Right As Usual

If you agree with the thoughts in this video, you'll want to join in the Tea Party on July 4th. Go to the online organizing site, and find your local Tea Party - we are Taxed Enough Already! Don't just think of yourself - think of the future generations who will still be paying for this mad spending spree!

If this isn't an attempted coup, I don't know what it. The Republicans are the properly elected heads of this legislative - they had the votes. Although some Democrats joined the Republicans, there was no shady dealing, "fudging" the ballots or qualifications, or any of that stuff. The Democrats are using the technique of refusing to leave. Their protest is unprecedented in American politics. I love the headline of this news report - "Republicans Seize Control of State Senate". From the Wikipedia article: Democrats have argued that the move was illegal, and therefore Malcolm Smith is still the majority leader and temporary president. One argument presented is that the session was adjourned before the vote to change leadership took place. According to Malcolm Smith, senator Neil Breslin had accepted a motion to adjourn, and therefore ended the session, before the Republicans were able to gain control.[11] Senator Libous argues that since his original moti...

I found a lovely little commentary about Mark Sanford that neatly summarizes what I've been feeling for the last few days - that Gov. Sanford, although an adulterer, may not be all that caddish (is that a word? It should be). He apparently treated the woman involved with tenderness and with effort to keep her out of the headlines. He was, it seems, in love. I remember Jenny, or someone close to me, once commenting that while my mom was pleasant and warm it was sad she had never accomplished anything of significance. I replied that they were wrong because she had the ultimate of all gifts — and that was the ability to love unconditionally. The rarest of all commodities in this world is love. It is that thing that we all yearn for at some level — to be simply loved unconditionally for nothing more than who we are — not what we can get, give or become. How romantic. How unexpected in a politician. As was said in Jerry Maquire, "You had me at hello."

There have been many people talking about Michael Jackson's life and early death over the last few days. Most of them are famous. One is not. I am no prophet, and it did not take a rocket scientist to see the impending doom. Michael was a man in tremendous pain and his tragedy was to medicate his pain away rather than addressing its root cause. That quote was from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who had tried to lead Jackson to a better way of life. He realized in 2004 that Jackson was unlikely to live a normal lifespan - it was already evident that Jackson was not healthy, in body, mind or soul. Because Michael substituted attention for love, he got fans who loved what he did but he never had true compatriots who loved him for who he was. Perhaps this is why, when so many of his inner circle saw him destroying his life with prescription medication - something he used to treat phantom physical illnesses which were really afflictions of the soul - they allowed him to deteriorate and disi...

Over at Joanne Jacobs , the talk turned political. I invited anyone who wanted to continue the discussion to visit. Feel free to hit the comments. The talk centered on the expected effect of the new Energy bill - commonly called Cap & Trade. Some feel that the bill will cause stress on an already troubled economy; others feel that the hoped-for benefits will be worth it. The changes brought in by Obama HAVE been major: Just think of it… the federal government (Obama and Congress) now has de facto control over the banking industry, the insurance industry, the auto industry, and (after the Senate passes this Bill and Obama signs it) the energy industry in this country. The only thing left is the health care industry – which Obama’s gearing up to fight for, with ABC News’ help – and once they have control of that, the federal government will control more than 1/2 of this nation’s economy, and they will be able to micromanage all Americans’ lives. Personally, I don't think it...

I found this on Ace of Spades:

He uses that word constantly! What word? Distraction. let's understand that this notion that somehow these hundreds of thousands of people who are pouring into the streets in Iran are somehow responding to the West or the United States. that's an old distraction that I think has been trotted out periodically. And that's just not gonna fly. "Gonna fly?" These are the words of the hyper-intelligent, Ivy League, too-smart-for-the-common-people-to-appreciate, head & shoulders above the rest SUPERSTAR who now "rules" America? we stand behind those who are seeking justice in a peaceful way. And, you know, already we've seen violence out there. I think I've said this throughout the week. I want to repeat it that we stand with those who would look to peaceful resolution of conflict, and we believe that the voices of people have to be heard, that that's a universal value that the American people stand for and this administration stands for. Krau...

