I'm generally against tax increases and in favor of tax cuts. That said, I can certainly envision situations in which I might support a particular tax increase -- and can certainly see where ending certain tax deductions or closing certain loopholes might be a good thing. For example, I see no reason to cap the dollar amount of income subject to Social Security taxes, and could envision supporting such a change in the law in that regard if we are going to keep the system going. I therefore would never sign the "pledge" circulated by Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform -- which he and his group treat as a blood oath binding for the rest of one's life. That notion that he and his group should be the arbiters of conservatism is laughable.
Norquist argues that members who sign the pledge do so with the understanding it’s a promise to constituents, not to him or Americans for Tax Reform. He said they also should understand the pledge is effective for the entire time they are in office.
That's why I am so proud of certain of our conservative Republican freshmen members of Congress who are backing away from Norquist, his group, and the pledge.
A small but increasingly vocal group of freshman Republicans are publicly rejecting the idea they are beholden to Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform pledge for their entire congressional careers.One such member, Scott Rigell of Virginia, has openly rejected the pledge, explaining on his website that it would prevent Congress in some cases from eliminating corporate loopholes or government subsidies because those changes would have to be revenue-neutral. The math, he said, just doesn’t make sense.
And Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) told the Los Angeles Times he wouldn’t be signing the pledge again — or any pledge for that matter — not because he wants to raise taxes but because he wants to close certain loopholes to help pay down the deficit.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) scoffed at the idea the pledge was some sort of blood oath. A number of other offices of freshman members told POLITICO their bosses had sworn oaths to do what was best for their districts, not Americans for Tax Reform.
“I signed that thing in the desert of Afghanistan,” West said in an interview. “I got home and they wanted me to sign again during my campaign, and I wouldn’t, and Grover started yelling at my campaign manager. Grover is a nice guy, but I think he’s a little misguided.”
“I don’t care if he has my name on his website, it’s meaningless,” West added. “I think my voting record speaks for itself.”
All of them make excellent cases for telling Norquist to take a hike, and I admire them for doing so. Norquist is a bully -- and too closely associated with pro-jihad Islamists for any true patriot to associate with.
This post brought to you by Lenovo. All opinions are 100% mine.
You know, I've got a problem in my classroom. I need to show videos and powerpoint presentations in my classes, but I am missing something important -- decent speakers for my computer. The school gave me some, but they just don't get the job done.
I want to read more of "Lenovo Speakers" »When I heard about plans by some to raise Rev. Wright as an issue this year, I was taken aback. Why raise an issue that seems to have had the air let out of it four years ago. The racist reverend ended up not getting much traction with swing voters.
And so I agree with Mitt Romney's decision to call for supporters not to run adds featunig Wright and his church.
Because I think it is the right move for a guy whose religion has been repeatedly attacked from the Left and who made a serious address about religious freedom in 2007.
However, that agreement comes with a proviso -- Rev. Wright and Obama's connection to him remains off limits.
But only so long as the Obama campaign and its surrogates refrain from attacks on Mitt Romney's Mormon faith and the LDS Church.
if they don't, I have the perfect sort of ad for the Romney campaign or some independent expenditure group to let fly.
Here's a bit of a storyboard for you.
When the Founding Fathers wrote the US Constitution in 1787, they decreed that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
In 1960, America lived up to that promise when it elected John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a Catholic, as President of the United States.
MIXED IMAGES OF ANTI-MORMON HEADLINES AND VIDEO
Sadly, some today would reject the notion that Americans should not be disqualified from office because of their religious faith. They would have you reject Mitt Romney because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- a Mormon.
Such efforts are an attack upon the freedom of every American of every faith, and the hopes and dreams of every American child that they can grow up to honor both God and country. Instead they would replace the promise of religious equality enshrined in our nation's Constitution with another view.
And instead of a man whose church teaches that God blesses America, they insist that you reject the promise of our Constitution and accept the view of a faith and church they consider mainstream.
Better that we hold Rev. Wright in reserve against the onslaught of anti-Mormon bigotry than play that wildcard now.
A great video that reminds Americans that women have diverse views on a variety of policy issues -- and that liberal politicians and advocacy groups don't get to define what are the only acceptable political positions for women. After all, aren't they for "freedom of choice" for women?
As the evidence begins trickling out as a result of Florida’s discovery laws, we are getting some very interesting bits of information.
A medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation.
Now unless one wants to argue that Zimmerman was in another fight, that Zimmerman caused the injuries himself, or that the police beat Zimmerman while he was in custody, the only possible conclusion is that the injuries were sustained at the hands of Trayvon Martin before Zimmerman shot him. And that is consistent with another piece of evidence.
WFTV has confirmed that autopsy results show 17-year-old Trayvon Martin had injuries to his knuckles when he died.* * * WFTV has learned that the medical examiner found two injuries on Martin’s body: The fatal gunshot wound and broken skin on his knuckles.
What interests me here is what the medical examiner found when he examined the wounds. Were they scrapes caused by pavement? Did they contain blood or tissue from Zimmerman? In other words, were they caused by an altercation of by Martin’s body hitting the ground?
Frankly, I find myself agreeing with CBS legal analyst Jack Ford on this one.
"This now allows the defense to show up in the courtroom, let George Zimmerman tell his story and bring in a medical expert that says, 'Black and blue under the eyes, broken nose, cut on the back of the head,'" said Ford, "and the defense can argue that's consistent with George Zimmerman being attacked by Trayvon Martin, and then the Stand Your Ground defense comes into play."
Ford does speculate that the prosecution could make an argument that Trayvon martin was in a struggle for his life when attacked by Zimmerman, but I don’t think that one will hold water. After all, there were apparently only two injuries on Martin’s body – the knuckles and the gunshot – while Zimmerman had apparently had the crap beat out of him. By themselves, these facts lead to the more reasonable conclusion that Martin was the aggressor and Zimmerman believed he was in danger of death or serious injury at Martin’s hands. In that case, a finding of self-defense would be appropriate, without any reference to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law that has been so criticized since the shooting.
