Aug 25 2008

Does Joe Biden hunt?

Category: election 2008,guns,humor,Obama,politicssardonicwhiner @ 9:00 am

A couple of folks have pointed out that, in some ways, Joe Biden is Obama’s Dick Cheney

Joe Biden is Barack Obama’s Dick Cheney. Biden’s age and experience stand in stark contrast to Obama’s lack of both. Like Cheney, Biden is unlikely after two terms as vice president to ever seek the presidency in his own right. That will give him the freedom to be the power behind the throne. And if (God forbid) Barack Obama is elected president, he is going to need a lot of guidance. His reckless, naïve foreign policy initiatives at this crucial point in history could put the entire free world at risk.

Well. In the spirit of bi-partisanship, it’s time to ask a central question. Exactly which influential Democratic operative or donor will Joe Biden go hunting with?

Herewith, my list of hunting buddies for the wanna-be vice-prez:

William Ayers

Tony Rezko
Jeremiah Wright

George Soros
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid

Since they’re probably all big supporters of gun control, I hope they’ll be very careful.

Hillary or Bill, if Slo-Joe asks you to go hog huntin’, I’d suggest you just go to Vegas and sleep it off. No one knows for sure just how pliant Bitin’ Biden will be in the hands of his new boss… but prudence is indicated.  And Jesse J…  don’t even THINK about it, man.

Feel free to suggest other hunting buddies for the man who would be almost the king.

Be safe, everybody.

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Aug 24 2008

What They Say vs. What They Mean II

Category: abortion,election 2008,legislationamuzikman @ 9:19 am

California has enacted a law called “The Safely Surrendered Baby Law”. Mothers who give birth but do not want to keep the infant can simply drop their newborn off at any hospital or fire station and walk away. Los Angeles County has a public awareness program in conjunction with this law called “Safe Surrender – Don’t Abandon Your Baby”. LA county vehicles such as maintenance trucks and police squad cars can be seen sporting bumper stickers. And…

What they say: Don’t abandon your baby.

What they mean: A million and a half babies are aborted each year in our country, so it is no wonder we have come to place such a low value on human life. Rather than aborting babies, some women apparently would rather just carry them to term and then drop them in the nearest dumpster after they are born. This is bad, please don’t do that. Instead either have the abortion or leave it someplace safe after giving birth.

Does this offend you? I hope so. Is it so hard to see the connection between abortion and the value we place on life? In our quest to ensure a woman’s right to “choose”, is it possible unforeseen and undesirable societal consequences have resulted?

Oh, and by the way, leaving your baby in a “safe” place may not include hospitals in Barack Obama’s state – stay tuned!

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Aug 24 2008

Petraeus on the war. Subtext: we REALLY need a grown-up in the White House

Q&A: Gen. David Petraeus on Leaving Iraq | Newsweek Iraq War | Newsweek.com

we have to be very careful, and we are with respect to Anbar. We know [the insurgents are] trying to come back in … and we have picked up a number of those individuals who have tried to come back in. And of course they attacked and killed several of our marines and sheiks in the attack [June 26 in Karmah, near Fallujah]. But the fact is that the level of violence in Anbar is the lowest in our recorded history, literally, the lowest of any of our data.

Read it all. Hope he enters politics someday. He seems to tell the unvarnished truth.

h/t: Michael Yon

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Aug 24 2008

What They Say vs. What They Mean

Category: Congress,energy,legislationamuzikman @ 8:42 am

Here in California we have something called the “Flex Your Power” program. Here is their website self-description.

Flex Your Power is California’s statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign. Initiated in 2001, Flex Your Power is a partnership of California’s utilities, residents, businesses, institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working to save energy.

Part of the Flex Your Power program includes something called a “Flex Alert”. It is a public warning that we are getting dangerously close to overloading our energy grid, or as they put it, our energy reserves are getting low.

The reasons? What they say:

  • High peak demand
  • Unplanned generation outages or transmission problems
  • Adverse weather

What they mean:

Your federal, state, and local government has not been doing it’s job. In fact while we have been passing ridiculous laws about plastic grocery bags, Co2, and removing the words “mom” & “dad” from school textbooks our supply of energy has not kept up with demand. We will not admit we are abject failures in energy planning. Instead, we are blaming you and expecting you to make do with less energy though our lack of foresight and planning, along with a death-grip on us by the environmental wacko lobby, has put us all in this precarious position.

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Aug 23 2008

Does USA have right to speak out about abuse elsewhere?

Category: freedom,liberty,media,tortureharmonicminer @ 9:15 am

Some people say that since the USA’s record on human rights protection is not perfect, we have no right to comment on or criticize the human rights record of any other nation.

