The Fifth Summit of the Americas took place yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday. Obama promised to “listen and learn” from regional leaders. I hope the President listened and learned.
Bloomberg reports that "Latin American leaders railed against the U.S. during President Barack Obama’s first trip to the region, turning what was intended to mark a new direction in relations into a history lesson that chastised 'Yankee troop' interventions and U.S.-dictated economic policies."
Fox News reports that "President Obama endured a 50-minute diatribe from socialist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega that lashed out at a century of what he called terroristic U.S. aggression in Central America and included a rambling denunciation of the U.S.-imposed isolation of Cuba's Communist government." Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega included a reference to invasion by “Yankee troops.” Nicaragua’s president said he was “ashamed” Cuba wasn’t invited to participate in the summit. He also said that Obama's lifting on travel restrictions on Cuba were "insufficient and inacceptable." Fox News reports that "Ortega droned on about the offenses of the past, dredging up U.S. support of the Somoza regime and the 'illegal' war against the Sandinista regime he once led by U.S.-backed Contra rebels in the 1980s. Ortega was a member of the revolutionary junta that drove Anastasio Somoza from power in 1979 and was elected president in 1985. He was defeated in 1990 by Violeta Chamorro and ran unsuccessfully twice for the presidency before winning in 2006. Of the 19th and 20th centuries, Ortega said: 'Nicaragua central America, we haven't been shaken since the past century by what have been the expansionist policies, war policies, that even led us in the 1850s, 1855, 1856 to bring Central American people together. We united, with Costa Ricans, with people from Honduras, the people from Guatemala, El Salvador. We all got together, united so we could defeat the expansionist policy of the United States. And after that, after interventions that extended since 1912, all the way up to 1932 and that left, as a result the imposition of that tyranny of the Samoas. Armed, funded, defended by the American leaders.' Ortega denounced the U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro's new Communist government in Cuba in 1961, a history of US racism and what he called suffocating U.S. economic policies in the region."
“For many years, there have been traumatic relations,” Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said. “I want you to know, Obama, that this is in no way a reproach against you. It’s simply an exercise to look back at what happened.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Obama during a meeting that the summit without Cuba was unacceptable. “The big test is progress in relations with Cuba," Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said. “A small step was taken in the right direction. But there needs to be direct dialogue, discreet in the beginning. That’s what...needs to take place.”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, known for his virulent anti-Americanism and who last month called Obama an “ignoramus” in regard to Latin America, felt comftorable walking over to a seated Obama to give Obama a Spanish-language copy of Uruguayan historian Eduardo Galeano’s book “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.” Chavez and Obama greeted each other with a hand shake and smile.
Tweet
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Latin America Rails Against America Despite That Obama's Visit Was Intended To Mark A New Direction In Relations
GOP Congressman Who Voted For The Bush TARP Bailout Faces Nonstop Booing While Speaking At Tea Party
Keith Olbermann and loony Garafalo may think that the tea parties are about "white power" and "racism." More sane liberals may try to claim that the tea parties were Republican and purely partisan protests. The truth is that the unprecedented expansion of government and of domestic spending seen under Obama, and even under Bush, has sparked outrage. A South Carolina tea party should put the nutter Garafalo notions to rest. When a South Carolina Republican Congressman who voted for the Bush bailouts got on stage to speak he faced relentless and merciless booing.
Tweet
Friday, April 17, 2009
Obama And Chavez
Here are a few Chavez quotes:
"Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this [UN General Assembly] rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil [Bush], came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world. "
"You are ignoramus, you are a burro, Mr Danger... or to say it to you in my bad English: [switching languages] You are a donkey, Mr Danger. You are a donkey, Mr George W Bush. [Returning to Spanish] You are a coward, a killer, a [perpetrator of] genocide, an alcoholic, a drunk, a liar, an immoral person, Mr Danger. You are the worst, Mr Danger. The worst of this planet... A psychologically sick man, I know it."
"Don't be shameless, Mr [Tony] Blair. Don't be immoral, Mr Blair. You are one of those who have no morals. You are not one who has the right to criticise anyone about the rules of the international community. You are an imperialist pawn who attempts to curry favour with Danger Bush-Hitler, the number one mass murderer and assassin there is on the ... Read Moreplanet. Go straight to hell, Mr Blair."
"Israel has gone mad. It's attacking, doing the same thing to the Palestinian and Lebanese people that it has criticised - and with reason - [in the case of] the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust."
Tweet
Garofalo: Tea Parties Are "About Racism... The Conservative Movement Has Crystallized Into The White Power Movement"
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Here is Lou Dobb's response to the nonsensical rant from Garafalo:
Tweet
Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat: "No Peace Whatsoever Unless East Jerusalem...Becomes The Capital Of Palestine."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat appeared on Al-Jazeera TV on March 27, 2009. He openly states that Mahmoud Abbas rejected the Israeli proposal in Annapolis in the same way that Arafat rejected the Camp David 2000 proposal.
