North and South Vietnam? "Victory Had Been Achieved"?

How is this idiot continually elected to the House of Representatives?

It would appear that Rep. Lee didn't get the word that, 34 years ago, North and South Vietnam was united as the "Socialist Republic of Vietnam", and the reason for this was that we chose defeat over victory.  We unilaterally withdrew, setting the stage for the genocide of some 2 million people in Cambodia 

What a buffoon.

More Cracks in the Facade

Europe Warns Obama: This Relationship Is Not Working

Europe’s disappointment with Persident Barack Obama’s presidency was laid bare Thursday as the EU’s most senior figure called for a dramatic effort to revive transatlantic relations.

The President of the European Commission said the new era at the White House was in danger of becoming a “missed opportunity” for Europe.

José Manuel Barroso said the EU-U.S. relationship was not living up to its potential. The criticism follows a series of fundamental disagreements on how to deal with the economic crisis, climate change and trade reform.

If Great Britain is being treated as 'just another country', and Israel is openly criticized, what chance did Europe think it had with this administration?

Stupid, Childish and Unhelpful

Billboard linking Obama, Hitler draws complaints

DES MOINES, Iowa – A billboard created by an Iowa tea party group that compares President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin is drawing sharp criticism — even from fellow tea party activists who have condemned it as offensive and a waste of money.

For eight years, Republicans, and conservatives in general, endured the inane "BusHitler" signs at demonstrations, and allusions that Republicans are no more than Nazis for decades. It was foolish when coming from the left, and it's no less foolish when it comes from the right.

Make no mistake, I believe Obama's policies are injurious to our republic, and that he clearly wants to install European socialism in the United States. In my mind, that makes him a socialist, whether he chooses to admit it or not. Does that make him the second coming of Lenin or Hitler? Not even close, and making that comparison is to lower the discourse to that which is generally found on an elementary school playground.

We have facts and figures that clearly show the failures of this administration, and the congress that has blindly enabled them. We needn't make these preposterous allusions.

Domestically, The last 18 months have been a profound failure, and Obama's feckless and apologetic foreign policy has seriously damaged our influence on the world stage.

The European socialism that seems to be so attractive to the Obama administration and his congressional lapdogs is failing in Europe, prompting calls for government austerity in order to avert total economic collapse. Simultaneously, we are adopting the same Euro-Socialist policies and accumulating record debt amidst rising unemployment.

Wild charges such as this do nothing but discredit us all, allowing the Left to paint us with the broad brush of "extremist". The American people are already seeing the picture of incompetence that is the Obama administration. Let's argue the issues intellectually, rather than emotionally, shall we?

"I Will Survive: Dancing Auschwitz"

On a recent trip to Europe, a family of three generations (a Holocaust survivor, his daughter and his grandchildren) dance to Gloria Gaynor's pop song - 'I Will Survive' at concentration camps and memorials throughout Europe.

This clip was first edited with the help of my friend Pisithpong Siraphisit who runs Compeung Art Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand.This dance is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit and a celebration of life.


Despite the systematic brutality and cruelty endured, we have still survive.

I found this video on NRO (via Jeff Jacoby). What better way is there to honor the dead than to celebrate life on the very ground that was once meant for its extermination?

Reagan on Socialism

Simple clarity.  Oh how I miss that.

Too Bad These Weren't Worn During The Latter Part Of '08

DOJ-Endorsed Voting Fraud

Lawlessness at the DOJ: Voting Section Told Not To Enforce Purging the Dead or Ineligible from Voting Rolls

A lesser-known provision also obliged the states to ensure that no ineligible voters were on the rolls — including dead people, felons, and people who had moved. Our current Department of Justice is anxious to encourage the obligations to get everyone registered, but explicitly unwilling to enforce federal law requiring states to remove the dead or ineligible from the rolls.

In November 2009, the entire Voting Section was invited to a meeting with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes, a political employee serving at the pleasure of the attorney general. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Motor Voter enforcement decisions.

The room was packed with dozens of Voting Section employees when she made her announcement regarding the provisions related to voter list integrity:

"We have no interest in enforcing this provision of the law. It has nothing to do with increasing turnout, and we are just not going to do it."

Jaws dropped around the room.

Please read the whole thing; it was written by J. Christian Adams, an election lawyer who served in the Voting Rights Section at the U.S. Department of Justice. His website is http://www.electionlawcenter.com/

Remember, winners and losers are determined by those who count the votes.

Please, Just Be An Entertainer, Jimmy

As is the case with far too many entertainers, Jimmy Buffet feels the need to pontificate on things political as though a microphome and a fan base is a suitable substitute for wisdom. This is no real surprise; Jimmy has always been an avowed liberal and, over the years, he has sprinkled his songs with his beliefs thereof.

So be it; Jimmy is a talented songwriter, storyteller and novelist. His work has given me immense pleasure over the years and whenever I listen to his music, albeit momentarily, I feel the sand between my toes and a warm sea breeze on my face.

