The far left actually believed that the president was going to end the war regardless of what the commanders on the ground said. The far left also believed that the president would end warrant-less wiretapping and many of the other fail-safes that have been put in place by the Bush administration to monitor terrorist activity. And why wouldn’t they? While a candidate the president hammered the Bush administration’s policies and promised to end them. However, now as president he looks to continue many of the Bush administration’s policies including warrant-less wiretapping and it is not sitting well with the far left wing of his party which is growing ever more dissatisfied.
Now that he is no longer a candidate and now that he is the president that Utopian vision has disappeared and reality has set in. The president now realizes that what he said during the campaign does not match reality and he has adjusted his position. He is not going to recklessly and irresponsibly end the policies that have kept us safe. Unfortunately for the president his far left admirers are not privy to the information that he is (especially since he has now invoked state privilege) and now they are turning on him.
This is what that bastion of intellect and awe inspiring left wing radical Keith Olbermann had to say recently about the president:
During his run for the presidency, Barack Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, argued strongly against the Bush administration’s use of executive authority, including its self-justification, its rationalization of the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens,” Olbermann said on his show last week. “That was then. This is now. … Welcome to change you cannot believe in — or sue over
And this moron isn’t the only far leftist to come out and attack the savior:
Reading this brief from the Obama DOJ is so striking — and more than a little depressing — given how indistinguishable it is from everything that poured out of the Bush DOJ regarding secrecy powers in order to evade all legal accountability,” he wrote on Salon last week, before calling his fellow civil libertarians to rise up. “It is simply inexcusable for those who spent the last several years screaming when the Bush administration did exactly this to remain silent now or, worse, to search for excuses to justify this behavior,”
That was a leading critic of the Bush administration, attorney Glenn Greenwald.
And he is not the only prominent liberal lawyer to criticize the president for continuing the Bush administration’s policies, the man who founded the group ” “Habeas Lawyers for Obama” has come out and said that the president is walking away from his criticism of the former president and another liberal law professor had this to say:
Obama has said no place should be out of reach of the law. Now, he’s done precisely that,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “You have this administration routinely stating principles as a precursor to violating those very same principles
What we have here is a classic case of a candidate saying whatever it took to get elected but once the candidate became the president and he entered the real world he learned that things weren’t as easy as they seemed. There is a difference between campaign rhetoric and reality, especially on an issue as vital as this. Now his supporters need to realize this.
The problem is that the far left bought this package hook, line, and sinker and now that he can’t fulfill his campaign promises to end Bush era war policies they are disgruntled. While they should have known better it isn’t totally their fault, the president is an empty suit and a blank canvas. He was able to paint a picture on that canvas, and much like art, the interpretation is left up to the viewer. Because this president had no record on which he could be judged the interpretation was left up to the voters. The voters were able to interpret the art into whatever they saw fit. Whatever they wanted to believe.
When you are the Democrat nominee for president of the United States you can say whatever the hell you want to in order to appease the far left, but once you actually are sworn in and sitting in the oval office it is a different world altogether. Suddenly the world isn’t all rainbows and gumdrops. Suddenly there is an enemy that won’t throw down their arms just because you promise to appease them. Suddenly the threat that you mocked is real and there is no longer an opportunity to appease.
The president managed to convince the voters that all of President Bush’s policies on the war and foreign relations were wrong and now that he is following Bush’s policies he will have to attempt to spin this back into his favor. So far he is losing that battle.
People like Keith Olbermann feel duped and are taking out their frustrations on the president. They need to look into the mirror, because they saw in this president what they wanted to see. Keith Olbermann’s view of the world may be idealistic and glorious but it is not based in reality.
The crux of this dissatisfaction seems to be coming from the president invoking the state secrets privilege, executive privilege, that he derailed the Bush administration for invoking. In a way I don’t blame his supporters for growing angry at the president, they were sold a bill of goods. But really, did they think that all would be right in the world just because their man became president? Did they really think that this administration would keep no secrets from them?
“Green” Jobs Hurt the Economy
Part of the president’s plan to save the economy is to create more green jobs. While I am a non-believer in the idea that man is causing the earth to warm, and I am a non-believer in the idea that the earth is even warming at all, I never had a problem with the idea of green jobs. My problem with the global warming hoax is in the taxes, restrictions, government control, and global socialization that is behind the whole movement.
