Month: January 2010

Updated Obama Says, 'Ultimately, the buck stops with me' Briefing Video Added

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It was a good speech, but lacking any specifics. There is a security briefing going, I will get video of it, as soon as it is available.

Via Politico:

President Barack Obama on Thursday accepted responsibility for intelligence shortcomings that led to a failed Christmas Day bombing plot on a Detroit-bound airliner, saying, “Ultimately, the buck stops with me.

“As president, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people, and when the system fails, it is my responsibility,” Obama said.

Obama said an intelligence review found that the U.S. government had the information needed to thwart the plot but failed to do so because of a series of compounding shortcomings, including that intelligence analysts didn’t focus heavily enough on information warning that al-Qaeda in Yemen wanted to strike the United States.

“The U.S. government had the information scattered through the system to potentially uncover this plot and disrupt the attack. Rather than a failure to collect and share this intelligence, this was a failure to connect and understand the intelligence we already had,” Obama said at the White House.

Obama’s buck-stops-here message marks a change in tone from earlier statements in which Obama and other officials repeatedly noted that the watch-listing system that failed to flag the suspect, Umar AbdulMatallab, was put in place under the Bush administration.

I am glad to see that the President is taking the hit for it and not passing the buck. I look forward to seeing what the Government does. Speeches are nice, but let’s see what the action is.

Update: As promised, here it is:

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Update #2: Ace is not impressed, at all:

I’m not, and was talking about it with cobloggers (similarly unimpressed) and figured why talk about it in email.

He dodged responsibility for a week. He minimized it and claimed it was just an independent actor, unconnected to anything bigger, even when it was pretty firmly established it was Al Qaeda.

I don’t think he made this statement because he believes it, or because he wanted to. I think he made this statement because polling and focus-groups told him that if he didn’t make it, he was risking an even bigger loss in his poll numbers than anything he’d seen before.

So it’s a case — I am 99% confident — of “doing the right thing when there are no other options left.”

Good point.

Video: Jack Cafferty rips on Obama and Pelosi?!?!

Wow! 😯

Ed Morrissey cracks:

A CNN commentator cheerleading Republican victory in the midterms? Jack Cafferty calling Barack Obama a liar on national TV? Are cats and dogs raining from the sky today?

Heh! No, it’s just snow, I checked… and man are we ever getting it here! Four to Six inches expected today here. I wanna go to Florida or even Hawaii. 🙁 😥 😛 😉 😀

Countdown to the liberals calling Cafferty a evil white Raaaacist in 5….4….3…2….

Updated: Michael Steele to critics, 'Shut up or Fire me'

The Video:

The Story via ABC News:

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Rick Klein report: RNC Chairman Michael Steele is lashing out his critics, with a series of blunt messages for prominent Republicans who have blasted him over his leadership for the Republican Party.

“I tell them to get a life. That’s old Washington, that’s old ways, and I don’t represent that, and that kills them,” Steele told ABC News Radio in an interview today.

“I’m telling them and I’m looking them in the eye and say I’ve had enough of it. If you don’t want me in the job, fire me. But until then, shut up. Get with the program or get out of the way.”

Steele was responding to a series of reports — most recently in today’s Washington Times — where prominent GOP operatives and fund-raisers have criticized Steele for seeming to focus more on his own image (and pocketbook) rather than the good of the party

Ed Morrissey weighs in here:

Shut up? Maybe Steele hasn’t noticed, but America is a place where we hold our leaders accountable, or at least attempt to do so. While the GOP should be focusing on holding Democrats accountable, Steele argues that we treat him like a dictator, given the keys to Rome for a year in order to rout the barbarians. At the very least, Steele should familiarize himself with Harry Truman’s famous maxim: if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[…]

For the year in which he agreed with D.L. Hughley that the 2008 GOP convention looked like a Nazi rally and his opinion that Republicans aren’t ready to lead? Er, sure. He could give himself that “good, solid B-plus.” And it would have much the same meaning as the one Obama assigned himself — a great argument against self-evaluation as a technique.

