March 2008 Archives

Great interview with economist Thomas Sowell, with a down-to-earth(it is on the ground, not overly enthusiastic) endorsement of McCain at the end. In any case, Professor Sowell should be on McCain's economic advisory committee now.

From WSJ.com: The No-Name Generation, By BENJAMIN MANASTER

"The young need old men. They need men who are not ashamed of age, not pathetic imitations of themselves."
-- Peter Ustinov

Once upon a time there was a no-name generation that went about its business and did not call attention to itself. While the Greatest moved offstage and the Boomers ran amuck, it raised and educated families, laying the groundwork for a prosperous future. Overlooked, ignored by those who followed it, and alone among its peers, this generation may soon see one of its members become president.

Of course, the road will not be smooth. The attack on John McCain's age has only just begun. A mere tittering at present, it will be shouted from rooftops come the fall. In our youth-obsessed society, newness trumps experience. Media central casting gives this older generation a thumbs down, favoring the novel and the different. But Sen. McCain, who will turn 72 in August, still goes about his business with the dogged determination that sustained him through long years in a North Vietnamese prison.

Those of us born in the late 1930s retain only a weak memory of the Great Depression. But we noted well the solemn eyes of our parents and felt, in the marrow of our bones, the values of steadfastness and endurance they embodied.

Must read the whole thing here.

From my post at The Imus Times:

Comparing Rev. Wright & Imus: Obama’s Hypocrisy Coming Home to Roost

Incredible. Barack Obama is enabling and justifying the words of Reverend Wright with almost exactly the same logic that Wright uses to justify the actions of Osama bin Laden.

Read the whole thing here.

Worth reading, even if I do say so myself!  (CASE CLOSED.)

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following statement by Senior Advisor Mark Salter on Senator Barack Obama's Iraq speech today:

Senator Obama says that ending the war will not be easy, that 'there will be dangers involved.'  Yet, in that patented way of his, he declines to name those dangers.  Let me enumerate a few: al Qaeda, which is now on the run, will survive, claim victory and continue to provoke sectarian tensions that, while they have been subdued by the 'tactics' of the surge, still exist and are ripe for provocation by al Qaeda, which would almost certainly ignite again civil war in Iraq, a civil war that could easily descend into genocide.  To say that invading Iraq was used as a recruiting tool for al Qaeda is one thing.  To pretend that our defeat there won't provide an even bigger one is foolish supposition.  Iran, which trains Shia extremists and is known to arm and equip Sunni extremists, a fact Senator Obama is apparently unaware of, will also view our premature withdrawal as a victory, as will other countries in the region, and the biggest state supporter of terrorists, a country with nuclear ambitions and a stated desire to destroy the State of Israel, will see its influence in the Middle East grow significantly.  These are some of 'dangers,' that our premature withdrawal from Iraq will engender, and they all have the potential to destabilize the entire region.  A realistic plan to prevent them from occurring is what people with experience in statecraft call 'strategy,' something Senator Obama has not offered yet.

Download the PDF report.

John McCain	55%
Hillary Clinton	37%
Don't Know	9%

John McCain	56%
Barack Obama	35%
Don't Know	10%

[Zogby Poll via NewsMax.com]

Statement By John McCain on Tibet...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement on the situation in Tibet:

The unfolding tragedy in Tibet should draw the attention of the entire world. I deplore the violent crackdown by Chinese authorities and the continuing oppression in Tibet of those merely wishing to practice their faith and preserve their culture and heritage. I have listened carefully to the Dalai Lama and am convinced he is a man of peace who reflects the hopes and aspirations of Tibetans. I urge the government of the People's Republic of China to address the root causes of unrest in Tibet by opening a genuine dialogue with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Reports of shutting down YouTube and confiscation of SIM cards are disturbing and reports of multiple deaths are far more so, especially in a year when China is preparing to host the Olympic Games. I urge the Chinese authorities to ensure peaceful protest is not met with violence, to release monks and others detained for peacefully expressing their views and to allow full outside access to Tibet.

Major dittos, Mr. President!

Incredible that this ageist attack against McCain is acceptable. This kind of stuff is going to backfire.

This coming from CBS, a network that, judging from the ads that show during much of their programming, has no problem making money from senior citizens. Age should absolutely not be an issue, beyond the increased importance of McCain's VP pick.

Libs are showing themselves to be the leering, self-righteous, self-important creeps that they are, every time they giggle at something like this.

Vote on principle, vote McCain.

RESPECT!

Statement By John McCain On The DC Gun Ban Case Before The Supreme Court...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement on District of Columbia v. Heller:

Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on District of Columbia v. Heller, a landmark case for all Americans who believe as I do that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. I am proud to have joined in an amicus brief to the Court calling for a ruling in keeping with the clear intent of our Founding Fathers, which ensures the Second Amendment rights of the residents of District of Columbia are reaffirmed.

Major dittos, Mr. President!

The vice president expressed hope that anti-American sentiment generated by the U.S.-led invasion five years ago this week, was waning—at least in Iraq where the U.S. death toll is nearing 4,000.

