CRASH: Egypt...And The Mid-East...On The Knife's Edge

As the rest of the world waits in anticipation, Egypt is playing out the events that will shape its future...and the future of the Mid-East...for perhaps a generation.

The $64,000 question is this: what will the Egyptian populace turn toward; modernity or Islamism?  How the Egyptian people treat the Muslim Brotherhood will tell the tale.

According to the available metrics, the picture is not bright (h/t Michael Totten)--

In Egypt, 30 percent like Hizballah (66 percent don’t). 49 percent are favorable toward Hamas (48 percent are negative); and 20 percent smile (72 percent frown) at al-Qaida. Roughly speaking, one-fifth of Egyptians applaud the most extreme Islamist terrorist group, while around one-third back revolutionary Islamists abroad. This doesn’t tell us what proportion of Egyptians want an Islamist government at home, but it is an indicator.

In Egypt, 82 percent want stoning for those who commit adultery; 77 percent would like to see whippings and hands cut off for robbery; and 84 percent favor the death penalty for any Muslim who changes his religion.

Asked if they supported “modernizers” or “Islamists” only 27 percent said modernizers while 59 percent said Islamists:

Is this meaningless? Last December 20 I wrote that these “horrifying figures in Egypt…one day might be cited to explain an Islamist revolution there….What this analysis also shows is that a future Islamist revolution in Egypt and Jordan is quite possible.

The Muslim Brotherhood is one...if not the prime...mover in the radicalization of Islam.  They are active, militant, and utterly committed to a vision of Islamism that allows for no place in the world for Western culture.

Under Mubark, they were outlawed in Egypt, which by no means suggests they were not a presence that shaped Egyptian life.  It is believed by people who study Egypt that the MB numbers its Egyptian followers in the millions.

Barack Hussain Obama has floated the lie that he essentially "counseled" Mubarak on human rights.  That is a dirty joke, in these circumstances. 

What this means for Israel is apparent.  It will either have a neighbor more interested in life, or one more committed to the cult of death that is Islamism.

BURN: GOP - Like, All Stuffy N'stuff

swede

Why I'm in any way interested in what Meghan McCain thinks baffles me, yet here she is in all her GenX blondish glory. 'Tis interesting that the only people interested in her opinions are the liberal media, especially MSNBC, who have dubbed her the de facto spokesperson for the GOP. Larry O'Donnel seems, like, quite concerned here about the best interests of the GOP, ya know, and would like Mz Powderpuffs learned opinion n'stuff.

I guess it's the absurdity of this spoiled blonde rich brat who has not - nor ever will - accomplish anything of significance, attacking a woman of accomplishment, conviction and substance, and in her best valley girl prose. N'stuff. Much like driving by a wreck site I suppose, and glad I'm not part of it.



I have nothing to add.  The future of the GOP? If so, 'twould be the end of the GOP methinks. N'stuff.

CRASH: State of the Universe

swede

The Mucho Magnifique State of the Universe Address: Condensed (translated into reality) version:

Good evening and congratulations to the 112th Congress. The voters have spoken and their message is clear.  They want Republicans and Democrats to set aside partisanship and work together to fundamentally transform America, expand government, transfer the wealth and systematically destroy constitutional freedoms . Welcome. We have much to do.
 

The pathetically devastated economic cesspool we inherited from you know who is all better now. Pay no attention to 20 months of the highest unemployment since 1929 - So now we need to take responsibility "and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future." [Direct quote. sigh] And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.

Innovation - "our generation's sputnik moment!" [does he realize that's when the Russians kicked our azzez?] We need to spend vast sums of money on greenie stuff like algae powered electric cars, solar mills and wind panels.  People won't buy the crap because it costs too much and none of it works.  So we'll just take their money and shove it all down their throats.  You know, like BarryCare.

Ejakashin - We have created the Department of Progressive Education (DOPE) to ensure the teachers union gets much more for doing much less - and has full salary and healthcare for life.  DOPE will also make sure functionally illiterate public school graduates have good self esteem and feel all good about themselves n'stuff.

Infrastructure - The engineers who make all their money building infrastructure have given our infrastructure a grade of "D", and say we should give them $2.2 trillion to fix it. Oh, and Russia, Europe and China are way better, or something - so we're going to [Fanfare HERE] whip up some more shovel ready stimulus projects!

Let's see, what else? Ummm, oh yeah the deficit thingy. Yessir, we're gonna fix that dopey deficit by spending more money. But wait!! There's more! We're gonna have a domestic spending freeze! That'll save a super awesome $400 billion over ten years [less than the interest payment on the debt].  And no more earmarks.  If you congresscruds want something for your district, apply to my Czars. 

Yes my friends, spending more to spend less means a bright, shiney future world with peace, love and polar bears - and you know you're gonna spend 20 bucks a month on paper towells anyway! You'd be crazy not to own this schtick! Here's how to order!

