When The Truth Is Found To Be Lies…..

According to Gallup, via Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic, a substantial portion of the American people believe that some 25% percent of our population is gay. The real number is somewhere between 2-5%, depending on your source, which seems reasonable to me. We've become a nation of oppressed minorities competing for the nation's attention ("awareness", as it were) and the largest and/or most oppressed minority gets attention in this cacophony of awareness.

 Making your minority seem larger, or more oppressed than rival minorities garners more attention and thus, more sympathy.  Sorry, but this practice is not only wrong, it's a selfish distraction from issues that actually deserve attention.

"Youth" Means "Not Done Yet"

Ever since the 60s, our society has worshipped "youth" as though they were imbued with an intelligence that, somehow, fades with actual life experience. In fact, the only traits "the young" possess in more abundance than their elders is energy, hubris and hormones, all of which are overrated. The 19 year-old that you wouldn't think of trusting for a week with the house, the American Express and our new car has long since become our seer and our advisor. Sorry, but "fresh eyes on the subject" is a handicap, not an advantage when the subjects include questions and problems as old as mankind itself.

Is Jonah Goldberg correct that young people are "friggin' stupid"? Yeah, that's a fair statement:

Seriously, THANKS!

And this also goes for German, Japanese and, alas, proper English.

Courtesy, IMAO.

Obama Wraps Up the Pathetic Paralyzed Pornographer Vote

I had no idea he was still alive.

Larry Flynt: 'President Obama Has Overperformed ... Done a Marvelous Job' 

In an interview with Reihan Salam for Vice magazine, pornographer Larry Flynt reveals that he's now a hardcore supporter of President Obama's just two years after calling Obama an "ineffectual wimp" for giving in too much to Republicans. 

"I think President Obama has overperformed," Flynt says. "He got handed on his platter when he became president more than any president in history ever had to deal with.... I think he's done a marvelous job."

Upon making this declaration, he dragged himself back into his hole.

What Happened to the Concept of "Covert"?

Clinton: State Department Hacking Into Al-Qaeda Websites In Yemen

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The State Department has launched a different sort of raid against al-Qaeda — hacking into al-Qaeda websites in Yemen. 

In a rare public admission of the covert cyber war against extremists, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says cyber experts based at the State Department hacked Yemeni tribal websites, replacing al-Qaeda propaganda that bragged about killing Americans.

“Within 48 hours, our team plastered the same sites with altered versions of the ads that showed the toll al-Qaeda attacks have taken on the Yemeni people,” Clinton said Wednesday.

Perhaps they would have, eventually, figured this out on their own (indeed, perhaps they already did), but shouting strategy from the rooftops like this seems to serve no purpose.  I can't imagine a case  where an al Qaeda terrorist finds his way to the propaganda website, hoping to fortify himself with some "Great Satan" or "Little Satan" hatred, instead finds pro-American counter-arguments and thinks; "hey, I've been all wrong about these guys, they're really swell fellows!"

Come on people, the government keeping secrets is sometimes a good thing, particularly in cases like this!  Even if this had become common knowledge, what end does it serve to admit it?  A little mystery goes a long way in covert operations.

Honestly, there seems to be more secrets being kept on the domestic policy front by this administration than on the foreign policy front.

Man, Parrot, Zebra, Bar.

You just can't make this stuff up.

One-Trick President

When I first heard of this Newsweek cover I thought it a joke, a parody of the god-like persona that the left has ascribed to President Obama.  I'm sure that I'm not the only one whose credulity was strained.  Alas, it's all to real, but it has a distinct odor of desperation and, let's face it, when parody becomes indistinguishable from actuality, there's something terribly wrong.

The more time goes by, the more I like Romney’s chances. All Obama has is race; his political wits are sorely lacking and his acolytes are grasping for any reason to maintain their support. I think it’s all but certain that the economy will, at best, remain anemic and at worst, will continue to fail. Democrats, save the increasingly small circle of true believers will distance themselves throughout the summer and, eventually, there will simply be no concrete reasons to reelect; “Hope and Change” will be seem cruelly mocking and Obama will become a caricature of all that's wrong with the Democrat Party.

