Another one for crazy house

“(W)e’re about where Germany was before World War II where they became a social democracy. You still had votes but the votes were just power grabs like you see in Iran, and other places in South America, like Chavez is running down in Venezuela.”

~ Congressman Jim DeMint (R-SC)

What is wrong with these people? It must be hell to go through life impulsively comparing everyday events to the rise of Nazi Germany. This should be a treatable condition.

More Crazy Quotes Here.

The Disaster that was the Bush Administration - Chapter 238 Favoring Fundamentalism over Fact.

Continuing with our 37,551 part series documenting that tragic reign of error that is known as the Bush Administration we introduce a new chapter today. Apparently Scientists now favor the Democratic Party to the Republican Party by a 9 to 1 ratio. Or so says a new poll:

Politics may play some role in the positive way the scientists surveyed judge the times.

More than half of the scientists surveyed (55%) say they are Democrats, compared with 35% of the public. Fully 52% of the scientists call themselves liberals; among the public, just 20% describe themselves as liberals. Many of the scientists surveyed mentioned in their open-ended comments that they were optimistic about the Obama administration’s likely impact on science.
For its part, the public does not perceive scientists as a particularly liberal group. When asked whether they think of scientists as liberal, conservative or neither in particular, nearly two-thirds (64%) choose the latter option. Just 20% say they think of scientists as politically liberal. However, a majority of scientists (56%) do see members of their profession as liberal.

Most scientists had heard at least a little about claims that government scientists were not allowed to report research findings that conflicted with the Bush administration’s point of view.

Now I don’t know what the percentages of GOP to Dem were before the Bush Administration but it couldn’t have been this lop sided. But Bush’s steely determination to suppress facts in favor of ideology has to have something to do with it. With that being said, I’m adding Favoring Fundamentalism over Facts to the colossal list of failures that occurred during the Disastrous Reign of Error known as the Bush Administration.

Does this prove that Global Warming is a Hoax? No doubt some would say yes.

Heckuva Job Junior.

Now it gets worse

It has to be tough to be a wingnut these day if your mission is to derail the nomination of Judge Sotomayor.

First we heard Ken Starr and Ted Olson were backing her. The esteemed Abu Gonzales jumped on board. Then it was GHW Bush and the American Bar Association.

Now it is 1100 Law Professors that are publically supporting her.

With each and every day you get a legion of new enemies uniting against Grand The Cause. Pretty soon its going to seem like the anti-Sotomayor forces are not unlike the remnant of Japanese soldiers holding out on a remote island long after WWII ended.

Like I said, it must be tough to be a wingnut these days.

Alberto Gonzales Nails New Job…….Finally

News on the streets has it that after 2 years of searching, that AbuGonz has reeled in big post at Texas Tech University. And no he’s not working at the book store or anything like that, he’ll be teaching and doing education related things.

Gonzo won’t be teaching contracts, torts, property, or an advanced symposium on jurisdiction. Rather, he’ll be working in the university’s political science department, teaching a “special topics” course on contemporary issues in the executive branch.

The law related classes should be definitely off limits I’d say. Presumably the course on the executive branch will be centered on “What Not To Do When in Office.”

All I can say is that Texas Tech must’ve landed some stimulus funding or maybe some funds from an updated version of Operation Bootstrap. Failing these explanations, one should suspect that someone at Texas Tech owed George Bush a favor and Bush wanted Alberto out of his hair.

Quote of the Day:

"It's an emotional day. A lot of us are still mourning the loss of one of America's most entertaining figures, who left us all too soon. But don't worry, folks, Sarah Palin will be back. ... Comedians everywhere are praying." ~ Conan O'Brien

This is going to leave a mark

Looks like the ABA has given Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor its highest rating. While this is unsurprising (I think only Bork and Thomas graded poorly for obvious reasons), it is sure to cause consternation for some on the Right.

Let’s recap some of the arguments against Sotomayor. So far we heard everyone from “She is a Racist” to “she uses too many words” as a critique of the Judge.

I don’t want to go too far out on a limb, but I don’t think a bogus racism charge along with criticism of her writing style is going to cut it. It looks to me like it is time to pull a Sarah Palin and run the old White Flag up the pole and retreat in a different direction. Just my two cents.

Headline of the Day:

Study: US Dead Last in Voter Registration

The United States is one of a few democratic nations that place the entire burden of registering to vote on individual citizens. Today, one-quarter to one-third of all eligible Americans remain unregistered — and thus are unable to cast ballots that will count. Even Americans who are registered risk being blocked from casting a ballot because of problems with our voter registration system — unprocessed registrations, inaccurate purges of names from the voter rolls, and other administrative and human errors. The registration system is as much a problem for the dedicated civil servants who administer our elections as it is for voters. It is costly, inefficient, and insufficiently accurate….

Looks like we need to get more Cash to ACORN and pronto!

Think how bad this problem would be without ACORN and other groups that help register people to participate in our democracy. It looks like some people owe an appology to ACORN.

Quote of the Day:

"I know that I know that I know that this is the right thing for Alaska."

~ Sarah Palin on her decision to abandon her post.

Yellow Liberal Rag Alert Number 2

Our advice after the election last year was that Mrs. Palin spend two years out of the limelight, tending to her Alaskan duties and studying national issues. Last year's campaign showed she didn't understand economics any better than Mr. McCain -- a very low bar -- and her responses on too many issues sounded like half-baked spin rather than sincere judgments that she herself had reached or understood. No doubt Mr. McCain's backbiting campaign team didn't help her -- we hope the next nominee bars them all -- but every candidate is ultimately responsible for her own performance.

Ronald Reagan changed the national debate, and for three decades Republicans have been able to utter bromides about "liberals" and "big government" and get away with it. After the financial meltdown and long recession, those days are over. The GOP nominee in 2012 will need an explanation for how we got into this mess that goes beyond mimicking Democrats about "Wall Street greed," as well as an agenda for how to restore U.S. prosperity. President Obama will take credit for any recovery, however sluggish, and Republicans will need more than a critical riff about spending and budget deficits.

