Monday, November 30, 2009

Tiger Holed Up-Licking His Wounds

(An edited version of this article first appeared at The American Thinker on 11/29/2009.)
As Tiger Woods remains at home licking his wounds, media speculation about the eventsleading up to the crash at the end of his driveway runs rampant. Thus far The Woods' team is stonewalling the media and police as they stall for time. Besides the obvious need to develop the right spin on the situation, Tiger is obviously better off if he can heal a bit from those allegedly bride-inflicted injuries to his face. You know that photos of Tiger with Elin's fresh claw marks on his face and lips will be media gold.
And those may not be the only injuries Tiger would like to heal from. The fact of Woods slipping in and out of consciousness despite the failure of the vehicle's airbagsto deploy, coupled with Elin's statement that she dragged him out of the vehicle, pose a whole new set of questions:

How did this tiny woman drag an unconscious man nearly twice her size from the vehicle? In addition, the police report suggests that both rear windows of the 2009 Escalade were broken out, allegedly by Mrs. Woods with one of Tiger's irons. Have you ever tried to break a modern automobile window made of safety glass? It is a very arduous task. If the report of the window breakage is true, Elin Nordegren was bringing some serious heat to the altercation.
So how does a world-class athlete get knocked out in what should have been a minor crash resulting in a few whiskey-dents? Is it possible Elin actually knocked Tiger out with the club? If so, the hospital's report should report evidence of the additional lumps Tiger took that night. You would think he would be icing those injuries down as well, to help keep the spin moving in the direction his management team would like it to take.

The intrepid staff at TMZ http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/28/tiger-woods-elin-nordegren-fight-accident-suv-lacerations/ continues to provide insight into the situation, and suggests that Tiger may have been under the influence of pain-killing drugs that evening, which would have contributed to his iniability to navigate the vehicle. If true, again, Tiger would want as much time as possible to pass so that any trace of pain-killers in his system would dissipate. This would provide the opportunity for Tiger to grandstand and offer to undergo toxicology tests to prove his system is clean. Of course, if the hospital did their due diligence, those toxicology tests would have been administered when he was admitted for treatment that night. With the obsequious handling of this whole event by the local authorities and media, it seems likely that Tiger was given the PC pass instead.

In any event, the aftermath of the tabloid reported l'affiare de Tigre http://www.asianews.com.pk/2009/11/tiger-woods-affair-rachel-uchitel/ remains increasingly riveting. It seems unlikely that Tiger will lose any of his corporate sponsors over this messiness. Woods simply generates far too much public interest to let a bit of sloppiness derail the media gravy train that follows in his wake. Perhaps his sponsors will offer a twist on their previous campaigns to let the public know they acknowledgehis faux pas.

A remake of The first Tiger Nike commerical, "I am Tiger Woods" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAnlcW_ILyw could bedone with other victims of domestic violence posing for the camera making the claim to be Tiger Woods. Or maybe Tiger could re-enact the crash in one of his sponsor's Buicks to demonstrate their crash-worthiness. Or better yet,how about a series of public service announcements based on the Nike slogan: "Just do it."
We could have Tiger posing next to a Buick SUV with Elin smiling, her one iron poised and ready to strike. Camera moves to a close up of Tiger deadpanning:

"Don't do it."

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Giving Thanks that McCain Lost

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
Eric Hoffer


As we linger in the trough of the recession, I have to admit that America has had a tough couple of Thanksgivings. Here in the midwest, the real estate market looks like Amy Winehouse’s hotel room after a weekend binge and if we were to make a movie about the local employment picture we would have to call it “Dim and Dimmer.” Friends and associates have seen their pensions de-funded, their companies shuttered, and their families strained by fear and financial insecurity. Several local car dealers have committed suicide, recalling the depths of despair reached during the Great Depression where once-wealthy tycoons leapt to their demise from tall buildings. One might expect widespread angst to pervade our daily lives and steal our joy.

But most Americans are made of sterner stuff. Thanks largely to our Christian roots, our American ideals and the common sense approach to daily life that they entail, we remain buoyed by the gift of gratitude. At least those of us here in my neck of the corn do, here in Indiana. Despite the kind-heartedness and gratitude I see in those around me, a great many Americans seem to be sorely lacking in the spirit of thankfulness we celebrate this week. Our President, for example, who probably has more reason to be grateful for the life he has been given than any of the rest of us, focuses instead on whining and complaining. Rather than recognizing the greatness of the country that made his life and rise to the most respected office in the world possible, B.O. focuses instead on apologizing for our country’s lack of perfection and derides our nation and its founding heroes at nearly every turn.

“Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality”
Alfred Painter

The best tool in our spiritual tool-box remains our ability to focus our attention on the positive things in our lives. While our consciousness is comprised of both attention and intention, it is what we pay attention to in our lives that determines our state-of-mind and whether or not we can be happy. Unfortunately, one of our two political parties has decided its raison d’etre is to focus on, and develop grievances. Thus we have a constantly stoked sense of victimhood in that large percentage of our American population agitated and serviced by the Democrat party. Democrats attempt to maintain a nearly continual focus by their constituents on what is wrong with their lives. And my, oh my, what an unhappy bunch they are.

“There is no greater difference between men than between grateful and ungrateful people.” R.H. Blyth

I, for one, choose to be happy. So I set out this Thanksgiving week to make a list of all the things I am grateful for, that I might recognize how much I might be taking for granted, even in these somewhat difficult times. While the usual suspects populate my list: good health, lovely wife, bright, happy children, and a nice home in a good community; I realized that the things at the top of my list where somewhat more intangible.

When one sees the squalor and struggle in sub-Saharan Africa or other third world nations, it’s easy to be grateful to have been born here in our healthy, wealthy nation. Regardless of the best efforts of the American Gang of Four to create an American Cultural Revolution, the worst efforts of B.O., Nanzi Pelosi, Harry Reid and their Alinskyite Geppetto, George Soros, America still provides an opportunity for anyone from anywhere on the planet to thrive and prosper here. Yes, the American Dream lives on, even though the Gang of Four has most of us losing sleep. If one remains as positive as one can be, and as flexible as one can be, the results here in the U.S.A. remain overwhelmingly likely to be fruitful in most any pursuit.

The most startling result of the enumeration of that for which I am grateful became the realization that I am perhaps most grateful that John McCain was defeated in his pursuit of the Presidency in 2008. Of course, I reluctantly voted for him. Anyone who has read my work or has had a casual conversation with me realizes that I am no fan of Barack Obama. The evidence of his incompetence and lack of preparation at nearly every task he pursues grows daily. His domestic policies are dictatory, uninformed and childish and his foreign policy is prissy and weaker than circus lemonade. He lacks the economic comprehension of a child running a kool-aid stand while worshipping at the altar of big government-run-rampant.

The suggestion by his promoters and the sycophantic media that B.O. is a uniter is like some sort of sick joke. Except for the Civil War era, our nation has never been more divided than it is at this time. For a brief moment in time, Barack Obama was carried to the zenith of political power by an anti-establishment left working like moles beneath the radar since the late 1960’s. Embedded in various American bureaucracies, particularly in the media and education, they strove to enlarge the size of government and to expand and enforce their sacraments of multiculturalism, wealth redistribution and political correctness.

A large majority of Americans, however, remain what were once called Reagan Democrats or what Nixon termed members of The Silent Majority. The defeat of John McCain and the Plastic Man

[

over-reach by the Democrat left generated the re-birth of that long silent majority:

“The silent majority is an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly… and who did not enthusiastically participate in public discourse or the media.

The Silent Majority was mostly populated with the blue collar people who allegedly didn't have the ability or the time to take an active part in politics other than to vote. They did, in some cases, support the conservative policies of many politicians. Others were not particularly conservative politically, but resented what they saw as disrespect for American institutions. (Ibid wiki)

As a result of the tin-earred, over-confident leftist majority’s over-reach, a large contingent of white-collar folks, including small business owners and professionals have joined this no longer silent majority.

If John McCain had somehow been able to defeat Barack Obama in the Presidential race in 2008, the silent majority would likely have remained silent. One might argue that this enormous block of conservative voters did, in fact, remain silent and weren’t motivated enough by the wishy-washy Republicanism of the aisle-crossing Senator from Arizona to actually come out and vote. Our first glimpse of the re-birth of the Silent Majority as an activist voting bloc came with the nomination of Sarah Palin as McCain’s Vice Presidential candidate.

With the advent of the Obama administration and its huge majority in Congress came a rush to capitalize on what the left perceived as a mandate for their policies. Obama’s electoral victory had nothing to do with policy, however, for he was never really required to reveal any policy ideas in his brief strut upon the political stage prior to his election as POTUS. Assisted by Rahm Emanuel and Nanzi Pelosi, the rush to “let no crisis go to waste” began immediately as the Democrats took power and exacted a hard left..

