Over and Done
And then they’re saying, "Obama has got to step in. You need to be here. I’ve been here. I’ve been doing Afghanistan and Bin Laden and the Greek crisis. You stay here. Let’s get it done." (NYT, 6/30/2011)
Obama's campaign strategy comes to light: "I've been too busy catching Bin Laden to focus on the economy."
Arts and Crooks
Two years ago, arts in corrections programs were a mainstay of prisons across the country, embraced by administrators as a way to channel aggression, break down racial barriers, teach social skills and prepare inmates for the outside world. There was an arts coordinator in each of the 33 California state prisons, overseeing a rich variety of theater, painting and dance. But these programs have become a fading memory, casualties of the budget crises that have overwhelmed state and local governments nationwide. (NYT, 6/30/2011)
Loved this one! The little darlings have lost their paints and crayons. What ever happened to breaking rocks?
Broad Daylight
In a press conference Wednesday, Chittenden County State's attorney T.J. Donovan announced that he would not pursue the criminal charge-- neglect of duty-- following a 6-month investigation into Burlington Telecom's operations. City officials did violate BT's state license and the city charter when they used taxpayer dollars to fund the municipal utility. But Donovan says he can't justify going to trial considering the maximum penalty for the offense is 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. (WCAX.com, 6/30/2011)
$17 million is stolen and Burlington's Progressive mafia gets a pass. You can't make this stuff up.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Money In The Bank
Lock and Key
Several readers point out another key difference between Bachmann and Palin — their approach to criticism. Bachmann, at least so far in the campaign, has shown a willingness to acknowledge mistakes she makes on the campaign trail. Palin is notorious for doubling-down on perceived missteps, typically blaming a biased media for not telling the whole story. (The Fix - Washington Post, 6/28/2011)
The liberal media just love to talk about Republican "mistakes." Witness the standard question asked of George Bush at press conferences: "Mr. President, can you talk about the biggest mistake you have made as president?" Such question which has been sidelined for the past three years.
Revert To Form
One of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s top advisers met with the operators of the Indian Point nuclear plant last week and told them that the governor was determined to close the plant. (NYT, 6/29/2011)
Fresh off standing up to the public unions, Cuomo channels his inner Shumlin and turns his focus to the really important issues: closing down a major supplier of cheap energy and gay marriage.
There Are No Words
At the State Department this week, gay diplomats and bureaucrats held their annual celebration of gay-pride month, which included a roundtable discussion of efforts to promote gay rights overseas. Don Steinberg, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, decreed: “Our mission must be to promote social and legal equality for the LGBT community.” (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 6/29/2011)
Did anyone else see this? The State Department has an "annual celebration of gay-pride month?" Has the government gone absolutely insane? The mission of the State Department "must be to promote social and legal equality for the LGBT community?" Are they kidding? How about this? How about an annual State Department celebration of the Creator? Or of America's legacy of aid and charity to poor nations? Or of patriotism? Or of the triumph of democracy? Or of....well, you get it. We can't mention God in the classroom, but the State Department can celebrate gay-pride month. This country is off its rocker. Stop the insanity. Vote Republican.
Several readers point out another key difference between Bachmann and Palin — their approach to criticism. Bachmann, at least so far in the campaign, has shown a willingness to acknowledge mistakes she makes on the campaign trail. Palin is notorious for doubling-down on perceived missteps, typically blaming a biased media for not telling the whole story. (The Fix - Washington Post, 6/28/2011)
The liberal media just love to talk about Republican "mistakes." Witness the standard question asked of George Bush at press conferences: "Mr. President, can you talk about the biggest mistake you have made as president?" Such question which has been sidelined for the past three years.
Revert To Form
One of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s top advisers met with the operators of the Indian Point nuclear plant last week and told them that the governor was determined to close the plant. (NYT, 6/29/2011)
Fresh off standing up to the public unions, Cuomo channels his inner Shumlin and turns his focus to the really important issues: closing down a major supplier of cheap energy and gay marriage.
