New Bin Laden Tape Surfaces

Him again?

A new audio tape allegedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claims responsibility for an attempt to blow up a plane en route to Michigan on Christmas Day and warns the United States of more attacks.
The tape, which aired on the Arabic-language news Web site Al-Jazeera on Sunday, says “the United States will not dream of enjoying safety until we live it in reality in Palestine.”
The tape continues: “It is not fair to enjoy that kind of life while our brothers in Gaza live in the worst of miseries.”
CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the message, but the CIA has in the past confirmed Al-Jazeera reports on tapes from the al Qaeda leader.
President Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that while there was no immediate confirmation that the message was authentic, it “contains the same hollow justification for the slaughter of innocent people.”
In another section of the audio tape that Al-Jazeera broadcast, the voice says: “God willing our attacks will continue as long as you support the Israelis and may peace be on those who follow guidance.”
Bin Laden also claims responsibility for the foiled attack on Delta flight 253 in December.
“The message intended to be sent to you was through the hero fighter Omar Farouq, may God release him, confirming an earlier message that the [September] 11th heroes delivered to you and it was repeated before and after [that event],” he says.
A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been charged with attempting to blow up the Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the failed attack on Christmas Day. That’s clear,” a U.S. counterterrorism official — who is not authorized to speak publicly — told CNN. “So a message like this — no matter whose voice it may be — should come as no surprise. Al Qaeda has, from time to time, tried to build support for its program of murder by talking about the Palestinian issue. That line’s never gotten them much in the past, and it’s unlikely to now, either.
via Report: New bin Laden tape emerges – CNN.com.

Here is the audio in question:

Here’s the full audio:

As many of my fellow Conservative Bloggers have asked; I thought all of this was going to, um, change after the election of Barack Hussein Obama? So much for that idea eh? As always, Osama Bin Laden blames the United States of America’s relationship with Israel for the attacks or in this case, botched attacks. Which shows you how bad the Al-Qaeda organization is demoralized since 9/11. Which was, in part, due to the efforts of President George W. Bush. President Obama has basically just continued his policies, which by the way Liberals, WORKED; no thanks to them of course. President Obama, on the other hand, has tried to play footzies with those bastards and look what it has gotten him —- Nowhere!

So, anyhow, the fight goes on and no amount of Hope and Change, Unicorns and rainbows is going to stop that. So, wise up Liberals and realize that the terrorists are not your friends.

Now having said all that; for some oddball reason, I somehow doubt that is actually Osama. I believe it might be someone within the Al-Qaeda group that sounds much like him. But as to that being him, I have my doubts.

IT HAS HAPPENED! – SCOTT BROWN WINS!!!!

It has happened:

Via the AP:

BOSTON (AP) — In an epic upset in liberal Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown rode a wave of voter anger to win the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for nearly half a century, leaving President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul in doubt and marring the end of his first year in office.
The loss by the once-favored Democrat Martha Coakley in the Democratic stronghold was a stunning embarrassment for the White House after Obama rushed to Boston on Sunday to try to save the foundering candidate. Her defeat signaled big political problems for the president’s party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.
“I have no interest in sugarcoating what happened in Massachusetts,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, the head of the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee. “There is a lot of anxiety in the country right now. Americans are understandably impatient.”
Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the president’s health care legislation and the rest of his agenda. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.
One day shy of the first anniversary of Obama’s swearing-in, the election played out amid a backdrop of animosity and resentment from voters over persistently high unemployment, Wall Street bailouts, exploding federal budget deficits and partisan wrangling over health care.
For weeks considered a long shot, Brown seized on voter discontent to draw even with Coakley in the campaign’s final stretch. His candidacy energized Republicans, including backers of the grass-roots “tea party” movement, while attracting disappointed Democrats and independents uneasy with where they felt the nation was heading.

AllahPundit and the readers at Hot Air are over the moon. Allah says that this changes everything; I sort of agree. I believe that there is much work to do. I would not get cocky, if I was everyone. I think we should measure our happiness, because the Democrats, especially these Democrats, know no bounds at all. So, while this is a wonderful moment, it really does not change much, just like Glenn Beck said, The Democrats still have a majority and could still push Healthcare through. So, I will not gloat, just yet. Now come the normal 2010 elections and more importantly 2012, that will be the huge decider. Update: Ed Morrissey Basically says the same thing as me, but in much longer form.

Anyhow, Congratulations to Scott Brown, The Brown Campaign and more importantly the American people in Massachusetts, you have done well. Let this be just the beginning! 😀

Cocaine use, in the White House?

Oh Lordy…..

Go Read.

(H/T Dan and Snapped Shot)

The Republican Party's Resident Shrieking Harpy gets a Fox Contract

Oh Wonderful, wonder what she’ll do, show Russia from her house?

Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has signed on as a contributor to the Fox News Channel.
The network confirmed that Ms. Palin would appear on the network’s programming on a regular basis as part of a multiyear deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ms. Palin will not have her own regular program, one person with knowledge of the deal said, though she will host a series that will run on the network from time to time. This person would not elaborate, but the network does have a precedent for such a series. Oliver L. North is the host of an occasionally running documentary series on the military called “War Stories.
via Sarah Palin to Contribute to Fox News – Media Decoder Blog

Hmmmm, what’s it going to be called; “How to keep the media from finding out if your daughter is knocked up”? God knows that’s what she’s good at. The good thing about this is, that she most likely will not be running for President, which is a good thing for the Republican Party as a whole. We need someone that can articulate fiscal Conservative ideas, not stupid muddled populism. Besides all that, we need someone who was actually raised here in the continental 48 and not some psycho shrieking harpy; who was raised on some obscure piece of land, that was not even a state in the union until 1959. We need restrained, disciplined leadership. Not some idiot moose hunting soccer mom, who thinks she on some sort of mission from God and would push the nuke button at a drop of a hat.

Bottom Line: Sarah Palin is the perfect embodiment of female entitlement and the highly hypocritical Evangelical Christian right. That is the LAST thing we need in the White House. I love Jesus and believe the Bible to be literally true; However, I do not want my Country being run as the Christian equivalent of Sharia law. Keep Christianity where it belongs, in the home and in the Church; and out of the Federal Government.

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

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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.

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

For Once, I actually agree with William Kristol

Egad, when an American Conservative like me, and a warmongering Wilsonian Conservative, like Bill Kristol are actually agreeing. You know stuff is fudged up in the Country:

Unable to defend themselves on the merits, the administration and Democratic leaders are trying to change the topic to blaming Bush and Republicans. This is pathetic.
First of all, Obama is president. He has been for almost a year. Whatever mistakes Bush did or didn’t make, Obama is in charge — and the issue isn’t partisan score-settling, it’s whether the system he is in charge of is working. It isn’t.
One reason the system isn’t is some of the people he put in charge — Janet Napolitano and Dennis Blair come to mind. Another reason is certain concrete policy choices they’ve made — e.g., embracing a law enforcement approach and, without even weighing the choice, immediately choosing to treat Abdulmutallab as a criminal suspect, not an enemy combatant.
via The Weekly Standard.

Go read the rest. It is very good….and yes, I agree with it all.

Obama promised change, and change he might be able to deliver, like mending the long standing rift between the Paleo-Conservatives and the notorious Neo-Conservatives. Yeah, I know, not everyone would go along with it. But it would be some, dare I say it? Progress!??! (In the Republican Party? GASP!) 😉

Update: Socialist liberals use Detroit attempted Terrorist attack to sound the horn to cut and run

As skeptical as I am; these morons are just pure bat shit crazy:

What is needed now are not partisan fights about whether the Obama Administration was doing enough to guard against terrorist attacks in the wake of shootings last month at Fort Hood, Texas. Instead, we should question whether our overreaction to the crimes against humanity on 9/11–including the creation of an endless “war” against terrorism–has done more to undermine our security than enhance it. American safety will be better ensured through common-sense counterterrorism and homeland defense measures, including extensive intelligence cooperation expert police work and border control.
via Are US Wars Fueling Domestic Terrorist Threats?– The Nation.

Oh yes,Katrina, let’s just cut and run and stop trying to fight the war on terror — so, that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan can regroup and come back stronger. Not only in the Afghanistan region, but also in Yemen and other regions as well. What a pathetic bitch. 🙄 What more living proof do we need, that the Socialist Far-Left Liberal Democrats are nothing more than terrorist sympathizers? Which is why I will never vote for them again, ever. Give me a politico that gives a flying flip about National Security, please. Not some terrorist coddling asshat.

Oh, and… Police Work. Police work?!?!?!? That is another little bitch and gripe that I have with the Socialist Liberal Democrats. They see some Negro Muslim terrorist, who tried to blow up a damned plane, most likely at sixty thousand feet over my damned house, as nothing more than some common criminal thug. Sorry Liberals, this stupid idiot negro terrorist, was an non-uniform combatant. He should be at Gitmo. Actually, he should be strung from a damned tree! 😡 But, I digress.

There is much hubbub about why the system to failed. There is also news that the Government knew about this dude, and did nothing at all. All of the media outlets; including Fox News are asking, “why?” Hello! It does not take a damned rocket scientist to figure that little problem out. It is the elephant in the room, that nobody and I mean NOBODY wants to talk about. Has anyone else in the world bothered to notice the skin color of this terrorist suspect? Uh, Duh. He is a black person. Our President is also a black person. One plus one usually equals two! It seems that nobody is either willing or even possibly able to make that connection. Our Government officials new about this guy and knew that plans were being made; but they did not do anything about it. Why? I will tell you why! Because they knew, that if they acted upon this little piece of evidence, that it would possibly upset the President; because the mean ol’ United States Government was picking on some poor young black man — of whom the the white man oppressed and the Government did nothing about it for so many years. I mean, if you were employed by the NSA or CIA and you were aware of this situation, would you want to risk angering a black President, who was all down with “The Struggle”(tm)? I think you all know what I mean.