On the evidence so far, Mrs. Palin isn't yet up to that task. Whether she will be in two years, or six or 10, will depend on whether she's willing to do the hard policy work that can add substance to her natural political talents.

So many Enemies so little time. This time it is the notorious leftist operation known as the Wall Street Journal’s Op Ed page.

Now that she has abandoned her post, and will need to do "hard policy work" to earn credibility, I'm predicting that Sarah will take an easier path. Maybe a TV gig... something like a version of a Jerry Springer show would be the ticket.

Yellow Liberal Rag Alert

Another Alaska Newspaper is outed as mean, Mean MEAN. I knew that Sarah had called out the Anchorage Daily News as a Yellow Liberal Rag. Now it is time to add the Juneau Newspaper to the list.

Palin said during her speech Friday - for which the press was given less than two hours notice - she didn't want to become a "lame duck." She also referenced not wanting to waste taxpayer dollars due to what she believes are frivolous ethics complaints against her and members of her administration.

If Palin is considered a lame duck it's by her own making. She engaged in needless disputes with bloggers and members of the press, waged a talk-show battle with David Letterman over a crude joke (was Letterman's comment really the worst we've heard from late-night comedians?), and touted her office's transparency while doing the opposite in practice.

Not only did she hit the self-destruct button, she built the time bomb known as Sarah Palin. We're surprised by the news, but we shouldn't be.

Palin should have waited a few days before announcing her resignation. Instead, she dropped a bombshell just one day before Alaska was to celebrate its 50th anniversary of statehood. Her announcement could have overshadowed the historic significance of the Fourth, but it certainly didn't in Juneau or Douglas, where people were much more concerned about celebrating their state's heritage than about what the "guv" was doing or saying.

She time her announcement to screw up Alaska's 50th Birthday Celebration. Classic.

Being Governor is HARD. It is really, really HARD.

Apparently being Governor was too hard for Sarah Palin who announce her abrupt retreat from public office this weekend, or so the Media would have you believe.

Now I was listening to the AM radio this morning and learned that Sarah Palin’s retreat from government was the fault of the media. I am not sure how much to read into this account since it was an actual member of the media, the AM Radio Shock Jock, that proclaimed this to be true thereby implicating himself in the process.

Much is being written about Sarah being in over her head or alternately blaming the mean spirited media for her demise. But what if neither narrative is true?

I have a hunch that Sarah, as a new disciple of the Bush Administration, is merely following Fundamental Bush Doctrine in announcing her resignation. Now remember that one should never, never and I mean Never, announce a timetable for your withdrawal, in this case as Alaska’s Governor, to the enemy, i.e., democrats and or the media. This is sound Bush Doctrine about timetables. Once the enemy learns of the timetable they’ll just wait until it runs out to employ their nefarious schemes. Sarah knows this.

This is why instead of announcing that she would not seek another term as Governor of Alaska, i.e., announcing a timetable for her withdrawal from Office, she simply declared Victory and exited stage right before her enemies knew what hit them. Everyone knows that announcing a timetable is just like waving the white flag of surrender. Never retreat, never surrender, just keep advancing but in a different direction.

Simply Brilliant, Sarah.

Anyway, I present this possible rationale for her decision. It seems as good a reason as any I have heard.

Quote of the Day:

“I'm sure John McCain would be president today if only Bill Kristol had been in charge of the campaign.

After all, his management of [former Vice President] Dan Quayle’s public image as his chief of staff is still something that takes your breath away … His attack on me is categorically false.”

Steve Schmidt McCain Campaign official and soon to be RINO responding to charges of disloyalty from William Kristol, a second or third tier Neocon.

When the topic is disloyalty to Sarah the Cipher Palin, these guys tend to get quite emotional. One can understand why Kristol is defensive, he did champion her as VP. The train wreck is as much his fault as anyone else’s fault one could reasonably say. One positive thing about Sarah is that she does make Dan Quayle look like a man ahead of his time.

What does that say about Willy Kristol then? Didn't he hitch his wagon to these two shining stars?

Yes he did.

Walmart Turns Commie?

Well maybe not commie, but this can’t be good or can it?

Wal-Mart Backs Drive to Make Companies Pay for Health

The National Retail Federation, the industry's main lobby, said it was "flabbergasted" by Wal-Mart's move. "We have been one of the foremost opponents to employer mandate," said Neil Trautwein, vice president with the Washington-based trade group. "We are surprised and disappointed by Wal-Mart's choice to embrace an employer mandate in exchange for a promise of cost savings."

Mr. Trautwein said an employer mandate is "the single most destructive thing you could do to the health-care system shy of a single-payer system," under which the government handles health-care administration. The mandate "would quite possibly cut off the economic recovery we all desperately need," he said. The group believes forcing companies to provide insurance will raise costs for its members.

[…]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said most of its members oppose an employer mandate, and it doesn't think Wal-Mart's stance will change that. "The kind that the groups in this letter support is the worst incarnation, the most dangerous policy," said James Gelfand, senior manager of health policy for the group, which represents three million businesses.

Wal-Mart's support of a broad-based employer mandate is a shift from its previous stance on health-care overhaul and follows years of tussles with organized labor, which has failed in drives to unionize Wal-Mart's store workers. Two years ago, Wal-Mart joined with the SEIU, the country's largest union, to call for affordable health care for all Americans by 2012. The group called for lowering health-care costs and insuring more Americans.

This may be more about having a seat at the table than a turn toward the red menace. But on the other hand if, the USA does indeed slide into socialism, as we have been warned now for 70 years or so, let’s blame Wal-mart for it.

Questions for the Day:

Regarding Sarah Palin’s current popularity and standing in the GOP:

What does it say about the nature of modern American politics that a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded?