While I believe that drilling for oil in this country is a necessity, and should be priority number one, to help end dependency on foreign oil I don’t have a problem with alternative energy such as wind and solar and the jobs that these fields could open up. (Ethanol, that’s another story.)
I always believed that if there were more sources of energy that this would create more jobs and help the economy. It seems to make sense, but a study done in Spain (which is the country that the president used as his model to outline his green plan) shows us that that is not the case. Green solutions actually cost more jobs than they create. For every job that the alternative energy market creates an average of 2.2 jobs are lost. And to top it off only 10% of the jobs created are permanent jobs.
It appears as if, much like the global warming hoax, the green-alternative-energy-as-a-means-to-create-jobs-and-stimulate-the-economy-idea is a hoax also. Perhaps hoax isn’t the right word in this case, perhaps it is just a lack of understanding on how these new jobs would affect the old jobs and the economy in general.
In the end it appears as though creating more green jobs will be a net drain on the economy and not the stimulus that we were presented with. Considering my stance on global warming this means that there is absolutely no reason to continue with the idea of opening up this new job market.
New Hampshire Tea Party
Note: This post will be stickied for a few days, please scroll down for the latest posts.
It looks like there are at least six Tea Parties scheduled all across the state of New Hampshire for April 15th. I will be attending the Manchester Tea Party that begins at 5:30. If I am feeling real ambitious I will make it to the Concord Tea Party at noon before heading to Manchester.
I am urging all of you out there who are sick and tired of paying higher and higher taxes to attend.
In New Hampshire we are facing a two headed monster; a federal government that is stealing money from future generations in order to pass a socialistic agenda by taxing the hell out of all working Americans and a state legislature drunk with taxing and spending. Between the the state and federal governments average Americans are going to feel the crunch of both a down-turning economy and an overreaching government.
It is time to say enough is enough, it is time to say “we are mad as hell and we are not going to take it!”
Please join me on April 15th at the Manchester Tea Party, the revolution begins and we will take back our country.
We have to, we have no choice. Do it for the children.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an interview defended judges who use foreign law to interpret the United States constitution.
I frankly don’t understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law
I just don’t even have the words to describe how asinine I find it that any justice on the Supreme Court could find any possible justification for looking at other countries to interpret OUR country’s constitution. I admit it, it is beyond my ability to grasp the idea that foreign law should have any part in interpreting our constitution.
Chief Justice John Roberts said it best:
If we’re relying on a decision from a German judge about what our Constitution means, no president accountable to the people appointed that judge and no Senate accountable to the people confirmed that judge,” Chief Justice Roberts said at his confirmation hearing. “And yet he’s playing a role in shaping the law that binds the people in this country.”
There is really nothing that I can add to what Chief Justice Roberts said, he hit the nail on the head. I just don’t understand how we have come to a point in this country when it is acceptable to look outside the constitution to interpret the constitution. And I certainly don’t understand how it has become acceptable to look to another country’s laws to interpret our country’s constitution.
Today is a great day for America, Navy seals have rescued Captain Phillips, a man who volunteered to give himself up to pirates in order to save the lives of his crew, and he will soon be returning home to his loved ones.
Before I go any further I must issue a retraction of sorts. I have been highly critical of the president for not making a public statement on the hostage/pirate situation but I had tried not to comment on how he actually handled the situation tactically. But when word came down that Captain Phillips tried to escape and the United States military did not take action I could no longer keep my silence and I wrote a post questioning whether the president ordered the military not to fire on the Somali pirates. I wrote that post yesterday and it now appears that my timing couldn’t have been worse because today the order came down from the president that lethal force could be used if necessary. And that same lethal force led to the end of the hostage standoff and Captain Phillips is coming home safely– an American hero. In the end the president did the right thing. (I still think that he may have been late in issuing the order but when all was said and done he did issue the order.)
From what I have heard Navy Seals were dropped into the area far enough away to avoid detection by the pirates terrorists (I am not going to call them pirates any more, these men are (were) terrorists) and were able to be transported to the US destroyer overnight.
As the situation deteriorated and it appeared that the captain’s life was in danger the order from the White House came down that lethal force was approved.
As the opportunity arose, one terrorist was a clear, open target while the other two were partial targets but at 30 meters it might as well have been 3 feet for our snipers. Three shots were fired simultaneouslyand three terrorists died on the spot with bullets to the head. Captain Phillips is coming home. I can’t tell you how much I admire every man and woman that puts on the uniform of the United States, not a day goes by that I don’t think about what they sacrifice for us and our freedom.