There Are No Words
At the State Department this week, gay diplomats and bureaucrats held their annual celebration of gay-pride month, which included a roundtable discussion of efforts to promote gay rights overseas. Don Steinberg, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, decreed: “Our mission must be to promote social and legal equality for the LGBT community.” (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 6/29/2011)
Did anyone else see this? The State Department has an "annual celebration of gay-pride month?" Has the government gone absolutely insane? The mission of the State Department "must be to promote social and legal equality for the LGBT community?" Are they kidding? How about this? How about an annual State Department celebration of the Creator? Or of America's legacy of aid and charity to poor nations? Or of patriotism? Or of the triumph of democracy? Or of....well, you get it. We can't mention God in the classroom, but the State Department can celebrate gay-pride month. This country is off its rocker. Stop the insanity. Vote Republican.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
When The Levee Breaks
Spinning Platters
President Obama’s $35,800-a-plate fund-raising dinner was the talk of Wall Street last week. Held at Daniel, the Michelin three-star restaurant of Daniel Boulud on the Upper East Side, the event was seen as a test of the president’s popularity among the deep-pocketed financiers he has often vilified but has long relied on to finance his campaign. The tables were filled with moneymen like Marc Lasry, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Avenue Capital; Robert Wolf, the chief executive of UBS Group Americas; and Mark T. Gallogly, a co-founder of Centerbridge Partners. (Dealbook, NYT, 6/27/2011)
Two points: Dems and Obama are the party of Wall Street; Wall Street deserves all the rhetoric and regulation that Obama throws their way.
Joke Is On Us
Mr. Blagojevich’s impeachment, removal from office and evolution into a punch line on late-night television threatened the Democratic Party’s political hold on the state, created an outcry to overhaul lax state campaign finance and public records laws, and led to added scrutiny of some of this city’s best-known politicians, including Mr. Obama, Rahm Emanuel (the president’s former chief of staff and now Chicago’s mayor) and Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (NYT, 6/228/2011)
Well not that much scrutiny, really.
Other Than
The opponents (of gay marriage) have no case other than ignorance and misconception and prejudice. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
Thanks for the insightful analysis, Mr. Cohen. All this time we thought that the "case" of opponents of gay marriage was based on thousands of years of historical and sociological convention and/or deeply held religious beliefs.
President Obama’s $35,800-a-plate fund-raising dinner was the talk of Wall Street last week. Held at Daniel, the Michelin three-star restaurant of Daniel Boulud on the Upper East Side, the event was seen as a test of the president’s popularity among the deep-pocketed financiers he has often vilified but has long relied on to finance his campaign. The tables were filled with moneymen like Marc Lasry, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Avenue Capital; Robert Wolf, the chief executive of UBS Group Americas; and Mark T. Gallogly, a co-founder of Centerbridge Partners. (Dealbook, NYT, 6/27/2011)
Two points: Dems and Obama are the party of Wall Street; Wall Street deserves all the rhetoric and regulation that Obama throws their way.
Joke Is On Us
Mr. Blagojevich’s impeachment, removal from office and evolution into a punch line on late-night television threatened the Democratic Party’s political hold on the state, created an outcry to overhaul lax state campaign finance and public records laws, and led to added scrutiny of some of this city’s best-known politicians, including Mr. Obama, Rahm Emanuel (the president’s former chief of staff and now Chicago’s mayor) and Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (NYT, 6/228/2011)
Well not that much scrutiny, really.
Other Than
The opponents (of gay marriage) have no case other than ignorance and misconception and prejudice. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
Thanks for the insightful analysis, Mr. Cohen. All this time we thought that the "case" of opponents of gay marriage was based on thousands of years of historical and sociological convention and/or deeply held religious beliefs.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tied To The Mast
Welcome To The Jungle
The Los Angeles Times published an investigative report Sunday that found (Michele) Bachmann and her family have benefited personally from government aid even as the congresswoman campaigns against federal spending.(Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
The LA Times also published the final results of its investigation of Barack Obama's shady Chicago real estate deal with convicted felon Tony Rezko. Just kidding!
All The Time
Republicans and outside critics also have honed in on the political connections of some companies that have received federal help. The most attention has focused on Solyndra, a Silicon Valley solar company that ran into financial trouble after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee commitment. Last week, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed the Office of Management and Budget to account for its role in the selection. Obama visited Solyndra’s factory in May 2010, only weeks after it became public that independent auditors had questioned whether it could remain a “going concern.” (Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
It doesn't matter. If it's green, they love it.
Times Themes
No fewer than five - count em, five - gay-themed stories this morning on the New York Times website.
