Author: Patrick

Short Bio: I started blogging about politics in 2006, as a populist, skeptical left of center type, with a blog called simply, "The Populist."I suspect, but cannot prove; that my blog might have been hacked by some evil neoconservatives. I cannot prove that at all and also too, around the same time. Hackers from China where attacking wordpress blogs. I believe either the Neocons or the Chinese got my site. I don't know honestly know which.Either way, by 2007, I began to see that I really did not fit within the Democrat Party and liberal circles and after my blog was hacked; I created a blog called "Political Byline" and I kept writing; first as a Centrist and then as a Conservative PopulistFor my long bio, see the "About Me" section on this blog.

Here is one of the reasons why I am not too big on conspiracy theories

I know this is going to make me sound like a jerk and maybe a bit jaded. But this below is why you won’t find me posting links to Alex Jones or any of the rest of those sort of sites:

Authorities have identified the man who allegedly shot two law enforcement officers in Nevada County on Saturday as 60-year-old Brent Douglas Cole.

Cole, who also was shot in the altercation, is in stable condition at a Roseville hospital, according to authorities.

Cole is accused of shooting a California Highway Patrol officer and a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger in the area of the South Yuba River campground in rural Nevada County. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

Further details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting have not been released.

via Nevada County sheriff identifies man accused of shooting two officers – Crime – Sacto 911 – The Sacramento Bee.

A quick look at the dude’s facebook page, shows that he was into that stuff and really heavy into the Anti-Jewish thing quite heavy. Truthfully, I most likely mistrust the Government as this guy. However, when you take it to another level and begin shooting police officers and Government officials; you lose me. I keep my protest against what is happening in our government here in the virtual world on my blog, where it is safe and I am very careful not to get carried away and write something that might get myself arrested.

Plus too, I tend to be a bit of a skeptic, and I do not believe everything that comes down the pike; I tend to like to research things that I read. In other words, I do not trust people like Alex Jones anymore that I would trust MSNBC. Because Alex Jones has his little gig for one thing and one thing only; to make money off the backs of very paranoid people.

The sad thing is that the Conservative grassroots, represented by people like Matt Drudge are now basically open to linking to people like Alex Jones. Which, to me, is worrisome. Because when Drudge started linking to Alex Jones, he legitimized him. I think that was a mistake. I know that media suppression happens; the conservative and liberal blogosphere proved that back in 2004. However, Alex Jones is not an alternative media outlet; Alex Jones is a full-blown conspiracy theorist with his own agenda. Linking to him would be like me linking to Jeff Rense’s site or posting Brother Nathaniel videos on here. I simply will not do that; because I do not wish to be associated with those kind of people.

It simply boils down to ethics and I happen to think that ethics is in short supply on the right.

Video: Some thoughts from your host

I really have not done one of these in a good while. I thought I would share it with you. Please. excuse the unpolished look of this video. I do not own any video editing software and this slow laptop does not have enough memory to do alot of video editing; I know, I tried that and it locked the machine up. 🙄

Anyhow, here’s the video:

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Thoughts and Prayers for the people of Pilger, Nebraska

Update: Here is video of the tornados:

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To some people, these people might just be people from what the liberals and some conservatives call “fly over Country.” But. in truth, they are Americans too. Hard working Americans who bear the brunt of the socialist state. As an Amateur Radio Operator, who is trained in Skywarn spotting; I know too well how the weather can be quite unpredictable. One minute it can be sunny and nice, and the next chaotic.

These people have lost it all. I could never even imagine losing everything in a storm like this. But, these people do it all the time. Somehow or another, they manage to figure out a way to pick up what’s left, and rebuild. This, my friends, takes guts. For this they have my admiration.

May God be with them as they pick up what’s left and start over.

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — A storm packing rare dual tornadoes tore through a tiny farming town in northeast Nebraska, killing a 5-year-old child, leaving grain bins crumpled like discarded soda cans and flattening dozens of homes.

All the residents of the town of Pilger — some 350 people — evacuated their homes, many leaving for shelters in nearby towns, after the powerful twisters slammed the area Monday afternoon. Nebraska State Patrol closed all roads into town.

“More than half of the town is gone — absolutely gone,” Stanton County Commissioner Jerry Weatherholt said. “The co-op is gone, the grain bins are gone, and it looks like almost every house in town has some damage. It’s a complete mess.”

Emergency crews and residents spent the evening sifting through demolished homes and businesses in the town about 80 miles northwest of Omaha.

Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger estimated that 50 to 75 percent of Pilger was heavily damaged or destroyed in the storm. The local school is likely beyond repair, he said.

“It’s total devastation,” Unger said.

via Associated Press.

Some very good advice on Iraq

One of the best thing written on the situation in Iraq so far, is found here:

At noon today, President Obama issued his first statement on the deteriorating situation on Iraq. “This is not solely or even primarily a military challenge,” he said. “The United States will do our part, but understand that ultimately it’s up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems.”

Obama left the door open to unspecified “actions,” but repeated that the Iraqis themselves had to seize the opportunity that the years of American effort gave them.

