Noted Detroit Sports Writer and Faux Liberal Hack says "Hey Townhalls Protests are American too!"

From the ultra-Liberal Detroit Free Press‘s Mitch Albom:

I have no illusions about protesters at the recent town hall meetings on health care.

Mitch Albom
Some are fueled by angry conservative groups. Some are hopped up on radio hosts’ rants and ravings. Some are Barack Obama haters. Some use one piece of wrong information to smear an entire event.
And some just think the whole idea of government health care stinks.
But all of them — all of them — have the right to be there, and the right to their point of view. Liberal-minded thinkers who regularly speak up for the poor and underprivileged cannot suddenly yank the rug when it comes to free speech for others.
No matter what I think of national health care — no matter what you think, either — it is an issue that affects everyone, and everyone should have the same right to talk, argue or shout about it.
The fact that some are doing so in an impolite, abrasive way is unfortunate.
[…]
Now, I know some of these protesters are sent by dubiously named groups like Americans for Prosperity, which sounds harmless enough, until you check and see the group’s leader once organized for Enron and worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
I know these groups often hand out instructions on how to be disruptive.
And I know some people just want to see Obama — and any of his plans — fail.
But that’s what America is. That’s what town halls are for. And let’s be honest, politicians try to orchestrate these events as much as protesters do. The only problem I have is when people won’t let others speak or come only to disrupt. That’s not right. That’s not democracy.
But the rest is. If you feel other people are ill-informed, take the time to try to correct them. If you feel others are shouting to bring down a cause, shout to bring it up.
But I would rather live in a place where people questioned what their government proposed rather than swallowing it blindly — especially a government whose members guard our tax money while taking bribes, shout morality and then get caught with their pants down, or lecture businessmen about private planes and then order a bunch for themselves.
What did Democrats expect with a bill like this? Roses and hosannas? Many who supported Obama’s campaign promises of health care for everyone wouldn’t have done so if they read how he now plans to pay for and administer it.
It may not be pretty, but shouting and confrontations are part of this country. They have been from the start. More manners would be better. But silence would be worse.

Listening to this idiot yowl on about this; is like listening to Aleister Crowley say that Jesus Christ is Lord. You know the words coming out of his mouth, but you know damn well that the person does not mean a damn word of it. Albom goes on to very lamely attempt to paint a parallel between these Townhalls and the Anti-War Demonstrations of the Vietnam era. Which in itself is an idiotic comparison. The difference is that those war protests were done by a bunch of America-hating assholes, who wanted to see us lose and come home defeated. For what it is worth Mitch; Vietnam was started by a Democrat, The man who was the driving force and architect behind Vietnam was a liberal Democrat — something that that he went to his grave regretting. Also, want to know which party ended Vietnam?? It was the Republicans! After that idiot liberal broadcaster Walter Cronkite lost it for us, there was nothing more we could do! Anyhow, these townhall protests are being put on by those who happen to give two shits about our Country and the direction that it is headed in; people like me and every other damned person that either shows up at them and happens to Blog about them.

Further more, the problem here is Mitch Albom is a nothing more than an opportunist. This guy used to bash Bush and from what I have read, he used to trash Reagan as well. So, while on the surface, he comes off as someone who is attempting to defend the America people’s right to free speech. In reality Albom is really trying to mock those who really care about this Country. So, nice try Mitch, but you should really stick to what you know —- Sports.

Meet one of the attackers at the St Louis Townhall Meeting

Thanks to Conservative New Media on Twitter, We now know might have attacked the Conservative activist in St. Louis.

Like the video says, we cannot be sure of this, at this time. But we do know that this guy was on the video.

From the Video’s page:

8.8.09) — Some background on the man who allegedly began the altercation with black conservative Kenneth Gladney at the ObamaCare town hall of Russ Carnahan in St. Louis.
References:
On minimum wage
http://www.stlimc.org/newswire2009/in…
Local NAACP board membership
http://www.essence.com/news_entertain…
Socialist party member’s endorsement
http://www.socialistappeal.org/conten…
In sync with former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxDBB9…
Status as minister at local church, affiliation with SEIU local 2000
http://www.stlimc.org/forum/interview…

Looks like this slime ball is one of Obama’s right hand men. Hopefully, he does some nice jail time and the SEIU get the living pants sued off of them. 😡

Update: Letter from the Attorney of the Conservative Black Beaten by SEIU thugs

Here is a letter from the Attorney of the Black Conservative man who was beaten by SEIU union thugs.