If he had a fraction of the political aptitude of Clinton he’d be scary, but he doesn’t. They’re breaking out the messianic theme because that’s literal all they’ve got. The fact is that The First Black President is a one-trick pony who has ascended by virtue of his race and thuggish politics and as the country looks to a second act, they’ll be horrified to find that there isn’t one. In November he’ll be eased out and a substantial number of Democrats will publicly grouse but privately, they’ll be relieved to have the albatross removed from their necks.

Gimme Some "Post Racial"

To believe that there’s a racial element to Obama’s loyal opposition is to believe that racism comes and goes as though it were a fashion. That’s simply not the way people think. Literally every example of anti-Obama racism, this side of the “Stormfront” crowd, had proven baseless. Indeed, one of the reasons Obama still maintains the level of approval that he does is that his opposition has been wont to minimize criticism for fear of being “misinterpreted”.

For many Americans, “The First Black President” was an experiment that even I hoped would succeed. Many of those same Americans are concluding that, while their intentions were noble, there’s more to a being president than absolving us for the sin of slavery. In fact, this “absolver” is now wielding our past sins as his remaining weapon, having not displayed any semblance of competence.

In 2008, we did the wrong thing for the right reason – in 2010, we need to do the right thing for the right reason.

Glittery Trial Balloons Look Fabulous!

Van Jones: Obama Wouldn't Lose Black Vote If He Came Out As Gay 

“I think if President Obama came out as gay, he wouldn't lose the black vote," a cheerful Van Jones told MSNBC this afternoon. 

"President Obama is not going to lose the black vote no matter what he does," he added.

Hmm.  Is there some sort of gay conspiracy theory that's heretofore eluded me, or is this some sort of new political ploy?

Let's Set Treyvon Aside For a Bit

The Race Circus has been renewed to a level not seen since the OJ arrest/trial.  People of all minds have pre-acquitted/pre-convicted Treyvon/Zimmerman, they have proof if his innocence/guilt and they shan't be convinced otherwise.

Enough already.  At this point, even calling the Great American Race Circus what it is can be construed as inflammatory and until there is more fact than conjecture and more light than heat, I'll not be discussing the matter here. Understand that I'm not cowed by unfounded charges of racism, I just thing that people of reason, having had their initial opportunity to comment, should back away and allow the justice system to work. Once that has happened, we can all state our opinions and those opinions (hopefully) will be based on fact.

Welcome to the Great American Race Circus!

There's nothing like a business opportunity to ease through the grief process.

Trayvon Martin’s family looks to trademark ‘I am Trayvon,’ ‘Justice for Trayvon’

Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton is seeking to trademark phrases with her son's name. 

According to applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the family's attorney last week, Fulton wants to trademark "I am Trayvon" and "Justice for Trayvon" for use in DVDs and CDs memorializing the slain teenager. 

In the wake of the news that her son had been suspended from school after traces of marijuana were found in his book bag, Fulton said Monday that those leaking information were trying to blame the victim. "They killed my son, and now they are trying to kill his reputation," Fulton said.

Soon, T-Shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs and, no doubt, hoodies will be popping up like spring wildflowers heralding our period of "national soul searching".... for a nominal licensing fee, of course.

Thanks to the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton (and yes, President Obama) who lit on this case like vultures on carrion, and now this example of tasteless, morbid opportunism, this affair is well on its way to living up to every nasty stereotype imaginable.

Speaking of living up to stereotypes:

Police: Trayvon protesters ransack store 

North Miami Beach police said surveillance video shows dozens of high school students demonstrating in the Trayvon Martin case Friday ransacking a Walgreens store. 

The incident occurred during a walkout from North Miami Beach Senior High School in support of Martin, 17, who was fatally shot in Sanford. Protesters have been calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, 28, who has not been charged because he claimed self-defense in the shooting, according to police.

We all want to believe the best of our fellow man but this sort of behavior doesn't help.

Foster a Taste For Kool-Aide When They're Young

All that's missing are uniforms with the ubiquitous "Obama Logo".

