op ed review 4/22
THIS WEEK’S NEWS
Surprise Gallup
poll this week among registered voters:
Romney 48%, Obama 43%.
Acting very much like the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney sent a
curt message to President Obama today: “Start packing.”
“Drill down into the
numbers of the latest CBS poll and there are ominous signs for Obama. Only 33
percent of Americans believe the economy is moving in the right direction. A
mere 16 percent feel they are getting ahead financially. Some 38 percent think
their situation will get worse if Obama is re-elected, 26 percent think it will
get better.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney walked onstage without any
assistance and spoke for an hour and 15 minutes without seeming to tire in his
first public engagement since he underwent a heart transplant three weeks ago.
"I can't think of a time when I felt it was more important for us to
defeat an incumbent president today with respect to Barack Obama. I think he
has been an unmitigated disaster to the country.”
President Obama’s re-election campaign is straining to raise
the huge sums it is counting on to run against Mitt Romney, with sharp dropoffs
in donations from nearly every major industry.
The Obama jobs plan:
Go to work AND get unemployment benefits at the same time. Yes, you read that right.
The number of people receiving food stamps (1 in 7
Americans) will continue to grow until 2014.
President Barack Obama has an ambitious plan for Washington
bureaucrats to take command of the oceans—and with it control over much of the
nation’s energy, fisheries, even recreation in a move described by lawmakers as
the ultimate power grab to zone the seas.
President Obama said this week that without government
spending, “Google, Facebook would not exist.”???
http://times247.com/articles/obama-google-facebook-would-not-exist-without-big-government#ixzz1sGndy9gT
http://times247.com/articles/obama-google-facebook-would-not-exist-without-big-government#ixzz1sGndy9gT
The big three networks have, thus far, shown little interest
in investigating the nearly one million dollars in commuting costs spent by
Barack Obama's Defense Secretary. According to the Washington Times, Leon
Panetta's weekend flights home cost $32,000 and have totaled $860,000 as of
early April.
John McCain's 2008 campaign staff allegedly had evidence
that Democrats stuffed ballot boxes in Pennsylvania and Ohio on election night,
but McCain chose not to pursue voter fraud, according to internal Stratfor
emails published by WikiLeaks.
The Secret Service agents in Cartagena handling pre-arrival security for
President Obama had copies of the president’s plans in the rooms where they
cavorted with prostitutes. The potential breach of security was the latest
revelation in the scandal that left 11 agents stripped of their security
clearance and placed on paid administrative leave.
Obama in Colombia:
‘Part of My Job Is to Scout Out Where I May Want to Bring Michelle Back Later
for Vacation’
And then there’s the “undignified display of raucous
partying by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Colombia.”
“Barack Obama has set himself up for a high-profile defeat
on one of the most important issues of the campaign. The president has put his
feet in cement in opposition to the Keystone oil pipeline. But on Capitol Hill,
more and more Democrats are joining Republicans to force approval of the
pipeline, whether Obama wants it or not.”
While the Obama Justice Department continues to pretend that
voter ID is racially discriminatory and a violation of voting rights, courts
keep on ruling against them. Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – an
incredibly liberal appeals court – ruled that Arizona’s voter ID law was largely
constitutional.
Report: Democrat-controlled Senate laziest in 20 years
“Marriott promoting discounts to gay couples”
A new photograph obtained exclusively by ABC News showing
the bloodied back of George Zimmerman's head, which was apparently taken three
minutes after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, gives possible credence to his
claim that Martin had bashed his head against the concrete as Zimmerman fought
for his life.
Alan Dershowitz Blasts Zimmerman Prosecution: 'Not Only Immoral, But Stupid'
Former US Attorney:
“It may be the weakest such affidavit I have ever read… this document,
prepared by a trained prosecutor and executed by two trained investigators,
definitely does not provide a reasonable foundation for such a charge.”
http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/16/charge-against-zimmerman-reeks-of-unprofessionalism/#ixzz1sJHZ42TI
A former Wenatchee Valley resident will test his bicycle skills with
former President George W. Bush next week on a 100-kilometer mountain bike ride
through the desert terrain of Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo,
Texas. Chris Goehner, 27, is one
of 20 servicemen and women wounded in Iraq
or Afghanistan
who will join Pres. Bush in the second annual Warrior 100k Ride April 26-28.