This comes from the St. Louis Tea Party Blog: (H/T Gateway Pundit)

August 7, 2009
Dear Mr. Hennessy:
I am Kenneth Gladney’s attorney. Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo.
Kenneth was beaten badly. One assailant fled on foot; three others were arrested. Kenneth was admitted to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center emergency room, where he was treated for his numerous injuries. Kenneth was merely expressing his freedom of speech by handing out the flags. In fact, he merely asked people as they exited the town hall meeting whether they would like a flag. He in no way provoked any argument or altercation, as evidenced by the fact that three assailants were arrested.
We hope that Kenneth fully recovers from his injuries; however, he is in great pain at this time. We will be pursuing legal action at our discretion. This was a truly senseless hate crime carried out by racist union thugs. Regretfully, Representative Carnahan’s statements blaming Kenneth for being a disruptive force are wholly untrue and slanderous. We would like to think that an elected official in Representative Carnahan’s position would gather accurate information before carelessly rushing to judgment.
Kenneth supports conservative ideals, although he subscribes to no particular political party. We are calling on the SEIU, Representative Carnahan, and President Obama to condemn the racist actions of these union thugs. In the days to come, we will be investigating whether these thugs are working at the behest of Representative Carnahan and how strong their alliances to various organizations–such as ACORN–may be.
We hope the St. Louis Tea Party and tea party organizations around the country will protest Representative Carnahan’s offices and also protest SEIU offices in every major city across the U.S. These Democratic strong-arm tactics must end now.
Regards,
Attorney David B. Brown

Contact the SEIU and demand that they renounce this violence:

TELL THE SEIU THAT WE OPPOSE VIOLENCE
SEIU
5585 Pershing Ave.
Suite 130
St. Louis, MO 63112
PHONE: 314.367.0013
FAX: 314.361.8704

Contact the AFL-CIO and demand that they condemn this act of violence:

AFL-CIO
815 16th St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Contact these unions and DEMAND that they condemn this act of violence:

Name: Air Line Pilots Association
Address: 1625 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 703-689-2270
Website: www.alpa.org

Name: Amalgamated Transit Union
Address: 5025 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-537-1645
Website: www.atu.org
Name: American Federation of Government Employees
Address: 80 F St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-737-8700
Website: www.afge.org

Name: American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada
Address: 1501 Broadway Suite 600
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-1330

Name: American Federation of School Administrators
Address: 1101 17th St., N.W. Suite 408
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-986-4209
Website: www.admin.org

Name: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Address: 1625 L St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202-429-1000

Website: www.afscme.org

Name: American Federation of Teachers
Address: 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-879-4400
Website: www.aft.org

Name: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Address: 5757 Wilshire Blvd. 9th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-634-8100
Website: www.aftra.org

Name: American Postal Workers Union
Address: 1300 L St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-842-4200
Website: www.apwu.org

Name: American Radio Association
Address: 1755 East Plumb Lane Suite 111
Reno, NV 89502
Phone: 510-281-0706

Name: American Train Dispatchers Association
Address: 1370 Ontario St. Suite 1040
Cleveland, OH 44113
Phone: 216-241-2770

Name: Associated Actors and Artistes of America
Address: 165 W. 46th St.
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-0358

Name: Actors’ Equity Association
Address: 165 W. 46th St.
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-8530
Website: www.actorsequity.org

Name: American Guild of Musical Artists
Address: 1430 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-265-3687
Website: www.musicalartists.org

Name: American Guild of Variety Artists
Address: 363 7th Ave. 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-675-1003

Name: Screen Actors Guild
Address: 5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-549-6675
Website: www.sag.org

Name: The Guild of Italian American Actors
Address: Canal Street Station PO Box 123
New York, NY 10013-0123
Phone: 212-420-6590
Website: www.giaa.us

Name: Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union
Address: 10401 Connecticut Ave.
Kensington, MD 20895
Phone: 301-933-8600
Website: www.bctgm.org

Name: Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Address: 917 Shenandoah Shores Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone: 540-622-6522
Website: www.brs.org