This is how I hoped that the situation would end and I KNEW that this is how the situation would end if we allowed our military to do their job. But what I wasn’t sure of was whether the president would allow them to do their job, but today he did and I am thankful.
This is what happens when you screw with the United States of America and every once in a while the enemy needs a reminder. Today they got that reminder and I think that the next time a band of pirates thinks about boarding an American vessel they will have second thoughts.
The question that I keep hearing about on the news is, what can we do to stop this from happening again? Well today America did what she had to do to stop this from happening again, at least to us. The rest of the world could learn a lesson from the United States today on how to make sure it doesn’t happen again to them.
The world is now going to look to the United States to help them end the scourge of piracy after just last week they were condemning us at the G20. They can condemn the United States all that they want but when push comes to shove it is ALWAYS the United States that bails them out when they need it and can’t do it themselves.
Last week the president spend all of his time apologizing for the United States and kissing ass all across Europe and the Middle East. If Europe wants our help to stop piracy on the high seas than it is time for Europe to start kissing our ass.
Pucker up.
This is one hell of a first family that we have isn’t it?
We have a president whose friends include Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. He and his wife took their two daughters to a hate filled, America hating, racist church for twenty years. He has said of Americans (of which he seems to exclude himself when talking about Americans) “they basically are a decent people,” how condescending was that remark?
In a sweeping and condescending stereotype he has called most “typical white people” afraid of people who don’t look like them, and let us not forget that we are bitter, gun clinging, bible thumpers. Which is why we he feels we are opposed to illegal immigration.
His wife, and our first lady, has never been proud of her country in her adult life until her husband began to gain momentum in his presidential bid. She called Americans “just downright mean.” This coming from a woman who manged to go to college because of America, not in spite of America.
His Aunt Zeituni is an illegal alien. But even worse than that she is living in public housing and collecting welfare. She is living off of you and I while the president didn’t give a damn about her or her plight.
And speaking of the president not giving a damn about a family member, one of his half brothers is living in a ten foot square hut in Kenya and is afraid to admit he is the brother of the president because he is so poor. He doesn’t want to embarrass his famous brother. The president should be embarrassed that he never found it in his heart to spread some of his wealth around to his own brother. And Aunt Zeituni for that matter.
Remember when he told Rick Warren that he believed “I am my brother’s keeper?” Not so much.
But this takes the cake. (Or should I say candy in this case?) The president’s half brother, Samson, was denied entry into the United Kingdom while he was en route to the inauguration after it was realized that he had attempted, and was arrested for, trying to sexually assault a 13 year old girl on his previous visit to the country. He also provided false documents while applying for the visa to try and avoid detection. A real upstanding man.
This is the family that represents our country. This is the family that is going to change the face of America all across the globe and restore our good standing with the citizens of the world?
What an embarrassment. It is enough to make a person long for Billy Carter.
Update: today Navy Seals rescued Captain Phillips, I have issued a retraction on this post that can be read here.
I have criticised the president for his refusal to issue a statement about the Somali pirates and the hostage crisis but I have been hesitant to criticise him on his handling of the situation itself.
I was holding out hope that while he was afraid to speak out publicly to assure the family of Captain Phillips that the government was doing everything possible to bring him home and that even though he was afraid to condemn the pirates publicly because he is afraid to offend Muslims that he was privately doing the right thing.
But I can hold my tongue no longer as I fear that the president has already prolonged this standoff much longer than need be. Late Thursday night/Friday morning Captain Phillips tried to escape from the pirates who are holding him hostage.
Captain Phillips jumped overboard and began swimming to the United States destroyer that was 250 yards away. Surely the captain knew that he could never swim that far without being recaptured by the pirates and I am sure that in his mind he never thought that he would have to. Captain Phillips was seeking separation from the pirates so that the United States military could take action against the pirates. No action came and Captain Phillips was recaptured by the pirates.
Why was no action taken by the United States military as soon as the opportunity arose in which they could have ended the stand off? Surely the military have guns and heavy artillery aimed at the lifeboat at all times waiting for an opportunity to strike. But when the opportunity arose there was no action.
There can only be one explanation for the lack of action, the military has been ordered not to fire at the Somali pirates. And we know where this order had to have come from — the president.