For the first time since the Ice Age, Republicrats sat side by side with Democritters and sang Kumbaya as the Dear, Dear Leader ignored their sorry arzzes and told all us little people what's what.

Ryan and Bachman's responses were effective and on target, but I fear The One pulled off a "WeeWee Are the World" public opinion coup with this one. He's on a roll.

My response to this Scheistenkaka would be pretty simple:

National Debt Clock

Now return to your seats and shut up. We are in control here.

THE HUMANITY: Two Monsters And Some Victims

I am about to say some things many will not like in the least.  I have been pondering the stories of Jared Loughner and Kermitt Gosnell.  But much more, I have been pondering their victims, and the "voice" they have been given in the media and in our society.

We all know who Jared Loughner is.  And we all know the name of at least one of his victims.  She is Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  A Federal District Court judge was also killed; can you recall his name?  He was murdered, according to accounts, while shielding another of the victims; a hero, performing an act of humanity.  There was a sweet nine-year-old girl who Loughner murdered, as well.  You can, perhaps, remember her name, and you might have an image of her face in your mind.

But can you name any others of the dead?  Do you know their stories in the slightest degree?  Can you name any of the wounded besides Giffords, and perhaps Eric Fuller (the poster-boy for Collectivist moonbat-level hate)?  Do you have the least idea how they are doing as they recover?

As respects Rep. Giffords, each day brings new stories of her miraculous recovery.  Who else among the wounded have you heard about?

The nation was so emotionally fractured by acts of a monster in Tucson, the President Of The United States found it useful to hold a memorial (after a fashion) to help us "heal".

Only some of us know who Kermitt Gosnell is.  Many of us do not have a clue.  But virtually NONE of us has any idea of what his (almost certainly) hundreds of victims looked like.  We have no concept of their stories.  We don't have a sweet picture of their smiling nine-year-old selves, and descriptions of what good or interesting people they were becoming.  We never will.  We cannot recall a single name, because most had no names...outside of "Baby X".  A few were adult women.  But they were mere units of society, nobody you or I would know.

There will be no memorial for Gosnell's much higher body count of victims, televised over the networks in prime-time and presided over by the Mourner-In-Chief.  There is no need to "heal" a shattered nation, because pretty much nobody is shattered by what Kermitt Gosnell did.  And certainly not the President.

Loughner committed his monstrosity in a matter of seconds.  Gosnell took years.  Loughner is mad.  Gosnell is sane, as were the people he hired to help him with his monstrosity.  As were the OFFICIALS who enabled it.

We have...from tragic time-to-time...mass killings in the U.S.  Most of us never know a single victim's name, or their story.  Why was Tucson different?  I will leave the full answer to that question for you to ponder, but I think we all know the overarching answer; this murderous spree involved someone of power and some fame.  A Congresswoman.

Now, I totally get all the rationales that could be named to explain why the life of a Congresswoman suddenly elevates this from your too commonplace mass killing.  I get those, and they make me very uneasy.  I get them, and I deplore them.

There is a basic wrongness at work here, where we go into a national paroxysm over the shooting of a famous person, but actively, INSTITUTIONALLY conspire in the cold butchery of dozens of helpless, anonymous others.

Part--but only part--of that wrongness in how we weigh the value of human life lies in the FACT that POLITICS plays such an immense role in these disparate stories.  But another part is in our culture, and if that changes, our politics will change, too.  And, to change a culture, you change hearts.

CRASH: Stupid Regulation, Brought On By Hysteria

In the same week in which Mr. Obama calls for a review of needless...and counter-productive...regulation, we have hysterical calls for new "restrictions" on pistol magazines.  They have come from the nanny Collective, but have some support from even some people you would think would be more rational.

The video below shows very graphically why such laws are simply a vacant "feel safer" emotive response to such tragedies as the Tucson murders.  Start at about the 2:14 mark for the meat of the demonstration--


The shooter who swaps mags is NOT that quick, BTW.

A second to a second-and-a-half difference; that is all this kind of nonsense legislation would mean.

As the Collective has quite openly admitted, the really big gun control laws have resulted from the hysteria immediately following a national tragedy.  Those laws have proven...not simply ineffective...but counter-productive.  Such is the case here, again.

BURN: Never Let a Mass Murder Go To Waste

swede

The Tucson Memorial Pep Ralley has brought more than comfort to the families and nation, it has put TOTUS back on top of public opinion. Per RCP averages, Obama's job approval is in positive territory for the first time since July of last year. (Move over the image for dates and spreads)

I've always leaned toward Rasmussen for the most accurate polling.  They called the '08 election dead on target. Even Rassy has Obama in a dead heat 49 - 49.

It is not important what the far left or far right think of Dear Leader. What is important is what the 50-60% of indy swing voters think. These folks are the majority of the voting block, and are for the most part culturally, politically and history illiterate. (See "Don't Know Much About Nuthin'") They can and do swing right or left based on image and perception rather than ideology.  The Intercollegiate Studies Institute did a very basic civics literacy test of the US. (you can take it here, if so inclined) The results were not pretty.