Of course, the Martin family’s mouthpiece is trying to spin the evidence that thoroughly contradicts the narrative the family and its race-mongering supporters have tried to concoct with doctored tapes and threats of lynching.
“[Trayvon Martin] was fighting for his life. Let’s not forget that Trayvon Martin was fighting a man with a 9-millimeter gun. We also have to remember that he didn’t start this fight. George Zimmerman got out his car and pursued Trayvon Martin.”
Except, of course, there’s no evidence that George Zimmerman touched Trayvon Martin anyplace other than his knuckles with anything other than his face, and there is no evidence that Zimmerman’s legal gun was anywhere but concealed in its holster whenever the altercation started, so there is no way Martin could have known about the weapon when the altercation began – and that getting out of your car in the neighborhood where you live and asking a stranger who they are and why they are there is not a threat or an assault.
At bare minimum, this new evidence should muddy the water sufficiently that proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt becomes impossible in a second degree murder case – and possibly for any sort of homicide charge. As a result, I stand with this observation from the professional prosecutor who runs Patterico’s Pontifications.
My bold prediction: this guy does not get convicted of murder.
I’m not gloating when I say that – I’m just looking at the evidence as it stands. And I stand firm in my initial observation that what we should be seeking is justice not only for Trayvon martin, but also for George Zimmerman – and that justice does not necessarily mean that Zimmerman is convicted of anything as a result of this tragedy.
The effort has failed, as some 150 local ministers refused to surrender their right to criticize the police department – or the mayor – as a condition of being permitted to work with the police in improving relations with the minority community.
A three-decades-old partnership between the city's black ministers and the Houston Police Department has ended after pastors refused to agree to new guidelines issued by Chief Charles McClelland that prohibits them from criticizing the police or city administration.The ACLU and longtime civil rights activists blasted the prohibition against criticism by clergy who volunteer with the department.
McClelland changed the organization of HPD's religious volunteers by forming a group called the Police and Clergy Alliance (PACA). He issued guidelines governing the new alliance that took effect April 26.
Last week, an estimated 100 to 150 black ministers who are members of the Houston Ministers Against Crime turned in their HPD-issued credentials, saying they would no longer work with police, the pastor's group director confirmed.
The ministers, you see, have been quite vocal about police brutality (such as in this case that got a not guilty verdict today) – and about gay issues, including some public criticism of Mayor Annise Parker. And you just can’t have that. What they want are pro-cop, pro-city mouthpieces who won’t speak out when they see injustice occur or believe the Gospel needs to be preached in a way that might be inconvenient for the mayor.
Of course, they frame this as an endorsement, but for any real conservative this explains why you should look elsewhere.
The Republican primary has drawn no less than nine candidates for the open Senate seat, with four rated as likely contenders: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst; former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz; former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert; and broadcaster and former football star Craig James.Of the four, our endorsement goes to Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, with a nod of acknowledgment to Leppert's well-conceived candidacy.
Cruz, a serious thinker, and James, a likable personality, do not exhibit the inclination to operate within the traditional Washington system of respectful give and take that has been noticeably absent in recent years.
Got that – the establishment press wants David Dewhurst and accept Tom Leppert, a pair of go-along-to-get-along politicians who will give in to the Democrats and special interests that the editorial staff. We’ve seen that in each over the years, and have no reason to expect better in the future.
On the other hand, the Chronicle has made it clear that what it does not want is a serious thinker like Ted Cruz – an expert on the Constitution who has a history of standing firm for principles the Chronicle doesn’t support.
So ask yourself – do you want a compromiser, or a conservative? Then you’re your conservative principles accordingly.
I have a hard time taking this complaint seriously.
Stylish Jessica Alba felt “objectified” as a young actress after she was typecast as a “sexy, tough action girl”.Alba’s big breakthrough came after she landed the lead role in James Cameron’s science fiction TV show Dark Angel, and she donned a series of sexy outfits for the show, which ended in 2002.
The actress loved her years in the series, but admits it took her a long time to shed her image from sex icon to style queen.
Oh poor baby. You took a part that was based upon your oozing sexual signals even while being kick-ass tough. That’s like a Hooters waitress complaining that the skimpy outfits objectify her – DUH!
And for the record – that’s why I don’t eat at Hooters and didn’t watch Dark Angel.
But it points to the liberal bias of both network news and the rest of the media elite.
NBC News anchor Brian Williams appeared on CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday night. Letterman discussed Williams’s special on Rock Center about the killing of Osama bin Laden and became agitated when describing President Barack Obama’s successes as compared to what he sees as President George W. Bush’s failures in the War on Terror. “What more do we want this man to do for us, honest to god,” asked Letterman.
The right question is “what more is he going to do to us?” Is he going to crash the economy more? Is he going to drive more folks out of the workforce? Is he going to increase spending and the debt? Is he going to trash the nation’s credit rating? Sadly, we believe we know the answers – and therefore we know we need to get rid of Obama.
You have to love that Bill Maher, the poster child for bigotry who is somehow still allowed a platform to spew his hatred under the label of "comedy". Now he's come out in favor of child molestation!
However, when I was 12 years old, I was beaten on the playground. Just like the Mitt Romney thing, I was held down and somebody just punched me in the face while other kids watched. And if I could go back to 1968 and trade that experience for being gently masturbated by a pop star- (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) -I would do it in a second. Frankie Valli could jerk me off. Gary Puckett of the Union Gap. The Allman Brothers, if we could go back in time. Marvin Gaye.
Of course, given Maher's own personal history of racist bullying and domestic abuse -- not to mention his on-air bullying -- I'm not surprised to find out that he would submit to the sexual abuse of those more powerful than him. Nor am I surprised that he would minimize the damage done by sexual abuse -- which leads me to suspect that we would find some interesting photographs of folks under the age of 18 on his hard drive if we could ever get access to it. After all, who but a pedophile justifies sexual abuse of kids? When will NAMBLA send him an honorary membership card?