The out-of-control Islamic rage that manifests itself with beatings, bombs, and bullying must be called what it is: Barbarism Read what one very brave woman is doing to combat that. So where is the Fearless Leader of the World , when real leadership is required? Charles Krauthammer explains: Afraid of "meddling." Afraid to take sides between the head-breaking, women-shackling exporters of terror -- and the people in the street yearning to breathe free. This from a president who fancies himself the restorer of America's moral standing in the world. It's easy to talk about leadership, it's hard to actually demonstrate it. Powerline has a round-up of other commentary on this topic. Hot Air has the video and transcript of Obama's comments on Iran. Today is the deadline, at 4:00 pm. The Mullah's regime will either crush the dissent, or fold.

`The American Spectator has a post on the kind of politics Obama plays: In late August, the Obama campaign emailed an "Obama Action Wire" to thousands of supporters and liberal activists exhorting them to harass the offices of Chicago's WGN radio by flooding the station with angry phone calls and emails. Activists screamed insults to call-in screeners. The radio station's offense was that a long-time, respected radio host had the temerity to interview Ethics and Public Policy Center watchdog Stanley Kurtz. Kurtz had uncovered university records that documented a much closer relationship between Obama and Ayers than the presidential candidate had previously disclosed. A few weeks later, state prosecutors and top sheriffs in Missouri who were prominent Obama supporters responded to a chilling Obama campaign request. They styled themselves as a "truth squad" and threatened to prosecute anyone including media outlets that printed or broadcasted material they de...

Oz Conservative has an interesting discussion going on, about traditional vs. modern morality and ethics, and how they affect society. It's often said, "it's my decision how I run my life, everyone else should mind their own business". However, we don't live on islands; our behavior naturally affects others in the near vicinity (and, sometimes, beyond). So, society has some reason to meddle in private affairs, when they come to their attention. And, it's generally only when they become public that society has any reason to step in. Drink/drug yourself into insensibility? Your concern. It only crosses the line into a public matter when you make your behavior impossible to ignore - such as a public arrest for drunkeness, drug sales that affect the neighborhood, drunken driving, etc. Sexual libertine? Who cares? Unless you expose minor children to your follies, carry on with wild parties that spill over into neighbor's yards, or have children that you...

I've long thought Twitter an application for the terminally bored, but this post by Betsy's Page explains how it is being used by Iranian protesters. Also, props to Twitter, who re-scheduled maintenance on the system to facilitate their Tweets.

it's the size of the fight in the dog. Or, in this case, 3 Chihuahuas , who should be named Bravest Dogs of the Year. There's a lesson here for small countries, I think.

Never mind.

This is amazing! This site explains the differences between fashion models, feature-by-feature, compared to the average woman. I've always called the emaciated physique of models, with their silicone implants, "boys with boobs".

Because everyone seems to be Sgt. Schultz - remembering "Nothing! Nothing!" From the Anchoress: Actions speak louder than “words, just words.” My husband did not get the campaign reference to the “just words” quote; he doesn’t follow politics much. He probably won’t remember Obama laughing at Sarah Palin back when she said during the 2008 campaign, “Al Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.” He won’t remember, either, that Obama said in February: “Now, do [enemy combatants and terrorists] deserve miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block? Of course not.” So, my husband won’t realize the hypocrisy in this news: …the Obama Justice Department has quietly ordered FBI agents to read Miranda rights to high value detainees captured and held at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan, according a senior Republican on the House Intelligence Commi...

Newsweek magazine's Evan Thomas caused a mini-furor last week, by saying that: in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God. Newsbusters has the video on YouTube: Why is that such a big deal? After all, Thomas merely meant to figuratively describe the level of stature Obama has (in his opinion) in the world. Well, for believing Christians, that was a MAJOR slap in the face. It's blasphemy: 1.impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things. 2.Judaism. a.an act of cursing or reviling God. b.pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai. 3.Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God. 4.irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself. Most of the time, in the modern world, we ignore this behavior. Sadly, Christians are accustomed to being d...