I would consider this test middle school level civics. I scored 91 and missed at least one question I read wrong. The sad reality is most Americans don't know or care what goes on in Washington, and vote according to who presents them the best "package".  Image is everything.


Here's the present lay of the land in the US.  Conservatives are now enjoying a boost from the rejection of the hyper-liberal agenda.  The curve usually leans slightly right, now more so.  Also in play is a large sector of conservatives abandoning the GOP and identifying themselves as "independent" moving the indy block further right.

The present move left is unsettling. It means Obama may be suceeding in distancing himself from the hugely unpopular Congress and painting himself as a uniter that will get things done.  What I'm wondering is...was Barry was just lucky with events, or is he actually wising up - playing to the middle?  I'm hoping the former.

BURN: That Ol' Blood Libel That You Weave So Well...

The Collective has been caught with their knickers about their ankles over the Tuscon tragedy.  They tried mightily to smear various individuals and whole swaths of the American people...and the American people did not like it one bit.

Only today, however, I learned of another such libel...as that term has come to be used in the popular parlance...of which I had never heard.  It is equally reprehensible.

In a long and interesting piece by Jack Coleman at Newsbusters (which I recommend you all read) I learned about a Collectivist libel I had never heard before--

As a matter of fact, when the P.A. system in public schools in Texas announced that Kennedy had been murdered, children as early as, as young as fourth graders applauded because they had been so brainwashed with hate. No doubt those are the same Fox News regulars we see today, age-wise it's about right. Like fathers, like son, the Koch brothers have simply relaunched the same murder and hate campaign that they had in the '60s.

That was spoken by a puke named Mike Papantonio, who hosts a program called Ring Of Fire with that genius Robert Kennedy, Jr., on the Ed Schultz radio program.

It is, of course, a lie.

It's author was the famous liar, Dan Rather.

I was in what we call in Texas "junior high" when Kennedy was assassinated.  I remember it well.  Everyone was devastated, as you might expect.  The assassination of an American president...especially in such perilous times...was a deeply frightening event.  Nobody said much of anything, and a deep pall settled over the entire school.  So I know first-hand that the story of Texas school children cheering the assassination of the leader of the free world is an outright lie.

Rather lied.  Panantonio is lying now, by republishing the original libel.  Or dare I say "blood libel"?  It is the way of the Collective.  It is who they are, and how they operate.

CRASH: This Only Proves Moonbats Are Not Bullet-Proof

I devoutly hate that I have to point this out, but someone must; Eric Fuller is simply a moonbat who got shot.  I am profoundly sorry Mr. Fuller was wounded by a madman, and that he is experiencing any pain.  I wish him a speedy recovery...from both his wounds and his own, quieter, form of madness.

Update: Fuller arrested for threats of violence!  IRONY...

His status as a victim is, as we know we can expect from the Collective, being exploited.  The barking-mad end of the political spectrum has made very large with his outrageous statements, made on tape, following the shooting.

Listen VERY carefully to this "report" from "Democracy Now" (which is a fundamental Collectivist outfit).  See how many lies you can count during the "report", and then listen to Mr. Fuller--



Here are a few of my impressions from the Fuller statement:

1.  He had worked to elect Giffords, but was not real happy with her (note what he says about his questions for her).

2.  Giffords' is swing district, and Mr. Fuller is certainly on the fringe of her supporters.

3.  He is not really bright, much less attached to reality.  (Note that he refers to a single notice for a fund-raising event by Jesse Kelley [Giffords' GOP opponent] as a "campaign slogan").

4.  Note that during the interview he reads a screed he wrote, indicting everybody who is not Nancy Pelosi, and accusing them of wanting to kill nine-year-old girls.

It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target. Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled—senseless hatred leading to murder, lunatic fringe anarchism, subscribed to by John Boehner, mainstream rebels with vengeance for all, even nine-year-old girls.

The priceless part about this "report": it was followed immediately by an interview with Frances Fox Piven, of Cloward-Piven fame, who is making a call for renewed efforts to bring down our nation...including mob action.

“So where are the angry crowds, the demonstrations, sit-ins and unruly mobs?” she writes. “After all, the injustice is apparent. Working people are losing their homes and their pensions while robber-baron CEOs report renewed profits and windfall bonuses. Shouldn’t the unemployed be on the march? Why aren’t they demanding enhanced safety net protections and big initiatives to generate jobs?” 

He also appears to have given an interview to Media Mutters (to itself, in a dark basement), where he doubled down on his own hate and madness--

Asked if he thought Palin or other media commentators had an impact on the shooting, he said:

"Definitely. Let's say through some fluke Jared Loughner never ever heard of Sarah Palin or [Glenn] Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity and the rest of the crime syndicate, and dreamed it all up on his own, that he'd go over there and wack her.