I agree with Ed here on principle. However, I will simply add this. While I believe that criticism is totally legitimate. Anonymous criticism towards someone, is just cowardly. My feeling is, if you have a beef with Steele, say it to his face, write him, tell him about it. Don’t act like a coward and do it behind his back. If you have a beef with Steele because he is too black or because he is black, period; be a man and tell him about it, and tell Steele or the GOP how you feel about how Steele is doing his job. Own up to what you feel, don’t nuance it, don’t play stupid, speak what you feel! Oh, and before anyone screams, or before Ed Screams! No, I am not calling Ed a racist. I know that is NOT where he is coming from. But there are those that do. Hence the point. 😀

I will admit it, Steele acts like a clown, he gives the Black Liberals what they want; talking points. He tries to say, that the G.O.P. is racist. He does not actually come out and say it. But it is a nuanced message. I agree with Ed, Steele’s agreeing with D.L. Hughley was a huge blunder, it also made him look like a Identity Politics type. Which is all sorts of wrong within the Republican Party, hence the uproar towards him. However, I think if party bosses have an issue with Steele, they need to call a meeting and confront him, otherwise, they need to just zip it and let the man do his job.

Just my thoughts. 😀

Update : As a rule, Tbogg can be quite the liberal a-hole, but I found this to be quite funny 😀 😆 —:

Michael Steele goes all Kathy Griffin on Republicans

HEH!

Update: Whoa Boy… I do believe Mr. Steele might be getting the ol’ Heave Ho, before he knows it, Via CQ Politics: (H/T AP)

Although RNC Research Director Jeff Berkowitz originally defended the campaign committee and Steele, aides ultimately acknowledged that they have little control over the former Maryland lieutenant governor and that they are not in charge of lining up his media appearances while he is promoting his book.

“Their response was, ‘We’re not booking the book stuff,’” a second GOP Senate aide said. And while RNC staff said they would try to get Steele “back on message,” this Senate aide said the frustration goes well beyond Steele’s latest statement [that the GOP can’t take back the House this year], charging that he is using his position at the RNC to line his own pockets rather than raise much-needed campaign cash.

“Republicans at all levels have been working day and night to build a wave, and every time we turn around the guy standing on the surfboard is busy trying to collect admission to watch him ride,” the aide said, arguing that “he has an agenda of his own that isn’t reflected by the goals of the party as a whole.”

Republicans said there’s a growing concern that Steele is catering to conservative activists and others who may not have the party’s best interests at heart. Steele mounted an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2006, running as a moderate.

“He’s talking like he’s some kind of tea partier … when [in 2006] he was THE most moderate candidate we had in the field. That was his whole thing, and he had no problem trashing [former President George W.] Bush and others for being too conservative,” one GOP aide said.

I just hope that the RNC thinks loooooooooooooooooong and hard before they give Steele the boot. The backlash could get ugly.

What? No Terrorism Charges? Some Turban-Headed Twerp from Toledo gets stupid on a plane

Oh good lord. 🙄

The Toledo man who Wednesday yelled racial slurs and caused a Detroit flight from Miami to turn around is being held in a Florida jail today.

Mansor Mohammad Asad, 43, has been charged with threats against a public servant, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after the incident aboard Delta Airlines flight 2485, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Witnesses told investigators that Asad yelled anti-Semitic references such as, “I’m Palestinian and I want kill all the Jews,” in Arabic. The pilot turned around as the plane was taxiing for take-off at 6:35 p.m., according to police.

Officers then escorted the Asad off and performed a safety inspection of the plane before it continued on to Detroit.

But Asad charged officers while he was in custody, using racial slurs and threats while he chanted, leading police to use a Taser to subdue him.

via Toledo man charged in flight fracas – Detroit Free Press.

Wow. Looks like the crazies are out in force. Wonder if President Hussein is on top of this one too?

Mansor Mohammad Asad

Can one be charged and imprisoned for being a FUGLY Arab too?

Ship ’em to GITMO, water board his ugly ass. Better yet, just shoot the asshole between the eyes! One less terrorist, one less Arab, one less of “THEM“.

Others: Atlas Shrugs

It is nice to know that Michael Leiter was on top of the situation

Remember what I wrote here?  Scratch that. They’re still idiots… sigh… 🙄

WASHINGTON – The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.

Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center since 2007, decided not to return to his agency’s “bat cave” nerve center in McLean, Va., until several days after Christmas, two U.S. officials said.

“People have been grumbling that he didn’t let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation,” said one of the sources.

The NCTC, the post-9/11 clearinghouse for intelligence to detect terror plots against the U.S., is under intense scrutiny for failing to “connect the dots” on Nigerian bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Leiter’s spokesman declined to say when the terror-center chief returned to Washington and fully retook the helm of his analysis agency, which is near CIA headquarters just outside the nation’s capital.

“It is our policy to not make our director’s schedule available to the public,” center spokesman Carl Kropf said in an e-mai

via NCTC director Michael Leiter remained on ski slopes after Christmas Day airline bombing attempt.

Indeed the monkeys are running the zoo! Psychos are running the nuthouse, ect… and so on.

I ask you all publicly, where the hell is our leadership in Washington D.C.?

Remember this come 2010 and 2012.

Others:  JammieWearingFool, Another Black Conservative, Hot Air, ThreatsWatch and Gateway Pundit

(Fixed stupid misspelling in the headline…I need more coffee….)

The Republican Party's resident RINO, John McCain, is now running radio ads

Looks like John McCain is running radio ads out in Arizona.

Click here to take a listen to them.

He says he is Arizona’s last line of defense, and is going to stop Barack Obama’s socialism. 🙄 Yeah, like he stopped George W. Bush’s spending during that era too, right?

As always, McCain tries to cash in on his Military record, in order to get elected. I wonder if it will actually work this time, or not? Hopefully not. The late Senator Barry Goldwater could not stand McCain, called him a phony; and I can totally understand why.

Hmmmmmmm: Fighter jets escort plane to after passenger becomes 'unruly'

Saw this earlier… and it did make me wonder….

Two F-15 fighter jets escorted a passenger jet that had been headed for Hawaii back to Portland International Airport in Oregon after a passenger in coach became “uncooperative,” an airline official said Wednesday.

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 took off from Portland at 10:10 a.m. with 231 passengers and a crew of 10 when — 90 minutes into the flight — its captain decided to turn around the Boeing 767, said Keoni Wagner, the airline's vice president of public affairs.

The fighter jets intercepted the plane at 1 p.m. North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a written statement.

It landed at 1:16 p.m. without further incident, the TSA said.

Upon the plane's return, the passenger — a 56-year-old Salem, Oregon, man — was escorted from the plane with his female companion without incident, the FBI and the Port of Portland said in a joint statement.

The FBI said it was not releasing his name because he had not been charged.

FBI agents and Port officers interviewed the passenger and his companion, the flight crew and others, then released the two and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review.

via Fighter jets escort plane to after passenger becomes unruly – CNN.com.

What did he do?

In a statement, the Transportation Security Administration said the captain decided to return the plane to Portland “due to a suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag.”

Port of Portland Public Information Officer Martha Richmond told CNN that the plane was turned around “due to concerns the crew had.”

Do I think it was an overreaction? Possibly. However, in light of what happened over the Christmas Holiday; any action, is better than no action at all. Glad to see that TSA is on top of things.

Quote of the Day

I would say the greatest failure of the Church today is its unwillingness to say and do the unpopular thing. Too many Christians busy themselves these days trying to come up with new ways of being admired and desired by the world rather than simply being obedient to the Lord they claim to love.

With a self-sustaining focus on acquiring evermore results and relationships (i.e., “church growth”) by way of pragmatism and consensus, none of which is biblical, today’s Christians are, by and large, being persuaded and trained week after week to embrace surveys, marketing principles, public relations programs and people skills as their new commandments with dialectically-trained consultants and facilitators posing as prophets and preachers – people pleasers who know how to work the crowd and steer the herd while selectively applying the scriptures as needed to maintain a biblical appearance of righteousness and religiosity.

We’re essentially giving people what they want at church these days in hopes they will reciprocate with more participation and support. How is this “tactic” any different from those used on Wall Street and in Washington D.C.?

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” – 1st Corinthians 1:18

Are the Democrats jumping from the ship?

