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Round One to Taxpayers on "Bailout!" Republican members of the US House of Representatives held firm and did the people's will on Monday, shutting down Speaker Nancy Pelosi's political manipulations and refusing to pass her Wall Street Bailout Bill. Pelosi, true to form, gathered her inner circle of lackeys and, upon seeing that the travesty she calls legislation was not going to pass, allowed some of her minions to vote against the bill so they could claim solidarity with the people on the election trail. Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney was among those who received dispensation from Pelosi. (It would be interesting to know what he had to give up in return.) Judging from reaction in his home district, Courtney didn't fool anyone, and neither did Pelosi. You can hide in bed with the covers over your head all you want, but the people still know where you are, and that the conditions that led to this crisis were put in place by Congressional Democrats and former president Bill Clinton. Pelosi and her propaganda ministers went to the MainStream Media and whined that "the Republican leadership" was to blame for not passing the bill because the GOP didn't muster enough Republican votes. But the Big Lie didn't fool anyone on that front either. This is a classic example of just how out of touch Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Barney Frank, the Democratic National Committee and the ultra-left wing of the Democratic Party - including Barack Obama - are with the American voters. Most Senators - like Connecticut's Chris Dodd who chairs the Senate Banking Committee and was often the recipient of lobbyist donations that led to the financial meltdown - aren't up for re-election so they don't care what the people think. But communications with members of Congress were running 3 to 1 against the bailout because the overwhelming majority of Americans don't want their tax dollars spent to reward a bunch of incompetents and criminals who see the federal budget as a feeding trough for their porcine appetites. The Republicans did the people's will, because the people demanded it, not because they were trying to manipulate home district voting trends ahead of the November election. As of this morning the Senate - apparently Reid saw that propaganda doesn't work in the age of the Internet - was planning on leap-frogging over the House of Representatives and passing its own version of the bill. The House is on recess for Rosh Hashanah, but may revisit the issue as early as tonight or tomorrow. In another obvious propaganda ploy the news media and politicians have stopped referring to the 700-billion-dollar bailout as a bailout and now call it a "rescue." What was that line going around the last few weeks about lipstick on a pig? Still a pig isn't it? Rescue my rear end. This is a bailout for for crooks and incompetents. I sincerely hope that Republicans in Congress hold firm and see that the American people are on their side. We don't want this type of behavior by a few elitist financial manipulators rewarded by a massive influx of taxpayer dollars so "The Rich" as Obama continually refers to his real supporters, can continue their lavish lifestyles unabated. More importantly, WE THE PEOPLE want to know who was responsible for this fiasco, and if there are applicable disciplinary, civil or criminal penalties we want them. We want to know more about Chris Dodd's sweetheart mortgage deal. We want to know more about the lobbying money he took, and Barack Obama took. We want to know more about Barney Frank's romantic relationship with a Fannie Mae executive. Frank, who received some $40,000 in campaign donations from Fannie Mae is openly gay and had a relationship with a male Fannie Mae executive at the time he (Frank) was sitting on an oversight committee. We need to know more about this, and by all means I do NOT mean the details of their relationship. I mean, how that relationship affected decisions made by Frank on Fannie Mae issues, and whether Congressional influence was up for trade. Most of us don't give a damn about the nature of this relationship by the way. If there were people on the oversight committee's having heterosexual relationships with executives in the GSEs, lobbying firms, you name it, they should be investigated too. We need a federal investigation and we need it to begin yesterday. I see the Democrats are trying to restart the dormant investigation into why the Bush Administration replaced a half-dozen or so federal prosecutors a couple of years ago. They pulled the US Attorney from Hartford, CT, to restart this witch hunt, just as she was about to be asked to launch a federal racketeering investigation into illegal immigration "Sanctuary Cities" in Connecticut. (We aren't supposed to see the "coincidence" here.) Nonetheless, there is still no corresponding call for an investigation into Bill Clinton firing more than 90 US attorneys when he became president, so obviously this is just another diversion. (Not that I need to repeat this, but the US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and they can be replaced at will for any reason or no reason at all. This latest "investigation" will go nowhere and is just another diversion.) But I want to know why, with all the useless, dead-end "investigations" the Democrats have launched since George Bush took office over politically charged but otherwise irrelevant issues, they don't want the financial meltdown on Wall Street investigated. Probably because it would go directly into their offices! Nonetheless, in the interests of preserving the union, we should have an impartial, all encompassing investigation, and if it hits Big People in Big Places, then it is time to bring them down to size, including sending them to prison if warranted. And you can take that to the bank. |
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Contributed by Ron Winter on October 1, 2008 at 07:22 PM in Dem Dumbness | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Matt Who?
