Several videos telling the truth, including those showing the Dem/S sticking their heads in the sand while Republicans were trying to regulate Fannie and Freddie, have been pulled for "copyright infringement". So you can't see Obama's economic adviser and former Fannie or Freddie (I can never remember which) CEO Raines lies through his teeth about the frauds perpetrated in order to get him million(s) in bonus(s).
Lady Lynn "Please, call me Lynn" Forester de Rothschild Endorses John McCain
Title says it all. Lady Lynn has been on all the news shows because and solely because she's left her Dem/S roots to support John McCain for the Presidency. The Dem/S don't like it and here their CNN stand-in tries to give Lynn what-for and gets it herself.
Biden Says Paying MORE Taxes is Patriotic
Really, I say that cutting expenditures is patriotic, that defending the nation is patriotic, that allowing the country to produce its own energy is patriotic. These are things the Dem/S oppose. Based on their own policies, I say the Dem/S are unpatriotic. Joe Biden, go lecture somebody else.
Ann Coulter, the Dem/S and... Satan?Ann Coulter has a piece you need to read. Makes the case, unintentionally perhaps, that I've made that perhaps Barack Hussein Obama is the anti-Christ (although not the traditional view, just ANTI Christ).
All Barack Company, ABC "News" "Reporter/Journalist" Gibson Edits Palin's Interview
You have got to see this. Charlie Gibson and ABC show their prejudice and ability to lie in their editing of the interview with Governor Sarah Palin. And they wonder why I don't watch ABC news...
This Race is About Race
At least according to Joe Biden. Slip on over to Barking Moonbat to get the quotes, I'm too lazy to edit them into my post, and see for yourself. Of course they've been saying this for a while. As when Barack Hussein Obama says he doesn't look like the other presidents on the money (and he ain't POTUS yet). Funny that BHO isn't really black even...
Still, if you tell me to vote for you because you're a certain skin color or race or religion or whatever, that makes you (as well as your supporters) the bigots you say you aren't. BHO doesn't get that, a lot of Dem/S either don't get it or don't care, but I get it. Then again, those are "just words, just speaches", right Senator Barack Hussein Obama?
Obama Campaign Ridicules McCain/Palin on Disability and Religion"Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor." This attempt to equate Governor Sarah Palin with the killer of Jesus Christ is diengenuous. Jesus was not a community organizer. He was a carpenter, the son of God, and a teacher (Rabbi). He was an effective teacher as can be judged by his continued impact, the acceptance of his teachings some 2000 years later. Pontius Pilate served a dictatorial government occupying conquered countries. Governor Palin was properly elected and has stated that she "serves" the people. This statement demonstrates the Dem/S attitude towards religion and willingness to compromise truth in the reach for power. That's power over you and me folks.
Then the Obama campaign (that's Barack Hussein Obama, he approves each message) has attacked Senator McCain for not being able to use a computer including e-mail and thus being "old" fashioned. IOW, they are attacking McCain for being the age he is, for being injured in his time as a POW and unable (at least it is extremely uncomfortable) to use a computer. I've heard today and verified that the damage McCain suffered during torture has limited his fine motor skills as well as the range of motion in his arms thus making computer use extremely problematic. Ageist and discriminatory against those with disabilities.
So now the Dem/S, in apparent desperation after having unsuccessfully run their Presidential candidate against the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, have been reduced to ridiculing older Americans, disabled Americans, disabled veterans, and properly elected officials. For those of you who read this and think that perhaps this is ok and that the Dem/S have a point I have to ask you this, "Just what is it that makes you better than the 'evil' Republicans?" Frankly, I don't see it and every time your party says/does this sort of thing I think less and less of them.
First, Barack Hussein Obama has been absolutely for disarming Americans. He ran on that in 2004 and until the Heller decision his stand was that the 2nd Amendment was not a guarantee of an individual right to keep and bear arms. Any gun owner who believes differently is a fool. If you believe that Rowe vs. Wade can be overturned by the actions of a President you have to believe that Heller can face the same fate. I don't believe that McCain will hurt us in that regard but that Obama would destroy us if he can, any way he can.
On the other point, claiming to work for veterans well that is iffy for either one. Obama was persuaded to vote for the latest version of the GI Bill as #1 a bribe to veterans and #2 a continuation of his welfare state. McCain has thought that it was so generous that veterans would leave in droves in time of war. I'm a veteran, I didn't leave service but stayed as a career. As a result I lost my Vietnam Era GI Bill benefits because they expired! So, even though I gave 27½ years service I got very few education benefits compared to many others. So, to say that McCain is different from Obama (and his running mate) on this subject galls me because Joe Biden did nothing for veterans.
On the other hand, and I've said this before, I don't think that merely being a flyboy, officer, POW entitles anyone to the veteran vote. John McCain has often struck me as among the worst example of the pompus, know-it-all, officer elitist snobs out there. Still, he doesn't beat John Kerry in this regard (Senator Kerry who uses his Vietnam service to both claim special priviledge and to deride the military) and he is right on the war against the islamofacists. That's really important. I can take a little officer snobbishness if that is what it takes to destroy people who would destroy my family.
