Riehl World View

Steve Poizner, California Gov, 2010

There's a widget you can display if you support Poizner to replace Ahnold. Might be nice to see Kaleefonia with a genuine conservative governor for a change. Don't you think?

Video: Riot Police Raid San Fran University

Geez, it looks more like a bust of the cheerleading squad, than some angry protesters. Do these idiots even know what the original meaning of "Hell No, We Won't Go" was? It meant a bit more than being asked to vacate the Business building at a university your daddy probably paid for you to attend due to his business career. They were protesting increases in tuition and a reduction in class offerings.

After the "Whose University? Our University!" chant didn't keep them from being calmly frog marched into waiting police vans - cell phone ear pieces in place, some others sat down and insisted, "Whose street? Our street!". Unfortunately, that didn't prove to be true, either. Someone needs to tell that one chick those Uggs boots are way more than five minutes ago. Maybe it's all she had that somewhat resembled the old leather lace ups from the Sixities? heh!

Obama Receives Zero Years Of Service Award

What more is there to say of this silly award than that the nominations closed two weeks into the term of this Senate no show, who never put down his briefcase long enough to do any work before he started to run for President?

And we know he amounted to not much more than present during his time in Chicago. He knows it, which was at least part of his reason for snubbing his hosts.

Barack Obama and colleagues gather at the water cooler where he was presented with his Zero Years of Service Award. Image courtesy of Michelle Malkin. He went dutifully back to filling the vending machines when the ceremony was done. yawn....

In honor of President Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, I think we should declare today Happy National Post-Achievement Day. What award or honor don’t you deserve? Claim it. What unearned prize for unmet aspirations would you like to give yourself? Declare it.

Face It, Obama Doesn't Like White People

This all seems plain enough to me. I'm not sure why people choose to couch it in manners or protocol. If you're a yellow, black, brown, red, or some other leader, or king, of color, Obama is more than happy to all but get down on his knees for you to show his respect. But old Europe, originally comprised of mostly white people, is part of the problem with the world in Obama's view.

If people want to give him a pass on it out of fear, or cowardice, so be it. But the facts derived from his behavior seem pretty clear - time and time, again. We're now finding out first hand why Obama was more than happy to spend all those years in Reverend Wright's church. He is every bit the racist Wright is and his decisions and behaviors support that conclusion. You shouldn't need a rap artist to point it out, not sure we have one of those who could and would do it, anyway.

Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his Nobel. Katarina Andersson on the president's decision to decline lunch with King Harald and skip his own Nobel exhibit.

A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia.

News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his own exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center. “A bit arrogant—a bit bad,” proclaimed another Aftenposten headline.

This, Again?

I didn't know this silliness was going on again until someone made a comment here about it. There are several strange things about this. It was discussed long ago, so I'm unsure of why anyone would bring it back up. I don't believe this kind of silliness helps blogs or anyone that blogs in a serious way. My advice to Stacy would be, don't encourage it. Kicking a nipping hound might feel good, but it rarely accomplishes anything good.

Any traffic generated from engaging it isn't worth it and these misguided arguments aren't of the type someone wins. Everyone loses. Personally, I didn't find his original comment from so many years ago to be racist. If self-appointed language policemen accomplish anything, it is shutting down candid debate. Jeff Goldstein makes that point very well. That's why I've chosen to link him above.

There will always be feckless ninnies intent on lining themselves up within the politically correct boundaries the Left and its enablers would establish for us, even if the Left doesn't adhere to them themselves. Ultimately, the misguided, or in some cases, the cowards who buy into that deserve to be ignored, especially when they hike up their skirts and start shrieking racism as if they've seen an afro-American mouse.

Patterico’s claim is that he is after the Truth, the specific truth he seeks here presumably being whether or not Stacy McCain is a racist, or wrote things that can be construed as racist by “reasonable” people once they’ve been removed from their context and repackaged for contemporary consumption.

The question is, why? Is it to “out” “racists” who may damage conservatism at large by dint of their being attached to the movement publicly? Because that may very well be a worthy goal (even if it obliquely smacks of demanding the kind of “ideological purity” so-called pragmatists deplore in others).

But Obama Is Frightening

Obama is the potus of campaign talking points. He claims things are getting better and the GOP shouldn't try to frighten America. Things are getting better for whom and for what, exactly? They certainly haven't improved for freedom loving capitalists under Obama's tenure in office.

President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to "stop trying to frighten the American people" even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that Obama made the admonition during a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Wednesday, producing a chart to show Republicans that "things are a lot better."

The EPA is set to strong arm the private sector in whatever way some back office bureaucrat decides appropriate. Obama has displayed himself to be someone with either no understanding, or concern, for history and protocol as he's bounced around the world apologizing for America to no good effect.

The government is poised to take over health care against the will of the people. We are so far in debt as a nation there is absolutely no way to predict how, or if we'll ever be able to dig out. Taxes are going to have to rise, as Washington has shown no real desire to curb spending. The DOJ seems to be very selective about what cases it will and won't pursue.

Entitlements are not dealt with, most are heading for the cliff. And all Obama and the Democrats can think to do is add more that will need to be balanced upon the taxpaying backs of us and future generations.

Have I left anything out? I imagine I have, unfortunately. But Obama opts to admonish Republicans for "frightening" America.

You're frightening America, Obama. Not the Republicans. If they are doing anything, they are simply echoing the thoughts and feeling of the American public. Why not simply say you don't give a damn about them and don't want to hear them as you go on your merry way working whatever disastrous agenda for America you dreamed up in your classroom over the years, instead of preparing yourself to become a worthy leader of the free world.

At least then the American people might begin to think you're at least a little bit honest for a change.

Houston: Sexual Preference Center Stage In Mayoral Race

Both Parker and Locke are Democrats. Locke is black fwiw.

HOUSTON (AP) -- Annise Parker's mayoral campaign Web site bio reads like a catalog of campaign catchphrases: She has been Houston's city controller and a member of City Council. She's for job creation, against irresponsible spending and tough on crime.

Until the last line: "Annise Parker and her life partner, Kathy Hubbard, have been together since 1990. They have two children."

Parker, 53, has never made a secret or an issue of being a lesbian. Not during her bid to be Houston's next mayor nor in previous campaigns.

But others have. If Parker wins the Dec. 12 runoff election, Houston would become what's believed to be the largest U.S. city ever to have an openly gay mayor - and that has catapulted Parker's sexual orientation into the center of the race.

Anti-gay activists and conservative religious groups have endorsed her opponent, former city attorney Gene Locke, and sent out mailers condemning Parker's "homosexual behavior."

Meanwhile, gay and lesbian political organizations nationwide have endorsed Parker, raised money for her and plan to run phone banks rallying her supporters.

Armed Robber Not So Tech Savvy

Kadeem Cook just had to use that stolen cell phone to snap a shot of himself holding up his gun. Poor guy didn't know it was programmed to auto send all pictures to the victims desktop. heh! Video here of his lawyer saying, Hey, it was only a picture. Yeah, right. Good luck with that one. But then, who knows what might happen in court, any more?