By the way, Maher also attacked Romney about the alleged polygamy of his grandfather. However, Maher is again wrong on the matter. While the candidate's paternal great-grandfathers were polygamists, his grandfather had only one wife. That Maher can't even get details like that correct tells us all we need to know about the value of his political commentary.
UPDATE: Got an email from a friend a few moments ago that makes connections I didn't.
You left out the other damning quote from Maher, where he said "even his worst accuser never said that he did anything like actually have sex with them." That is just a part of the warped celebrity culture that let's Woody Allen stay a major force in the entertainment industry despite his relationship wiht his step-daughter -- or Whoopi Goldberg's defense of Roman Polanski in which she claimed that forcing a drugged thirteen-year-old to have sex isn't "rape rape" and needs to be overlooked because of Roman Polanski's artistic genius.
Indeed -- and thank you.
Barack Obama told us ten days into his presidency that “if I don’t have this [fixing the economy] done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
We are now 3 ˝ years into the man’s term, and he gives himself an incomplete on the economy.
President Barack Obama wouldn't give himself a letter grade for his handling of the economy and instead leaned on what's become his crutch when asked to grade his presidency.“I think it’s still incomplete. We’ve still got work to do," he said on ABC's "The View," in an interview that aired Tuesday morning.
Sorry, Mr. President – you gave yourself three years to fix the economy. You didn't -- you made it worse. By your own definition you have failed and deserve to be a one-term president.
We’ve already noted that Barack Obama is a failure as president based upon his own criteria. That’s why he keeps trying to hitch his star to all of his predecessors on the White House website.
The Heritage Foundation’s Rory Cooper tweeted that Obama had casually dropped his own name into Ronald Reagan’s official biography on www.whitehouse.gov, claiming credit for taking up the mantle of Reagan’s tax reform advocacy with his “Buffett Rule” gimmick. My first thought was, he must be joking. But he wasn’t—it turns out Obama has added bullet points bragging about his own accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every single U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford). Here are a few examples:
- On Feb. 22, 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first president to make a public radio address to the American people. President Coolidge later helped create the Federal Radio Commission, which has now evolved to become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama became the first president to hold virtual gatherings and town halls using Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.
- In a 1946 letter to the National Urban League, President Truman wrote that the government has “an obligation to see that the civil rights of every citizen are fully and equally protected.” He ended racial segregation in civil service and the armed forces in 1948. Today the Obama administration continues to strive toward upholding the civil rights of its citizens, repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, allowing people of all sexual orientations to serve openly in our armed forces.
- President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare signed (sic) into law in 1965—providing millions of elderly healthcare stability. President Obama’s historic health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, strengthens Medicare, offers eligible seniors a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing, and provides discounts on drugs when in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole.”
- On August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today the Obama administration continues to protect seniors and ensure Social Security will be there for future generations.
- In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.
Some of the comparisons are silly, some are dishonest, and some are irrelevant. Frankly, he ought to be ashamed. And folks are having great fun with this on Twitter, under the #ObamaInHistory hashtag.
After all, having ridiculed Sarah Palin over what he imagines to be her lack of skill at the game, guess who came in last on a special edition of the show.
And then the fun really began in the category "6-Letter World Capitals" with the answer, "St. Basil's Cathedral is there."Readers are once again reminded the category was "6-Letter World Capitals."
Almost astonishingly, the pompous and holier-than-thou Matthews responded, "What is Istanbul?"
The correct response - containing six letters and not eight! - was Moscow.
By the way, Matthews was creamed by over $8000 by the second place finisher -- and was nearly $10,000 behind the winner.
Perhaps this old Shakespeare quot explains why the media is interested in Seamus the dog and Mitt Romney's schoolyard misdeeds that the good works the man has done as an adult -- which vastly outnumber the bad things he may have done in.
One cold December day in the early 1980s, Mitt Romney loaded up his Gran Torino with firewood and brought it to the home of a single mother whose heat had been shut off just days before Christmas. Years after a business partner died unexpectedly, Romney helped the man’s surviving daughter go to medical school with loans for tuition — loans he forgave when she graduated.And in 1997, when a fellow church member’s teenage son fell seriously ill, Romney sprinted to the hospital in the dead of night, where he kept vigil with his terrified parents.
Stories like these — tales of long hours spent with grieving families, financial assistance to those in need and timely help given to strangers whether asked for or not — abound in the adult life of the Republican presidential candidate. Many of them, though not all, are connected to his work as a Mormon bishop.
And yet these stories are largely absent on the campaign trail.
It is speculated that Romney doesn't bring these stories up because of their connection to his Mormon faith -- the same reason he doesn't trumpet the millions of dollars he gives to church-connected charities each year. The media, on the other hand, doesn't want to cloud the narrative of the heartless businessman -- and it certainly doesn't want to hurt Barack Obama.
H/T GayPatriot
I've considered the options and looked at the candidates for a variety of offices in the state of Texas and Harris County, as well as for President of the United States. Here are my endorsements as Precinct Chair for Precinct 333 in the contested races in this year's primary. Where I deem it appropriate, I will supply additional commentary.
President -- Mitt Romney
I'll admit that I started out supporting John Bolton, and believed a brokered convention might be the only option for the party this year. But Republicans around the country have thrown their support to the former Massachusetts governor, who I endorsed in 2008, and it is my hope that the voters of Texas will do the same.
US Senate -- Ted Cruz
Texas needs a strong conservative senator, and I believe that Ted Cruz has shown himself to be that man. I'm sure we will have a runoff, and it is my belief that Ted Cruz deserves to go head-to-head against David Dewhurst.
CD 36 -- Mike Jackson
There are a lot of candidates running for this new seat, and there may be a runoff. Mike Jackson has been an effective state senator here in SD11, and he has earned my trust over the years. There may be a runoff due to the number of other candidates in the race, and if there is I hope that businessman Stephen Takach is the other candidate.
RR Commissioner -- Warren Chisum
RR Commissioner -- Barry Smitherman
Supreme Court, Place 2 -- Don Willett
Supreme Court, Place 4 -- John Devine
I hate to speak ill of my fellow Republicans who differ with me on this point, but I do not see how anyone can support the reelection of Justice David Medina, given the questions that still surround he and his wife over the fire that destroyed their home.