NRA Life Member to be Republican VP Nominee
She is also the governor of Alaska, wife, mother, hunter and obviously a go-getter. The thing is that she is a real member of the NRA, not a punch-my-ticket-pay-for-membership-with-campaign-contributions member. I may even put up a yard sign for the McCain-Palin ticket. One thing for certain, if you aren't voting for McCain-Palin you are voting for socialism and antigunners of the first order. McCain could hardly have made a better choice.
An Historic Day, But, Oh What a Disappointment
45 years ago today, the Reverend Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. A wonder of language and vision for the future it defined the civil rights movement for many white people. What a disappointment to me that it apparently did not do so for the many for whom Reverend King struggled.
You see, tonight, U.S. Senator Barack Hussein Obama will accept the nomination of his party for the office of President of the United States. How unfortunate that this man was chosen. He who can himself point to the many opportunities he has fully exploited but derides the nation as holding people down. He who's wife has called this country "mean". He who has exploited his racial minority appearance. He who's policies (in as much as he's gone on record by voting or speaking) are opposed to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He who will not care for the least of his actual brethren. He who has called friend and used the influence of a man (William Ayers) who has unrepentantly used the most violent of means to oppose this country. He who has run on change but has used old school politics to destroy his opponents.
This man who is a socialist/communist, raised by socialists/communists, friend of socialists/communists and radicals has been selected by one of the two major political parties as nominee/candidate for the office of President of the United States of America. How disappointing.
We could have had any number of hard working, USofA loving, men of character and integrity who were coincidentally men (or women!) of color. In not having such a person, in having a hater of America, in having a non-patriot, inexperienced in all but cut-throat politics, a product of the Daley Chicago political machine, who has lied even about his racial make-up in an attempt to exploit his "blackness", we have the antithesis of Martin Luther King's dream, of our dream. What a disappointment.
Tonight, he is attempting to further exploit his "rock star" quality in his acceptance speech. His performance will be opened by, not other speakers, but other rock stars. He will not be confined to a convention hall but in an open air venue on a stage arranged to look like a Greek amphitheater. It is as though the messiah, the god, had stepped down from Mount Olympus to call his flock to him. Speaker of the House, Representative (Democrat) Pelosi has called him a "gift of God". I rather think that anybody who dares think themselves such is anything but that.
Yet I hear, again and again, people, that is to say black people, will be voting for him because Barack Hussein Obama is "black" and for no other reason. What a disappointment.
The Democrat (Vice) Presidential Nominee
The news is literally awash with reports about the DNC presumptive nominee's selection of Senator Joe Biden (D - Deleware) as his VP running mate. I find it interesting that Obama says Biden is ready to be president now. I suppose the only difference between Biden and Mrs. Clinton (also ready to be president now) is that he won't have to have a food taster with Biden as the VP (well, maybe not).
I've been watching Biden a number of years now. He's arrogant as all get out, more out of touch with "common folks" than anyone but Teddy Kennedy or John Kerry. He's never met a tax he didn't like. While he has experience credentials that Obama can't possibly have they are rife with error. He's called McCain a fine fellow and said that Obama wasn't ready to be president. (I have to ask, why would Obama pick a man as his VP who's more ready than he is to be president?) I suppose that the Dem/S are so happy because now they have a presidential candidate and one that isn't a Clinton...
Saddleback Church and the Candidates - A Thought
Rick Warren, author of "A Purpose Driven Life", hosted both presumptive nominees at Saddleback Church (in California) and asked them some tough questions. Actually the questions weren't all that tough except for Barack Hussein Obama. Tygrrr Express is just one blog that lays out the differences. To sum it up BHO went first and had to equivocate on every question because he's lying and McCain spoke forthrightly and to the point because he didn't lie.
A lot of folks don't think that BHO is "evil". Maybe not, I suppose that God will decide, but I think he's at the least an agent of evil. He might not even know it. That's about as charitable as I can be about it. You see, what he wants us to do is abandon our founding principles.
McCain is sometimes wrong but he doesn't squirm when asked what he thinks. He tells you.
Terry Anderson says...
TERRY ANDERSON, A BLACK LOS ANGELES TALK RADIO HOST, WENT DOWN A LIST OF THINGS SENATOR OBAMA HAS SAID THAT AREN'T EXACTLY CORRECT.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 Obama's Not Exactlys
Obama's Not Exactlys:
1.) Selma March Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google'Obama Selma ' for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.)
2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.
3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.
4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga's follower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that....and for more.
Obama's cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get Sharia muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians' homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth.
5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.
6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.
Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother's side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father's side. While Barack Hussein Obama's father was from Kenya , his father's family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama's father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father's birth certificate even states he's Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more....go to.....
http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.pht ... 25_African
7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.