Hey Matt Damon, congratulations, genius, you just made my do-not-watch list with your dumb denunciation of Sarah Palin. It's taken you a little longer than most of your dim-bulb colleagues, but let me tell you, Matty, you are there now, Bubba, you have arrived, and guess what boy? It's a lifetime achievement; once there Matty, you are on that list forever. Even crawling into the Vice-President's residence and giving Sarah a sole-licking pedicure couldn't get your smug Hollywood butt off my list, ever. You got that, Matt? See, Matt, I'm pretty lenient with you Hollywood dips and tend to give you a lot of leeway because I understand that you're really not a bunch of Will Huntings. Nope, you're just a pack of photogenic dopes who can stand in front of a camera and recite memorized lines. Yeah, yeah, Matt, I've heard all about your vaunted Ivy League academic achievements and I think they are just more Hollywood hype dreamed up by some little weasel who's taking a bigger percentage of your income than a truly smart man would willingly pay? Something I just can't figure, Matt, about you and the industry you are part of. I spent my whole life in marketing and I just can't get my business brain around an entire industry that insists on pissing off more than half its potential customer base as a matter of routine. You Hollywood flakes base all your success on box office sales, yet you consistently come into my home via my TV set, my computer and newspapers and personally insult my intelligence by snidely telling me I'm some sort of political Neanderthal because I don't want to vote for your communist candidates. And in the process, you are relentlessly driving me, and the millions like me, away from local theaters, putting yourself on my never go see again and never order list from Netflix. Really great deep thinking there, Ivy League Genius. Your career success depends on box office receipts, especially from the opening weekend, but you take it upon yourself to spit in my face about my political beliefs and guarantee that no one from my family ever will be sitting in the seats watching your latest insipid performance on opening weekend. Yeah, boy, that is marketing genius, Matt. Just by keeping your mouth shut you could double your box office but no, you just insist on insulting me and mine. Brilliant! Just freakin' brilliant, you Ivy League genius! Wonder why your industry is going down the tubes just slightly less precipitously than the New York Times, Matt? Perhaps it's because you, the entertainment industry, are mildly amusing and still hold some appeal for children. But little Pinch and his dying Grey Lady aren't read by too many children, Matt. Hell, they're not read by all that many adults anymore. Hey Matty boy, you're a big union supporter aren't you, like all Hollywood limousine liberals? So, do you have any harsh words for little Penny-Pinch putting over 400 union workers on the street this week? Nah, I didn't think so, because you need one of Pinch's snotty little tight-pants reviewers to make your latest piece of America-bashing trash sound good to the gullible, don't you? Keep it up, Matt, you and all the ostriches in Hollywood, the newspaper industry and the network broadcasting industry. You fools just keep right on alienating more than half your potential market and we'll see where you end up. You and others like you are so out of touch with the America that made you that your cavalier dismissal of the beliefs and feelings of that very same America will someday see you as nothing more than Matt who? Wanna guess how long it's been since I bought a theater ticket, Genius? And if it weren't for John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Stewart and their like, I'd cancel Netflix too. It's true I am about to break my long-standing boycott of Hollywood trash as I intend to go see An American Carol as soon as it's available. So, what do you think about that, Matt who? *** See also [BF]: Matt Damon, Genius. The Website that Created The "Sarah Palin Quotes" Even Identified Them as Parodies That Had Been Made Up |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on September 11, 2008 at 03:01 PM in Dem Dumbness, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack |
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The Loony Left Hemisphere
James Lewis in his September 6th posting, ‘The End of Boomer Weirdness,” sent me scrambling to Wikipedia to find the meaning of the term hebephrenic. What I found there led me to this: A form of schizophrenia in which affective changes are prominent, delusions and hallucinations fleeting and fragmentary, behavior irresponsible and unpredictable, and mannerisms common. The mood is shallow and inappropriate and often accompanied by giggling or self-satisfied, self-absorbed smiling, or by a lofty manner, grimaces, mannerisms, pranks, hypochondriacal complaints, and reiterated phrases. Upon reading that, the first light bulb that popped on was, Alan Colmes! followed closely by, Ellis Henican and Bob Beckel!” But then with further reflection, I realized that many, if not all, of these diagnostic terms could be applied fairly to far too many of the liberal spokespersons we see on television, in particular the references to self-satisfied, self-absorbed smiling, or by a lofty manner, grimaces. Just think of all the smug, smarter-than-thou, liberal talking heads those words describe: Olbermann, Matthews, those View broads, all through the major networks, ad infinitum. And consider how the self-satisfied smile usually comes at the end of a successful rattling off of a string of memorized DNC talking points. The lofty manner and grimaces accompany the rebuttals from their conservative counterparts. Think about what you’ve been watching for the last few years and tell me I’m wrong. Now he’s not one of my favorite talk show hosts because of his bombastic style but, to his credit, Michael Savage has been saying for several years that Liberalism is a mental disorder. I believe I’m beginning to agree with him. Suddenly, expressions like Loons on the Left and Kool Aid Drinkers are beginning to take on new meaning. Lewis, in his AT article cites Polish scientist and author, Count Alfred Korzybski who coined the term unsanity to describe this sort of collective, unhinged behavior by entire segments of society. By the Count’s accounting, they may not be certifiably, committably insane but they are definitely operating with far too many screws loose. That’s not the Count’s medical terminology, by the way, but mine. When I talk to family members and friends who are readily sucking up Obama’s version of Jim Jones’ purple, Flavor-Aid cocktails, I am aware that no amount of reasoning is going to sway them from their feelings that Obama is The One. What does provide a ray of hope and sanity is that those truly unsane are still in the minority and suddenly an antidote has arrived for those only minimally afflicted: Sarah Palin. The Glamorous Gov, possesses an oft-noted, naughty librarian look that conceals an iron-willed political competence that when they get glimpses of it in her public pronouncements is turning the unsane on the left totally insane. Just when Us magazine, with their frothing denunciation of McCain’s butt-kickin’ BatGirl thinks they have her teetering on the edge of the topmost floor of the New York Times Building, they look down and its their own toes they see tottering feebly on the edge of the abyss. Holy Palony, Pinch!!! What mystical powers are we up against??? And Pinchy Boy’s New York Times, which is the institutional exemplification of full-blown, beyond treatable hebephrenia, has deployed a battalion (or is it a brigade? Libs have problems with math and military terms, you know) of investigative reporters to the Far North to dig up dirt on the Gov which could explain their lack of manpower to send any investigative reporters to Chicago to conduct any sort of professional journalistic probe of the nefarious Daly Machine which has seemingly produced a presidential candidate out of thin air with an even thinner résumé. All of which leaves me to ponder: Has the whole damned world gone crazy? Nope, just the freakin’ Left Hemisphere. |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on September 8, 2008 at 02:04 AM in Dem Dumbness, Politics, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Rocky Roads Ahead in Denver; The Democratic National Convention is upon us and for sheer entertainment value, this is shaping up to be better than the Olympics - way better. We have protest groups, we have warehouse-sized jails waiting for the protest groups, we have a divided party, we have the ho-hum story of who will get picked to run with Barack Obama, assuming that he survives a floor vote, and then we have the lawsuit! What's that you ask? Lawsuit? Why, yes! The lawsuit! It was filed in federal court in Philadelphia Thursday, August 21, 2008, (that's yesterday) by a prominent Democrat, who just happens to be a Hillary Clinton supporter. The lawsuit alleges