The participants were picked for their valor during the war on terrorism and
recent work with military support organizations.
_______________________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN
Washington
Times 4/12
Sometimes a rare flash of honesty makes all the difference
in politics. Democratic operative Hilary Rosen single-handedly changed the
course of the 2012 election with her dig at Ann Romney, wife of presumptive GOP
nominee Mitt Romney. “Guess what, [she] has actually never worked a day in her
life,” Ms. Rosen said. Mrs. Romney shot back, “I made a choice to stay home and
raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.” In that instant, the political
narrative shifted from the phony war on women to the liberal war on moms.
Ms. Rosen’s intemperate words disrupted what had been a
carefully managed campaign to drive a wedge between female voters and
Republicans. The men of the Obama campaign tweeted disapproval in an attempt to
distance their candidate from Ms. Rosen. Though Ms. Rosen would not quickly
apologize as ordered, she did deign to say, “I love stay-at-home moms, and I
have nothing against them.” The only thing missing was, “Some of my best
friends are moms.”
Ms. Rosen reflects the old-school liberal contempt for women
who choose to raise families rather than enter the workforce. Her condescension
hearkens back at least to the Carter era, but the country has since moved on.
Twenty-first-century Americans are comfortable with the idea that there are
many paths available to women, many routes to success and personal fulfillment.
Some women work full careers, with or without children. Others take time off
from their professions to raise children. Some answer the calling of full-time
motherhood and devote their energies to their families and communities,
engaging in volunteer work and expressing virtues that the country could use
more of. Any of these paths is a valid personal choice, but to liberals, the
stay-at-home mom is somehow less of a woman. To them, the word “housewife” is
synonymous with “loser.”
Those like President Obama who speak of the “luxury” of
having a stay-at-home spouse are oblivious to the element of sacrifice
involved. Most American families need a second income just to pay for the
rising cost of living and escalating taxes. In families with one paycheck, life
is even harder, but it reflects personal choices made by both spouses. As all
parents know, going into the office can be a relief compared to the grueling
work involved in caring for the needs of a small child. In the Romneys’ case,
multiply that by five.
There is an odd echo of the 1992 presidential race, when
Hillary Rodham Clinton scoffed that she “could have stayed home and baked
cookies and had teas” instead of pursuing her legal career. This is the left’s
stereotype of stay-at-home moms that Ms. Rosen would like to perpetuate - the
housewife as pampered pet. She sees women with no responsibilities, no insight
into life outside their homes and no legitimate role in the political process,
especially not advising their husbands. Guess what; you are stuck in the bitter
1970s. This shameful attack only makes Democrats appear more desperate as
November approaches.
_____________________________________________________________________________
FROM OTHER COLUMNS
"When he's not talking up his buddy Warren [Buffet],
[Obama] has been staggering around demonizing Paul Ryan's plan, which would
lead, he says, to the end of the weather service, air traffic control, national
parks, law enforcement, and drinkable water. Given what's at stake, you might
think then that the president would have an alternative plan. But he has none,
save for his proposal to pay off the 2011 federal deficit by the year 2526. The
Obama No-Plan plan means the end of everything. That really ought to be the
only slogan the Republicans need this fall: What's your plan?"
-Mark Steyn
"Democratic
advisor Hilary Rosen is under fire for saying Ann Romney, quote, 'Never worked
a day in her life.' Hey, if she really never worked a day in her life, Ann
Romney would be endorsing Obama."
-Jodi Miller
"The thing I
hate most about taxes is that the more money they take, the more government we
get. It's the worst possible trade off imaginable."
-Frank J. Fleming
__________________________________________________________________________
LEFTIST WATCH
The Vatican
has ordered a crackdown on a group of American nuns that it considers too
radical. It says the group is undermining Roman Catholic teaching on
homosexuality and is promoting "feminist themes incompatible with the
Catholic faith".
A George Soros funded group is organizing a campaign against
the “stand your ground” self-defense laws in a variety of states, particularly
in Florida as a result of the Trayvon Martin incident that took place in
Florida.
