It's Time for Octoberfest!

It's time for Octoberfest!!!!!

This Friday night at Barksdale AFB, if you have base access, come on out to Octoberfest! Steve and I went last year for the first annual BAFB Octoberfest and we had a stellar time. Tons of fun! You can go here to read all about that and see pictures.

The only problem we had last year was that we spent toooooo long in the beer lines (not enough of them) and then they ran out of Sam Adams Octoberfest on draft and we had to drink inferior beer. Travesty. They promise to have learned from their mistakes this year and we are pumped and primed for a good time. Even better - our friends Ray and Donna are going to join us this year. We love Ray and Donna because they laugh all the time and you can't help but have fun when you are with them.

Here is the BAFB press release with the details:

The second annual Oktoberfest will be held at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 2 outside the Barksdale Club. All Barksdale Airmen are invited to attend the Friday night event.

The Barksdale Oktoberfest is based on the traditional German Oktoberfest, a 200 year-old festival held in Munich. The event, which lasts 16 days leading up to the first Sunday in October, includes large amounts of hearty food, Bavarian delicacies and beer.

The local event, co-hosted by the Company Grade Officers Council, Army and Air Force Exchange Service and the 2d Force Support Squadron, only lasts one day, but brings the Oktoberfest tradition of food, spirits and atmosphere to the Airmen of Barksdale.

"The Oktoberfest celebration provides a top-quality, morale-building event for the entire Barksdale community," said Col. West Anderson, 8th Air Force chief of staff and festival chairman.

The Barksdale Club will be serving an authentic German buffet as part of the entry fee to include; schnitzel, bratwurst, sauerkraut, kartoffelsalat and pretzels. Other food items such as turkey legs and sausage-on-a-stick will be available for an additional cost.
Various German and domestic beers will also be available at numerous locations throughout the festival area, with Hanger II serving other beverages.

"This year we have added more beer taps and streamlined wine sales," said Capt. Elizabeth Copeland, 2d Medical Operation Squadron Oktoberfest point of contact. "We have also moved to a beer ticket sales system to reduce time at the tap related to making change for bills."

Additionally, AAFES will be selling German-themed items and food in the weeks leading up to Oktoberfest at both the main exchange and the shoppette.

Live music will be provided by Alpen-Musikanten who will be returning again this year. Their colorful show combines German Biergarten favorites, folk instruments, group participation, singing, yodeling and a wide variety of festive music.

"The Dallas-based German band Alpen-Musikanten delighted the audience at last year's Oktoberfest," said Captain Copeland.

The event is open to over 18 and active duty members of Barksdale, as well as the retired community and authorized civilian guests. Advance tickets can be purchased from squadron CGOC members or at the base exchange starting Sept. 8 through Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; cost is $17 per person which includes buffet, a commemorative mug and two beers or sodas. Tickets can be purchased after Sept. 30 or at the event for $20 at the Barksdale Club.

"Our Liberals Can Beat Your Liberals"

Lamest quote of the day? That would be from Brian Walsh, NRSC communications director. When asked about the Jeb Bush endorsement of Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race and Jeb's criticism of the early NRSC coming out for Crist, Walsh said, "the NRSC believes Governor Crist is the best candidate to maintain the checks and balances needed in the Senate."

Seriously? The best candidate to maintain the checks and balances in the Senate? He said it. I wasn't looking at him when he said it, but I'm guessing he said that with a straight face.

Larry Thornberry at American Spectator responds this way:

It's truly hard to see how a politician like Crist, who has supported Obama's stimulus package, who's enthusiastic about cap and trade and other costly enviro-disasters, and who's as silent as the tomb about conservative social issues, could in any way be a check on the Obama socialist agenda. He's more of an enabler. This is probably why a friend of Rubio's told me he had come up with a great slogan for Crist's campaign: "Send Charlie to Washington -- he'll fit right in."

The NRSC believes that Crist can get elected. Never mind what he stands for. Never mind the issues! We don't care about no stinkin' issues! He can get elected! Well, so could Mickey Mouse, probably, but that doesn't mean we want him in the Senate. Crist may have an R after his name, which is what matters to Cornyn, but he's no conservative. And Rubio is beating the stuffing out Crist in straw polls all over the state.

