Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Step One: Make the Opposition Seem Crazy and/or Overpriveleged...

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/08/is_the_alleged_colorado_democr.php

From 1799 - The Fate of Our Constitution

http://volokh.com/posts/1251230221.shtml

1st. As the rights reserved by the State Governments and the bounds and limits set by the Constitution of the Union, are the declared barriers against the encroachments of entrusted power, my first business would be to undermine that Constitution, and render it useless, by claiming authority which, though not given by the express words of it, might be edged in under the cover of general expressions or implied powers — by stretching the meaning of the words used to their utmost latitude, — by taking advantage of every ambiguity — and by quibbling upon distinctions to explain away the plain and obvious meaning. It would be my business to extend the powers of the Federal Courts and of Federal Officers — to encroach upon the State jurisdictions — to throw obloquy on the State Governments as clogs upon the wheel of the General Government — for that purpose to promote a spirit of party among them, and subject to accusations of disaffection those who were opposed to the measures I would pursue. In addition to this I would now and then exercise trifling acts of authority not granted by the Constitution, under some undefined notion of prerogative. If by such means one encroachment should be made good, it would be a precedent for another, until the public by degrees would become accustomed and callous to them.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bob Dylan is the Anti-Gates: What CNN Doesn’t Want You to Know

Bob Dylan is the Anti-Gates: What CNN Doesn’t Want You to Know

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BREITBART: Boycotting the boycotters - Washington Times

BREITBART: Boycotting the boycotters - Washington Times

"To call these people hypocrites would be a grave insult to those who fail to live up to their own standards. Liberalism has never been about establishing a universal standard. Liberalism is simply intellectual cover for those wanting to gain political power and increase the size of the state. "

Read the whole thing (then buy something at Whole Foods)

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Real Reason...

Fantastic opinion piece - please read it

Money quote (one of many):

This isn't about liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. A majority oppose Obama's policies because they fly in the face of this country's bedrock values of personal liberty and limited government. Robbing Peter to pay Goldman Sachs does violence to that fundamentally American ethos.

And increasingly, Obama administration policy does violence to European values, as well. The continent has for the last two decades been systematically disengaging national governments from domestic industries. Top officials from Sweden, of all places, complained about Washington's auto bailout, tersely announcing that "The Swedish state is not prepared to own car factories."

(Thanks to Instapundit)

Friday, August 21, 2009

From Peggy Noonan

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574362971349563340.html#

Another insightful overview of the situation we find ourselves in. She makes a particularly interesting point here:

"A final factor contributed to the mess of the health-care debate, and that the White House might ponder it. Looking back, what a lucky man President Clinton was to have—to help bring about after his own health-care fiasco—a Congress controlled by the opposite party. What a great and historic team Mr. Clinton and Newt Gingrich were, a popular Democratic president and a determined GOP leader with a solid majority. Welfare reform, a balanced budget, and a sense the public could have that not much crazy would happen and some serious progress might be made. If Mr. Clinton pressed too hard, Mr. Gingrich would push back. If Mr. Gingrich pressed too hard Mr. Clinton pushed back. Two gifted, often perplexing and always controversial Boomers who didn't even like each other, and yet you look back now and realize: Good things happened there. "

Great Analysis of Mr. Obama's Blame Game

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aNjLN73fQVj8

Here's one good point, among many:

"Rather than examine the public’s concerns, the plans’ inconsistencies or the sheer irresponsibility of trying to ram something this big and complicated through Congress without a small-scale trial, the Obama administration is pointing fingers. Lots of them. Most of the targets are just plain silly.

1. Conservative groups

When liberal activists, including trade unions, Acorn and MoveOn.org, protested against anything and everything President George W. Bush said or did, it was called grassroots democracy.

When conservative groups encourage supporters to attend town hall meetings and make their sentiments known to their congressmen, it’s un-American, disruptive and the work of right- wing extremists. "

Saturday, August 15, 2009

From Our Dear Leader, M.D.

"And finally — this is important — we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies — (applause) — because there’s no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and prostate cancer on the front end. That makes sense, it saves lives; it also saves money — and we need to save money in this health care system."

(If he thinks his colonoscopy is helping detect prostate cancer, he needs to change doctors.)

Even if one overlooks that amateurish fumble, his argument still doesn’t make sense. The current system does better at providing those screening tests than the Canadian and British systems Obama admires so much. The Hoover Institute had the numbers almost two weeks ago:


Nine out of ten middle-aged American women (89 percent) have had a mammogram, compared to fewer than three-fourths of Canadians (72 percent).