As far his inane political views, they're like finding yourself with a mouthful of grounds at the end of a wonderful cup of coffee; you learn to enjoy the coffee, but not to drink to deeply.

Jimmy Buffet Organizes Gulf Benefit, Blames Bush for Spill

Buffett, a supporter of President Barack Obama, said the roots of the spill lie with the administration of former President George Bush, which was often criticized for being too cozy with the petroleum industry.

"To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen. It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases," he said. "I think that has more to do with it than how the president reacted to it."

To his credit, he does recognize the president's reaction has been all but non-existant, but in his assertion regarding the "cozy" relationship with the petroleum industry, there are some intersting facts that haven't seem to have made it to Margaritaville:
Obama biggest recipient of BP cash

POLITICO (Washington) - While the BP oil geyser pumps millions of gallons of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama and members of Congress may have to answer for the millions in campaign contributions they've taken from the oil and gas giant over the years.

BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company's political action committees - $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.

On top of that, the oil giant has spent millions each year on lobbying — including $15.9 million last year alone — as it has tried to influence energy policy.

Was there a quid pro quo? Such allegations are hard to prove, but stories, such as the one below, do tend to make one wonder who, in fact, was "cozy" with BP:

U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study
The Interior Department exempted BP's calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely.

The decision by the department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP's lease at Deepwater Horizon a "categorical exclusion" from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 -- and BP's lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions -- show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf.

This constant mantra of "Bush did it" wears thinner by the day, particularly when, in the case of Deepwater Horizon, any culpability on behalf of the Bush administration strains all reasonable credulity. Jimmy should understand that "parrotthead" does not necessarilly mean mindlessly repeating everything one hears.

Only in San Francisco

These are the wages of the nanny state; they always know what's best fo you.

S.F. considers banning sale of pets except fish

Sell a guinea pig, go to jail.

That's the law under consideration by San Francisco's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare. If the commission approves the ordinance at its meeting tonight, San Francisco could soon have what is believed to be the country's first ban on the sale of all pets except fish.

That includes dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, lizards and nearly every other critter, or, as the commission calls them, companion animals.

"People buy small animals all the time as an impulse buy, don't know what they're getting into, and the animals end up at the shelter and often are euthanized," said commission Chairwoman Sally Stephens. "That's what we'd like to stop."

I guess fish are excluded because you can just flush them down the toilet where they will live a blissful life, right?

The "Perfect Citizen Program"

The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed "Perfect Citizen" to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with the program.

The surveillance by the National Security Agency, the government's chief eavesdropping agency, would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack, though it wouldn't persistently monitor the whole system, these people said.

Defense contractor Raytheon Corp. recently won a classified contract for the initial phase of the surveillance effort valued at up to $100 million, said a person familiar with the project.

An NSA spokeswoman said the agency had no information to provide on the program. A Raytheon spokesman declined to comment.

First, I will stipulate that our cyber security is, and has been woefully inadequate. When one considers that our daily lives are wholly dependent upon the internet, smartphones and uninterrupted satellite communication, it's clear that this is an infrastructure in need of defending. On its face, it seems a worthy project.

That said, who was the Harvard genius who came up with the name "Perfect Citizen Program"? The very combination of words is Orwellian in the extreme and conjures up all sorts of nefarious possibilities.

Let it be known that I was, and am, a defender of the "Patriot Act" (which, by comparison, is a fairly innocuous moniker). Perhaps that is due to the fact that I had a degree of trust in President Bush, and realized that the scanning of electronic communication is in interest of national security. After all, my emails are pretty mundane and my blog is free of seditious rhetoric.

Now we have the "Perfect Citizen Program", coming on the heels of Janet Napolitano's banning (later rescinded after a firestorm of criticism from all sides) on "controversial opinion" sites on TSA computers.

This is a president, and an administration, that has proven itself to have very thin skin, and reacts poorly to criticizm. It has been openly disimissive of those who hold opposing views, including radio hosts and news organizations. The President has had scant press conferences and, by and large, has been meticulous about "controlling the message".

Again, cyber security is a valid concern and I'm glad that it is being addressed. On the other hand, less than noble measures have often been piggy-backed onto programs just such as this. A thorough reading of the fine print is in order.

Disgraceful and Insulting

Andrew Cuomo Favors Ground Zero Mosque

Andrew Cuomo and his GOP challengers are splitting sharply on the hotly contested question of building a mosque near Ground Zero, even as they're in surprising agreement on the need to cut taxes and spending.

Attorney General Cuomo said he favored building the mosque, which polls show is opposed by most city residents, including many who say it would be an insult to 9/11 victims.

Cuomo, who polls show is the overwhelming favorite to be the state's next governor, said through a spokesman, "America is all about diversity and tolerance and, thus, we should let this project proceed, even though it may justifiably make some people uncomfortable and offend some of our sensibilities."

