In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president.
-Ann Coulter
Warning to Parents & Libs
Don’t Be A Liberal: Never Forget
Religion Of Peace? MY ASS!
Nope!
NOBAMA
Duncan’s Stuff
In Memory of
Capt. Ernesto Blanco
KIA Iraq - Dec. 28th 2003
"We'd follow you to Hell, sir, but you damned sure didn't go that direction."
The weekend has come, and so has the dreary weather, at least in my part of the world, known as central Maryland. But there’s a bright side, in that I won’t have to shovel anything. In other parts of the world, here’s a bit of what’s been going on:
The University of Alabama in Huntsville has fired professor Amy Bishop, accused of shooting 6 colleagues, killing 3 of them.
From the “stoopid criminals” department: Oregon Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has been suspended for the upcoming 2010 football season, after pleading guilty to a burglary charge. What did he steal? Two laptop computers and a guitar.
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional.
Members of the Thomas More Society react to the Illinios Attorney General’s claim that state’s constitution contains the right to an abortion.
Some say that defending the enemy is a time-honored tradition, sometimes invoking John Adams’ defense of the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre. A Wall Street Journal editorial begs to differ.
The Weekly Standard celebrates hope and change – in Iraq.
The massive spending bill known as “TARP” didn’t prevent the economy from going into the toilet. The massive spending bill known as the “stimulus” didn’t pull the economy out of the toilet. What, then, is Obama now proposing for the economy? Another massive spending bill.
Meanwhile, Obama has decided to cut short his trip to Norway to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize, to the consternation of some Norwegians.
Over at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Congress has decided not to re-authorize the Washington Scholarship Fund.
On the other hand, a House subcommittee has approved legislation that could force the NCAA to determine its football champion, in Division 1-Bowl Subdivision, via a playoff system. As if there aren’t more important matters.
Possible Darwin Award nominee. A 25-year-old Ukrainian man blows his head off – with exploding chewing gum.
Global warming/climate change has been blamed quite a few unpleasant things, such as polar bears drowning as the Arctic ice melts under them. But now, it’s being blamed for polar bear cannibalism.
Pretty soon I’ll be running down to Virginia to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. As usual, this will involve lots of eating and watching football, the latter featuring the annual Commonwealth Cup between my alma mater Virginia Tech and Thomas Jefferson’s creation, the University of Virginia. Thanksgiving was first proclaimed by George Washington in 1789. But more recently, here’s what’s been happening:
Navy SEALS have captured the alleged terrorist mastermind behind the murder of four Blackwater security guards – but are being court-martialed for allegedly punching him.
Now that Teh OneTM has scuttled plans for a missile defense installation in Poland, how has Russia responded? By staging a simulated attack on Poland. How’s that reset button working these days?
From The Other McCain, the death of census worker Bill Sparkman has been ruled a suicide, and not “Southern populist terrorism”.
As I look forward to Virginia Tech’s last regular-season football game, here’s my favorite play of last week’s game against NC State, from VTPhreak4evr. VT tailback Ryan Williams (#34) is caught by NC State defender Earll Wolff (#27), who grabs his jersey at around the 10-yard line. Williams still scores a touchdown as he drags Wolff all the way to the goal line.
Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall came down. It was torn down, not by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, as famously urged by American president Ronald Reagan, but by ordinary Germans. The destruction of the wall led to the reunification of Germany, and eventually to the end of European communism. Another wall, known as the “Iron Curtain”, would likewise meet its demise, as communist regimes fell, culminating with the end of the Soviet Union itself.
These events were largely unforeseen, but were welcomed in the United States and Europe, as the decades-long Cold War came to a peaceful end. It was an especially sweet time for people like myself, Americans of east European descent. I had grown up with the knowledge that my ancestral countries of Poland and Czechoslovakia (which would later break up into two separate countries) were among the “satellites” of America’s most powerful adversary, their internal politics dominated by Soviet influence. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the leadership of people such as Lech Wałęsa in Poland and Haclav Havel in the Czech Republic, formerly communist lands would join NATO and become allies of the United States.
Earlier today, thousands gathered in Berlin to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first person raised in formerly communist East Germany to hold that office, welcomed world leaders to the celebration. While calling November 9, 1989 the happiest day of her life, she also pointed out a somber historical irony.