Police yesterday announced the arrest of Kadeem Cook, 18, of the 200 block of West Champlost Street in Olney, who authorities say robbed a woman at gunpoint on October 7 as she was walking along the 1000 block of Nedro Avenue, taking her purse and cell phone.

Police said the robber then used the woman's cell phone to take photos of himself holding the gun used in the robbery.

But the woman had rigged her phone to automatically transmit images to her home computer. She contacted police, who gave reporters a photo of Cook mugging with the gun in the robbery, pointing it at his head.

After seeing the photo widely disseminated, Cook thought it best to surrender to police, which he did about 11:30 p.m. Thursday at Northwest Detectives.

Pakistan: Five Americans Arrested In Raid

Great. They're young, all from the DC area and one left a video behind claiming Muslims needed to be defended. One was a dental student at Howard University. You can find more background on them here.

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistani police on Wednesday arrested five American men believed to have gone missing from the Washington, D.C. area last month, officials from both countries said. U.S. officials say one of the missing students left what investigators call a farewell video saying Muslims must be defended.

The men were picked up in a raid on a house in Sarghoda in the eastern province of Punjab, police officer Tahir Gujjar said, adding that three of the men are of Pakistani descent, one is of Egyptian descent and the other is of Yemeni heritage.

Taxpayers Forced To Pay For Neo-Nazi's Daily Makeover

So much for all that tribalism cant that says a Tat is an expression of self. Not when you're going to court, anyway. The idiot had a swastika and more tattooed on him in plain sight, including his face. Now the taxpayers have to cough up up to $150 a day for a cosmetologist to make him up every day before court. Heck. It's be cheaper to just cut his head off and let him carry with him in a paper bag! heh!

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) -- John Allen Ditullio is a walking billboard for the neo-Nazi movement: a large 6-inch swastika tattooed under his right ear, barbed wire inked down the right side of his face, and an extreme and very personal vulgarity scrawled on one side of his neck.

Jurors will never see any of it. A judge has ruled that the state must pay a cosmetologist up to $150 a day during Ditullio's trial on murder and attempted murder charges and apply makeup to cover up the black ink.

Judge Michael Andrews, acting on a request by Ditullio's lawyer, ruled that the tattoos are potentially offensive and could influence a jury's opinion in the state's death penalty case against the 23-year-old accused of donning a gas mask, breaking into a neighbor's home and stabbing two people, killing one of them.

Oh, No! Carter Kin To Run For Office

In the spirit of Jimmah Carter, I actually said a prayer before clicking the link. One would think someone in that family would eventually see the light. I don't think that's the case. Based upon his short bio in the item, he's even worse than Jimmah. Ugh!

If David Adelman is confirmed as ambassador in January, a special election could be held in March for his Senate seat representing part of DeKalb County.

Jason Carter is the only person so far to say he'd run for the seat.

Carter is a lawyer who focuses on voting rights at an Atlanta firm. The 34-year-old former Peace Corps volunteer graduated from Duke University and the University of Georgia School of Law.

My Blog Interview

Time was we did quite a bit of this out here. Not so much any more. Probably just as well in most cases. But it does give a blogger a chance to offer up at least some info on his or herself. And it allows another blog to get noticed by different readers. Of course, some bloggers seem to inject themselves into every post, which grates, as far as I'm concerned. For me, the news and information has always been the more important part.

But if you're interested in how I responded to a group of questions, here ya go.

I’ll spare the details. But it became a huge issue and even made front page news away from the campus media. It was that which taught me what the modern Left is really about. Since then, I have feared them far more than I ever have even the so-called fringe Right. The Left is Stalin-esque in their tactics and intolerant to the max.

Only 50% Prefer Obama Over Bush

Apparently Public Policy Polling feels the need to editorialize in its polls results. Just give us the numbers. Next thing you know, they'll start weeping for the guy. Geesh!

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor.

Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that's somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country's difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections.

Sarah And Todd Palin Photos From Gridiron Dinner

Evidently Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times snapped some shots of Sarah and Todd Palin at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC.

That's Sarah Palin's otter purse (photo by Lynn Sweet)

Below, Todd Palin's cummerbund is modeled after the Alaskan flag. (photo by Lynn Sweet)

Fugitive Found, ... Working For Homeland Security

Now, if Bush were President, we'd be hearing that this was another example of incompetence in his administration. But as Obama is in the WH, no doubt this was just a silly oversight by some low-level bureaucrat. The buck may leave our pockets but it doesn't stop in the WH. And in this instance, I don't mean because he's intent on spending them all, even if he is. We're in the best of hands.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Prosecutors don't understand how a fugitive wanted in New Jersey worked for the Homeland Security Department in Georgia despite a nationwide alert for her arrest.

Tahaya Buchanan was sought on a 2007 indictment on charges of staging the theft of her Range Rover.

Paul Loriquet (LOR'-ih-kay) of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office says the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Atlanta was unaware of the 39-year-old's status even after Buchanan was arrested in July during a traffic stop in which police noticed the warrant.

Immigration spokeswoman Ana Santiago tells The Star-Ledger of Newark she did not have information whether the office regularly checks its employee list against national criminal warrants.

A Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman in Washington said Wednesday she couldn't immediately comment.

Simmons Over Dodd By 13

The latest pertinent Rasmussen poll has Rob Simmons as the odds on favorite to take down Chris Dodd in Connecticut. If you take the 7% that like another candidate and split them, Simmons still beats Dodd even if Dodd gets all of the undecided (11%).

Dodd has to go. And SImmons is looking like the guy to take him out.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Connecticut now finds Dodd attracting just 35% to 40% of the vote against three possible Republican challengers.

Former GOP Congressman Rob Simmons is still his toughest opponent, leading Dodd 48% to 35%. Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate in this contest, and 11% are undecided. Those figures are a slight improvement for Simmons since September.

The newest Republican in the race, Linda McMahon, the ex-CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, earns 44% of the vote to Dodd’s 38%. Eight percent (8%) opt for another candidate, with nine percent (9%) not sure.

Why Is The Lockerbie Bomber Still Alive?

Hmm. Good question raised here. From my looking around, he hasn't been seen in public and is likely living in his family's villa. What are the odds the whole thing was a con? I'd wager, pretty good. The families of his victims and some politicians are NOT happy. Can you blame them?

On August 20, 2009, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, better known as the Lockerbie Bomber was freed by Scottish authorities on "compassionate grounds" after serving only 8 1/2 years of his life sentence for the terrorist murders of 270 people on Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Supposedly, al-Megrahi had "terminal prostate cancer" and had less than three months to live.

That was three months and 20 days ago, so the question should be asked, is he dead yet? And if not, why not?

