Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tim Pawlenty for Cap and Tax Before it Became Politically Expedient to be Against it


by the Left Coast Rebel

Former Minnesota Governor has been caught with his hand in the "hey, look at me, conservative base I'm a global warming skeptic" cookie jar by Think Progress, of all sources. Think Progress has this audio taken from Laura Ingraham's show that highlights his hypocrisy:



I would love to get my hands on the actual commercial played above, has anyone seen it? Pawlenty's past indiscretions against the limited government movement don't just stop at support of junk science legislation.

I wrote this in 2009, alerting true conservatives and libertarians to the fact that I think Pawlenty is a liberal wolf in pseudo-conservative sheep's clothing:

I believe and know Pawlenty to be in the big-spending GOP camp. He would be a terrible choice. Albeit he would predictably start to strut around his conservative ideals only to govern like another quasi-RINO...

Cato lists plenty of Pawlentie's big-government spending track record. He was a big runner-up for VP under McCain.

Some of the things listed at the Cato Institute that Tim Pawlenty stood by in Minnesota -

  • Supports Massachusetts-style health care reform, including a “health care exchange” and an individual mandate;
  • Has called for banning all prescription drug advertizing, and seeks government imposed price controls for drugs offered through Medicare;
  • Proposed a $4000 per child preschool program for low-income children;
  • Pushed a statewide smoking ban smoking ban in workplaces, restaurants and bars;
  • Increased the state’s minimum wage;
  • Imposed some of the most aggressive and expensive renewable energy mandates in the country;
  • Was an ardent supporter of the farm bill;
  • Received only a “C” ranking on Cato’s 2006 Governor’s Report Card, finishing below such Democrats as Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and tied with Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.
How in the world will the Republican party spearhead sensible economic reform if they nominate an opportunist with a clearly statist liberal past? Being that I saw Pawlenty last night on Sean Hannity's show touting his "perfect CATO score", I imagine that many of you don't even know that his conservative bona fides are anything but.

Spread the word, Pawlenty is not the man for 2012. Cross posted to LCR.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

The New Gotcha Question

The gotcha question is a cherished tradition in American politics. It's a simple formula, e.g., ask a candidate how much a gallon of milk costs, hope he stumbles, then portray him as "out of touch" with the common man.

Now lefties have found a new source of gotcha questions for conservative candidates: Islam....
ThinkProgress, for example, caught up with GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain yesterday at the Conservative Principles Conference in Iowa... TP asked a good follow-up question: "Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either in your cabinet or as a federal judge?" Cain replied:

"No, I would not. And here's why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they've got a social problem that they don't know what to do with..."
So not unlike Juan Williams, Herman Cain has chosen to be honest about being uncomfortable with Islam in certain contexts. Not unlike Mitt Romney, Cain isn't planning to appoint Muslims to cabinet-level positions.

I find it absolutely fascinating to see that leftists, who are universally uncomfortable with a displays of the Ten Commandments in the court house, are so determined to put representatives of Islam there.

So here are some questions for the Soros suckers at Think Progress:

Would you like to see a Scientologist on the next president's cabinet? How about a Raƫlian? Would you be comfortable with a member of the Westboro Baptist Church? Do you hope to see more Positive Christianity in the judicial system?

Maybe some of these questions should be directed toward Barack Hussein. Ask him if he plans to appoint any Black Liberation Theologists any time soon. Or did he renounce BLT when he threw his dear reverend under the bus?


Update: BigFurHat has questions, too...
[W]hat if [Cain] said that his cabinet would be completely secularized and contain nothing but atheists, adhering to the interpretation of the 1st amendment as stated by progtards? What would they say? Foul?
Update II: Via The Right Scoop...


Update III:

The Other McCain: Herman Cain Refuses to Be Intimidated by Political Correctness

Update IV:

CAIR goes crazy: CNN bases an entire story around CAIR and makes no mention of their well-known terror connections and recent testimony by FBI chief Mueller stating they cut off all contact with them over “questionable leadership.”


Friday, March 25, 2011

Big Brother is Tracking You

Um, no thanks. Big Brother will NOT be tracking my every move:
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs of highway maintenance at a time when federal funds are short.

The report discussed the proposal in great detail, including the development of technology that would allow total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to be tracked, reported and taxed, as well as the pros and cons of mandating the installation of this technology in all vehicles...

The report was requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who held a hearing on transportation funding in early March. In that hearing, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama administration is hoping to spend $556 billion over the next six years, much of which would go to federal transportation improvement projects.
Idea rejected.