Yes, Andrew, America is all about diversity and tolerance but, as is the case with everything, even these admirable qualities have their limitations. Additionally, tolerance should not be a one-way proposition, and with Islam, that has always been the case. Muslims are the most intolerant people on earth, regularly engaging in barbarism within their own countries and enabling that same barbarism to be manifested in others'.

The "Ground Zero" site is hallowed ground where, nearly nine years after this act of mass murder, bone fragments are still being discovered. Need we remind anyone of the ideology behind this act; an ideology that continues to take lives, worldwide, on a daily basis?

The very placement of this proposed mosque is intended to run salt in a wound that is still open among many New Yorkers, and many Americans. A native New Yorker such as Andrew Cuomo should understand that, but it appears that his allegiance to tolerance far outweighs that to his countrymen.

McCain Chooses Wisely

Sen. McCain: I will not support Kagan

Make no mistake, John McCain gives me fits. While he was not my first choice for the nomination in 2008, I did vote for him in the general election because the alternative was simply not an option. I also believed that, as president, he would be a strong Commander-in-Chief, a belief that I hold to this day.

With this, he makes it clear that there are limits to his spirit of bipartisanship, a point that I wish he would have made years ago.

NASA: What About, You Know, SPACE EXPLORATION?!?

In a further display of this administration's intent of prostrating America before the Muslim world, comes this:

NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him. He said better interaction with the Muslim world would ultimately advance space travel.

What in the world is this man talking about? Our interactions with the Muslim world has absolutely no bearing on space exploration. I can't think of two things more wholly unrelated. But it gets better:

"When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- he charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering,"Bolden said in the interview.

I grow so weary of hearing about their "historic contributions" to math and science; their development as a society literally stopped centuries ago. They are the equivalent of a lunatic street person continually reminding everyone that he one first prize at the High School Science Fair in 1970.

Not content with mere civilizational stagnation, over the past 35 years, they have actually pursued a course of devolution, thus embracing and codifying ancient barbarism and rejecting modernity.

The problem is not that they don't feel good about themselves, the problem is that they have adopted a theopolitical ideology which has a central goal; imposation of global Muslim law.

Did 9/11 teach us nothing?

Chicago: Different Daley; Same Old Song

"The Chicago Political Machine" endures:

Since 2003 the city has paid some $7 million in legal fees to fight five police torture lawsuits it probably can't win. The latest turn in this saga involves a secret settlement agreement designed to protect Daley.

As instapundit says, read the whole thing.

The first rule of warfare, whether it be military or political is to protects one's flank, and the current Mayor Daley learned that lesson from the master.

Need I remind you that the current Commander-in-Chief is the country's most prominent product of this dubious political system? I thought not.

Enough With The Nazi Imagery Already!

I wrote about this very thing back in September, but I feel that the problem is getting worse instead of better:

Biden Claims a GOP 'Blitzkrieg'Vice President Biden is out with an alarmed e-mail cash appeal warning that the GOP will mount a “blitzkrieg” against Democrats in the fall.

Comparing GOP tactics to the fast-striking forces of Nazi Germany, Biden warns in a message sent by the DCCC today: “As things heat up, you can expect House Democrats will be hit with a GOP blitzkrieg of vicious Swift-Boat-style attack ads, Karl Rove-inspired knockout tactics, thinly veiled attempts at character assassination and tea party disruptions.”

And while the GOP is mounting a blitzkrieg, Democrats are the allies.

“Our Democratic allies in the House need your help, and the President and I hope we can count on you to come to their defense so we can hold onto our Democratic Majority and continue moving American forward in a new direction,” Biden writes in the appeal.

Subtle? Not so much.

Update: Republicans were not amused by the implications of the e-mail.

Kevin Smith, spokesman for Minority Leader John Boehner, e-mailed a comment that seems sure to get under Democrats’ skins: “When will Democrats learn that invoking the Nazis’ crimes against humanity in a political debate is simply inappropriate?”

And that goes for anyone, on either side, that chooses to invoke this outrageous shibboleth. Eight years of "BushHitler", replete with Photoshop pictures and giant paper-mache' heads depicting George W. Bush as the leader of the Fourth Reich were eight years too many.

No, it didn't start with Bush, but equating Republicans with Nazis has been a favored tactic of the Left for as long as I can remember, and it reached a fever pitch during the Bush administration.

Now, apparently believing that turnabout is fair play a (thankfully small) number of "Obama as Hitler" images have appeared at rallies and i find them equally as disgusting. President Obama is not Hitler, nor is he a Nazi; a far better case can be made that he's a Socialist, but that has been, and will be addressed further in the future.

This depiction of people with whom one disagrees as Nazis is harmful in the extreme; it serves to marginalize a particularly evil regime that perpetrated unthinkable crimes against humanity. These crimes were committed, not in the heat of the moment or in the fog of war; they were well-planned and executed with deadly precision. Nor did these horrors occur in an uncivilized backwater; they occurred within a highly developed western society.

"Just plain wrong" and "evil" are two completely different concepts; if we elevate "wrong" to "evil", what will we call real evil when it confronts us?