Saturday, May 16, 2009
Norwegian Alexander Rybak Rocks The Fiddle To Win Eurovision 2009
As a proud American, I'm not one to know the first thing about Eurovision. But you got to respect a guy who knows hot to rock out with a violin.
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Friday, May 15, 2009
Republican Member Of Senate Intelligence Committee Kit Bond: "They Don't Have Briefings To Tell You The Techniques They're Not Going To Use"
Senator Bond provides a rational approach to this whole Pelosi mess should be viewed: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Top Obama Advisor David Axelrod Jokes About Miss CA Being A Dog
Hey Ax, Nice way to stay classy.
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Gallup: More Americans “Pro-Life” Than “Pro-Choice” for First Time
Gallup reports that "a new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves 'pro-life' on the issue of abortion and 42% 'pro-choice.' This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995. The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50% were pro-choice and 44% pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, in both August 2001 and May 2002. The May 2009 survey documents comparable changes in public views about the legality of abortion. In answer to a question providing three options for the extent to which abortion should be legal, about as many Americans now say the procedure should be illegal in all circumstances (23%) as say it should be legal under any circumstances (22%). This contrasts with the last four years, when Gallup found a strong tilt of public attitudes in favor of unrestricted abortion."
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Republican Jewish Coalition Condemns Arkansas GOP State Senator Referring To Chuck Schumer As "That Jew"
Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matthew Brooks said today: "The Republican Jewish Coalition condemns in the strongest terms the remark by Arkansas State Sen. Kim Hendren, who reportedly referred to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer as 'that Jew' at a Pulaski County GOP meeting last week. Sen. Hendren has since apologized for that comment, and rightly so. That kind of language, which identifies an individual solely by their religion, their race, or another characteristic, has no place in politics. The RJC has a long record of denouncing such comments, from Republicans or Democrats. We spoke out against Pat Buchanan as well as Howard Dean, and against Ramsey Clark as well as Bob Parker (once the Republican candidate for mayor of Indianapolis), after they used divisive language that reinforced negative stereotypes or played on prejudices about Jews, Christians, or others. The Republican Party represents Americans from every religious and ethnic group. The GOP has welcomed the participation of Jewish Republicans. Rep. Hendren's remarks were notable as an exception to the GOP's tradition of inclusiveness, which stretches from President Lincoln, through leaders like Jack Kemp and Ronald Reagan, right to the present day."
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CIA Director Leon Panetta Hits Back At Pelosi: "It Is Not Our Policy Or Practice To Mislead Congress."
Politico reports that Leon Panetta wrote a note that was sent to reporters via the CIA press office. Here's the key graph:
Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values. As the Agency indicated previously in response to Congressional inquiries, our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing “the enhanced techniques that had been employed.” Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened.
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
RNC "ObamaCard" Ad: "There Are Some Things Your Tax Money Shouldn't Buy..."
Here is another ad from the NRCC about Dem corruption in Congress and John Murtha's Airport:
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Obama Administration Refuses Cheney's Request To Release Memos Showing The Efficacy Of The Interrogation Techniques Used
The Weekly Standard has learned that "the Obama administration has turned down former Vice President Dick Cheney’s request for the declassification of two CIA reports on the effectiveness of the Agency’s detainee program... A letter dated May 7, 2009, from the CIA’s Information and Privacy Coordinator, Delores M. Nelson, rejected Cheney’s request because the documents he has requested are involved in a Freedom of Information Act court battle... The contentious debate over enhanced interrogation exploded on April 16, when Obama authorized the release of four memos on interrogation prepared by the Bush Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel... Four days later, in an interview on Fox News, Cheney revealed that he had requested the declassification of two memos that demonstrate that the techniques were effective... Although Obama decided yesterday to block the public release of photos depicting prisoner abuse, he has promised to run the most transparent administration in history. The day after he took office, Obama issued a memorandum for executive branch departments and agencies. He proclaimed: 'The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears…All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.' A senior Bush administration official points to the irony of Obama administration’s position -- using a FOIA technicality to block the public disclosure of information."