Can we send Kent Conrad back to ND early?


UPDATE:


Memeorandum discussion

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I Want A Weiner Waiver

Obama's propagandists are quick to point out that among the hefty majority of Americans who are opposed to ObamaCare, a tiny fraction* tell pollsters that the legislation's "approach toward health care is is not liberal enough."

Not liberal enough? What does that mean? Who are these uber-liberal people, and what do they really want?

Notable point: Over 1000 ObamaCare waivers have been handed out, and a great many of those waivers have been awarded to groups who cry out for increasingly liberal health care schemes. But for their own health care needs, these liberals prefer the ultra-conservative status quo.

Examples ―
Now even the Weiner is looking for a way out.

Anthony Weiner (WEE-nur), the self-proclaimed author and embodiment of Obamacare, is looking for a waiver favor:
Last year, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner took personal ownership of the magnificent health care law, even to the point of proclaiming “the bill and I are one” like a monk trying to attain enlightenment using nothing but willpower, outbursts and a trillion dollars of other people’s money. In short, Anthony Weiner loves the health care bill.

It’s just that… well… it might not be right for his district:

Rep. Anthony Weiner said Wednesday he was looking into how a health law waiver might work for New York City.

Weiner, who is likely to run for mayor of New York, said that because of the city’s special health care infrastructure, his office was looking into alternatives that might make more sense.
Yes, we're talking about this Weiner:

Our Lord Anthony Weiner: ObamaCare in the Flesh

"I basically read the bill, wrote the bill ― the bill and I are one."

As Doug Powers has hinted, the people of Weiner's NYC-based U.S. Congressional district should do themselves (and the rest of us) a huge favor and vote for a waiver of the Weiner himself.


More:

An Obamacare Weiner-Waiver for New York City?



*In the general population of American adults (voters and non-voters), CNN found that 13% of those who reject the Democrats' massive and terribly expensive health care experiment answer "not liberal enough" to the following question:
21. (IF OPPOSE) Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?
Of course "that legislation" is Obamacare.

And that 13% is not 13% of everyone who responded to the pollster. That 13% is actually only 13% of the 59% who reject ObamaCare, i.e., only about 7.6% of the total.

Take a step back to see the bigger picture. In CNN's poll, almost 60% of all Americans (including uninformed non-voters) said that they oppose Obamacare. Only 37% said that they support Obamacare. If CNN had polled voters only (the politically active folks who actually hire and fire politicians at the ballot box), the results of CNN's poll likely would have been even more favorable to conservatives. (Polls that sample all adults will skew a bit more liberal than those composed of registered or likely voters.)


WeinerWaivers!™ "Because ObamaCare is for you not me."

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Unhappy Birthday

This week's dubious distinction is the one year anniversary of Obamacare. Why aren't Obama and the Democrats cheering? The Wall Street Journal can think of at least one reason:
ObamaCare passed the House a year ago this week, and there's a reason that President Obama and its advocates aren't celebrating the anniversary. It's still highly unpopular—notwithstanding the tens of millions spent by Big Pharma, AARP, the federal government, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and liberal activist groups like Families USA to promote the bill.

Whatever politicians say, the American public instinctively understands that subsidizing health care for millions of people will be staggeringly expensive and only grow over time. But at least now CBO is starting to disclose how fiscally reckless government health care really is.

I hereby present a morbid song to mark this morbid occasion. Because Obamacare is evil...



More:

Via Rep. Darrell Issa: Today, only 37% of Americans support ObamaCare. 59% oppose it. Happy 1st birthday? (POLL)


Senator Ron Johnson: My baby girl wasn't saved by a bureaucrat.

RINO Romney: "If I were president, on Day One I would issue an executive order paving the way for Obamacare waivers to all 50 states."


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Are You Happy Now?

At the height of Obamamania, between the election and Obama's inauguration, I challenged liberal readers to look into the future and ask themselves if there was anything Obama could ever do to lose their support. To my everlasting surprise, I got some answers...
Is there anything Obama could do to lose your support? If so, what?

Easily. For instance, he could...

1. Fail to end the war in Iraq.
2. Have a heavy-handed, questionably legal foreign policy in which he has the US invade countries and conduct attacks that result in killing innocent people or breaking US and int'l law.
3. In general, act as if the US is above the law
4. Continue to prop up the auto and oil industries, and in general provide welfare to corporations
5. Fail to begin to wean US over-dependence on fossil fuels.

For starters...
Twenty-seven months later...
You voted for Obama ― Are you happy now?