that Obama has not proved he is really a US citizen, and therefore could possibly be ineligible to run for the highest office in the country. Now, this issue has been circulating for as long as Obama has been at the forefront of the Democratic race. Pamela Geller at the Atlas Shrugs weblog has been reporting on the discrepancies in Obama's birth certificate for quite some time now. Other investigative bloggers across the political spectrum have been chasing this story with the due diligence reminiscent of the days when the media actually reported the news instead of serving as publicity shills for their favorite candidate. The lawsuit is listed as: Civil Action No. 08-cv-4083 Philip J. Berg, Esquire, vs. Obama. It seeks a Declaratory Judgment and an Injunction preventing Obama from continuing his candidacy. It claims that he does not meet the qualifications to be President of the United States. Listed as the reasons why Obama should not be allowed to continue with his campaign include allegations that he: Additional information that further explains the reasons behind the suit state that Berg filed it because he is looking out for the best interests of the Democratic Party, and for the rest of us too. I for one am tickled pink, so to speak, no pun intended, that a prominent Democrat is so concerned about my welfare that he would file a lawsuit on my behalf. Further information making the rounds with the news on the lawsuit identifies Berg as a former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania; former Democratic candidate for Governor and US Senate; former Chairman of the Democratic Party in Montgomery County; and a former member of the Democratic State Committee. He now practices law in Philadelphia. Let's not kid ourselves here. This is just one of the many fronts opened up by the Hillary Clinton forces to try to wrest the nomination away from Obama at the Democratic convention. That also doesn't alter the fact that there are serious questions about Obama's origins and whether he is indeed eligible to run for president. If we go back to columns I wrote crunching the numbers at the end of the Democratic primary process you will see that Obama never did get enough committed delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot - unless a significant majority of the uncommitted super delegates support him. Usually the super delegates can be counted on to support the candidate with the clear majority, but Obama doesn't have that clear majority and lately he has really been slipping in the national polls when compared to John McCain. The truth is, even though McCain doesn't have universal support within the Republican ranks, the more people learn about Obama the better they like the Republican nominee. Despite all the rhetoric and unity crappola that has been on television and in the Democratic Party news outlets - also known as the mainstream media - Hillary's supporters want her in and Obama out. They not only believe they have been shafted through the Democrats' nomination process (I agree, they have) they also believe that their candidate has a far better chance of beating McCain in a general election. Of course, the GOP really doesn't want Hillary running against McCain as it would make for a much tougher race, according to some forms of conventional wisdom. That thinking goes down a road that says McCain is just waiting until after Labor Day and after the GOP convention to really begin unloading on Obama. Even though they have traded shots at each other's records and stances, the real campaigning won't get rolling until the fall when most people are back from vacation, kids are back in school, routines are re-established and people begin paying close attention to the candidates. Once that happens, it is quite possible, perhaps even likely that Obama will slip further and further behind McCain, probably to a point from which he can't recover. Democrats who are supporting Hillary Clinton know this and are attempting to head McCain off at the pass. But that is all in the distant future. In the just around the corner future we have the Democratic Convention in Denver. I am going to spend more time watching late night re-runs on this than I did watching women's beach volleyball in Beijing, which is really saying something. I was watching Fox News Channel this morning and they were doing previews of what is coming to Denver, and all I can say is - hold on to your hats. My favorite protest group, and there really is a cornucopia of protest groups to choose from, has to be Recreate 68. For me to recreate what I was doing in 1968 I need to be in Southeast Asia, standing inside a CH-46 helicopter Super D model, manning a .50 caliber machine gun, shooting at North Vietnamese communists, and hanging out with my Marine buddies afterward. But for these folks to recreate 1968 all they have to do is run amok in an American city where the Democratic Party is holding a national convention to formally select a candidate for president. They need bags of feces to throw at the conventioneers, and they probably should have a lot of bandages too. The bandages would be for use when the Denver police finally lose their patience and act the way the Chicago police did in 1968 - meaning smashing the daylights out of feces throwing protesters. Denver's security precautions are so extensive the city looks like an armed camp. Oh yeah, it also is against the law to drag bags full of human feces around for either fun or profit! One would have to assume that extends to animal, mineral, vegetable, fish or insect feces too. So, my recommendation for this weekend and onward is to stock up on your favorite beverages, adult or otherwise, get some pizzas, some ice cream, some snacks, junk food, stuff you can cook quickly in a microwave and settle down in front of the television. This should be a non-stop show and with any luck we'll have riots, mass arrests, tear gas, water cannons, cops and maybe even the National Guard with fixed bayonets - just like in 1968. Do you feel that too? I mean the lump you get in your throat, and the tear that forms in your eye when you look back fondly on an earlier and happier time in your life? You know, philosophically I am a Republican, but I have to admit, those Democrats sure know how to have fun. |
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Contributed by Ron Winter on August 22, 2008 at 11:15 AM in Dem Dumbness, Obamanation, Politics, Ron Winter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Paternity Test? What Paternity Test?
John Edwards may be a fool for love but he’s no fool as a lawyer. Faced with the ongoing disclosures by the National Enquirer of his long-standing affair with campaign worker, Rielle Hunter, and the imminent threat that Enquirer was about to publish substantiating photographs of his two-week ago rendezvous with his paramour and their love child, he did what any clever trial lawyer would do, he did a modified, limited hangout, admitting as little as possible to buy himself some time to rebuild his defense. Yeah, yeah, OK, so there was some hanky-panky back in 2006 but that’s all ancient history. So what? Let’s just put all that behind us and move forward here, know what I mean? Like any good courtroom performer Edwards trotted out a verbal timetable in his media mea culpa to demonstrate that if the affair ended when he said it did back in 2006 (which the luxuriously stashed and cared for Ms. Hunter is sure to verify) then that little bundle of joy could not possibly be the result of any carnal couplings between these two carefree kids. Heck, they just had a brief, inconsequential, campaign fling and went their separate ways. And just to make sure we believe him, John threw it right out there on the table that he’s more than willing to take a paternity test to prove he’s not the father. Now I must admit to a bit of consternation upon hearing that, wondering what kind of lawyer trick this was. Then my lovely bride of forty years, who was also a certified legal assistant in the employ of numerous trial lawyers for thirty years, pointed out the obvious: you need a complainant to make John’s bold proffer meaningful in any way. She went on to explain, as that little light bulb was going on over my head, that Edwards could take all the paternity tests in the world but if there is no matching test obtained from the child in question, there would be nothing to match it to. And then I began to understand why this guy was able to bilk corporations out of tens of millions in bogus claims. If there is no complainant, meaning Ms. Hunter, seeking to establish legal paternity, then wherefrom will come the genetic materials to be used in the testing/matching process? There is no father listed on the birth certificate so that makes Ms. Hunter the sole legal representative of the baby, and the only person who can submit that child for genetic testing to obtain a possible matching sample. And is Ms. Hunter likely to do that when she considers the possibility that she may