As part of Occupy Wall Street’s call for a nationwide
“general strike” May 1, elements within the group are looking to shut down
bridges and tunnels in both New York and San Francisco.
There were several hundred "training sessions"
around NYC, as they tell it, over the past weeks, presumably to prepare the
raucous and ready to protest the terrible, evil 1% who so bedevil America
that average people become unhinged at the thought that the 1% are getting more
than they "deserve."
The democrats won’t let them drill in Alaska,
so Exxon, the largest oil company in the United
States, is going to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean. Except it will benefit Russia, not the United States. ExxonMobil and Russia’s Rosneft unveiled an offshore
exploration partnership that could invest upward of $500 billion in developing Russia’s vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black Sea. 21 years after ridding itself of
communism, Russia
welcomes capitalism. Meanwhile, the United States government will celebrate
Lenin’s birthday by calling it Earth Day, an excuse to shutter capitalism in
this nation.
“NYC Occupy Smashes Starbucks, Shouts 'All Pigs Must Die'”
__________________________________________________________________________
GLOBALONEY
Writing for Forbes Magazine, climate change alarmist Steve
Zwick calls for skeptics of man-made global warming to be tracked, hunted down
and have their homes burned to the ground.
Electric vehicle sales is slow, despite marketing hype,
government incentives and the hopes of green car advocates. Ford Motor Co. sold about 12 Focus Electrics
in December and January to fleet customers — and none in February and March.
Britain
could be facing the coldest May in 100 years, with snow, bitter winds and
freezing temperatures putting summer on hold.
__________________________________________________________________________
BOOKS
"Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and
Its Shameless Cover-Up," by Katie Pavlich.
Of all the myriad scandals of the Obama administration, there is one,
largely ignored by the mainstream media, that could actually be its worst……the
whole scheme was either absolutely harebrained or, as some have more ominously
theorized, intentionally designed to manufacture "evidence" for
tightening gun control legislation.
_________________________________________________________________________
BIDENISMS
Vice President Joe Biden likened President Obama's policies
to "legalizing rattlesnakes" ??
Top ten Joe Biden gaffes:
__________________________________________________________________________
ISLAM
A leading member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives
said on Thursday that "Islam is not part of our tradition and identity in Germany and so does not belong to Germany."
________________________________________________________________________
THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE
VDH: The odds of
defeating an incumbent president should be slim but they are in fact at least
50/50. Here are some reasons that this is true.
1) Romney is a more experienced and better candidate than he
was in 2008.
2) The old mantra that at some point the massive $5 trillion
borrowing, the fed’s near-zero interest rate policies, and the natural cycle of
recovery after a recession would kick in before the election increasingly
appears somewhat dubious.
3) Romney is going to be a lot tougher on Obama than was
McCain in 2008
4) That Obama did not reinvent the world as promised won’t
mean that his supporters will vote for Romney, only that they won’t come out in
the numbers or with the money as they did in 2008. There is no margin of error
in 2012 and turnout will be everything for Obama.
5) The Republicans seem so far to have a lot more interest
in defeating Obama than Democrats do in reelecting him.
6) Obama is a great front-runner who can afford to talk of
unity and magnanimity, but when behind he seems to revert to churlishness and
petulance.
7) Ann Romney, whether she is used in a more partisan style
or more in the manner of a reticent Laura Bush, is an invaluable asset, both
her narrative and her grace — a treasury really that somehow was
under-appreciated in 2008 but won’t be in 2012.
8) Obama is becoming repetitive and tiring in his speechifying
in a way that Carter did by late summer 1980 and George H. W. Bush did in 1992.
9) Playing the race card in 2012 will prove a boomerang,
especially if the Sharpton-Jackson nexus turns the Martin case into a reverse
O. J. trial, and if Holder or Obama editorialize any more, or revert to the
exhausting “stupidly,” “punish our enemies,” “cowards,” “my people,” tropes.
10) It is no longer “cool,” the thing to do, neat, or making
a statement to vote for Obama. The 2008 lemming effect is over; no one believes
any more that he will lower the seas or wants to believe that he can.