"Across this country, the more that Iraqis have gotten to know the Americans—the nature of our intentions and the character of our soldiers—the better they have felt about the United States of America," he said.

[Breitbart]

Related:
• VIDEO: Offensive Ageist Attack
• OBAMA SHARES BIN LADEN'S VIEW OF FREE SPEECH - Comparing Rev. Wright & Imus: Obama’s Hypocrisy Coming Home to Roost

[Thanks to DownWithMediaMatters]

From Strata-Sphere.com: Islam, Disillusioned With al-Qaeda’s Killing Of Muslims, Turns On al-Qaeda

Bush was right. Success in Iraq did result in a sea change in attitudes in the Muslim world as al-Qaeda was forced to expose their true nature and demonstrate to a gullible community how cruel and oppressive Bin Laden’s world would be if it came to pass. 7 years after 9-11 al-Qaeda is the enemy of Islam, not its future. And that is one hell of an accomplishment.

Great post. Read it all. Liberals are not going to comprehend this process of change, because they are "presentist". They are angry about what is happening now, understandably, but take the good parts of today's life in America for granted, ignoring the sweep of progress that has brought us to this point.

Personally, I can't wait to have a black president, just not this guy. I think it would do a lot of great things emotionally for people who still see the presidency as mostly symbolic. Unfortunately, the presidency is a real job, not something to "feel good" about. (Beautifully cinematic little twist that NY gets its first black governor out of the whole Spitzer deal. You can't make it up!)

This video still hasn't gone viral, so spread it & share it.

It is truly shocking that Obama and his advisors think using codewords like "hoodwinked" and "bamboozled" is good politics, certainly at this point in a campaign. What are they thinking? Just words, you say?

Nope. Just more signs that they are not qualified to lead the country.

This election is really showing how having a well-educated & well-informed population is essential in a functioning democracy. Dangerous times, my friends.

[EXTRA: Great little video moment from Imus in the Morning reacting to the "Just Words" period a few weeks ago.]

With all this stuff coming out about Obama and his philosphical background, it points in another unexpected direction: How did the Clintons and their campaign allow Obama to get ahead of them in this election without getting this out?

Just like they missed the signs pointing to September 11 in the 8 years after the first attack, and an opportunity to turn the nation's defense capabilities toward the new threats that were arising, they missed this.

They care first about gaining power, second about image and "style points" and, well...that's really about it.  Of course, that's another reason why the race between Obama and Clinton is so close.  There's no real logical reason to vote for either one, so it pretty much comes down to a coin flip.  Sad that the Democratic Party has 2 candidates that are so weak.  Sincerely hope this does not hurt chances for female and black candidates in the future, but people are so stupid that's probably how many will read it. 

There's really only one option:  We need to destroy the Democratic Party this year.  The explosion is not going to be pretty, but it must be done.  In 2004, I was bothered by the GOP attack against the Democratic Party, thinking to myself, "Hey, we're Americans, too.  Of course we want to win in Iraq and defend the country." 

Problem: GOP was right.

In hindsight, this explains Kerry's frustrating lack of clarity on war.  Allowed good American Dem's in the center to hear what they needed to hear, but political insiders knew they had another wing to please as well.  War in Iraq has given the lie to this, "far-right hatemongers" (in kool-aid speak) have instead proven to be correct.

These are the politics of hope.

The politics of fear—of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama—belong to the other side.

Hateful libs and their willful misunderstanding are going to dig deep. Watch, and get used to it.

For the few who haven't already seen this, Obama fans master the early peak...

Wow.  I thought this was a satire piece when I heard Rush talking about this.  But it's real.

They came to cheer. They got a lecture. The crowd went wild.

During a Barack Obama town-hall meeting on the economy, the topic turned to education, which, the Illinois senator said, could not be remedied by spending alone. "It doesn't matter how much money we put in if parents don't parent," he scolded.

The line is one the Democrat delivers often, but on Thursday in Beaumont, Texas, he struck a remarkable chord with his mostly African American audience.

"It's not good enough for you to say to your child, 'Do good in school,' and then when that child comes home, you've got the TV set on," Obama lectured. "You've got the radio on. You don't check their homework. There's not a book in the house. You've got the video game playing."

Each line was punctuated by a roar, and Obama began to shout, falling into a preacher's rhythm. "Am I right?"

"So turn off the TV set. Put the video game away. Buy a little desk. Or put that child at the kitchen table. Watch them do their homework. If they don't know how to do it, give 'em help. If you don't know how to do it, call the teacher."

By now, the crowd of nearly 2,000 was lifted from the red velveteen seats of the Julie Rogers Theatre, hands raised to the gilded ceiling. "Make 'em go to bed at a reasonable time! Keep 'em off the streets! Give 'em some breakfast! Come on! Can I get an amen here?"

Whooooooooooooooooo, went the crowd. "You know I'm right," Obama laughed. "And, since I'm on a roll, if your child misbehaves in school, don't cuss out the teacher! You know I'm right about that! Don't cuss out the teacher! Do something with your child!"

Pandemonium.

"All right, all right," he finished, "settle down. We're having too much fun here. . . . I'm speaking the truth!"

[LATimes.com]