There is your answer, the reason this piece of intelligence slipped by, was the same reason the Ft. Hood shooter went by, unstopped. political correctness gone horribly bad.

Update: It seems that my resident gay stalker from Grand Rapids does not like what I wrote. Sorry fag boy, but some of us, do not have our heads stuck up the socialist Democratic Party’s “P.S. Police” ass; Unlike you. Because of this, some of us can see things for what they really are. Unlike some men with homosexual tendencies.

2009 Worst Political Decade Ever?

I present two videos; the first by reason magazine, which is a very funny take on the past 10 years. Which comes via HotAir.com, who has a poll up with this decade versus a few other notable decades:

The second video comes via Jack Hunter, who video blogs over at the American Conservative. Here Jack lays out a very compelling case for the fact that starting with George H.W. Bush, continuing with Bill Clinton and finally with George W. Bush; the entire big government, got even bigger:

As Jack says, and yet, conservatives are now griping about Barack Obama’s big government agenda. However, it is to be said, that Jack Hunter does point out the hypocrisy of the Democrats, when it comes to the wars. They were, in fact, loudly condemning of Bush’s Wars, but now, they’re all but silent. (Except for a few… and I mean very few…)

One point that I will offer a rebuttal to, is Jack’s point that Bush touted a more peaceful Foreign Policy, when he ran back in 2000. Jack points out that this suddenly changed after 9/11. What he fails to realize is this; on September 11, 2001, the game changed. Terrorists slammed two planes into the World Trade Centers, one plane into the Pentagon, and one plane that was headed to the White House; ended up in a field in Pennsylvania. As someone who had a terrorist almost blow up a plane near my house. I can fully understand why this game changed. However, because I am not a overly partisan blogger, I will say this; I do fully realize that Iraq, in hindsight was, in fact, a mistake. I have yet for anyone at all, to convince me otherwise, that Iraq was a direct threat to our Republic. I personally believe it was because of this massive screw up of the Bush Administration, that Afghanistan is now possibly a lost cause, and why Al-Qaeda is now attacking us once again. If I were Jack and those who agree with him; I would be watching the Yemen situation very closely. Because I tend to believe that Yemen is going to become Obama’s war, especially if he does not root out that Al-Qaeda group there.

As a fiscal Conservative; I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with Jack’s assessment of the G.O.P. and Republican establishment’s hypocrisy on spending; the same very people that are bitching to high heaven about Obama’s spending, were all but silent during the eight years of George W. Bush and his reckless drunken sailor like spending, which was primarily on a war in a country that really, when you get down to it, had zero to do with 9/11. But, yet, you have Bloggers, who are pro-war, bitching about Obama’s socialist agenda and take over of health care, plus his screwing of the economy into the ground. My question is, where were these people back in Bush’s day? Oh, that’s right, partisanship —- Which is such a horrible disease.

In fact, just here the other day; I was ripped by a “so-called” Conservative blogger, because I went to his blog and left a rather nasty message about Obama, because I was quite pissed off about his handling of the attempted terrorist act here at the airport, which is less than 10 miles from my house. (I also e-mailed him and apologized for it too..) This man goes out of his way to rat me out, and offers to give my damned IP address to anyone that wants it. But yet, on that same blog, he does the rather unfunny Osama/Obama joke on his blog. He removed it, presumably after one his readers bitched at him about it, but just the same, this idiot is going to bitch at me for being a ‘so-called’ racist and he does the same thing? That is hypocrisy and I think he knows that, because it was changed, I wish I had screen capped it and posted it here. But, I didn’t. Also, one of his commenters proceeded to give out my real name and drudge up crap that happened years ago. She also went out of her way to say that I, according to her, criticized the right more than the left. Which is, of course, stupid. I have pointed out stupid stuff on the far right and I will continue to do so; as much as I criticize the left. My point that I am trying to make is this here. Just as much as I am not drinking the idiotic socialist Kool-Aid of the Democrats; I am also not drinking the idiotic Kool-Aid of the far right either, I consider myself to me a critical, or dare I say it? A free-thinker.

I will admit, that I am a supporter of the United States Military; but I will the first to admit, that I beginning to be very skeptical of the war in Afghanistan; and I will go out of my way to say that this is NOT the fault of the United States military. It never was, it is the fault of the jackasses in Washington D.C. who could not define a damned military mission, if their lives depended on it. This is nothing new, it was the same way during the Bush Administration, much worse in fact. The problem is, our lives do depend on it. Al-Qaeda is still a damned threat and what does Obama do? Gives a half-assed speech as to the fact, that the government is on it. Yeah, uh-huh, sure. You mean, like the Government has been on the hunt of Osama Bin Laden for the last damned eight years? I call B.S. people, big time.

So, to those who come here and think this is a far right, rabid Conservative Blog. Be forewarned; my criticism and skepticism of Government and politics; and those who engage in that profession, is NOT on a partisan basis. I am quite bi-partisan on my criticisms. This blog has always been that way, and always will be.