in the wrong era. Soundly refuting
liberals online since 2000. NOTE: That is NOT
me pictured at left. :)
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Audacity of Truth
SCOTUS Expert:
".... speaking on Monday the president was not clearly understood by some people because he is a law professor, he spoke in shorthand." - WH Spox Jay Carney, 4-5-12
Disturbing “#BecauseOfHim” campaign slogan paints Obama in messiah-like light
For those who don’t have the stomach to watch it, the Washington Examiner’s Charlie Spiering recaps:
Meet the new Julia. President Obama’s latest ad features “Brian from Ohio” who credits Obama for saving his job in the auto industry.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” he says, after telling the story about how he got laid off, “I was scared to death.”
As the ad features shots of the gleaming General Motors building, he continues, “Obama stuck his neck out for us, the auto industry. He wasn’t just going to let it die. And I’m driving in this morning because of that. Because of him.”
From the Democrats party’s official Twitter page:
#BecauseOfObama We’ve created 4.2 million private-sector jobs over 26 consecutive months of job growth.
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) May 10, 2012
(Via Twitchy)
Here we go again (the First Lady kicked it off last month) with painting the POTUS as a God-like figure who is a “savior” to the American people … and in fact “the world”! Been there, saw that, hated it. This is something no campaign should EVER do, and is a feeling no citizen of the United States of America should EVER have about a politician – no matter the party.
Addressing the left’s “because of him” claims, even IF this economy were recovering as well as this administration (falsely) claims it is, it would NOT be “because of him” – it would be because he and his fellow business-stifling Democrats GOT OUT OF THE WAY and turned their backs on back-breaking taxes, regulation, and legislation (like Obama) that has done more harm than good to the private sector, which in turn has kept the unemployment rate hight.
The economy is NOT improving, and that IS “because of him” … and Congressional Democrats who march to the same tax, tax, tax anti-business drumbeat. THAT should be the topic under discussion from now until November … and beyond. Unless you ask the Washington Post, which believes bullying stories from when Mitt Romney was a teenager in the mid 60s are more pressing and relevant.
SIGH! 
The Obama campaign destroyed with one graphic
**Posted by Phineas
The Democrats are desperate to have this election focus on anything other than the rotten economy and Barack Obama’s miserable stewardship of it. Hence the flurry of “squirrels” we’re supposed to be distracted by: the fake “war on women;” Romney’s dog; same-sex marriage; and, oh, by the way, did you know Obama killed Osama? The troops are doing it “on my behalf.”
Anyway, the next time some Obamaton tries to convince you the election is about “social issues,” show them this, courtesy of The Pew Trusts (PDF):
Obama's record: people unemployed for more than a year.
(Click for a larger version.)
That’s the equivalent of a two-by-four to the head of a stubborn mule.
Or an Obama supporter.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)
Why didn’t Obama announce gay marriage support before today?
Via Fox News:
President Obama on Wednesday endorsed same-sex marriages, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to take that position following days of speculation about his “evolving” stance on the issue.
The president used a hastily called TV interview to make his position clear.
“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama told ABC News.
The president, who was previously opposed to the unions, explained that he’s gone through an “evolution.” Obama said he initially thought civil unions would suffice as a vehicle to give same-sex couples the rights commensurate with those of heterosexual couples. “I’d hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient,” he said.
But he said his position evolved over the years, “as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage.”
The statement follows days of speculation about his stance. Vice President Biden effectively touched off those questions when, in a Sunday show interview, he expressed support for same-sex marriages. Education Secretary Arne Duncan the next day said he is in favor of the unions. Drawing more attention to the issue, voters in North Carolina on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Is this a “brave” move by the President? Not really, when you consider how he was pushed into making a statement on it due to recent events/statements, as the article notes. Not only that, but he’s straddled the fence on gay marriage in the past, going back and forth – leaving the liberal gay community more or less hanging. Also, consider how he gave virtually no support to liberal groups both here in NC and nationwide who were opposed to Amendment One, which overwhelmingly passed yesterday in my state’s primary. I was active on social media prior to and during the primary yesterday and I saw repeated comments from liberal activists asking, “Where are you, President Obama”? The answer is he was hoping to avoid the issue, because he figured he could, as he always has, string the liberal gay community along for another few months until he (presumably) got reelected. The dirty little secret is that President Obama has not wanted to alienate potential voters in a Southern state that is still by and large conservative and red, especially liberal black evangelical voters who tend to line up with conservatives when it comes to social issues gay marriage (as they did in California).