Michael Moriarity Gets Seriously Out Of the Politcal Closet

This is a stimulating and informative read from Michael Moriarity at Big Hollywood. Who knew? And he begins with the Bowery Boys. heh! Seriously, he succinctly traces Progressivist art, film and cultural influences from that period, read Communism, right up to today and ties it in with Soros, Obama, Marxism and where we find ourselves.

Very informed and insightful. And I always figured him for a political wimp! lol

A deal has been struck between the World Marxists and an amazingly small oligarchy of American capitalists across party lines. They comprise the inner circle of Progressivism … and George Soros particularly “pulled the money strings” to get Barack Obama elected.

Their objective?

A “Collective” run by the Progressive Oligarchy.

An Animal Farm.

Hmmm … sound appealing?

At least it’s a magnet for lower-classes, right? Those who are still taught in the increasingly Marxist public school system that this Oligarchy out of the Ivy League is going to “redistribute the wealth” … right?

Well … the motivations for the lower-classes to climb up were, and still are, the privileges achieved within the free-market, capitalist system – all of which, under Marxism, will be gone, except for the chosen elite handpicked by the Oligarchy!

The promised “Change” of the Obama Nation is a bait and switch, shell game; and the established artists of today will find their own liberties curtailed … and, much like Orwell, come to abhor Communism.

However by then, it will be too late.

Stephanopoulos To Good Morning America

Well, he does have that soft, non-threatening approach ABC tends to like for their mass audience. I wonder if he's done with politics after his Sunday show finds a replacement and wraps?

ABC News will announce George Stephanopoulos as an anchor of “Good Morning America,” to start as soon as Monday, industry sources tell POLITICO. The announcement is planned for Thursday.

Stephanopoulos, 48, joins Robin Roberts at the anchor desk of the lucrative morning show. He will succeed Diane Sawyer, who has her last day on the show Friday and begins Dec. 21 as anchor of “World News.”

Stephanopoulos may keep his Sunday show, “This Week,” for a transition period. The network brass don't want to disrupt that show, which is doing well. Eventually, a new host would be named.

Dick Cheney Biatch Slaps Obama

It could have been worse. It might have been Lynn Cheney. heh! Via Ed Driscoll, also with more, here's Obama's comment on American Exceptionalism. In other words, America isn't any more exceptional than any other nation. Jaysus! Imagine a football coach who prided himself on his team being eh, we're so so!

America doesn't have a leader. It has an enemy in the WH that doesn't even care for it, or its history, very much.

“I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”

Gateway Pundit has a one minute segment in which Cheney provides his take on Obama as regards American Exceptionalism. Net net, he finds it "disturbing".

More of the Cheney interview with Hannity via Fox embedded below.

 

US EPA On Stage In Copenhagen Today

What wonderful timing for the EPA to speak out in Copenhagen given yesterday's announcement. See Peter Roff's reaction to that nonsense: EPA Threatens ... Liberty and the Economy. Even the AP's language should jump out at you here, even if it doesn't to them. It says it all.

The EPA determined Monday that scientific evidence clearly shows greenhouse gases are endangering Americans' health and must be regulated. That gave Obama a new way to regulate those gases without needing the approval of the U.S. Congress.

Where in our Constitution does it allow the Executive Branch to ignore our other elected representatives in the deliberative branches and just do what he, or some bureaucrat, pleases as far as domestic policy? It doesn't. We may as well have a dictatorship at this point. It's outrageous.

Meanwhile, the developing countries aren't happy at all. Hey, you spent all that money to prop up your banking system (that they rely upon by the way) and all we get is $10 billion? Pony up!

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson, whose agency just gave President Barack Obama a new way to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, takes to the podium at the U.N. climate conference later Wednesday, headlining a U.S.-sponsored meeting entitled "Taking Action at Home."

Lumumba Di-Aping of Sudan, the head of the 135-nation bloc of developing countries, said the $10 billion a year that has been proposed to help poor nations fight climate change paled in comparison to the more than $1 trillion already spent to rescue financial institutions.

"If this is the greatest risk that humanity faces, then how do you explain $10 billion?" he said. "Ten billion will not buy developing countries' citizens enough coffins."

Forget all the aid and assistance that goes well beyond Climategate. That doesn't mean anything. If we're going to open up the cash drawer, we have to dig deep, or they don't want to play. And that's precisely the portion of the world Obama wants most to appease.

I said Obama would surpass Carter for the worst modern potus. At this rate, that may need correcting to of all time. If there are any sane Democrats left they must be working on their resumes for 2011. Obama is positioned to do more damage to them than McGovern did in 1972.

Sarah Palin: "We Love Her"

You don't get to hear that said about a politician every day, especially right now. heh! Another book signing and another huge crowd came out to meet Sarah Palin.

Michelle Malkin was there and has a report. This below is from the first link above.

“We love her, and she’s one of us,” said Fela Hopkinson of Colorado Springs whose quest for Palin’s signature started before dawn.

Palin was popular in the Republican stronghold of Colorado Springs during the 2008 campaign. The Republican ticket of Arizona Sen. John McCain and Palin drew 160,000 votes in El Paso County, easily topping the 109,000 for Obama.

Is HC Bill A White House Power Grab For Single Payer?

Susan Anne Hiller writing at Big Government suggests that which ever compromise bill passes, it will pay for a WH power grab that opens the door for a single payer system. The claim is that, if the WH gains control over Medicare Guidelines through a change to the Social Security Act, they'll be able to do what they want with the Medicare Guidelines. That coulod effectively mean we have a single payer system in place. The only trick required would be to allow anyone to sign up for it. I can at least appreciate how that would work. And I could see Obama doing something like that eventually. Hmm. 

The deliberate setup for the White House power grab is built into the each of the health care bills and, if they fail, little-known twin bills called “MedPAC Reform of 2009” are waiting in the wings.  The bills, S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718, craftily amend the Social Security Act and transfer the Medicare guideline and rule setting processes, from the legislative branch to the executive branch.  These bills offer cover to one another in case one doesn’t pass the House or Senate, respectively.  Remember, Democrats need to gain executive branch authority by amending the Social Security Act over Medicare regulations and physician fee schedules to transform the health care system in a single-payer, socialized system.

More importantly, Medicare’s regulations and physician fee schedules are the keystone to developing payer systems and reimbursement models across the entire health care industry.  And where Medicare goes, insurers follow.

Dems Reach Health Care Deal?

They're saying they have a deal. Hmm. Why start a public option when you have one already? Are those guys hanging in gangs, again? Geez, next thing you know they'll be abusing women and covering for one another.

 The deal was negotiated by the so-called Gang of Ten that includes five Progressive Democratic Senators and five centrist to conservative Democratic Senators. The group includes Tom Carper of Delaware, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Chuck Schumer of New York and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. More as we hear it.

More here.

Democratic senators say they have a tentative deal to drop a government-run insurance option from health care legislation. No further details were immediately available.