Serve Obama!

Blood for Oil: Obama Attacks Libya, In Bed With Halliburton

How beautifully rich... via Yahoo, a list of CEOs traveling in Brazil with Obama:
The list includes the CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt; Aris Candris, CEO of Westinghouse; John Faraci, CEO of International Paper; Anthony S. Harrington, CEO of the Albright Stonebridge Group; and last but not least, James T. Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Director of Halliburton Company.
So where are the anti-war hippies and conspiracy theorists when you need them most?



More:

Intervention is just a grab for oil, say Libya's allies...
"They want to seize Libya's oil," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Gaddafi's main ally in Latin America, said on state television.

Chavez said the military action was "irresponsible" and nothing but "interference in the internal affairs" of a country.

"And behind this is the hand of the US and its European allies," he said.

Update: Not just a conspiracy theory?

Humanitarian? We're at War in Libya to Protect European Oil




Birds of a Feather: Hugo Chavez ♥ Code Pink

Saturday, March 19, 2011

#ObamaMissionNames

Operation Enduring Narsissism ~ FrankFaith

Operation Desert Teleprompter ~ Bytor3BP

Operation O-pocalypse ~ FrankFaith

Operation Shock and Flaw ~ tweetjerseygirl

Operation Cognative Dissonance ~ iowahawkblog

Operation France Did It First ~ grammy620

Operation Warm & Sarkozy ~ Jimi971

Operation Follow France ~ irishspy

Operation One Term President ~ deppisch

Operation FINE! I'll do something ~ trmircat

Operation "Prices will necessarily skyrocket" ~ hibernianhilble

Operation Mulligan ~ Jimi971

Operation Summer's Eve ~ iowahawkblog

Operation Watch From Brazil ~ calebhowe

Operation Brazilian Wax. No more Bush! ~ NotChrisRock

Operation Enduring Vacation ~ rachel_j

Operation Present ~ stix1972

Operation Organizing for Libya ~ MDMRN

Operation Code Pink is Okay With This For Some Reason ~ pepper_10

Operation Nobel Cause ~ RightKlik

Operation Double Standard ~ timharder




BONUS TWEET: "Hi #p2. FYI, we r currently at war w/a Middle Eastern, oil-producing country that's not a threat to us & w/o Congressional approval, right?"

EXTRA BONUS: Khadaffy must've planned 9/11! #excuses ~ Michael Moore




O'Keefe Beats Back An Argumentative NPR Apologist

Young James O'Keefe is interrogated by NPR's sanctimonious Bob Garfield. This is the contentious interview in its raw, unedited form:


This a classic example of the stark contrast between the stammering foolishness of the tone-deaf old media parasites at organizations like NPR and the bright and articulate citizen-journalists of the 21st century who are poised exploit the digital media revolution intuitively.

If you don't have time to enjoy the whole interview, here's NPR's sharply edited version.


More on O'Keefe and NPR:

No Vindication for Ex-NPR Exec: On the Blaze’s Accusations of Misleading Editing by O’Keefe

Discussion: Memeorandum

Friday, March 18, 2011

It's On!: Mark Levin V. George W. Bush's (un)Conservative Record


by the Left Coast Rebel

I'm going to ruffle some feathers here (including, perhaps even my own lovely mother's) and praise Mark Levin for "coming out of the closet" in calling out former president George W. Bush as anything but a conservative in a limited government sense. Levin did so in a Facebook posting about Sarah Palin.

Before I move along, I must say that it still shocks and disheartens me when I see my conservative brothers and sisters in the proverbial dark about W's big-government largess and Progressive Co-opted Good Intentions that laid the bricks for the road to Obama's socialist utopia hell.

From Mark Levin's Facebook page:
That said, Bush's record, at best, is marginally conservative, and depending on the issue, worse. In fact, the Tea Party movement is, in part, a negative reaction to Bush's profligate spending (including his expansion of a bankrupt Medicare program to include prescription drugs). And while Bush's spending comes nowhere near Barack Obama's, that is not the standard. Moreover, Bush was not exactly among our most articulate presidents, let alone conservative voices. I raise this not to compare Bush to Palin, but to point out only a few of the situational aspects of the criticism from the Bush community corner. (If necessary, and if challenged, I will take the time to lay out the case in all its particulars, as well as other non-conservative Bush policies and statements. No Republican president is perfect, of course, but certainly some are more perfect that others, if you will.)
Levin is right and as far as I'm concerned, he's being gracious here. A HUGE component of the Tea Party movement heralds from disaffection with George W. Bush's (and the GOP Congress during his two terms) abandonment of any semblance of fiscal conservatism.