Ruby Slippers refers to this Crist endorsement of Obama back in February when Crist spoke up for and defended Obama's leadership skills. Bah. If Crist calls incessant speech making and campaigning leadership, then okay. Otherwise, I'm not convinced and surely wouldn't have been back in February.

No, Crist is about as liberal as they come and can still put an R behind his name. He shows some gall even doing that, given his record of support for Obama and his agenda. Thornberry contends that the NRSC jumped the gun and erred in supporting Crist so early but says that if all that is required to run is an R behind your name, then he'd like to send you a bumper sticker: "Our liberals can beat your liberals."

Well said.

Keeping Up With Those Wacky Obamas

Set the DVR! Michelle Obama is all set for her big premier on Sesame Street. In November, Michelle will travel to Sesame Street to educate the muppets on the benefits of growing your own vegetables, which she assures everyone, will be healthy and will taste great! No word if the Sesame Street garden has high levels of lead and had been fertilized with sludge.

And if you can't get enough of that First Couple, you can own the very seats they occupied in the Belasco Theater on their infamous New York Date Night last May! Yes, it's true! Seats K101 and K102 can be yours! Opening bids start at $500 and all proceeds go to a theater based charity group. You know, word is that after the Obamas attended the play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, that ticket sales for the production doubled!

Meanwhile, the Obamas are using local school children as junior lobbyists for the 2016 Olympics, and are still refusing to answer questions about the funding and staffing for the official White House Olympics Office. Not to worry though, kiddos! On Thursday, the Obamas will jet off to Copenhagen to use their considerable persuasive charm on the IOC in hopes that the Olympics will soon come to The Windy City! Of course, not all Chicagoans are hoping for an Obama success story in that regard; there is the Chicagoans For Rio group who are, you guessed it, pulling for Rio!

And, never idle, those wacky Obamas went on a sightseeing tour Sunday evening with First Grandmother in tow as well as Maya Soetoro-Ng, the president's half-sister, her
husband, Konrad Ng, and their daughters Suhaila and Savita. They visited the Jefferson Memorial, where he stayed for ten minutes, and then the Washington Monument, where the group spent about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, China, Russia.....

(Photo credit: New York Times: Richard Termine)

Your Thirty Two Years Are Up - Olly Olly Oxen Free!

The huge Hollywood support for Roman Polanski baffles me.

These people are outraged because he was arrested? Seriously?

It's now considered acceptable to rape a 13 year old girl? Salon can run you through the details of his crime in case you aren't familiar with what he did to this 13 year old child.

He's a pedophile and deserves to be in jail. Period. I don't care if it WAS 32 years ago. Is the new rule, "Well, if you have the bucks to evade the law for, oh, say, 32 years or so, we'll forgive the crime and quit chasing you!" Because if that's the way it works now, I think we're in for a lot of trouble.

Caroline Glick Calls Out Obama

Caroline Glick, writing for The Jerusalem Post, has had enough of Appeasement Obama. In a recent column she expresses frustration and disgust at his conciliatory nature towards Amercia's adversaries and his seeming derision of America's longtime allies:

"Since Obama took office, he has been abandoning one US ally after another while seeking to curry favor with one US adversary after another. At every turn, America's allies - from Israel to Honduras, to Columbia, South Korea and Japan, to Poland and the Czech Republic - have reacted with disbelief and horror to his treachery. And at every turn, America's adversaries - from Iran to Venezuela to North Korea and Russia - have responded with derision and contempt to his seemingly obsessive attempts to appease them. "

Obama was reported to have received from 74 to 75 percent of the Jewish vote. Did those voters realize he was going to throw Israel under the bus the way that he has? Since he took office, Obama has taken a tough line on Israel; he has demanded that Israel stop expansion of settlements in the West Bank. In fact, in his U.N. speech to the General Assembly, Obama said that the United States "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" and called for an end to the "occupation that began in 1967" - referring to Israel's control of Judea and Samaria.