Many of us remain incredulous at the audacity of the leftward lurch the Democrats have tried to impose upon us. From the non-stimulating stimulus, to the government takeover of the auto industry, to the outright lies put forth to support the government takeover of our health care system and on to Obama’s mulitplicity of czars, nearly every day Americans are faced with news about some attempt at American government reform that appears to be right out of the Communist Manifesto.

If John McCain had been elected President, we would have been likely to be willing to endure the inexorable leftward drift of our country. McCain’s selection of campaign staff and the laughable campaign he ran against a thoroughly beatable candidate clearly demonstrated once and for all how it was possible for the young McCain to finish last in his class at Annapolis. Why should we believe he would be any more intelligent about running the country?

McCain’s policies on illegal immigration, global warming and the stimulus are very little different from Obama’s. And Senator McCain is every bit as vested in the whole PC- multiculturalism-diversity canard as our underperforming Scattergood-in-Chief. Don’t ever forget that it was John McCain who refused to discuss Obama’s connections to Reverand Wright and Bill Ayres, or to even utter Obama’s Islamic middle name during his campaign. In hindsight, these campaign malpractices were probably the deal-breakers.

If John McCain had been elected President, Cap and Trade may have actually passed and the chimera of bi-partisanship would have truly been enshrined in the White House. B.O.’s in-your-face patisanship has thankfully dampened Republican enthusiasm for the crossing-the-aisle shuffle. Since taking power, the left, egged on by the combativeness of Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel and Harry ”Pugilistic Dementia” Reed, has clearly drawn its lines in the sand

And the no-longer-silent majority, in the form of the tea-party movement and a revitalized Republican party continues to marshall its resources and is assuming the battlements. The results in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections are only the beginning of the American pendulum’s dramatic swing back to the right. Would we have seen the dramatic blue state takeovers with cranky, old, Gang of Fourteen Johnny sitting in the White House? Not a chance. So this Thanksgiving, let’s all send out a special thanks to Steve Schmidt, Nicole Wallace and John McCain for forcing us to face the reality of the abominable leftward drift we have passively accepted these last 30 years.

Thanks to the revitalized Silent Majority, we can continuing striving for 30 and out.

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.
John Wooden

Monday, November 23, 2009

Cuban Health Care Says Si to Penile Implants

(This article first appeared at The American Thinker on 11/21/2009.)
Just in time to tweak the noses of Americans still resisting the call to nationalized health care, those wily Fidelistas have announced the newest benefit offered in Cuba’s government-run health care program: Free penile implants.
“Men in seven Cuban provinces will be eligible for the….the silicon and silver penis implants. (U)rologist Juan Carlos Yip boasted (that the procedure) was normally "exclusive to first world countries and at a high cost.
This is just another reason for guys like Michael Moore to tout the Cuban health care system as the model for Americans to follow. Never mind that the average Cuban submitting to the procedure will be entrusting the care and modification of his manhood to a surgeon who most likely earns about 15 to 20 dollars per month:
“Medical professionals are not paid high salaries by international standards. In 2002 the mean monthly salary was 261 pesos, 1.5 times the national mean.[56] A doctor’s salary in the late 1990s was equivalent to about US $15–20 per month in purchasing power. Therefore, many prefer to work in different occupations, generally in the lucrative tourist industry (e.g. taxi drivers), where earnings can be 50 to 60 times more.
So we might expect that the average Cuban implantee may end up doing his follow-up care in the back seat of a ’57 Chevy modified into a taxicab.
Rest assued that the iron-fisted Castro government will spin this latest health care wrinkle into a success story with the help of useful idiots like Mr. Moore. After all, his cinematic ode to the wonders of the Cuban health care system failed to disclose that
““..Cuba has two (health systems): one is for party officials and foreigners like those Mr. Moore brought to Havana. “It is as good as this one here, with all the resources, the best doctors, the best medicines, and nobody pays a cent,” he said.
But for the 11 million ordinary Cubans, hospitals are often ill equipped and patients “have to bring their own food, soap, sheets — they have to bring everything.” (In addition)…up to 20,000 Cuban doctors may be working in Venezuela, creating a shortage in Cuba.
Don’t doubt the ability of the Castros and their journalistic party organ, Granma to thrust this implant program into the most favorable possible light. After all, this is the same enlightened system that “solved” their potential HIV-AIDS epidemic with forced testing and quarantines:
“Cuba compulsorily tested thousands of its citizens for HIV. Those who tested positive were taken to Los Cocos and were not allowed to leave.” (ibid Wiki)
This same shameless government hailed the benefits of the malnutrition caused by the famine that followed the elimination of Soviet aid in the early 1990’s:
Malnutrition created epidemics, but it had positive effects too. Manuel Franco describes the Special Period as "the first, and probably the only, natural experiment, born of unfortunate circumstances, where large effects on diabetes, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality have been related to sustained population-wide weight loss as a result of increased physical activity and reduced caloric intake.”
Sounds like a press release from the euphimizers in the Obama administration, doesn’t it? Surprisingly, Michael Moore didn’t volunteer for this particular Cuban health care innovation. Surely he will weigh in on the free Cuban penile implants.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Tibet, Dalai Lama Thrown Under the Obama Bus