"There are still plenty of demented people that are in need of a good spanking who are out there and plenty of access with the gun shops to assault weapons thanks to the son of privilege letting that expire. There is the matter of the media attention to it. It is going to make this even more desirable yet.

"If you are going to scream hatred and preach hatred, you're going to sow it after a while if you've got a soap box like they've got. We've got a surplus of demented dingbats, wackos."

Fuller went on to criticize national media outlets that allow violent rhetoric on the air: "I would put Sarah Palin in first place there. I think, really, she should be incarcerated for treason for advocating assassinating public officials. That map I saw that she published on the Internet had crosshairs on it and one of them was meant for Gabrielle Giffords."

Loughner needed a good spanking?  How about an enema?

As with all the Collective, cause-effect relationships are just too hard for Mr. Fuller.

I feel about Mr. Fuller as I did about the tragic wreak of an exploited human being, Cindy Sheehan.  They are very alike in many ways.  I hope Mr. Fuller has people who love him, and can help him avoid the fate that Sheehan experienced.  Get him under control, and don't let him be exploited by these ghouls...for pity's sake.

BURN: Big Tents Are For Circuses

swede   
Update: Steele Tenure - Start: $15 million / Finish: $25 Million Deficit

Michael Steele Graciously Steps Aside; Nobly Sacrificing Personal Interest for the Sake of the Party He Loves
- and also because he lost. Big.

The prevailing punditology proclaims Steele's chronic size 12 hoof-in-mouth syndrome was the reason for his untimely demise. Well, no one can deny the endlessly recurring, cringe inducing effect of watching Sleele digging deep holes with stunningly moronic statements - then digging deeper yet with strange and pathetic attempts to spin it, deny it or explain it.

The real reason for his exit, however is that he never should have made an entrance. His credentials: 1) An unremarkable lawyer with no notable cases or projects. 2) One term / two years as Lt. Governor of Maryland - no notable accomplishments there. 3) And, oh yeah, He is an African American - Political Party Affirmative Action or something. Before you start - please, just give it a rest. It is not racist in any way, shape or form to say this man had zero qualifications to lead the GOP other than to act as a counter balance for the first Democrat African American president. And his accomplishments at the helm of the GOP were predictably every bit as mundane as those of his previous endeavours.

Moreover, his attempts to steer the leaderless, wandering GOP hard left and establish the RINO faction as the mainstream in the GOP was ill informed and demonstrated a stunning cluelessness of core Republican values. Then he had the mind-boggling arrogance to claim he represents the Tea Party - and that his work won the election!?  MEMO: To Michael, "Big Tents are for circuses." Just sayin'

Top Ten (MOL) Steele Hits - Those Golden, Bone-Headed, WTF-Were-You-Thinking Moments:

1. February 2009: Steele Promises New GOP Image - Hip-Hop??!? - "We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles," Steele told the Washington Times. "But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings."

2. March 2009: "Rush Limbaugh is not the leader of the Republican party... he is an entertainer... incindiary... ugly."  Wait! Yes he is - I mean, uuhh, no, he isn't... Steele Appologizes to Limbaugh, Praises His "Leadership." D'OH!!??!

3. March 2009: Abortion Is An Individual Choice -- No Wait, It's Not! "I am pro-life, always have been, always will be."

4. November 2009: White Republicans Are 'Scared Of Me'

5. January 2010: Will The GOP Win The House? 'Not This Year' (Face Palm)



6. January 2010: 'I Wrote This Book Before I Became Chairman' - Didn't 'divide my time'. You're lying Mikey - The book contained reference to issues up through late 2009.

7. April 2010: African-Americans 'Really Don't Have A Reason' To Vote GOP

8. July 2010: Afghanistan 'Was A War Of Obama's Choosing'...'not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.' - Wait no it wasn't.

9. August 2010: Arizona Immigration Law Doesn't Reflect GOP's View


The core problem in the current Republican Party is a pronounced leadership vacuum and the resulting absence of a compelling vision for the future. Pining for Reagan's Republican Revolution is useless, and more than a little pathetic. We need new, dynamic, visionary, resolute, focussed, genuinely conservative, consistant, charismatic, compelling leadership. In other words, Adios, Senior Steele - Don't let the door hit your assets on the way out. Drop by any time. But call first.

***********************************************

Update: Michael Steele Ignored Large Donors (from WSJ)

Raising cash is obviously among the most important responsibilities of the chairman.  Steele blew off the party's largest and longest standing donors. As in ignored them. Donors looked at the chaotic management structure and put their money elsewhere.

"[An internal] document shows that the RNC raised $21.1 million from its largest donors during the 2006 congressional elections and $19.1 million from them in the 2008 presidential election. But during Mr. Steele’s two-year tenure, the RNC brought in just $2.5 million from the Regents."

We knew his accomplishments would be anemic. We did not know his biggest accomplishment would be driving the party into the ground.  Heckuva job, Mikey!