4-3-08 Article 'Obama was 'quite religious in islam'' http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559
8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).
February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it'll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.' This is just one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says 'Obama's narrative is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.'
9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says you could speak the language.
10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn't even speak the language. What did you learn except how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.
11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.
12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine
13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.
14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.
15.) I Won't Run On A National Ticket In '08 - NOT EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.
16.) Voting 'Present' is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.
17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.
18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.
20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you didn't write it, introduce it, change it or create it.
21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.
23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.
24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.
25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.
26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.
27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.
28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them.
29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction off Israel
30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the delegates decide.
31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.
32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26, most of which you didn't write yourself.
33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.
34.) I Don't Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it.
35.) I don't Have Lobbysists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting.
36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.
37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren't in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time.
38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 who don't have to buy it.
39.) My uncle liberated Auschwitz concentration camp - NOT EXACTLY, your mother had no brothers and the Russan army did the liberating.
Nazis In Charge in Prince George's County
On August 7, 1944, my first cousin PFC Gano H. "Sonny" Jewell was killed in fighting with the Nazis of Germany. On August 7, 2004 SGT Craig W. Cherry and Sgt. Bobby E. Beasley were killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. All were fighting to protect our freedoms and liberties. On August 7, 2008 I read that the Prince George's County Police feel it is just SOP to behave like Nazis even to the point of assaulting a Mayor and killing his animals. This over a box of marijuana one of the PGC officers himself delivered. Read and weep friends.
Barack Hussein Obama for PUTZ of the United States of America
This guy is either an arrogant fool or an idiot. I'm really not sure which because he just keeps coming up with this stuff. He hates this country, is a citizen of the world (apparently FIRST), won't meet with the troops unless he can get a photo-op, put his campaign posters (in HEBREW) up at the Wailing Wall, and on and on...
Don't believe that BHO is a SOCIALIST?
The messiah has decided to take MY money to help everybody else out of poverty. No, not just in the US, EVERYWHERE. Crap. I didn't do enough giving 27½ years of my life to defending liberty and justice? I don't give enough paying taxes like a "rich" man (that's what they think a retired soldier is, rich)? BS. S.2433 Global Poverty Act of 2007. A bill to require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
The New Yorker magazine has come under fire for this cover. Now you and I know that the leftist New Yorker was ridiculing those that have been characterizing Barack Hussein Obama in a certain way. They did this very cleverly. Unfortunately, the Obama camp realizes that their targeted voters aren't clever. If they were they couldn't possibly vote for Obama. So, they're upset at the gross presentation of Obama as a Muslim (he is, an apostate Muslim), his wife as a radical (perhaps terrorist) which she is, she with an assault rifle (holy irony Batman!) with Osama (with whom even Ted Kennedy confused his name) to whom he would apologize on the wall (but several supporters and campaign offices display Che Guevera pictures), a burning American flag in the fireplace (not too far off), and all this in the Oval Office.
The fact is that Obama (ashamed we can speak only English just like him) doesn't like the U.S. He won't sing the National Anthem or salute the flag during the National Anthem, wouldn't wear a flag lapel pin, has a wife that is only proud of the US because we MIGHT elect HER husband president, and so on and so forth.
The truth is, and this is why the Obama forces are in such a dither about this image, is that it is closer to the truth than it is to satire.
Pelosi's Congress has Lowest Rating Ever (from the Rasmussen Report)Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.
Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.
The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.
Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.
Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.
Voters hold little positive sentiment about the future. Just 41% find it at least somewhat likely that Congress will address important problems facing our nation in the near future, while 55% find this unlikely.
Despite these negative attitudes towards Congress, Democrats continue to enjoy a double digit lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Most voters (72%) think most members of Congress are more interested in furthering their own political careers. Just 14% believe members are genuinely interested in helping people.
A separate Rasmussen survey found that half of all voters believe America’s best days are in the past. However, another survey found that 64% of voters also believe that the world would be a better place if more countries were similar to the United States.
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I think that the unaffiliated voter approval rating is critical. These are the voters that make the decisions at the polls (if you accept that others will vote along party lines). They don't like the Pelosi's Dem/S Congress. What is REALLY interesting is that they rate the Congress lower than even the Republicans! While that should tell the Dem/S something they are increasingly tone deaf. Well, all except for the presumptive presidential nominee who is now publicly disavowing many of the positions he held for the primary season. Anyone want syrup with their waffles?
On the Occasion of the Heller Decision...
On the Occasion of the Heller Decision our local paper, the Staunton Daily News Leader published an editorial as shown below. Sadly, these "educated" newspaper people don't get that the 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting squirrels but resisting squirrely politicians just as the 1st amendment isn't about calling people names but about calling down lying politicians...