But liberals and moderates have been discussing an alternative, including a private insurance arrangement to be supervised by the federal agency that oversees the system through which lawmakers purchase coverage. Additionally, talks centered on opening up Medicare to uninsured Americans beginning at age 55, a significant expansion of the large government health care program that currently serves the over-65 population.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa told reporters he didn't like the agreement but would support it to the hilt in an attempt to pass health care legislation.

NC Innocence Commission: Epic Fail?

I'm all for the innocent being released when wrongfully convicted. But North Carolina's first in the nation Innocence Commission is looking like a huge failure and waste of taxpayer dollars, as well.

They've investigated hundreds of cases where convicted individuals claimed to be innocent and so far failed to uncover one case they moved forward for possible reversal. And this latest attempt reads like a terrible joke.

While alleging other evidence is tainted, they seem to be primarily basing their conclusion on a confession from another man currently in prison. The problem is, he has admitted to numerous murders around the country which don't seem to have been committed at all. And they never investigated him well enough to find that out before making their call.

Good grief! This seems like a complete waste of time and money in its current form.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- After North Carolina was forced to release a series of wrongly convicted people from prisons early in the decade, leaders established a pioneering agency to swiftly assess claims of innocence.

Three years later, the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission has yet to free anyone, and its latest push for an exoneration in an 18-year-old murder case is bringing harsh criticism following bizarre claims from a key witness. Experts and justice reform advocates wonder whether similar efforts in other states will be a tough sell without any North Carolina cases to point to as successes.

The head of the innocence agency said it learned about most of Craig Taylor's confessions only after the agency pushed for Greg Taylor's exoneration. She said officials went to great lengths to determine Craig Taylor's credibility, getting court orders to gather information from several agencies, including Willoughby's office, that brought back signs of just two attempted confessions from a brief and unexplained prison report in 1996.

Mumbai Terrorist: I'm Just An Old-Fashoined Guy

Personally, I've never seen murdering 166 people in a terrorist attack over some cartoons as "old-fashioned". These don't strike me as people to be reasoned with.

CHICAGO (AP) - Part American and part Pakistani, the Chicago man accused of conspiring in the bloody terrorist attacks in Mumbai has followed a twisted trail through two different worlds. David Coleman Headley grew up in two countries and ended up with two names. A troubled young man, he dropped out of school, was convicted of heroin smuggling and ended up broke and jobless.

"Call me old-fashioned, but I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties," Headley allegedly wrote on a Web site, referring to people he believed had defiled the sacred name of Islam. He was angered by a Danish newspaper that featured a series of cartoons, one showing the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

"They never started debates with folks who slandered our Prophet, they took violent action," Headley wrote, according to federal court documents. "Even if God doesn't give us the opportunity to bring our intentions to fruition, we will claim ajr (a religious award) for it."

Pole Licker Strikes, Again

Dayum. And I had been saving that headline for for my next randy Andy post. Every year, they just never learn. Must be a compulsion, or sumptin'! I imagine the last thing you want to be is caught licking a pole in public in the Winter time as a young boy! Well, unless you're in Obama's alleged safe school czar's class, perhaps.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - It's become an annual winter tale: A young boy gets his tongue stuck to a metal pole, perhaps as the result of a dare. This year, the scene straight out of the movie "A Christmas Story" unfolded Tuesday morning in Boise with a boy of about 10. Boise firefighters used a glass of warm water to free the unidentified boy from the metal fence pole.
 
Fire Capt. Bill Tinsley says the boy's tongue was bleeding a little, but he was OK and allowed to continue walking to school. Firefighters estimate the boy was 10 years old.

Rescue workers responded after a woman driving by saw the boy and called 911.

Last year, the unlucky boy was a 10-year-old from Hammond, Ind., especially apt, since the 1983 movie is set in a fictional city based on Hammond.

Liberal Education: Where Does It Lead?

The results are in. Where does all that corrupt big city liberal education philosophy lead? As if we didn't already know, unfortunately. It seems to have two destinations for students as delivered today.

If you're in Detroit, among other cities, no doubt, you can expect declining scores, incompetence and failure.

Just for the record, Detroit has been under Democrat hegemonic domination for more than 50 years now. Instead of the liberal utopia that was supposed to be, the city has become a cesspool of corruption mixed with incompetence.

But there's also an alternate route courtesy of Obama's alleged safe school czar. That one gets you on your knees and eventually a fist up the azz.

During the 2000 conference, workshop leaders led a “youth only, ages 14-21″ session that offered lessons in “fisting” a dangerous sexual practice. During the same workshop an activist asked 14 year-old students, “Spit or swallow?… Is it rude?”

Either way, students forced into our increasingly Progressive school system end up getting the shaft. And they don't even let you smoke after wards, anymore. Imagine that!

Obama To Conyers: Why You Be Disrespectin' Me, Man?

Wow! How insecure. And the vernacular in the headline has nothing to do with Race anymore. If you think that, you haven't driven through a white middle, or lower-middle class neighborhood in some time. It's now the universal language of the young, insecure thug and wannabe thug in America today. And that's the connection I make for Obama in this more than anything else.

For all the bluster, thugs tend to feel inferior and insecure inside. That's why the slightest criticism tends to get under their skin so much. The skin can be black, or white. Obama is a guy with some personal issues. My real fear is that the same inferiority he feels inside likely drives his political thugism, too. This is a guy it can be impossible to reason with. He convinces himself he's right on everything and can't deal very well with being wrong. His ego simply can't withstand the slight.

Scratch inexperienced. We have a very immature potus. And that ain't good.

According to the lawmaker, the president picked up the phone several weeks ago to find out why Conyers was “demeaning” him.

Do Gates And Obama Want To Win In Afghanistan?

Gates is using the "W" word. Heck, that's only one letter away from the "V". So,do Obama and Gates want to win in Afghanistan?I'm unconvinced.

I wonder if Obama isn't staying away from talking about victory, or winning to avoid a latter embarrassing video clip that could come back to haunt him if he decides to pull out.

In Afghanistan, “We’re in this thing to win.”  It’s great news, if in fact it reflects the position of the Obama administration. Washington Post:

“We are not going to repeat the experience of 1989,” Gates said. As U.S. troops begin to depart in favor of trained Afghan forces, developmental and economic aid will continue to flow, he stressed. “We intend to be their partner for a long time to come,” Gates said.

Obama: Spend More Money For Highways, Infrastructure And "Jobs"

Did you think perhaps there was some money left over from TARP? Don't think on it for too long. And what of recent reports suggesting the government might actually be paid back by more banks? Assuming it even proves true, how long do you think it'll remain in the Treasury to offset trillions of dollars in disastrous national debt, now that Obama has more spending on his mind?

Geesh, has the guy done anything else since he entered the office? We've spent billions for nothing. How do you fix that problem? Well, you spend some more, of course. Bleh!

Obama planned to address three main areas: helping small businesses add staff and grow; updating transportation infrastructure; and making homes energy-efficient, according to an administration official who discussed the speech on the condition of anonymity to preview an unreleased text.

