A Joe Biden Sound Bite

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent, I'm not joking." -- Sen. Joe Biden, while campaigning in 2006 (MCT, "Biden is seasoned politician," 8/24/2008)

The Democrat Dynamic Duo

As everyone probably knows by now, Sen. Barack H. Obama finally quit playing coy with his fans (I know who I have selected, but I'm not telling anyone yet) and named his running mate - Sen. Joe Biden.

Yep, the "gonna change Washington & America & the world" presidential candidate chose a typical long-time liberal Washington insider. Just one of the many ways, I suppose, that Sen. Barack H. Obama is going to bring about new hope and change.

Change...

I figure that's about all we'll have left after this dynamic duo gets done with us.

Russian Imperialism

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century." -- President Bush

In response to American opposition to the Russian invasion of Georgia, Big Media immediately demonstrates their lack of support for anything that smacks of defending freedom. Ed henry, CNN, "What's the difference here between the Russians doing what the United States did after 9/11, moving into a sovereign country like Iraq?" (8/13/08)

Amazing. Leave it to liberalism and America's enemies to try to make Russia-Georgia and America-Iraq equivalent. America did not invade a sovereign nation; Russia did. Iraq surrendered its sovereignty when it invaded the sovereign nation of Kuwait. At that moment, Iraq was no more sovereign than Nazi Germany. Accepting a cease fire after watching its crack Iraqi divisions disappear, Iraq submitted to treaties that were specified through U.N resolutions. Iraq then proceeded to violate these resolutions and treaties. When it did that, it also once again vacated its sovereignty.

I'm all for world peace, but I don't care to be anyone else's vassal to attain it.

(photo: Russia invades Georgia)

Global Warming - The Solution Revealed

"...So, those who believe disaster is around the corner face a dilemma: while they’re educating their fellow citizens and demanding governments regulate believers and non-believers alike, the problem continues, and the date of the world’s doom draws ever closer. But there is a solution. It’s relatively simple, can begin immediately, and will change the dynamics of global warming overnight. Instead of continuing to preach to the rest of us, the true believers need to step forward and set an example. I’m not talking about recycling Evian bottles; I’m talking about giving up cars and moving into smaller houses or apartments, or even forming communes where people can live simpler, more Earth-friendly lives. Yes, I’m talking about living the kinds of lives they want all of us to live.Such a movement could literally start tomorrow. It would need a leader, of course; someone who could inspire others to choose a more spartan lifestyle. The obvious choice would be Al Gore, who already has a loyal following. If he would eschew large homes, gas-guzzling cars, private jets and the consumption of meat, millions more would likely do the same. If enough people joined the cause, Mr. Gore and his followers would be able to demonstrate the results of this new way of living in very short order. They could lead by example. They could create a movement. They could have uniforms and badges and secret handshakes. The could have their own reality TV show. In short, they could become a major force for change. Carmakers would be driven out of business or forced to dramatically alter their products to meet the demands of this eco-friendly Gorian tsunami. Companies of all stripes would, similarly, have to adapt or perish.

Once the rest of us saw the presumed reversal (or at least slowing-down) of global warming, it would do more to convince us than any lecture or study signed by UN scientists, and it would likely add millions more to the cause. So what if you can’t get one-hundred percent co-operation initially? Wouldn’t half (or a third or a quarter) of the population make a huge difference if they made substantial sacrifices? You could argue it wouldn’t be fair to have some of us going on abusing the planet and leading our lives of consumption and gluttony while others are putting aside the trappings of modern life, but this isn’t about fairness; it’s about survival.The time for talk is over. The time for action is now. Just think of millions and millions of committed Americans making the personal sacrifices necessary to demonstrate their resolve to combat man-made global warming. And, most important, thanks to their efforts, theory would be replaced by fact. It’s much easier to argue about a study than it is to refute the demonstrable results when the temperature drops and the ocean levels stabilize. When future generations write of the sacrifices of these men and women, they’ll use words like “inspirational” and “heroic”.