There's likely lots of champagne and cigars at the NRA headquarters in Northern Virginia after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 32-year-old handgun ban in the District of Columbia.The 5-4 decision upholds and strengthens the Second Amendment, which gives us a right to own guns for hunting and self-defense.Now, all the deer and bear hunters in the District of Columbia can once again put food on the tables for their families. The squirrels on the Mall should hop the Metro out of town quickly.More importantly, the ruling limits what governments can do to control handgun violence. The D.C. gun ban was not meant to violate the Constitution. It was designed to keep people alive. The District of Columbia and other cities across America are certainly not safer today after this ruling. The Supreme Court has struck down a potential solution to the problem of gun violence. Now, another solution must be found.The problem of gun violence in America is not going away. Even this gun ban did not solve the problem in the District of Columbia. Gun advocates would say it made the matters worse by taking away the option for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. But more guns does not mean less gun violence.The Supreme Court is often frustrating in that it never solves problems. It only kicks out solutions that go against the Constitution without giving suggestions about what might work in its place. The decision hinges on the disagreement between the two sides of whether the Second Amendment offers gun rights only to citizens in a formed militia or all citizens for the purpose of self defense. The majority opinion, written by Justice Scalia, states that the Second Amendment is meant to provide the right of gun ownership for anyone's self defense.Of great concern is what this ruling does to other gun laws. Thankfully, the opinion makes it clear that this decision does not cast doubt on the legitimacy of concealed weapons laws or the assault weapons bans. The decision holds that the Second Amendment's rights are not unlimited.Hopefully this ruling is not the top of a slippery slope of loosening gun laws. It would be extremely unfortunate if this court's narrow majority ruling is used as a pry bar by gun lobbyists to turn our modern-day environment into a gun-slinging, Old West B movie.The message to the District of Columbia was go back and try again. But any regular reader of the Washington Post would realize that they need to try again regardless of what the Court ruled. And we as a society need to work for solutions to control gun violence not only in D.C., but in cities and communities large and small throughout America.The Court isn't going to help us with this one and it is unlikely that government will be much help either. We will have to make these necessary changes as a society and that is going to be a huge challenge. But it will not come with everyone carrying a six-shooter. Fewer guns, not more, is the key to solving the problem of gun violence.Opinions expressed in this feature represent the majority opinion of the newspaper's editorial board, consisting of: Roger Watson, president and publisher; David Fritz, executive editor; Cindy Corell, community conversations editor; and Jim McCloskey, editorial cartoonist.
10 reasons to blame Democrats for soaring gas prices
The finger pointing at the Dems is well deserved. It is THEY who will not/have not compromised.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 10 reasons to blame Democrats for soaring gasoline prices
This started out as an attempt to create a light and humorous, Letterman-esque Top 10 list. But the items on the list, and the drain Americans are seeing in their pocketbooks because of Democrats' actions (sometimes inaction) are just too tragic for that.
10) ANWR If Bill Clinton had signed into law the Republican Congress's 1995 bill to allow drilling of ANWR instead of vetoing it, ANWR could be producing a million barrels of (non-Opec) oil a day--5% of the nation's consumption. Although speaking in another context, even Democrat Senator Charles Schumer, no proponent of ANWR drilling, admits that "one million barrels per day," would cause the price of gasoline to fall "50 cents a gallon almost immediately," according to a recent George Will column.
9) Coastal Drilling (i.e., NIMBY - not in my backyard) Democrats have consistently fought efforts to drill off the U.S. coast, as evidenced by Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's preotestation against a failed 2005 bill: "Not only does this legislation dismantle the bi-partisan ban on offshore drilling, but it provides a financial incentive for states to do so." A financial incentive? With the Chinese now slant drilling for oil just 50 miles off the Florida coast, wouldn't that have been a good thing?
Insistence on alternative fuels One of the first acts of the new Democrat-controlled congress in 2007 was an energy bill that "calls for a huge increase in the use of ethanol as a motor fuel and requires new appliance efficiency standards." By focusing on alternative fuels such as ethanol, and not more drilling, Democrats have added to the cost of food, worsening starvation problems around the word and increasing inflationary pressures in the U.S., including prices at the pump.
7) Nuclear power Even the French, who sometimes seem to lack the backbone to stand up for anything other than soft cheese, faced down their environmentalists over the need for nuclear power. France now generates 79% of its electricity from nuclear plants, mitigating the need for imported oil. The French have so much cheap energy that France has become the world's largest exporter of electric power. They have plans in place to build more reactors, including an experimental fusion reactor.
The last nuclear reactor built in the United States, according to the US Dept of Energy, was the "River Bend" plant in Louisiana. Its construction began in March of 1977.
Need I say more?
6) Coal "The liquid hydrocarbon fuel available from American coal reserves exceeds the crude oil reserves of the entire world," writes Dr. Arthur Robinson in an article on humanevents.com. The U.S. has approximately one-fourth of the world's known, proven coal reserves. Coal would be a proven, and increasingly clean, source of electric power and--at current prices--a liquified fuel that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Yet Dems and their enviro friends have fought, and continue to fight, both coal-mining and coal plants.