The Los Angeles Times published an investigative report Sunday that found (Michele) Bachmann and her family have benefited personally from government aid even as the congresswoman campaigns against federal spending.(Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
The LA Times also published the final results of its investigation of Barack Obama's shady Chicago real estate deal with convicted felon Tony Rezko. Just kidding!
All The Time
Republicans and outside critics also have honed in on the political connections of some companies that have received federal help. The most attention has focused on Solyndra, a Silicon Valley solar company that ran into financial trouble after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee commitment. Last week, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed the Office of Management and Budget to account for its role in the selection. Obama visited Solyndra’s factory in May 2010, only weeks after it became public that independent auditors had questioned whether it could remain a “going concern.” (Washington Post, 6/27/2011)
It doesn't matter. If it's green, they love it.
Times Themes
No fewer than five - count em, five - gay-themed stories this morning on the New York Times website.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Obama and the Politics of Gay Marriage
President Obama's position on gay marriage is described as "evolving." Given his previous support (before he was running for president) does anyone doubt in which direction his opinion is evolving toward? Put it another way, Obama is - by all the evidence - a liberal. He publicly supports redistribution of wealth, abortion, all things "green," etc. All are essential planks of the liberal doctrine. So on the single issue of gay marriage we are supposed to believe that Obama suddenly has a less-than-liberal thought. It is utter nonsense. Obama's position is politics, pure and simple. Here is how it goes.
During his first run for the presidency, Obama's pollsters told him that he could not come out in support of gay marriage. The majority of Americans are opposed to it and it would hurt his chances. And so he instead supported civil unions - short of what his gay supporters wanted. No doubt discussions took place between his team and the gay community....discussions along the lines of "let's get this guy elected first and then we can support your cause when the time is right." Well three quarters of the way through his term, the gay community begins to press the issue. "He's not our guy, after all" some complain. The pressure is on.
Obama's team knows that he must shore up his gay base for his next run. And so he heads to a New York fundraiser of his gay supporters. He is met with a mostly positive reception with only a few calls for him to support gay marriage. What happened? The same thing as before. No doubt the Obama re-election advance team sat down with the leaders of the gay community. The conversation probably went along the lines of...hey, we are on your side, but it's been a bear of a first term what with the mess that Bush left us with, etc. Then again: "let's get this guy re-elected first and then we can support your cause." After all then there will be no third term to worry about.
If Obama is re-elected, look for the completion of the "evolution" of his thinking shortly thereafter.
During his first run for the presidency, Obama's pollsters told him that he could not come out in support of gay marriage. The majority of Americans are opposed to it and it would hurt his chances. And so he instead supported civil unions - short of what his gay supporters wanted. No doubt discussions took place between his team and the gay community....discussions along the lines of "let's get this guy elected first and then we can support your cause when the time is right." Well three quarters of the way through his term, the gay community begins to press the issue. "He's not our guy, after all" some complain. The pressure is on.
Obama's team knows that he must shore up his gay base for his next run. And so he heads to a New York fundraiser of his gay supporters. He is met with a mostly positive reception with only a few calls for him to support gay marriage. What happened? The same thing as before. No doubt the Obama re-election advance team sat down with the leaders of the gay community. The conversation probably went along the lines of...hey, we are on your side, but it's been a bear of a first term what with the mess that Bush left us with, etc. Then again: "let's get this guy re-elected first and then we can support your cause." After all then there will be no third term to worry about.
If Obama is re-elected, look for the completion of the "evolution" of his thinking shortly thereafter.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Got The Ebb, Got The Flow
Sadly Indeed
Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and Senate majority leader, also said he expected that the talks would resume at a higher level, though he provided no timetable. “With what Kyl and Cantor’s done, I think it’s in the hands of the speaker and the president and, sadly, probably me,” he told reporters. (NYT, 6/24/2011)
A great nation weeps.
Hazy Crazy
Part of that cult of personality is the myth that he is the World's Greatest Orator, a myth the (New York) Times evokes with its hazy recollections of times when he was "highly persuasive." When was he highly persuasive? When he sold the public on the so-called stimulus and ObamaCare? When he campaigned for Democrats in 2010? When he rallied public support for his last change in Afghan policy, an increase in the U.S. troop presence? (James Taranto, WSJ, 6/24/2011)
Good one from Taranto. Notwithstanding the endless gaffes and the instantly forgettable speeches, the Left clings to the "Obama the Orator" script.