Barack Obama had to finally be forced into stating publicly his position on a sensitive social issue he didn’t want to thanks to being one-upped on it (likely by mistake) by members of his administration who have been much more honest about their position on the issue in recent weeks than he has. In other words, he didn’t lead on this issue. He followed. This isn’t “courage”, as will likely be spun in the coming days by the MSM, commentators, and other various and assorted liberals. It’s called “desperately trying to save face” before you completely lose it with a bloc of supporters (the liberal gay community) who you, incidentally, need in terms of campaign cash, activism, and ultimately the ballot box. Only question is, how will he explain this to his liberal black supporters who are opposed gay marriage?
No doubt he’s warming up the spin machine as we speak to eventually address that very thing. Prepare to be underwhelmed or, at best, amused.
The foiled bomb plot: great news, but…
**Posted by Phineas
On the one hand, this is great news: We infiltrated Al Qaeda’s Arabian subsidiary [AQAP] and kept a lot of people from being killed, while at the same time delivering flaming justice to one of the masterminds of the attack on the USS Cole:
The CIA takedown of an Al Qaeda plot to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner involved an international sting operation with a double agent tricking terrorists into handing over a prized possession: a new bomb purportedly designed to slip through airport security.
U.S. officials Tuesday described an operation in which Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency, working closely with the CIA, used an informant to pose as a would-be suicide bomber. His job was to persuade Al Qaeda bomb makers in Yemen to give him the bomb.
After weeks operating undercover in Yemen, the double agent arranged to deliver the device and a trove of vital intelligence to U.S. and other authorities waiting in another country, officials said. He is now safely out of Yemen.
Experts are analyzing the device at the FBI’s bomb laboratory at Quantico, Va., to determine whether it could evade current security systems. Officials said it appears to have a more advanced triggering device than that of the so-called underwear bomb that fizzled instead of exploding aboard a packed passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.
U.S. officials said President Obama was informed of the bomb in early April and was assured that it did not pose a threat to the public. Officials emphasized that the terrorists had not chosen a target or purchased air tickets, and that the plot to blow up an airliner never reached the operational stage.
And, according to the Washington Post:
The most recent strike killed an alleged operations planner wanted in connection with the attack on the USS Cole warship in Yemen in 2000. U.S. officials said that Fahd al-Quso was probably involved in directing the plot but that the drone strike was ordered because of his larger role in AQAP.
So, latest underwear bomb plot foiled, double-agent safe, we got our hands on Al Qaeda’s latest toys, and a terrorist murderer brave jihadi got the payback he so richly deserved. What’s not to like, right?
Well, there’s what’s on that other hand…
Don’t get me wrong; this is great news, and the CIA and Saudi intelligence service deserve pats on the back. But…
Why are we hearing about this at all??
One of the greatest secrets you can have in intelligence work –especially when dealing with a deadly enemy– is that you’ve compromised their security. That you’ve cracked their codes, found their safe houses, planted a bug in their meetings, slipped a mole deep inside… so many things. You want them kept secret because you can exploit the advantage again and again, disrupting and demoralizing your enemy because they can’t figure out how you’re always one step ahead. These are secrets you go to your grave with, because, once blown, they’re useless.
So, I ask again: Why are we being told this? The LA Times article provides a hint:
U.S. intelligence officials had planned to keep the bomb sting secret, a senior official said, but the Associated Press learned of the operation last week. The AP delayed posting the story at the request of the Obama administration, but then broke the news Monday.
“When the AP got it and started talking about it, it caused all kinds of problems with the operation,” said a U.S. official who would not be quoted by name discussing the classified operation. “The investigation never went to its full conclusion.”
AP spokesman Paul Colford said the news agency held off publishing until U.S. officials told the AP that security concerns were allayed.
“We were told on Monday that the operation was complete and that the White House was planning to announce it Tuesday,” he said.
So we have two different stories. In one, the AP learns about the operation and, with security compromised, the government felt it might as well tell, since the information was going to come out, anyway. It’s a common story.
In the other, AP waited, found out the administration was going to open up on Tuesday, and so decided to get its story out, first.
Call me a cynic, but the second seems much more plausible. Remember that this is the same administration that, after killing bin Laden, didn’t want to be seen “spiking the ball.” Now, a year later and with a difficult reelection campaign underway, the president and his minions are running around doing the “Gutsy Call” end-zone dance like a NFL rookie scoring his first touchdown. With the economy in the crapper and the public mood so bad that even a convicted felon gives Obama a run for his money in a Democratic primary, Obama needs all the good news he can get.
You can bet on it: The One and his team couldn’t wait to brag about this. And all it cost was letting AQAP know just how much we had penetrated them.
Final thought: What was the “opportunity cost” of this latest bit of chest-thumping? Are there any more of these newest bombs out there? Other plots in the offing? How much are we now not going to learn of because AQAP will surely change their security measures?
Sometimes, silence really is golden.
PS: And lest we forget, they’re still trying to kill us.
