Allegations against Gore

I've made no secret of my disdain for Al Gore in the past, and how his self-serving campaign on the theory of man-made global warming has hurt the world.
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I think, however, that the sexual assault allegations made against him by a masseuse seem a little shady, at least so far. Police have reopened the investigation, and more evidence may come to light. Until that time, I have to (gulp) give Al Gore the benefit of the doubt.

Obama on immigration

I just heard a bit of Obama's speech touting comprehensive immigration reform.  In the part I heard, he discussed the struggle that Jewish immigrants had when they came to America in large numbers just over a century ago.   Very poetic and lyrical words....but he forgot to mention that the vast majority of immigrants --  millions of them -- came here in an orderly way via Ellis Island. 
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Even as he cites the experience, Obama neglects the very thing that made that wave of immigration from the 1890s to the 1950s a boon to America.  (First of all, it was legal.)  Apparently the lessons of history are lost on him.

Obama's Bass-ackward Administration

Arizona's much-discussed law regarding illegal alien status is in line with the federal laws regarding immigration. The Obama administration has vilified, and now is expected to file a lawsuit against the state of Arizona, citing as its reason that immigration policy is a federal responsibility, and a state doesn't have the right to address illegal alien problems.


At the same time, there is dead stone silence from the Obama administration regarding so-called "sanctuary cities" that offer to help and/or hide illegal aliens -- which is in direct violation of federal immigration law. Sanctuary cities also, just as the Arizona law does, make policy regarding illegal immigration, the basis for Obama's potential lawsuit.


Punish those enforcing the law, ignore those violating the law -- does that sound sensible to anyone?

Supreme Secrecy

Today is Day 2 of the Senate confirmation hearings of Elena Kagan. Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court. A Yahoo News story carries the headline "On Day 2 of hearings, Kagan employs artful dodge."

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Kagan wrote in 1995 that Senators should pursue more "substantive inquiry" and push nominees to be more open about their views during confirmation hearings.

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Now, of course, she's the one being questioned, and she said today that there are limits to the amount of openness that potential Supreme Court justices should be expected to show during nomination hearings.

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Since she has never held a court position as a judge, her writings and her testimony are the only indications that Senators have of whether she should be a justice or not. With her testimony today, she has effectively cancelled both of those out.

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The opposite of openness is secrecy. "Limits to openness" means that there should be more secrecy. Not a very reassuring philosophy from someone who is applying for a job which she will likely hold for the next 30-40 years.
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These are the people who are in charge of our country. Start stocking up food and ammo.

John Adams

From John Adams' 1765 work "A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law" 

"Be it remembered, however, that liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood. And liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right, from the frame of their nature, to knowledge, as their great Creator, who does nothing in vain, has given them understandings, and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean, of the characters and conduct of their rulers. 

[The people] have a right to that most dreaded and envied of knowledge…of the character and conduct of their rulers.

Rulers are no more than attorneys, agents, and trustees for the people; and if the cause, the interest and trust, is insidiously betrayed, or wantonly trifled away, the people have a right to revoke the authority that they themselves have deputed, and to constitute abler and better agents, attorneys, and trustees."

Obamaisms

Similar to his claiming that he had visited "57 states" during his campaign, Obama -- the professed "greatest orator" of his followers' time -- recently added another goof.


Visiting a software company's headquarters with Russian president Medvedev, Obama referred to the building as the "headquarters of Twitters."


Anyone remember what was made of Bush's gaffes? A year and a half into his Carteresque presidency, Obama may not be as immune to ridicule from the media as he once was.  (Having said that, the Mikkelsons went to great lengths at Snopes to excuse Obama's innumeracy.  They've been pretty blatant in their support of Obama.)

Do you really like mysteries?

Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd, referring to the financial overhaul legislation that he co-sponsored and which the Democrat Congress is likely to pass: "No one will know until this is actually in place how it works."

Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, referring to the Democrat health care legislation:  

“We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.”

Is "let's give it a shot and see what happens" really a wise governing philosophy?

Listening to those who know best

Louisianans were polled in mid-June for their opinions on offshore drilling, and how various politicians have handled the situation with the BP oil spill.  (You can see the full poll results here.)  What was particularly striking is their attitude about Obama.  The residents of the unluckiest state in recent years think Obama has done worse in handling the spill than Bush handled Hurricane Katrina -- the former "worst response ever" example.

Obama on (No) Border Security

Here is what Senator John Kyl from Arizona says happened in a private conversation that Obama told him why Democrats refused to secure the border.



The White House denies the account.  Senator Kyle refused to back down from his story, saying “They want to get something in return for doing their duty. You don’t have to have comprehensive reform to secure the border, but you have to secure the border to get comprehensive reform.”


Meanwhile, here's an example of the federal government's "work" on border security:

Yetzer hara

Yetzer hara  (YET-zehr hah-RAH)  -- The Hebrew term for the "evil inclination," or  the inner impulse or tendency within the human heart to gravitate toward selfish gratification.


An interesting concept that I recognized immediately.  My own constant battle.

"Chief Executor of Good Intentions"

Byron York has a column highlighting what Conservatives have been saying since Obama became the Democrat candidate for President -- he has no practical experience running an organization.  The federal government's confused response to the BP oil spill shows no coordination or accountability.  Obama is used to other people making the decisions, and the bureaucracy is going to destroy the Gulf Coast.  From York's column:


"The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is gushing out of control. The Obama administration is at first slow to see the seriousness of the accident. Then, as the crisis becomes clear, the federal bureaucracy becomes entangled in itself trying to deal with the problem. "At least a dozen federal agencies have taken part in the spill response," the New York Times reports, "making decision-making slow, conflicted and confused, as they sought to apply numerous federal statutes....