It is a plausible question, and an interesting one at that.  Are the Democrats now jumping from the bloated ship of socialist waste ever known to humankind?  Are Democrats preparing themselves for the “Nuclear Option” on healthcare?  The questions abound, the speculation is running rampant, and internet meme’s are burning up the bandwidth.  I, on the other hand, will tell you what I do know.

First off, let us start with the local story; Michigan Lt Governor John Cherry was expected to be the person to succeed Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm at the helm of Michigan Governorship.  However, Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm’s performance as Governor of this state has been less than stellar.  I ought to know this, I have lived here all of my life.  Double-digit unemployment, a one state recession that towered over the national recession for many years now; put quite bluntly, there are no jobs here in Michigan. Sure, there are jobs, if you want to work in a fast food joint, making minimum wage.  However, if you happen to be a 37-year-old man, looking for a decent paying, full time job, with health insurance — you are frankly out of luck.

However, to be fair, some of Michigan’s woes cannot be laid at the feet of the Democratic leadership.  GM’s credit crisis cannot be blamed entirely on the Democrats, at least not the current ones in office here in Michigan.  GM and Chrysler’s troubles are a direct result of the mortgage crisis, which was caused by President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton and that idiotic piece of legislation that opened up the mortgage market to high-risk individuals.  When the credit markets froze up, due to the stock market crash and subsequent credit freeze, the big three found themselves in the middle of it.  This is my biggest issue that I have with the “Republicans” or those within the Conservative movement.  They always, without fail, blame the unions for the troubles of the big three; when in all honesty, unions had zero to do with the meltdown or its effect on the automakers.  The entire mess was, in fact, lack of proper regulation in the mortgage industry and the stock market in regards to credit swaps that caused this whole mess in the first place.  Sorry to my fellow Conservatives, but I am just not buying that talking point.

However, it would be fair to mention that the unions did play a role in the financial woes of the big three, as did the big three’s failure to listen to the automotive experts, who saw what Japan was doing in the 1970’s and their arrogant attitudes.  The big three could have saved themselves much heartache, by building smarter, higher quality vehicles.  However, by the time the big three got around to embracing the ISO standards, it was too little, too late.  As for the talking point of Union workers making too much money, I find it amazing how many Conservatives have axe to grind with those who simply want to make a decent working wage.  Most of the people that make these idiotic claims are those who are making more than two hundred and fifty thousand a year and have no financial worries at all; but they want to rip away the comfortable living of others.  Do you see now why I have not voted “Republican” yet?

Another point that I feel that is important to make, is the fact that the big three are just designing some of the most god-awful looking car nowadays.  Heck, even the trucks are now getting just plain butt-ugly.  Does it make any damned sense to build cars for every day Americans that look like they taken from the pages of a twenty fifth century comic book?  Whatever happened to graceful, classic designs from the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s?  Those were real cars back then, now all the big three can produce is glorified garbage — and do not even get me started on the idea of an electric car, now that is a idea that is going to go right straight were the Chevy EV1 went, right straight into the scrap heap.

Now back on the subject of politics, it seems that Chris Dodd, going to retire.  Getting sweetheart deals on a house mortgage can do that to a fellow, especially when people in your district are losing their houses left and right.  I also notice that Bryon Dorgan is also retiring; he supported Obama’s healthcare plan, which made him damaged goods.  I also notice that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is withdrawing from that race — corruption will do that to a fellow.

Now what is my personal take on these retirements and how it affects the 2010 elections?  My take is this; I believe that there are going to be some very big upsets come election time.  Now, I do not necessarily see a Republican wave or anything like that.  However, I do see a drastic change in Washington D.C.  I do also see a “defanging” of the socialist monster that exists on Capitol Hill right now.  As for the Governor’s race here in Michigan, I believe that the Republicans can win Michigan, but they are going to have to work to earn the trust of the American people.  It would take some very hard work and some massive breaking of some very established political rules to do it.  However it can be done.  The people of Michigan want real answers, real results, not political grandstanding, and platitudes.

It is going to be a very interesting 2010.  I look forward to writing about it and giving you my take.