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Karl Rove Says "Nancy Pelosi Was An Accomplice To 'Torture' " And Sen. Lindsay Graham Says "If It Is A Crime, She Was Part Of It"
Karl Rove writes that "it is clear that after the 9/11 attacks Mrs. Pelosi was briefed on enhanced interrogation techniques and the valuable information they produced. She not only agreed with what was being done, she apparently pressed the CIA to do more. But when political winds shifted, Mrs. Pelosi seems to have decided to use enhanced interrogation as an issue to attack Republicans. It is disgraceful that Democrats who discovered their outrage years after the fact are now braying for disbarment of the government lawyers who justified EITs and the prosecution of Bush administration officials who authorized them. Mrs. Pelosi is hip-deep in dangerous waters, and they are rapidly rising."
To read the full WSJ article visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124226863721018193.html
Here is Senator Lindsay Graham on waterboarding and Nancy Pelosi:
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DC Residents Rally To Save The Voucher Program
The USA Today reported that "a federal evaluation, released April 3 by the U.S. Education Department, found that after three years, there was a 'statistically significant positive impact' on students' reading test scores, but not on their math scores. Overall, voucher students performed about three months ahead of their peers in public schools in reading, but no better in math. Mary Lord, a member of the D.C. State Board of Education, says the statistics may be misleading because many of the voucher kids attend the city's worst schools. She says the voucher, which provides up to $7,500 a year, gives 'enormous bang for the buck,' considering that the city's per-pupil budget for year is, by one estimate, nearly $17,000 per student."
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Associated Press Fact-Check Of Joe Biden "Stimulus Anecdotes"
From the Associated Press:
BIDEN SAID: First-time homebuyers are "driving increased activity in the home sales market," while mortgage and title companies are hiring more workers because of the first-time homebuyer tax credit included in the stimulus bill.
THE FACTS: The report cites anecdotes from a New Orleans business journal to back up the claim. It's true, buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credits. The IRS said more than 567,000 tax returns claimed the credit in just the first weeks of the program. But that hasn't provided an immediate turnaround in the market. Since February, sales of existing homes have fallen 3 percent and new home sales are down .6 percent. And the number of jobs in the real estate industry has declined by about 20,500, according to the Department of Labor. There are signs that the housing market is improving. But the numbers suggest that if the market bottomed out, it did so in January, before the stimulus was passed.
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BIDEN SAID: Employment agencies are placing more workers in jobs, and demand is up since February.
THE FACTS: The report cites an interview with an employment service manager quoted in the same New Orleans business article. The anecdote may be true, but it's impossible to extrapolate that any further, even just to New Orleans. The city has lost more than 200 jobs since February. Overall, Louisiana lost 16,085 jobs over the same span, according to the Department of Labor.
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THE WHITE HOUSE SAID: The stimulus has created or saved 150,000 jobs.
THE FACTS: Since February, the nation has lost more than 1.3 million jobs, according to the Department of Labor. To make the case that the country created jobs over that same stretch, the White House has put forward a benchmark of jobs created "or saved." The argument is that the job numbers would have been even worse had it not been for the stimulus, and the difference between those numbers is a net positive. To visualize that disconnect, consider this: The administration has promised to create or save 600,000 more jobs in the next 100 days. Even if the nation loses another 5 million jobs during that span (a highly unlikely prospect) the White House could still claim success. There are few hard numbers when it comes to tracking stimulus jobs. The Obama administration numbers are based on estimates by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, based largely on a formula Obama's transition team put forward. It estimates the effect of tax breaks, government spending and social programs on job growth. Spending money will put people to work. But spending has a cost. At some point, Washington will have to pay for this program, either by raising taxes or interest rates, and those policies typically hurt job growth. The Obama administration's job data do not take into consideration this back-end cost, an omission some economists, particularly conservative economists, say is a flaw in the analysis.
The source for this article is http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gII_eXwpVyrwITxM1gouPdCc--RgD985HVI00.