(This article first appeared at The American Thinker on 11/17/2009.)
In order to be able to stand on principle, one would have to have some principles to start with. Clearly this is not a problem for Barack Obama as he neared completion of his administration's abandonment of the Tibetan people in their desire to remain autonomous and throw off the yoke of Chinese Communist domination.The Times of India reports:
"We did note that while we recognise that Tibet is part of the People's Republic of China, the United States supports the early resumption of dialogue" between the Dalai Lama's representatives and Beijing," Obama said after his meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao." A dialogue about what? If the U.S. concedes that Tibet is merely a part of China, what bargaining chips remain for the Dalai Lama to use with the Chi-Comms? Our weak-kneed Bower-in-Chief has scraped before the Chinese leaders he so desperately needs to prevent his insane economic policies from destroying the American economy, as he effectively forfeited the issue of Tibetan sovereignty in favor of Hu Jintao's expansionist government.Obama's October cancellation of a tentative meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, suggested that B.O. was looking for negotiating room in anticipation of his scheduled visit to Beijing. Despite Chinese forces torching Tibetan shops and attacking its citizens, it appears the U.S. President simply folded his hand, effectively tossing the Dalai Lama and his people into the crowded undercarriage beneath the Obama bus. Of course, Hu and company were elated at the ease with which Obama was turned against countries to whom many Americans remain sympathetic:
"Chinese President Hu Jintao hailed US President Barack Obama's recognition of sovereignty issues dear to China. "China approves of President Obama's repeated reiteration of the one-China principle," Hu told reporters... Hu referred to China's "sovereignty over Taiwan and other matters" during a state visit in which some Western analysts had predicted that China would also demand an explicit declaration by Washington of China's sovereignty over the restive frontier regions of Tibet and Xinjiang." What a pathetic performance on the international stage. While Hu Jintao is confident of Barack's support for the "one-China principle" most Americans are disgusted with B.O.'s determination to promote his ½ America principle. The bully boys of the world are finding that negotiating with Barack Obama is like taking candy from a baby. America sure could use a little cowboy diplomacy.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Driving While Jihading?

How many scenes like this one are routinely shrugged off in police stations, newsrooms and at government agencies responsible for enforcing our immigration laws and providing our Homeland with security?
When the Rochester police attempted to stop Munir Mathana for driving erratically after being flagged down on South Plymouth Avenue:
“Police tried to stop Muthana but he did not stop and then struck the officer’s vehicle. A slow-speed pursuit ensued down various streets in southwest Rochester. Muthana’s Nissan Maxima hit a car at Jefferson Avenue and West Main Street.
He continued driving down Jefferson Avenue, hitting a second police vehicle driven by a K-9 sergeant at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Clifton Street…
Muthana is facing five counts of second-degree assault, DWI and reckless driving. He is accused of injuring six people. They are 21-year-old Dominick Nicholson, 20-year-old Tyrese Beard, 40-year-old James Pross, 50-year-old Debra Hollis, 25-year-old Luis Cruz and 49-year-old Diane Neil.”
The innocuous WHEC News-10 headline doesn’t begin to suggest anything other than a routine drunk driver:
“Rochester man pleads not guilty after Thursday police chase.”
But it seems that Munir Mathana might have a Nidal Hasan-sized chip on his shoulder:
“Then he started using swear words, cussing police and government. He said, "Ben Franklin was stupid. He should have made it so you *expletives* can't swerve the law. The Muslims will fix this country."
Sound familiar? We can concede the fact that Munir doesn’t appear to be the most articulate spokesman for Islam. However, six people are injured and the alleged perpetrator clumsily brandished his figural Soldier of Allah card when apprehended. It seems the local news agency wasn’t much interested in bringing the possible Islamic connection to their readers’ attention.
Oh, by the way:
“When bail was being set at $20,000, the prosecutor said that Muthana has ties to Yemen.”
Kind of makes you wonder if Mr. Mathana has been emailing Anwar Alwaki, spiritual guide and research associate of the Ft. Hood jihadist. Could someone at the immigration service, the FBI and Homeland Security take a look at this fellow? Perhaps we can add a charge of Driving While Jihading?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Obama: Goodbye, Dalai