What does her prominence say about the importance of having (or lacking) a record of achievement in public life?

Why did so many skilled veterans of the Republican Party—long regarded as the more adroit team in presidential politics—keep loyally working for her election even after they privately realized she was casual about the truth and totally unfit for the vice-presidency?

Perhaps most painful, how could John McCain, one of the cagiest survivors in contemporary politics—with a fine appreciation of life’s injustices and absurdities, a love for the sweep of history, and an overdeveloped sense of his own integrity and honor—ever have picked a person whose utter shortage of qualification for her proposed job all but disqualified him for his?

Good Questions. I guess it is not about country first but rather power.

Quote of the day:

EPA suffered a lot of across-the-board cuts that really affected its ability to hire outside experts, keep the science strong, to keep a focus on climate. So we're also investing in climate change. There are investments in research and development. The only places that we won't be able to invest a whole bunch of new resources is in bodies. The budget anticipates about 130 more FTEs [full-time equivalents], and that probably is OK because EPA did its best not to cut staff during the lean years. So now we get to take those staff and make them more productive. But we don't necessarily have to add a lot of staff.

~ Lisa Jackson, EPA Director, describing efforts to recover from the “lean years,” a dark period that coincidentally coincided with the tenure of the Bush Administration. EPA is looking at 30% increase in its budget which comes in the wake of a 27% cut to the budget that occurred during the “lean years.”

Blue Helmet Demand to Soar! Buy Stock NOW!

Breaking news just in.

Radical Transnationalist, Harold Hongju Koh has been confirmed by the Senate and by a filibuster proof Margin to boot. As everyone is well aware, once Koh starts work at the State Department he will set about to replace good ol’ US Law with weak effeminate European and/or International Law and our Sovereignty will be under assault.

The First Step will be to replace the Dollar with some sort of Euro-script. The next step probably will be to replace Presidents Day with a holiday in honor of Karl Marx or some other dead commie.

I am predicting that sales of Blue Helmets will start to rise dramatically overseas.

You have been forewarned.

Now this is a mean, Mean, MEAN thing to say about Mitt Romney

I think Romney's a hologram of pure cynicism and borderline nuts. Remember that convention speech? One pandering vacuity after another. And he must know he will never be his party's pick, because the very people he panders to are the very bigots who would never vote for him. ~ Sullivan.

And it is also funny. One thing about Mittens, you can count on him to say anything.

Headline of the Day:

Ahmadinejad Demands Apology From Obama

TEHRAN, June 25 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at President Obama on Thursday, warning him against "interfering" in Iranian affairs and demanding an apology for criticism of a government crackdown on demonstrators protesting alleged electoral fraud…..

Now this is really rich. Poor Ol'Ahamadinejad, the George Bush of Iran according to some Iranians, is demanding an appology?

What are the odds that this demand makes it on to Obama's to do list? Nil, I'd say. Here is a question for Ahmadinejad - why whine about criticism? I mean if you have just won a landslide election beating your rival by 30%, you should be on the top of the world. Think about the Mandate that the real George Bush would have claimed if he had won an election by 30 points.

Quote of the Day:

"So many prominent Republicans have been caught in these types of situations lately: Mark Sanford; Larry Craig; David Vitter; John Ensign from Nevada. And you want to know why this is happening? The gays. That's right. They've destroyed the institution of marriage and now this is what we get." ~ Jimmy Kimmel

Mittmentum?

It appears that Governor Sanford's 2012 presidential ambitions are on due today's announcement of martial infidelity. One man despairs:

This is a crying shame. Governor Sanford had much to offer to his country, especially at a time when the federal government seems to have lost its wits in regards to fiscal sanity. It is also a shame because it means we may have to endure yet another Mitt Romney candidacy as fiscal conservatives look for a home on 2012.

Set aside the desire to engage in Neo-Hooverism during the current Economic Calamity, the real winner in the Sanford - Ensign- Soap Opera Sarah Derby may well be Willard "Mitt" Romney.

Another Prominent Republican has Fallen to Vice

The NRO is reporting that another Prominent Republican has issues with the protecting the sanctity of the institution of Marriage.

Last week it was a family values touting Republican Senator from Nevada who announced a break from the values he’d like to impose on all of us. It seems he had a problem with the sanctity of the institution of marriage.

This week it is another Family Values Governor and head of the Republican Governors’ Association who has fallen.

Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC), a family values Republican has come out of the closet and has admitted he too has trouble with the sanctity of the institution of marriage.

It turns out that many of these family values characters are no better than you or I. They talk a good game about family values and small government. But in the end, regardless of what many preach, they are subject to the same human failings as the rest of us.

I guess it is no longer news when this occurs. Maybe there should be a pool on which high talking fellow falls next. The only thing that bothers me about these events is the hypocrisy. It gets really old hearing the family values talk as solutions for real world problems when it is painfully obvious that it is only window dressing for the base. Real people make mistakes. Having better values won't change this fact.

Quote of the Day:

If the protestors eventually prevail in Iran, we'll have a very welcome debate on whether Bush or Obama gets credit. Certainly, it will be a major vindication of Bush's sweeping vision of democracy in the Middle East.....” ~ Rich Lowry, NRO

The answer would seem to be obvious. If the protestors win, credit should go to actual Iranians. Rich Lowry seems to concur.

But on the other hand, I read at the NRO that Iranians call Mousavi the Obama of Iran and Ahmadinejad the George Bush of Iran, so maybe the answer is along those lines.

The more things change the more they stay the same

“Whilst in Congress, he distinguished himself by his opposition to the Mexican War, taking the side of the common enemy against his own country; and when he returned home he found that the indignation of the people followed him everywhere, and he was again submerged or obliged to retire into private life, forgotten by his former friends.”

~ Stephen Douglas addressing Abraham Lincoln’s opposition to the Mexican War at the first Lincoln Douglass debate at Ottawa Illinois on August 21, 1858.