5) Refinery capacity "High oil prices are still being propped up by a shortage of refinery capacity and there is little sign of the bottleneck easing until 2010," according to Peak Oil News. And, while voters in South Dakota have approved zoning for what could become the first new oil refinery in the United States in 30 years, the Dems' environmentalist constituency vows to oppose it, just like environmentalists opposed the floodgates that could have saved New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.
4) Reduced competition: With consolidation in the oil industry, has come reduced competition. Remember, most of the major oil company mergers -- Shell-Texaco, BP-Amoco, Exxon-Mobil, BP-ARCO, and Chevron-Texaco -- happened on Clinton's watch. The number of oil refiners dropped from 28 to 19 companies during Clinton's two terms.
3) The Global Warming Myth: At a Group of 8 meeting this week, host and Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari "described the issues of climate change and energy as two sides of the same coin and proposed united solutions ... to address both issues simultaneously". As a result of Global Warming hysteria, the Al Gore-negotiated Kyoto Protocol created a worldwide market in carbon-emissions trading. Both 2005 --the year that trading was initiated--and this year --when the trading expanded dramatically -- saw substantial and unexpected price spikes in the cost of oil, leading us to reason Number...
2) Speculation: "Given the unchanged equilibrium in global oil supply and demand over recent months amid the explosive rise in oil futures prices ... it is more likely that as much as 60% of the today oil price is pure speculation," writes F. William Engdahl, an Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. According to a June 2006 US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report, US energy futures historically "were traded exclusively on regulated exchanges within the United States... The trading of energy commodities by large firms on OTC electronic exchanges was exempted from (federal) oversight by a provision inserted at the behest of Enron and other large energy traders into the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000." The bill was signed into law by Bill Clinton, in one of his last acts in office.
1) Defeat of President Bush's 2001 energy package According to the BBC, "Key points of Bush('s 2001) plan were to:
- Promote new oil and gas drilling - Build new nuclear plants - Improve electricity grid and build new pipelines -$10bn in tax breaks to promote energy efficiency and alternative fuels
A New York Times article, dated May 18, 2001, explained:
Quote:Mr. Bush's plea for a new dialogue came as his administration published the report of energy task force containing scores of specific proposals... for finding new sources of power and encouraging a range of new energy technologies."
[The Bush plan] "mentions about a dozen areas including land-use restrictions in the Rockies, lease stipulations on offshore areas attractive to oil companies, the vetting of locations for nuclear plants, environmental reviews to upgrade power plants and refineries that could be streamlined or eliminated to help industry find more oil and gas and produce more electricity and gasoline."
The article went on to quote some rather prescient words from the President, "this great country could face a darker future, a future that is, unfortunately, being previewed in rising prices at the gas pump and rolling blackouts in the great state of California" if his plan was not adopted in 2001.
The Times account continued:
Quote:"Mr. Bush talked not only of blackouts but of blackmail, raising the specter of a future in which the United States is increasingly vulnerable to foreign oil suppliers...Mr. Bush was praised by many groups for laying out a long-term energy policy. His report contained 105 initiatives..."
Just as President Bush's predictions have been born out, the article quoted from that most sage of Democrats, former President Jimmy Carter:
Quote:"World supplies are adequate and reasonably stable, price fluctuations are cyclical, reserves are plentiful," he (Carter) argued. Mr. Carter said "exaggerated claims seem designed to promote some long-frustrated ambitions of the oil industry at the expense of environmental quality."
But, as a later Times article notes, "the president's ambitious policy quickly became a casualty of energy politics and, notably, harsh criticism from Democrats enraged by the way the White House had created the plan."
In other words, Democrats refused the President's plea to "break free of the traditional antagonism between energy producers and environmental advocates."
Remember that the next time you pull up to the pump ... or the voter's booth.
William Tate is a former award-winning journalist and the author of the new novel, A Time Like This (www.atimelikethis.us/
----------------------------------------- Now, recall #5 above and read the following:
Urgent: House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries
Per Pergram-Capitol Hill
House Democrats responded to President's Bush's call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. This was at an on-camera press conference fed back live.
Among other things, the Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply.
They also reasserted that the reason the Appropriations Committee markup (where the vote on the amendment to lift the ban) was cancelled so they could focus on preparing the supplemental Iraq spending bill for tomorrow.
At an off-camera briefing, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the same. And a senior Republican House Appropriations Committee aide adds that "there were multiple reasons for the postponement" including discussion on the supplemental. But the aide said there was the thought that Democrats may wish to avoid a debate today on energy amendments.
Here are the highlights from briefing
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), member of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the most-ardent opponents of off-shore drilling
1115
We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.
Hinchey on why they postponed the Appropriations markup
1119
I think there aren't enough votes for the Peterson amendment. It wasn't taken up (the Interior spending bill) because of the omnibus Appropriations bill. That's the main focus of the Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)
1116
They (Republicans) have a one-trick pony approach. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the Resources Committee
1106
You cannot drill your way out of this.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Select Committee on Global Warming
1111
The White House has become a ventriloquist for the oil and gas energy. The finger should be directed back at them. They had plenty of opportunity to (arrange an energy policy). But they did not put an energy policy in place.