(This article first appeared at The American Thinker on 10/05/2009.)
“American officials told Tibetan representatives that "this president is not interested in symbolism or photo ops but in deliverables," the Asian diplomat said. "He wants something to come out of his efforts over Tibet, rather than just checking a box." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100403262_2.html?hpid=topnews

Not interested in photo ops? One might say Obama has prepared himself to do little else http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/09/obamas_big_sincere_smile.html . Regardless of the underlying reasoning, the Obama administration once again is seen pandering to thuggish violators of human rights as the peripatetic, jet-setting Apologist-in-Chief can’t seem to find time to meet with one of the world’s most deeply spiritual beings. Obama, whose spirituality was nurtured under the guidance of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH5ixmT83JE&feature=related for over 20 years, is said to be attempting to palliate the rulers of Communist China:

“The U.S. decision to postpone the meeting appears to be part of a strategy to improve ties with China that also includes soft-pedaling criticism of China's human rights and financial policies as well as backing efforts to elevate China's position in international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund. Obama administration officials have termed the new policy "strategic reassurance," which entails the U.S. government taking steps to convince China that it is not out to contain the emerging Asian power.”

This despite what one might expect to be a formidable portion of the President’s leftist base inclined toward the Free Tibet Campaign. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Tibet_Campaign This popular movement

“ stands for the rights of Tibetans to determine their own future and campaigns for "an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected."

Of course, no such concern for the tender feelings of the Chinese leaders was in evidence when Obama decided to impose a tire tariff on the import of Chinese tires designed to prop up his pals in the United Steelworkers union. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/12/AR2009091202718.html

Apparently the Chinese had already resigned themselves to the proposed meeting after some diplomatic push-pull and had abandoned pursuit of the matter. The intrepid diplomats in the Obama administration refused to accept victory when a diplomatic loss of face was still attainable:

“We've got the classic case of a Western government yet again conceding to Chinese pressure that is imaginary long after that Chinese pressure has ceased to exist," said Robert Barnett, a Tibetan expert at Columbia University . "The Chinese must be falling over themselves with astonishment at what Western diplomats will give them without being asked. I don't know what the poker analogy would be. 'Please, see all my cards and take my money, too?' " (ibid WaPo)

Sound familiar? Intrepid world leaders are rapidly finding that negotiating with the neophytes in the Obama administration is like playing high stakes poker with toddlers. The Chinese will use this affront to the Tibetan holy man in its continuing effort to prevent other nations from engaging with the Dalai Lama.

Both Tenzin Gyatso, who is the 14th Dalai Lama, and his representatives have been negotiating for months with the Obama administration to establish a meeting with the 44th President. He has met with the sitting U.S. President in the White House 10 times since 1991. The Dalai Lama remains the leader of the government-in-exile of Tibet located in Dharmsala, India since escaping over the Himalyas in 1959 after the Chinese invaded Tibet.

One familiar with diplomatic protocols would expect that a seasoned foreign policy expert with a background in Asian studies would be handling the delicate and morally compelling negotiations with the Tibetan leader. So who has Obama placed in charge of the case?

Valerie Jarrett. Yes, the same Valerie Jarrett who
“needed to be granted an "ethics waiver" in order to serve in (her) position because of her close associations with convicted felon and crooked developer Tony Rezko. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Jarrett

The same Valerie Jarrett that was candidate No. 1 in Rod Blagojevitch’s scandalous attempt to satisfy the S.E.I.U. and Barack Obama by placing her in Obama’s vacated Senate seat. http://www.shopfloor.org/tag/valerie-jarrett/

And the same, tired, Chicago-style patronage that the low-life Obama administration continues to display without a single moral compunction. Hello, Thugs. Hello, Unions.
Goodbye, Dalai.

Has Farrakhan Been Talking w/Reverand Wright?