The direction from the top was not clear. And accountability? So far, the only head that has rolled during the Gulf crisis has been that of Minerals Management Service chief Elizabeth Birnbaum. But during a May 27 news conference, Obama admitted he didn't even know whether she had resigned or been fired. "

Sarah Palin's résumé looks pretty good in comparison about now, doesn't it?

And so it begins....

Headline: "Insurance regulators miss early deadline on premium spending rules"
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"Implementing a controversial provision of the new health-care law [a/k/a "Obamacare" - kw] is proving harder than planned. A national assembly of state insurance regulators, which is helping the federal government translate the law into more specific rules, said it was unable to meet a Tuesday deadline for standards meant to ensure that consumers get value for their premium dollars."

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Headline: " Running late on the EARLY act"
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"Although it’s racing to roll out consumer-friendly aspects of the health care law before November’s midterm elections, the Obama administration has just missed the deadlines to set up task forces on breast cancer and health care in Alaska."

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Let's discuss again how effectively the federal government will run the healthcare system.

AZ Immigration Law: Read it for yourself

You can read the full text of the Arizona immigration legislation (both the Senate and House versions) along with the Governor's Executive Order, which expressly prohibits using a person's race, color or national origin as "suspicion" that a law has been violated.  Here.

Mexican President Calderon Admits the Truth

CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "Do Mexican police go around asking for papers of people they suspect are illegal immigrants?"
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Calderon:  "Of course."
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It's at the 5:35 mark if you want to skip Calderon's Democrat talking points.




Kudos to Wolf Blitzer for asking the right questions.

If It Were Only About Mexicans

A great firestorm has come up over Arizona's recent immigration law.  While it's intended to stem the damage done by illegal immigrants from Mexico, a recent report from an Atlanta television station paints an even more serious issue -- terrorists crossing the same borders, mixed with the Mexican nationals.


From the report: 


"[Border control] agents say most of the illegals caught crossing are from Mexico or South America. Still, they say thousands of people caught are classified as O.T.M.'s, which stands for "other than Mexican". They report that includes hundreds of people from nations that sponsor terrorism."


The reporter  viewed records that show illegals in custody from from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen.


"A recent congressional report on the border threat confirmed members of Hezbollah have crossed the Southwest border. It shows photos of military jackets with Arab insignias found on the border. One depicts a picture of a plane crashing into the twin towers in New York City....


"The congressional report also revealed the route Middle Easterners take to get the United States. It showed they travel from Europe to South America, then to the tri-border region. That's where they learn to speak Spanish. The report said they then travel to Mexico and blend in with other illegals."


Hundreds or thousands of possibly hostile non-Mexicans crossing the border from Mexico.  Is the Arizona law all that's protecting America from terrorism?  And why has that congressional report not received wider media coverage?

Republican Smackdown

Maybe NJ Governor Chris Christie will teach other Republican politicians how to act.

How Did I Miss This?

Penn State climate professor Michael Mann, creator of the now-it's-just-a-joke hockey stick graph formerly used to support the manmade global warming theory, has threatened to sue the makers of a satirical video on YouTube.  (I've discussed Mann before.)  They answered properly, "Bring it on."

Are Tea Parties All About Racism?

Read any online discussion about the Tea Parties, and sooner or later (usually sooner) a Liberal will either imply or explicitly state that the Tea Parties are full of racists -- reductio ad klanum -- intent on establishing white supremacy (as well as putting women back in the kitchen where they belong.)

Interestingly, one of the major Tea Party organizations, Tea Party Patriots, ran an online poll to see what tea partiers wanted to see in a "Contract From America."  Hundreds of thousands of votes were cast, and the following ten planks were the most popular:

1. Protect the Constitution
2. Reject Cap and Trade
3. Demand a Balanced Budget
4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
5. Restore Fiscal Responsibility and Constitutionally Limited Government in Washington
6. End Runaway Government Spending
7. Defund, Repeal, and Replace Government-run Health Care
8. Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy
9. Stop the Pork
10. Stop the Tax Hikes

Nary a mention of race in there at all.  As I said -- interesting.  Are there any points that should appeal only to white people?

"I Will Always Love You" -- Again

The hottest video online today is a version of the song, "I Will Always Love You" from a Chinese version of American Idol:

The Chinese video, and most other sources, identify this as Whitney Houston's song, because of the popularity of her version, from the movie The Bodyguard:



The song, however, was written by and first made a hit by Dolly Parton in 1974.  She wrote the song about her breakup with longtime musical partner and mentor Porter Waggoner.  Here's an early performance of the song on the Porter Waggoner Show from 1974:



According to Wikipedia, Kevin Costner brought Linda Rondstadt's version of the song to Whitney Houston's attention, which inspired her to record it. 



Finally two more videos featuring Dolly Parton.  The first one, from the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,  represents what I think is the most accurate sentiment from the song -- a love that simply won't work for the people involved:



This last video is what I consider one of the most beautiful duets of the song (Dolly has performed this song with others a million times over the years.)  She recorded it with Vince Gill and had yet another hit with the same song:

Obama's Pitch

As Harry Doyle (Bob Eucker) said in Major League, "JUST a bit outside." (Note that the mascot put the catcher between him and Obama.)

Obama, for all his vaunted athletic skills, seems not to have practiced pitching much since last July.  Together with his terrible bowling during the campaign, this shows that Obama's "athleticism" seems to be pretty much restricted to basketball.