The official said Obama's remarks would not represent the sum of the president's plan, but rather an outline for the way forward. It was a similar line other White House officials used to preview the remarks.

"We've got quite some way to go," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Monday. "The president is not going to unveil the silver bullet idea. ... If there was one idea to do this, I assume it would have been done sometime in the intervening 22 months" since the recession began.

The White House is considering using a suddenly available pot of money left over from the government's bank bailout to help create jobs. Officials initially seemed cool to the idea of trying to redirect that money to jobs-related programs but have changed their tone after a government report last week showed a slightly lower unemployment rate.

The president told reporters Monday there might be "selective approaches" for tapping into the money that was allocated to prop up seriously ailing financial institutions. The administration and its allies on Capitol Hill still would have to get around a provision in the 2008 bailout legislation requiring money repaid by banks or left over to be used exclusively for reducing the federal deficit.

Arizona Dems In The Crosshairs?

Byron York at The Examiner looks how Obama's progressivecommunist policies might turn things around in once Red States that shifted Blue in the recent election. Given that some of these Dems are in primarily Republican districts, you'd think that if the GOP can get its act together, they'd be positioned to make some healthy pick-ups.

But that that all depends on what type of candidates they recruit. So far, I have't seen much to like in that regard. Best we keep the heat on them.

"I think Arizona has always been a state that can go blue for individuals, but fundamentally, in terms of attitudes, it remains a libertarian/conservative state," says Margaret Kenski, owner of Arizona Opinion, a Republican-oriented polling firm. Kenski says her polling has consistently shown that about 20 percent of Arizonans describe themselves as liberal, while 35 percent call themselves moderate, 23 percent call themselves somewhat conservative, and 22 percent say they are very conservative. The bottom line: "It's always been a moderately conservative state," says Kenski.

But now, Democrats control five of Arizona's eight congressional seats. Three of those five Democrats -- Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Harry Mitchell, and Gabrielle Giffords -- hail from districts that are largely Republican. Kirkpatrick is a freshman, while Mitchell and Giffords were first elected in 2006, meaning they are all products of elections in which voters rejected GOP candidates because of unhappiness with George W. Bush and the GOP majority in Congress. Now, it is Democrats who are likely to bear the burden of voter discontent.

Daschle Covered For Baucus' Sexual Harassment Of Staffer

They don't call it an Old Boy's Club for nothing. How long do you think it will be before the Progressive protecters of women everywhere stand up to take this scandal on? The media isn't even interested in reporting on it. It's always ideology first with these folks. If a woman is abused, well, it's all for the good of the larger cause, right?

What a sad joke. Interesting that Mr. Health Care, Tom Daschle is said to have been involved in one case. Maybe that explains the lack of concern with early mammograms? They seem to prefer them young, anyway. Jerks!

The staffer - Christine Neidermeier - has not spoken about the incident on the public record - until now. She was contacted by the Examiner:

Niedermeier, now a lawyer in Fairfield, Conn., told The Examiner that Baucus pursued her relentlessly, asking her jealously about other boyfriends and suggesting the two vacation together. She said he even proposed marriage. Niedermeier said his unwelcome overtures, which were seen by the rest of the staff, made it impossible for her to run the office.

Niedermeier said she sought help from staff in the office of then-Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., a close friend of Baucus, shortly before she was fired...

As for Niedermeier, she said she was promised a five-figure settlement from Baucus 10 years ago, but he failed to deliver it. Her subsequent court case against him was tossed out because it exceeded a special 90-day filing deadline for suits against members of Congress.

Niedermeier said senators are protected in ways that workers in the private sector are not.

Update 3: Man ID'd - Misses Palin With Tomatoes, Hits Cop In Face

Update 3: Jeremy Paul Olsen h/t PatR2012 on Twitter.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man was arrested for throwing tomatoes at Sarah Palin during her book signing on Monday at the Mall of America.

Jeremy Olson, 33, allegedly threw two tomatoes from the second balcony, however did not come close to hitting Palin.

Update 2: Well, we know there were some Democrat activists present, not that these folks are linked to the incident. What are the chances some Democrat activist was? I'd think pretty good.

Josh Preston, a 19 year old political science major, said he was wearing a Wellstone T-shirt under his garb, a nod to the Democrat he is and the community organizer he hopes to be. But he and the other University of Minnesota/Morris students who pulled an all-nighter to win their place in line wanted to see the woman whose prominence has made history.

Update: A news video report from the event. Tomato throwing incident not covered in that.

I always suspected Progressives threw like sissies. Here's the proof. Aiming at Sarah Palin, not only missing completely, but catching a Cop square in the face?? Priceless! Maybe he should have stuck to throwing something more his speed, like ACORNs, instead! heh!

A man was arrested for allegedly throwing two tomatoes at Sarah Palin from the second floor balcony during a book signing event at the Mall of America in Minnesota, MyFoxTwinCities.com. reported.

Neither tomato came close hitting the former 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, but did hit a police officer in the face, the station reported.

The unidentified man may face charges for assaulting a police officer, according to the station.

Die-hard supporters treated the event like another Black Friday, lining up outside in freezing weather before the mall doors opened at 5 a.m.

Emily Calhoon, a high school junior from Minnetonka, took the day off school with a group of fellow students and arrived at 4:45 a.m. Calhoon, 16, said she likes Palin's conservatism.

"She's a lot more relatable than the stereotypical old rich white male," said Calhoon as she waited in line, clutching a copy of Palin's memoir of her life and political career, "Going Rogue."

The former Alaska governor  arrived just before noon

Matthews Gets Sexist, Also Plays Race Card On Sarah Palin

Hard to know where to begin, there are so many things wrong and hypocritical from Chris Matthews in this. He has ghost written speeches and books for politicians. But that doesn't prevent him from slamming Palin for having it done. The relatively transparent sexist he is emerges, as well. And then he throws the race card in for good measure after defending Katie Couric and Charles Gibson.

If Comcast has any sense they'll show Matthews and the rest of the hackneyed crew at MSNBC the door. They'll never build much of a network with them in place. Finally, what do you want to bet Matthews would like nothing better than to have Sarah Palin on so he can ogle her just as he does with every other even half-way attractive woman he has on his show? Forget Hardball, it would probably be Hard-On with Chris Matthews if Palin every showed up. The guy's an obvious skirt hound, along with being something of a pig. Or maybe he was just drunk. Who knows?

MATTHEWS: And tickles all you guys under your chin and you go, "Oh I just love this!"

MATTHEWS: Were they all white people?

MARTIN: Almost entirely.

MATTHEWS: What do you mean almost?

MARTIN: I saw one African-American.

MATTHEWS: Okay, But it is a certain sort of, what do you call it, socio-metric group that she appeals to.