SBOE, Place 8 -- Linda Ellis
Frankly, I want to see a fellow teacher on the SBOE.
SD 11 -- Dave Norman
If all I knew was that Dave Norman was a conservative, a veteran, a businessman, and a fine family man, I'd support him. Dave Norman has been my friend and neighbor for a decade now, and I can think of nobody I would rather have as my state senator than the guy who showed up with his wife and step-father to help me out after Hurricane Ike without even needing to be called.
HD 129 -- John E. Davis
I've differed with John Davis in the past, and still do. But the reality is that the winner of this primary will be unopposed in November, and I remain more confident in John Davis and his generally conservative record than I am in his opponent.
11th District Court -- Bruce Bain
61st District Court -- George May
127th District Court -- Sonya Aston
129th District Court -- Edward Casanova
133rd District Court -- Sharon J. Hemphill
151st District Court -- Leif Olson
152nd District Court -- Don Self
164th District Court -- Bud Wiesedeppe
174th District Court -- Joe Vinas
177th District Court -- Ryan Patrick
179th District Court -- Lana Shadwick
337th District Court -- Jim Barr
District Attorney -- Mike Anderson
Like it or not, questions and scandal have surrounded the DA's office during Pat Lykos' tenure. That she did not fire an ADA who took the Fifth when asked about her official duties is sufficient in my book to justify turning her out of office and replacing her with a new DA who has experience as both a judge and a prosecutor.
Civil Court At Law, Place 2 -- Theresa Chang
Chang was a fine District Clerk who lost her place in the 2008 Obama wave. She has been a fine judge after being appointed to replace Jack Cagle. I strongly support her.
County Attorney -- Robert Talton
Talton is a good man with a "take no prisoners" attitude. he won't hold back in his race against incumbent Democrat Vince Ryan, whose office is mired in scandal.
County Sheriff -- Carl Pittman
With eight candidates on the ballot, there is sure to be a runoff. I believe Carl Pittman's experience and temperament make him the best candidate on the ballot. His wide experience in law enforcement and business will serve him well as sheriff.
Tax Collector-Assessor -- Mike Sullivan
HCDE, Position 3 -- Mike Wolfe
Constable, Pct 8 -- Phil Sandlin
When Bill Bailey resigned as constable after nearly three decades in that position, he made it quite clear that Phil Sandlin was the most qualified individual for the post. Nobody disagreed with him then, and Sandlin's performance as constable has given us no reason to reconsider that view.
Harris County GOP Chairman -- Paul Simpson
With all due respect to the incumbent, the Harris County GOP needs change at the top to deal with organizational and financial issues. Paul Simpson is ready from Day 1 to work to revitalize our party.
Here's the video and the report.
Huffington Post editor Ethan Klapper reported on Twitter a possible ‘hot mic’ gaffe with President Obama uttering “I gotta get my sh…” after a commencement address speech to students at Barnard College, a private women’s liberal arts college in New York City.
I doubt that the comment was a reference to the high academic award President Obama had just received from the school.
I'm sure he actually said "I've gotta get my shit together," which would be an indication that even Barry Hussein recognizes that he is an utter failure as a president.
Could you imagine the outrage if this came from O'Reilly, Hannity, or Limbaugh?
Hardball anchor Chris Matthews, who routinely smears his political opponents as racist, on Monday lectured an African American minister who opposes gay marriage, "I hope you evolve." The host patronizingly added, "I'm just teasing."
Remember is known for his satirizing of the Left -- but that didn't keep the Left from insisting that he actually intended to accuse Sandra Fluke of being a prostitute. Chris Matthews, who is no funnier than he is impartial and insightful, doesn't have that justification for his words.
You know, the old man still has it a half-century later!
Paul McCartney gave the Beatles classic OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA a Mexican twist when he performed in Mexico City last week – by bringing out a mariachi band to join him on the track.The rock legend staged a free concert for an estimated 250,000 people at Zocalo – the city’s most historic venue which has drawn audiences since the Aztec period – and delighted fans by jamming for three hours.
Sick and disgusting – and oh-so-typical of the deference shown to one particular religion because of the willingness of its adherents to kill in the name of their faith.
A New York police officer seeking to rename a Harlem street for a cop gunned down inside a Manhattan mosque 40 years ago was told by local leaders to seek the blessing of area Muslims.NYPD Officer Philip Cardillo was shot dead in an infamous 1972 incident in which police responded to a fake “officer down” call from Muhammad Mosque No. 7, the New York headquarters for the Nation of Islam. The accused gunman was later acquitted, and the city's perceived unwillingness to back the police has long been seen as a low point in relations between city government and the police department. After four decades, NYPD Inspector and local Precinct Commander Rodney Harrison wants a section of 123rd St. named after Cardillo.
"It's been 40 years," retired NYPD cop Randy Jurgensen, who was at the mosque when Cardillo was killed, told FoxNews.com. "It would be closure for the Cardillo family and the police officers there that day."
In New York, the City Council typically approves street namings on the recommendation of local Community Boards. But members of Community Board 10, which represents the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, have effectively blocked Harrison's plan by telling him to seek the approval of local Muslim leaders.
What next? Permission from Imams before there the erection of 9/11 memorials and monuments to soldiers killed by al-Qaeda and the Taliban? Such demands are un-American – as are those who make them and those who insist upon special sensitivity to Muslims when they kill and maim the innocent.
As we’ve seen in recent years, race-baiting is the new McCarthyism. Actually, it is worse than the old McCarthyism, insofar as there actually an effort by the Soviet Union to infiltrate our body politic and overthrow American freedoms. The playing of the race card, however, is often based upon little more than a white person daring to take issue with the position of an individual of a darker hue. I learned that dynamic early in my teaching career, when efforts to correct the behavior of black students was often met with “You’re just sayin’ that cuz I’m black.” I wasn’t and they knew it.
Unfortunately, one of our major political parties has decided to double down on the accusations of racism that have accompanied every GOP criticism of Obama’s policies.
