Category: News

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Michael Yon arrested at Seattle airport

(H/T Ed @HotAir)

That’s right, Michael Yon, famed independent war corespondent was detained at the airport, handcuffs and all.

For not disclosing how much money he makes…. 🙄

From his facebook fan page:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eve…ntually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

and…:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

and….:

When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.

Jazz Shaw asks, “WTF??!?!”:

Very strange. Even if you’re into profiling, Yon would hardly fit one you’d be interested in. Of course, his passport, by now, doubtless has a list of countries stamped into it which could give an inspector pause, but that’s no excuse. Very, very strange. I expect this one will be high profile enough that you’ll see an apology coming from the government.

Ed Morrissey weighs in:

Unless there is more to this story, an apology would be the least owed to Yon.  When an American citizen with a valid passport presents himself for travel, there should be some reasonable screening to verify identity and to determine whether there is a physical risk, ie, weapons and the like.  Why should border security be interested in Yon’s annual income?  How does that relate to national security and border protection?  Unless this is an arm of the Internal Revenue Service, it doesn’t, and Yon was right to refuse to answer the question.

Instead of hassling American citizens about their income or watching the ice melt, how about paying attention to actual security and intelligence issues?  Please?

I must say that I agree with both of these assessments, and I personally believe those responsible for detaining Mr. Yon, ought to be fired. I honestly have to ask this question, that neither Jazz nor Ed would even ask. If Michael Yon had been, say, Arabic or even black; would he have been detained? I somehow doubt it. But, because he’s a White American, he gets asked a stupid question and because he refuses to answer it, which was well within his rights; he gets detained. Welcome to Obama’s America people. Where white men are oppressed, interrogated and harassed; by the black power establishment. You say this isn’t about race? I disagree. This is all about race and as long as Barack Hussein Obama is President, you will continue to see this sort of nonsense happening in America. Bank on it.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Outside The Beltway, Gateway Pundit, Mudville Gazette, The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, JammieWearingFool, Moonbattery

AWESOME! Expresso Operator thwarts a would-be robber, with 9 mm Kel-Tec

Woo Hoo! I LOVE stories like this one! 😀

The Video:

The Story via KTVB-TV in Idaho: (H/T to Freda)

COEUR D’ALENE — A teen attempting to rob an espresso stand in northern Idaho met his match in a gun totin’ barista.

Police say the 17-year-old confronted Sunshine Espresso owner Michelle Cornelson with a gun at about 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday, demanding all her money.

Cornelson has been hunting since she was a little girl and says she remained calm as a customer pulled up to the other side of her kiosk, distracting the teen.

Cornelson quickly whipped out her 9 mm Kel-Tec firearm — a Christmas present from her husband — scaring the teen off before calling police.

A Kootenai County sheriff’s deputy was nearby after picking up a beverage at the stand and caught the suspect, who was later transported to a juvenile detention center.

Two thumbs up the pretty lady with 9MM! The only true deterrent to crime, is GUNS baby!

Say uncle says:

“Obviosly, compensating for the size of her penis”

HEH! 😆 😀 😛

Anyhow, glad the lady is okay and the kid is alive. Thank God for Guns and for the second amendment! Barry has not taken that right…..yet.

Shoot out at Las Vages Court House, leaves a Federal Court officer Dead

Raw Video:

Not that this situation is even remotely funny. But there was a funny line in this video… “Helluva mornin’ for Jury Duty!” heh!

The Story, Via The Las Vegas Sun:

A federal court officer has died and another is in serious condition after being shot this morning in the lobby of the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

The U.S. Marshals Service says the shooting victims included a deputy U.S. marshal and a court security officer. The Associated Press is reporting that one of the officers has died, although it wasn’t immediately clear which one.

University Medical Center spokesman Rick Plummer said the dead officer was 65 years old.

Metro Police responded at 8:05 a.m. to the shooting, police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said. FBI Special Agent Joseph Dickey says the gunman died shortly after a shootout.

Before the AP reported one officer’s death, police spokesman Ramon Denby said the officers were in “very serious” condition and undergoing surgery.

Denby said authorities had finished clearing the federal building. A suspicious vehicle on the east side of the courthouse was also cleared and determined not to be a threat.

Las Vegas Boulevard was closed in both directions.

Prayers are with the victims, and with Gunman’s family. I wonder what the story will be on this one. Countdown to Democrats beginning Gun-grabbing legislation in 5….4….3…2…

(Fixed Headline typo…)

For the record, No, I do not think this even remotely funny, at all.

In fact, I think it is pretty damned lame:

PLAINS, GA (WALB) – A doll found hanging off a Main Street building in Plains is causing controversy.

Controversial enough to get the United States Secret Service involved.

Witnesses say it was an image of President Barack Obama with a rope around his neck, and the display was found hanging in one of the city’s most recognizable sites dedicated to former President Jimmy Carter.

