck Finn has to be sanitized?  The book was written to prove a point, that racism can be overcome.  That is a story that needs to be told.  We need to stop white washing our history for our children.  Racism in the late 19th century was pretty much the norm, that is not saying that it is OK, but it was the times.  Children need to hear the story of what happened in this country in the days of slavery and the aftermath of it.  We will never overcome these things if we don't have honest discussions about them.  There is no historical evidence to say that Mark Twain was a racist, he was telling a story and chose words and characters that best fit the narrative he was trying to weave.  Why can't we just leave it at that. 

Craziness!!

The Best Birthday Present Evah

Some More Presidental Hopeful Nuggets

We can glean a little something about the pack of republicans that will be vying for the presidential nomination in 12 by who will be speaking at CPAC at the end of next month:

Gov. Haley Barbour
Amb. John Bolton
Herman Cain
Gov. Mitch Daniels
Congressman Newt Gingrich
Congressman Ron Paul
Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Gov. Mitt Romney
Senator Rick Santorum
Senator John Thune

Are all confirmed speakers as of this morning. 

Gov. Palin and Congressman Pence have yet to confirm.  Palin would not speak at the conference last year due to Birch Society, as they have had issues of racism in the past.  I am not aware if Birch will be joining in on the conference this year or not, nor do I think that it matters as they are almost a non entity at this point in time anyway.  Missing CPAC would be mistake for any presidential hopeful, as this is THE conference for the conservative grassroots movement, especially with all the young people that are attending.  The young are generally the ones with more time on their hands to volunteer for the get out the vote ground work.  If you can get the younger activists to help it will go a long way to help you in winning a national election.  It will be interesting to see if Pence and/or Palin will be making an appearance.  Congressman Pence really doesn't have much a reason to miss it as he will be in the DC area on least one of the days anyway, as congress is in session. 

Bachmann on Today - Bachmann for President?

She certainly would get the Tea Party going if she chooses to run, but she would also get the left all riled up.  It would be very interesting to see how far along she could go.  She is also discussing other topics such as health care reform and the debt limit. 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

$172,000/Yr is a Modest Salary?

“We’ve been on this ride together since I won my Senate primary in 2004,” Mr. Obama said. “He’s had a six-year stretch now where basically he’s been going 24/7 with relatively modest pay. I think it’s natural for someone like Robert to want to step back for a second to reflect, retool and that, as a consequence, brings about both challenges and opportunities for the White House.”

President Obama to The New York Times on press secetary Roberts Gibbs leaving his post at White House.

I am simply stunned by how obtuse this president is.  While I am sure that there was a time that Gibbs did make a modest salary, like when he was working for the campaign for senate.  Once those days ended, Gibbs has made a decent living (that I paid for, mind you).  Staffers in the U.S. Senate have a pretty good pay scale once you go above the lower level positions.  Many of which also pay six figures.  On top of which you have very good benefits package for yourself and your family.  Roberts Gibbs is now making a salary of $172,000/Yr there is nothing modest about that.  Especailly when you consider how many people in this country live on far less. 

Gibbs slaved away with President Obama for the past 6 years on his modest salary, and now has put himself in the position to make about $30-50K per speech.  Again, a haul that gives him more money in a day that some earn in year.  Gibbs also is not really leaving the Obama circle, he will be repositioning himself to gear up for the upcoming re-election campaign, which will give him another "modest" salary. 

Has President Obama failed to grasp the fact that we still have 10% unemployment and many many more that are underemployed and not counted in that unemployment level because they have given up?  This is a party that is constantly attacking the "rich", saying that they don't do their fare share as far as taxes are concerned.  Yet, they seem to have no problem being the people that make that money and take every possible tax write off that they can find.  All the while lecuturing people on how they should be paying more of their hard earned salaries to the government treasury that is chock filled with ineffiencies and fraud.  I guess we need to send more money to the treasury so we can pay the "modest" salaries of people like Baghad Bob Gibbs. 

Welcome Speaker Boehner

Yesterday the 112th Congress started off with the election of Speaker John Boehner. I had the opportunity to attend a viewing party given by the NRCC, so of course I took advantage of the invite and went. The room was packed with guests from all over the country. Even with some relatives of new members that couldn't get a seat inside the chamber.



Afterwards there were receptions being held by many of the new members. Some offices were much more full than others. Tim Scott's office was so packed it spilled out into the hallway. I actually came about his office by accident because the updated office listings were not to be posted until today. So, I got to have a little chat with him. My local tea party has decided to welcome the new tea party fav's with some baking, and I went around today finding out about baked goods requests. Although, that was not all I did, but it was part of my assignment. We want the new members to feel welcome, yet we also want them to understand that we are watching.