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Chris Matthews: "Sarah Palin, Now Don't Laugh, Is Writing A Book"
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Here is another MSNBC Host, Kieth Olbermann, dumping all over the the Palin book deal:
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Obama Reverses His Position And Decides Not To Release Photos Of Detainee Treatment That The ACLU Has Been Suing To Have Publicly Disclosed
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
ABC's Jake Tapper reports that "President Obama met with White House counsel Greg Craig and other members of the White House counsel team last week and told them that he had second thoughts about the decision to hand over photographs of detainee abuse to the ACLU, per a judge’s order, and had changed his mind... At the end of that meeting, the president directed Craig to object to the immediate release of the photos on those grounds. In an Oval Office meeting with Iraq Commander General Ray Odierno, the president told him of his decision to argue against the release of the photographs. The move is a complete 180. In a letter from the Justice Department to a federal judge on April 23, the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would turn over 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration."
Reuters reports that President Barack Obama announced his "reversal" today and that "Obama shifted gears after senior military commanders and some members of Congress expressed misgivings about the potential for the photos to generate violence against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan... The American Civil Liberties Union, which argued for the photos' release, expressed outrage and said the decision 'makes a mockery' of Obama's campaign promise of transparency."
Obama "did exactly the right thing" and "the fact that the president reconsidered the decision is a strength not a weakness," a statement released by Senators Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman said.
"Our commanders, both General McKiernan and General Odierno, have expressed very serious reservations about this, and their very great worry that release of these photographs will cost American lives," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told U.S. lawmakers. "That was all it took for me."
Donald Rumsfeld Faces Shouts Of "War Criminal" As Enters The White House Correspondent's Dinner
In case you needed any more evidence that truly insane people are out there hiding among us. Sometimes they are just waiting for the opportunity to erupt:
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NY Sen. Chuck Schumer On "Torture": 2004 Vs. 2009
This is what Chuck Schumer had to say in 2004:
Now watch Chuck Schumer in 2009 supporting the possibility of prosecutions based on enhanced interrogation techniques. What happened to that "note of balance":
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Children Indoctrinated With Antisemitism On An Egyptian-Saudi Koran-Memorization Channel
Here is a sample of some of what the TV host tells the children:
"[O]ur hatred towards the Jews is perpetual and continuous. When the Jews realized that Muhammad is the Prophet, they acknowledged that their hatred of him is forever – that they would be his enemies all their lives. This is happening to this day. It is even said in the Koran: 'You shall find the strongest people in enmity to the believers to be the Jews and the polytheists.' The Jews. They are... Who is the greatest enemy of Islam? The Jews. They use any possible means. They cast doubt on the Koran and the sirra of our Prophet Muhammad. They try to distort the Koran, but our God protects it: 'We have revealed the message, and we will most surely be its guardian.' They do all they can to hurt the Muslims' feelings and to harm their holy places. We pray that Allah liberates Jerusalem. In many cases, the Jews try to do to the Muslims... What are they trying to do to the Muslims? They try to harm the Muslims. They always try to do bad things to whom, Maryam? To the Muslims. That is why Allah has warned us very strongly about them."
Be sure to visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2106.htm to see this sick indoctrination for yourself.
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Controversy Continues Among Catholics As Pro-Choice Obama Is To Be Honored At Notre Dame University
As a person who is not Catholic, I do not think people should be getting all worked up over the President of the United States recieving a doctorate when he comes to address a college campus. Obama's record on life issues is indeed abysmal, but he was also elected President of the United States. It should be considered an honor to have the President visit your college campus, even if you disagree with him on every possible issue. Universities are supposed to be open forums to debate the issues.
However, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had just warned about honoring politicians who support abortion and said that this goes against the church’s teachings on the sanctity of life. If the controversy surrounds Notre Dame violating this warning, then it seems to me this is an issue for Catholics to argue about amongst themselves. Perhaps the uproar will give Catholic institutions a second thought about honoring pro-choice politicians in the future. At this point, however, rescinding the invitation or honor to be given to Obama would be inappropriate, petty, and rude.