Peter Wehner at Commentary Magazine responds to Mark Levin, I grabbed an excerpt that really caught my eye:
The complaint about Bush is that he was the architect of a prescription-drug entitlement. Fair enough, though it should be said that because of free-market reforms, the cost of the plan was 40 percent below the estimates, an unheard of achievement.
I'm going a little off topic here but I can't help myself, this is such establishment tripe.

The logic goes like this: Democrat-statists float an unconstitutional, fiscal train-wreck entitlement program or any other sundry of horrible legislation. Out-of-power Republicans balk and block said program and claim victory for the taxpayer. Several years down the road, Republicans gain power and co-opt the unconstitutional, fiscal train-wreck entitlement program or "progressive" government scheme, but they nibble around the edges and *save* 40% for the taxpayer by adding "free market" aspects to the legislation!

The question then is this:

What do we as liberty-loving Americans that don't believe the Federal government should command every aspect of our lives get in the end by Republican "compromise" of Democrat progressive government?

Answer: More of our hard-earned dollars confiscated by an intrusive, out-of-control government, kicking the United States fiscal insolvency can down the road and doing so from the opposition party of limited government.

George W. Bush did some good things, for instance the *attempt* of reforming Social Insecurity. The man didn't loathe the United States as his successor does.

But does the following list look like the accomplishment list of a limited government conservative? The truth is, George W. Bush would have been a statist liberal if not for the fact that the Democrat Party has gone so far to the left as to make the socialists of old blush. Partying with future generation's earnings like it's 2000-2008, the Bush hit list:
In fairness, Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute throws in Obama and Bush's record on annual domestic spending increases adjusted for inflation and compares the combination to the presidency of Ronald Reagan (by percentage increases):


Even more foreboding, the inflation-adjusted dollar comparison:


Reagan wasn't perfect as even his best efforts to rein in the Federal government only resulted in slowing the rate of growth. He is still the best measuring stick for true conservatism that we have had in my lifetime and possibly far beyond.

Why do I bring all of this up? Simple. Before we know it, Republicans will be choosing a nominee to go up against Obama in 2012. Establishment charlatans will co-opt the Tea Party movement, promise fiscal restraint and sound libertarian-esque. Only those few with proven fiscal-conservative track records will deliver and this nation cannot afford another big-spending Republican administration.

And, oh, yah, just to reiterate -- Bush was no conservative. Please pass this along.

Cross posted to The Libertarian Patriot, LCR and RightKlik.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Captain Louis Renault Award: Nina Totenberg

"Learn to Speak Tea Bag" (Courtesy NPR)

Nina Totenberg is shocked — shocked to find that smug anti-Tea Party, anti-Republican, and anti-Christian bias and bigotry exists at her news network, NPR:
NINA TOTENBERG, NPR: I can’t defend the executives, the top executives, and I can’t necessarily even defend the board, but I can defend the product. There is a reason that we are the only news organization, other than Fox, with a growing audience. It is because of our product which is straight-shooting, factual, and spends an enormous amount of money gathering news from all over the country and the world. Judge us by our product. The people in the newsroom were probably more mortified than Charles or anybody in the Tea Party, or any, any anybody else. I mean, we were just horrified, and not by the political incorrectness of what he said, but by the fact that he even thought this way.
Mortified! Horrified!

Oh Nina, you're so clueless. That's okay, we'll help you.

Remember this "mean-spirited attack on people who think differently" brought to you by the straight-shooting, fact-obsessed folks at NPR?

Straight-shooting and factual.™

(By the way, NPR was forced to admit that their bigoted cartoon product was "mean-spirited" "name calling" but they loved the video so much that they kept it up anyway.)

The controversy over NPR's "Learn to Speak Tea Bag" cartoon was only mentioned by a few obscure media outlets (e.g., The Washington Post, Fox News, The Washington Examiner, and NPR) so we can forgive Totenberg for being blindsided by reports of effete NPR executives who think that Americans are stupid, gun-toting racists and that the GOP has been infiltrated by scary white evangelical mutant ninja turtles.

This week's Captain Louis Renault Award goes to Nina Totenberg!



Related:

Nina Totenberg on God Giving Jesse Helms (R-NC) AIDS (Video)

NPR's Nina Totenberg Apologizes For Saying "Christmas" (Video)

Nina Totenberg is shocked — shocked to find that bigotry exists at NPR (Video)

Straight-shooting and factual.™

PS: When will we see a "Learn to Speak Fleebag" cartoon video?