(This article first appeared at The American Thinker.)
"The Earth can't take 6.5 billion people. We just can't feed that many. So what are you going to do? Kill as many as you can. We have to develop a science that kills them and makes it look as though they died from some disease,' Farrakhan said." http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/10/19/Farrakhan-suspicious-of-H1N1-vaccine/UPI-63931256011008/

Since President Obama has made it clear that there is almost no statement that is racist enough, anti-American enough or preposterous enough to cause him to denounce it, militant crack-pots like Louis Farrakhan feel free to continue to strain the bounds of credulity with racist theories that no reasonable person could entertain. The Nation of Islam zealot's divisive remarks came at what was called a Holy Day of Atonement for his outfit, held on the 14th anniversary of the futile Million Man March. The well-hyped demonstration provided little benefit to the black community it purported to assist and remains the subject of controversy:

"Although the march won support and participation from a number of prominent African American leaders, its legacy is plagued by controversy over several issues. The leader of the march, Louis Farrakhan, is a highly contested figure whose biting commentary on race in America has led some to wonder whether the message of the march can successfully be disentangled from the controversial messenger.[4] Further, men and women alike question the decision to focus on black men to the exclusion of black women. Although women were involved in the planning and execution of the event, it is a male-only occasion in both name and public image that, some argue, could be detrimental to the already tenuous gender relations in the African American community.[5] Finally, within the first twenty-four hours following the March a conflict between March organizers and Park Service officials erupted over crowd size estimates. The National Park Service issued an estimate of about 400,000 attendees[6], a number significantly lower than March organizers had hoped for.[7] After a heated exchange between leaders of the march and Park Service, ABC-TV funded researchers at Boston University who estimated the crowd size to be 837,000 plus or minus 20%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March

It truly sounds as though Farrakhan has been talking with the Reverand Jeremiah Wright http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617eK2XIaLk again. The Reverand Wright provided the "Prayer for Hope" listed in the program of events for the March. Clearly the two black spiritual leaders are as inextricably linked to one another as they are linked in turn to Barack Obama. I was unable to find a text of Wright's MMM speech in my research, but you can bet it was filled with the tub-thumping theatrics we have come to expect from Obama's long-time pastor. Note that this clip includes Wright's suggestion that the HIV virus was designed to kill people as well: blacks in particular. Seems to be a theme here.

As part of the Atonement Farrakhan sought to generate from his followers, he included the following disclaimer regarding President Obama:

"Farrakhan told listeners not to become complacent as a result of Barack Obama's election as the United States' first black president, the newspaper said.
'You have to understand that he was voted in to take on the affairs of a nation, not yours and mine. He is the American president, not the black president." (ibid)

This is not a particularly ringing endorsement of Obama. One would expect a strong American president to condemn the dangerous lies being pedalled by his demogogic former associates. But then we don't have a strong American president. We have Barack Obama.

Justice Sotomayor-Fashion Emergency

The sartorial expression of Sotomayor chic has been the subject of controversy since the decidedly dowdy new Supreme Court Justice first appeared as nominee to the post. The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan was restrained in her criticism of the Wise Latina look:
“Her wardrobe, as she sat for her daily grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not reflect the fashion industry's constant refrain. In fact, it did not even appear to have been influenced by the 21st century. Instead, Sotomayor's clothes evoked authority in the manner of a 1980s lady power broker.
And while a wing of the fashion industry has been enraptured by the styles of the 1980s, its focus has been more on embellished military jackets, harem pants and jersey dresses that look as though they might spontaneously combust on a particularly hot day. That is not the part of 1980s fashion history Sotomayor was channeling. She embraced that period in fashion when femininity had no place in the executive suite.’
She, in Givhan's words, left her gender at the door.” http://jezebel.com/5318648/critique-of-sotomayors-fashion-choices-falls-flat
Given the seriousness and dignity of the position she was applying for, coupled with Sotomayor’s general frumpiness http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/16/judge-sotomayors-suits-wh_n_236042.html , something more feminine was probably out of the question. Showing up in spandex or a halter top would likely have put the kibosh on the carefully orchestrated Sotomayor roll-out.
As it turns out, the presentation of the Wise Latina was far more intricately organized by the Obama team image-makers than we realized. According to NBC news:
“(Sotomayor,) The Yale Law School grad talked about shopping for clothes to wear to her acceptance ceremony, but government officials took over the fashion decisions. They told her to bring five suits and then recommended which one she should wear.” http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/politics/Justice-Sotomayor-says-White-House-Left-Nothing-to-Chance-64724512.html
If B.O. and the Keystone Fashion Cops in charge of the executive branch couldn’t trust Red Sonia http://ezinearticles.com/?Red-Judge,-Blue-Judge---Science-and-Sonia-Sotomayor---Research-Reveals-Judicial-Bias-to-Be-Common&id=2612211 to pick out the right outfits to wear to her confirmation hearings, do you think they trust her to make the right decisions on the bench?

Rep. Patrick Murphy-His Record Speaks for Itself

In his American Thinker blog http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/10/the_people_of_this_country_are.html George Joyce asks:

" how the “Saber Speaks” video made it past Iraq War veteran and panelist Patrick Murphy," since it depicts the defacement of an American flag.