Name: California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee
Address: 2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-273-2280
Website: www.calnurses.org

Name: Association of Flight Attendants
Address: 501 Third St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-434-1300
Website: www.afanet.org

Name: California School Employees Association
Address: 2045 Lundy Ave
San Jose, CA 95131
Phone: 408-473-1000
Website: www.csea.com

Name: Communications Workers of America
Address: 501 Third St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-434-1100
Website: www.cwa-union.org

Name: Farm Labor Organizing Committee
Address: 1221 Broadway Street
Toledo, OH 43615
Phone: 419-243-3456
Website: www.floc.com

Name: Federation of Professional Athletes
Address: 1133 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-756-9100
Website: www.nflpa.org

Name: Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union
Address: 608 E. Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063
Phone: 610-565-5051

Name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada
Address: 1430 Broadway
New York, NY 10018

Phone: 212-730-1770

Website: www.iatse-intl.org

Name: International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-383-4800
Website: www.ironworkers.org

Name: International Association of Fire Fighters
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W. Third Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-737-8484
Website: www.iaff.org

Name: International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
Address: 9602 M.L. King Jr. Highway
Lanham, MD 20706
Phone: 301-731-9101
Website: www.insulators.org

Name: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Address: 9000 Machinist Place
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: 301-967-4500
Website: www.iamaw.org

Name: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
Address: 753 State Ave. Suite 570
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913-371-2640
Website: www.boilermakers.org

Name: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Address: 900 Seventh St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-3886
Phone: 202-833-7000
Website: www.ibew.org

Name: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
Address: 501 3rd Street, N.W. Suite 701
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-239-4880
Website: www.ifpte.org

Name: International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Address: 1188 Franklin St. 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-775-0533
Website: www.ilwu.org

Name: International Longshoremen’s Association
Address: 17 Battery Place Suite 930
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-425-1200
Website: www.ilaunion.org

Name: International Plate Printers, Die Stampers and Engravers Union of North America
Address: 906 Dennis Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20901

Name: International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers

Address: 1950 W. Erie St.
Chicago, IL 60622
Phone: 312-738-0822
Website:

Name: International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Address: 620 F St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202-783-3788
Website: www.bacweb.org

Name: International Union of Elevator Constructors
Address: 7154 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
Phone: 410-953-6150
Website: www.iuec.org

Name: International Union of Operating Engineers
Address: 1125 17th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-429-9100
Website: www.iuoe.org

Name: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades of the United States and Canada
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-637-0700
Website: www.iupat.org

Name: International Union of Police Associations
Address: 1549 Ringling Blvd. 6th Floor
Sarasota, FL 34236
Phone: 941-487-2560
Website: www.iupa.org

Name: Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
Address: 444 N. Capitol St., N.W. Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-638-5355
Website: www.d1meba.org

Name: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
Address: 1150 17th Street, NW Suite 702
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-293-7277
Website: www.passnational.org/

Name: National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Address: 1325 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-628-5451
Website: www.natca.org

Name: National Association of Letter Carriers
Address: 100 Indiana Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-4695
Website: www.nalc.org

Name: National Postal Mail Handlers Union
Address: 1101 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-833-9095
Website: www.npmhu.org

Name: Office and Professional Employees International Union
Address: 265 W. 14th St. 6th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 800-346-7348
Website: www.opeiu.org

Name: Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association of the United States and Canada
Address: 11720 Beltsville Drive Suite 700
Beltsville, MD 20705-3166
Phone: 301-623-1000
Website: www.opcmia.org

Name: Seafarers International Union of North America
Address: 5201 Auth Way
Camp Springs, MD 20746
Phone: 301-899-0675
Website: www.seafarers.org

Name: Sheet Metal Workers International Association
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W. Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-783-5880
Website: www.smwia.org

Name: Transport Workers Union of America
Address: 1700 Broadway 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10019-5905
Phone: 212-259-4900
Website: www.twu.org

Name: Transportation Communications International Union/IAM
Address: 3 Research Place
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-948-4910
Website: www.tcunion.org

Name: United American Nurses
Address: 8630 Fenton St. Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-543-8320
Website: www.uannurse.org

Name: United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
Address: Three Park Place
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-269-2000
Website: www.ua.org