I also went to a few other tea party favorites to say hello. Senator Rubio wins the prize for worst ever senate office. It is no better than a cubicle. It is literally across the hall from the senate stationary office in the basement. Rand Paul has not fared much better, but it is still a step up from Rubio.  I do hope that they get better digs soon.  Those offices are shameful. 


I happen to run into Congressman Pence during my travels as well. I explained to him that while I realize that he was looking for the office of Governor, we really need him to be president. I asked him nicely and even said pretty please. So I figure he will be announcing for president any day now!! In all seriousness, he would make an amazing president. If you have not read his speech given on the limits of the executive branch you should.

Without proper adherence to the role contemplated in the Constitution for the presidency, the checks and balances in the constitutional plan become weakened. This has been most obvious in recent years when the three branches of government have been subject to the tutelage of a single party. Under either party, presidents have often forgotten that they are intended to restrain the Congress at times, and that the Congress is independent of their desires. And thus fused in unholy unity, the political class has raged forward in a drunken expansion of powers and prerogatives, mistakenly assuming that to exercise power is by default to do good.

I also paid a visit to Congressman (I really like the sound of that) West, Congresswoman Bachmann, and to the new Speaker. I had an interesting run in with Congressman Sandy Levin. For those who are not aware, some of the elevators in all the congressional buildings are for "members only". Sandy must have forgotten where he was, because he wouldn't let this lady get on the elevator with him, but he was on the public elevator. I guess he didn't want to mix with the "people" who were there to support the new republican class. There was a large group of people who were all stunned by his actions. I also ran into Congresswoman Waters and she didn't seem all that pleased with all the hustle and bustle around the new republican class offices. Oh well, she will get over it.



It was a very nice day filled with way too much food and more cake than I should have allowed myself to eat. My night ended with a dinner that was given by Americans For Prosperity. There were some very interesting people there, such as Terri Christoph; one of the founders of Smart Girls Politics, Stacy McCain of The Other McCain, and some writers from Townhall.


Sadly, I didn't make it to every party that I had an invite to, but it was still a very full and happy day. The only question that I have is why did Nanny Pelosi enter the chamber after Boehner? Did she not realize that her time has now passed?

In case you missed the speech:

 

Nanny Pelosi's Final Lie as Madame Speaker

Ok, lie is a little harsh; maybe delusional is a better word. But, whatever word you may choose to describe this it would have to have a negative connotation to it. I have to wonder if she really believes this stuff.

At her final press conference as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.”

The numbers tell a different story.

When the Pelosi Democrats took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the national debt stood at $8,670,596,242,973.04. The last day of the 111th Congress and Pelosi’s Speakership on December 22, 2010 the national debt was $13,858,529,371,601.09 – a roughly $5.2 trillion increase in just four years. Furthermore, the year over year federal deficit has roughly quadrupled during Pelosi’s four years as speaker, from $342 billion in fiscal year 2007 to an estimated $1.6 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2010.

Right Nation has an interesting graph to illustrate this point. 

Watch as the Take Over Begins - Live Stream of Day One of 112th Congress

You can go here to watch a live stream of the as the new Congress begins its work.  They also have set up a page for you to give feedback on what you saw and heard. 

I think that this a great idea for homeschooling moms and dads.  A great way to discuss civics and how the system should work and then compare to it how it has been working in the recent past. 

I will be going to a live viewing party, as you have to have major connections to get into the chamber, but I will be at GOP sponsored event.  I will also be attending a few parties in the afternoon and evening.  I will fill you in later.

So take a few minutes and watch John Boehner become the next speaker of the house.  What an accomplishment; working as a janitor to pay for college to two heartbeats away from the presidency of the United States.  Only in America!!!

Meet the Newbies

As we watch these ladies and gentlemen take the oath of office shortly, we have to wonder if they will stay true to the principles they espoused on the stump.  I certainly hope so.

Quote of the Day - President Obama Edition

 "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally."

President Obama while he was then Senator Obama with a republican president. 

Hmm, interesting.  I personally believe that we are stuck in a situation where we don't have a choice but to raise the debt ceiling.  If we don't we are taking the chance of lowering our credit rating, which will increase the interest that we are paying.  But, I think that the GOP must fight for some rules that rid us of some of this out of control spending.  Every person in this country owes $42K towards the national debt, even the ones still in diapers. 