Markey
1123
The governors of California and the governors of Florida are going to scream this is not the way to go.
Hinchey
1125
There are a lot of arrows in the President's quiver that he decided not use.
Hinchey
1128
What we do has to be in the interest of the American people. Not major corporations.
Emanuel
1131
It's like when I talk to my kids. Before we're going to talk about dessert, we've got to talk about what's on your plate. I hope I'm a little more successful with the oil industry than I am with my kids.
Markey7
1132
There are so many red herrings out there they might as well construct an aquarium.
From House Majoirity Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) when I asked him if the markup was cancelled because of potential Democratic defections on the Peterson amendment..
"No. The reason the markups aren't going through is because we're trying to get the supplemental on the floor tomorrow."
And from a Senior Republican House Appropriations Aide..
"There were multiple reasons for the postponement including ongoing negotiations on the (supplemental) and a (Democratic) wish to avoid debate and votes on the energy amendments.
6 Degrees of Separation - Barack Hussein Obama
Everyone knows the game "6 Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon" (How DID he get chosen as the pivot man in that game?) and sometimes we play it with somebody else replacing Mr. Bacon (and isn't it delicious that Barack Hussein Obama replace a guy named 'Bacon'?). Anyway, let's try this.
William Ayers (domestic terrorist from Weather Underground) - Bernardine Dohrn, now a Northwestern University law professor. Together they were founding members of the Weatherman, an offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society that claimed responsibility for about a dozen bombings. - Diana Oughton, another Weather Underground member. - Enemy Communist Governments. "In July 1969, Dohrn, Eleanor Raskin, Dianne Donghi, Peter Clapp, David Millstone and Diana Oughton, all representing "Weatherman", as Dohrn's faction was now called, traveled to Cuba and met with representatives of the North Vietnamese and Cuban governments."
Father Michael Pfleger (radical Catholic priest)
Reverend Jeremiah Wright (radical, racist, pastor and mentor to BHO)
Michelle Obama (finally proud of her country wife of BHO)
Tony Rezko (real estate developer, convicted racketeer)
Obama's Unilateral Disarmament Plan
Senator Barack Hussein Obama has problems with his spiritual advisers Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger and he has problems with his friends like William C. "Bill" Ayers. Then we found out that his own family has been going communist for years and back at least 2 generations. Now we know that Barack Hussein Obama doesn't like this country (even though he is wealthy and a U.S. Senator) and he wants us to unilaterally disarm.
Barack Hussein Obama and the White Vote
Mrs. Clinton came out and made a point of noting that she was getting the "white vote". Some accused her of racism even as they were themselves pointing out the same thing but using, in some cases, euphemistic terms to replace "white vote". So, the question is not "Can Mrs. Clinton get the white vote?" but rather "Can Barack Hussein Obama get the white vote?" Can he? Will he? Will the polls reflect that?
Up until the time that BHO's involvement with Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Michelle Obama's "America is a mean country" comments came out, BHO was the man. The question wasn't if he could get the white vote but if he was black enough to get the black vote. His skin tone was too light, his mother was too white and his speech lacked Rev. Jackson rhythm. He got the white vote. He had the black vote. He appeared to have stolen Mrs. Clinton's inauguration robes and was running away with the nomination. That's all changed now.
Look at Pennsylvania. Mrs. Clinton took that state and it is mostly white, older whites, established whites, middle of the road whites. But Pennsylvania has a black population that is about the national average by percentage of the total and BHO did fairly well there. Now look at West Virginia. The black population as a percentage of the whole is significantly less than the national average. In some counties they can count the black families on two hands. Literally. Mrs. Clinton ran away with the vote. Heck, John Edwards got 7% of the vote and he has dropped out of the race. What does that say? I think it says that as time has gone on and knowledge of BHO's hate America background has increased white voters see his as more of a Stokely Carmichael BLACK radical than as a uniter or counter-racist. In other words, where he was a race neutral candidate before he's now the BLACK candidate.
Let's face it folks. Most white folks don't want to vote for a guy who hates them for things they didn't do. His typical white grandmother was a socialist attending a socialist Unitarian church along with his grandfather.BHO's mom was with his dad and step-dad because she didn't want to be a part of that white culture and was rebelling against white society. BHO's wife doesn't like America, thinks it is a mean country in which she could have no pride UNTIL and UNLESS it elected her BLACK husband President. His mentor, pastor, friend, Jeremiah Wright is a racist who thinks that Jesus can only be the true lord God if he will punish the whites for what they did to the blacks. BHO himself didn't feel it was important to render honors to the National Anthem even though he was in the midst of campaigning for that country's highest office. He couldn't bring himself to wear a pin on his lapel of the flag of that country. He reportedly couldn't repeat the Pledge of Allegiance.