Name: United Mine Workers of America
Address: 8315 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703-208-7200
Website: www.umwa.org

Name: United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union
Address: Five Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412-562-2400
Website: www.usw.org

Name: United Transportation Union
Address: 14600 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44107-4250
Phone: 216-228-9400

Name: United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers
Address: 1660 L St., N.W. Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-463-7663
Website: www.unionroofers.com

Name: Utility Workers Union of America
Address: 815 16th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-974-8200
Website: www.uwua.net

Name: Writers Guild of America, East Inc.
Address: 555 W. 57th St. Suite 1230
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-767-7800
Website: www.wgaeast.org

Contact these unions and ask them, do they approve of violence against Black men expressing their opinions?

Al Sharpton’s Organization:

National Action Network
Crisis Department
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
(212) 690-3070
(877) NAN-HOJ1

Oh Shit! Cuba is running out of Toilet Paper

This one the reasons why I love twitter. Because of stuff like this; that any other time, would get past me.

(H/T Yid With a Lid on Twitter)

Via Reuters:

Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday.
Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked in part by the global financial crisis and three destructive hurricanes that struck the island last year.
Cuba’s financial reserves have been depleted by increased spending for imports and reduced export income, which has forced the communist-led government to take extraordinary measures to keep the economy afloat.
“The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper,” an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde.
The shipment will enable the state-run company “to supply this demand that today is presenting problems,” he said.
Cuba both imports toilet paper and produces its own, but does not currently have enough raw materials to make it, he said.
One of the measures taken to address the cash crunch is a 20 percent cut in imports, which in recent days has become evident in the reduction of goods in state-run stores.

Sounds like a pretty crappy situation, if you ask me. What can I say, Communism sucks and this is a result of that. You get shit on; in more ways than one.

Maybe Obama will send them a bailout! 😆

Washington Post does the race hustle

Remember that Obama in joker makeup poster story that I blogged about? It now seems that the Washington Post has decided that it is racist.

From Washington Post’s Resident Race Baiter:

Between Jack Nicholson’s 1989 portrayal of the Joker in “Batman” and Heath Ledger’s 2008 characterization in “The Dark Knight,” something sinister happened to the villain’s iconic makeup. What had been a mask, with the clearly delineated lines of a carnival character, became simply war paint, and not very well applied.
The visual change signaled a change in the Joker’s inner mechanism. Nicholson’s dandified virtuoso of violence was replaced by a darker, more unpredictable and psychotic figure. What had been a caricature became more real and threatening. An urbane mocker of civilized values became simply a deformed product of urban violence.
[…]
The new Obama poster has two basic thrusts. Obama is a socialist, or a crypto-socialist. And Obama is somehow like the Joker, unpredictable and dangerous. But joining these two messages together yields more questions and contradictions than good poster art can sustain. The Joker is violent and dangerous, but a socialist? And didn’t we see George W. Bush depicted as the Joker not so long ago?
[….]
So why the anonymity? Perhaps because the poster is ultimately a racially charged image. By using the “urban” makeup of the Heath Ledger Joker, instead of the urbane makeup of the Jack Nicholson character, the poster connects Obama to something many of his detractors fear but can’t openly discuss. He is black and he is identified with the inner city, a source of political instability in the 1960s and ’70s, and a lingering bogeyman in political consciousness despite falling crime rates.
[….]
The Joker’s makeup in “Dark Knight” — the latest film in a long franchise that dramatizes fear of the urban world — emphasized the wounded nature of the villain, the sense that he was both a product and source of violence. Although Ledger was white, and the Joker is white, this equation of the wounded and the wounding mirrors basic racial typology in America. Urban blacks — the thinking goes — don’t just live in dangerous neighborhoods, they carry that danger with them like a virus. Scientific studies, which demonstrate the social consequences of living in neighborhoods with high rates of crime, get processed and misinterpreted in the popular unconscious, underscoring the idea. Violence breeds violence.
[….]
Superimpose that idea, through the Joker’s makeup, onto Obama’s face, and you have subtly coded, highly effective racial and political argument. Forget socialism, this poster is another attempt to accomplish an association between Obama and the unpredictable, seeming danger of urban life. It is another effort to establish what failed to jell in the debate about Obama’s association with Chicago radical William Ayers and the controversy over the racially charged sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Obama, like the Joker and like the racial stereotype of the black man, carries within him an unknowable, volatile and dangerous marker of urban violence, which could erupt at any time. The charge of socialism is secondary to the basic message that Obama can’t be trusted, not because he is a politician, but because he’s black.