someday be Mrs. Edwards, wife of one of the wealthiest trial attorneys in America? And there are news reports that she has indeed alluded to such a future with Mr. Silky Pony when he is no longer matrimonially encumbered. Now I suppose there might be provisions under California law that would permit involuntary testing in a paternity suit if there were compelling public interests at stake but we have neither a complainant nor a compelling public interest here. What we do have, in my opinion, is a very slick demonstration of lawyering skills being applied by a man so unslick as to allow himself to be cornered in a public restroom by a bunch of reporters and photographers at the scene of the slime. What a helluva man you are John! But, you know, as I think about it, we might be better off having a courtroom whiz like you dealing with the likes of Achmadinejad than some academic legal lightweight like B.O. Ah well… Editor's note: Please note that Russ wrote this well before Rielle Hunter announced that she wasn't willing to participate in paternity testing. |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on August 9, 2008 at 11:41 AM in Dem Dumbness, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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"Poodle" Larson, Pelosi Burning Bridges to America; If you look on Congressman John Larson's web page you'll see that he crows about being the #5 Democratic power broker in the US House of Representatives. Now, Larson, again following Pelosi's lead, has gone on vacation, while she is out on a book signing tour. Local papers in his native Connecticut, which regularly give him free advertising, have featured Larson fiddling while Congress burns, metaphorically speaking, showing him partying as his constituents worry about their energy bills. |
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Contributed by Ron Winter on August 7, 2008 at 04:43 PM in Dem Dumbness | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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A REAL Means to Use the Strategic Petroleum Reserves
Democrats have been clamoring for President Bush to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and divert 10 percent of its total to the world gasoline market, which they say will bring down gasoline prices at the pump. But Joseph Visconti, GOP candidate for Connecticut's First Congressional District, who is facing John Larson, one of Nancy Pelosi's most loyal lieutenants, has a far better idea, and far better reasons than a momentary bump in the political polls. (I guess the Dems are OK with a 9 percent approval rating but they don't want to sink any lower.) Visconti, who unlike Larson and most of his cohorts, actually runs a business and knows the impact of energy prices on productivity first hand, has been studying the issue and proposed utilizing some of the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide Americans with emergency heating fuel this winter. Visconti's proposal differs significantly from calls by his Democratic opponent to open up the Strategic Reserve to the marketplace to increase gasoline supplies in an effort to reduce gas prices. The Democrats' suggestion, Visconti said, would "simply provide more profits for the international oil cartel by placing the oil on the open market." "The Strategic Reserve contains American oil, already bought and paid for by the American taxpayer," Visconti said. "It was created to provide petroleum for our military in the event of a national emergency, and temporary relief from economic and natural disasters." "Americans freezing in their homes this winter would certainly be a disaster, brought on by economic conditions that are directly traceable to inaction by Congress. But that is our oil and it should be made available to the states, so it could go directly to Americans who would use it to heat their homes." Visconti cautioned, however, that using the strategic reserves would be a viable solution only when coupled with a decision by Congress to lift its restrictions on drilling offshore, for shale oil in the Rocky Mountains, and in a barren and desolate tract of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. "We need to drill our way out of this for the near future as we combine clean and safe drilling with clean and safe nuclear, and a concerted effort to replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources.” Visconti said that releasing the oil directly to the states for emergency heating oil supplies would "keep American oil in America where it would directly benefit Americans. "This is the emergency we planned for when American taxpayers bought that oil," Visconti said. "Why should it go on the market, where international speculators can manipulate the price for their profits?" |
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Contributed by Ron Winter on July 21, 2008 at 12:37 AM in Dem Dumbness, Ron Winter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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Congressman John Larson, #1 Cause of High Gas Prices; Poster Child for Government Dysfunction
Connecticut's First District Congressman John Larson, a 10-year veteran of failed Congressional policies, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's personal valet, appeared on national media Monday afternoon demanding that President Bush tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserves for additional oil supplies. This he said, while claiming to be the only man in America who knew the long-term answer to our energy needs, would create an immediate drop in gas prices for the consumer. He was, as usual, parroting Pelosi who has been making the same claim for some time now, and as usual these two "geniuses" couldn't mount a double digit IQ if they stood on each other's shoulders. For those who may have been Larson's students when he was teaching revisionist history before becoming a politician and thus wouldn't know this, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created in the mid-1970s in response to the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, which I see as the first shot in the War on Terror. The oil exporting countries of the Middle East, sensing spinelessness in the US Congress after it voted to sell South Vietnam down the river, suddenly shut down oil exports to the US. As a result there were domestic shortages, our gas prices spiked, rationing went into effect, lines were everywhere, people were duking it out at the corner gas stations, and something had to be done. "Something" turned out to be a series of hollowed out salt caverns on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts, which are intended to hold up to 1 billion barrels of petroleum. The thinking at that time was that if all other sources of petroleum were suddenly shut off, we would have a 90-day supply to keep our military functioning and keep vital industries operating. Since shutting down all of our oil producing capabilities would obviously be an act of war, the thinking was that our military could wipe up any potential enemy within the 90 days and still have time left over to get the pipeline flowing again. For decades the actual amount of petroleum stored in the reserve caverns has ebbed and flowed, so to speak, depending on world conditions and the beliefs of the administration in power. But after September 11, 2001 President Bush ordered a renewed emphasis on keeping the reserves topped off or as close to full as possible. There is, however, a fly in the ointment. The capacity and longevity of the reserves were calculated back in the 70s when both our domestic consumption and our percentage of imported petroleum were far less than they are now. Today the United States consumes approximately 21 millions barrels of oil per day, and if all of that suddenly had to come from a topped off Strategic Reserve we would have only a 50-day supply - do the math Congressman. This comes, must I remind you, only a few days after the leaders of Iran, one of the biggest oil exporters in the world, fired off a bunch of missiles to show everyone that they still are crazy after all these decades, and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a huge percentage - up to 40 percent by some estimates - of the world's oil flows every day. Earlier this month Iranian officials stated that Israel is pressuring America to attack Iran. "If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned," an Iranian official said in news reports. Some analysts estimate that Iran could control the Strait for a month before our troops hand them their rear ends on a silver platter. I think it is far less time, but that's just me. Simply put, with all that is going on in the world, this is not a good time to be tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in an attempt to get a very limited political bounce. John Larson parroting ideas of this nature, ladies and gentlemen, is the prime reason that Congress has only a 9 percent approval rating!
