February 6, 2010
"Climate Change" Comes to Leesburg Virginia
It's no wonder they've abandoned "global warming" in favor of "climate change." Despite the change in terminology, we're all aware they still mean to scare us with the notion that "our planet has a fever."
Some fever. I live in Loudoun County, northern Virginia, and t =his is our fourth significant snowfall this year. Mind you, this is an area where we're lucky if we only get one where the trucks have to do any plowing. Six inches is a big deal around here. They've already closed schools for Monday and Tuesday. Our local paper says the area got between 24 - 30 inches, depending on where you lived. Other media reports said some areas got 33 inches.
Here's the view that greeted me as I opened my garage door in preparation for hours of shoveling
A record 2 feet or more was predicted for Washington. As of early Saturday, 10 inches of snow was reported at the White House, while parts of Maryland and West Virginia were buried under more than 20 inches. Forecasters expected snowfall rates to increase, up to 2 inches per hours through Saturday morning.
Turns out the snow continued for most of the day, finally tapering off at 4 or 5pm.
I dug a path to to the street and took a photo of my townhouse
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February 5, 2010
Obama's Nuclear Free Fantasy World Part II
In Obama's Nuclear Free Fantasy World I wrote that The honest truth is that a "nuclear free world" has always meant a nuclear-free United States, because as I said earlier there is no way the other nuclear armed countries of this world would be so stupid as to follow suit, and yes that includes France."
I didn't know how right I was.
Charles Krauthammer relates this amazing story in a lecture he gave at the Heritage Foundation on Monday:
The depths of Obama's naïve universalism can be seen in his pursuit of this deeply unserious goal, the most dramatic instance of which, as Nicolas Sarkozy will not easily forget, occurred on September 24, one day after Obama's speech to the General Assembly, when he ostentatiously presided over the Security Council, the first time an American President had ever done so.At the time, unknown to the world, Obama had knowledge that the Iranians had built a secret uranium enrichment facility near Qom. France and Britain were urging him to use that dramatic setting to stun the world with that revelation and thus be in a position to call for powerful immediate action. Not only did Obama refuse, but Sarkozy was forced to scrap any mention of Qom in his speech. Obama only revealed the news a day later in Pittsburgh.
Why did he forgo the opportunity? Because, explained White House officials, Obama did not want anything at that Security Council meeting to get in the way of his dream of a nuclear-free world. He did not want to "dilute" his disarmament resolution by "diverting to Iran."
Iran as a diversion? It's the most important security issue on the planet. A diversion from the fantasy of universal nuclear disarmament?
Sarkozy was sitting at that same Council table and could hardly contain himself. With Obama at the chair, Sarkozy pointedly observed: "President Obama has even said 'I dream of a world without [nuclear weapons].' Yet before our very eyes, two countries are currently doing the exact opposite." Sarkozy also informed the President that "we live in a real world, not a virtual world."
What have we come to when the President of France thinks our leader is a wimp?
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February 4, 2010
President Obama Calls for Civility
No joke. From the Washington Post:
Obama pleads for civility, cooperation in politicsBy BEN FELLER
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 28, 2010; 11:57 PMTAMPA, Fla. -- Trying to bury a year of polarization, President Barack Obama on Thursday escalated his appeal for politicians and voters alike to settle differences without tearing each other apart. His plea: "Let's start thinking of each other as Americans first."
...Coming one day after his State of the Union address, and one day before meeting with House Republican leaders with whom he continues to battle, Obama's emphasis on civility was a nod to political reality. He needs Republicans more than ever to get his agenda passed, and he is getting saddled with more public blame for the partisanship he promised to change.
Even the AP reporter couldn't report this one with a straight face.
It's a typical Democrat/liberal ploy. Attack, vilify, and slander, then as soon as you suffer a setback demand "civility" from the other side.
The level of hypocrisy is stunning, even for Obama
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Scott Brown Sworn In as 41st Republican Senator
Democrat Plan to Bring Socialism to American on Hold
Scott Brown was sworn in at approximately 5pm today by Vice-President Biden as the new Senator from Massachusetts. His upset victory was a tremendous blow to Democrats, who have lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Not that they had been able to capitalize on it. Via ABC News, here is the swearing in ceremonyL
And here is Senator Brown taking questions from the press. He handles himself well, I think
Brown's victory demonstrates several things.