Cue the Music!

This is nothing more than classic race hustling or race baiting. To say that the poster depicting Obama as the joker invokes images of racism; is a bit of stretch. It simple implies that we real, true, America-loving citizens do not approve of Obama’s socialistic agenda. Nothing more, nothing less. If anyone gets anything other than this out of it. They are projecting something onto it, that is not there.

Again, this is more of your Post-Racism Racialism that exists within the Democratic Party. It is simply more of that stirring of the pot, that brings more votes to that party. It also most likely is a some sort of interference run; see that Obama’s numbers are lower than Bush’s were during his first few months in office. I mean, point blank; the man has been a damn failure in office and the American people are feeling a bad case of voters remorse and it is showing. Of course some are pointing to some over sampling in the polls and fear a nefarious motive. This could very well be, but I like to think that people are just waking up; and that, my friends, is a good thing.

So, again, this article is nothing more than a lame social Liberal attempt to avert attention away from the important facts about this Administration and to stir up old wounds of a Pre-Post-Racial America. Nice try guys; but real clear thinking Americans are just not buying it.

Once again Andrew Sullivan shows that he is not a Conservative

Andrew Sullivan is Astroturfing (or is it asshole-turfing? Most likely BOTH in Sullivan’s case! Doh Hypnotized ) for his fellow Liberals.

Andrew Sullivan says:

Here’s another example. There’s a groundswell of grousing on the right about the cash-for-clunkers program, because the feds were caught off-guard by its popularity. The argument is that if the government can’t run cash-for-clunkers, how can it run healthcare?
To which one might respond: but cash-for-clunkers is one example of the government actually doing something right, helpful and popular. It’s the kind of pragmatic experimentation that FDR tried repeatedly. So you have a practical, targeted measure that seems to have helped abate a deeper recession in the auto industry, and the right is obsessed with the ideological abstraction of “government.”
What conservatives have to do, in my view, is not demonize government, but to champion limited government. If government can do tangible practical things that help everyone, while balancing its budget, it’s doing what conservatives think it should. Smart, practical initiatives that address problems that the private sector has failed at: what else is government for? The rest is ideology – and it seems to be all the Republicans have left.

Can someone tell how the Government affecting the Markets is doing something right? I mean, Ron Paul knocked out of the ballpark, when he said in his video that, while the “Cash for Clunkers” program might help those who are able to buy cars; but that it would damage the market for the poor people who buy those older so-called “Clunker” cars.

Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch weighs in:

I’m nobody’s conservative, but I’m pretty sure if I was telling conservatives how to think I wouldn’t admonish them for failing to champion limited government within two sentences of praising FDR’s pragmatism. It’s like, I dunno, lecturing the Labour Party about demonstrating their pro-union bonafides while praising Margaret Thatcher’s centrism. Sounds a bit off.
[….]
Sullivan is dead right about one thing: Cash-for-clunkers is indeed very “popular.” So is the home mortgage interest deduction, the prescription drug benefit, and any number of federal programs that siphon from the diffuse pool of tax revenue+debt and blast out concentrated benefits to the broad middle class. The standard for judging these things shouldn’t be popularity–Richard Nixon’s wage-and-price control spasm of 1971, to name one of many historical measures now widely and rightly considered asinine, was hugely popular at the time–but whether they make sense in both the short and long term.
Cash-for-clunkers amounts to a rounding error in Tim Geithner’s nose-hair at this point, which is probably why at least some liberals seem so genuinely baffled by the disproportionate criticism it has drawn. But for some of us it’s also a nearly perfect symbol of economic statism run amok. The federal government is taking from the many, giving it to the less-than-many, destroying functional cars, funneling money to an auto industry that it already largely owns (at a hefty taxpayer price tag), then taking multiple (and multiply premature) bows for rescuing the economy and the auto industry in the process.
I understand, and even appreciate, that not everyone interprets things this way. But what I don’t understand, and ultimately don’t respect, is the weird urge to react to yet another Obama administration brainfart by rounding up its opponents and putting them in a metaphorical holding pen marked “ideologically obsessed.” Particularly after eight years in which the only detectable ideology was taxcut-and-spend, and otherwise do what parties in power always do: look for creative new ways to bribe the middle class.