When asked why Congress doesn't just lift its ban on drilling, Larson, who has been solidly opposed to any new drilling, and chants the Democratic mantra "We can't drill our way out of this. OOOOOHHHMMMM," while meditating on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, suddenly said that now he isn't opposed to new drilling! He just wants the oil companies to drill in places where they have government leases and already have determined that there is no oil, or very little oil, or it would be so difficult to extract that it would take forever and not be worth the investment. He even had a cute little chart showing something fuzzy that supposedly made his point but didn't come across on television - even with digital and big screen. Then he got even cuter and tried to act sage and wise by stroking his chin and muttering something about "Oil companies making money? Hmmmmmm." Are you aware this guy makes more than $160,000 per year as a Congressman for coming up with this inane drivel? Here's where things get really infuriating. The oil companies, as has been shown repeatedly after the Democrats started blaming them for the shortage of domestic production, make about 9 cents per gallon profit. That's it. Why? Because they have to pay for equipment, maintenance, research, development and upkeep on the oil drilling and refining infrastructure. They pay salaries and benefits, not just for a handful of corporate CEOs but for tens of thousands of oil industry workers doing the jobs that keep America mobile. Do you know who really gets a huge WINDFALL profit from gasoline sales? Try the US CONGRESS!! That's right! The federal government charges 18.4 cents tax on each gallon of gas sold in this country. That is DOUBLE what the oil companies make and it is nearly all profit because Congress doesn't have to invest anything to get that money, nothing, nada - except the tax collectors who already were on site screwing us on every other thing that moves, breathes and takes up space in this country. As of July 1, 2008, the average amount of tax, state and federal combined, imposed on a gallon of gasoline sold in the United States was 49.4 cents per gallon, up 2.4 cents from January 2008. Five hundred percent more than the oil companies make! But wait, there's more! Larson is one of four Democratic congressmen from Connecticut, the state with the second highest level of gasoline taxes in the country. Connecticut motorists pay just under 70 CENTS PER GALLON on every gallon they pump! And get this. The Connecticut Legislature, the one where Larson learned remedial "How to Shaft the Taxpayer" before he graduated to the US Congress, doesn't charge a flat tax per gallon, it charges a percentage based on the wholesale price of gasoline! So every time the price of gasoline goes up, the amount of tax levied and collected increases right along with it! John Larson. Connecticut's gift to the American taxpayer. Why would we want to keep a guy like him all to ourselves? Americans are dealing with a slacking economy that in many cases is directly related to the unending increases in gasoline which affect the price of virtually everything else in the country. But while our state and federal legislative branches have a remedy right at hand through tax reductions, they continue to shaft us all, and blow billions of tax dollars right out the old wazoo without a care in the world. Hey Congressman, how about you show us a graph with those little statistics drawn in? The hypocrisy and arrogance of our elected persons is enough to put hair where you don't have it and curl it where you do. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at anything Larson says or does. He basically is Pelosi's shadow, except for when she lends him to John Murtha or Harry Reid, and pretty much all we see out of him is his head nodding in agreement whenever she makes an utterance. He stood alongside Pelosi nodding sagely when they went to Iraq together and she insulted the American military by saying The Surge didn't really work, and our troops didn't really defeat the terrorists ... we won because the Iranians "let us." Now she tries to divert attention away from high gas prices that are a direct result of Congressional refusal to open up drilling, refining and nuclear construction, by calling for tapping into the Strategic Reserves at the worst possible time, and he bobs his head and repeats the party talking points. How does it go now? Oh yes. "We don't want to drill because it will destroy the environment .... But we do want to drill ... but we want the oil companies to drill where there may not be oil instead of where they know oil really is located ... and "We can't drill our way out of this!" John Larson. Reinforces your faith in Congress and pride in being an American doesn't he? |
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Contributed by Ron Winter on July 19, 2008 at 02:17 PM in Dem Dumbness, Ron Winter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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He's What?
I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you just how damn smart I am. I mean, if you ignore most of the blog articles I have ever written, and omit my predictions of John McCain being dead in the water for the 2008 presidential nomination, I would like to point back to my December 2006 article, American Idol Mystique. That is where, months before a majority of the country had ever heard the name Barack Obama and well before this witless shoe shine and a smile declared for the presidency, I, The Gray Dog, spelled out exactly how and why Obama would ascend not only to the Democrat nomination but to the presidency itself. I even accurately foretold of the influence and role the Oprah would play. Fast forward to today. What brilliance, what prescience, what clairvoyance! But, now my position as Oracle of the dogoshphere is being challenged. With memories of Jeremiah Wright still lingering, Obama flip-flopping as he stretches his scrawny pencil neck toward the center, Michelle snarling and snapping at everyone, a trait quadrupeds such as myself find very attractive and now, the Reverend Jesse Jackson accusing Obama of talking down to black people and threatening to cut his … well you’ve probably watched the tape by now, conventional wisdom tells us this could be a close race and McCain might pull this out in a squeaker. Now, personally, I like to buck conventional wisdom, (which may play a small part with why I live in a dog house,) and would have been willing to bet on Obama’s ability to overcome these minor distractions. But when you add to all of this, the threat that Hillary’s supporters may break ranks and flock to McCain coupled with the fact that the Oprah has cooled her overt support of Obama due to the backlash of angry female fans who felt betrayed by the daytime Queen of Estrogen, and Obama’s presumed November miracle seems less certain. But, I believe in the Oprah. Or should I say, I believe in the power of the Oprah. She hasn’t backed a loser since Dr. Phil, and she’s not gong to make that mistake again. She also has powerful friends. In fact it is a very powerful and close friend of Oprah, one who may have provided Bill Clinton with the only thread of a legacy that has nothing to do with a blue dress, who could be called upon to resuscitate Obama’s faltering campaign. What will it take to make large West Virginian women in sensible shoes switch allegiance from Hillary to Obama? Who can influence the Stepford Wives of Oprahland to become adoring Obama-nuts? Perhaps a bad choice of terms if the secret service doesn’t apprehend Jesse pretty soon. None other than the Oprah’s close friend, author Toni Morrison. For those who are unaware, Ms. Morrison is very powerful. She won a Pulitzer Prize. But her real powers, just like the powers possessed by the Oprah, are derived from being both black and female. So, just as Toni salvaged Bill Clinton’s image by declaring him to be America’s First Black President, I predict that this very influential FOO (Friend of Oprah) will appear on the Oprah’s show before the end of this month to declare Obama, when elected, shall become America’s First Woman President! Think of the exquisite ironies. Will Michelle be shocked or surprised. I don’t think so, as she has all of the testosterone in the Obama family to begin with. On the other hand, the double slap in the face to Hillary has to leave her wondering why Toni Morrison has it in for her, again. (Clue: Toni’s just like the rest of us; she hates you too.) Finally, on this last point I’m torn. While it might have been entertaining to watch, Ms. Morrison’s declaration is certainly going to thwart any of Reverend Jackson’s recent plans. Although, I've heard rumors this has already been handled. Is this prescience or just another dog dream? |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on July 10, 2008 at 11:02 AM in Current Affairs, Decision '08, Dem Dumbness, John McCain, Politics, The Gray Dog | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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2007.07.22 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