Virginia middle school teacher had students do 'opposition research' on GOP candidates

A Virginia middle school teacher is under fire after making his students do "opposition research" on Republican presidential candidates, according to a report. 

Eighth-graders at Liberty Middle School in Fairfax County were assigned to research the backgrounds and positions of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul and find any “weaknesses,” according to The Daily Caller. 

The students were then required to draft a strategy paper, mapping out how to exploit those weaknesses and then research how to forward it to the Obama campaign.

These same public schools continue to struggle in the mission producing graduates with an acceptable basic education.

Serial Killer?

It would appear that the Muslim terrorist, captured by American forces in Afghanistan and released by the French, who killed seven people in France is just another Ted Bundy.

From the Daily Mail:

Al Qaeda fanatic is DEAD: Serial killer jumps out flat window with all guns blazing in dramatic end to 32-hour siege

God forbid we should call him what he is, a Muslim terrorist. Even after incorrectly assuming he was some sort of "right wing fanatic", they cannot even bring themselves to even use the word Islam, or Muslim. It's as though his religion was as incidental as his choice of dental floss.

If we don't even have the courage to name our enemy and identify their philosophy, how can we muster the courage to fight?

Selective Outrage in LA

City Council Warns ‘Crack Ho’ Comments ‘Intolerable’, Calls For Diversity In Talk Radio

The concept of "equal protection" having completely eluded them, the LA City Council has chosen to regulate the speech used on talk radio while completely ignoring misogynist, sexist, racist and violent language found in some current Rap and Hip-Hop music.

It would appear "hate speech" is perfectly acceptable when accompanied by music, yet is "intolerable" when it's simply spoken.  They even admit as much in the very first paragraph of the news item:

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — City Council members were one step closer on Wednesday to becoming the first in the nation to adopt a resolution condemning certain types of speech on public airwaves.

The Limbaugh remark was a bit out of line and he apologized.  That said, the slurs against Bush, Palin and any number of conservative figures are, at the very least, on par with anything that can be found on conservative talk radio.  That these slurs have emanated from Cable news and entertainment channels and network television doesn't make them any less distasteful.

Some members of the Left are so convinced of their rightousness and so self-satisfied with their own beliefs that any opposing views are met with indignation.  I remember a day when there was an air of open mindedness on the Left, but now their minds are only open to ideas that were formed some 40 years ago.

Incivility on Stilts

Liberals don't just agree to disagree, they lash out like petulant children insulting your intelligence, integrity, morality and everything but your momma.  They also don't seem to be in any mood for compromise (as if they ever were), or even simple standards of verbal decency.

WHITE HOUSE DECLARES RYAN "AGGRESSIVELY AND WILLFULLY IGNORANT"

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney didn't pull any punches in his attack on Paul Ryan's budget, as he declared that supporters of the budget -- and by extension, Ryan himself -- are "aggressively and deliberately ignorant" about the need for green energy and other programs slated for cuts. 

"You have to be aggressively and deliberately ignorant of the world economy not to know and understand that clean energy technologies are going to play a huge role in the 21st century," Carney said after decrying the clean energy spending cuts in Ryan's plan. "You have to have severely diminished capacity to understand what drives economic growth in industrialized countries in this century if you do not understand that education is the key that unlocks the door to prosperity," he added.   

Carney concluded that "the budget proposed by Chairman Ryan and supported overwhelmingly already by Republicans suggests that those problems" -- aggressive ignorance and diminished comprehension -- "exist in the minds of the supporters of that plan."

How in the hell do you negotiate with people like this?  This administration becomes more strident and dictatorial by the day and this type of vitriol is unworthy and dangerous.

Let's All Think Happy Thoughts

Ever at the President's disposal, CNN goes into a lengthy explanation as to why high gasoline prices are not as bad a situation as you cretans think it is.  It gives me the impression that these high prices will be with us for some time, which is why they're trotting out the "it could be worse" feelgoodisms. 

RISING GAS PRICES AREN'T AS BAD AS YOU THINK 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gas prices are once again dominating the national debate.But despite rhetoric, high gas prices aren't hurting as much as they used to.