UPDATE: Feather in my cap: Linked by Doug Powers at MichelleMalkin.com!

Friday, March 11, 2011

When Social Media Backfire: Ask Dems

Nancy Pelosi asked her tweeps to participate in a twitter town hall meeting on Thursday to discuss the GOP budget. Hilarious hijinks ensued:


We have over two dozen Members of Congress answering questions on Twitter RIGHT NOW! Join us by asking via #askdems ~ RepMikeHonda

[pregnant pause]

[sound of keyboards clicking]

Where's my f*cking ObamaCare waiver? #AskDems ~ vodkapundit

[snickering and snorting across the fruited plain]

If you could destroy just one private sector industry with cap and trade, what would it be and why? #AskDems ~ EstablishmentDC

Have you lost weight? Your caucus looks so much smaller! #AskDems ~ vodkapundit

Nancy Pelosi: Do you still believe unemployment is the engine of the economy, or would that be bailouts? Or both? #puzzled #askdems ~ runedart

When you say everyone with pre-existing conditions is covered under Obamacare, does this include Michael Moore? #AskDems ~ EstablishmentDC

#AskDems Why is obama upping my gas prices? ~ SCMcDonnell

If you could flee-bag to any state, which one would it be? #AskDems ~ EstablishmentDC

Are there any upcoming bills we need to pass so we can see what's in them? #AskDems ~

#AskDems Have you found out EVERYTHING in ObamaCare yet? ~ JRios68

I own a Prius but the windmill add-on destabilizes it during high winds. What do you recommend I do? #AskDems ~ EstablishmentDC

#AskDems How would you feel today if Scott Walker strutted through protesters with a giant gavel and proclaimed "We Won"? ~ hleecarr

Why are you suddenly silent about the "tone" in politics? Why are you silent about the WI unions? #AskDems ~ JewelsJungle

Is it a coincidence that the national debt, federal spending, and unemployment all climbed to record highs at the same time? #AskDems ~ ErickaAndersen

Now That You've Been Caught Double Counting, When Will You Admit Obamacare Will Bankrupt America? Or Is That The Plan? #AskDems ~ Papatul

#AskDems - Politely asking the right to stop flooding us with your conspiracy theory questions. ~ konquererz

…you passed Obamacare, Nancy Pelosi. Why do unions need to worry about medical benefits? #AskDems ~ presjpolk

#AskDems Why don't you push for the DOJ to have the Obamacare suits fast tracked to the Supreme Court. Uncertainty is hurting economy ~ ConservativeInd

Math question for #AskDems: Are the $500B "savings" in ObamaCare going to save Medicare or fund the health care law? #DoubleCounting ~ RepShimkus

When the government is running over a $1.5 Trillion deficit, why do you think $4.7 billion is a serious effort at deficit reduction? #AskDems ~ Rschrim

#AskDems You said 10 years ago it wasn't worth drilling for new oil because it would take 10 years to get it. Did you all fail math? ~ jim_riley

#AskDems Gas prices have increased 67% over the last two years, why are we not using our own resources to create jobs and bring prices down? ~ stacy_mott

Why didn't you pass a budget last year? #AskDems ~ SamValley

How did last month's $223 billion in new debt help the economy? #AskDems ~ vodkapundit

Where are the jobs? #AskDems ~ SusanAnneHiller

When Americans are tightening their belts at home, isn't it time for the federal gov't to do the same? #AskDems ~ DarrellIssa

[awkward silence]

Thanks everyone for participating in today's #AskDems Twitter Town Hall! ~ HouseDemocrats


ADDENDUM:

Dems ask Dems...


#AskDems Will Congress punish companies that refuse to hire those who are unemployed? This is immoral as well as thwarting recovery. ~ NealRauhauser

#AskDems PLease stand up to the Republicans Insane CUTS say NO as in NO CUTS ~ garak99

#AskDems Why do third world countries have better health care than the United States? ~ martian_mandi

Majority of Americans want to keep funding PBS, NPR, public schools & tax increases on top 5% earners.Will u do this? #AskDems ~ cyn3matic

We should take care of @DarrellIssa in 2012 for his insolence here today in #AskDems. Want to help? ~ NealRauhauser

#AskDems Why is it when we to help the bottom 90% of the population, it's 'Class Warfare' but when we help the top 2%, it's 'Free Market'? ~ VelouriasWorld