Michelle’s lightness/darkness biblical image is hokey not moving. The fading
2008 Obama bumper stickers are no longer proof of one’s noble nature.
“These Poll Numbers Point to
Disaster For Obama”
The Southern Baptist pastor who last October called
Mormonism a cult and said Mitt Romney is not a Christian is now endorsing the
presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
George P. Bush hopes dissatisfaction with the Obama White
House will help him draw young professionals to become donors and activists in
the Republican Party. The grandson of former president George H.W. Bush and son
of former Florida
governor Jeb Bush, the younger Bush is setting up chapters of his Texas-based
Maverick PAC in several key swing states to try to mobilize young Republicans.
Bush's group is one of several Republican efforts underway to try to peel away
parts of the coalition that helped Barack Obama win the presidency in 2008 and
organizers pledge each
The fruits of President Obama’s UAW Bailout of GM and
Chrysler were on loud display in Metro Detroit Tuesday night as UAW President
Bob King and 1,000 Astroturf union protestors launched a $70 million,
dues-funded, “99 Percent Spring” protest outside a Michigan Republican
fundraiser for embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker…But look outside union
strongholds like the upper Midwest, and Obama’s claimed support of the working
man is highly selective. Indeed, Obama’s ideological war on the oil and coal
industries is breeding angry union enemies as Obama’s green theology gets the
better of his blue-collar empathy.
Two years after the 2010 midterm elections decimated their
ranks, the coalition of conservative Democrats is poised to get pummeled again
in November — moving the Blue Dogs dangerously close to extinction. Of the 24
remaining Blue Dogs, five are not seeking reelection. More than a half-dozen
others are facing treacherous contests in which their reelection hopes are in
jeopardy. It’s a rough time to occupy the right wing of the Democratic Party.
___________________________________________________________________________
ARTICLES
Ken Blackwell: The
oppressive monster known as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not
just killing jobs these days – it is intentionally avoiding transparency that
may shed light on the political motivations behind the agency’s actions……Today,
it has 17,000 employees and has evolved from its narrow focus into an
unconstitutional, blunt instrument with vast powers that the Obama
Administration wields to promote a radical political agenda that is destroying
prosperity and ruining lives.
Obama’s disastrous war:
“Afghanistan
is one of the most primitive and impoverished countries on Earth. It is the graveyard
of empires. Imperial Britain,
Soviet Russia - they suffered major defeats due to fierce indigenous
resistance. Afghanistan’s
history is plagued by ceaseless warfare and violent ethnic conflict. To think
that this cursed land can be transformed into the Switzerland of South Asia -
and to do it sacrificing precious American blood and treasure - is the height
of imperial arrogance.”
HAUG: Highway to hell: The changing face of pop music. Recording
artists compete to drag fans into new depths of debasement
VDH: Administration
meltdowns are hardly novel. In almost every presidency there comes a moment
when sheer chaos takes hold, whether self-induced or as a result of an outside
crisis. The Obama administration over the last month has seemed on the verge of
one of these presidential meltdowns.
Grover Norquist: “Trickle-Down Taxation….Americans know that
politicians are getting elected by promising to tax only the rich and then
going after the middle class.”
Jonah Goldberg:
“Fantasies of Social Darwinism: Three generations of this imbecilic
progressive talking point are enough.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES
“Hey voter!” sticky notes to leave on gas pumps, etc:
Chart of the Week: Obama Tops Bush With More, Costlier Major
Regulations
______________________________________________________________________________
LATE NITE:
Jay Leno……President Obama released his tax returns. It turns
out he made $900,000 less in 2011 than he did in 2010. You know what that
means? Even Obama is doing worse under President Obama."
____________________________________________________________________________
WISE WORDS
"To tax the community for the advantage of a class is
not protection: it is plunder."
-Benjamin Disraeli
"The apportionment of taxes on the various descriptions
of property is an act which seems to require the most exact impartiality; yet
there is, perhaps, no legislative act in which greater opportunity and
temptation are given to a predominant party to trample on the rules of justice.
Every shilling which they overburden the inferior number is a shilling saved to
their own pockets."
-James Madison
posted by gary at
8:23 AM
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