Obama has been conciliatory to Iran from the beginning, even before the election when he expressed his plan to meet without preconditions, then his Happy New Year message to Iran, even his refusal to support in any way those protesting for freedom against a stolen election. Glick points out that "Obama announced that he is sending a senior US official to meet with the Iranians on October 1. And with that announcement, any residual doubt that Obama is willing to live in a world in which Iran is armed with nuclear weaponry dissipated completely."

What is Israel to do, or to think, about their longtime ally, America?

Would any of Obama's fawning American media write anything like what Glick has when she points out that "As many Western Europeans have begun to openly acknowledge, the man they once likened to the messiah is nothing but a politician - and a weak, bungling one at that. Even Britain's Economist is laughing at him." Gerald Warner is still laughing at him.

Ouch. The saddest part is, she's telling the truth.

Obama has displayed absolutely nothing but weakness with regard to national security. He is concerned with passing his domestic agenda. Period. Energy policies. Cap and trade. Health care. The Olympics, for crying out loud. His golf game.

He's only talked to his commander of the Afghanistan theater once. ONCE.

Meanwhile, Iran continues to test missiles. Afghanistan languishes. North Korea proceeds with their nuclear program. Venezuela searches for a uranium deal. And terror threats bloom across the United States.

Sitting ducks.

(H/T: Loyal Louisiana Reader! You know who you are).

Longer School Days and Weekends, Too!

American children don't spend enough time in school, according to Team Obama. In fact, schools need to stay open late and on the weekend to accomodate (babysit?) kids.

Via Fox News:

The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go.

"Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

What about time with family? What about kids with jobs? Kids with extra-curricular activities? Kids who are just simply overscheduled? What about the increasing teacher shortage - will a longer school day and weekends help that?

Fox has the stats on the school day around the world:

Kids in the U.S. spend more hours in school (1,146 instructional hours per year) than do kids in the Asian countries that persistently outscore the U.S. on math and science tests -- Singapore (903), Taiwan (1,050), Japan (1,005) and Hong Kong (1,013). That is despite the fact that Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong have longer school years (190 to 201 days) than does the U.S. (180 days).

The administration makes the argument that disadvantaged kids lose time in the summer; they don't accomplish anything. Extreme poverty contributes to hunger which keeps them from learning. If they are at school, they can eat and they can learn.

Disadvantaged kids, on the whole, make no progress in the summer, [Karl] Alexander said. Some studies suggest they actually fall back. Wealthier kids have parents who read to them, have strong language skills and go to great lengths to give them learning opportunities such as computers, summer camp, vacations, music lessons, or playing on sports teams.

Let me suggest that you don't have to be wealthy to be accomplished. Doesn't Obama himself tell the story (often) of how disadvantaged he was when he was growing up and how the dedication of his mother contributed to his success? The whole overcoming adversity thing?

No, I'm not convinced that a longer school day is the answer. I believe more parental involvement is the key. Foster a mentor program for kids that don't have strong parental support, if that's the problem. Tutoring programs. There are already tons of after-school programs for disadvantaged children.

And, "let me be clear", as long as the administration embraces people like Kevin Jennings to lead our educational system, I'm not buyin' what they're sellin'.

William Safire

William Safire has died of pancreatic cancer.

I always loved his column "On Language." He was a prolific writer and published four novels as well as several non-fiction works and thousands of columns. Nobody knew language better than Safire, or could make it more fun. I will miss reading him!

This description of Safire is exactly as I imagined him: "He was hardly the image of a buttoned-down Times man: The shoes needed a shine, the gray hair a trim. Back in the days of suits, his jacket was rumpled, the shirt collar open, the tie askew. He was tall but bent — a man walking into the wind. He slouched and banged a keyboard, talked as fast as any newyawka and looked a bit gloomy, like a man with a toothache coming on."

Here is a look at his accomplishments, and here is his last column for the NYTimes from January 2005.

(H/T: Memeorandum)

(Photo credit: The New York Times)

Stacy McCain is Going to Kentucky

Stacy McCain is now accepting donations to fund his trip to Kentucky in an attempt to bring some decent, honest journalism to the story of the murder of Bill Sparkman (pictured left).

The Sparkman case has the internet all abuzz and rampant speculation is in full swing. Stacy McCain placed a couple of phone calls to Kentucky and found that, hell yeah, they're concerned about what some morons are writing on the internet. Professor Jacobson attempted to point this out earlier in the week as well.