White voters know what this means. It means that the BLACK candidate is out to get them. Most will not willingly give him the chance.
Senator John McCain on 2nd Amendment Rights
This came from Glenn Beck, radio and TV host/commentator, and I'm posting it here so as to have a record of Senator McCain's comments.
My support for the 2nd Amendment By John McCain
Glenn Beck fans, gun rights are an important issue, and I wanted to share with you some highlights of the speech I will deliver today at the National Rifle Association annual meeting. I think they will give you some good insight into my strong belief in the Second Amendment.
"When I first ran for Congress in 1982, I was proud to have the support of gun owners. For more than two decades, I've opposed efforts to ban guns, ban ammunition, ban magazines, and dismiss gun owners as some kind of fringe group unwelcome in "modern" America. The Second Amendment isn't some archaic custom that matters only to rural Americans, who find solace in firearms out of frustration with their economic circumstances. The Second Amendment is unique in the world. It guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. To argue anything else is to reject the clear meaning of our Founding Fathers.
"Self-reliance is the ethic that made America great, and our Founders understood that. They knew there would be circumstances where Americans might need to use firearms to protect themselves and their families. Some Second Amendment detractors think this is a mere abstraction, or a relic of America's distant past. But Americans exercise their Second Amendment rights every day to protect themselves from criminals, as happened in Scottsdale, Arizona where earlier this year, a 74-year-old woman defended her home from a man who repeatedly attempted to break in, extort money and threatened to set fire to her garage. The Second Amendment - and its guarantee of an individual right to keep and bear arms - is certainly not an abstraction.
"But the clear meaning of the Second Amendment has not stopped those who want to punish firearms owners - and those who make and sell firearms - for the actions of criminals. It seems like every time there is a particularly violent crime, the anti-gun activists demand yet another restriction on the Second Amendment. I opposed the ban on so-called 'assault weapons,' which was first proposed after a California schoolyard shooting. It makes no sense to ban a class of firearms based on cosmetic features. I have opposed waiting periods for gun purchases."
...
"Like your members, I am a committed conservationist. I have long supported multiple uses for public lands that ensure they are available for this and future generations to hunt, fish and explore. Over 12 million hunters in the United States contribute $25 billion to the economy, much of it in rural areas. Hunters pay billions of dollars in federal revenue through license and other fees. Here in Kentucky, hunters spend over $400 million and support thousands of jobs."
...
"Over the years, I haven't agreed with the NRA on every issue. I have supported efforts to have NICS background checks apply to gun sales at gun shows. I recognize that gun shows are enjoyed by millions of law-abiding Americans. I do not support efforts by those who seek to regulate them out of existence. But I believe an accurate, fair and instant background check at guns shows is a reasonable requirement. I also oppose efforts to require federal regulation of all private sales such as the transfer between a father and son or husband and wife. I supported campaign finance reform because I strongly believed our system of financing campaigns was influencing elected officials to put the interests of "soft money" donors ahead of the public interest. It is neither my purpose nor the purpose of the legislation to prevent gun owners or any other group of citizens from making their voices heard in the legislative process.
"Those disagreements do not detract from my long record of support for the Second Amendment and the work we have done together to protect the rights of gun owners from the political attitudes of the moment in Washington that view the Second Amendment as a once quaint custom that must now yield to the judgment of modern enlightened opinion. We have real differences with the Democratic candidates for President. They have learned something since 2000. They don't talk about their plans for gun control. They claim to support hunters and gun owners. But just because they don't talk about gun control doesn't mean they won't support gun control. Let's be clear. If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected President, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk. They have both voted as Senators to ban guns or ban ammunition or to allow gun makers to be sued out of existence.
"It seems every election, politicians who support restrictions on the Second Amendment dress up in camouflage and pose with guns to demonstrate they care about hunters, even though few gun owners fall for such obvious political theater. After Senator Obama made his unfortunate comment that Pennsylvanians 'cling to guns and religion' out of bitterness, Senator Clinton quickly affirmed her support for the Second Amendment. That drew Senator Obama's derision. 'She's running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment,' he said. 'Like she's on the duck blind every Sunday, . . . packin' a six shooter!' Someone should tell Senator Obama that ducks are usually hunted with shotguns.
"Senator Obama hopes he can get away with having it both ways. He says he believes that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms. But when he had a chance to weigh in on the most important Second Amendment case before the U.S. Supreme Court in decades, District of Columbia v. Heller, Senator Obama dodged the question by claiming, 'I don't like taking a stand on pending cases.' He refused to sign the amicus brief signed by a bipartisan group of 55 Senators arguing that the Supreme Court should overturn the DC gun ban in the Heller case. When he was running for the State Senate in Illinois, his campaign filled out a questionnaire asking whether he supported legislation to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns with simple, 'Yes.'
"The Heller case should be decided soon. But however that case is decided, the federal judiciary will continue to be an important forum for protecting Second Amendment rights. The next President will appoint literally hundreds of federal judges, and is likely to have the opportunity to nominate one or more Supreme Court justices."