Merkel also recalled the tragic side of Nov. 9 for Germans — the Nazis’ Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass — an anti-Semitic pogrom 71 years ago. At least 91 German Jews were killed, hundreds of synagogues destroyed and thousands of Jewish businesses vandalized and looted in the state-sanctioned riots that night.
“Both show that freedom is not self evident,” Merkel said. “Freedom must be fought for. Freedom must be defended time and again.”
On September 17, 1787 thirty-nine men from the very young United States of America, having gathered in Philadelphia, finished writing a Constitution, a proposed replacement for the country’s governing document, the Articles of Confederation.
In much more recent political news, the Speaker is concerned about the potential for “political violence”. Isn’t it great that the Dems have come to value civility?
I know that Raven and Duncan like their guns. But sometimes, a sword will suffice.
Speaking of sharp objects, a runner from Blacksburg, VA takes time out from the Blue Ridge Relay and dies from stab wounds – inflicted by himself.
It’s sad that too much success can be controversial, even in high school football.
Washington, DC has become a favorite place for wealthy young adults. (Heck, the Kennedys knew that decades ago.)
From the Alamo City Pundit, an apparent strategy of peace through vulnerability: Barry decides to abandon plans for missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Big Ben turns 150. To celebrate, children will get to climb the belfry and see the inner workings in action.
Charles Krauthammer gives his opinion of the U.S.-Russia “Joint Understanding.”
At the G-8 conference, Russian President Dmitry Medvedov proposes a global currency, and unveils a sample coin.
From Michelle Malkin, MoveOn and ACORN protestors outnumbered by counter-protestors from Gathering of Eagles, the Conservative Society for Action, ACTIVE and the 9/12 Group.
Did Teh OneTM (and maybe Monsieur Sarkozy as well) really ogle the backside of that 16-year-old girl? Watch the video and judge for yourself.
NY sports journalist Kevin Coughlin gets a chance to work for former NY Met Lenny Dykstra, now publisher of Player’s Club magazine.
From MSNBC’s Red Tape Chronicles, new squeeze tactics used by credit card firms.
Comparing Barack and President Sarkozy in their response to the Iran election fraud and subsequent coup d’état, were I the French parliament, I would pass a bill taking this:
Many articles have been written concerning Obama’s speech in Cairo in the past day since the speech was delivered, including some very insightful editorial commentary. Unfortunately, these interpretations analyses have fallen into the same trap that dominates the interactions of the U.S. and the West with the Arab world.
That trap is almost all Western attempts to interpret our relations with the Arab world are based solely upon the English language portion of our interactions. Unfortunately, this is fatally incomplete, as this only encompasses what Western speakers say in our half of the conversation to our people and what Arab speakers want us to hear of their half of the conversation.
What is missing is the other half: what the Arab speakers are saying in their language to their people, and what our Arab audience is actually hearing of our portion of the conversation. And whether what the leaders are saying (in Arabic) is the same text as what their peoples are being told is being said.
Without knowing what is said in both languages, we cannot know whether what we say is what our audience in hearing – and vice versa. And more critically, we need to know whether the two are substantially different – and if so whether this difference is a mistranslation (in which case we need to correct the translation) or more seriously whether the difference is intentional – to mislead or misdirect the English-speaking and/or Arabic speaking audiences.
Stay tuned for Barry’s first real test of international statehood skill.
North Korea has disobeyed him. Now what?
BREAKING NEWS — North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.
Liftoff took place at 10:30 p.m. EDT Saturday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean government said. In Washington, the State Department also confirmed the launch.
“We look on this as a provocative act,” U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said.
Provocative? More like, teasing, testing our new anti-axis-of-evil, cookies and milk diplomacy dependent, ever narcissist President. It’s like the teen bullying the tween here.
Hey Barry: The worlds’ watching YOU now, and expecting some real leadership.
How soon do we think the UN Security Council will be convened? Experts will call for a dialogue and discussion; maybe Hillary will send Bill over to do this task. How soon can we expect the usual drama and elegant speeches from renowned and respected world leaders who will slap NK on the wrist, perhaps with a sanction or two…and move on as though nothing happened?