Where have you heard this type of rhetoric before?

Out of the Office

I've been out of the office and on the Appalachian Trail looking for Governor Sanford the few days. I did not find him.

As a result posts have been light.

A whole lotta Crazy - Great Quotes from the Face of the GOP

Congressman Eric Cantor, (R-VA) comparing President Obama to Putin:

"They said, 'Set aside the rule of law, let's strip secured creditors, bondholders, of their rights. Take them away outside of the bankruptcy process and give them to the political cronies and the auto workers' unions’. It's almost like looking at Putin's Russia,"

Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) warning that the Media is America biggest threat:

"Let me just say — this is going to sound radical, I don’t mean for it to be radical — but to me, the greatest threat to America is not necessarily a recession or even another terrorist attack. The greatest threat to America is a liberal media bias"

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) turning to the Taliban as a role model:

"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban ….. And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes. And these Taliban -- I'm not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that's not what we're saying. I'm saying an example of how you go about [sic] is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with."

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) labeling President Obama a Socialist for trying to saving Capitalism:

Mr. Obama's agenda was "intended to inflict damage and hardship on the free enterprise system, if not to kill it."

Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA) stating his belief that Pres. Obama will "establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship."

"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force… I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may -- may not, I hope not -- but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism." [...] "That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist." [...] "We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road."

Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) warning the Good Lord of pending CO2 regulation:

“And something that the Democrat sponsors do not point out, a lot of the CO2 that is created in the United States is naturally created. You can’t regulate God. Not even the Democratic majority in the US Congress can regulate God."

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R -MN) describing Barack Obama as anti-American:

"I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views. That's what the American people are concerned about."

More Craziness from Bachman:

"The news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look -- I wish they would -- I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro America or anti America? I think people would love to see an expose like that."

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), blaming Obama for doing something started by Bush to hype the socialism claim.

"Well, obviously. So, they intervene last fall in the bank crisis. No one has ever done it on that scale before. Now the automobile crisis."

Fmr Congressman Tom Delay (R-TX) labeling the President as a Marxist:

I tagged him as a Marxist months ago, particularly when you look at his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, his relationship with William Ayers. Its not that Wright makes outrageous sermons, its that Jeremiah Wright is a black, liberation theology preacher. And twenty years of association means that he must agree with the Marxist theology of black liberation theology. Same with William Ayers, its not that hes a terrorist, its that this guys so anti-American he wants to completely destroy America and build a new America.

Wingnut of the Week:

Carter's foreign policy was achingly idealistic; Obama's foreign policy is cold-bloodedly "realist." Ultimately, though, both presidents share a deep naiveté, even if it has slightly different iterations. For all the talk of Obama's realism, he is pursuing a policy driven by a fantasy about international affairs--that all disputes can be resolved through negotiations and governments can be talked out of their interests. He is giving the Iranian demonstrators the cold shoulder partly because he believes he can deal with Khamenei and persuade him to give up Iran's nuclear weapons program. The chances of this happening are quite remote. Fundamentally, then, Obama isn't turning his back on the protestors out of hard-headedness but on account of a gauzy illusion, although one with a realpolitick veneer. ~ Rich Lowry

Why not go with old Rich this week. I think this is what happens to someone living inside a cocoon.

David Letterman is mean, Mean MEAN!!!!

"This guy, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I mean, he claims victory and he is very unpopular. ... And the danger politically of this, he could ruin the political career of his brother, Jeb Ahmadinejad."

~ David Letterman

Cold man. Just plain Cold. When are people going to stop picking on poor ol'George?

Random Acts of Wingnuttery

Bush (and "Bush did it") has become the proverbial enemy at large, sort of playing the role of Trotsky in the Soviet 1930s, or the face on the big screen we are supposed to hate -- alternately demonized and airbrushed (when Obama adopts his policies like military tribunals, Iraq, or renditions). Newspeak has even proclaimed our president a "god," and a journalist has adopted proskynesis in his presence.

~ Victor Davis Hanson On the Obama Administration and a "Creeping Orwellianism."

He is right about one thing here, however. The Bush Administration was an unmitigated disaster that I believe folks will remember for some time. Only has himself and other Bush Cheerleaders to thank for that.

The thing about VDH is that I think he's trying to be serious in his commentary and not comedic. This fact in and of itself is what makes reading VDH rants a riot.

Quote of the Day:

“Marriage is an extremely important institution in this country and protecting it is, in my mind, worth the extraordinary step of amending our constitution.”

~ Senator John Ensign (R-NV) speaking on the need to protect the institution of Marriage from the Gays.

Sarah Palin’s Letterman Strategy….. It’s a Goldmine Baby!

Now I may be wrong but it sure seems that anything Sarah Palin does to reinforce her Tina Fey-esque stereotype would be counterproductive for future electoral prospects. Admittedly, this is just a hunch on my part.

So when David Letterman made a one line joke about an abstinence-only spokes mom and single parent getting knocked up while at Yankee Stadium, one would think it would be a bad decision to cry moral outrage. This would be especially so since the girl in question happened to be Palin’s daughter who got knocked up while her boyfriend was living with her at the Palin Home, according to the participant in the dirty deed that is. The joke highlights known Palin foibles so you might want to laugh it off or ignore the joke.

So much for that advice, because Sarah kept the story burning for several days reminding the public that she also has a 14 year-old daughter named Willow and that in her opinion it was this other daughter that was being maligned in the joke. Thanks a lot Mom, the other daughter may be thinking as Sarah pushed the long forgotten name of Willow in context with the joke on to the front page of the gossip rags. Over and Over.

As it already seems, every time Sarah Palin makes the news, it is as a victim or is related to some scandal over shoes or some other soap opera drama. And thanks to Sarah, it seems even more so now. Now as I have said it would be prudent for Palin to avoid reinforcing her Soap Opera Stereotype, you can count on others to disagree. Bring on the Soap Opera!