CRASH: The Neurotic Times

swede

"Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible" - says Sarah Palin offering a very reasonable defense for being irresponsibly and absurdly accused of inciting Saturday's violence. No word yet whether Ragspierre will be pursuing a plagiarism claim.

In a nameless (gutless) op-ed, the brain rust at the NYT today begins with a titanic genuflect at Dear Leader's awesomely awesome wisdom, coolness and transcendence in calling for civility, setting aside partisanship and "taking great care" in assigning blame in the face of a senseless tragedy. Says the Gray Lady... "It was important that Mr. Obama transcend the debate about whose partisanship has been excessive and whose words have sown the most division and dread." Well, good on ya mates - finally an appropriate mea culpa. Please continue... "This page and many others have identified those voices and called on them to stop demonizing their political opponents."  Right. And I am a magical rabbit with death-ray eyes. It boggles the imagination how people ostensibly with cognitive function beyond that of a cantaloupe could be this obtuse. The level of hypocrisy and/or utter ignorance here defies comprehension.

But let's give them a chance - perhaps they will do a little soul searching... "The president’s words were an important contrast to the ugliness that continues to swirl in some parts of the country." Well there, finally. A small glow of reality and veracity from the deep, dark NYT psyche. But wait... "The accusation by Sarah Palin that “journalists and pundits” had committed a “blood libel” when they raised questions about overheated rhetoric was especially disturbing, given the grave meaning of that phrase in the history of the Jewish people."

Longing for the old civility

The absurdity of this farcical fantasy would be hilarious, except for a very grave resulting reality...

Death Threats against Sarah Palin at 'Unprecedented Level,' Aids Say

The real tragedy is that Jared Loughner suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia, caused by a chemical imbalance that could easily have been treated had someone intervened - and the heartbreak would have been limited to the Badgers losing the Rose Bowl.  The NYT however suffers from Palin Derangement Syndrome, which is just stupidity. And of course you can't cure stupid.

BURN: Obama To Dupnik--"Heckuva Job, Clarence!!!"

Pima County Sheriff Clarence "Fact Free" Dupnik (what a great name for a Collective propagandist!) was called by President Barack Hussain Obama.  Mr. Obama thanked Dupnik.

Well he might.  Certainly NOT for providing security to a public forum where Tucson CITIZENS were gathering according to their rights under the Constitution.  He did not secure them.  It is fair to observe that nothing is 100%, and perhaps NOBODY could have stopped the killer who slaughtered Dupnik's charges.  But he appears to have done NOTHING.

Obama did not...could not...thank Dupnik for his work in removing...years ago...a known menace to Tucson.  He didn't.  It would be unfair to impute "perfect information" to Dupnik.  But that is EXACTLY what was imputed to G. W. Bush respecting the 9/11 attacks.  In this case, Dupnik HAD information.  Apparently LOTS of information.

I wasn't privy to the Obama-Dupnik con-flab, so I cannot know what in the world Obama was "thanking" Dupnik for.  I have a pretty good idea.

Without...by his own admission...the slightest evidence, or any idea of a causal connection...Dupnik has been more than willing to smear everyone who is not a Collectivist "open-borders" lover.

Not only "willing", Dupnik has INSISTED on it, and smearing his own constituents.  According to Dupnik, Arizona is full of sick bigots.  The most dangerous place on earth for a few days following the massacre was between Dupnik and a camera, where he variously slandered Arizona, Palin, the TEA Party, Rush Limbaugh, ETC.

I am put in mind of the Obama mirage of a racial healer, the man who would heal partisan divides.  That mythical person...the one so many Americans were dupe-niked into voting for...would NEVER have thanked a demonizing thug like Clarence Dupnik.  But that man NEVER existed.

BURN: What The Collective Wants Out Of Tucson

Shut up!

There is NO support for the Collectivists blood libel.  NONE.

On Sunday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, waxed about the good old days when the big three news networks dominated the news cycle, "and they saw their job as to inform us of the facts and we would make a conclusion." Of course, this alleged golden age also produced assassins Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, James Earl Ray and Squeaky Fromme, among others.MSNBC's Keith Olbermann declaimed rhetoric that "has devolved and descended, past the ugly and past the threatening and past the fantastic and into the imminently murderous." Despite such hysteria, this "climate of hatred" argument has no empirical backing. Federal data show that so-called hate crimes have declined from 4.0 incidents per 100,000 people in 1995 to 2.4 in 2009, a 40 percent drop. Facts like that spoil the "right wing hate speech" narrative, so liberal pundits simply ignore the facts.

The political agenda at work is the long-time liberal objective of imposing controls on political speech on television, radio and the Internet. The subtext of the liberal argument is that the American people cannot be trusted to engage in a rational debate of public policy, but must have their choices limited by government lest violence ensue. To the contrary, the First Amendment must never be truncated because of the actions of a single deranged individual.