And so, I urge the advocates for change to embark on this important mission. Do it for the children. Godspeed." -- Pat Sajak, "A Solution to Man-Made Global Warming"

Questions for Global Warming Alarmists

Here are some questions for global warming alarmists:

1. What is the perfect temperature?

2. Just what is the average temperature of the earth?

3. What factors have led to global warming in the past, and how do we know they aren’t the causes of the current warming trend?

4. Why is there such a strong effort to stifle discussion and dissent?

5. Why are there such dramatically different warnings about the effects of man-made global warming?

6. Are there potential benefits to global warming?

7. Should such drastic changes in public policy be based on a “what if?” proposition?

8. What will be the impact on the people of the world if we change the way we live based on man-made global warming concerns?

9. How will we measure our successes?

10. How has this movement gained such momentum?

Thanks to Pat Sajak for asking.

Why Leave a Workers’ Paradise?

I’m watching some Olympics and enjoying the coverage on extra channels. Getting to see some of the contests not normally shown, like boxing. So, I really perked up during a bout that included a fighter from Cuba when the announcers commented that the Cuban team lacked the international experience of the other teams because they were not allowed to go to the world events for fear of defection.

Defection? From the workers’ paradise of Cuba? The land of health care and government benefits for everyone? Why would any Cuban want to defect from there? I don’t get it.


(Photo: Amateur standout Guillermo Rigondeaux, right, tried defecting from Cuba in hopes of pursuing a career as a professional boxer -- and was punished severely for it.)

The Obama PAC

The Sen. Barack H. Obama has enjoyed crowing about his campaign’s refusal to accept money from Political Action Committees (PACs). The Sen. Barack H. Obama declares that he and his entire party will not be beholden to anyone except the “American citizen.” No corporate or political fat cats will derail his drive for “hope and change.” (No PAC money? Really? Consider this pro-Obama PAC ad.)

It turns out, though, that the Senator has no qualms about using his own PAC to influence Washington politics. What? You never heard about the Sen. Barack H. Obama’s PAC? Funny how that seems to be overlooked by both the Senator and Big Media. Turns out that the Sen. Barack H. Obama established a PAC called the Hopefund.

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Hopefund is what is known as a “leadership PAC,” a frequent target of campaign watchdogs because it can raise money in much larger bundles than individual candidates. The Candidate of Hope from Illinois followed the example set by Senate and House members who establish such accounts to raise money and then spread it around to other politicians in the hopes of gaining new best friends. Legally, such PACs are supposed to operate independently and cannot coordinate with any campaigns of their owner.
Now that Obama is running for president, he's handing out the bulk of Hopefund money to politicians and groups who happen to be in early presidential voting states, as the Washington Post's John Solomon noted the other day. The pace of giving has increased in recent months and this has led to some remarkable coincidences. – Andrew Malcolm, “Turns out, some Obama PAC money comes from PACs.” (See also “Obama Campaign Worker Discussed PAC Donations,” Washington Post, 11/30/07.)
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Because of the complicated, convoluted methods of political campaign funding, virtually none of the Sen. Barack H. Obama’s “American citizens” have a clue about how his and his Democrat party’s campaigns are funded. It’s too hard to figure out. How many of you aren’t already looking cross-eyed by now, if you have read this far? The sad result, though, is that the Sen. Barack H. Obama can make his public declarations without very much worry that his cheering minions, who are also forking over dollars they need to pay for mortgages, food, healthcare, and transportation, will ever have a clue who the Senator will be paying back.

Consider the Service Employees International Union, which “spent over $9 million during a crucial three month period to help the Big O secure the Democrats’ nomination.” (William Tate, “Obama, the PAC-Man,” The American Thinker, 7/10/08.) The article goes on to disclose that “…SEIU’s PACs have paid for such campaign essentials as door-to-door canvassing for Obama, voter identification and registration, and even bus rental and food for pro-Obama rallies.” Ironically, Federal Election rules require that “independent expenditures” by political committees be limited to communications.