MATTHEWS: Does it bother the press that somebody comes in there, whose book was written for them - and this is people who work. You write every day. You sweat it out getting the right words, thinking how to organize a piece, intellectualizing it and then putting it on paper. And I'm sorry, and reporting it to start with. It's a lot of work, being a reporter. I've seen you guys on deadline. It's hard work. Don't you essentially disrespect somebody who walks in and puts a book on the table and said they wrote it, when you know somebody else did? Who comes in and gives a speech that you know somebody else wrote all the jokes for and gave it to her and she paid for it probably? Doesn't that bother you guys? I'm arguing there.

Harry Reid: Crack, Or Has Harry Reid Finally Cracked?

Okay, so you don't support public health care. What does that equate to in Harry Reid's battered little mind? Well, obviously, you'd be all for slavery were this 1957 all over, again. Naturally, what he fails to mention is, that would also make you a Democrat.

What a disgusting irresponsible comment. And people wonder why there are racial divisions remaining in this country. Reid and the Democrats can't resist playing the race card every time.

More via Michelle Malkin, as well.

Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right," Reid said Monday. "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'"

He continued: "When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted they simply, slow down, there will be a better day to do that, today isn't quite right.

"When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."

That seemed to be a reference to Thurmond's famous 1957 filibuster -- the late senator switched parties several years later.

Is America Headed Toward Revolution?

As if things weren't already bad enough when it comes to an omnipresent and increasingly oppressive Federal Government in America, now, thanks to Obama we get this.

The Obama administration formally declared Monday that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a move that lays the groundwork for an economy-wide carbon cap even if Congress fails to enact climate legislation.

Combined with the ongoing health care reform proposals in Congress, if these policies will out, there will effectively be no private sector left in America. And even the half-true concept of individual freedom we currently enjoy, thanks to ever growing and ever encroaching government, will be all but gone.

Add in current citizen dissatisfaction due to a terrible economy that won't let up for sometime, which will only be more true if these destructive policies are enacted, and I'm honestly not sure where this all ends.

I would never have imagined, let alone predicted that there would be revolution in America in my lifetime. And I'm certainly not predicting it now.  Yet, I can imagine it for the first time and that's not reassuring at all. 

What form it may eventually take, or how broadly it may spread, I can't say. But I do sense enough remaining rebellious spirit and angry people in this country that they will not go quietly into the good night.

Assuming they do, how Americans finally stand up to this government is unforeseeable. But I'd hazard a guess that there's enough of them troubled enough to make history, even if they are unable to make a difference in the end.

Interesting times, folks, we live in interesting times. Stay tuned. If main street ever explodes, it would make the mostly student riots of the Sixties look like playground exercise.

ACORN Cleared Of Criminal Conduct, ... By Internal Probe

Shouldn't this have been released on Sunday with the rest of the Funny Pages? Harshbarger is a Democrat, was affiliated with Common Cause, and his most prominent prosecution, of Gerald Amirault, was called a miscarriage of justice by everyone from The Nation to The Wall Street Journal. That may tell us more than the internal ACORN report.

WASHINGTON (AP) - An internal investigation of the community-organizing group ACORN concluded there was no criminal conduct by employees caught on videos offering advice on how to hide assets and falsify lending documents.
 
The report, which ACORN's CEO described as "part vindication, part constructive criticism and complete roadmap for the future," was unlikely to stem continuing political criticisms of the group and its efforts.

In a 47-page assessment that former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger was commissioned by the organization to do, he said ACORN leaders "appear committed to effect reform and are on their way to preserving ACORN and its mission in a reduced size and scope."

Ack!! Gore Gets All Poetic Over Climate Change

The dude has lost it. The meltdown is complete. Unless one is a serious poet, there's absolutely no excuse for a grown man to write poetry, unless it's to get laid.

And the only thing Gore is going to screw with bad poetry like this is himself. I never knew just how far around the bend went before watching this guy careen through life. What a flake. He was a heartbeat away for eight years. Had he been potus on 9/11, I can only imagine his national address. Someone call SNL's writers, stat!!

One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun

Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea

Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly

Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning’s celebration

The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools

Yes, tool does come to mind, Al. Get some help and a contemporary poetry class.

Your Tax Dollars And Copenhagen

While our Federal government, several states and many American taxpayers are already underwater when it comes to cash, some nations on their way to Copenhagen are literally pretending they are underwater in their bid to extract more US taxpayer cash. How ironic is that? At least we know they can afford new scuba gear when they want it. Oh wait! Actually, I think some climate initiative we helped finance may have paid for it, instead. But it was a great PR stunt, don't you think?

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, for example, has said he may need money to move his entire population if his low-lying Indian Ocean island nation is submerged as a result of seas rising from global warming.

In October, to dramatize the problem, Nasheed held a cabinet meeting under water in a lagoon at which the participants wore scuba gear and communicated by hand signals.

As the nations of the world descend on Copenhagen to save the world by creating more greenhouse gas than an African country, said African countries, among others, have many things they want to create. And it's your tax dollars they expect to gain in order to create them. 

It is being hyped as the summit that will save the planet. But according to critics, next week's climate change talks in Copenhagen are more likely to cost the earth. Researchers have estimated that the bill for the 12-day jamboree will top £130million - and will generate as much greenhouse gas as an entire Africa country.

And in many cases, those countries actually have the resources to foot the bill themselves. Unfortunately, part of the deal is that they won't use them. Instead, they're opting to finance them at our expense. Hey, why dig for coal when someone will give you even more money to not? What would you do? Why not simply go shopping for money that costs you nothing? It makes a lot of sense, ... to them.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- The shopping list includes wind farms, seawalls and even real estate - new homelands for flooded-out islanders. And poor countries want to present the bill to the rich at next week's climate talks in Copenhagen.

How many billions of dollars it will all cost and who will pay will be sharply debated when negotiators from 192 nations meet in the Danish capital Dec. 7-18 to try to draft a new agreement to combat global warming.

Take South Africa for instance. It's rich in coal, but why build industry that could provide employment when you can simply give someone a new home and more?

"While we insist on the right to develop, we will do everything in our power to achieve our goals in the most sustainable manner possible," Buyelwa Sonjica, South Africa's environment minister, told reporters at a briefing on South Africa's hopes for the Copenhagen conference.

This country of nearly 50 million is rich in coal, from which it generates 80 percent of its energy, which Sonjica called "dirty, but cheaper." Switching to renewable energy here and in the rest of the developing world, and dealing with the effects of climate change, won't be cheap. Sonjica puts the global price at $400 billion annually.

Yes, and why not get a "prompt start". It's only another 10 billion dollars here and there, give or take. So what if all this "capacity building" isn't really necessary? It isn't as if anyone is expecting them to pay for it. Let's move the money around and shake things up. Unfortunately, when it comes to American taxpayers, perhaps shake down is actually the better term for what will be happening in Copenhagen next week. And we can all thank Barack Obama for that. You'd didn't think all that change was going to come cheap, I hope?

So, quit complaining and cough it up. At least you get to fully subsidize Obama's plane ride so he can fly in at the last minute and put the cherry on top before this ice cream sundae for the Third World starts to melt, ... allegedly, just like everything else. And if it doesn't? So what? Why else is it you think you go to work? Yourself?? That may have been true once, but this is Obama-world now. And someone has to pay up!