Well, Democrat Congressman Murphy is certainly not your traditional American military veteran. His history suggests he is cut from the same cloth as Senator John Kerry who also used his military service as a springboard to political office.

Murphy became an attorney before he joined the military, rather an odd choice, at least in terms of income production. I find nothing in Murphy's on-line history to indicate that he was a battlefield veteran. Although he is listed as a paratrooper as well, Murphy's served as a JAG Corps attorney with 82nd Airborne:

" work(ing) to reconstruct the justice system and help(ing) prosecute Sheik Moyad, a lieutenant of Muqtada al-Sadr.[4] Murphy was awarded the Bronze Star for his seven months of service in Iraq." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Murphy_(politician)

Once Murphy returned home, he immediately ran in the next Congressional race for the seat in Pennsylvania's 8th Coingressional District. He defeated the incumbent by less than 1500 votes and was re-elected with a boost from the coat-tails of Barack Obama in 2008.

There is nothing in Congressman Murphy's voting record to suggest that he is particularly patriotic-his record appears to this reporter as typical for one leaning over the far leftist fringe:

"Murphy has a 100 percent rating from NARAL and "supported the interests of Planned Parenthood 100 percent in 2008.

Murphy voted for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009-the dreaded Stimulus Bill.

Murphy has a D+ rating from the NRA. [8] In 2007, Murphy co-sponsored legislation that would re-authorize a Federal ban on semi-automatic firearms.[9] In 2008, he was an original co-sponsor of legislation that would repeal the District of Columbia's ban on semi-automatic weapons and mandatory handgun registration.

Patrick Murphy opposes the military's "Don't ask, Don't Tell" policy of excusing service members from the American military because of their sexual orientation.

Murphy opposed the Surge in 2007. He was a cosponsor, with Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), of the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007." (all ibid Wikipedia)

What a guy! Even a cursory examination of Congressman Murphy's voting record and political inclination demonstrates that he is not the man you want protecting your flag. Even if he resigns his position as an "Expert" on Obama's Organizing for America public relations gambit, this disgraceful negligence in the face of Murphy's pledged duty as a member of the military to support America should be used to chase this purported Blue Dog Democrat out in the open.

He looks more like a Yellow Dog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_dog_Democrat to me.

Economically Unbalanced Budget

Did you ever stop to consider how in the world the United States of America, the most powerful economic engine in the history of the known universe, can end up several trillion dollars in debt? Well, take a look at the microcosmom of America evident in this report from the Denver Post:

"Thousands of tiny dead fish drifted down Cherry Creek through Denver on Tuesday morning, becoming fodder for other urban critters and bit players in an ecological mystery.
As the silvery gizzard shad began to wash ashore upstream from Confluence Park, firefighters responded, followed by city, federal and state environmental overseers." http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13655676?source=rss

So some hapless beasties, very far down the food chain, go belly up and America has teams from not only the fire department, but at every level of our government, poised and ready to strike. And with state-of-the-art equipment, I might add.

Why did the fire department respond in the first place? Did they think the fish caught fire?

Let's take a look at the Keystone Bureaucrats call-to-action over what is most likely a normally occuring act of nature:

"A state biologist (was) called to the creek

Federal scientists sampled water from Cherry Creek...

Colorado Department of Health and Environment officials (were consulted)

Federal Environmental Protection Agency experts hiked a few blocks from their regional headquarters to Cherry Creek to check out the drifting dead fish and offer help

Firefighters used an infrared device to look for contamination in the water.

(H)azmat crew Capt. C.J. Haberkorn said (, results were) "negative so far."

In addition, state parks rangers were consulted and local marina employees were interviewed. How many man-hours and how much equipment expense was rustled up in the Mystery of the Silvery Shad? I don't want to appear hard-hearted about the little semi-sentient creatures, but where is the fiscal restraint?

Across the full spectrum of the American bureaurcracy, every day tens of thousands of busy-bodies waste our tax dollars pursuing the politically correct agenda entrenched at every level of our government. Are these the jobs we continue to save and create?