...
"Quite rightly, the proper role of the judiciary has become one of the defining issues of this presidential election. It will fall to the next president to nominate qualified men and women to the federal courts, and the choices we make will reach far into the future. My two prospective opponents and I have very different ideas about the nature and proper exercise of judicial power. We would nominate judges of a different kind, a different caliber, a different understanding of judicial authority and its limits. And the people of America - voters in both parties whose wishes and convictions are so often disregarded by unelected judges - are entitled to know what those differences are."
...
"The decisions of our Supreme Court in particular can be as close to permanent as anything government does. And in the presidential selection of those who will write those decisions, a hunch, a hope, and a good first impression are not enough. I will not seek the confidence of the American people in my nominees until my own confidence is complete - until I am certain of my nominee's ability, wisdom, and demonstrated fidelity to the Constitution."
...
"But I would like to close my remarks with an issue that I know is much on the mind of Americans - the war in Iraq. Senator Obama has said, if elected, he will withdraw Americans from Iraq quickly no matter what the situation on the ground is and no matter what U.S. military commanders advise. But if we withdraw prematurely from Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq will survive, proclaim victory and continue to provoke sectarian tensions that, while they have been subdued by the success of the surge, still exist, and are ripe for provocation by al Qaeda. Civil war in Iraq could easily descend into genocide, and destabilize the entire region as neighboring powers come to the aid of their favored factions. A reckless and premature withdrawal would be a terrible defeat for our security interests and our values. Iran will view it as a victory, and the biggest state supporter of terrorists, a country with nuclear ambitions and a stated desire to destroy the State of Israel, will see its influence in the Middle East grow significantly.
The consequences of our defeat would threaten us for years, and those who argue for premature withdrawal, as both Senators Obama and Clinton do, are arguing for a course that would eventually draw us into a wider and more difficult war that would entail far greater dangers and sacrifices than we have suffered to date. Thanks to the counterinsurgency instigated by General Petreaus, after four years of terribly costly mistakes, we have a realistic chance to succeed in helping the forces of political reconciliation prevail in Iraq, and the democratically elected Iraqi Government, with a professional and competent Iraqi army, impose its authority throughout the country and defend its borders. We have a realistic chance of denying al Qaeda any sanctuary in Iraq. We have a realistic chance of leaving behind in Iraq a force for stability and peace in the region, and not a cause for a wider and far more dangerous war. I do not argue against withdrawal because I am indifferent to war and the suffering it inflicts on too many American families. I hold my position because I hate war, and I know very well and very personally how grievous its wages are. But I know, too, that we must sometimes pay those wages to avoid paying even higher ones later. I want our soldiers home, too, just as quickly as we can bring them back without risking everything they suffered for, and burdening them with greater sacrifices in the years ahead. That I will not do. I have spent my life in service to my country, and I will never, never, never risk her security for the sake of my own ambitions. I will defend her, and all her freedoms, so help me God. And I ask you to help me in that good cause. Thank you, and God bless you."
I have to say that it is my studied belief that Senator McCain is an elitist, born of elitists, who isn't above compromising the constitution for his own ends. He's demonstrated that with McCain-Feingold which puts limits on political speech. I don't know if he wrote this or had somebody write this. I'd like to believe that he believes this. I'd like to think that he'll do what he says he will do. I suppose that we'll have to wait and see if he will. It is certain that the alternative candidate does not and will not feel this way about our 2nd Amendment rights.
"We can't drill our way to lower prices at the pump."
That's what Senator Dick Durbin said the other day when the Senate had a vote concerning the subject. What a genius and I mean that in a purely honest, saracastic way. Dick Durbin must not understand that increased production, even the threat of increased production can drive down the prices on oil and oil futures. Lower crude prices will bring lower refined products prices and, yeah, that includes gasoline and diesel.
Let's face it, it is pure stupidity to whine and complain about economic stability and then to sabotage it by not being able, when you could be able, to produce the most necessary commodity out there. That's oil. Oil makes stuff we use, oil transports that stuff, oil gets us to work where we make money to buy that stuff and oil keeps us warm enough to enjoy that stuff. No oil, no economy, no country.
The New Yorker magazine has come under fire for this cover. Now you and I know that the leftist New Yorker was ridiculing those that have been characterizing Barack Hussein Obama in a certain way. They did this very cleverly. Unfortunately, the Obama camp realizes that their targeted voters aren't clever. If they were they couldn't possibly vote for Obama. So, they're upset at the gross presentation of Obama as a Muslim (he is, an apostate Muslim), his wife as a radical (perhaps terrorist) which she is, she with an assault rifle (holy irony Batman!) with Osama (with whom even Ted Kennedy confused his name) to whom he would apologize on the wall (but several supporters and campaign offices display Che Guevera pictures), a burning American flag in the fireplace (not too far off), and all this in the Oval Office.