In Sri Lanka, which grows tea, rice and rubber, officials say money is needed for studies to determine which crops would respond well to higher temperatures, and to adopt proper farming techniques.

That kind of "capacity building" - surveying, planning, training - would be a key component of a $10-billion-a-year financing package that U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer has suggested for Copenhagen, as a three-year "prompt start."

Is Progressivism A Mental Disorder?

Wow. Is Progressivism a mental disorder? It at least sometimes appears to be and the first symptom may be dishonesty. Link is to Weasel Zippers. h/t Instapundit.

Who would have thought that Chuckles Johnson would one day become Dan Rather himself?

Updated: Media Catches Up On Climategate Suspicions

Update: There's additional info via Ed Driscoll here. While I can appreciate that some are questioning why Russia would do this if it meant more energy exploration in the West. I think it's possible that view may be underestimating the influence of the Earth Firsters, with or without Global Warming. The fact is we have held off on Nuclear and much energy exploration long before AGW became big news. I've little faith it would simply turn on, again with AGW debunked.

Was Russia behind the Climate email disclosures?

Suspicions were growing last night that Russian security services were behind the leaking of the notorious British ‘Climategate’ emails which threaten to undermine tomorrow’s Copenhagen global warming summit.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has discovered that the explosive hacked emails from the University of East Anglia were leaked via a small web server in the formerly closed city of Tomsk in Siberia.

Well, it's a thought - or was on November 26, anyway.

A climate change scandal round-up and a question: Is anyone else having fun pondering as to whether or not there's an old KGB rat named Vlad behind the still growing potential climate change fraud? Of various suspects, Russia would have means, access and plenty of motivation. The original data leak went up on a Russian server, which could easily be spun, or interpreted, as a reason to not suspect Russia, as much as it could be a reason to suspect they were involved. Actually, it may serve even better as a reason for doubt.

Given the scope of this still exploding story in a matter of about two days, one at least has to wonder if there isn't some force driving the thing from start to end. Yet, few people are speculating as to who pulled off the original hacking, or why. Coming as it does just before potentially significant buy in from the US thanks to Obama, there are more than a few players involved who have a lot at risk relevant to climate change speculation.

So, I can't help but wonder who has the kind of resources it would take and plenty of motivation. If it's one potential suspect, I'm betting it never gets found out. Given Russia's willingness to engage in political assassination even relatively recently, isn't it at least fair to speculate? They certainly would have motivation enough. And the resources, access and general capability to pull it off.

Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas exports. In order to manage windfall oil receipts, the government established a stabilization fund in 2004. By the end of 2007, the fund was expected to be worth $158 billion, or about 12 percent of the country’s nominal GDP. According to calculations by Alfa Bank, the fuel sector accounts for about 20.5 percent of GDP, down from around 22 percent in 2000. According to IMF and World Bank estimates, the oil and gas sector generated more than 60 percent of Russia’s export revenues (64% in 2007), and accounted for 30 percent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Kremlin policy makers continue to exhibit an inclination to advance the state's influence in the energy sector. Taxes on oil exports and extraction are still high, and Russia’s state-influenced oil and gas companies are obtaining controlling stakes in previously foreign-led projects. State-owned export facilities have grown at breakneck pace, while private projects have progressed more slowly or have been met with roadblocks by state-owned companies or by various government agencies.

What Is ACORN Up To In Ohio?

As a Swing State with a few important races in 2010, Ohio will be an even more important state than usual. An Ohio blogger has been tracking ACORN and what they're up to and doesn't like everything he sees. Check it out.

Back in October, US House Representative Darrell Issa (R, CA-49) released news that his office had, in its possession a document from Ohio ACORN offices which documented the byzantine progressive "community organizing" group's plan to influence Ohio state and national elections.  Issa is the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The document, entitled "OHIO 2007-08 Political Plan" was written by Katy Gall, Mari Engelhardt, and Jeremy Mitchell.  Gall has served as the "Ohio ACORN Head Organizer" since 2005, according to LinkedIn.

Is "Rube" Sarah Palin Redefining E-Campaigning?

For all the talk of Sarah Palin being a rube, just a backward waif from Wasilla, Alaska, few seem to appreciate that she, more than any other rumored 2012 Republican nominee, has mastered the cutting edge art of e-Campaigning simply by being herself and employing the very latest in e-Tech to great effect.

Granted, she currently has star power the others don't enjoy, but while Huckabee has a TV show, Romney and others stroll halfway down Olympus to write an oped for the Wall Street Journal once in a while, Palin is using a fan blog, Facebook and Twitter to feed and grow her significant influence across the Right on-line. And the fact is, she was doing it even before her best selling book and subsequent tour.

With little more than that, no hundred thousand dollar DC e-consultants in tow, Sarah Palin has made herself into Obama's chief antagonist from the Right. Talk about stripping away the media filter, or going over the media's heads? Every time Obama launches another new initiative, there is Sarah Palin on her Facebook page trying to knock it down.

Newt probably hasn't even gotten around to scheduling his latest Sunday news show appearance on some new Obama plan and Palin has already made her opposition known in straight-forward words almost before the New York Times can tell us how wonderful Obama's latest idea sure is.

But she's the alleged unqualified rube? I'm not so sure. I've observed Gingrich use Twitter to tweet what a grand time he's having over dinner with James Carville, much to the chagrin of the Republican base. Meanwhile, nearly every Palin tweet or Facebook post is targeted to speak to the very people reading there, giving them precisely what they want to read, or hear in promotional, or political terms.

The smartest people in the room tend to be early adapters. More than that, they tend to be those that master and successfully exploit the latest of the greatest, the newest of the new. Sarah Palin is the unchallenged, though not unopposed, champion in that regard on the Right for now.

It's going to take far more than the latest obsessed rant from Andrew Sullivan, or Keith Olbermann, to convince me Palin is someone who doesn't know what she's doing. And whatever it is she's doing, it seems to work and not cost her very much. Only a dumb, or out of step politician, or pundit would criticize that, let alone not acknowledge it as seems to be the case with the media and her opponents.

So, just who really are the rubes in all this? Given our New Media age, it certainly isn't looking like Sarah Palin is one.

Palin At Gridiron Dinner: What Is It With Her?

h/t to Michelle Malkin with additional links to Gridiron Dinner coverage. I found an interesting quote from Palin via one of them. But what the heck is it with Sarah Palin? The attendees at the DC dinner numbered twice what they usually do? Pretty impressive for someone we are always told is insignificant. She really is proving to be a unique phenomenon in politics, especially as it isn't driven by the great media love that followed Obama. This is a press event, after all.

This joke especially cracked me up. And she did mention Iowa, by the way.

As for the president, Palin joked that she was looking at a magazine cover of Obama and Chinese president Hu Jinato during an airplane flight. A nearby passenger stated, "Hu's the Communist," she related.