A few people were able to snap pictures of the black doll before it was taken down.

“I saw this stuffed thing hanging up,” said Alonzo Davis, Plains Resident.

Davis is one of the people who saw the doll hanging off the brick building, he said a sign on the front had President Obama’s name on it.

“People have seen it and have the pictures but no body is talking about it,” said Davis. “I don’t think it’s right I don’t know if it’s someone horse playing or what.”

Plains is proud of Jimmy Carter, with patriotism on display almost everywhere. Tourists walked around with no idea of what happened Saturday morning, but some who live here are speaking out.

“It’s wrong what they did, but I’m not shocked to hear about it,” said Plains resident Trevor Sims. “It’s a nice place to live and visit but some people out there don’t like it.”

via Obama’s effigy in Pres. Carter’s hometown – WALB.com

I personally don’t give a flying flip who did it; but whoever did ought to be in jail! Period. There are some other Bloggers who are on the right, that are saying, “Standby for blame fest” and such, but you know, I am just going to say it. It could have been just some idiot kids, thinking that they were being cute.  Then again, that is Georgia and some attitudes down there have not changed a bit. Which proves what Barry Goldwater said, that you cannot legislate morality.

Either way; whoever did that, ought to go to jail. Some might say, “well, what about you!?!” I have an answer, I made my mistake, I paid for it, and I learned from it. I will not ever go there again; I do not care how much the other side wants to race-bait. Also, another blogger makes the point that liberals did the same thing to Bush. He does have a point, but; as much as a Conservative as I am, I realize with President Obama, it is very different, and Racism is a serious thing, and we as Americans should be a little bit more knowledgeable about that.

Others: Alan Colmes’ Liberaland, Stop The ACLU, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Raw Story, Think Progress, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mediaite, TPM LiveWire and Shot in the Dark

One of the many reasons why I do not buy into the birther nonsense

Oh brother, this again?

If you thought 2010 was the future, think again. A phony new email chain letter — one of the antiquated viral sort leftover from the AOL era — is claiming that the case against President Barack Obama’s citizenship has reached the Supreme Court, based on a forged and typo-riddled Associated Press “report.”

The birther movement of angry citizens who believe President Obama was not born in the country and is thus ineligible to be president seemed to lose steam in the year since the 2008 election, but this new email spreading takes the accusations to a new level of ridiculousness based on fake news done poorly.

via Birther Chain Email Uses Fake AP Story To Question Obama’s Citizenship – Mediaite.

This is the main reason why I quit giving that birther crap any space on my blog. Because they know they are wrong. But that will not stop them. What they cannot prove; they make up. Which is horrible, but they are entitled to free speech, like everyone else — like me.

The problem is, there are well-meaning Conservatives, who actually believe this bunch of nonsense. The problem is, not many of them know this theory’s origins; which was on the White Nationalist website, Stormfront. It was then picked up operatives in the Hillary Clinton campaign, and then finally by political operatives within the Republican Party. It was quickly dumped by the Republicans and somewhat by the Hillary people. But it still festers out there. There are some, who are still angry at Obama from the Hillary camp, and some angry Republicans, who still, to this day, forward these e-mails around. It is, as Charles Johnson noted in the interview that I posted, a nuanced racial message, that basically says, “Go back to Africa, nigger!” I will be the first to admit it, there are some racists still in the ranks of Conservatives, especially in the south. Some of these people, at some point may have voted Democrat. Some not. It depends entirely on the person. This is not to say, that they all are, but there are some who hold that well-nuanced feeling towards blacks.

I think one of tragedies of the Conservative Blogosphere is that some of them, including me, got caught up into that birther nonsense. Especially when Orly Taitz started bringing out her “supposed” Birth Certificates. I was burned on that story once; it will never happen again, I can assure you of that.  I went as far as to add a retraction to the story and went out of my way to slam that pathetic woman, for even trying to deceive the American people. I also slammed the owner of WorldNetDaily for giving Taitz the space to spout her nonsense too. Most of the rest that covered it, never bothered, and that to me, is a real issue. I mean, if you going to cover a story, at least have the common decency to say that it was a hoax.

Obama's People: Chicago suburb cops tasered unconscious diabetic 11 times

Oh Brother…. 🙄

Police officers from two Chicago suburbs are being sued after one of them allegedly Tasered a man having a diabetic seizure because the diabetic involuntarily hit the officer while being taken to an ambulance.

Prospero Lassi, a 40-year-old employee of Southwest Airlines, filed the lawsuit (PDF) with a federal court in Chicago last week, following an April 9, 2009, incident in which Lassi was taken to hospital following a violent diabetic seizure — and being Tasered 11 times while unconscious.

That day, Lassi’s roommate found the man on the floor of his apartment having a seizure and foaming at the mouth, according to the statement filed with the court. The roommate called 911 for help, and police officers from the Brookfield and LaGrange Park police departments arrived to help with the situation.