Posit This
“It is time to focus on nation-building here at home,” Obama says, in a line that would be trite and cynical at a campaign rally. In a wartime presidential address, it is beyond precedent and belief. A president provides for the common defense and promotes the general welfare, instead of positing a dangerous choice between the two. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 6/24/2011)
Our emphasis....because it is such an incredibly good point.
Ways and Means
Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. (President Obama, Address to the Nation on Afghanistan, 6/22/2011)
Time to get out of Afghanistan so that we can focus on those green jobs. By the way, it seems we have been waiting , like forever, for that solar-powered car.
Super Duper
The contributors to House Majority PAC, the new Democratic Super PAC, reads like a Glenn Beck fever dream. The list includes George Soros, a hedge fund billionaire and long-time backer of political efforts to elect Democrats, and a collection of unions, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Associated Federal, State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME). (Huffington Post, 6/24/2011)
Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers will now accept Democrat apologies.
Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and Senate majority leader, also said he expected that the talks would resume at a higher level, though he provided no timetable. “With what Kyl and Cantor’s done, I think it’s in the hands of the speaker and the president and, sadly, probably me,” he told reporters. (NYT, 6/24/2011)
A great nation weeps.
Hazy Crazy
Part of that cult of personality is the myth that he is the World's Greatest Orator, a myth the (New York) Times evokes with its hazy recollections of times when he was "highly persuasive." When was he highly persuasive? When he sold the public on the so-called stimulus and ObamaCare? When he campaigned for Democrats in 2010? When he rallied public support for his last change in Afghan policy, an increase in the U.S. troop presence? (James Taranto, WSJ, 6/24/2011)
Good one from Taranto. Notwithstanding the endless gaffes and the instantly forgettable speeches, the Left clings to the "Obama the Orator" script.
Posit This
“It is time to focus on nation-building here at home,” Obama says, in a line that would be trite and cynical at a campaign rally. In a wartime presidential address, it is beyond precedent and belief. A president provides for the common defense and promotes the general welfare, instead of positing a dangerous choice between the two. (Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 6/24/2011)
Our emphasis....because it is such an incredibly good point.
Ways and Means
Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means. We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. (President Obama, Address to the Nation on Afghanistan, 6/22/2011)
Time to get out of Afghanistan so that we can focus on those green jobs. By the way, it seems we have been waiting , like forever, for that solar-powered car.
Super Duper
The contributors to House Majority PAC, the new Democratic Super PAC, reads like a Glenn Beck fever dream. The list includes George Soros, a hedge fund billionaire and long-time backer of political efforts to elect Democrats, and a collection of unions, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Associated Federal, State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME). (Huffington Post, 6/24/2011)
Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers will now accept Democrat apologies.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Echoes
If Only
Only hours after Mr. Obama spoke, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said on Thursday that he would also begin drawing down the 4,000-strong French contingent in Afghanistan. (NYT, 6/23/2011)
Ahhh the French... If they are not raping hotel chambermaids, they are using any excuse to run from the fight.
Rancor Free!
The negotiations between Mr. Cuomo and the union, which represents about a third of the 186,000 state workers, were largely free of the public rancor that accompanied efforts to reduce spending on labor in New Jersey and Wisconsin. (NYT, 6/23/2011)
And why, RedStateVT wonders was there an absence of rancor? Likely it is pure politics. Unions know that they have to make concessions so they quietly roll over for Dem govs like Cuomo and Deval Patrick, while Walker in Wisconsin and Christie in New Jersey get the full faux outrage of the Left. We do wonder whether Cuomo has a secret "make whole" deal with the unions.
Only hours after Mr. Obama spoke, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said on Thursday that he would also begin drawing down the 4,000-strong French contingent in Afghanistan. (NYT, 6/23/2011)
Ahhh the French... If they are not raping hotel chambermaids, they are using any excuse to run from the fight.
Rancor Free!
The negotiations between Mr. Cuomo and the union, which represents about a third of the 186,000 state workers, were largely free of the public rancor that accompanied efforts to reduce spending on labor in New Jersey and Wisconsin. (NYT, 6/23/2011)
And why, RedStateVT wonders was there an absence of rancor? Likely it is pure politics. Unions know that they have to make concessions so they quietly roll over for Dem govs like Cuomo and Deval Patrick, while Walker in Wisconsin and Christie in New Jersey get the full faux outrage of the Left. We do wonder whether Cuomo has a secret "make whole" deal with the unions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)