I didn’t want to believe this at first, I have held off writing about this possibility but when the Secretary of State says that “we are watching this and intend to do everything we can to ensure there is no loss of life” you have to wonder.
The number one priority should be the safe return of Captain Phillips and if that means that four Somali pirates must die than so be it. These people attacked the United States on the high seas and they must pay the price in order to show the world that we won’t stand for this. To do otherwise will encourage more attacks on United States vessels and more loss of life in the future.
When Hillary Clinton says that the number one priority is ensuring that there is no loss of life she is putting the lives of the pirates on equal footing with the captain who gave himself up so that the pirates would release the other United States crew members and I find that deplorable.
It is no coincidence that this attack came days after the president went to Europe and neutered the United States in front of the world. The president went to the G20, bent over and…. well, you get the idea.
The president’s handling of this situation has been abysmal. He has shown the world that America is weak and unwilling to fight back against evil. This was a test and the president failed miserably.
Illegal Aliens May Be Getting Stimulus Money
When Janet Napolitano was asked whether there were provisions in place to assure that $100 million in stimulus money that was handed over to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program landed in the hands of American citizens and not illegal aliens she dodged the question.
Her answer:
These monies get distributed to the Salvation Army, they get distributed to the Red Cross, they get distributed to various churches and faith-based organizations that provide services — and so those are where the dollars go
She did not answer the question and so now it is left up to you and I to interpret her answer. To me this means that there are no provisions in place to make sure that the people who receive American tax dollars are American citizens.
This is no different than the corporate welfare that was handed out without restrictions in place, this is welfare of a different class of people but it is still welfare. $100 million has been handed out and we can’t be sure who is going to get this money.
There is no guarantee that the people who are getting tax dollars belong in this country. Out tax dollars can be headed to illegal immigrants and there is no way that we can find out and there is nothing that we can do about it.
New Hampshire House Passes $200 Million in New Taxes
When are the people of New Hampshire going to wake up? That is the question I keep asking myself. Governor Lynch can’t stop himself from spending.
With the bad economy it is time to cut back on spending but yesterday instead of cutting back the New Hampshire House voted to raise $200 million in new taxes over the next two years.
Included in the new taxes are:
- tobacco tax increase ( 35 cents)
- hotel room tax increase (increased to 8.75%)
- meals tax increase (increased to 8.75%)
- gas tax increase (15 cents over three years)
- estate (death) tax (8%)
- capital gains tax (5%)
- gambling winnings tax (10%)
I believe the state, capital gains, and gambling taxes are all new taxes while the others are all tax increases.
This governor and his willing accomplices just cannot help themselves. They spent themselves into the fiscal crisis with an irresponsible budget two years ago that was based on unrealistic and bloated revenue estimates and now that it is time to cut back they continue more of the same failed policies.
John Kerry Calls for Pirate Hearings
John Kerry, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is calling for hearings into what is now considered the growing threat of piracy now that an American ship has been seized by Somalian pirates.
These acts of piracy off of Somalia’s coastline may seem surreal, but they’re all too real and a thorough policy debate is long overdue,” said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in a statement. “When Americans, including at least one from Massachusetts, are endangered, you’ve got a complicated and dangerous international situation brewing, and that includes questions about a hot-pursuit policy on Somalia’s coastline
He continues:
There have been more than 50 attacks in the area this year alone and the problem isn’t going away,” Kerry said. “I plan to hold hearings to further examine the growing threat of piracy and all the policy options that need to be on the table before the next fire drill becomes an international incident with big implications
Piracy in that part of the world is far from uncommon as you can see by John Kerry’s own statement that there have been 50 attacks this year in that area, but what is uncommon is the fact that a ship bearing the American flag was attacked.
I don’t need a hearing to figure out why an American ship was attacked. It is obvious. Because the pirates feel emboldened. The pirates did not dare to attempt to seize an American ship while President Bush was in office, the threat of retaliation made the risk unworthy of the reward.
Under this president however, the pirates see a weak-kneed, linguine spined appeaser and they are walking all over him and America in the process. The president spent last week overseas apologizing for America’s arrogance and indifference and when he took a break from apologizing he spent his free time ball washing foreign leaders.
Do you remember the candidate’s “just words” speech when he claimed that words have meanings and that words matter? Perhaps he would do well to remember his own words.
Words matter and his words have emboldened those that would do us harm. Don’t believe me? Just ask Kim Jong il.