1950s tax rate on the rich was over 90%. Can we get it back to 50% at least? #AskDems ~ drst

We are losing our intellectual footing in the world. Do you have a plan to defend increased science funding? #AskDems ~ x63x77

#AskDems Why did Prez cave on cuts for wealthy by 70 billion? Sure, coincidence that GOP is cutting services by 70 billion a few months l8r. ~ TroJoe

#AskDems How will democrats explain away their failure to pass #dreamact FYI blaming on republicans will not work #accountablity ~ DreamAct



House Dems Respond:

Darrell Issa, perhaps removing the tax cuts for the rich should be the type of tightening we should do. #AskDems ~ RepJimMcDermott

#AskDems Need to start by cutting giveaways to big oil ask we are gouged at pump ~ PaulTonko

Dems agree we must cut spending but not investments that #create jobs in 14% of budget. We must look @ entire budget #AskDems ~ WhipHoyer

Poor people aren't organized & don't give to political campaigns. That's why I support public financing of campaigns #AskDems ~ RepJimMcDermott


#AskDems




Earthquake And Tsunami Updates Japan and Hawaii

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Hail Mary Pass for the GOP?

To paraphrase British historian Paul Johnson, I like the cut of this man's jib:
This is the Republican Party's best shot at sneaking in an actual true blue authentic conservative, who can take on all of Washington's sacred cows and then become the most vilified person in the country.

The man for that job is Sarah Palin.

Would a President Huckabee put his office and popularity on the line to take on the highly unpopular, yet urgently necessary issue of entitlement reform? Not likely.

Could you see a President Romney taking the risk of being vilified as a xenophobic racist by demanding an enforcement first approach to illegal immigration? No way, Jose.

How about a President Mitch Daniels going up to Alaska and drilling for oil like a crazed dentist? Good luck.

Sarah Palin? Check. Check. Check.
Why not offer Americans a candidate who is as far to the right as Obama is to the left? How about this rock star?


Monday, March 7, 2011

Congressman Alcee Hastings: Sexual Predator? (Update: Video, Winsome Packer Photos Added)

Alcee Hastings: No Rules, Just Right


Powerful Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings would never break the rules ― right?
According to Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, filed on Monday March 7th with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia:

For over two years, from January 2008 through February 19, 2010, Ms. [Winsome] Packer was forced to endure unwelcome sexual advances, crude sexual comments, and unwelcome touching by Mr. Hastings while serving as the Representative of the Commission to the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Although Ms. Packer repeatedly rejected Mr. Hastings’ sexual attention and repeatedly complained about the harassment to the Commission Staff Director, Fred Turner, Mr. Hastings refused to stop sexually harassing her. Rather, Mr. Hastings and Mr. Turner began to retaliate against Ms. Packer—including making threats of termination—because she continued to object to Mr. Hastings’ conduct.

Ms. Packer was particularly vulnerable to such threats because she was a Republican working for the Democratically-controlled Commission, a point that both Mr. Hastings and Mr. Turner used to threaten and intimidate her. Eventually, the emotional distress, anxiety, and humiliation caused by the sexual harassment and retaliation caused Ms. Packer to suffer severe health problems and forced her to leave her prestigious position.

According to Judicial Watch’s complaint, “Mr. Hastings’ intention was crystal clear: he was sexually attracted to Ms. Packer, wanted a sexual relationship with her, and would help progress her career if she acquiesced to his sexual advances.” These advances included: Making multiple demands that Ms. Packer allow Rep. Hastings to stay in her apartment while she served as the Commission’s lead staff representative overseas; subjecting Ms. Packer to unwanted physical contact, including hugging her with both arms while pressing his body against her body and his face against her face; inviting her on multiple occasions to accompany him alone to his hotel room; making sexual comments and references to Ms. Packer, and asking Ms. Packer humiliating and inappropriate questions in public, such as “What kind of underwear are you wearing?”
Move along, nothing to see here. Democrats are above the law.

UPDATE: Remember Alcee Hastings's timeless quote on the rule of law? Alcee likes to make up the rules as he goes along:


Did you notice how Alcee furrows his brow to show his deep compassionate concern and bites his lower lip for emphasis? Reminds me of this old sex-poodle:


UPDATE II: Gateway Pundit provides a helpful reminder...

In 1988 Hastings was impeached for bribery and perjury. He was then convicted in 1989 by the United States Senate, becoming the sixth federal judge in the history of the United States to be removed from office by the Senate. (h/t: Dallas the Dog)

UPDATE III: Winsome Packer Photos...