House Democrats hosted an expert on racial messaging and fiscal policy last week, and President Obama commemorated Mother's Day by implementing her tactic of using corporations as "useful" enemies.Maya Wiley, founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, taught the House Democratic caucus last Tuesday how to incorporate racial messaging into their defense of government programs during budget fights.
Wiley declared that "typical conservative messaging" is "racially coded" to convince white voters to vote against government spending perceived as beneficial to people of color. (Her organization, CSI, believes that "right-wing rhetoric has dominated debates of racial justice – undermining efforts to create a more equal society, and tearing apart the social safety net in the process" since the Reagan Administration.)
Frankly, Maya Wiley and her ilk are proof that racism is effectively dead in this country. There was a time when it was necessary for mean and women of good will to stand up against real racism and real racists. Today, it is necessary for the Left to invent racism where it does not exist in order to score cheap political points against the values of the majority of Americans of all races and ethnic groups. That is a tactic that is utterly shameful.
It has only been the law since 1947.
President Obama violated the law by failing to brief Congress on the counterterrorism operation that thwarted an attempted underwear bombing two weeks ago, according to the House Intelligence Committee chairman.Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said Obama did not "play [it] straight" with him. "They [did] not notify Congress, which is, by the way, law, under the National Security Act of 1947," he said on CBS's Face the Nation. "They're obligated to do it."
What? You think the law applies to Obama? R-a-a-a-a-a-cist!
We are hearing about a 2-3 billion dollar loss as a result of taking a bad position in the market. That number is enough to horrify most of us. But it shouldn’t, once we put it in context.
But here’s the thing: JP Morgan Chase’s bad deal might show up as a quarterly loss on the company’s balance sheet (although CEO Jamie Dimon is still predicting a small profit), but it is almost certainly not going to result in a direct loss to taxpayers. This is a $2.3 trillion company with a $190 billion capital base. The banking unit made more than $12 billion last year. Gene Kirsch of Seeking Alpha points out that the $800 million quarterly loss “represents approximately 4% of its total net profit for all of 2011, less than 2.7% of its operating income." Even Jared Bernstein, a former White House economic adviser who also thinks the loss proves the case for regulation, agrees that the bank “appears to be handily able to cover the losses.” So even with a relatively large loss like this, we’re not talking about a serious direct risk to taxpayers. Instead, we’re looking at a substantial loss to the individual bank.
Who does this hurt? In the end, the stockholders – which does include many Americans via their pension funds. But JP Morgan Chase won’t be going anywhere because this is a relatively small blip in total earnings, total capital, and total net worth.
But I can’t help but notice that this is the second major financial scandal involving a bit-time Obama-backing financial guru – John Corzine seems to have been involved in much worse in the not-to-distant past. Perhaps the problem is DEMOCRAT bankers.
Could you imagine the reaction of prosecutors -- and the press nationwide -- if the bishops of the Catholic Church tried to get a deal like this on reporting child abuse cases?
An influential rabbi came last summer to the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, with a message: his ultra-Orthodox advocacy group was instructing adherent Jews that they could report allegations of child sexual abuse to district attorneys or the police only if a rabbi first determined that the suspicions were credible.The pronouncement was a blunt challenge to Mr. Hynes’s authority. But the district attorney “expressed no opposition or objection,” the rabbi, Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, recalled.
Doesn't this raise some equal protection issues? And doesn't the fact that there is not national outrage over this point to the different standard that is applied to the Catholic Church?
Since the White House/Obama Campaign have put out the #AskMichelle hashtag, I thought I would have a little fun with a favorite Michelle Obama quote from the 2008 campaign.
"Barack Obama will require you to work."
Michelle Obama
Speech at UCLA
February 3, 2008
So, Michelle, could you tell us where the jobs are four years later?
![first-amendment[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/first-amendment[1].jpg)
Well, we already knew that based upon his anti-Catholic birth control regulations. But now we find that he actually tried to bribe a pastor to not preach!
‘Man, the media ate me alive,” Wright told me when we met in his office at Chicago’s Kwame Nkrumah Academy. “After the media went ballistic on me, I received an e-mail offering me money not to preach at all until the November presidential election.”
Now please understand -- I carry no brief for the sermons of Jeremiah Wright. I believe that his words were racist, anti-Semitic, and hateful of America, not to mention at odds with that which i believe to be the message of Jesus Christ. That said, the notion that any government official -- or any candidate for office -- would seek to silence him for political reasons is blatantly unAmerican.
And this one strikes me quite close to home.
Jeremiah Wright was the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, the largest church in the United Church of Christ. My wife was at one time the pastor of a church in the same denomination -- and while her theology differs in so many ways from that of Rev. Wright, I view the Obama attack upon his ability to stand in a pulpit and preach to be equally an attack upon her ability to stand in a pulpit and preach free from political interference.
Or upon my current pastor's right to preach freely.
Or the right of my seminary classmates to do so.
And it constitutes one more reason we need to rid this country of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
UPDATE: Here's where it gets interesting. The intermediate for this attempt to silence Rev. Wright is one of the senior executives at the hospital that employed Michelle Obama and gave her a whopping salary increase when Barack entered the US Senate. Oh -- and the recipient of a nearly $6 million grant from the administration.
Here are this week’s full results.
See you next week!
What will it take to get this hatemonger off the air?
It looks like maybe they, along with the Republican Congress, want to keep a sluggish economy so that ‘blackie’ [doesn’t get reelected].
Don't tell me it was satirical. Don't tell me it was him channeling what he believes to be somebody else's thoughts and motivations. Rest assured, if Rush Limbaugh used the same word in a similar context, we'd have another effort to drive him from the air.
Because it may be my favorite Garth Brooks album track.
And we know he hasn't done any of these things because the media would have already cushed it all out to us if he had done any of them.
This is what I know. Mitt Romney was not at Chappaquiddick. Mitt Romney has not been accused of rape. Mitt Romney did not have an affair with a mob babe. He didn't have an affair with an actress who committed suicide later on. Mitt Romney did not father a child out of wedlock. Mitt Romney did not support the tapping of Martin Luther King's phone. Mitt Romney was never a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Mitt Romney did not lie about his law school grades.