As police officers were helping the paramedics move Lassi to an ambulance, Lassi — still in the midst of the seizure and described as “unresponsive” — involuntarily smacked one of the officers with his arm.

“Reacting to Mr. Lassi’s involuntary movement, one or more of the [officers] pushed Mr. Lassi to the ground, forcibly restraining him there,” the complaint states. “[LaGrange Park Officer Darren] Pedota then withdrew his Taser, an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt a person’s control over his muscles, and electrocuted Mr. Lassi eleven times.

via Chicago cop tasered unconscious diabetic 11 times | Raw Story.

As you all know; I am person that is an adamant defender of the rule of law. However, if this story is to be taken at face value; this is not one of those instances. This is nothing more than a classic case of police brutality. I personally hope that the judge throws the book at the police officers involved in this case. Because it is obvious to me, that the idiots that pulled off this little number, were well out of line and should be punished for it.

Rush Limbaugh is A-Okay

Here’s the Video of his Presser:

Here’s a note from his Website:

To my listeners,

Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts over the past several days. Today, I am leaving Queens Hospital in Honolulu, feeling strong and rested. I offer my deepest thanks to the staff and administration there, who provided excellent care and supervision.

I’m going to take several days of rest over this weekend and the early part of next week, and will be back on the radio with you sometime next week, taking the advice of so many of you to rest and fully recover.

I wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year in 2010!

With great thanks for your support and love,

Rush Limbaugh

Here’s Memeornadum’s Round up on Rush’s Story.

I am just glad the ol’ fella is going to be okay.

News from a Fundamentalist Christian Viewpoint

PDF VERSION
FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
January 1, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 1

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

RICK WARREN CONFERENCE TO FEATURE MARK DRISCOLL, THE ULTRA-COOL PASTOR (Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Mark Driscoll is scheduled to speak at Rick Warren’s Radicalis conference in February. The goal is “how to develop emotionally healthy leadership.” The conference also features Pete Scazzero, founder of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a ministry that promotes emotional health through Catholic contemplative mysticism. Driscoll is the ultra-cool senior pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He claims to be “THEOLOGICALLY CONSERVATIVE AND CULTURALLY LIBERAL” (“Pastor Provocateur,” Christianity Today, Sept. 21, 2007) and criticizes “hardcore fundamentalism that throws rocks at culture.” He defines himself as “relevant,” “contextual,” and “cool” (“Conference examines the emerging church,” Baptist Pres s, Sept. 25, 2007). Mark Driscoll’s church sets up a “champagne bar” at its New Year’s Eve parties. Members have to bring their IDs. They have “beer-brewing lessons” for men, show R-rated movies, and operate the Paradox Theater to host secular rock concerts. Scott Thomas, director of Acts 29, a church planting network associated with Driscoll, says, “We won’t water down our theology to reach more people and we won’t attack the culture in the name of Christianity” (http://www.acts29network.org/about/welcome/). These are contradictory statements. You can’t be faithful to the Bible (having rock-solid theology) if you “contextualize the gospel” and refuse to attack the sinful and satanic side of culture, which is a very large side of it in a world in which the devil is god! God’s Word commands, “And have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, BUT RATHER REPROVE THEM” (Eph. 5:11). John the Baptist lost his head for rebuking a political leader for his immorality. Too bad he did not have one of Driscoll’s books to help him learn how to be culturally liberal. The emerging John would have been so much cooler.

HOLLYWOOD CULTURE CREATES “INSANE SELF-IMAGE ISSUES” (Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is by Brian Snider <bsnider@gmail.com> — “Investing a lot of money, time and worry on this body is a hopeless dead end.  Sadly, that’s what Hollywood culture demands from those who worship at its altar. Actress Brittany Murphy, who mysteriously died of ‘natural causes’ two weeks ago, apparently spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about a body that would only carry her to 32 years of age. ‘She had insane self-image issues,’ said one of her friends. ‘Her weight, her hair, her clothes, her skin, her teeth, everything. She was always so self-conscious.’ Adds another: ‘A lot of her problems were due to poor self image. She wore extraordinary amounts of makeup, tons of fake eyelashes, got her teeth capped, dyed her hair blonde, lost weight–she wanted to be a beauty. She didn’t want to be the fat girl from Clueless.’ The things she spent so much time worrying about–body, eyes, teeth and hair are now lying in a grave, though her spirit has passed on into eternity. And with all the worrying she did about things that will pass away, we wonder how much time she spent worrying about the state of her soul. This young actress was sold a false bill of goods by the Satanic machinery of the movie industry, which convinces people that looks, prestige and glamour are great things to be sought. There is a permanence to death that is stunning in its seriousness and scope. Better to have the perspective of Scripture now than the perspective of Hollywood, which can only lead to eternal misery. ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes , and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever’ (1 John 2:15-17). ‘It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth’ (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4).”
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