In 1981, when oil prices spiked following the Iranian Revolution, gasoline represented nearly 5% of the nation's spending, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2011, only 3.7% of spending went to gas, even though prices averaged at their highest level ever that year.

In addition to spending less, we're driving more than ever -- 90% more than compared to the early '80s, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

This isn't to say high gas prices don't hurt -- they do, especially for people living paycheck-to-paycheck or those that drive a lot.

But for the average American household, which has an income of over $62,000 a year, the increase in gas prices represents a relatively small portion of total spending.

Got that?  I guess if you're not a $62,000 per year "average" American because you're unemployed or because you just don't measure up, then maybe, just maybe, high gasoline prices actually are as bad as you think.  What ever happened to Democrats going into high dudgeon when any group of Americans, regardless of how small the number, or the circumstances, were not enjoying the American dream?

Oh yeah, that only applies when a Republican is in the White House.

Cry Me a River

My, we're getting pouty, aren't we?

Obama blamed troubles on Fox News, book says 

President Barack Obama blamed Fox News for his political woes in a private meeting with labor leaders in 2010, saying he was “losing white males” who tune into the cable outlet and “hear Obama is a Muslim 24/7,” according to journalist David Corn’s new book, “Showdown.” 

In “Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party” — which hits bookstores on Tuesday — the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones chronicles the White House from the 2010 midterm elections to the start of the 2012 campaign. The book focuses on key moments of Obama’s presidency, such as Osama bin Laden’s assassination, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Arab Spring, the debt ceiling crisis, and the president’s dealings with Congress.Continue Reading 

Corn writes that after the midterm elections, Obama told labor leaders in December 2010 that he held Fox partly responsible for him “losing white males.”

Incredible.  I watch Fox News quite a lot and have never heard this "Obama is a Muslim 24/7".  In fact, Fox is a hell of a lot fairer to Obama than the networks have ever been to any Republican President.


The President and his apologists are apparently so out of touch, and so absolutely convinced of their righteousness that they've determined that fabrication is not the least bit dishonorable.  Either that or the paranoia is playing tricks in their heads.

Man-Made Wonders

Too cool.

Mammoth cargo ship arrives at Port of Long Beach 

The Fabiola is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, as wide as a 10-lane freeway and big enough to carry the contents of eight 1-million-square-foot warehouses.

When I was in the Navy, I saw a supertanker in dry dock in Yokosuka, Japan. It's still one of those experiences that sticks with me to this day.

Natural wonders are, well, wonderful. That said, we oft give man-made wonders short shrift as though they're somehow unworthy of pride. I think much of this stems from the environmentalists who see accomplishments such as this to be harmful. Fools.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is progress; it's what man does. Drink it up.

A Random Monday Thought....

Both the Mexican drug cartels, as well as Cuba's Castro regime have promised to play nice during the Pope's upcoming visit to those respective countries.

Perhaps the President should take the Pope, in particular and Catholics, in general, a bit more seriously. Invisible and imperceptible influence is, nonetheless, influence......and considerably more than he's wielding at the moment.

A Good Obama Campaign Slogan; "All Of The Credit, None Of The Blame"

Israel's now being set up as the new scapegoat for rising gas prices. Alas, they'll have to share their title with George W. Bush, Wall Street speculators, Big Oil and, of course, the source of all evil; Dick Cheney and the corporate Death Star known as Halliburton.

I saw a blurb on Fox that claimed that, if Israel stroke Iran, it may bring about $6/gallon gasoline. The thing is, the specter of gasoline rising to these levels has already been raised, so this sounds curiously like a "prophylactic explanation" being trotted out, you know, just in case.

There seems to be no limit to this administration's capacity to shamelessly shift blame.

In reality, any president's power to reduce gas prices is seriously limited, but he can heavily influence prices upward. The administration's overt war on domestic oil production, capped with his blocking of the Keysone Pipeline, has tremendous influence on oil prices.

But of course, it's far easier to demonize "Big Oil", deflect responsibility, and expect the American people to buy it.  It's worked so far, but it can't work forever.