I caught the video of the show; Sarah came off very well, I thought. Matt appeared to imply that Sarah owed Letterman an apology for implying that her daughter was not safe around him. I not only disagreed, I contacted the Today show (do so, also, would you?) about Matt's evident bias. Check out the interview yourself.

I'm particularly interested in this, because my daughter served in CityYear for several years. Most of the people involved in the domestic service programs are sincere, honest, and hard-working. We don't need greedy and duplicitous hucksters to ruin the image and value of these programs. Therefore, it's very important to audit the programs and verify that all money, much of which comes from federal funding, is spent appropriately. Firing the Inspector General, just as he comes close to proving that a major Obama backer is mis-spending Americorps funds , looks VERY BAD . When Sen. Grassley (R), who has used his position to keep other Inspectors from being summarily fired, stepped in, the White House backed off. Why can't Obama just make the IG go? Congress gave IGs this level of protection precisely to avoid this kind of action by the White House. Obama doesn’t want IGs investigating his cronies and political allies, and the evidence for this is rather clear from t...

I found the site Reclusive Leftist , and was surprised that the author was fair and balanced about the anti-Palin hysteria. As always, when I find a site I like, I'll add it to the Blogroll. I suggest you do the same.

Follow this link for instructions on how to contact David Letterman's sponsors. Why is this so important? After all, it was just a thoughtless joke. No, it wasn't. Here's the chronology: First, he made the original "jokes". Then, he continued the Palin daughters' trashing the next day, by suggesting that Bristol Palin is a prostitute. Here's his "apology" - I put the word in quotes, because he never apologized, just excused himself for targeting the "wrong" Palin daughter. In these hard economic times for all media outlets, the last thing they can afford is an advertiser boycott. I strongly suggest anyone reading this start writing to the sponsors - information about how to contact them, and who to send letters/phone calls to, is at the top of this post. When even the notoriously leftist and anti-Republican N.O.W. is offended, you know you've stepped over the line. Further contact information is at Conservatives4Palin. BTW, no,...

There's a widespread belief that women don't get a fair shake in higher education, and, therefore, that policies need to be adjusted to allow them a better chance at being hired and promoted. Christine Hoff Sommers (of the American Enterprise Institute) argues that, on the contrary, men are the ones who are discriminated against. She makes some important points, and the article is well worth reading. I will argue that some of the stats she uses aren't put into context. From the post: Perry shows that men are now on the wrong side of the degree gap at every stage of education. Here are his figures for the class of 2009: Associate’s degrees: 167 for women for every 100 for men. Bachelor’s degrees: 142 for women for every 100 for men. Master’s degrees: 159 for women for every 100 for men. Professional degrees: 104 for women for every 100 for men. Doctoral degrees: 107 for women for every 100 for men. Degrees at all levels: 148 for women for every 100 for men. The disparity ...

Finally, a rational explanation of the +size problem - too few clothes that look good, and hideous fit and style.

Seeing that it's your birthday, after all. I can't wait until next year.

This is a brilliant video, explaining why intellectuals don't belong in the Captain's chair.

The White House is preparing to trash E-Verify. While the framework will remain in place, employers will have the White House's permission to essentially ignore it.

Very funny, and surprising - it's from a traditional media source! Fixed the link.

I found this on American Thinker. It captures the essence of why marriage is special, and different than a non-marital relationship, however committed.

I found a polling site, and thought I'd get to know the many inked people who find my blog. Click on the link to the right, or here , to participate in the poll.

From the White House Press Office: A couple weeks ago John Boehner added his name to, like, 20 or so prominent Catholics asking that the President remove Harry Knox from the faith-based council for comments that he made about the Pope and the Catholic Church; he referred to the Pope as a discredited leader. Does the President disagree with those comments and is he planning any action on that? MR. GIBBS: I haven't seen that letter, but I think the President is comfortable with the makeup of his faith advisory council. I checked the entire web site - no statement about the Little Rock recruiting office shootings. Putz.