Sadly, with Big Media rooting for the Sen. Barack H. Obama, these complex revelations will remain largely buried. But, I guess we can all take small solace in knowing that if the Sen. Barack H. Obama is elected as our next president, he really won’t be any different than anyone else who would be on the ticket. So much for “hope and change.”

(photo: Obama plays the crowd)

More from the Depressed American Economy

Another weekend, another good report about this summer’s highest grossing movie. Yes, “The Dark Knight” remains on top at 26 million dollars. So far, it has box-office receipts of 441.5 million dollars. According to the Monday (8/11/08) AP entertainment report, the top 10 movies pulled in 106.6 million dollars over the weekend.

Maybe I’m beating the dead horse here, I don’t know. And I really don’t have anything against a Batman movie – although how many times do we have to see Batman beat the Joker? No, my point really doesn’t have anything to do with the movies, other than they are entertainment and, therefore, a use of discretionary spending. In other words, after we have paid for our mortgage or rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, and any legal debts, then we can pay to go to the movies. Or a concert. Or MP3 tunes. Or the golf course. Or Disneyland.

Yet, headlines scream that the American economy has tanked. Without the “change and hope” plan of a particular political party’s candidate (why is my mind clanging “switch and bait?” Freudian slip?) to correct all of the disastrous policy decisions of the current administration, Americans are doomed to the Greatest Depression. Foreclosures, record gasoline prices, increasing food costs, business failures, layoffs, unaffordable health care. We’re doomed! DOOMED, I tell you!

Until you turn from the front page of the NY Times to the entertainment section. There, once again, we breathe a sigh of relief, for all is right with the world. At, say, $12 per ticket, about 37 million Americans have been able to see “The Dark Knight.” Thank the government for our tax rebate check. Those Big Media front pages had me worried there for a minute. No matter how far behind we are with the house payment, we can by golly still escape nasty reality and plunk the food money down on Big Entertainment. Big Oil hasn’t won yet! They’re gonna have to do better than this!

Friends, before you start your panic mode over the American economy – which is certainly not in the greatest shape right now by any stretch – take a look at the entertainment section or wait for the entertainment report on CNN, etc. You know we’re in trouble when there are no lines for movies or iPhones or tennis shoes or whatever silly fad is drawing us like moths to a flame. Panic does us no good; rational thinking and common-sense decision-making do us a lot of good. Meet your necessary financial obligations first – including a savings plan – and then go spend some on fun. Or help out someone else in real financial trouble. Try this, and you will probably weather most financial storms that come along. And don’t forget TNSTAAFL – There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

The photo? Waiting in line for the movie. What else?

Unseasonably Cool in a Globally Warmed World

I know that global warming alarmists reply to weather reports like this with comments about how local conditions do not negate global warming trends. In fact, they have cornered the market on all meteorology & weather conditions by being allowed to blame every weather phenomenon on global warming: floods, droughts, record high temperatures, record low temperatures, active hurricane seasons, inactive hurricane seasons, ad nauseum. So I know that the weather report I received for my area today does not validate any argument against global warming.

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Tonight our low will drop down around 60 and by Saturday our high will be just 79 degrees as a large area of high pressure moves into Indiana. This time last year it was very hot and muggy for state fair goers, but that won't be the case this year. This weekend we'll have perfect weather for the fair as it's looking to be nice and dry with unseasonably cool temperatures. -- "Is This August?," Chief Meteorologist Chris Wright, WTHR, Indianapolis, Indiana, 8/7/08

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So, fair enough; this local report does not refute global warming. But, why then, is it legitimate for global warming alarmists to point to weather patterns & reports in localities experiencing extended & record heat waves? If local areas experiencing below normal temperatures are invalid in the global warming debate, then are not local above normal temperatures just as invalid?

And, I admit to a lack of understanding how, in a world that is warming, there can continue to be new record low temperatures? I mean, yes, there will still be periods of cold temperatures, but should they not be higher instead of lower cool temperatures? So how are we in Indiana privileged to these cooler temperatures in August in a world of rising temperature?