LINKS: More from Hot Air.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)
Today’s primaries in NC, IN, WV – what to look for (PLUS: Results links)
A good round-up via the Washington Post (hat tip: Jessica Wood):
Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar’s likely demise and the gubernatorial recall primary in Wisconsin aren’t the only two races worth watching tonight. There are also some key House, Senate and governor primaries in Indiana, North Carolina and West Virginia.
Two of those states — Indiana and North Carolina — represent relatively rare opportunities for the House Republicans to play some offense this year.
In addition, North Carolina Democrats will pick their gubernatorial nominee in the marquee governor’s race of 2012 (after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election, that is), and West Virginia will hold its governor, Senate and congressional primaries.
Read the whole thing to find out more about Governor and US House primary races in those states. And for North Carolina, don’t forget that the hotly debated Amendment One has been a big motivator for some to get out and vote as well.
I’ll be on Twitter to discuss election results, and will pop in here if anything significant happens.
Results links:
Wisconsin (still searching, but possibly here at some point)
Commence Operation “EU crack up,” phase two!
**Posted by Phineas
Phase One was the unending financial crisis that began in 2008 and the Europeans’ unwillingness to anything that would really address the problem, instead choosing to keep feeding the beast of debt and taxation. Sickened by the failure of their political class (and made delirious by their own addiction to the teat of the State), European voters are responding by throwing the bums out and putting radical bums in their places: a hack Socialist demagogue in France, and communists and neo-Nazis in Greece.
Now comes word that Phase Two, the bailout of banks in Spain has begun:
It was only a matter of time before the next bank bailout began despite all those promises to the contrary. Sure enough, as math always wins over rhetoric and policy, earlier this morning the shot across the Spanish bow was fired after PM Rajoy did a 180 on “no bank bailout” promises as recent as last week. From Dow Jones: “Spain may pump public funds into its banking system to revive lending and its recessionary economy, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday, signalling a policy U-turn. The government had pledged to not give money to the banking industry that is struggling in the wake of a collapsed, decade-long, housing boom. “If it was necessary to reactivate credit, to save the Spanish financial system, I wouldn’t rule out injecting public funds, like all European countries have done,” Rajoy said in interview with Onda Cero radio stations.
Spain is Europe’s fifth-largest economy, and its economic problems are huge, but bailing out the banks won’t make much of a difference, if any; it will merely transfer the debt burden from Spanish banks to the Spanish government, which will have to borrow the money or seek its own bailout, further burdening both the already over-taxed Spanish public — as well as German patience. It’s robbing Pedro to pay Pablo, but the bill will still come due — and it will be enormous.
With the EU’s fragile unity already threatened by a likely clash between Germany’s Chancellor Merkel and France’s new President Hollande, will the added pressures of a potential Spanish financial collapse (which would make Greece look like a block party) push the European Union and the Eurozone to the breaking point?
My guess is for at least a partial breakup within the next year, as Greece and other fiscally profligate Latin states leave the Euro so they can devalue their currencies enough to restart growth, while Germany and the other “adult” states are glad to see them go.
But with the rise of political fantasists in Greece, France, and elsewhere, one wonders if that will be enough?
via American Power
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)
Primary day in NC – standard primary races, Amendment One on the ballot
Polls opened at 6:30 this morning in North Carolina for a day of primary voting where voters will choose their nominees for all major offices, including Governor, Lt. Governor, and of course President. In some districts, nominees will be chosen for state and US House races. Haven’t heard any turnout predictions yet statewide but I did read recently that here in Meck. County early voting turnout was down from 2008 – for what it’s worth.
Polls close here at 7:30 pm ET.
This would be considered your standard run of the mill Presidential year primary in North Carolina if it weren’t for Amendment One aka “the Marriage Amendment” being on the ballot, a proposed amendment that has generated a swarm of debate and controversy not just on a state level, but nationally as well. I’m personally disgusted with the tone the debate took in the final couple of weeks of campaigning, with some opponents calling those who support the amendment “bigots” while some proponents have said any Christian who votes against it will “go to hell.” It’s only anecdotal evidence, but the people I know or who have come across the last several weeks who have expressed how they feel about it one way or the other have put a lot of thought into it. I know conservatives who are voting against it not because they are pro-alternative forms of marriage but because they find the wording troublesome and believe it will negatively impact existing domestic partnerships. I know liberals who are voting for it because they are traditionalists on marriage and want to see existing state law strengthened and believe adding this to the state Constitution will do that.
Contrary to popular belief – promoted mostly by out of state agenda-driven militants (with a distinct money advantage) who sadly want to turn this into another Prop 8 nightmare, most people here take adding something to the state Constitution very seriously and aren’t just voting yay or nay on a whim. I worry that if it passes, the militants will prevail in the PR war by unfairly painting this state as “hateful and bigoted” when I know it is not. Good people can vote for or against this amendment.