By the way -- he also hasn't lied about the circumstances of the deaths of his wife and daughter.
I'm not a big fan of Rush Limbaugh and don't listen to his show, but he has it exactly right here. These adult transgressions of leading Democrats (read the transcript to find out which ones) are at least as big a deal as anything done by Mitt Romney as a high school student (or that he innocently did to his family dog). And yet Romney somehow the greater transgressor? REALLY?
Face it -- they had to go back nearly half a century to find any significant dirt on Mitt Romney, and what they found isn't that significant. If there were more serious wrongdoing on his party in the more recent past, we would have heard about it from the media as they try to ensure obama's reelection. But we all need to keep our eye on what really matters in 2012.
I know. I know. Talking about the misdeeds of Obama and his campaign donors is RA-A-A-A-A-CIST!
A $95 sweatshirt currently being sold in President Obama’s campaign store is the work of Alexander Wang, a designer who’s facing a class action suit in federal court for allegedly running a sweatshop where garment workers were forced to work 100 hour weeks in a factory with conditions “comparable to those of third world countries” while being subjected to racial discrimination, verbal abuse and threats. C.K. Lee, the lead attorney representating the workers who are suing Mr. Wang told The Politicker he thinks the presence of the sweatshirt is “inappropriate.”“Hopefully, the campaign would be more educated on the background of Alexander Wang and his sweatshop facilites and the abuse of worker’s rights,” Mr. Lee said. “I wish Obama would be more–or at least his campaign would be more in tune with what’s going on.”
* * * Mr. Lee’s complaint claimed Mr. Wang’s garment workers suffered “inhumane working conditions” in his factory on Broadway which was described as a windowless space ”about 200 square foot in size, with more than twenty garment workers working inside at any given time.” According to the complaint, workers were “required to work inhumane hours … in excess of 100 hour weeks at times (15 hours per day for 7 days per week),” particularly during the lead up to the four seasonal Fashion Week shows in New York. Workers were allegedly not paid overtime, given proper breaks, or sick leave. One plaintiff, Wenyu Lu, described being hospitalized for 12 days after they “passed out at the work station” after a working “25 hours with no break” and being “pressured” to “continue to work or be fired.” A spokesperson for Mr. Wang later claimed Mr. Lu was fired for “serious harassment issues.”
In addition to the brutal conditions at Mr. Wang’s factory, the lawsuit also claims workers faced ”intentional affliction of emotional distress” including being ”regularly called ‘lazy,’ ‘stupid’” and other names and being subjected to “disparaging references” to their “national origins.” Workers were also allegedly told that ”if anyone complained they would be summarily terminated” leading to constant “fear of retribution and retaliation.” The complaint also accuses Mr. Wang, who is of Taiwanese descent, of multiple counts of racial discrimination for because their managers were allegedly all white while “all garment workers are exclusively Asian or Latino immigrants … because such minorities are easily controlled and fearful of losing their jobs.”
Maybe we can get some of these workers on network news, denouncing Mr. Obama. Maybe we can get labor leaders to denounce Obama for having anything to do with this violator of worker's rights.
Nah -- ain't gonna happen. After all, they are all busy running down rumors that Mitt Romney may have crossed the street in the middle of the block when he was seven years old to hold Obama and his campaign donors to the same standard that the Obama campaign holds Romney and his donors.
Well, it probably isn't a problem -- for them. After all, I'd be willing to bet that a good chunk of these votes are for Democrats.
Florida officials are now saying that nearly 200,000 registered voters may not be U.S. citizens.Earlier in the week, state election officials announced they had identified more than 2,600 people who are in Florida legally but ineligible to vote.
The Department of State is asking county election officials to verify the information. Election supervisors are contacting voters and if someone is not a citizen, their name will be dropped from the voter rolls.
But an initial list drawn up by the state - and not widely released - shows that a comparison of voter lists and driver's license information turned up a list of nearly 182,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens.
Frankly, we need to check the citizenship of everyone on the voter rolls. We need to be able to verify their identity. Without that, fraudulent voters can sway an election. Most Americans know this and instinctively support those common sense steps towards ensuring that only eligible American citizens receive and cast a ballot.
Barry forgets the recession.
Too bad Americans can't.
I work with kids every day.
At some point, virtually every single one of them will engage in some activity that can be defined as bullying.
That may be because of immaturity, peer pressure, or simply thoughtlessness.
Some continue their bullying behavior into adulthood, and some particularly warped individuals -- like anti-bullying activist Dan Savage -- even manage to find a way to justify their bullying as morally virtuous.
So I'm not shocked by the story that Mitt Romney did some things in high school that offend my sense of decency. I can't help but note that the media's need to probe back nearly half a century to find some dirt on the man -- which tells me that there really isn't any dirt on the man who the high school student grew up to be.
Nor am I surprised to find reports -- included in his own book -- that Barack Obama did some crappy things to a classmate when he was in school.
I can look back on my school days and remember some instances when I was gratuitously cruel to classmates -- and many more where I was on the receiving end of such behavior.
Not that I'm justifying cruel things that any of us did to classmates as kids. I'm not. Nor am I excusing things that my students do -- things that I try to stop when I witness them -- but I am recognizing that at an age when young people are immature they act immaturely.
And I'm saying quite clearly that these stories are irrelevant to today.
Because, as I've stated elsewhere, the American people need to focus on one thing only in 2012.
A couple of years back, I needed some budgeting software for our family. I looked at a lot of different programs -- the one that came pre-loaded on my computer, some that were major name brands, others that were freeware and shareware. Quite honestly, I didn't like any of them.
I want to read more of "Money Management Software" »Some nights you need the Man In Black!
So tell me, whose policies are damaging to the economic well-being of women?
324,000 women dropped out of the nation’s civilian labor force in March and April as the number of women not in the labor force hit an all-time historical high of 53,321,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The civilian labor force consists of all people in the United States 16 years or older who are not in the military, a prison, or another institution such as a nursing home or mental hospital and who either have a job or are unemployed but have actively sought work in the previous four weeks and are currently available to work.