Economic Depression - American Style

See the people waiting in lines? Given the tanking American economy reported by Big Media, we might think that these poor folks hope to receive help for food, mortgage, gasoline, or some other necessity. After all, home foreclosures, job losses, high energy costs, the falling value of the dollar overseas, and other economic maladies are wrecking the American dream today. This is another Great Depression era brought on by the failed policies of the Bush administration.

Oh, wait! These are people in line for consumer goods; specifically, the Nike Hyperdunker athletic shoe (left) and the Apple iPhone 3G (right). The line for the iPhone began forming a week before their availability! The Nike shoe sells for $110.00 a pair or more.

Over the weekend of August 2-3, 2008, the “Dark Knight” Batman movie grossed 43.8 million dollars. This is in addition to the more than 150 million dollars it brought in during its debut weekend. Its 17 day total is nearly 400 million dollars. Over the first weekend in August, movie patrons spent about 145 million dollars on the top ten grossing movies (AP entertainment reports 8/4/08).

According to liberal progressives everywhere, Americans are living in poverty with no hope for their future unless we receive government health care, government-subsidized energy, government mortgage relief, government minimum wage laws, and about government-everything-else. Americans are suffering and need government bailouts. Americans need hope and change!

Actually, what Americans need is some fiscal common sense and the opportunity to be left alone to succeed. Not much more than these simple ingredients built the most powerful and the most charitable nation in the world. Need to pay the mortgage? Pay forty bucks for a decent pair of shoes and use the rest to pay bills. Need health care? Quit going to movies every weekend and plan for the future. There are Americans in financial distress, so voluntarily donate to causes that ease the distress and provide new hope (hint: it ain’t from the government).

As long as the news is filled with reports of American waiting in lines for brand shoes and phones and entertainment, the American economy is not tanking. It’s the victim of stupidity as people try to violate one of any economy’s fundamental truths: There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TNSTAAFL).

Olympic Games in Beijing

My, my, my. As the days count down toward the opening festivities of the Olympics in Beijing, reports are filling the airwaves about how we can “all get along.” “See,” we seem to be told, “if only those nasty American conservatives would stop insisting that America has enemies, we could all get along and live in peace.”

Of course we can all get along – if we simply ignore human rights abuses and threats to world stability and peace. Take this MSNBC report, for instance:
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The Olympic Games have become the occasion for a broad crackdown against dissidents, gadflies and malcontents this summer. Although human rights activists say they have no accurate estimate of how many people have been imprisoned, they believe the figure to be in the thousands.
The crackdown comes seven years after the secretary general of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee declared that staging the Games in the Chinese capital would "not only promote our economy but also enhance all social conditions, including education, health and human rights."
Now, human rights have been set back rather than enhanced, activists say. – Edward Cody, “Defiant Chinese harassed, jailed before Games,” 8/2/08
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As the Olympic torch made its way around the world, it was met with so much protest over human rights abuses by China that even the route was changed to avoid some protestors. The Chinese government condemned such protests as “deliberate disruptions… who gave no thought to the Olympic spirit or the laws of Britain and France…” Yes, we can all certainly get along… if it just weren’t for those pesky people who insist on human rights and dignity.

Although it will not happen at these games, there was a threat of international boycotts against the Games. Such a move, of course, strikes me as unfair to the athletes who have trained so hard to legitimately compete in the Olympics. So if boycotts are not the right solution, what is?

I think the right solution is for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to find a spine and stand up to totalitarian regimes in the first place by refusing to award the Olympics to any nation that does not honor its citizens’ liberty. Let the totalitarians squawk. Let them pull their athletes, if they want. I could care less. Instead, like the United Nations, the IOC for some perverted reason believes that they can promote world stability and peace by rewarding tyrants. Baloney.

(image: from Burma Digest)

Taxation and Tyranny

How ironic can it be that the nation that came to be founded because of a “disagreement” over taxation – “taxation without representation is tyranny!” – keeps facing prospects of higher taxes, with or without representation? Pretty doggone ironic, if you ask me.