This will no doubt be greeted by the President’s opponents with something akin to apoplexy. They will be arguing that in fact the problem does have a military solution, that the U.S. can solve it, and that whatever is happening, everything would be better if we applied more force.

We have now reached the rather ironic situation in Iraq where we find ourselves allied with Iran in an effort to save the corrupt and thuggish government of Nouri al-Maliki, while the army we spent eight years training falls apart. I’m not going to pretend to have unique insight into Iraqi politics (I’d suggest reading Marc Lynch, for starters, as a way of getting up to speed on what has led to this point).

But there are few people who understand Iraq less than the Republican politicians and pundits who are being sought out for their comments on the current situation.

As you watch the debate on this issue, you should remind yourself that the most prominent voices being heard are the very ones who brought us the Iraq War in the first place, who promised that everything was simple and the only question was whether we’d be “strong” and “decisive” enough — the same thing they’re saying today. They’re the ones who swore that Saddam was in cahoots with Al Qaeda, that he had a terrifying arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, that the war would be quick, easy and cheap, that since Iraq was a largely secular country we wouldn’t have to worry about sectarian conflict, and that democracy would spread throughout the region in short order, bringing peace and prosperity along with it.

via On Iraq, let’s ignore those who got it all wrong – The Washington Post.

Also too, there is some very good writing on Iraq here.

How convenient

This is basically the Government’s version of “my dog ate my homework.”

The Story:

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement regarding the Internal Revenue Service informing the Committee that they have lost Lois Lerner emails from a period of January 2009 – April 2011.  Due to a supposed computer crash, the agency only has Lerner emails to and from other IRS employees during this time frame.  The IRS claims it cannot produce emails written only to or from Lerner and outside agencies or groups, such as the White House, Treasury, Department of Justice, FEC, or Democrat offices.

“The fact that I am just learning about this, over a year into the investigation, is completely unacceptable and now calls into question the credibility of the IRS’s response to Congressional inquiries.  There needs to be an immediate investigation and forensic audit by Department of Justice as well as the Inspector General.

Read the rest:  IRS Claims to Have Lost Over 2 Years of Lerner Emails | House Committee on Ways & Means.

Good luck on getting this DOJ to investigate this or any other thing, that would hurt the “Magic One.”

Others: Associated Press, Power Line, Wall Street Journal, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and NewsBusters (Via Memeorandum)

A sign that I am getting old….

I am 41, will be 42 on June 28’th. Yep, that means I am getting old. 🙁

I actually had to increase the font size on my browser today. My blog was fine, it’s everyone else’s that was so small that it made my eyes hurt to read them. So, up went the font size on the browser.

Getting old sucks. 🙁

 

UPDATED: On Iraq

If you’ve been following the news; Iraq is imploding and I mean badly.

There has been a good deal of ink spilled about Iraq; I’ve done a bit of that myself in the past. However, I feel the need to discuss something here: The Left. The thing the cracks me up about the left and Iraq; is that the left is still, to this day, spouting the same old tired line about Iraq: Blame Bush.  🙄

As much as I hate to admit it; Noah Rothman is absolutely correct. However, I, unlike, Noah, will tell the complete truth about it. (As a former left of center, how could I do any less?) Yes, Bush oversold the war. Yes, Bush was totally incorrect about the reasons for going into Iraq in the first place. Yes, Bush dithered on the execution of the buildup of troops, when the insurgency between Sunni and Shia began; by keeping Rumsfeld in his position for far too long.

However, President Obama has been the President of the United States since January of 2009; that is six whole years. Bush had agreements in place with the Iraqis for a residual forces. When Obama took office, Maliki changed his tune and wanted to be able to prosecute American troops according to Iraqi law; and instead of Obama trying to work with the Iraqis; he simply walked away and began withdrawing ALL forces out of Iraq. This was an epic blunder; and that blunder is all on Obama and the left cannot place that blunder on Bush at all.

The bad part is Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s current President Updated, Please see below! Maliki excluded the Sunni’s out of the Government; this caused major problems. Now, is that, in itself, Obama’s fault? No, it is not. However, President Obama could have handled this situation, a whole bunch better than he did; instead, he was gung-ho about getting out of Iraq, for political reasons and because of that, we have the situation that we do now.  To be clear; this entire thing is Obama’s baby and no amount of historical revisionism is going to change that at all.

Those who try to place the blame of this situation squarely on Bush, including left-wing bloggers; simply have no credible leg to stand on at all.

Update: I guess I should pay better attention, I was under the impression that Maliki was the President of Iraq; I was wrong. Maliki is the prime minister of Iraq and was not voted out of office. This shows you how long its been since I’ve written about Iraq! I’m over here blaming the falling apart on the wrong dude. Oopsie. Sorry about that. I shall pay more attention in the future! 😀

Update #2: A perfect example of what I am referring to is found here. National Review refutes the idiocy right here.

Video: Detroit, Michigan: Arab Muslim Observed Beating His Wife in a Department Store

Religion of Peace? I wonder what this woman would think about that?

Yes, this happened in my home town here. This was most likely in Dearborn, Michigan; which is full of Arab Muslims.

The Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEC_RHGdQyg

(H/T Taking back America, one post at a time)