Anyone who understands civics knows that the real danger of violence comes when the PEOPLE are denied a voice.  But watch the actions of the Collectivists in government and the MSM.

BURN:More On Blood Libel

swede

Read Ragspierre's "When Your Best Hope is a Blood Libel" post below - then watch this.  Like most conservatives, I have been unimpressed with O'Reilly of late, but this one is out of the park.



Bullseye! (That's NOT an incitement to violence) I have nothing to add.

CRASH: When Your Best Hope Is A Blood Libel

It is becoming apparent that the Collective...and especially that branch still supporting The Mad King Barack...feels their best hope lies in lies.  More specifically, since lies are how Obama came to rule, the despicable breed of lies called "blood libel".  Now linked at Doug Ross...THANKS DOUG!

Having met with a rejection of their corrupt and bankrupt ideology via the 2010 elections, the Collective has precious little on which they can place hope.  People have seen them.  We don't like what we see.

Then came the shootings in Tucson.  And IMMEDIATELY came the blood libel the Collective was aching to find...NEEDING to find.  The shootings of dozens of CITIZENS, one a little girl, another a Congresswoman, and another a sitting Federal judge, could be blamed on...vaguely...the Collective's opposition.  The more effective the person or group, the more they would be targeted.

It is a variation on an old tactic; cravenly use ANY national tragedy for political purposes.  It has been used to dragoon lawmakers into passing gun control laws for decades.

The blood libel has a execrable pedigree of propaganda, including The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion.  Hate someone enough, but lack actual FACTS?...no problem; just make them up!  It works for various groups around the world today.

Those groups share at least one thing in common...they have nothing else.  As here, in America--

This McCarthyism of the left - devoid of intellectual content, unsupported by data - is a mental tic, not an idea but a tactic for avoiding engagement with ideas. It expresses limitless contempt for the American people, who have reciprocated by reducing liberalism to its current characteristics of electoral weakness and bad sociology.

In a moment of rare candor...and glaring stupidity...Jonathan Alter admits--

Conservatives like to argue that these are isolated incidents carried out by lunatics and therefore carry no big lessons (unless the perpetrator is Muslim, in which case it’s terrorism); liberals view them as opportunities to address various social ills. Obama is in the latter category and should act accordingly. “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel famously said in 2008. The same goes for a shooting spree that gravely wounds a beloved congresswoman. Congress won’t enact gun control, as it did in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, but perhaps something positive can come from this.

Note that we learn several things from this; Alter does not get the whole "cause-effect" thingy (Islamist killers TELL us why they did what they did...and NOBODY has ANY causal connection between the demented act of the Tucson killer and ANYTHING).  Alter ADMITS that the Collectivist SEEKS "opportunities" to move their "social" agenda via tragic events.  He is not bothered in the least by the ghoulishness of this, or that law passed in that kind of overwrought climate is TERRIBLE law.  He simply understands it gets results for his Collectivist agenda.


Nor is Alter alone...or even the most bald-faced in this admission.  You will find various "operatives", "advisors", and other Collectivist hacks offering quotes all over the place today.  "This is JUST what Obama needs...  Hey, it worked for Bill Clinton!!!!".

Doubt that?

Veteran Democratic consultant Dan Gerstein said the crisis “really plays to Obama’s strengths as consensus-builder” and gives him the opportunity to build a deeper emotional connection with the people he governs.

“He’ll be active, but also very careful not to appear like he’s blaming or politicizing,” Gerstein predicted.

Politicizing?  No, NOT OBAMA!!!  He wouldn't do EXACTLY what he is being advised to do...and has hundreds of surrogates out doing right now.  And they don't require direction...the Collective KNOWS how the game is played.  You doubt that?  Google "vitriol Giffords" and see what you come up with.

And they know the blood libel is ALL they have now.  They are like the Arab terrorists who teach their own version of the blood libel to each other and their children.  They NEED to believe it, too.  But as sane people see it, they turn in revulsion.  The Collective is being exposed.

BURN: Name That Demonizer...

Irony is apparently too hard for Collectivists...or they just think the rest of us are too stupid to see it.  Just take a minute to read this, and see if you can spot the demonizer.

Note the emphasis is in the original…

Such a brutal and violent attack on an individual who has devoted herself to public service is deeply regrettable. It calls upon us as an academic community to stop and ponder the climate in which such an act can be contemplated, even by a mind that is profoundly disturbed. A climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated can lead to such a tragedy. I believe that it is not a coincidence that this tragedy has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons. This same mean-spirited xenophobia played a major role in the defeat of the Dream Act by our legislators in Washington, leaving many exceptionally talented and deserving young people, including our own undocumented students, painfully in limbo with regard to their futures in this country.