Nearly all American women (96 percent) have had a Pap smear, compared to fewer than 90 percent of Canadians.

More than half of American men (54 percent) have had a prostatespecific antigen (PSA) test, compared to fewer than one in six Canadians (16 percent).

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/14/obamateurism-of-the-day-97/

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

http://community.detnews.com/apps/blogs/henrypayneblog/index.php?blogid=2041

http://community.detnews.com/apps/blogs/henrypayneblog/index.php?blogid=2041

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Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Energy Leader (National Review, 08.10.09)

Detroit, Mich. - Michigan just experienced its coldest July on record; global temperatures haven't risen in more than a decade; Great Lakes water levels have resumed their 30-year cyclical rise (contrary to a decade of media scare stories that they were drying up due to global warming), and polls show that climate change doesn't even make a list of Michigan voters' top-ten concerns.

Yet in an interview with the Detroit News Monday, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) - recently appointed to the Senate Energy Committee - made clear that fighting the climate crisis is her top priority.

"Climate change is very real," she confessed as she embraced cap and trade's massive tax increase on Michigan industry - at the same time claiming, against all the evidence, that it would not lead to an increase in manufacturing costs or energy prices. "Global warming creates volatility. I feel it when I'm flying. The storms are more volatile. We are paying the price in more hurricanes and tornadoes."

And there are sea monsters in Lake Michigan. I can feel them when I'm boating.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Atlanta/DeKalb Politics

http://dekalbofficersspeak.blogspot.com/2009/08/accused-racist-co-conspirator-is-now.html

Shocking, and something I'd never heard before today. Can you imagine the firestorm if the races were reversed?


Federal court refuses to kill DeKalb reverse-discrimination suit
By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In a rebuke to the administration of former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, a federal appeals court has denied the county’s request to dismiss a long-running, reverse-discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in 2004 by four current and former employees of the county Parks and Recreation Department. They alleged DeKalb had a plan to harass and discriminate against white managers and claimed Jones, who took office in 2001 as the county’s first black CEO, said he wanted a “darker administration” to reflect “the new DeKalb County.”
Lawyers for DeKalb appealed, asking for dismissal. But in a ruling issued Friday, a three-judge panel sent the suit back to the trial court.

The order by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals says that in 2001 DeKalb “embarked on a wholesale plan to replace its white managers with African Americans.” It also says there is “shocking” evidence of “an overt and unabashed pattern of discrimination.”

The judges made one decision favorable to the county, giving immunity to former DeKalb Executive Assistant Richard Stogner, the lone white defendant, for actions he took that led to the elimination of the one of the plaintiff’s jobs.

Chris Anulewicz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the overall decision is a good one for his clients because it means a trial could start in about eight months.
“We’ve been waiting for two years for this,” he said.

The appeals court ruling says evidence showed “compellingly” that Jones “was the architect of a racially discriminatory scheme” and that “unquestionably, he spawned the claims the plaintiffs have brought against him.”

Jones could not be reached for comment. His successor as CEO, Burrell Ellis, said in a written statement that the appellate decision was not a ruling on the merits of the case and that he was consulting with the county attorney to decide how to respond.

The suit was filed on behalf of Herbert Lowe, an African-American manager then in the parks department, and three white former managers there — Michael Bryant, John Drake and Becky Kelley. The plaintiffs claimed that Lowe was asked to “dig up dirt” on the white managers so they could be fired or forced to quit.

The lawsuit says Jones and other county officials told Lowe they wanted to replace the white managers because of their race and that Jones asked Lowe to “do what was necessary for the team.” Lowe refused, the suit says, and his job was eliminated.

The lawsuit claims the white managers were denied pay raises, were excluded from department meetings and were told they could no longer have contact with the media because officials wanted to present a “black administration” to the public.

The three white managers were eventually demoted or lost their jobs.

One of the defendants is out of a job, too. Ellis fired parks director Marilyn Boyd Drew in July after her department failed to ensure that county swimmers were registered for a state competition.

The other defendants, besides Jones, are Morris Williams, who was Jones’ assistant county administrator and is now the chief of staff for the county commission; and Joe Stone, the director of human resources. Neither Williams nor Stone returned messages seeking comment.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Post-Racial America

From Mark Steyn: Gotta love this "post-racial America": Democrat union heavies can beat up a black guy using racial epithets and leave him in a wheelchair unable to speak — and happily (unlike, say, a black professor being asked for picture ID) it's not "symbolic" of anything at all.