Wow, Obama sounds almost like a tea partier. 

Federer & Nadal Play on Water

I am huge tennis fan so I found this interesting. 

Herman Cain on the New Congress

This man could right the ship in this country.

One Down - Pence to Run for Indiana Governor

While it has not been formally announced yet, the schedule of Congressman Mike Pence leans towards him running for Indiana Governor as opposed to make a run for the presidency.  I find this to be very sad news, as I am a big fan of Mike Pence. 
But, this is also a sense of happy news as this gives him a much better chance of getting the nomination down the road.  I am hoping that there will not be a republican primary in 16, but if that does work out to be the case, he then will have executive experience. 

I am of the belief that our country has seen firsthand that not having any executive experience is not good for this country.  We need someone at the helm that understands balancing budgets and the like.  No wonder it is so hard for someone from the senate or the house to win the presidency.  Too bad we didn't stick to that during the last primary season. 

Too bad I don't live in Indiana. 

Northern Virginia's Upcoming Townhall Meetings

Saturday, January 8 - Public Hearing held by Fairfax County's Delegation to the General Assembly at 9:00a.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22030. Individuals wishing to speak should call the Office of the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at (703) 324-3151 by noon on Friday, January 7



Saturday, January 15 - Town Hall Meeting at 10:00a.m. at the McLean Community Center with State Senator Janet Howell and Delegate Jim Scott


Saturday, January 29 - Great Falls Town Hall Meeting at 10:00a.m. location to be determined.

Repeal the Bill - Text to Cantor's Repeal for Obamacare

They are due to vote on this in just a few short days.  It will be interesting to see if the very few blue dogs that are left will stick by Pelosi now. 
112TH CONGRESS


1ST SESSION






H. R. __






To repeal the job-killing health care law and health care-related provisions


in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.






IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES


Mr. CANTOR (for himself and [see ATTACHED LIST of cosponsors]) introduced


the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on


____________


A BILL


To repeal the job-killing health care law and health carerelated


provisions in the Health Care and Education


Reconciliation Act of 2010.






Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,






SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.


This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act’’.






SEC. 2. REPEAL OF THE JOB-KILLING HEALTH CARE LAWAND HEALTH CARE-RELATED PROVISIONS IN


THE HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010.


(a) JOB-KILLING HEALTH CARE LAW.—Effective as of the enactment of Public Law 111–148, such Act is re7


pealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.






(b) HEALTH CARE-RELATED PROVISIONS IN THE HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010.—Effective as of the enactment of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–152), title I and subtitle B of title II of such Act are repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such title or subtitle, respectively, are restored or revived as if such title and subtitle had not been enacted.

Women aren't Persons?

Huffington Post is running with an interview that Justice Scalia gave to a legal magazine. 

This doesn't happen all to often, but I kinda got go with HuffPo here. 

In 1868, when the 39th Congress was debating and ultimately proposing the 14th Amendment, I don't think anybody would have thought that equal protection applied to sex discrimination, or certainly not to sexual orientation. So does that mean that we've gone off in error by applying the 14th Amendment to both?

Yes, yes. Sorry, to tell you that. ... But, you know, if indeed the current society has come to different views, that's fine. You do not need the Constitution to reflect the wishes of the current society. Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't. Nobody ever thought that that's what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that. If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, hey we have things called legislatures, and they enact things called laws. You don't need a constitution to keep things up-to-date. All you need is a legislature and a ballot box. You don't like the death penalty anymore, that's fine. You want a right to abortion? There's nothing in the Constitution about that. But that doesn't mean you cannot prohibit it. Persuade your fellow citizens it's a good idea and pass a law. That's what democracy is all about. It's not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too long, imposing these demands on society.

Here is the wording of the 14th amendment:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Am I not a person because I am female?  Seriously, I would like someone to explain to me what he means by this.  I get the fact that in the 1860's women were not considered equals, but the wording says person.  Wouldn't that include any human?  I am normally inclined to agree with Scalia, but I am thinking he jumped the shark here. 

Fox News Sunday - Allen West and Mike Lee on Tea Party Campaigns and Real World Governing

Face The Nation Fireworks - Bachmann, Weiner, Wasserman-Schultz, and Kelly Duke it Out.

This was tons of fun.  This is long, but well worth the watch. 

Draft Cain - Herman Cain for President

I really can't say enough about this man.  I just love him.  There are many strikes against him, but remember they said exactly the same thing about now President Obama. 



Run Herman Run!!!