On our own campus, and throughout all the campuses of the University of California, we must continue to work toward a climate of equity and inclusion for all. We must be vigilant to condemn hate speech and acts of vandalism on our campuses by those wanting to promote enmity. We must work to support dialogue about our differences and eschew expressions of demonization of others,including virulent attacks on Israel, anti-Muslim graffiti, racism towards African-Americans, Chicano/Latinos and other underrepresented minority groups, and homophobic acts. Continuing to support our principles of community will ensure a better and safer campus. We must do this now so that our students, as future leaders of this great country, will continue to set the standard for a better and safer nation.

Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor, UC Berkeley

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2011/01/10_arizona.shtml

You think...MAYBE...demonization of an entire state counts?  "Mean-spirited xenophobia" would NEVER "promote enmity", right?!?!?

I cannot make this kind of thing up.  I would blush at the absurdity.

CRASH: News You Must Refuse

swede

UPDATE: Perhaps it's time for all of us to shut up and listen to the only voice from the last 48 hours that matters. Christina Green's dad.

An addendum to Ragspierre's piece on the Giffords media feeding frenzy...

Flashback: November 5, 2009 - the day after the terrorist attack at Fort Hood - we knew Nidal Hasan began his shooting rampage shouting "Alahu Akbar", his business card was marked SoA (Soldier of Allah), he exchanged 18 emails with top ten terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, he posted praise for Islamic suicide attacks on the net, attended a known radical Islamic Mosque, openly opposed military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and told a neighbor he was about to "do a good work for God." In other words, he did everything but paint "Radical Islamic Jihadist" in red letters on his forehead.  Yet the universal mantra from the press, POTUS and the moonbats was "We must not jump to conclusions." Hasan was..."troubled."

But now, almost literally before the smoke clears, every MSM/moonbat piece on Giffords' attack begins with, "We do not yet know the motive for the shooting, but..." followed by a tyrade about rightwing "vitriol." Yet not one instance can be offered citing specific calls to violence apart from the absurd references Palin's "target map" of election districts. Puh-lease. "Target, bullseye, in your sites" are broad metaphors used across the culture.  Every campaign identifies "target districts" - are they advocating mass murder? Every news.communication effort has a "target audience." So, they advocate killing their audience?  In urban slang, a bar, workplace, classroom etc with a large number of members of the opposite sex is a "target rich environment." So obviously these singles want members of the opposite sex shot?  BTW - for obvious reasons stay away from your local "Target" store.

According to his friends, Jared Loughner was a "far left pot-head." I don't buy that any more than that he was a tea partier. Read about his public behavior and his online rants - then look at the clinical symptoms for Paranoid Schizophrenia.

• Auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices - Check
• Delusions, such as believing someone is controlling you or out to get you. - Check
• Anxiety - Check
• Anger - Check
• Emotional distance - Check
• Argumentativeness - Check
• Self-important or condescending manner - Check
• Suicidal thoughts and behavior - Check
• Violence - Hello! Jackpot

Loughner is a classic, textbook Paranoid Schizophrenic, and quite probably also Manic Depressive (AKA Bipolar) and/or a halucinogenic drug abuser. This is a physiological chemical imbalance in the neuro synapses of his brain. He is unable to maintain rational thought at all, leave alone idealogical reasoning. That is all. Nothing political to see here folks, move along.

*****************************************

Talk is cheap now, unless it is prayer, care and comfort for the Giffords', Greens and other victims. This isn't a political football, it's a heartache.  Let the healing begin.

BURN: The Ambulance Chasing Hyenas Of The Collective

For as long as I can recall, the Collectivists have ghoulishly exploited every notorious killing involving a firearm to advance their agenda of disarming America.  It is how they roll.  They have simply broadened that same tactic in muzzling their opponents in the political world.  This cannot be allowed.

Almost before the smoke cleared in Tucson, Arizona, the hyenas of the Collective were in full cry.  They didn't wait for...and did not want...FACTS.  To minds so demented by their drive to make America a Collective, and so hate-filled toward their opponents, FACTS are utterly irrelevant.  They had an opportunity to score politically, and they could not wait.

Haters like Paul Krugman and Markos Moulitsas make no pretense at objectivity.  They are hypocrites and demagogues of the lowest order.  They are fountains of "vitriol".  The New York Times should be ashamed of itself for providing Krugman a forum, but it isn't.  The Collective should be ashamed...on a daily basis...for the kind of crap served up by The Dailey Kos and its Kos-sacks, but it isn't.  It is their stock-in-trade.

Right behind Krugman and Kos was Hanoi Jane Fonda, tweeting that this was Sarah Palin's doing.  And right behind her came the Pima County Sheriff, famous for his Collectivist views on law enforcement.




Time for some "soul searching", indeed, Sheriff Dupnik.  And time for a new sheriff, Tucson.  You can see what he thinks of the people he "serves".  Show him what you think of him at the voting booth.

Dupnik makes mention of people who make a living exploiting "vitriol".  That word is amazingly consistent in the howl of the Collectivist hyenas.  But take note of one such person who makes a living on vitriol--

One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did.

