Liberals

5 Comments Posted on Democrats, Liberals

better to remain silent

But no…Chuck Schumer must speak and say something stupid.

Here he is:

Why else would the American people oppose this bill?  This stimulus bill will NOT fix the economy for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is that most of the new spending projects won’t provide any immediate benefit to the average person.  At least with Bush’s stimulus, taxpayers (along with non-taxpayers) got a tangible benefit in the form of a check as a result of that plan. The Republicans (and President Bush) spent too much taxpayer money on previous spending bills.  That’s been acknowledged many times.  But what President Bush started,  President Obama has spent much more taxpayer money on all this new stimulus legislation than even I expected him to do.  What do we get with the Democrats and President Obama? Money for special interests and ACORN.

8 Comments Posted on Democrats, George W. Bush, Iraq, Liberals

very impressive

I’ve had doubts about President Obama since I first took a look at his campaign, but even I didn’t expect this level of confusion.

Now-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner –  isn’t too keen on paying taxes, even when it’s clearly explained to him how to do it.  It inspires such confidence knowing that our Treasury Secretary can’t handle his own taxes or even manage to find himself a decent accountant to keep track of those things for him.  This is the only guy who can solve the economy?  If so, we are in deep trouble.  Shame on the Republicans who voted to confirm him.

Former HHS nominee – Senator Daschle – married to a super-lobbyist,  didn’t consider the tax implications of having his own personal limo driver “kindly lent to him” by a friend with absolutely no strings attached. Is he the only one capable of forcing through universal health care?   That’s doubtful.

Watch as the former senator rails against tax cheats.  Good stuff.  Wish I could embed this video.

Former Chief Performance Officer nominee – Nancy Killefer, felled by nanny issues and tax issues.

Then there’s the botched handling of General Anthony Zinni.  He was reportedly offered the job of ambassador to Iraq by Secretary of State Clinton, then President Obama changed his mind and withdrew the offer.   Can’t say I understand the President’s reasoning here, especially when they have apparently decided to give the job to Bush’s assistant secretary of State for East Asia, Chris Hill. Is there something else we don’t know about him that’s fatally damaging?  Kind of makes you wonder, based on the current pattern of Obama nominees.

There’s more Cabinet members worthy of skepticism, including AG Eric Holder, but I think these are enough examples of the flaws in President Obama’s vetting process.  This is truly ethics and competence we can believe in.  Not to mention that great judgment Obama was always bragging about…

President Obama says “I screwed up” when talking about some of these picks.  Good for him.  He doesn’t get extra credit for taking responsibility for his mistakes.  I just hope that he’s a quick study on how to deal with our allies and our enemies.  Foreign policy is an area where a simple “Oops” or “I screwed up” may not be sufficient to obtain forgiveness from the American people.

2 Comments Posted on Conservatives, Democrats, Liberals, Republicans

nyet

All of the House Republicans voted against the stimulus package.  Good for them.  President Obama doesn’t need their support, and he shouldn’t expect it when the legislation being proposed doesn’t achieve (or come close to achieving) what should be the primary objective — stimulating the economy.  This is pork-laden legislation as well as some tax cuts to people who don’t EVEN PAY taxes (otherwise known as welfare).  Bad proposals are bad proposals.  It does the Republicans no political good to go along with all of President Obama’s plans, and it might continue to hurt them with the conservative base.  In addition to that, if this stimulus fails to get the job done (and it will),  the blame will be solely on the president and the Democrats.  That is, unless the Senate Republicans fail to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House.

Posted on Democrats, Liberals, War on Terror

not in my country

So President Obama has taken care of one of the items on the left’s wish list – closing Gitmo.  Congratulations to them.  I suppose it never occurred to anyone to question whether what we were told about the general care and treatment of the detainees there was accurate.  Instead we are content to assume that a few obvious cases of mistreatment there are representative of the whole operation at Gitmo.  I don’t intend to minimize any abuses that may have occurred, but I tend to find our military more trustworthy than alleged terrorists.  No way any of these detainees would have exaggerated or lied about their treatment .  After all, these are simply misunderstood young Muslim men who were just minding their own business when they were snatched away from their families for no good reason whatsoever.  Right.  The majority of Gitmo inmates are there for a good reason.  Also, I don’t know many other prisons that have made so many accommodations for their prisoners’ religious faith.  Many of them have special dietary-approved food, prayer rugs, and their own Korans. They even have scheduled prayer times.  How many countries would show American captives such consideration?  Answer: None.

There is some question about how many former Gitmo prisoners have returned to the jihad after their release.  The number is immaterial. I’m not saying this to defend those who may be exaggerating the numbers here. How many terrorists (or alleged terrorists, if you prefer that term) does it take to carry out terrorist attacks?  Not very many. So whether it’s 5%, 10%, or some other percentage, these are folks that I wouldn’t trust to stay on the straight and narrow after their release — and I certainly wouldn’t want former Gitmo inmates in my neighborhood (unless it was clear that they were never part of the jihad).

I question President Obama on this, because I don’t think he has thought this whole decision through.  What are the chances Europe will agree to take these former Gitmo detainees?  Even with President’s Obama’s awesomeness and great charisma, they will still say no to him on this.  I just can’t understand why they wouldn’t want all these pure and innocent Muslim folks in their countries.  Maybe they see something that the left in this country refuses to see.  Where will these detainees go?  This is an important question, and one Obama should have considered before pulling the trigger on this executive order.  He will need more than a year to figure out what to do with them.