Below the fold:
See also: Continue reading "2007.07.22 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 22, 2007 at 12:25 AM in Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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The Conservative’s Quick Curative Coup
I’ve been thinking back to October 2006. It already seems like a lifetime ago. The Democrat’s October Surprise, Mark Foley, was dominating every twenty-four hour news cycle. Republicans recoiled in horror, Democrats drooled with insidious delight, Independents…. well Independents do what they always do and jumped onto what they perceived to be the winning bandwagon. In the end, the conservatives stayed home on Election Day and taught those pesky RINOs a lesson. And the lesson was… I’m not sure, but there was a lesson somewhere. Now, I’m hearing much the same rhetoric from conservatives; that perhaps America hasn’t learned its lesson yet. That lesson being… I’m still not sure, but even fellow VAV contributor, Zero Ponsdorf, recently posited in his post “Death by a Thousand Cuts, or Just Vote Democratic,” a concern America was in the beginning stages of an unavoidable collapse. Zero sets up his thesis with:
Whew! Don’t get me started. C’mon, Bush v. Gore? Bush v. Kerry? Where was the choice? I did what I felt had to be done: I voted for Bush twice, yet now all I have for my effort is this strange dichotomy of emotions known by almost anyone who has ever experienced a divorce. You know - one moment a wistful melancholy that pervades your senses allowing you to remember your ex (or president) with fondness, then after you sober up, you can’t for the life of you remember what you ever saw in that bitch (sonofabitch or president.) In fact you can’t believe you were ever married and spent evenings propagating the species with this subhuman slime. |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on July 9, 2007 at 10:00 AM in [W]itch Hillary, Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, G W Bush, Politics, The Gray Dog | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Evil Requires No Master; Just a Few Willing Accomplices.
The Gray Dog’s Note: I’m writing this to follow up on issues raised and responded to from my last post, “There Is No Us in U.S.” My discussion of evil is strictly confined to mere mortal men. I will leave any spiritual discussion of evil to theologians and others more competent than I to offer judgments. In my last article I discussed a couple of loosely defined demographic groups I hastily labeled “them” and “us.” Even without a detailed description, I don’t think anyone was mislead or mistaken as to the fact that I was simply identifying two groups of mere mortals whose major differences were rooted in moral, political and philosophical opposition. I, The Gray Dog and most of my cohorts, both bipeds and quadrupeds, are part of the group referred to as “us.” Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary and all other crustaceans and slithering reptiles belong to the group known as “them.” However, a number of respondents to my article “There Is No Us in U.S.” in private emails and phone calls, referred to a more mystical group known simply as “They.” Unlike “us” and “them,” “They” appear to possess prescience and omnipotence close to a ten rating on the TDS (True Deity Scale,) therefore affording “They” the honor of capitalization. In my article, I expressed anguish over feelings of frustration, helplessness and betrayal. Responses to my rant ranged from “So, you’re having a bad day?” to “’They’, have been planning and plotting this for years! ‘We’ are so glad you have finally awakened.” I think “we” may be the subject of yet another post, but back to “They” for now. Now, as a BLOGGER, Forum Administrator and all around well heeled eDog, I find myself on a lot of strange email lists. One of the real odd-balls is a tax-evading, self-proclaimed Libertarian of a Conservative persuasion, who agrees with Rosie O’Donnell that Bush blew up the World Trade Center. Hat-Tip to my buddy Bill Faith for getting me on that list. How ya’ doin’ Harry? Continue reading "Evil Requires No Master; Just a Few Willing Accomplices." |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on June 11, 2007 at 10:15 PM in Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, G W Bush, Patriotism, Politics, The American Warrior, The Gray Dog | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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There Is No Us in U.S.
The Gray Dog’s Note: At least one or two people have noticed I have not written much in the past few months. I have tried to. I have started and stopped dozens of times. I’m not sure there is a point in it any longer. I’m not sure how often I will continue to post at my BLOG or any other. I feel the need to take some form of direct action instead of writing to a handful of readers. I’m just not sure what that activity may be. Any suggestions? I thought that participating in GOE in March would provide a much needed outlet. In that regard, I was both wrong and disappointed. But, that’s another story. No, what follows is a bedtime story for the 21st Century. Sweet Dreams. Did you ever have nightmares as a child? You know, perhaps some beastly nocturnal visage that would scare the bejeebers out of you? Or perhaps you were simply falling helplessly through air waiting for the inevitable impact. Awakening with a scream that prompted a late night bedside visit from your mom, sleep would not come easy for the rest of the night. Between the ages of three and six, I was plagued by a recurring nightmare in which I was being abducted by a stranger I never saw. This nameless, faceless creature would always approach from behind, whisking me into the air, away from the comfort and security of my bed and begin walking through my family’s small basement apartment toward the front door. As we passed by my parents I would cry out but the sound would stick in my throat. The more I tried unsuccessfully to scream the more panicked I became. My mother would look in my direction and smile. The dream always ended with our passing through the front door as my parents seemingly unaware or unconcerned that I was gone, went about their business. Then I would awaken with a start. Sweaty, rapid pulse, panicked. After a short while, the panic would subside, but the feelings of despair, frustration and hopelessness would linger throughout the day. Nearly five decades have passed since that disturbing nighttime phantasm was conjuring unimaginable horror in a six year old boy. It was merely a childhood apparition to simply outgrow and be forgotten. Yet, fifty years later, it has returned. No longer content to simply manifest itself as an occasional nocturnal disturbance, that old familiar sense of despair has crept back into my life to become my constant companion. Hopelessness has replaced optimism as a way of life and a pervasive sense of dread enshrouds me as I wander aimlessly through a surreality that finds me rapidly vacillating between morbid despondency and irrational rage. Remnants of that childhood nightmare began to resurface last October, as Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos were convicted and sentenced to prison for simply doing their job as border patrol agents. |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on June 9, 2007 at 11:43 AM in Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, G W Bush, Islamism Delenda Est, Patriotism, Politics, The Gray Dog | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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This Is Really Too Much
Believe it or not, the Fantasy Factory in Langley, Virginia is about to waste its time and our money on a National Intelligence Estimate assessing the impact of climate change on national security. They did it once at the behest of Al Gore, back when he was Veep. Now they are going to reprise the farce at the instigation of Rep. Eshoo [D., Caliifornia]. Readallabahdit, in the Washington Post .