The civilian labor force is a subset of what BLS calls the civilian noninstitutional population, which includes all people in the country 16 or older who are not in the military, a prison, or another institution such as a nursing home or mental hospital.
This year (in both January and April), only 57.6 percent of the women in the civilian noninstitutional population were in the labor force. That is the lowest rate of labor force participation by American women since April 1993, according to historical data maintained by BLS.
Women are having such a hard time finding work that they are being driven from the workforce. That means they are forced to rely on the government dole -- or cannibalize their savings and retirement accounts. Who cares about free birth control when you can't put food on the table?
Thanks, Barack!
H/T Urban Grounds
Police arrest naked man riding unicycle
Interestingly enough, this took place just about two or three miles from my house.
And I love the comment from the police chief.
"He said that he liked the way that it felt. Really don't know what he meant by that, but that's what he said," said Kemah Police Chief Greg Rikard. "The officer kept his distance as best he could. Obviously he wasn't armed, that we could tell. We did what we could do. Turned him around and moved him off to the side of the vehicle to get him out of the view of the public.
And exactly how unpopular is Obama in his own party?
The inmate, Keith Judd, is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas for making threats at the University of New Mexico in 1999. With 83 percent of precincts reporting, Obama was receiving 60 percent of the vote to Judd's 40 percent.For some West Virginia Democrats, simply running against Obama is enough to get Judd votes.
"I voted against Obama," said Ronnie Brown, a 43-year-old electrician from Cross Lanes who called himself a conservative Democrat. "I don't like him. He didn't carry the state before and I'm not going to let him carry it again."
When asked which presidential candidate he voted for, Brown said, "That guy out of Texas."
Judd was able to get on the state ballot by paying a $2,500 fee and filing a form known as a notarized certification of announcement, said Jake Glance, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office.
Judd actually won eight counties in West Virginia against a sitting president. Wow! Of course, West Virginia is a state where several major Democrats have refused to endorse the president for reelection.
Now there is a question as to whether this guy got any delegates -- did he have a slate, did he have all his paperwork in order -- but it seems pretty clear that this is indicative of some strong antipathy towards Obama in his own party. One wonders if a real challenge in his own party might have been able to unseat him.
And as an aside to those who call me mean and partisan -- please notice that I refrained from referring to Keith Judd as "Obama's future cellmate". Would you have done the same if this happened to a Republican?
Some people are so stupid that we have to hope and pray they don't have kids.
An 18-year-old man has been jailed and charged with robbery and theft after he was accused of trying to rob a suburban Dallas police headquarters.Keithan (KIH'-thuhn) Kennard Manuel is in Dallas County jail with bonds totaling $300,000 after the incident at the Wilmer Police Department, 15 miles south of Dallas. His attorney, Carl Hays of Dallas, didn't return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on Tuesday.
Police records show Manuel walked into the police station Saturday, wearing a white towel over his hands, and told the dispatcher to hand over the station's money. The records show Manuel changed his request to asking if there were any warrants against him, but as the dispatcher checked Manuel said he had a gun.
Trying to rob the police station? That takes a profound lack of genius.
As a blogger, it is sometimes your prerogative to post something you like just because you can. And this is one of those times.
I loved this song thirty years ago when I was a student at Washington & Lee, and I still love it.
In the last year, we’ve had serious scandals involving three of the eight constables here in Harris County. As a result, our county attorney has done some investigating and produced a report. But as local muckraking journalist Wayne Dolcefino points out, the report itself is rather pathetic.
13 Undercover's been exposing possible wrongdoing in some of the constable's offices for months, and last week, we questioned why the county attorney hadn't taken action.Maybe you didn't expect the county attorney to come down hard on the constables, but now there's not even a slap of the wrist.
What did high-priced county lawyers do in 10 long months? You'll see.
The result is a 5-page long report (PDF FILE) with no details on actual wrong-doing. Indeed, the “report” reads like a legal memo sent out to offer friendly reminders to employees and supervisors rather then the results of an investigation.
But that isn’t a surprise. Vince Ryan, one of the few Democrats to hold county-wide elective office here in Harris County, was investigating wrong-doing by Democrat constables. It wouldn’t do to have a report come out during the election season, when perhaps one or two of those corrupt constables might be beaten by a Republican challenger.
This is, of course, just the latest scandal coming out of Ryan’s office. The solution is clear – we need to clean up the Harris County Attorney’s office this November by voting Vince Ryan out of office – if he doesn’t have the decency to resign in disgrace before then.
And since Ryan's hand-picked Inspector General is Nick Lykos, brother of Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos (a Republican), one wonders whether malfeasance at the County Attorney's office will be vigorously pursued.
I’m not a Bill O’Reilly fan – haven’t watched him in years. But I saw this video of his reaction to a Virginia newspaper’s decision to not cover a mob attack on a pair of white employees and think it is worth posting here because he is spot on.
Isn’t it pathetic that a race-based assault is being covered up because the races of the attackers and victim don’t fit the post-Trayvon narrative?
Doesn’t this sound like a three-year-old, not an adult.
If ROMNEY gets elected I don't know if i can breathe same air as Him & his Right Wing Racist Homophobic Women Hating Tea Bagger Masters
—
Cher (@cher) May 08, 2012
I presume that after the election this past-her-prime pop-diva will hold her breath until she turns blue. Oh, wait – she’s already blue.
But maybe I’m devoting too much time to this one. After all, we’ve seen how likely the fulfillment of promises by liberal entertainers to flee the country or engage in some other dire course of action in the event their candidate loses the election really is.
I’d suggest Cher shut up and sing, but I don’t want to inflict such a fate on anyone in hearing range of her screeching.
UPDATE: Chere deleted the tweet, but here's a screen cap.
Maybe the childish rant is a sign of the onset of her "second childhood" -- assuming she ever grew out of her first one.