Sunday, March 6, 2011

PZ Didn't Speak Out


First they came for the Copts...
A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was "in order now."

A curfew has been imposed on the 12,000 Christians in the village.
...and PZ didn't speak out because he isn't a Copt.

Then they came for the Christians in Ethiopia...
Christian students recently suffered an attack by a Muslim mob in Ethiopia. The students were on a mission trip to a Muslim village when they were attacked. Jonathon Racho of International Christian Concern tells OneNewsNow they were handing out Bibles and witnessing to villagers.

"Then one of the villagers angrily argued with the Christians,” Racho explains, “and then he incited the Muslim mob to attack the Christians. Then the attackers shouted 'Allah Akbar,' which means 'God is great,' as they hurled stones at the Christians and beat them with rods."

Seventeen people were injured. Racho explains that Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian country with about a third of the population Muslim, but with pockets where Muslims are in the majority.
...and PZ didn't speak out because he isn't a Christian.

A prominent British imam has been forced to retract his claims that Islam is compatible with Darwin's theory of evolution after receiving death threats from fundamentalists.

Dr Usama Hasan, a physics lecturer at Middlesex University and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, was intending yesterday to return to Masjid al-Tawhid, a mosque in Leyton, East London, for the first time since he delivered a lecture there entitled "Islam and the theory of evolution".

But according to his sister, police advised him not to attend after becoming concerned for his safety. Instead his father, Suhaib, head of the mosque's committee of trustees, posted a notice on his behalf expressing regret over his comments. "I seek Allah's forgiveness for my mistakes and apologise for any offence caused," the statement read.
...and PZ didn't speak out because he isn't an Darwinist Muslim.

When they come for PZ, who will be left to speak out for him?


Words of wisdom from Mark Steyn:
When the west’s bestselling atheists, stand-up comics, transgressive artists and all the rest belittle Christianity but steer clear of Islam, they’re not just engaging in prudent self-protection. They’re objectively advancing the cause of Islamic imperialism – because their selective mockery acts in support of the bullies’ core belief, that Islam is different and must be accorded a special deference: In practical terms, their selectivity comes to the same conclusion as any bigshot Talib in a hardcore madrassah. I said somewhere in America Alone that we’re operating to the same rules as the old Cold War joke: An American tells a Soviet that in America everyone is free to criticize the president. The Soviet replies, “Same in my country. Everyone is free to criticize your president.”

That’s one reason I found the Corner debate on the Westboro Supreme Court decision these last few days faintly surreal. In the rest of the west, Islam grasped very quickly that in some of the oldest free societies in the world the law bends according to the muscle you apply to it, and the Pansy Left (in Orwell’s phrase) will gladly concoct ever more tortured legalisms to explain why selling out core western values and incentivizing the thugs is the right thing to do.
Skepticon is an annual skeptics convention set in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield is home to the Assemblies of God and several religious universities (such as Evangel and Drury). The area is affectionately referred to by many locals as the buckle of the bible belt. This is why in the Fall of 2008, JT Eberhard, Lauren Lane, and the MSU Chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster invited PZ Myers and Richard Carrier to the Missouri State campus to criticize belief in god. The event was well-attended and was retroactively dubbed Skepticon.
Onward Islamic imperialism!

Tea Partiers to Clean up Leftist Mess at Wisconsin Capitol

by the Left Coast Rebel

This week we covered the story that the cost of damage, filth and wreckage left behind by leftists camped-out in the Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin far exceeded the seven figure range.

Good news today though, Tea Partiers are donating their time and dollars to clean up the mess:




Recommendations for Tea Party patriots embarking upon the cleanup effort:
  • Please wear Hazmat suits. One can only wonder what kinds of bacteria, viruses, drug paraphernalia (needles?), and other unmentionables that may be need to be disposed of.
  • Consider vaccinating yourselves before you begin the work.
  • Log your hours. Unions would demand union-scale wage compensation for the effort. You should too. Also, brace yourselves: Wisconsin Union Sanitation Workers may claim that you took jobs and work away from them and may sue you.
  • Consolidate the trash into one pile, preferably away from the capitol building. Is there as much (or more) trash than leftists leave behind at Earth Day 'celebrations' or Obama's 2008 inauguration (a tough act to follow, considering they left 100 + tons)?
  • Film the effort. Make a documentary that highlights the filth and lack-of-respect for property.