The story continues...
Yes, indeed. The world's oldest institution of representative government--in continuous existence, that is--solemnly voted to enshrine the thoroughly discredited "hockey stick" as a major strategic guideline, and the boss of all our intelligence agencies heartily agrees. Don't they have anything better to do? In the opinion of one disgruntled curmudgeon, it is high time that the Joint Chiefs met to debate a question of grave import: Is the attempt to rescue this nation from the consequences of the frivolity and stupidity of its elected rulers a game that is worth the candle? Or should we simply dissolve the defense establishment and all go fishing? |
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Contributed by 72nd TCS on May 12, 2007 at 01:02 PM in Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, John "72nd TCS" Werntz, War? What war? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.05.09 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.05.08 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup Halfway down the road to hell, And there shall our warriors rejoice at the sight as the Dhimmicrats parade by in chains on the way to their eternal reward. Below the fold, newest items at the top:
I hope when the mushroom clouds eventually start rising above the U.S. Reid, Pelosi and Murtha are together so they have a couple of minutes to congratulate each other on how well they handled the war just before they die. Three would be OK. Anything longer is more than they deserve. *** Don't miss Ed's follow-up post here. Continue reading "2007.05.09 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on May 9, 2007 at 12:01 PM in Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iran, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.05.08 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.05.07 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
Michelle Malkin has more here, Allahpundit's tracking the case here, PJM has coverage here. Unsurprisingly, Bob Owens has some of the best coverage you're going to find here. Kim Priestap also has good coverage. Dan Riehl: Duka, Duka, Duka, Mohamad Jihad. ***
*** Michelle has lots more here. Don't miss Dan's Riehl's update here. Below the fold, newest items at the top:
Continue reading "2007.05.08 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on May 8, 2007 at 04:10 PM in Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iran, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Debutantes of Defeat
In 2003 they came to the Ball, But the dance card of war began to reveal, Once hypocrite Hillary swirled the war floor, Hillary’s hip-hopping, Reid’s tapping like mad, club-footed Kerry’s still schlubbing, |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on May 2, 2007 at 01:48 PM in Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.05.02 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.05.01 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup Below the fold:
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Read the whole thing and don't forget to follow the links to learn more about the gentleman who wrote it. Continue reading "2007.05.02 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on May 2, 2007 at 12:52 AM in Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.30 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup See previous: 2007.04.29 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup Below the fold (newest items at the top):
Continue reading "2007.04.30 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 30, 2007 at 01:45 AM in Afghanistan, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iran, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Who Won Harry?
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In this war, as it was in Vietnam, Americans will not know battlefield defeat. American politicians, at least of your brand Harry, own it, live it, long for it every day that you walk into your Congressional office to collect the people's money and revel in your own inflated self-image. Unfortunately, politicians rarely suffer because of the defeat they work so hard to achieve. It is the Soldiers and their families, not the politicians who suffer, but no one pretends that you care about that.|
Contributed by J D on April 29, 2007 at 05:18 PM in Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, J D Pendry | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.29 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.04.28 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
Joe Katzman has an excellent related post here. Bottom line: Replacing HMMWVs with MRAP's saves American lives. The Army and Marines are waiting for money to replace a bunch of 'em. They don't have it yet because the Surrendercrats are playing political games instead of taking care of the troops. It is my fervent and heartfelt hope that when the jihadis finally manage to nuke DC Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Mad Jack Murtha are just far enough from Ground Zero to see the flash and have a split second to realize what happened before the shock front arrives and liquefies their bodies. Catching the three of them somewhere on the left coast for a moonbat convention would be even better, of course. Update after a night's sleep and some time to surf the web a little: I don't really want the Three Ratateers to die in the initial blast. I'd much prefer they die slow lingering deaths trapped in the rubble, preferably under the same rubble pile so they have time to congratulate each other on how well they managed the war. (No, Bill isn't "off his meds again." I'm not wishing any worse fate for the Ratateers than will be suffered by thousands of others if they succeed in implementing their proposed policies.) Below the fold (newest items at the top):
Continue reading "2007.04.29 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 29, 2007 at 01:06 AM in Afghanistan, Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iran, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Mad Jack Murtha | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.26 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup See previous: 2007.04.25 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
The Reid/Pelosi/Murtha Iraq plan in simplified form:
What we are watching, people, is absolute moral bankruptcy in action. Reid and Pelosi are contributing to American deaths in Iraq just as surely as Kerry and Fonda did in Viet Nam. May they burn in eternal Hell.
Below the fold:
Continue reading "2007.04.26 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 26, 2007 at 03:23 AM in Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.25 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup See previous: 2007.04.24 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
Let's put it in even simpler terms: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and a number of other powerful Democrats have bet the future of the Democratic party, and with it their own futures, on an American failure in Iraq. Having done so it's only natural and to be expected that they'll do everything in their power to make their dire predictions come true. Am I questioning their patriotism? Not at all; there's nothing there to question.