Yet, the persistent and consistent solution to every economic challenge both real and perceived by liberals and Democrats is to… ta da!... raise taxes. The Sen. Barack H. Obama, the presumptive next president of the United States, has already promised to raise taxes. It is, unfortunately, the campaign promise he is likeliest to keep. In addition to federal income taxes, expect also additional fees of one kind or another for universal health insurance and care, cap and trade carbon credit schemes, mortgage failure bailouts, and who knows how many other half-baked schemes.

But wait! Why wait for the Sen. Barack H. Obama to assume the office of our presidency? In another swift move to bring relief to citizens beleagured by fast rising gasoline prices, our Democrat-majority Congress proposes… surprise!... increased fuel taxes. Yes, to a liberal Democrat, there is no economic challenge that cannot be fixed by a tax hike.

Funny thing, though. Not one of them has ever gotten around to answering the question asked in the last presidential election to the Democrat nominee: “What nation has ever taxed its way to prosperity?”

(During resource searches, I found this interesting article, “Taxes separate ‘rich,’ ‘poor’ states.”)

Herr Obama Enamors Germans

Well, well, well. The Sen. Barack H. Obama was simply adored in Germany. He addressed about 200,000 people, plus all who saw and heard the broadcasts, in Berlin. A great accomplishment, isn’t it?

I don’t know. After all, Germans have gotten excited over charismatic leaders and packed into stadiums before. They have laid their hope at the foot of a leader who promised great hope and change before.

Making plans for the Democrat national convention, the Sen. Barack H. Obama has disdainfully announced that he would not accept his party’s nomination from the convention floor:

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At the Democratic National Convention next month, we're going to kick off the general election with an event that opens up the political process the same way we've opened it up throughout this campaign. Barack has made it clear that this is your convention, not his. On Thursday, August 28th, he's scheduled to formally accept the Democratic nomination in a speech at the convention hall in front of the assembled delegates. Instead, Barack will leave the convention hall and join more than 75,000 people for a huge, free, open-air event where he will deliver his acceptance speech to the American people. (email from David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, Obama for America, 7/7/08)
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Just wonderful. The Sen. Barack H. Obama is so in touch with the common people. No big time political party apparatus for him.

So what is that little warning buzz I keep hearing in the back of my head? Oh yeah, it’s that fill the stadium thing he’s got going again. Funny how history keeps teaching us that political figures who like to fill stadiums turn out to be fascists and totalitarians. This isn’t entertainment, remember. This is the man who, if elected to the office of President of the United States, has a big say in how government runs our lives. Think logically; vote accordingly.


(photos: upper left, the Sen. Barack H. Obama in Berlin, 7/24/08; upper right, Benito Mussolini wows the crowd in Rome; lower right, Germans honor Hitler at the Olympic games; lower left, Adolph Hitler speaks in the Berlin auditorium.)

Pretty Good for a Recession

Phil Gramm has been all but burned at the stake for his comments about the economy in early July. As usual, most of the talking points among Big Media and Big Liberalism sources come from what they imagine Dr. Gramm said, not from what he actually said. Dr. Gramm did not deny that the economy is troubled, nor did he deny that there may be a recession. He merely made a factual observation that America is not in a literal, technical recession, which is a verifiable truth as defined by two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. For five quarters, 2007 - 1st quarter 2008, the GDP has continued to increase. So, Dr. Gramm is correct. Here are some of his remarks:

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"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet." -- Washington Post, 7/9/08
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And here's a dirty little secret: Phil Gramm is eminently qualified to make such an observation. He has a Ph.D. in economics, has taught it for 12 years at Texas A&M University, and has won elective office as both a Democrat & Republican. As an economist, he is as qualified to tell Americans that we are not in a recession as any other economist paraded by Big Media and Big Liberalism is to tell us that the sky is falling. Yet following Dr. Gramm's factual statement, Big Media and Big Liberals immediately began whining. Touche, Dr. Gramm.