Nobody knows anything much for sure at this point and irresponsible speculation doesn't help anyone. As McCain points out, Sparkman at least deserves some respect (he was a veteran reporter in Florida for a decade).

I'm not going to repeat the goofy speculation here; it's out there for you to find if you really want to. But I will say that for Andrew Sullivan to suggest that what happened to Sparkman is the result of "Southern populist terrorism" is well...beyond the pale. WTF is that, anyway?!

So far everyone from Glenn Beck to Michelle Bachmann has been blamed. How long before they throw Sarah Palin in the mix? Or I have I missed that one?

How about everyone take a break and let the police sort it out? And help Stacy get to Kentucky!

(More at Memeorandum)

(Photo credit: The Ledger)

Top Ten Facts About the Baucus Bill

Go here to read the Top Ten Facts About the Baucus Bill. Here are just three of the ten:

The tax on insurers will be passed on in the form of higher health insurance premiums, and the tax on medical devices will be passed on in the form of higher costs for everything from contact lenses to hearing aids.

The IRS will tax you if you don’t buy a health care plan approved by the government.vi The
government will collect $20 billion from this tax.vii While the President has denied that this penalty is a tax, page 29, sentence one of the bill introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus says: “The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax.”

The employer mandate will be shifted to workers in the form of lower wages. It will
disproportionately impact low-income workers and could force employers to cut jobs or
outsource workers.

Nobody likes the Baucus bill. The liberals don't like it because it's too conservative for them. The conservatives don't like it for a plethora of reasons. Watch for the debate on this one to heat up this week.

Club Gitmo Ships Out Three More

Gitmo is three detainees lighter today with more to pack off for the sunny skies of Palau this week. Jake Tapper has the run down of who shipped out this week here. Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed, a native of Yemen, was returned to his home country where he was welcomed "with enthusiasm" and two others have gone to Ireland.

Ali Ahmed says he was never, ever in Afghanistan but the U.S. government says he "was associated with Al-Qaeda. He was present on the front lines in Bagram, Afghanistan. He was identified by a senior Al-Qaeda facilitator as having been a resident at a safehouse in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2000 (his individual also saw the detainee at a safehouse located in Faisalabad, Pakistan in February 2002 with a group of Yemenis who had fled Afghanistan). Finally, the Detainee was identified by another individual, a senior Al-Qaeda operational planner, as having resided at a safehouse located in Kandahar in 2001."

Al Ahmed's statement is here. He claims he was in Pakistan the whole time smoking hashish and hanging out with a bunch of university students while trying to gain Pakistani citizenship and looking for work.

As for the other two, Team Obama didn't name them at the request of the Irish government but Tapper reports that "Amnesty International has been lobbying Ireland to accept Uzbek national Oybek Jamoldinivich Jabbarov, and another Uzbekh. " Tapper has their details here.

The New York Times has this list of countries that have accepted detainees - there are about 40 of them; not all of those transfers were under Team Obama, of course.

There are still over 220 in residence at Club Gitmo and Obama is already backpeddling on his January deadline for closure. It's a little harder than he thought and, as reported last week, the Bush administration os partly to blame for that because they left such messy files and kept such poor records.

And so, as Iran builds more nukes and test fires missiles, as Venezuela seeks more uranium, as terror threats are being thwarted all over the United States, do we feel safer now than we did a year ago?

(H/T: Memeorandum)

George Will Likes Rubio

I think George Will likes Marco Rubio.

In his column today, Will writes, "In January 2011, one Floridian will leave for the U.S. Senate. He is unlikely to be a former governor at odds with his party's nominating electorate, or the probable Democratic nominee, Kendrick Meek, a hyper-liberal congressman. Rubio intends to prove that 'in the most important swing state, you can run successfully as a principled conservative.' He probably will."

Will points out that Crist has made several poor decisions for Florida; one problematic and risky one was his government run property insurance program which has "driven private insurers to limit their business or even stop doing business in the state." When the next big hurricane hits, guess who is going to be on the hook for the bill?