And, Palin said, "I thought he was asking a question."

While the Gridiron winter meeting is usually a small, low key affair, Palin’s appearance attracted a crowd of 195 — about double the average attendance of Gridiron members and their guests.

As for her own presidential ambitions. Palin was mum.. She did tell the crowd that on Sunday she'd be in Iowa — "from noon to three at Barnes and Noble. Come early, long lines are expected."

WaPo: From Messiah To False Prophet

Is the reality-based community losing their religion? Funny, I thought religion was only an issue on the Right, along with being its biggest problem. Interesting that as Obama's numbers continue to fall, they actually begin to look at least a little bit like the reality-based community they always claimed they were.

How much reality they can take before they start jumping off buildings may be another matter entirely. Personally, I can't wait for the self-flogging to begin. heh!

Some parishioners in the Church of Obama discovered last week that their spiritual leader is a false prophet.

It was bound to happen eventually. Obama had become to his youthful supporters a vessel for all of their liberal hopes. They saw him as a transformational figure who would end war, save the Earth from global warming, restore the economy -- and still be home for dinner. They lashed out at anybody who dared to suggest that Obama was just another politician, subject to calculation, expediency and vanity like all the rest.

This is what happens when true believers mistake a mortal for a messiah.

Shades Of Obama In Gibb's Remark?

It could be worse. WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs might have ended his comment with "Missy!" But should we really be surprised?

Given that all WH messaging is said to flow from the top down, what this really reminds me of is how Obama treated Hillary during the campaign. Executives usually pick spokespersons to whom they can relate. Sounds like Gibbsie and Obama may have a lot in common after all.

Ryan had a heated back-and-forth with Gibbs over whether White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers overstepped her bounds in the “Gate-Crash-gate” incident and was pressing Gibbs on the subject through repeated questions.

“Some might have called her the belle of the ball, overshadowing the first lady,” Ryan said.

Gibbs said he hadn’t heard that criticism before.

Ryan continued in her questioning, asking whether Rogers had invited herself to the first state dinner.

Gibbs shrugged it off, then told Ryan to calm down and take a deep breath.

“This happens with my son. He does the same thing,” Gibbs said, referring to his young child. It drew ooohs from the press corps.

“Don’t play with me,” Ryan said.

Some are alleging sexism because Gibbs told a female reporter to calm down.

“There have been heated exchanges in the White House briefing room before but I have never seen Gibbsy talk down to one of the members of the WH Press Corps in that manner,” wrote blogger Emokidsloveme. “He treated her as if she were a petulant child and hasn’t been called to the carpet on his behavior.”

Afghanistan: Details Of Obama's Decision-Making Process

The New York Times issues what to them is most likely a wonderfully noble portrayal of a young CIC making up his mind on the Afghanistan War. But for some it may portray an indecisive politician more concerned with his political well being, one thinking more in terms of winning, or losing, mainly to the extent of how each might ultimately impact on him. There's a fair amount of indecisiveness couched within it, too.

The image and opening stroll through Arlington is certainly praise worthy in and of itself. But is that primarily where the head of a political intellectual fellow like Obama needs to be when deciding how to proceed in an already long but important war? He did say it was critical during the campaign.

Obama then went on to mostly overrule a General he himself appointed and cobbled together his own strategy based upon mainly political concerns. The hurry-up  and win it, or quit it, way it's being done doesn't strike me as particularly compassionate for our troops. Rushing into battle with perhaps a too rigid plan that already has an exit date could very well cost more lives than it saves. In the end, is throwing in one's cards because a war is politically unpopular a year out from from your re-election really the type of commander who deserves great praise?

Some might not find Obama's decision-making process to be everything the New York Times apparently does. But it certainly was kind of them to hand Obama such a glossy and wonderfully posed portrayal. I doubt they were ever nearly so kind to former President Bush, though close followers knew precisely how much pain he actually felt over every loss of life incurred in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But then, he didn't usually go strolling through Arlington with a New York Times photographer poised for a wonderful shot after having been invited along for the walk.

When the history of the Obama presidency is written, that day with the chart may prove to be a turning point, the moment a young commander in chief set in motion a high-stakes gamble to turn around a losing war. By moving the bell curve to the left, Mr. Obama decided to send 30,000 troops mostly in the next six months and then begin pulling them out a year after that, betting that a quick jolt of extra forces could knock the enemy back on its heels enough for the Afghans to take over the fight.

The three-month review that led to the escalate-then-exit strategy is a case study in decision making in the Obama White House — intense, methodical, rigorous, earnest and at times deeply frustrating for nearly all involved. It was a virtual seminar in Afghanistan and Pakistan, led by a president described by one participant as something “between a college professor and a gentle cross-examiner.”

House Republicans Seek Reprieve For Navy SEALs

Duncan Hunter circulated the letter, twenty Congressmen have signed it, include Boehner. Those are the only signatories named.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers are seeking a reprieve for three Navy SEALs facing court-martial because one allegedly punched a suspect after arresting him for an ambush killing of U.S. contractors in Iraq.

Rather than accept a reprimand, the sailors chose to fight the charges in a military court. Their appeal greatly raises the stakes because a guilty finding could bring stiff punishment.

A letter that Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, circulated in the House said prosecuting the three SEALs "seems to us to be an overreaction by the command."

One of the SEALs is accused of punching Ahmed Hashim Abed in the face after his September arrest; the others are accused of falsifying statements on the episode.

Hunter, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the men could face loss of rank, up to one year of confinement, a bad conduct discharge and forfeiture of a portion of their pay each month for up to a year.

About 20 lawmakers signed the letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Obama Changes Copenhagen Plans, Invites Huge Failure, Again

How many times have we seen this strategy explode in Obama's face only one year into his term? He did the very same thing with the Olympics to disastrous effect.

By switching his visit from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18, Obama appears to be betting that his presence can - as he has expressed hope for several times in the past - push the negotiations "over the top" toward an agreement.

Obama continues to think this is all about him, somehow. Will he never learn? And he continues to believe that, all things considered, the American people are going to be fine with more of our tax dollars flowing overseas to bring this charade about? Obama has set himself on course for the most tragically failed presidency in recent history with his decisions on both Afghanistan and now Copenhagen just this week.

This week, the President discussed the status of the negotiations with Prime Minister Rudd, Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, and Prime Minister Brown and concluded that there appears to be an emerging consensus that a core element of the Copenhagen accord should be to mobilize $10 billion a year by 2012 to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable and least developed countries that could be destabilized by the impacts of climate change.

While realizing they can change, as things stand, Obama is going to be looking like an incompetent neophyte on a global scale and a failed war potus by 2012. As the economy will be the main predicate upon which his term is judged and all reasonable analysts predict on going serious trouble for what amounts to years, there is not going to be a single great accomplishment to which he will be able to point as grounds for his re-election.

Yes, the political earth can shift in the span of three years. However, if it doesn't, any thoughts of re-election he may currently harbor are all but doomed.