As to my predictions on the Republican side in terms of nominees, Pat McCrory (former Charlotte mayor) will easily win the nomination for Governor – the question is by how much. I’m hoping to see Dan Forest become the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, but that race may go to a runoff next month. The “hot” US House primary is the race to replace the retiring Sue Myrick in NC-09 – there are numerous candidates for that seat and pollsters are predicting a likely run-off in that race as well.
Anyway, click here to find your polling place and to print a copy of your sample ballot, if you haven’t already. Happy voting.
Obama/Holder Department of Justice now the Department of Cronyism?
**Posted by Phineas
Back before the 2010 midterm elections, President Obama went on Univision radio and made this revealing claim:
“We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends…”
Now, at the time, Obama was talking about Latino voters. But it also seems to be his guiding philosophy when rewarding supporters, and he’s not above using the Department of Justice to dish out those rewards and punishments.
In this case, PJMedia reveals that the DoJ has quietly reinterpreted the 1961 Wire Act to allow the online sale of lottery tickets, something no administration of either party has ever done before. Two companies and two states are the big beneficiaries. “Why,” you wonder,” would they do this?” Say it after me:
GTech and Scientific Games both have strong connections to the Democratic Party, according to Federal Election Commission records. Scientific Games’ chairman is Lorne Weil. According to the FEC, Weil has given more than $22,500 to political campaigns and committees since 2008, with over 80% of that sum going to Democrats. Jaymin Patel is president and CEO of GTech. Patel has donated $9,300 since 2008, with over 90% of his generosity going toward Democrats.
So we have two companies whose leaders donate heavily to the Democrats, benefiting from a Democratic administration’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act, and one of those two companies has a history of corruption. But the ultimate beneficiaries of lottery systems are state budgets, right?
Two states seem to have gotten the jump on the other 48. They just happen to be Illinois, home state of President Obama, and Delaware, home state of Vice President Joe Biden. How did that happen? Illinois and New York, two states addicted to government spending and apparently incapable of living within their means, specifically asked for the Wire Act’s reinterpretation in 2011. And they got it. Delaware was poised to get in on the action early.
As for the “punish our enemies” part, Bryan Preston reminds us of the Republican-lead states that have opposed Obama and are now facing the wrath of the Department of Injustice Justice, which has been repurposed from the evenhanded enforcement of our laws to race-based “payback” and handing out door-prizes to Democratic donors.
And you can bet the MSM will be all over this… just as soon as they figure out a way to blame Republicans.
(Crossposted at Public Secrets)
RIP, Goober Pyle!
A beloved TV icon is gone. Via The Tennessean:
George Lindsey, most widely known for playing Goober Pyle on the iconic television series The Andy Griffith Show, died at 12:05 a.m. Sunday in Nashville after an extended hospitalization. He was 83.
As long as his health allowed, George Lindsey was still making people smile. The Hee Haw star showed up at Ray Stevens’ CD release party Feb. 28 at The Rutledge in Nashville to lend support to his good friend and fellow comedian. Stevens beamed from the stage as he thanked Mr. Lindsey for being there.
“He was in a wheelchair that night and he was really going out of his way to show up for that,” says Stevens, who was friends with Lindsey for 35 years. “That’s the kind of friend he was. He was on his last legs that night.”
Actor Andy Griffith said in a statement that accompanied the family’s Sunday-morning announcement of Mr. Lindsey’s death: “George Lindsey was my friend. I had great respect for his talent and his human spirit. In recent years, we spoke often by telephone. Our last conversation was a few days ago. We would talk about our health, how much we missed our friends who passed before us and usually about something funny. I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say, ‘I love you.’ That was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. ‘I love you.’ “
[…]
Mr. Lindsey is survived by son George Lindsey Jr. of Woodland Hills, Calif.; daughter Camden Jo Lindsey Gardner, her husband, Russell, and their sons, Carson Cole Gardner and Andrew Liam Gardner, all of Valencia, Calif.; a cousin, Rebecca Weber of Gadsden, Ala.; and his dear companion of many years, Anne Wilson of Nashville, Tenn.
[…]
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Mr. Lindsey’s memory to: Special Olympics Alabama, 880 South Court St., Montgomery, AL 36104; UNA Foundation, with a designation to the George Lindsey Film and Digital Media Scholarship, UNA Box 5113, Florence, AL 35632-0001; or another charity of the donor’s choice.
I’ve been putting off starting my Andy Griffith Show series DVD collection for a while now. May get that cranked up now, in honor of Lindsey. Loved that show, and he was a true talent.
Thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will be missed.