For his part, Rubio understands how the Republicans got in trouble in the first place. In a speech this week he criticized Republican spending during the Bush years and their misdirection with regard to real reform and conservative principles. KeysNet covered Rubio's speech in Key Largo and noted that "Rubio said neither former President George W. Bush or congressional Republicans seriously pushed for what he considers real reform measures — term limits, a simplification of the federal tax code and the elimination of the capital gains tax."

Tomorrow's St. Petersburg Times has a recap of the straw polls to date:

Here are the votes taken so far:
Marion County GOP, Rubio 40, Crist 8, abstain 4;
Hernando County GOP, Rubio 46, Crist 0;
Gilchrist County GOP, Rubio 11, Crist 1;
Republican Women's Club of Duval Federated, Rubio 65, Crist 4;
Northwest Orange Republican Women Federated, Rubio 49, Crist 3;
Jefferson County GOP, Rubio 30, Crist 6;
Highlands County GOP, Rubio 75, Crist 1;
Pasco County GOP, Rubio 73, Crist 9;
Lee County GOP, Rubio 60, Crist 9;
Florida Federation of College Republicans, Rubio 19, Crist 6;
Bay County GOP, Rubio 23, Crist 2.

I know straw polls aren't scientific, but there's a pretty clear pattern here.

Making a tennis analogy, George Will referred to the NRSC's early endorsement of Crist as an "unforced error." It certainly suggests that the NRSC is as out of touch with the base as Crist seems to be if the straw polls are to be trusted.

(Cross posted at Not One Red Cent!)

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around - The Birthday Edition

Better late than never, here is the FMJRA linkage. Bet you thought I forgot! No, I had a birthday yesterday, one of those big ones; the half-century mark. Steve and I went out to dinner and then out for a birthday drink and to listen to a nifty band that we enjoy. And, well, I just didn't feel like blogging this morning, okay? So now, I'm having some "hair of the dog" as they say, frying some chicken, and starting to feel human. That said, on to the linkage!

Starting off with a wave to Jimmie because he's posted Eric Clapton videos. Yeah. I saw Eric Clapton this summer. I breathed the same air for a couple of hours. I'm still not over it.

Professor Jacobson had a couple of posts that caught my eye this week. The first is about the health care mandate; you could end up in jail if you don't get coverage. The other is an excellent post about the ghouls hovering over the grave of poor Bill Sparkman.

Donald Douglas has some words on the Sparkman affair as well.

Little Miss Attila talks about coffee.

Carolyn Tackett has her eyes on page 80-81 of the Baucus bill.

Ruby Slippers is also looking at the Baucus bill and the fact that Baucus doesn't want anyone to know what it says. Brings crazy to a whole new level.

I'm pretty sure that Left Coast Rebel isn't a fan of Michael Moore.

Ann Althouse has her camera out again!

Chris Wysocki has the post on Sarkozy's take down of the Pantywaist President, as does Fausta and Yukio.

The Daley Gator is getting giddy over the LGF/RSM feud!

The Inside Gitmo Blog has an eye on Team Obama's backpeddling on Club Gitmo.

Pundette has questions about Obama's speechwriters.

This is an eye opening post by Bride of Rove.

Liberty Belle had an excellent piece this week on the NEA brouhaha.

The Classic Liberal would like you to meet Congressman Joe Sixpack!

Honesty in Motion has some thoughts about the Russians.

and last but never least, Stacy McCain is watching Neal Barofsky which is a lot better than what these people did.

And now, I'm off to dig into my hot fried chicken and settle in for a quiet night. I'm too old for all that wildness.

A Closer Look at Kevin Jennings

I posted briefly yesterday on Kevin Jennings, the "safe schools czar," but let's take a little closer look at the man whose official title is Director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.

Fox News posted an article on Jennings yesterday which outlines most of his biographical information. In 1990, while Jennings was a teacher in Massachusetts he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) which is now in over 40 schools.

The post Jennings now holds was created by Bush in 2002. The website of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools describes their mission as providing "financial assistance for drug and violence prevention activities and activities that promote the health and well being of students in elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education" as well as formulation and development of policy relating to school violence and drug prevention. Sounds fair enough - schools should be drug and violence free.

William Jasper, writing for The New American, posted an article on September 11 about Jennings in which he contends that Jennings has an agenda to promote homosexuality in schools "under the guise of promoting 'safe schools.'" Jennings is a "bullying expert" and has fought against bullying in schools, which is certainly to be admired. No child should be bullied in school for any reason whatsoever.

However, to some, the Jennings agenda goes too far. If Van Jones was too controversial and radical in his beliefs to be considered suitable, well, let's just say that Kevin Jennings almost makes Van Jones look mainstream.

Jennings has made clear his intent to transform society through the schools. In March 2000, Jennings gave a speech to a church audience in New York City in which he addressed how to deal with religious conservatives. He said,

"Twenty percent of people are hard-core fair-minded [pro-homosexual] people. Twenty percent are hard-core [anti-homosexual] bigots. We need to ignore the hard-core bigots, get more of the hard-core fair-minded people to speak up, and we'll pull that 60 percent [of people in the middle] … over to our side. That's really what I think our strategy has to be. We have to quit being afraid of the religious right. We also have to quit — … I'm trying to find a way to say this. I'm trying not to say, '[F---] 'em!' which is what I want to say, because I don't care what they think! [audience laughter] Drop dead!"

That's the guy in charge of teaching tolerance speaking. He now, of course, denies ever saying that and says he has no recollection of saying that at all. Americans For Truth is searching their archives for a tape of the speech.

Jennings has been outspoken about his agenda to make homosexuality mainstream and acceptable to school children. As an adult, one gets to make up one's own mind; children are the responsibility of the parent and the parent's moral or religious beliefs should not be challenged in schools. It's not the job of public schools to override the parent. In October 1997, Jennings said this:

I'd like five years from now for most Americans when they hear the word GLSEN to think, "Ooh, that's good for kids." … Sane people keep the world the same [sh---y] old way it is now. It's the [crazy] people who think, "No, I can envision a day when straight people say, 'So what if you're promoting homosexuality?' or [when] straight kids say, 'Hey, why don't you and your boyfriend come over before you go to the prom and try your tuxes on at my house?'" … [I]f we believe that can happen, we can make it happen. The only thing that will stop us is our lack of faith that we can make it happen. That is our mission from this day forward.

Jennings has also come under fire for his failure to report an incident when he was a teacher in 1994; a high school sophomore informed Jennings that he was "involved" with "an older man" that he had met in a bus station bathroom. Jennings reports that he told the student "You know, I hope you knew to use a condom." The audio link of this conversation is here; Jennings shared this information at a speech in 2000 in Iowa.

Did Jennings have an obligation to report this incident? Legally, of course he did. Did he do so? No. The Fox article reports that The Washington Times found that no report was filed.

Jennings has been forthcoming about his own drug use. In his 2007 autobiography he wrote, ""I got stoned more often and went out to the beach at Bellows, overlooking Honolulu Harbor and the lights of the city, to drink with my buddies on Friday and Saturday nights, spending hours watching the planes take off and land at the airport, which is actually quite fascinating when you are drunk and stoned."

Mr. Jennings has never, that I can find, expressed regret about his past experience with drugs; in fact, the quote seems to celebrate such activity. Again, a personal choice for him, but is that the right man for the Drug Free Schools job?

In his 2002 book, Always My Child, Jennings proposes "a diversity policy that mandates including LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] themes in the curriculum." Is that the new direction of our education curriculum? If so, I suspect home-schooling will increase exponentially. That's just not the role for schools.

Jennings is just one more bizarre czar working for Team Obama. If this were a position that had to undergo proper vetting and confirmation, I doubt he would have made the cut. He's probably perfectly acceptable and accomplished in his field of study and authorship (he's published six books), but he's the wrong man to lead the charge for safety in our schools.

Bluster and Blather

The condemnation of Iran's previously secret uranium enrichment facility is interesting, but not a surprise. I'm a neophyte at these things and even I was fairly certain that Iran was up to much more than they admit publicly. The news that the plant exists is not a shock.

The condemnation of the plant by Obama, Sarkozy and Brown this morning isn't particularly earth shaking either. There will be the usual blather about deadlines and sanctions. We all know how well that will work out.

