Monthly Archives: May 2009

the satirical Hanson at it again…

Posted on by

One wonders how differently the media might have covered Obama presidency… had it been the Palin presidency.

IT’S THE MATH, STUPID!

“Well,” lectured Paul Krugman, again in the Times, “we were worried that they didn’t teach math at Idaho U., and now we know for sure they don’t. Is it $1.6 trillion, $1.7 trillion, or $2 trillion in red ink this year? Are we supposed to be impressed that she offers ‘fiscal sobriety’ by cutting 0.003 percent of the budget? She gives out money to those who don’t pay taxes and calls it a tax cut. And now Queen Sarah tells us that in four years she’ll ‘halve’ the deficit, as if she hasn’t borrowed another $5 trillion in the meantime. Does she think we’re morons? How many ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ oil wells can she tap into up there in Alaska to pay for the extra $11 trillion in debt she’s saddling us with?”

WORSE THAN ‘NUCULAR’

ABC’s Katie Couric summed up the general disappointment with the president’s communication skills. “I tried to warn the American people in that interview a few years back what they would get if they voted for her. Let’s face it: She’s a walking embarrassment. I mean just count ’em up: The mayor of Wasilla thinks Austrians speak some lingo called ‘Austrian.’ Then she tries her hand at Spanish and comes up with some concoction, ‘Cinco de Cuatro.’ Next thing she’ll walk into the window of the Oval Office and expect it to open — oops, she’s already done that. No wonder that when her Teleprompter stalls, she shuts her mouth until it catches up. I’m surprised she managed to get sworn in. And did she think that tasteless ‘Special Olympics’ slur was funny? Or making fun of octogenarian Nancy Reagan’s séances? No wonder Wanda Sykes feels at home.”

via President Palin’s First 100 Days by Victor Davis Hanson on National Review Online.

you stay classy Axelrod..

Posted on by

When Mr. Axelrod was asked how involved he was in the selection of Bo, he jokingly answered that he “only got called in for the final three.”

But as Mr. Axelrod was trying to set the record straight – he actually was not consulted – Mr. Sagal asked about the two runner-ups.

“One was Miss California,” Mr. Axelrod cracked to the audience’s laughter.

Wow.  Um… what else is there to say?  Keep on demeaning people who have conservative values… and we’ll see where it gets you.  As Christopher Hitchens once opined… this is the kind of joke stupid people laugh at.  In this instance, nothing could be further from the truth.

via Axelrod Ruminates on Rove and Miss California

‘indefinite detention’

Posted on by

Turns out all the mantra about Bush being some sort of twisted authoritarian for creating Gitmo was just a bunch of rhetoric.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – As part of its plans to close Guantanamo Bay, the Obama administration is considering holding some of the detainees indefinitely and without trial on US soil, US media reported Thursday.

President Barack Obama’s “administration is weighing plans to detain some terror suspects on US soil — indefinitely and without trial — as part of a plan to retool military commission trials that were conducted for prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay,” The Wall Street Journal said.

The proposal, which is part of the administration’s internal deliberations on how to deal with the prisoners ahead of a planned closure of the controversial US military prison next year, is being shared with some lawmakers, it added.

White House officials contacted by AFP had no immediate comment on the detainee deliberations.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who met with White House Counsel Greg Craig this week about the Guantanamo plans, told the Journal that the administration was namely seeking authority for indefinite detentions granted by a national security court.

via Obama mulls ‘indefinite detention’ of terror suspects.

the sound of silence…

Posted on by

I’m glad others are noticing the same thing I do:

Obama is following George W. Bush in making war, not love. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan. Bush dropped bombs on those places, and all we heard about was gut-wrenching wailing and screaming from the Left for eight years because of all the innocent people who died. Now O is doing the same thing … and all we hear are the sounds of silence.

via American Thinker Blog: Liberals and O’s Afghanistan policy.

wait… she WAS briefed!? *disbelief*

Posted on by

Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi D-Calif. was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.

In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss R-Fla. were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

via CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of ‘Enhanced Interrogations’ – Capitol Briefing.

so… the lesson here is that anything plausibly deniable is at least potential political amunition for Nancy Pelosi to destroy her political enemies.  If she has to lie, so be it.

Welcome Employers!

Posted on by

jan09_30If you are visiting this blog you have, no doubt, searched for my name in Google and are looking on the web for more information about me and my online presence. While this blog is primarily a collection of articles I wanted to share with my readers (and usually some of my additional thoughts), it also includes many examples of my creative and technical work.

Feel free to poke around and explore the entire site, hopefully I leave you with a positive impression!

best,
Joel

Abortion & Interrogation

Posted on by

I don’t usually get into the topic of abortion on this blog, however, this article by Kathryn Lopez over at ‘The Corner’ just floored me.  It is astonishing to me how many on the left can reach so disparate conclusions on 2 different forms of (essentially) the same moral question.

I was taken aback during Wednesday press conference when I noted the difference in Obama’s answers to the questions on waterboarding and abortion. I haven’t seen anyone note the inconsistency of his reasoning. When it came to torture/ waterboarding/ enhanced interrogation techniques, Obama said we shouldn’t take shortcuts. Even when it’s hard, we should take the high road. It’s in our nation’s character to take the more noble option, though it will require a lot more work and effort to get the same information. But when it came to the issue of abortion, while he readily acknowledged it was a morally and ethically weighty issue, he said it should be an available option. Why? Because he trusted that women, along with their doctors and their families, appreciate the ethical weightiness of their decision and will make the best decision for their circumstances…

How is it that he cannot trust the educated opinion of government lawyers as they balance ethics (of inducing discomfort and pain) with practicalities (of stopping mass murder) and advise as to where enhanced techniques cross the line to become illegal torture? But a woman, by virtue of having two x chromosomes, can be trusted to weigh ethics (of live and death) and practicalities (of inconvenience and economic difficulties) while having a personal vested interest in those practicalities.

If we should take the “high road” when it comes to the protections we offer hardened terrorists… why should we abandon the highway system entirely when it comes to life in the womb?

via Obama on Abortion & Interrogation – Kathryn Jean Lopez