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Former Dem Rep. Harold Ford Says He's "Not As Outraged As Some" Over Interrogation Methods Used And Chris Matthews Accuses Him Of Becoming "Cheney"
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Since Democrat Harold Ford is being compared to Cheney, I might as well post Elizabeth Cheney's appearance on MSNBC defending the enhanced interrogation techniques:
Donald Trump On Miss California: "It's The Same Answer That The President Of The United States Gave"
Trump also decided that the photos of Carrie Prejean topless are not enough to disqualify her from being Miss CA.
The gay Director of Miss CA took a different approach than Donald Trump. He lambasted conservative groups for using Miss California in commercials and for encouraging her to continue to speak her mind on the marriage issue. I wonder if this guy, lecturing others behind his podium on what is shameful, has made any high-profile condemnations of Perez Hilton for penalizing Miss CA as a judge of the Miss USA competition, and for personally attacking her and calling her a host of names such as "dumb bitch"? My guess would be that this is an example of very selective outrage.
Here is Miss CA tearing up and telling the press conference that the attacks on her for expressing her mind "should not happen in America":
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Monday, May 11, 2009
After Leading Palestinian Cleric Finishes Anti-Israel Diatribe The Pope Walks Out Of An Interfaith Meeting Early
The Jerusalem Post reports that "a leading Palestinian cleric commandeered an evening devoted to interfaith dialogue with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday to rant against Israel for 'killing Gaza's children,' 'bulldozing Palestinian homes' and 'destroying mosques.' In an impromptu speech, delivered in Arabic at the Notre Dame Pontifical Institute in Jerusalem, Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, chief Islamic judge in the Palestinian Authority, launched a 10-minute tirade against the State of Israel for confiscating Palestinians' land and carrying out war crimes against the residents of Gaza. He also called for the immediate return of all Palestinian refugees, and called on Christians and Muslims to unite against Israel. Tamimi invoked the name of Saladin, the Muslim sultan who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187. Tamimi said that unlike Israel, Saladin upheld the religious freedoms of all faiths. Following the diatribe and before the meeting was officially over, the pope exited the premises. However, he shook Tamimi's hand before walking out. The pope, speaking before Tamimi, discussed the importance of religion and truth for the advancement of humanity's mutual understanding. He was visibly uncomfortable with the tone of Tamimi's discourse. Even those who did not understand his Arabic quickly understood that the Muslim cleric was giving a militant speech."
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Glenn Beck Bumped From Train Seat To Make Way for Barbara And Whoopi Despite Amtrak Policy That Does Not Allow For Assigned Seats
Whoopi and Barbara, better than the rest of us, worthy of special treatment:
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Obama Laughs At Wanda Sykes Joke Calling Limbaugh The "20th Hijacker," But Press Secretary Gibbs Now Says That Joke Was Inappropriate
Here is the Wanda Sykes joke about Rush Limbaugh being the "20th hijacker" that missed his 9-11 flight because he was too "strung out on oxycontin." Notice that Obama seemed to find it funny and laughs at the joke.
Here is what Robert Gibbs had to say about the Wanda Sykes jab at Limbaugh at the White House Correspondent's Dinner:
New York Magazine reports that Christopher Hitchens had his own take on the personal attacks made by Sykes against people who were not even present at the dinner to be
"roasted." The magazine reports that "by the end of the night, Christopher Hitchens was of course the last man (barely) standing, and he had some choice words for the evening's headlining comedian, Wanda Sykes. 'The president should be squirming in his seat. Not smiling,' he said. 'The black dyke got it wrong. No one told her the rules.'"
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CBO Says 2009 Budget Deficti Will Be 50% Greater Than Expected
ABC's Jake Tapper reports that "the director of the Congressional Budget Office today updated his projections for the budget and economic outlook and is now anticipating a $1.8 trillion deficit this year, and $1.4 trillion in 2010. This is up from CBO director Douglas W. Elmendorf’s January 2009 projection of a $1.2 trillion deficit this year. In short, the US government is borrowing 50 cents for every dollar it spends. The new projected deficit is four times the 2008 deficit, which was a record high for its time."
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