Doctors Recommend Obamacare

(This article first appeared at The American Thinker on 11/7/2009.)
By the late 1930's Americans began to recognize the health risks associated with smoking. The tobacco companies responded by enlisting the use of physicians and some decidedly questionable studies (see vintage Philip Morris ad here) in their advertising:

Now the Democrats attempting to foist their public option upon us have drafted physicians again to promote a raft of legislation that will do just as much harm to the public health as those disingenuous cigarette ads. Despite considerable dissension in the ranks, it appears the AMA is willing to horse-trade with the Democrats:
"Dr. James Rohack, the Temple cardiologist who heads the 250,000-member American Medical Association, said the bill isn't perfect but goes a long way toward expanding access to health coverage and making the system better. He said it must be passed with a companion bill that averts a 21 percent cut to Medicare reimbursement."
Of course, the AMA doesn't speak for all physicians:
"Sermo.com, a 3-year-old physician-only online community, has recently become a hotbed of discussion against the AMA. Its founder, Dr. Daniel Palestrant, posted that he was "joining ranks with physicians who believe the AMA no longer speaks for them."
The results of a survey of 4,156 physicians were recently posted on the site. Of the respondents, 75% are not AMA members, and 89% claim that, "The AMA does not speak for me," while 91% do not believe the AMA accurately reflects their opinions as physicians."
And the AMA, at least according to one U.S. Senator with a long history of engaging the organization, appears to be easily manipulated by politicians:
"I continue to be perplexed at the short-term focus of the AMA on this issue - over which they are willing to swallow hook, line and sinker the rest of the Pelosi bill,' Cornyn said. 'The Pelosi bill not only fails to include common-sense medical liability reform for physicians, but it includes a new government program that will have all the same problems we've seen with Medicare.'"
Cornyn last week told the Associated Press that "I can't think of a more ineffective organization when it comes to dealing with Congress" than the AMA. "The lesson I've learned ... is if you agree to fix their compensation, they will basically get in the tank with their natural adversaries." (ibid Houston Chronicle)
In short, the American public needn't be swayed by the quizzical stand taken by some physicians in support of their narrow financial interest. At least not any more than consumers should have been convinced that smoking a different brand of cigarettes would heal the effects of previous damage from smoking.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Chimp Attack Victim Seeks Damages

The tragic victim of Travis the Chimpanzee in Connecticut has served notice that she is suing both the state and the late chimp’s owner, Sandra Herold. The nightmarish scene at Herold’s Stamford home ended in Permanent Bedtime for Travis http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1182571776/tt0043325 and the loss of the victim’s eyelids, hands, noses, lips and vision.

No amount of money could ever erase the horror of that unimaginably vicious attack. The victim is seeking $150 million from the state and $50 million from Herold, the chimp’s grieving owner, who may have plied the chimp with Xanax prior to his violent rampage.

Perhaps the state’s failure to prohibit Herold from keeping a potentially dangerous animal as a pet is grounds for the state’s liability. In any case, $200 million is not exactly chimp change.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Search for the Wikipedia Libelist

(This article was first published at The American Thinker.)
Thanks to an intrepid blogger with the tag Trapdoc posting a letter to Mark Steyn, the search for the Wikipedia Libelist responsible for damaging posts to the Rush Limbaugh account has been narrowed to the IP address of a New York City law firm:

"The quotes were added by a user with the IP address of 69.64.213.146. This address has been used mostly to make changes to the article about Rush, but also Karl Rove, Sean Hannity,.. James Dobson and Sara Palin from 2005 until earlier this year.
While others have noted this in various forums, no one seems to have made the connection that this IP address is used as a gateway by the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP (see here, for example) that all users from that IP address come from the pbwt.com domain.)" http://www.steynonline.com/content/blogcategory/38/113/

The firm provides a wide array of legal services with a broad spectrum of politically correct causes served:

"It is one of the first major firms in New York City to elect a woman as managing partner. In addition to its Diversity Committee, a group of Patterson Belknap attorneys formed PAC—Patterson Attorneys of Color—to assist with the enhancement of workplace diversity and the recruitment, retention and promotion of attorneys of color. Another group, Out at Patterson, focuses on issues relevant to the firm’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and Women Lawyers at Patterson (WLAP) focuses on women's issues." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson_Belknap_Webb_&_Tyler

Considering Rush's militant political incorrectness, there may be a large number of potentially culpable attorneys and/or staffers to choose from. However, a forensic data retrieval technician should surely be able to narrow the focus and identify the likely poster. Perhaps Rush can enlist the aid of PBWT alumni, Rudy Giuliani, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau or firm partner, Edward F. Cox, (son-in-law of former President, Richard M. Nixon) in his search for justice

There is no question that Mr. Limbaugh has been damaged by the salacious quotes added to his Wikipedia profile and their dissemination in the PC-stream media. Hope this helps, Rush.

You know they say the only cure for a lawyer is another lawyer.....