So for all our good friends living in the land of left-believe, since we are experiencing such troubled economic times, how in the world did the new Batman movie set a new weekend box office record for a superhero movie? According to the AP report on 7/21/08, "The Dark Knight" grossed 155.34 million dollars! And that doesn't include concession stand revenue! Don't movie viewers know that the economy has tanked? That no one has any money? That everyone is living in cardboard boxes and holding out tin cups? What about having to make that tough choice between medicine and food?

This box office buster phenomenon represents two things. (1) Americans still have money and are still willing to spend it. Ask around; I'll bet you can find someone from "struggling lower middle class" and below households who have plunked down pocket change to see Batman. Would truly desperate people be so frivolous? The stark truth is that far and away the bulk of Americans are not truly desperate. Maybe not as well off as we would like to be, but not truly desperate when there is money to spend for high priced entertainment. (2) Americans want to use their personal money for frivolous entertainment, but want to use someone else's money (i.e., taxpayers) for necessities like housing, food, healthcare, transportation, etc. In fact, "we" have come to expect and demand this as a right. Commit to too much mortgage or other debt? Demand a government bailout. Have to choose between food and casinos? Demand a government bailout. Have to choose between healthcare and movies? Demand a government bailout. Facing retirement age without enough personal savings because of spending for all those movie hours, casino trips, tattoos, piercings, et. al. that have been accumulated over peak earning years? Demand a government bailout - hey, social security is for poor people, not the wealthy who have paid into it.

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"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, [Dr. Gramm] said.
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Not off the mark there, either.

So all of you who saw "The Dark Knight," I hope you enjoyed it. But don't come whining to me if you can't pay your mortgage or come up a little short in retirement.

(photos: Dr. Phil Gramm (l.) Dark Knight movie poster (r.))

No Flip-Flop Here

The Sen. Barack H. Obama will not go down as a "flip-flopper" on his opposition to the "surge" strategy in Iraq. At least, that is his stance in an ABC report during his big adventure to the Middle East. By the way, I would not consider the Sen. Barack H. Obama a "flip-flopper" for recognizing his error in judgment and acknowledging that the strategy he opposed - a strategy that the Democrat party actually called for at the beginning of military intervention in Iraq - has been the correct strategy to pursue.

Sure, there are politics and diplomacy facets during war, but do they supersede reasonable or sound military tactics and strategies? This potential commander-in-chief of the American Armed Forces seems to think so.

Domestic Oil Crisis

"The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress." -- President George Bush (on lifting an executive order banning domestic off-shore oil drilling)

One of my questions is why has it taken so long for him to get around lifting this executive order? Nearly finished with eight years as President, and he now decides to take a lead in domestic oil production. I am glad you lifted the ban, Mr. President, but why did you wait all this time?

Similarly, the Republican party is going nuts about Democrats obstructing domestic oil production. Again, I'm glad that they are holding Democrat feet to the fire, but it has not been too many years ago when the Republicans were the majority part in Congress. Where was your leadership then? Why did you wait all these years, and lose your majorities to boot, before shedding your crocodile tears all over the place?

Yeah, the Republican party has messed up, but that still does not mean that Democrats should be given carte blanche allowance to run roughshod over Americans with their debilitating energy policies (or, more accurately, energy non-policies). As usual, the Democrat response to financial crisis is... raise taxes! Now it even appears that they want to raise taxes on our diesel & gasoline - all at a time when market pressures have raised oil prices to historic levels. By the way, here's a dirty little secret: when market pressures subside, the market price of oil will drop! Taxes won't.

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Including state and local levies, people in the U.S. pay about 47 cents on average in taxes for a gallon of gasoline. Fuel in many European countries costs $8 to $9 a gallon, with half or more of that going to taxes. FOX news 7/20/2008

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Well, there's certainly another reason to want to be like Europeans. I'm convinced... yeah, right.