Updated: Clifton at Another Black Conservative notes that the Facebook page set up by the Tea Partiers involved with the cleanup went viral and cleanup began ahead of schedule this morning! Check out Another Black Conservative for more.

Cross-posted to Left Coast Rebel, Proof Positive and the Libertarian Patriot.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Social Conservatives and Libertarians United...


Social conservatives and libertarians are united against Mitch Daniels.

First, a libertarian perspective from Michael Cannon:
Mitch Daniels’s record also bears similarities to Obama’s, and his approach to Obamacare as governor has been an anchor on the repeal movement...

Whereas Obamacare requires states to open their Medicaid programs to families of four earning $31,000 (138 percent of the federal poverty level), Daniels expanded Indiana’s Medicaid program to families of four earning $44,000 (200 percent of poverty). From 2008 to 2010, Indiana’s Medicaid enrollment spiked: Adult enrollments grew 21 percent, a rate nearly double the national average. By 2010, Daniels had enrolled another 62,000 Hoosiers in government-run health care...

“Why is Governor Daniels,” wrote Pacific Research Institute health-care expert John R. Graham, “extending the hand of peace . . . when Obamacare has been mortally wounded in the courts and the U.S. House of Representatives?”
— Michael F. Cannon is director of health-policy studies at the Cato Institute (a libertarian think tank)

A social conservative speaks (Richard Land):
Most social conservatives are also fiscal conservatives. They recognize that a federal government that borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends is committing generational theft, spending our grandchildren's money and impoverishing their future. Social conservatives also argue that government has such high costs partly because of the broken families, broken communities and broken ethics generated by moral relativism...

Perhaps Gov. Daniels interprets the emergence of the tea party as a sign that GOP candidates don't have to depend on social-issues voters as they once did. That seems unlikely...

Consider recent polls from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). They reveal that tea party supporters, while motivated by the fiscal crisis, are also overwhelmingly socially conservative: Sixty-three percent oppose abortion, found PRRI, and 64% oppose same-sex marriage, found Pew.
— Mr. Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Mitch Daniels has combined right-wing statism with incoherent ambivalence toward socially conservative issues. Somehow that apparently works very well in Indiana. Could it work in the GOP presidential primaries?




Friday, March 4, 2011

Wisconsin Capital: Leftist Protestors' 7.5 Million-Dollar Carbon Footprint


Image: Trash left behind after Obama's inauguration, Washington DC


by the Left Coast Rebel

Well, it's not really a carbon footprint on display at the Wisconsin capital, rather it's a trash and lack-of-respect for property rights liberal (carbon) footprint. Let's not it forget folks: leftists, collectivists, statists, socialists, far-left union nuts are all motivated by an overarching central theme: entitlement.

There's a Worldview That Separates us

In the case of the "I am entitled to a lavish lifestyle and retirement by way of your paycheck" aka the Wisconsin union protest; the price tab to clean up their anti-social behavior is a staggering $7.5 million dollars.

I can't think of a better example of the moral difference between conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists and tea-partiers and the miscreants on the left. When you see conservatives and libertarians converge onto an area, they typically don't leave a carbon footprint (or mountains of trash) behind. They clean up after themselves, because they -- for the most part -- respect the property rights of their fellow citizens and even the government that they loathe so much. Leftists don't.

Warning: Traffic Ahead

It reminds me of a point that my fellow San Diego blogger/liberty activist friend Shane Atwell made in the comments at LCR about bad drivers. Bad drivers (those that lack respect and common courtesy) are often liberal statists, fascists or socialists (I know, that's redundant). They own the road (in their eyes), are entitled to their lane, speed, and otherwise and have have the right to drive like a flaming jerk simply because they were born and woke up that day (albeit at 10 a.m.). A refresher course from ages ago at LCR: leftists are not open-minded, either.

How dare you get in my way!

How dare you insist that I follow the same laws that you have to! I am entitled. It's my right.

The same hideous, anti-social ethos (or anti-ethos) extends from the roadways to a 'protest' destination, trashing (literally) property and ultimately picking the meat off the bones of your paycheck and the nation's balance sheet. They are entitled to everything simply because they have a pulse and we are bankrupt both morally and financially as a result.

How do we change this dynamic? Cut 'em off the government teat. Force accountability and respect for your neighbor and your neighbor's property. An empty stomach is a great motivator, even for a silver-spoon-in-the-mouth liberal.

Related discussion: Scared Monkeys, Lonely Conservative, Another Black Conservative.

Cross-posted to Proof Positive, Left Coast Rebel and the Libertarian Patriot.