Below the fold:
Continue reading "2007.04.25 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 25, 2007 at 01:20 AM in Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.24 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.04.23 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
Below the fold:
Continue reading "2007.04.24 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 24, 2007 at 01:46 PM in Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Dem Perfidy, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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2007.04.23 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
See previous: 2007.04.22 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
***
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Bryan, I could have searched for days and not found the words to put it more succinctly than that. How can people like Reid and Pelosi and Murtha stand to look at themselves in the mirror every morning, knowing they've placed personal power and privilege above doing what's best for this country, our troops, the Iraqi people, and ultimately the world? I've often wondered if Heaven and Hell aren't just alike, a quiet place where we spend eternity with the memories of how we lived our lives, or maybe a big-screen TV running constant video clips of the actions that defined us. If I'm right it won't be a particularly pleasant experience for me but it won't even come close to being as terrible as it is for them. *** Below the fold:
Continue reading "2007.04.23 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 23, 2007 at 05:43 PM in Dem Dumbness, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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Thin as a Reid
I’ve wondered who’d do the evil deed; In his lonely grave, FDR must be spinning, Within this old vet a haunting fear lurks To witness all this is surely most saddening, It is my prayer that Senator Reid, will someday account for his treacherous deed, Russ Vaughn |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on April 20, 2007 at 10:39 AM in Dem Dumbness, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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No fury like a mother scorned-- The Movie
I've had several emails about this and just haven't gotten organized enough to post about it yet, so now I'm gonna be lazy and just let Allahpundit do most of the work:
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 9, 2007 at 01:16 PM in Caring about our troops, Dem Dumbness, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Peacenik Stupidity | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Dhimmicratic leadership -- Take 3/"Take Nancy. Please." See previous: Dhimmicratic leadership -- Take 2
Continue reading "Dhimmicratic leadership -- Take 3/"Take Nancy. Please."" |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on April 5, 2007 at 01:55 PM in Dem Dumbness, Islamism Delenda Est, Politics, Syria | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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Introducing David Hazony
The "Opinion Journal" newsletter of the Wall Street Journal for Wednesday, April 4 had a long article by guest-author David Hazony. Mr. Hazony, who deserves to be better-known to American readers, is the Editor-in-Chief of AZURE, which originally published his column here. AZURE is a quarterly produced in Israel and bears a strong resemblance to the American monthly Commentary. Like Commentary, AZURE specializes in solid, well-written think-pieces. The right-hand sidebar of its home page [cf. initial link above] links to authors covering the entire spectrum of reasoned commentary, ranging from George Soros by way of Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis to Mark Steyn. It offers the think-piece maven just the intellectual fare needed to turn many a night of insomnia into brilliant day. Mr. Hazony's article, in particular, makes the startling case that the Iranian mullahs have been and are waging a Cold War against the West, comparable to the Soviet pressures that kept us on tenterhooks for four decades. Given the huge discrepancy in size, population, and military might beween the former Soviet Union and Iran, anyone who lived through that era is bound to regard the analogy at first as more than a bit strained. Even so, the most skeptical reader cannot fail to be impressed by the cogency of the author's arguments in favor of his thesis. The mere excerpts that follow cannot hope to do justice to this presentation. They are presented simply as bait, to entice the reader to Read The Whole Thing.. Mr. Hazony comes on strong right at the outset: NOTE: in what follows, block quotes are taken directly from the Hazony article. Intercalated text, aligned flush left, are comments and other asides from 72nd TCS.
The term "clear vision" crops up again and again as this article progresses. Sadly, in the context of the response of Western leaders to the Islamic extremist onslaught, the author mentions it only to stress its absence among the elites of our world. Continuing, he writes...
Muddled thinking, by contrast, is the Order of the Day in Israel, the EU, and the United States...
At this point, one thing is eminently clear--Mr. Hazony knows exactly what he thinks, and never permits political correctness or pious sentiment to fuzz his message. We now skip past many lines of closely reasoned discourse, to the bottom line. Those who take up and read, and learn how he gets from here to there, will find the effort exceedingly rewarding.
There you have it--clear, cold and bracing--like a shot of vodka taken in the classic Russian manner. |
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Contributed by 72nd TCS on April 5, 2007 at 12:22 PM in Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Israel, John "72nd TCS" Werntz, War? What war? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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Happy Days Are Here...
NOTE: About 72nd TCS Among those on the inside of both blogs, it is no secret that "72nd TCS" is the screen name in Veteran-American Voices, VAV for short, of former Old War Dog John Werntz. Bill Faith has generously offered to John the opportunity to cross-post [subject to Bill's prior approval] on OWD. The grizzled old mutt, 72nd TCS, is proud and happy to hang around on the fringes of the pack. He greets his former mates with a cheery yip, and looks forward to sniffing out friendships among the recent arrivals. That said... I very nearly choked on this one. From The New York Times of 3-31, the story bears the title "Army's War Funds Can Last Through July, Report Says" and is written by Carl Hulse and Thom Shanker. Please relax and read on. I am not about to launch into my standard rant: "Thank you, NYT, for telling the Dems exactly how long they need to stall, plus informing the Sunni insurgents and Al-Q jihadists how long they have to hold out in order to win big." The reporters are doing their job--informing the public about the probable consequences of a presidential veto of the supplemental military appropriations bill now headed into a House-Senate conference. Parenthetically, I note that the editors of the Washington Post appear not to have deemed the prospect of imminent exhaustion of funds to support the troops to be at all newsworthy. No trace on the front page, nor in the editorials. "Ho hum, lookee here, Georgetown basketball is going great guns." The reporters discuss those consequences at some length, and the prospects may be bright for political opponents of President Bush, who seem to be rubbing their hands in glee, anticipating an American defeat that will be heard 'round the world. But they are exceedingly gloomy for any level-headed patriot who awaits with dread a country sickened by an epidemic of Carterite malaise that, comparatively, would make the post-Vietnam trauma look like robust health. The return to these shores of defense forces, justifiably convinced that they have been robbed of the victory they earned by their magnificent efforts, does not inspire complacency. Some relevant passages from the Hulse-Shanker article follow.
Actually, the July target is a best-case scenario. It rests upon congressional approval of various gimmicks of budget sleight-of-hand, shifting funds between accounts and skimping on important purchases and maintenance expenditures to free up additional money. Strictly speaking, existing funds will run out by June 1.
Meanwhile, the Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid, is still stuck on stupid,taking partisan shots at Bush:
Hagel of Nebraska and Smith of Oregon make it bipartisan? Note that if those two had not defected, the roll-call would have ended in a 49-49 tie, leaving Vice President Cheney to decide the issue. Two brief notes in closing, both dealing with the sad state of DC politics. First, hearing the word "bipartisan" is enough to make the well-informed and even moderately well-heeled citizen fear for the country and clutch wallet and checkbook. Second, the toxic atmosphere chokes us all but our troops -- and the nation's future -- are the main victims. |
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Contributed by 72nd TCS on March 31, 2007 at 01:18 PM in Current Affairs, Dem Dumbness, G W Bush, Iraq, John "72nd TCS" Werntz, Politics, War? What war? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack |