Quote of the Day - P. J. O'Rourke

Quote of the Day - P. J. O'Rourke

"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things bought and sold are legislators."

P. J. O'Rourke (born 1947)

Sarah Palin's main obstacle is from republicans

Sarah Palin's main obstacle is from republicans

There is a lot of opinion on the right that takes Sarah Palin lightly, even making fun of her. While a lot of this might be due to misogyny (after all, there must be a reason we have never had a female president) the rest of the criticism is, to me, eerily reminiscent of the early reaction to Ronald Reagan's candidacy.

Those of us old enough to have voted for Reagan remember how the left and the media, and even some in the republican establishment ridiculed him. An ACTOR fer crissakes! Many grass roots republicans were unsure of him also, but once he was nominated the jibes and caricature melted in the face of his down home common sense and the fact that we all knew that he was a lot like us. He was nothing like any politician we had ever seen before. Then he demolished Carter in the debates, and it was all downhill racing from there.

So go on republicans, keep equivocating about Sarah - it will only make her stronger. She may have a ways to go to be able to challenge the empty suit for the White House, but like Reagan, her biggest battle will be against the old men of the republican party - after three and a half years of bald-faced statist rule, America will welcome her far easier - and sooner - than the old guard of the republican party. They have power to protect, and Sarah is not a part of the old boy's power structure on the right. But in the end, politics is all about winning, and winning is all about turnout, and turnout is all about excitement. No doubt Sarah engenders excitement - from both sides.

A Poem

A Poem

I do not like this Uncle Sam
I do not like this gulf oil scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
how they all lie and cook the books.
I do not like when Congress steals
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker Nan,
I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'
I do not like their smug replies
when I complain about their lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it nope nope nope!

With apologies to Dr. Seuss, and thanks to whoever actually wrote this bon mot.

Democrats hope Obama 2008 model will help stem midterm losses

Obama screwed white voters, now he reaps the whirlwind

So, we elected the first black president. Next thing you know, we required him to live up to some (small) portion of the promises he made to us. He failed.

I have posted several times before the election that Obama has better be a decent president, or his election would be a harbinger of deteriorating relations between the races. That prediction is about to come true - in spades. As the Washington Post is beginning to realize.

Cuban Missile Crisis and Gaza

Cuban Missile Crisis and Gaza

It is interesting to compare the reaction of democrats to memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis to their reaction to the Gaza blockade. While the Left uses Israel's actions to further demonize the Jews, one wonders if there is a substantive difference between the blockade JFK placed on ships going into Cuba in 1962 and Israel's blockade on ships going into Gaza today. In both cases the ships are suspected of carrying weapons. In both cases international law supports the right of states to protect themselves this way. Yet Israel attracts the ire of democrats in a way that JFK never has.

Does it have something to do with the fact that Americans of Cuban descent, who vote in American elections, approve of the isolation of the regime of the Castro brothers? Is there a chance that, if American Jews would withhold their votes for democrats who refuse to support Israel, the democrats might change their tune?

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Quote of the Day - Mark Twain

Quote of the Day - Mark Twain

Mark Twain, who was not Jewish, marveled at the apparent immortality of the Jews throughout their harsh history in a famous essay. He wrote in his famous essay "Concerning the Jews" published in Harper's magazine in 1897:

If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.

His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and he has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.
The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.

The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal, but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) - 1836 - 1910

Obama Administration Has A Big Problem Delivering the Truth

Obama Administration Has A Big Problem Delivering the Truth

Congressional Report Claims Administration Misled About Efforts on Oil Spill
"(CNSNews.com) – Billy Nungesser, president of New Orleans’ Plaquemines Parish, sensed that a chart showing 140 oil skimmers at work -- a chart given to him by BP and the Coast Guard -- was “somewhat inaccurate.” So, Nungesser asked to fly over the spill to verify the number."

Administration oil spill report requires a willing suspension of disbelief?
"Rep Darrel Issa (R-CA) has become a bit of a thorn in the administration’s side over its response to the spill. As ranking member of the House’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he’s taken it upon himself to have the various administration claims investigated. The result? Not so hot:" (PDF)