Code Pink Swings into Action-Against Obama

(This blog originally appeared at The American Thinker on 12/02/2009.)
Barack Obama's moonbat base is at it again. Code Pink has decided that B.O.'s soon-to-be-announced quasi-surge in Afghanistan is not what they bargained for when they helped turn out the vote for him. See their latest poster here.

It seems our stumbling Commander-deep-in-Contemplation is doing a sort-of reverse Clintonian triangulation. Somehow Barack and his increasingly clueless braintrust have managed to infuriate both those on the left and the right while those in the middle want no part of Obie's parade of losing ideas either.
At this pace, Obama will be looking up at George Bush's approval ratings by next summer.

Acorn Ponders Name Change-10 Suggestions

(This article originally appeared at The American Thinker on 12/01/2009.)
Jake Sherman at Politico reveals the discovery of an ACORN document suggesting that the group is considered an image-makeover and a changed moniker:
"The memo also acknowledges that it has encountered organizations and individuals who want to work with (the) group but "can only do so if [ACORN changes] its name." "(W)e should probably think through this problem carefully and figure out what it all means for our ability to survive and thrive without losing a lot of ground over the next year or two," the memo reads." By "ground" we can assume the document means the mountains of cash from which Congress recently disconnected the community agitating group. The memo mentioned was discovered in a treasure-trove of information most likely dumped in anticipation of California Attorney General Jerry Brown's half-hearted investigation of the controversial group:
"The document was found in (a) Dumpster outside of an ACORN office in San Diego, a House Republican aide said. Derrick Roach, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for statehouse in California, took thousands of documents last week from the trash outside the office. An ACORN spokesman confirmed the veracity of the document." To paraphrase Shakespeare, An ACORN by any other name would smell just as nutty. Because the community organizers have "spent 39 years building (the) reputation and track record of ACORN, " ACORN officials write that the bad image would "blow over." It would take a mighty wind indeed to blow over the misdeeds, misappropriation of funds and malpractice perpetrated by this bizarre conglomeration of street hustlers, con artists and thugs. In the spirit of comity, we would like to offer the following list of new names for Obama's former client-company to consider:
1.) Votes ‘R' Us
2.) Pimps, Prostitutes and Beyond
3.) Community Organizing, Money Management, Investment & Embezzlement Services (COMMIES)
4.) Squatters for Hope & Change
5.) Bertha & Wade's Excellent Adventure
6.) Taxes? We Don't Pay No Stinking Taxes!
7.) H & R Broke
8.) One Man-One Hundred Votes
9.) Democrat Party Junior Auxiliary
10.) Committee to Re-Elect the President II (CREEP II.).

Tiger Holed Up-Licking His Wounds

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

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

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

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

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

"Don't do it."

Giving Thanks that McCain Lost

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cuban Health Care Says Si to Penile Implants

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

Tibet, Dalai Lama Thrown Under the Obama Bus

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

Driving While Jihading?

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