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February 2, 2010
Obama v Bush - Budget Deficits
Jim Treacher puts numbers and a graph to a conversation I'm familiar with:
A simple five-step process for understanding the deficit and people's reactions to it
1) Read a story on the Obama administration's pledge to reduce the deficit. Pay special attention to quotes like this:"We wanted to draw a line in the sand and enforce some discipline in the spending process," White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said.2) Say: "Wow, they sure are spending a lot. Why didn't they reduce it by not increasing it so much in the first place? I'm no economist or anything, but I'm not so sure I like this whole deal."
3) Listen to Obama defender screech: "HOW COME YOU NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT BUSH'S SPENDING, WINGNUT???"
4) Show the Obama defender this graph, courtesy of the Congressional Budget Office:
5) Repeat as needed, i.e., every single time it comes up.
Another way to see how much Obama has increased the deficit relative to past presidents is through this national debt road trip video:
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February 1, 2010
"The Steady Erosion of Women's Rights in Egypt"
In Now They Call Me Infidel, Nonie Darwish tells of growing up in a relatively secular and Westernizing Egypt in the 1950s, only to see the country take a sharp Islamist turn as the decades wore on. The experience led her to flee her native country, and eventually the faith of her birth, for the United States and Christianity.
Sometimes the level of freedom or liberty in a society is not obvious by simply looking around. Economic freedom, to say nothing of freedom of speech and press, cannot be easily discerned by simply walking down the street. But other times there are visible signs that make it painfully obvious where a society or nation ranks. We're all familiar with communist and Nazi propaganda posters and statues. Huge signs of the head of state are a sign of a cult of personality that is a telling sign of totalitarian or authoritarian societies.
These are still around, but in today's world we face a new threat to our liberties; a fundamentalist or radical Islam. One of the first things that happens in a society infected with that disease is the degradation of women's rights, and the most visible sign of that is the wearing of the veil, whether the full burka or the head-covering-only hijab.
Chester, over at Pajamas Media , has documented the degradation of women's rights in Egypt through four photographs sent to him by a friend. They show the graduating class of Cairo University in 1959, 1978, 1995, and 2004.
click on each photo to enlarge
Class of 1959
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January 28, 2010
Krauthammer: Obama's "Spending Freeze" is a Fraud
I don't have time to cover much of last night's State of the Union speech, but here's one part that deserves attention:
Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.
Charles Krauthammer makes mincemeat of it:
Text of Krauthammer below the fold
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January 27, 2010
Pew Poll: Top Priorities for 2010
Keep this poll in mind as you listen to the State of the Union speech tonight
The lessons for liberals are obvious; the people don't think health care or alleged global warming are nearly as important as you do. Terrorism ranks higher than any of your big concerns, and most of you act like it's a non-threat that was blown out of proportion by George W Bush and company.
But there is a lesson for conservatives too
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January 24, 2010
Book Review - Going Rogue: An American Life
Sarah Palin's Going Rogue: An American Life, has become an instant best-seller, and given it's political nature and my own coverage of events, it behooves me to read and review it. It's really pretty simple; if you like Palin you'll like the book, if you don't you won't.
Recognizing her popularity among most on the right, National Review even set up a specialblog dedicated to the book, her book tour, and some of the controversy it has generated.
I'm going to avoid discussion of specific controversies and concentrate on an "overall" review. I would encourage commenters to not try and challenge me on this or that detail, because I've no intention of entering into what end up to be never-ending and quite contentions debates. See my comments policy at upper right for specifics.
For what it's worth, I'm not one of the "birthers" who thinks Obama is not a U.S. citizen. I think the controversy over his birth certificate is right-wing trutherism, and said so here on this blog. When Obama first came on the scene as a presidential candidate, I wrote that I liked him. It only turned to distaste after the Jeremiah Wright videos surfaced. But even now, despite my often intense criticism, a fair reading of this blog will show that I do not buy into the petty over-the-top stuff you often see circulated in email. No Obama-as-the-Joker picture will appear on this blog.
Let's all keep in mind that this post is a book review, it's not meant as an end-all-to-be-all on Sarah Palin. I'm not even going to try and reconcile her version of events with what others have said. And as mentioned earlier I'm most certainly not going to rehash every real and alleged controversy surrounding her.
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January 21, 2010
Haiti Briefing - 19 January 2010 - Military Relief Efforts Under Way
This briefing is by Major General Daniel B. Allyn, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Unified Response. Previous to this assignment, General Allyn was the deputy commanding general for the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg. On Tuesday General Allyn spoke via satellite from Haiti, with reporters at the Pentagon, providing an operational update on progress in providing relief to the suffering people of that country.
This and other videos can be seen at DODvClips. The Pentagon Channel also has videos and news stories, so visit it as well.
The transcript is at DefenseLink.
From General Allyn's opening remarks:
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