One thing I know — the president’s sky-high approval numbers will come to earth in a hurry if he re-settles the former Gitmo detainees in this country.  It’s great that the president has so much faith in the virtue of these gentlemen, but I don’t trust them, and I bet that my fellow Americans would agree with me.  It’s a chance we shouldn’t have to take.  One 9/11 was one too many.

Posted on '08 Election, Democracy, Democrats, Liberals

history

It was with mixed emotions that I watched the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama.  As a conservative, I have an obligation to stand up for what I believe is right, and to oppose about 95% of what our new President wants to do.  But it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment and almost believe that one mortal human can do everything he’s promised to do as our new President.  Inaugural events are made for TV, and the massive crowds gathered to witness this historic event added to the drama of the moment we all witnessed together.  Yet we all must realize the limitations of any President and any politician to fill gaps in our wallets or in our lives.  There is a proper role of government in this country, and we need to get back to it.  The responsibility for our success or failure belongs to us alone.  If you are looking to a politician or to a celebrity to fulfill a spiritual need in your life, may I humbly suggest that you look elsewhere?  Otherwise, prepare for disappointment. Some walls were broken down today, but there are those who insist on living in our tainted racial past — like Rev. Lowery.   If the African-American community expected all racism to be gone with the election of Barack Obama, then this might come as a shock.

Highlights and lowlights:

That was awkward — Chief Justice John Roberts flubbing the presidential oath of office, DiFi’s questionable pronunciation skillz (For the record, I do think she could have said OATH instead of OAF.)

Worst meaningless poem ever — Elizabeth Alexander and her ‘praise song for the day‘.  I’m not even sure if that was the title, but it certainly seemed to be a poem about nothing.

Not Dress code approved — Joe Lieberman’s baseball cap.

Best-looking Obama – tie – Barry and his kids.  I question the wisdom of the First Lady’s stylist.

Because Jeremiah Wright suddenly had to be out of town on January 20th — Rev. Lowery.  His words were a repudiation of all this unity our President keeps talking about.  We are all Americans.  That’s our common thread.  Why is this guy seeking to keep us divided into racial groups?

I don’t remember much about what our new President said, except that it was unexceptional compared to some of his previous speeches.  The trouble is that he’s set such a high bar for himself that it could be difficult to meet those expectations.

1 Comment Posted on Democrats, Liberals, War on Terror

terrorists strike in india

Those expecting the terrorists to give the upcoming Obama administration a break better wake up.  For these goons, it doesn’t matter who the President of the United States is.  They will continue to do what they do, and we must be ready to protect our country and to defend our allies when they need us.

The Times of India is reporting:

Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city’s most high-profile targets — the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard — killing at least 80 and sending more than 900 to hospital, according to latest reports.

The Deccan Mujahideen is claiming responsibility for the attacks.

Make no mistake about it — Vice President-elect Biden was absolutely right.  Barack Obama will be tested early and often at the beginning of his Presidency.  We must all pray that President-elect Obama and his security team get the right information and have the right strategy to keep us safe and to keep attacks like this from happening here in America.

3 Comments Posted on '08 Election, Conservatives, Democrats, Liberals, Republicans

making stuff up

You know that story about Sarah Palin not knowing that Africa is a continent?  Total fabrication.  Even the New York Times admits it.  Credit the New York Times for finally reporting the correct story, but the damage has already been done.  The truth doesn’t matter when the media has a reputation to destroy, and they have done their worst to Sarah Palin.  While my fellow conservatives have sometimes overemphasized the liberal slant of news coverage, during this election the media did choose sides, and their side won.  Can’t these guys enjoy the victory for awhile and attempt this “post-partisan” love-in we were all promised by President-elect Obama?  The election is over.  Let’s move on from the Sarah Palin wars and talk about this great new President-elect, ok?

As always…it’s too much to ask of them.

Posted on '08 Election, Conservatives, Democrats, Liberals, Republicans

aftermath

The time has already come for assessing blame and naming those at fault for the McCain loss.  It didn’t take long for anonymous McCain staffers to trash Sarah Palin (without having the guts to put their names on the allegations).  That takes real courage, doesn’t it?  The debate isn’t over Sarah Palin’s qualifications or knowledge of foreign affairs.  That one’s been lost, because even though most of us like her, we know her limitations as a VP candidate.  This is about these anonymous McCain people blaming her for their failures.

I want to know who these people are and how much influence they had in whatever vetting process took place before Palin’s selection.  If they were involved in her selection, believing that she wasn’t ready for the job, and yet telling McCain to pick her anyway, that’s political malpractice.  It could just be that McCain ignored those people to pick Sarah, and they don’t want to be blamed for what many people see as a bad choice by McCain.   Whatever scenario you want to believe, it doesn’t reflect the McCain campaign in a positive light.

One mistake that was made in the Palin selection was that the McCain campaign had to spend valuable campaign time defending Sarah’s record and qualifications  — time that could have been spent defining McCain’s own message. The goal was to make the case for himself and explain why Barack Obama would be a risky choice for America.  Even with the pick of Governor Palin, and the diversion it may have caused in the campaign, there were clear opportunities for John McCain to make that case, and he wasn’t able to do it.  That’s not Sarah Palin’s fault.

It was going to be an uphill battle against Barack Obama, even if Republicans had a candidate a majority of us could support.  The results shouldn’t surprise anybody, taking into account the current President’s unpopularity and the damaged Republican brand over the past 8 years.  But it would have been a worse loss without Governor Palin on the ticket.  She energized the base and got McCain more Republican votes than he would have gotten with any other pick.  She deserves credit for that, and most of the blame for a mismanaged McCain effort should go to his campaign team, not to her.