This is a phony objection, of course; since no nation (or person) has a perfect record on anything whatsoever, adherence to such a ridiculous prerequisite for commentary would result in no one ever criticizing anyone for anything.

Nevertheless, it seems useful to make some distinctions between nations on some of these matters, just to make the point.

Abu Ghraib was an aberration. The abusers went to jail. It was not official US policy, before, then or since. Guantanamo gets enormous coverage, simply because the US government has revealed its existence, and details about it. Have you checked the list of political prisoners in Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, or Cuba, or China, or Russia lately? I didn’t think so. It would be hard to do, wouldn’t it? After all, they don’t exactly publish a complete list, do they?

Continue reading “Does USA have right to speak out about abuse elsewhere?”

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Aug 22 2008

Israel tries appeasing Russia, too: fruitlessly, of course

Category: appeasement,Europe,freedom,liberty,politics,Russiaharmonicminer @ 8:53 am

Israel didn’t stick to its principles in its response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia, hoping to salvage some bit of self-interest, but to no avail.

You have to give Kadima <the ruling party that is almost certain to lose the next election> credit for loyalty: As the Bush administration was destroying any remaining credibility, and undermining its country’s interests, by abandoning a loyal and strategically important ally to Russia’s tender mercies, Israel’s ruling party decided it could not allow its American friends to shoulder the disgrace alone; it, too, should betray Georgia at the expense of its country’s interests. So the minute Russia invaded – just when Georgia needed arms most – Israel, which had hitherto been a prominent Georgian supplier, halted all arms shipments.

One might legitimately ask how this undermined the national interest. After all, Israel desperately needs Russian help on several crucial issues, ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to Hizbullah’s rearmament, and Israel needs Georgian help not at all. Moreover, Russia has made its unhappiness with arms sales to Georgia clear. Thus Kadima seemingly made the correct realpolitik choice.

The problem is that, according to government officials themselves, not only did the country receive no quid pro quo for halting the shipments, but Russia has repeatedly and explicitly declared that it will continue its anti-Israel policies regardless of whether or not Jerusalem sells arms to Georgia. Thus Israel gained nothing by betraying Georgia, while undermining two secondary but still significant interests.

Read it all, and hope that future US policy doesn’t reflect the same mistakes. The motto of the US Marines, “No better friend, no worse enemy”, ought to be true for any democracy supporting another democracy. There cannot be a good end for Russia to believe they can invade neighbors without serious repercussions.

The question is not, “What kind of risks are we willing to accept to defend Georgia’s sovereignty?” The question is, “What are we willing to do to stop Russia from retaking former territory of the Soviet Union, and getting a stranglehold on crucial oil pipelines? What are we willing to do to make sure Russia does not believe another Cold War is to its advantage?

If we do nothing, or take only symbolic action with no real effect on Russia, this will not stop with Georgia.

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Aug 21 2008

Above his pay grade?

Category: abortion,election 2008,Obama,politicsharmonicminer @ 8:56 am

Much has been made of Obama’s response to Rick Warren’s question on abortion, in which Obama said that deciding when a baby gets human rights either theologically or scientifically is “above his pay grade”.

Of course, this was not a particularly smooth evasion. The question was obviously about how Obama would govern, not so much about what was in his inner soul, interesting though that may be. And we know the answer to that question: Obama will govern as if a baby has no human rights until it is born to a mother that wants to give birth.

So even though the answer is “above his pay grade”, he will govern as if it is not. That is, he will not be able to avoid making a decision about it, even if he thinks he isn’t really able to do so (if you buy his presentation of being in great personal doubt about it).

There is a lesson here, a very important one, on the limits of agnosticism on any topic. There are decisions a person must and will make, and that society must and will make. It will almost always be a sham to take refuge in claiming not to know enough, and employing some rhetorical slight of hand to pretend not to be making a decision. It is not “deep”, or “nuanced”, or “thoughtful” to pretend to be so mired in uncertainty that no decision can be made, when in fact you’re making one. It’s simply dishonest.

Agnostics about theism make a decision about whether or not God exists by how they choose to live, whatever their self-talk.

Similarly, Obama has made the decision about when a baby should have human rights, and knows he has, regardless of his “nuanced thoughtfulness”. He has decided that no baby has human rights of any kind until it is born to a mother who wants to give birth (i.e., not an accidental survivor of an abortion, whom Obama believes has no rights, based on his voting record). He will govern that way. How much does his inner dialog on the topic matter?

Methinks he doth protest too much.

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Aug 20 2008

Clarence, Barack, Clarence, Barack…. Clarence! part two

Category: Uncategorizedharmonicminer @ 9:02 am

Continuing to point out the surpassing silliness of Obama criticizing Thomas’ preparation to be on the Supreme Court, the commentary swells.