In addition to their raise-the-tax solution, Democrats of course parade their favorite targets for high energy prices: oil companies & speculators. Here's the other dirty little secret, Congress: take away the market reasons for upward price pressure - that would be increasing supply - and those same evil, wicked, mean, and nasty speculators will be driving down the price of oil. Duh! How do you do that? Allow domestic exploration, drilling, & production.

Drill here, drill now!

Lapel Pin

If you have noticed lately, the Sen. Barack H. Obama has taken to wearing a lapel flag pin. Just as he has his own seal, he has his own lapel pin.


OK, I'm kidding! About the lapel pin, that is. But I ran across the image and had to use it somehow.

If you don't recall the significance of the additional 7 stars, refresh your memory here. Actually, when you do the math, the pin is still missing two stars. Alaska and Hawaii just don't get no respect.

Enjoy your day, especially you folks in the Sen. Barack H. Obama's extra 7 or 9 states.

Israeli Soldiers Mourned

Giving credit where due, the New York Times published a respectful report about the funerals of Israeli soldiers Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser and Staff Sgt. Eldad Regev (“Funerals in Israel for Two Soldiers,” 7/17/08). The families and all of Israel mourn the deaths of these two men abducted and killed by Hezbollah two years ago.

The article also revealed a distinct difference in the regard to life and compassion between these two opposing sides in the conflict.

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But far from ameliorating the simmering hostility between the sides, the deal has further hardened the feelings of many Israelis, who charged that Hezbollah toyed with the emotions of the families of the missing soldiers up to the very end.
For the last two years, Hezbollah had refused to clarify whether the soldiers — both reservists and students at the time of their capture — were dead or alive, although Israeli officials concluded that both were badly wounded in the initial ambush and had probably not survived.
But the moment of truth did not come until after 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the first stage of the exchange got under way at Nakkoura, on the Lebanese side of the border. A Hezbollah representative, Wafiq Safa, announced that the soldiers’ fate would “now be revealed,” and gestured toward two coffins.
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What purpose was served by keeping the fates of these two men hidden for two years? Or for refusing to return their remains so that their grieving families could find some closure? Hezbollah militants harbor such venomous hatred against all Israelis that they have no intent to take any action that brings comfort.

Individuals and organizations that seek peace and justice in the Middle East should be condemning Hezbollah’s actions as vociferously as they do when they object to Israel’s conduct of defensive operations.

(photo released by Israeli Government Press Office: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hugs Karnit Goldwasser, wife of Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser next to his coffin at Shraga army base in northern Israel)

Freedom Fighters or Brutal Murderers? You Decide

Today, among much world publicity, Israel is releasing specified Hezbollah prisoners and the bodies of Hezbollah and Palestinian fighters killed in conflict in exchange for the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped two years ago. The kidnapping led to the Israeli conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006. One of the Hezbollah prisoners being released is Samir Qantar, who is hailed as a hero among Hezbollah militants.

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"We are now handing over the two imprisoned Israeli soldiers [note: they are the remains of the two ‘imprisoned’ Israeli soldiers], who were captured by the Islamic resistance on July 12, 2006, to the [International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)]," Safa said at the border. "The Israeli side will now hand over the great Arab mujahid (holy warrior) ... Samir Qantar and his companions to the ICRC… Hezbollah has dubbed the exchange "Operation Radwan", in honour of "Hajj Radwan", or Imad Moughniyah, the group's military commander who was assassinated in Syria in February. Yellow Hezbollah flags and banners fluttered across south Lebanon and along the coastal highway from the border village of Naqoura to the capital, Beirut. "Liberation of the captives: a new dawn for Lebanon and Palestine," one banner read. – Reuters, 7/16/08
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Certain sympathizers call militant members of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization “freedom fighters” instead of terrorists or murderers and simultaneously charge Israelis with conducting terrorist operations against innocent victims:

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“If, however, you do believe there is a place for armed struggle, it is unfair to refer to oppressed Palestinians targeting their oppressors as ‘terrorists,’ when their actions are no less humane than those employed by almost any country at war, actions generally accepted as one of the necessary functions of a state. It’s easy to criticize guerilla warfare when you have the luxury of an army to do your fighting for you.” – Anna Baltzer, “Conversation with Hamas Supporters,” 3/13/2005
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Here is what is known about Samir Qantar:

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In the dead of night on April 22, 1979, [Q]antar and three other gunmen made their way in a rubber dinghy from Lebanon to the sleepy Israeli coastal town of Nahariya, 5 miles south of the Lebanese border. There, in a hail of gunfire and exploding grenades, they killed a policeman who stumbled upon them before they burst into the apartment of Danny Haran, herding him and his 4-year-old daughter outside at gunpoint to the beach below, where they were killed. An Israeli court found that [Q]antar shot Haran in front of his child, then smashed her head with his rifle butt. Haran's wife, Smadar, who had fled into a crawl space in the family apartment with her 2-year-old daughter, accidentally smothered the child with her hand while trying to stifle her cries. – FOX News, 7/16/2008
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In spite of this atrocity, Qantar has been held as a prisoner in Israel and not executed. The crime for which the two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and murdered by Hezbollah? Attending to their duties at a checkpoint along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Freedom fighters or brutal murderers? You decide.


(photo: Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser & Eldad Regev, abducted by Hezbollah, 7/2006.)

Fighting the Smears

In order to combat rumors from e-mails and other sources, the campaign team for Sen. Barack H. Obama established a "fight the smears" website. Sen. Barack H. Obama says that he will not be defined by lies.

Fair enough. But the dirty little secret is that the website offers its own deceptions.

First, prepared e-mails are ready for supporters to send out to others to "fight the smears." The prepared texts indicate that the sources for the smears come from "right-wing" sources. On this site, one concludes that only "right-wing" sources are to blame for the smears. The truth is that not only "right-wingers" oppose Sen. Barack H. Obama's candidacy. For instance, try "Democrats Against Obama." I stumbled onto this site this morning:

*****
"Obama and his Obamatrons made a fatal error during this primary. They insulted, disrespected, threatened, and disregarded the Clinonistas. They played the race card continually, then blamed the Clintons. Now. They need us. Too late. Too much damage. Now you pay. No votes. NObama. Ever." (homepage)
*****

Individual entries at this website mention some of the "smears" being refuted on "fight the smears." "Right-wing" attacks exclusively? Hmmm... I don't think so.

Second, in response to comments (aka, "smears") that Sen. Barack H. Obama's books contain "racially incendiary remarks," "fight the smears" website reads, "recent viral emails quote Barack Obama's books out of context."

So, context is important to the Sen. Barack H. Obama campaign? Let's find out. The first "smear" on the site concerns Michelle Obama saying "whitey" on a tape. The response? "The tape that Rush and others are spreading rumors about doesn't exist." The prepared e-mail response begins, "Rush Limbaugh and his fellow right-wing attack-dogs have been spreading baseless rumors about a non-existent video tape showing Michelle Obama using a racial epithet."

Context? Completely absent. Regardless of one's personal opinions about Rush, how about some straight talk? While Sen. Barack H. Obama's website implies that Rush actively promoted the rumor, the truth is that Rush merely reported that there was a rumor. So did other media outlets: CNN contributor Roland Martin, when asked about the tape rumor on CNN Anderson Cooper 360 on 6/12/08, replied, "I'm not surprised by it, but I think, also, we can't blame Republicans for everything. It's these idiot Democrats that started some of this stuff." If by merely reporting that there was a rumor about a tape, Rush Limbaugh is guilty of perpetuating the rumor, then is not Mr. Martin also guilty? Why not list him on the "fight the smears" website alongside Rush? Besides, along with other "right-wingers," Rush actually revealed that the whole affair was an unfounded rumor started by Larry Johnson, who was working for the Clinton campaign.

Sen. Barack H. Obama and his cronies are worried about context? Right. They probably have some shares in the Brooklyn Bridge that they'll sell us, too.


How to anger a conservative: Tell her a lie.
How to anger a liberal: tell him the truth.

(photo: the Obama seal)