I happen to like that last part about bribing the middle class. Is not that the honest truth? I mean, the Republican Party does it, and so do the Democrats. Bribe the middle class for their vote. I tend to believe it happens on the left more; but honestly, both sides do it. This program is an example of that.

James Joyner weighs in as well:

Piggybacking on WSJ’s point, it strikes me that the “clunkers” aspect of this arrangement is morally dubious. Glenn Reynolds‘ 2004 Mazda RX-8 is a clunker that, were he so inclined, he would be eligible to trade to the government (indirectly) for $4500. It would then be scrapped. Doesn’t this remove a perfectly good used car from the market that some person of modest means could otherwise have purchased, either upgrading from an older, less reliable vehicle or none at all? And doesn’t doing that mean the price of other used cars will increase accordingly?

Which is exactly what Ron Paul said in his video. Here is another area that this program will hurt. Auto Mechanics; these guys are the ones who keep those older cars going, thus creating a living for themselves. Which, in case the liberal socialist left have forgotten; does contribute to the economy. Which proves to the this writer, that the socialist far liberal left, in their quest to further their so-called Green agenda, which is basically a big scam, that is only going to benefit big business; they have left the most important people behind —- their constituents, that are the poor and lower middle class in this Country.

Graphic Credit: McGurk @ Ace of Spades

Quote of the Day

Watch and learn. The most important lesson is, “Do not play games with the system.” You will lose every time. Force the game players to come to you, to be honest, moral and independent. The losers in the Cambridge game are pre-determined. They are meant to be the police sergeant who arrested the professor, the entire Cambridge Police Department, and police departments everywhere.
If he continues to play the game, he loses. It is pre-determined.

Oh Wonderful…. There are Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S.

As if we do not have enough trouble already.

A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.
The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war.
But the collapse of the Soviet Union all but eliminated the ability of the Russian Navy to operate far from home ports, making the current submarine patrols thousands of miles from Russia more surprising for military officials and defense policy experts.
“I don’t think they’ve put two first-line nuclear subs off the U.S. coast in about 15 years,” said Norman Polmar, a naval historian and submarine warfare expert.
The submarines are of the Akula class, a counterpart to the Los Angeles class attack subs of the United States Navy, and not one of the larger submarines that can launch intercontinental nuclear missiles.
According to Defense Department officials, one of the Russian submarines remained in international waters on Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States. The location of the second remained unclear. One senior official said the second submarine traveled south in recent days toward Cuba, while another senior official with access to reports on the surveillance mission said it had sailed away in a northerly direction.
via Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S. – NYTimes.com.

This is exactly what the United States does not need right now. Rogue Subs near our coastal waterways; If the President was a real President and loved this Country the way he should. He would order those vessels out of the area or He would order the Military to get them out of our area. The President needs to stop playing patty cake with the Russians and give forceful with them. Ether get in line or else, face our wrath. But seeing this is the apology tour President; I do not expect much from him, at all.

Others: Hot Air, Gawker and JammieWearingFool

White House wants snitches!

This is seriously screwed up. Now The Obama Administration wants people to snitch on this who are opposed to the Public Healthcare opinion.

If you see anybody publicly opposing President Obama’s plan to implement a government-centric overhaul of the health care system, the White House wants you to report that person (or persons) ASAP.
From the White House website:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Emphasis added. Of course, as we’ve seen in the health care debate to date, the term “disinformation” is used by the Obama White House as a catchall to describe any opposition to the President’s push for single-payer, government-run health care — meaning the White House wants to be informed of any forwarded emails or blog posts or any “casual conversations” that could be taken as opposition to their health care overhaul plan.
The White House has, as yet, offered no explanation of what it is they plan to do with the tips on policy opposition they hope to receive from citizen informers.
Interestingly, as Jake Tapper pointed out on Twitter this morning, the title of that post on the White House is a quote from John Adams’ 1770 “Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials.”
via Call For Informants: If You Oppose Obamacare, Even in ‘Casual Conversation,’ the White House Wants to Know About It – Jeff_Emanuel’s blog – RedState. (H/T Michelle Malkin)

That is what I would like to know, what does the White House plan on doing to these people, who decide to oppose the White House plan? Have us all killed? It is to wonder.