By now, we've all heard the non-story made into a story about some woman at a Mitt Romney event accusing Barack Obama of treason in the course of a rambling question about separation of powers. Why this even merits being treated as a news event is beyond me, as the words came from a heretofore anonymous private citizen, not the candidate, a spokesperson, or a campaign surrogate.
Here's the video.
Of course, the professional Left (like the folks from ThinkProgress), the news media, and the Obama Campaign/Regime went nuts because some woman randomly selected to ask a question said something a bit goofy and Romney didn't berate/Denounce her, but instead answered her actual question.
Which is amusingly hypocritical, given this from a couple of days ago.
![Screen-shot-2012-05-07-at-3.23.46-PM[1].png](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/Screen-shot-2012-05-07-at-3.23.46-PM[1].png)
Oddly, nobody from the Obama Campaign/Regime denounced those comments reported by BuzzFeed reporter Zeke Miller. I guess not all treason charges by anonymous supporters are created equal.
Or these words from Obama's campaign manager.
President Barack Obama’s top campaign adviser simultaneously described some of the president’s critics as “contract killers” and lauded Obama’s campaign for a positive vision.Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney is being aided by “the Karl and Koch brothers’ contract killers in super PAC land,” David Axelrod, Obama’s senior political consultant, said May 7.
Because, after all, engaging in political speech that criticizes Barack Obama and his platform is exactly the same as murder for hire, First Amendment be damned. So you know, we wont get a disavowal there.
And let's not forget the official Obama policy on disavowals.
Democrats are capitalizing on comments made at town hall by a woman asking a question who said President Obama should be tried for treason, comments not immediately disavowed by Mitt Romney. In 2011, during a Labor Day rally with Obama rally, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa said Democrats should “take these [Republican] sons of bitches out”. WH Advisor Daniel Pfeiffer responded in an interview with AM 630 that officials shouldn't be responsible for everything said and don't have to serve as the “speech police.”
In other words, when a close ally speaking on the same platform as the President calls the president's opponents "sons of bitches", the President can keep his mouth shut and still be considered to be a strong leader -- but when mitt Romney doesn't correct some anonymous person asking him a question, he is a weak leader. Got it -- either the standard is different for Obama or the standard has changed since last year.
Personally, here's how I would have answered that treason aside (JoshuaPundit offers a different response).
Ma'am, I love our Constitution, and am particularly fond of the Aticle III, Section 3 definition of treason as only consisting of making war on the United States or adhering to and giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States. Based upon the only definition of treason our Constitution recognizes, I don't believe that Barack Obama has, in fact, committed treason against the United states, despite his many other failings while in office. At the same time I would rather not say anything more, lest I prejudge and influence the outcome of any investigation of Barack Obama that may occur at some future date.
Which, of course, is why I would make a terrible candidate for President.
The article in question deals specifically with to resistance to allowing Jews to display a mezuzah on the door to their homes. But at the very end of the article is reference to a piece of legislation introduced in Congress. Look for two shocking facts here.
In 2008 [Rep. Jerrold Nadler] introduced The Freedom of Religious Expression in the Home Act.The summary of this act states that it: "Makes it unlawful to establish a rule or policy that prevents a person from displaying, on the basis of that person's religious belief, a religious symbol, object, or sign on the door, doorpost, entrance, or otherwise on the exterior of that person's dwelling, or that is visible from the exterior of that dwelling, unless the rule or policy is reasonable and is necessary to prevent significant damage to property, physical harm to persons, a public nuisance, or similar undue hardship."
Unfortunately on September 17, 2008 it was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary where it has languished ever since. The condominium owners in Stratford have reminded us that this bill now needs to become a law.
What do I find shocking?
First, that we would need legislation to protect our right to exercise our religion in our own homes here in America, a country where religious freedom is a hallmark of our identity.
Second, that such legislation would be referred to committee and never be enacted into law by our Congress..
And by the way, there is also a third thing which shocks me, but may not shock others because they don’t recognize the significance of what they read. This bill to protect the rights of Americans to freely exercise their religion in their own homes was consigned to oblivion on the 221st anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution.
Which is all well and good except for the minor glitch in the argument – dinosaurs were wiped out by the collision of a meteor with the planet.
Dinosaurs may be partly to blame for a change in climate because they created so much flatulence, according to leading scientists.Professor Graeme Ruxton of St Andrews University, Scotland, said the giant animals spent 150 years emitting the potent global warming gas, methane.
Large plant-eating sauropods would have been the main culprits because of the huge amounts of greenery they consumed.
The team calculated the animals would have collectively produced more than 520m tons of methane a year – more than all today’s modern sources put together.
It is thought these huge amounts could easily have been enough to warm the planet.
It is even possible that the climate change was so catastrophic that it caused the dinosaurs eventual demise.
Unless they want to postulate that the effects of the impact were worsened by that methane – or that the planet was struck by a fart-sniffing meteor attracted by the methane – then the entire theory fails.
But when you are an acolyte of the Cult of Global Warming, everything proves your pet theory.
Looks like Barry’s people have violated civil rights laws.
Civil rights lawyers told The Daily Caller that President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign managers may have violated employment law by hiring an overwhelmingly white office staff for his campaign headquarters in Chicago.That skewed workforce is starkly visible in an April photo released by Obama’s Chicago office, which shows roughly 100 of the office’s staff.
Only two of the people in the photo, far in the back, are clearly African-American, far below their 13 percent of the national population, and their 33-percent representation in Chicago.
“Were I the general counsel of an employer in Chicago with the workforce in the picture … I would be concerned,” said Charles Shanor, a law professor at Emory University and the former general counsel at the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
“The workforce is overwhelmingly made up of young white males [and is] a demographic profile that could raise red flags under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act,” he told TheDC.
Actually, I’d argue the disparity is even worse than it appears. After all, given the relative disparity in support for Obama among minority and white voters, one could make the argument that event he 33-percent number cited in the article would be low-0balling the percentage of black staffers the campaign should have.
Clearly we need an independent counsel appointed to conduct the investigation of the Obama campaign.
Here are this week’s full results.
See you next week!
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