Obama is such a rookie. Does he think about the responses that people are likely to make to his assertions? His ability to “look ahead” and consider possible objections, and employ some foresight in how he makes his points, seems severely restricted.

The Clarence Thomas comment is classic Obama. How could it not occur to him in advance that whatever accusations he makes of inexperience on Thomas’ part would also apply to Obama?

Answer: messiahs are always young, so normal standards don’t apply. I think he genuinely believes himself to be in a different category. He is captive to his own press releases and self-image, and it blinds him to the obvious until the words have already left his mouth.


Aug 19 2008

Clarence, Barack, Clarence, Barack….. Clarence!

Category: election 2008,judges,Obama,politics,White Househarmonicminer @ 9:32 am

At the Saddleback Civil Forum, Barack Obama let it be known that Clarence Thomas was his first choice as the Supreme Court Justice he would NOT have appointed, and cited what he considered to be Thomas’ thin record of achievement before being appointed to SCOTUS by Bush the Elder.

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, if they want to live in the White House, anyway. The point: for Barack to refer to Thomas’ preparation as inadequate is risible, coming from him.

In the spirit of fair comparison, here is info on the careers of each man: Barack Obama and Clarence Thomas.

Thomas pre-SCOTUS career included being Assistant Attorney General of Missouri, private practice attorney, legislative assistant to a US Senator, Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education, and Chairman of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, not to mention a year already on the DC Court of Appeals, the nation’s second highest court.

Obama’s pre-Presidential campaign career included working for a couple of NGOs, being a community organizer, some work with a couple of private law firms, lecturer in a law school, state senator in the Illinois legislature, and finally about a year as US Senator before announcing his presidential bid.

At the time of appointment to the Supreme Court, Thomas was about 42. Obama is running for President at age 47.

It is not clear to me that Obama’s resume is a whit more impressive than Thomas’, though Thomas was 5 years younger than Obama the Presidential candidate, at the time of Thomas’ appointment to SCOTUS. And, in his last major pre-SCOTUS role, Thomas served for 8 years as Chairman of the EEOC, with major administrative responsibilities. Obama had been US Senator for exactly one year before deciding he was of Presidential timber.

In fact, on balance, the kind of experience Thomas had was more in keeping with the kinds of roles a President must fill than the kinds of experience Obama has had, up to now.

For that reason, for those who just can’t stand the idea of voting for McCain, let me suggest you write in Clarence Thomas. He’d be a FAR better choice than Obama. And hey… if you don’t like Thomas, that’s one way to get him off the court!

In the meantime, Obama might be well served by doing a little resume comparison, and thinking more carefully before dissing a more capable man.

Doubt this? Read Thomas’ recent book, and then read Obama’s, each autobiographical. That’ll tell you all you need to know….

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Aug 18 2008

Memo on evil: it’s real

Category: Europe,freedom,liberty,middle eastharmonicminer @ 9:47 am

There are many people who have dealt with “the problem of evil” by ascribing it to societies and culture more than to individuals who get into positions of power. The “end of history” has not come, nor will it until the Second Coming. Michael Ledeen has again written a document that perfectly skewers the conceit of the Left that humanity is perfectable, if only we could live in better, fairer societies. Read the whole thing for essential background, but here are the concluding graphs:

It was all wrong, as are most beliefs in the vast impersonal forces that are held to determine human events. The great constant in man’s affairs is change, the direction of that change is determined by human actions, and many of the men and women who take those determinant actions are evil. Machiavelli is not the only sage who recognized it, but he put it nicely: “Man is more inclined to do evil than to do good.” Rational statecraft starts right there.

The American Founders knew it: recognizing man’s innate capacity for evil, they designed a system of checks and balances to thwart the accumulation of power by any group, lest the entire enterprise fall into wicked hands. They knew the battle for liberty would never end, Benjamin Franklin famously warned we would have to fight to keep our republic.

All of this wisdom has been dangerously undermined by the foolish notion that man is basically good, that all men are basically the same, and that all we need do is to permit history to take its preordained course. Are these not the tenets of contemporary education? Are our children not forbidden to criticize “others,” whether of different pigmentation or religion? Has debate on our university campuses not turned into the moral equivalent of the Inquisition? And it rests on the sands of a demonstrably false vision of man. We are not naturally inclined to do good. Quite the contrary; left to our own devices we produce genocide in Europe, Asia and Africa. And the evil spreads, eventually it threatens us, it kills our people here at home and it is straining to kill more of us. Ask the Georgians. Ask Middle Eastern Jews and Christians, or the Iranian, Iraqi or Syrian peoples.

The basic debate needs to begin with a recognition that we have bought into a fable. Without that recognition, we will be incapable of designing the policies we need in order to survive this perilous moment.

Continue reading “Memo on evil: it’s real”

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