This is nothing short of Communist Russia man, or even worse Nazi Germany. Snitch on those who oppose. Get ready folks, because this is going to get ugly, I believe.

Others: JustOneMinute, JammieWearingFool, The Volokh Conspiracy, Right Wing News, The Next Right, The Jawa Report, , Atlas Shrugs, Townhall.com, QandO, TigerHawk, Wake up America, Stop The ACLU, , Argghhh!, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Michelle Malkin

White House Counsel's Job on the line

This is an interesting story….

Via The Wall Street Journal:

Obama administration officials are holding discussions that could result in White House counsel Gregory Craig leaving his post, following a rocky tenure, people familiar with the matter said.

"That's right Cracka BOW to your Negro Master!"
Mr. Craig, the top lawyer at the White House and a close aide to President Barack Obama, has helped lead the administration’s efforts on several national-security issues that once enjoyed popularity but have since become become political liabilities for Mr. Obama.
These include the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the release of Bush administration-era national-security documents, and efforts to find legal ways to indefinitely hold some detainees who can’t be put on trial.
The decision to close the Guantanamo facility became a political problem for Mr. Obama when concerns arose that some of the detainees would be released into the U.S. and the public soured on the move.

Of course, you can count on the White House for that transparency that Obama touted, right?

Mr. Craig didn’t respond to questions about his job as White House counsel for this article.
The people familiar with the matter said a final decision hasn’t been made.
In a statement, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina said: “We’ve addressed these rumors before. They are nothing more than typical Washington parlor games. It’s disappointing that while we are focused on reviving the economy and fighting two wars, others spend their time pointing fingers in an attempt to promote their own status.

Well, not so much. Wait! Was that a veiled swipe at Hillary? Remember Mr. President Douche Nozzle, only reason you got that President’s job is because Hillary knew it would destroy your party for her to continue the fight.

Moving right along, it appears this is the reason that this guy is on his way out:

Mr. Craig has come under criticism from inside the administration and in Congress for a perceived failure to manage the political issues that have originated from Mr. Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo, according to officials in the administration and in Congress. This criticism has drawn focus away from president’s priorities, such as health care and energy.
[…]
As an example of the difficulties Mr. Craig faced, the officials cite the president’s move in May to reverse a decision that would have led to the release of photos showing abuse of terror detainees during the Bush administration.
Weeks earlier, Mr. Craig brought Mr. Obama plans to release Justice Department memorandums detailing the Bush administration’s policies on terrorism detainees. Some Obama national-security officials complained they hadn’t been consulted, people familiar with the matter said, and the objections prompted weeks of debate inside the administration.
Mr. Craig and Attorney General Eric Holder won the fight to release the memorandums, with minimal redactions, but the White House had to move quickly to limit political damage. Former Vice President Dick Cheney sharpened criticism of Mr. Obama during a televised speech that followed Mr. Obama’s own address intended to explain his national-security vision.
At around the same time, the administration was running into trouble with plans to move to northern Virginia at least some Chinese Muslim Uighurs who remain detained at Guantanamo despite being cleared for release. The furor over the possible release of former suspects in the U.S. led Congress to overwhelmingly pass new restrictions, including barring spending to close the Guantanamo prison.
Mr. Obama signed executive orders during his first week in office to close the Guantanamo prison, to review the cases of the more than 200 detainees there and to draw up possible changes to detention and interrogation policies.
At the time Mr. Obama enjoyed public support for his Guantanamo plans, polls showed. Six months later that public support has dissipated, polls show.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), one of the administration’s allies on the Guantanamo closure, faulted the White House handling of Guantanamo. “Announcing the closure without a plan has put in jeopardy the ability to close Guantanamo. Now public opinion has turned,” Mr. Graham said Monday.

Looks like the reason why this guy is on his way out; is simply because he could not or would not push through the President’s agenda. When the support dropped from the America people and the agenda could not be fulfilled, Obama throws him under the Bus. So typical for the Chicago thug politics that Obama is infamous for.

Others: Hot Air, Weekly Standard