I suspect Saunders [noting it is bad politics to play a victim instead of a Winner] is actually wrong on the politics of this. Remember, some six decades ago, a politician won the vice presidency by talking emotionally about how his children loved their dog, Checkers, and how his wife looked good in a Republican cloth coat. Less than two decades ago, another politician won the presidency by going on 60 Minutes with his wife to talk emotionally about how they worked through the problems in their marriage. We Americans — and especially American pundits — like to think of ourselves as favoring a hyper-rational politics, based on a combination of philosophical principle and utilitarian calculation. But in fact, emotional identification can be just as important, if not more so, in our political life. A respected friend was talking to me about the most recent Palin controversy the other day and told me, You just don’t get it; you’re not a parent. If parents identify with Sarah Palin, that may indeed do her more good in 2012 than any number of intelligent energy-policy proposals (or even being a better governor than Arnold).

I suspect that Soap Opera Sarah is probably not a winning image for 2012. I also suspect that the reason we don’t see Sarah making the news for giving a thoughtful policy address or compelling performance on the Sunday Talk Shows is because it ain’t in her repertoire to do such. As it is, to make the news you go with what you got. And for the good governor, that’s the soap opera.

So count on Sarah to keep the Soap Opera burning.

The Coast Guard Goes Green?

I found this interesting: A Coast Guard Facily converting to an alternate energy source.

As energy efficiency projects go, the renewable energy center at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, is about as green as it gets. The center, actually a power plant, runs entirely on methane gas pumped in from a nearby city landfill.

Paying no upfront costs, the Coast Guard in 2007 signed a $41 million energy performance savings contract with the energy company Ameresco, based in Knoxville, Tenn. Under the 15-year contract, Ameresco built the power plant at the Coast Guard Yard; 34 wells and a methane collection system at the landfill; and the pipeline that runs beneath the city road, railroad tracks and highway separating the landfill from the plant.

The plant began generating electricity in April. The only thing missing is a permit to sell excess electricity back to the power grid, and the Coast Guard expects to have that by next year, said Cmdr. John Slaughter, chief of the facilities management division at the Coast Guard Yard.

I suppose the next thing we'll hear from the Coast Guard is that tamborine training will become mandatory for all crewmen.

Another one down

Another Detainee released from Guantanamo Bay:

On Thursday his last Guantanamo client, Jawad Jabbar Sadkhan Al-Sahlani, was transferred to the custody of the Iraqi government.

According to the account of the case Colman gave to us, Al-Sahlani and his family fled Iraq in 1996 and sought refuge in Pakistan. In 1998 they applied for asylum with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but it was not granted. Al-Sahlani and his family then sought to go to Iran but were left stranded by guides in Afghanistan. In January 2002 Al-Sahlani was turned over (for a ransom) to U.S. forces, allegedly by guards to whom he could not pay a bribe. He was subsequently imprisoned in Guantanamo.

In 2003 senior U.S. military leaders and the head of the Department of Defense's criminal investigation task force recommended he be released. That was six years ago.

Why he had to wait 6 years to be release is unanswered.

From back of the napkin calculations almost 800 detainees have been held at Guantanamo. The current count has declined down toward 200.

Tales from the AM Radio

Limbaugh was prattling on about a firing of an inspector general on Friday. Anything he says should be deemed highly suspect. We were assured by El Dimbo that this firing is far worse than when Alberto Gonzales fired “Two” US attorneys back during that dark period of out history known as the Bush Administration and even much worse than the 93 dismissals of US Attorneys at the beginning of the Clinton Administration.

Undoubtedly this will not prove to be the case, El Dimbo suffering from bouts of hyperbole and all. But it goes without saying, that when the confirmation of a pending dismissal hits the series of tubes that form the internets, we have to check it out. So far there is not much there, but there are appearances of conflict here.

After criticism from a high-ranking Republican senator over President Obama's dismissal of the inspector general overseeing AmeriCorps Thursday, the White House has provided assurances that the decision was "carefully considered" and conducted in full compliance with the Inspector General Reform Act.

Gerald Walpin, inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, recently spearheaded an investigation into the alleged misuse of AmeriCorps grants by a nonprofit agency run by recently elected Sacramento, Calif., Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former National Basketball Association star and a friend of Obama's.

Walpin's conduct of the investigation has been questioned by the acting U.S. attorney for Sacramento, who referred the case to an ethics panel that oversees IGs.

Obama was hired to clean up after the Bush Administration so any headlines implying an US attorney or an IG has been fired for political reasons, albeit even a Bush Appointed IG, are going to be scrutinized.

I’m sure we can count on Darrel Issa (R-CA) to check it out. He is servant of the people firmly dedicated to stamping corruption. Unfortunately for Issa, his dedication to corruption only occurs every eight years coinciding coincidentally when the other party is in control of the White House.

Quote of the Day:

"This is crazy. You probably saw this. Former President George Bush Sr. celebrated his 85th birthday today by skydiving with CNN anchor Robin Meade. ... Fox News reported the story as 'liberal media pushes old man out of airplane.'" ~ Conan O'Brien

Ahmadinejad wins in a LANDSLIDE?

News is on the streets that the Conservatives have won big in Iran.

While this is not good news for many of us, I guess is that Neocons are smiling. I was reading yesterday that one of the second or third tier Neocons actually issued what may have been an endorsement for Ahmadine-jihad. I believe it was Daniel Pipes.

I am not a Neocon, so I do not know everything and I know jack about Iran, but something seems a little fishy here with Ahmadinejad winning by nearly 30 points.

The Whack job of the Week is..............

Erick Erickson for this Screed:

You only thought leftists got excited when American soldiers got killed. As I’ve written before, leftists celebrate each and every death of each and every American solider because they view the loss of life as a vindication of their belief that they are right.

Well, I didn’t think it was possible, but the gunning down of guards outside the Holocaust Museum in Washington has Markos Moulitsas and his band of leftist brothers positively demanding a ticker tape parade for the deranged shooter.

With so much to choose from, I thought it best just to go with the old school wingnuttery and keep the award with Red State for another week. Heckuva Job Erickson!

You know sometimes the deranged lone-wolf extremist is just a deranged lone-wolf extremist. His act of violence was not about you or your RedState Blog. It was about his paranoia.

On Fringe Group Terrorism and the Whack Job of the Week

It is time to award the Whack Job of the Week Award again. There is really a lot of worthy candidates to chose from this week after the shooting at Holocaust Museum. The Wingnuttery is hot and heavy with protestations over the increasing incidences of fringe group domestic terrorism.

I really don't understand the response to the fringe group terrorism from the Wingnut-O-sphere. Every time one of these events occur, the wingers can't resist lashing out at the possibility that conditions for domestic right wing fringe group violence are indeed high. We have a screwed up economy, a black president and a growing sense of powerlessness from the fringe. It is not rocket science to acknowledge this state of affairs. But not on the Wingnut-O-sphere, because when the shit hits the fan there is a gazillion lines of loony text up immediately disclaiming any connection between the violence and right wing fringe ideology.

If some one wayout on the Left fringe burned down a ski resort in defense of Mother Earth or blew up a laboratory where animal research was done, I'd be all for locking up the perpetrators and wouldn't feel an ounce of association or guilt. Lock 'em up. Apparently, this is not the case in the Wingnut-O-sphere. When something like the Holocaust Museum shooting occurs, the wingers get quite defensive. It's like many of them think if the police crack down on the kooks, there will be cops in parents' basements everywhere rounding up wingnut bloggers.

In a sense, if discussions turn to the fringe extremists, your run of the mill wingnut thinks you are talking about them. What can you do?

I'll have a whack job of the week up shortly. So many choices.

Boehnerism of the Day ~ Part 2

“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole. We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney, the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.”

Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) Ranking Republican in the House.

He’s got a point there. Everything was about holding on to Power with those guys. They could not even discipline former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) to keep him away from the teenage boys in the page program. That was swept under the rug in favor of risking a scandal and losing a seat.

A recent poll asking "who speaks for the GOP" found that Less than 0.5% of Self Described Republicans named John Boehner as the Leader of the GOP. Maybe John's decision to sacrifice Principle for the sake of Power has something to do with this low ranking.

Boehnerism of the Day ~ Part 1

“I think most Americans will be appalled that we’re providing Miranda rights to terrorists. This thing is going to bubble up big.”

~ Congressman John Boehner (R-OH), Ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.

This is a practice initiated by George Bush during the Bush Administration. If this is such a big deal, why didn’t Boehner object to it then?

If these guys are this offended over things like the Bailout and Guantanamo Bay, why don’t they burn an effigy of George Bush at the next Tea Bagging Party? If they are intellectually honest they’ll go after Ol’ George with a vengeance. Until then, this tact does not really work.

A recent poll asking "who speaks for the GOP" found that Less than 0.5% of Self Described Republicans named John Boehner as the Leader of the GOP. Maybe stunts like this is one of the reasons.

Extinction Watch --- The Pending Demise of the North American Mammoth?

A former McCain Advisor, and by definition a RINO, is predicting no easy way out of the current Republican Slump.

People define the GOP by their failures and the excess of their rule. Wooing the voters back with a more competent version of Bush-style governance just won’t cut it. A new Republican Ice Age is a coming if there is not a quick course correction:

Rather than face up to all this, too many in the GOP are stuck in a swoon of nostalgia. Most of our party leaders come from bloodred GOP states or safe districts, so they are far more at home in the tribal politics of Republican primaries than in those of the country as a whole. You could say their radio dials are stuck on AM. The result is we hear a lot about going back to "the winning ways of Ronald Reagan." Well, I love Reagan too. But demographics no longer do. In 1980, Reagan beat Jimmy Carter by 10 points. If that contest were held again today, under the current demographics of the electorate per exit polls, the election would be much closer, with Reagan probably winning by about 3 points.

It is true that attitudes change. A magnificent Republican renewal may still be possible. Conservatism is traditionally energized by a reaction to liberal excess, and the unabashedly leftish tilt of the Obama Administration's domestic agenda does give hope. But demography is a powerful force. Waiting and hoping didn't do much for the Whigs. I prefer a Republican reformation right now.

Young voters need to see a GOP that is more socially libertarian, particularly toward gay rights. With changing demographics come changing attitudes, and aping the grim town elders from Footloose is not the path back to a Republican White House.

I think the inmates running the NRO and the Talk Radio Ranters realize that demographics will paint the party into a corner without change. This is why they want Obama to fail. It is the only way to retake power without change.

Because Mike Murphy is not a team player and won't tear down the country to benefit the fringe, I am going to take this opportunity to label him as treacherous RINO for inclusion in the Rino hall of Shame.

A Legacy of Error Still Haunts the EPA?

Headline of the Day:

Dems Slam Bush Administration for stalling EPA Health-Risk Database.

Democrats on a House subcommittee on Thursday alleged that a database the Environmental Protection Agency designed to provide science on health risks that particular chemicals pose was stalled -- and could continue to be impeded -- because of improper Bush administration interference.

At a hearing on fixing EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, Democrats on the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight released a staff report that concluded the project collapsed amid interagency bickering fueled by the Bush administration's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Hard to believe, huh? It certainly fits the pattern we saw arise from the Tragic Reign of Error that was the Bush Administration.

Passage of the Day:

Many argue that Israeli military action will cause Iranians to rally in support of the mullahs' regime and plunge the region into political chaos. To the contrary, a strike accompanied by effective public diplomacy could well turn Iran's diverse population against an oppressive regime. Most of the Arab world's leaders would welcome Israel solving the Iran nuclear problem, although they certainly won't say so publicly and will rhetorically embrace Iran if Israel strikes. But rhetoric from its Arab neighbors is the only quantum of solace Iran will get.

On the other hand, the Obama administration's increased pressure on Israel concerning the "two-state solution" and West Bank settlements demonstrates Israel's growing distance from Washington. Although there is no profit now in complaining that Israel should have struck during the Bush years, the missed opportunity is palpable. For the remainder of Mr. Obama's term, uncertainty about his administration's support for Israel will continue to dog Israeli governments and complicate their calculations. Iran will see that as well, and play it for all it's worth. This is yet another reason why Israel's risks and dilemmas, difficult as they are, only increase with time. [Emphasis in Bold-Mine]

~ Walrus McBolton

Read the whole thing. It is almost as if Bolton is saying there would be little downside for the US if Israel somehow pulls of an attack on Iraq. Matter of fact, it seems like he's saying it'd be a net winner if this happened. The Iranian people would like it, we'd get to stay in Iraq longer to stabilization after Iranian retaliation and we'd get to retaliate against Iran after they retaliate against us. Simply awesome so it would seems

I'm not so sure why anyone would be paying much attention to this cast of folks anymore. They've gotten us in enough trouble as is.

Devine Intervention......YES

Headline of the Day:

House Democrats Shut Out Fox News [UPDATED: No, it was God]

When the FoxNews goes off the Air in the Capital Building, wingers blame Pelosi at first.  However once a lightening strike is fingered as the Culprit, someone else is being blamed.

Losing FoxNews, apparently is due to intervention from the Almighty.  Probably some Old Testament Style Smiting is my guess.  Oh well, they undoubtedly deserved it.

Wingnut Welfare on the Skids?

It's been a while since I visited the NRO.  So I just noticed that the National Review is holding a fund raiser to raise cash.  Readers are urged to empty their pockets to keep their favorites producing pixels.  Got to get your fix, I guess.

It seems as if the Wingnut Welfare System has fallen on hard times.  Maybe we could attribute this the Bush League Economy.  

Number of the Day --- 3%

When a recent gallup poll asked who is “The Main Person” who speaks for the GOP,

 Former President George Bush roped in a whopping 3% of the vote.

This left George in 5^th place behind Newt Gingrich, John McCain, Dick Cheney and Rush

 Limbaugh.   Ouch.  How the mighty have fallen.  So much for that permanent republican

 majority.  

Update: A Chart indicating the Bush get 0% among Republicans.  Just a bad dream to be forgotten I guess. 

Quote of the Day --- Sad but True

"Yesterday, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor fell and broke her ankle, and she's expected to be on crutches for several weeks. ... In a related story, Republicans have announced that Sotomayor's confirmation hearing will consist of three questions and a timed obstacle course."

~ Conan O'Brien 

I see Conan O'Brien has been reading the NRO lately.  Props to K-lo and crew.

Palisms --- Magnetic Refrigerator Poetry or Prose?

"A lot of this is wrapped in good rhetoric but we're not seeing those actions. And this many months into the new administration, quite disappointed, quite frustrated with not seeing those actions to rein in spending, slow down the growth of government. Instead Sean, it is the complete opposite. It's expanding at such a large degree that if Americans aren't paying attention, unfortunately our country could evolve into something that we do not even recognize. Certainly that is so far from what the founders of our country had in mind for us." ~ Sarah Palin

Is it elitist to note that an individual who burned through 5 colleges in 6 years in order to obtain a journalism degree is probably not someone to get constitutionals cues from?  I’m not asking this question just because Palin earned a D in macroeconomics. For example, one could use the D grade to ridicule this Sarah Palin statement:  

"Some in Washington would approach our economic woes in ways that absolutely defy Economics 101, and they fly in the face of principles, providing opportunity for industrious Americans to succeed or to fail on their own accord. Those principles it makes you wonder what the heck some in Washington are trying to accomplish here."

Leaving aside the issue of Grade Inflation, this one is a slam dunk.

Strippers File “Pay for the Pole” Class Action

Now this is a headline you don’t see everyday: Strippers in Minnesota suing for wage and hour protection.  Apparently these ladies are required to pay pole fees at the local dance hall just like hairdressers renting their chair at the salon, but without being paid any wages.  

If only jury duty included more cases like this, I reckon that more folks would be eager to serve.

Magnetic Refrigerator Poetry Theater - More Palinisms

"I love my time in Alaska. At the same time though I crave, if not my voice, other voices out there being bold, being strong letting Americans know that those that are concerned about the growth of government and about national security issues, they're not alone.  There are others who are empathizing and more than empathizing are wanting to take action to make sure that economically and physically that our homeland is safe and secure."  

~ Sarah Palin

The Bizarre Radical Transnationalism of Justice Scalia….. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An edict issued from up high:

A Talmudic maxim instructs with respect to the Scripture: “Turn it over, and turn it over, for all is therein.” The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Aboth, Ch. V, Mishnah 22 (I. Epstein ed. 1935). Divinely inspired text may contain the answers to all earthly questions, but the Due Process Clause most assuredly does not. The Court today continues its quixotic quest to right all wrongs and repair all imperfections through the Constitution. Alas, the quest cannot succeed—which is why some wrongs and imperfections have been called non justiciable. In the best of all possible worlds, should judges sometimes recuse even where the clear commands of our prior due process law do not require it? Undoubtedly. The relevant question, however, is whether we do more good than harm by seeking to correct this imperfection through expansion of our constitutional mandate in a manner ungoverned by any discernable rule. The answer is obvious.

This is from the Caperton v. Massey Coal Company case decided yesterday where the court held that any judge bought and paid for by the coal company needs to sit out any cases where the rights or liability of the Coal Company are at issue.  Judge Scalia disagreed. 

While I understand that Judge Scalia may have been more empathetic to the Coal Company, why on earth is he suggesting that some foreign source of Law is Superior to the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!?!?!?!!!!!!  

Could it be that the Judge has succumbed to the forces of Radical Transnationalism?  Possibly so, I fear.   If you are into gambling on the stock market, perhaps it may be worth your while to find out who manufactures the dreaded Blue Helmets worn by the forces of Radical Transnationalism and buy stock.  

Refrigerator Magnet Theater - Palinism Return!

Today the things that some in Washington would do to take away our freedoms, it’s absolutely astounding, and we would do so well to look back on those Reagan years as he championed the cause for freedom and then he lived it out as our president - cheerfully, persistently and unapologetically.  Reagan knew that real change and  real change requiring shaking things up and maybe takin’ off the entrenched interest thwarting the will of the people with their ignoring of our concerns about future peril caused by selfish short-sighted advocacy for growing government and digging more debt, and taking away individual and state’s rights and hampering opportunity to responsibly develop our resources, and coddling those who would seek to harm America and her allies.  

~ Sarah Palin

We really need to get a regular speaking gig for her.

Quote of the Day II:

“We are surrounded by paganism” 

~ Newt Gingrich

Most likely, Newt is referring to the Canadians and the Mexicans, or perhaps he has been surrounded by actual Pagans who are closing in on him to force him to observe the summer solstice or some other tribute to mother earth while wearing sandals.  I prefer the latter.

Quote of the Day:

"Big stuff going on in the world. President Obama gave a big, historic speech yesterday in Egypt. ... President Obama impressed listeners by beginning his speech with the traditional Islamic greeting, 'As-salaamu alaikum.' Yeah, it's very cool. Yeah, it was especially impressive because a year ago, President Bush opened with, 'Shalom, amigos.'" 

~ Conan O'Brien:  

Clarence Thomas – The 6th Greatest Judicial Activist of all Time, Apparently So.

Making the Case.

After presenting the voting behavior of the justices in each of the categories assessed, the authors also produce a "final ranking" of activism, a single scale that ranks the justices from most to least activist, cumulating their scores in the different categories. The top five most activist justices were, from one to five: William Douglas, Hugo Black, Earl Warren, William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall -- liberal lions of the Warren Court. But coming in sixth behind Marshall was conservative Clarence Thomas.

[…]

"There are a couple of surprises," said Lindquist. "At the low end of our activism scale were justices not necessarily predictably there; for example, Warren Burger is relatively restraintist. On the activism end, there are justices who talk a lot about restraint but aren't restrained. One of those is Justice Thomas, and Scalia is not all that far behind. They are more activist than they probably like to admit."

This can’t be right. Who would have thunk that Clarence Thomas is the most Activist Member of the current Supreme Court followed by Antonin Scalia? The answer is: Me.

If nominating a Judicial Activist is to be avoided at all cost, one would think President Obama need only nominate judges that are the opposite of Scalia or Thomas.  This should make everyone happy.

Random acts of Wingnuttery

"To us, the most important factor in that 2001 discussion where she talks about race and gender was that it came from a judicial activist mindset. The judicial activist view is judge-centered. She will put factors outside the law as important contributing factors in decision-making. She isn't a servant of the law." 

~ Gary Marx, executive director of the Judicial Confirmation Network on Judge Sotomayor's suitability for the Bench.

Smooth and cool wingnuttery, man.  It is just like an ad for Pall Malls. One defines Judicial Activism as a state of being.  Can’t prove it or disprove the allegation.  Classic.  Mind you there are no example of this activism in practice, just rather a state of mind.  Thankfully this guy can read minds and pass on this valuable information to the rest of us.

Oh, by the way, I’d like to point out that this Gary Marx may or may not be an adherent of Marxism and a relative of the infamous Karl Marx.  The verdict remains out.  I have not checked yet, so I simply do not know.

Whack Job of the Week

Shades of the Nixon enemies list, we first saw signs that Obama wasn’t above playing hardball with his political opponents during the active campaign. Even though he won, Obama and his team have remained in campaign mode to this very day. Obama demonstrated for all to see that he had no qualms about leaning heavily on radio and television stations which aired ads depicting him in an unfavorable light. Now he appears to be taking the payback thing a big step further by punishing car dealers who donated to the other side. The message Emperor Barack I is sending is a chilling one for those who cherish America’s long and honored tradition of liberty. 

Josh Painter, RedState, a mostly unreadable, albeit leading blog of so-called conservative thought.

How did I miss this one from last week? Looks like I better strip last week’s award from its recipient and award it to Josh Painter. Instead of Ol’JP I mistakenly awarded The Whack Job of the Week Award to Ed Whelan. My appologies to Ed Whelan.

Oh those Gentle Tropical Breezes!

Quote of the Day:

"They wouldn't be treated any better in the United States, and they wouldn't have the tropical breezes blowing through," Senator Jeff Sessions, III (R-AL) 

Dog Kennel Style Gimto Detention Cells.  You can see that Tropical Breezes were not optional on this particular model.  This feature must be what Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is referring too.

Piece be with You --- From the Ash bin, a new Republican Party Emerges?

And we not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and Firearms…. A Kentucky Preacher

For some it is in God and the Right to Bear Arms that we trust.  Apparently so, because a church in Kentucky is holding a bring your Gun to Church day in honor of The Fourth of July!  What would Jesus do…… why, he’d pack heat when ministering to the flock of course.

Is this just a start of a movement to honor God, America, Guns and the GOP?  

I mean is there really a better way to celebrate America’s Birthday other than an armed showing in Church to send a message to President Obama?  Of course, not.  Think about it, armed Church goers paying homage to Jesus and the Second Amendment in church as an act of patriotism to Show Obama not mess with their guns. 

But as crazy as this all sounds, there is some sanity, because only unloaded guns will be allowed in Church with security guards patting down the congregants at the door.  At least they are not that crazy, because it would be really embarrassing if someone was, say, to get shot in church.  Would want that to happen again.