“They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”

Which, of course, a lie.  Clinton thuggishly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on his opposition generally, and Rush Limbaugh in particular.  Tax Enough Already (TEA) Party citizen activists are not "anti-government".  That is a Collectivist lie, along with the several others they have tried...and failed...to smear them with.  We are anti-BIG GOVERNMENT...anti-Collective.

But the tactic of the ambulance-chasing, tragedy-exploiting Left will work with some of the weaker minds in this country.  That includes GOP "senior Senators"--

A senior Republican senator, speaking anonymously in order to freely discuss the tragedy, told POLITICO that the Giffords shooting should be taken as a “cautionary tale” by Republicans.

“There is a need for some reflection here - what is too far now?” said the senator. “What was too far when Oklahoma City happened is accepted now. There’s been a desensitizing. These town halls and cable TV and talk radio, everybody’s trying to outdo each other.”

So, the drive to self-censorship in response to the lies and demagoguery of the Collective's hyenas begins.

Today, it is a safe bet that all the talking heads on TV will be asking the same question.  They will follow the "vitriol" and "anti-government" meme set in place by the haters in their vanguard.  The goal is to put the majority of Americans who oppose the Collective on defense.

Americans who want our borders secure are not bigots.  We are not anti-government ticking time-bombs for wanting our government to be limited according to the Constitution.  We are the calm, rational people who produce the wealth of this nation, and from whom the taxes are extracted.  We are the people who pray for the recovery of the victims of this demented killer, and who mourn the dead without a political thought or motive in our heads.  We MUST simply speak those truths to our friends and neighbors, and counter the hyenas of the Collective.

THE HUMANITY: Rational Optimism

Just as a follow-up to swede's most excellent post, I wanted to introduce you to a book, a man, and a wonderful source of outstanding information.

The man is Matt Ridley.  Ridley worked as the science editor of The Economist from 1984 to 1987 and was then its Washington correspondent from 1987 to 1989 and American editor from 1990 to 1992.

His book is The Rational Optimist.


The source of outstanding information is Uncommon Knowledge.  If you are not familiar with it, treat yourself.  You can find interviews with Ridley, Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, and a host of other people who actually think.

The neo-Maltusians...like Malthus himself...are wrong.  Over and over and over.  The dystopic world they predicted is the OPPOSITE of reality, and it will be if Western nations manage to prevent a stone-age religion from using our technology to destroy us, AND if we can prevent the Collective from re-imposing the Dark Ages.

CRASH: Pelosi Demonstrates Botox Causes Psychotic Break(s)

Nanny "Batspit" Pelosi can only have--a) broken with reality, or b) believe we have (which sort of argues for "a").  That is the ONLY explanation for things she is saying.

On camera, Pelosi explained the 2010 revolution in the House was caused by Boooooosh.  I kid you not...



On camera, Pelosi claimed that fiscal responsibility was her "mantra".  Again, simply gobsmacking delusion...



But these breaks with reality are hardly new for Nanny.  Nor are teary moments from the Speaker Of The House...



Yes, that was Nanny getting all weepy over a complete fantasy...in support of the Collective's suppression of criticism (aka, FREE SPEECH).

Hmmm...  Wonder why nobody made large about Pelosi's Puddles...???  Sexism, perhaps?  Or just bias?  We ask the questions, you decide.

And this woman was third in line of succession to sit in the Oval Office!  Thank goodness the former hippy-freak who married money and bought herself a safe seat in the House is now at least LIMITED in the damage she can do to the nation.  And somebody needs to do some research on Botox toxicity...STAT!!! 

BURN: News You Can Lose

swede

The age of Hope&Change finds us in need of new vocabulary. It would seem the "weeweeupedness" taking place in the "lamestream media" over the new Congress has predictably entered "silly season." From Media Research Center:

Meredith Vierra - Healthcare repeal = "act of revenge."



Per ABC, Nancy Pelosi = "Galvanized steel with a smile." *** Boehner = "Weeper of the House."

Couric Frets: 'Is There Danger Budget Cuts Will Be Too Deep?'

CBS's Smith: GOP On 'Fool's Errand' of 'Dismantling Health Care'

MSNBC's Brewer: 'GOP's Big, Fat Budget Ax Could Mean Real Pain For Many Americans'

And of course PMSNBC's Ed "Sargeant" Schultz vows to "fight these bastards every night..." Via The Right Scoop

I know NOTHING!!

Pew Research finds, "Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the news stories they read, hear and watch are frequently inaccurate...That marks the highest level of skepticism recorded since 1985, when this study of public perceptions of the media was first done."

In the good old days when Walter Cronkite said "...and that's the way it is", the majority of Americans believed that was the way it was. Interestingly, a Time poll after "Uncle Walter's" death last year wondered "Now that Walter Cronkite has passed on, who is America's most trusted newscaster?" A rather disconcerting reality emerges:

Sigh.