To see Saeb Erekat's appearance on Al-Jazeera with English subtitles, be sure to visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2074.htm
Tweet
Obama Releases Secret Bush Interrogation Memos
To read the memos for yourself visit http://documents.nytimes.com/justice-department-memos-on-interrogation-techniques#p=1. The memos actually prove that the lawyers providing the President and CIA with advice grappled carefully with difficult issues. One stark example illustrates this point. A 2002 memo authorized putting a harmless insect such as a caterpillar into a box with Al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah, who "appears to have a fear of insects," and telling him it is a stinging insect would be allowed, but only so long as Zubaydah was informed the insect's sting would not be fatal or cause severe pain.
Tweet
Obama Cites Debunked Claim That Most Guns In Mexico Come From The United States
The following is Obama blaming America and saying that most guns in Mexico come from the United States:
Now watch Obama being debunked:
Tweet
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Conservative Documentairan Arrested At USC
John Ziegler went with his camera to cover an event at USC's Annenberg School Of Journalism and was arrested for his journalism. The school was honoring Katie Couric with their Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and Ziegler wanted to ask people attending their ceremony about the award. But apparently journalism gets you arrested in front of the Annenberg School of Journalism: Link: 
Based on the amount of nonsense that is allowed on today's college campuses, both inside and outside the classrooms, this lone conservative journalist doing nothing more than asking questions is certainly not worthy of arrest. The irony of arresting someone for journalism outside a school of journalism apparently did not dawn on USC.
Tweet
CNN Reporter's Bias Evident As Open Hostility To Tea Parties Is Displayed
The man that had the discussion with the CNN reporter appeared on Mark Levin's radio show to discuss the encounter:
Now compare this CNN reporter's coverage of the Tea Party as opposed to her puff piece on a small band of left-wing protesters:
Tweet
CBS Interviews "Britain's Got Talent" Sensation
Here is the original appearance of Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent, the Birtish version of American Idol:
This instant star has already appeared on CBS for an early morning interview:
Watch CBS Videos Online
Watch CBS Videos Online
Tweet
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Texas Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas’ Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment
Texas Governor Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”
Tweet
Unclassified Homeland Security Report Warns Against "Right-Wing Extremists" And Singles Out Veterans
A newly unclassified Department of Homeland Security report warns against the possibility of violence by unnamed "right-wing extremists." The report dated April 7 is titled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." The report specifically points to "the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks." It states that "returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize veterans in order to boost their violent capacities."
The report defines right-wing extremism in the U.S. as "divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration." Further, the report states "proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government."
Is there really a threat of American veterans creating terrorist groups? Does this mean that the Department of Homeland Security now characterizes anyone who supports state's rights or is opposed to abortion, illegal immigration, and gun control as a "right-wing extremist"? If firearms restrictions "would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups," does that mean the National Rifle Association is an extremist group? How is the Department differentiating between right-wing extremist and mainstream conservative? Would the 10th Amendment to the Constitution be extremist right-wing as it favors state or local authority over federal authority? By writing a report on unnamed "right-wing extremists" that contains no specific information of any kind and virtually no actual data it seems the Department of Homeland Security is achieving no practical objective beyond just painting right-wingers as extremists.
The Commander of the American Legion David K. Rehbein did not take this portrait of veterans lightly and has demanded an apology from the Secretary of Homeland Security. He sent the following letter to Secretary Napolitano:
"On behalf of the 2.6 million-member American Legion, I am stating my concern about your April 7 report, 'Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence and Recruitment.' First, I want to assure you that The American Legion has long shared your concern about white supremacist and anti-government groups. In 1923, when the Ku Klux Klan still yielded unspeakable influence in this country, The American Legion passed Resolution 407. It resolved, in part, '…we consider any individual, group of individuals or organizations, which creates, or fosters racial, religious or class strife among our people, or which takes into their own hands the enforcement of law, determination of guilt, or infliction of punishment, to be un-American, a menace to our liberties, and destructive to our fundamental law…' The best that I can say about your recent report is that it is incomplete. The report states, without any statistical evidence, 'The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.' The American Legion is well aware and horrified at the pain inflicted during the Oklahoma City bombing, but Timothy McVeigh was only one of more than 42 million veterans who have worn this nation’s uniform during wartime. To continue to use McVeigh as an example of the stereotypical 'disgruntled military veteran” is as unfair as using Osama bin Laden as the sole example of Islam.
Your report states that 'Rightwing extremists were concerned during the 1990s with the perception that illegal immigrants were taking away American jobs through their willingness to work at significantly lower wages.' Secretary Napolitano, this is more than a perception to those who have lost their job. Would you categorize union members as 'Right Wing extremists'? In spite of this incomplete, and, I fear, politically-biased report, The American Legion and the Department of Homeland Security share many common and crucial interests, such as the Citizen Corps and disaster preparedness. Since you are a graduate of New Mexico Girls State, I trust that you are very familiar with The American Legion. I would be happy to meet with you at a time of mutual convenience to discuss issues such as border security and the war on terrorism. I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are."
Tweet
RSS Feed (xml)