What I'm wondering about now is Israel. What will they do with this? Ed at Hot Air points out that because the plant is located so close to a holy city, a military strike would be a huge risk: "If Israel hits the enrichment plant, Tehran will scream that it’s an attack on an Islamic holy city to rally the public towards religious war." No doubt.

I'm also interested in how Obama will play this one. He's been appeasing to Iran from the very beginning; he's asked for talks without preconditions, he sat on his hands during the stolen Iranian election, mostly to appease the mullahs, and he has consistently been weak on all matters of national security. If you doubt that just read the current headlines on Drudge. If Drudge changes them before you get there, Bride of Rove sums it up nicely. She's not sleeping so well these days.

Obama will beat his chest and pontificate on how Iran should honor the nuke free agenda that he wants, but in the end, Iran will ignore him and go about their merry way. Any other outcome would shock me.

(More at Memeorandum)

Not So Fast...

So closing Gitmo is harder than Team Obama thought. Who knew?

Via Memeorandum, the Washington Post digs into the problems with closing the facility, and as things would have it, it's George Bush's fault.

Well, there's a bit more to it than that, but this administration is so accustomed to blaming Bush for everything that this one just fell in line. The Post quotes "senior administration officials" who say that the detainee files were such a mess that Team Obama couldn't properly review them, explaining it this way:

"The central roadblock during those early months was the condition of the detainee files, which had been left in disarray by the previous administration. 'We assumed that for each detainee there was going to be a file somewhere,' one senior administration official said. 'Some of the intelligence files were not even organized by detainee. You had to go into a mainframe database and search the name of the detainee to put together a file. So there were weeks, if not months, of putting together the files of detainees that then could be reviewed by the fresh eyes that we wanted.'"

And to complicate matters even further, Americans didn't want the detainees moved into their neighborhoods, American support for closing the place plummeted, lawmakers balked, and the Senate voted overwhelmingly not to fund the closing operation. So what did Team Obama do? What else but "sneak" four Uighurs into Bermuda causing a diplomatic rift with Britain.

George Stephanopoulos quotes "an official" who says " “the President’s not going to sacrifice national security for the sake of the deadline.” Well we can be thankful for that, but isn't that what we all were saying before the inauguration when he announced the deadline?

I guess it's all part of Obama's on-the-job training for a job he never had the experience or the background for.

Quote of The Day

Gitmo is going to close real soon -- and at no risk to national security -- just after Obama brings peace to the Middle East, adds 40 million uninsured to the system for not a penny more than you're paying today, talks the North Koreans and Iranians into abandoning the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and wins the war in Afghanistan after tying General McChrystal's hands behind his back.

Michael Goldfarb
The Weekly Standard

Our Bearkat Board

Kevin Jennings: A Very Bizarre Czar

How many creepy czars can really be uncovered in the Obama White House? It's like a bizarre scavenger hunt. First Van Jones and now Kevin Jennings. Who is Kevin Jennings? He's the Safe Schools Czar.

Read the Fox article here for the run down.

Jennings is a piece of work. No doubt. Pamela Gellar blogged about him back in June. He's only now starting to catch a bit of attention.

The New American has an article on him in which they wrote the following:

Jennings is given to spouting foul language when speechifying about the opposition. He also admits to using deception when pushing a subversive agenda that would be rigorously opposed by the vast majority of Americans if honestly promoted under its true colors. What is Jennings agenda? Promoting homosexuality (in all its various permutations) under the guise of promoting "safe schools." Jennings, whose official title is the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug Free Schools is a career homosexual activist who founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and served as executive director for 14 years, until October 2008. For the past nearly two decades he has been a leading change agent for the cause of "queering" the nation's K-12 curriculum, and is largely responsible for instituting annual pro-homosexual propaganda programs such as the "Day of Silence" and "No Name-Calling Week" in hundreds of schools. (In using the term "queering," we are not disparaging or name-calling, but merely using a term adopted by Jennings and GLSEN & Company — when speaking amongst themselves, that is — to refer to their process of transforming society through the schools. Jennings wrote the foreword to Queering Elementary Education, an anthology by leading homosexual "educators.")

I've got more coming on Jennings but have to get back to the school now for more Homecoming decorating business. Go read up and I'll be back later!

David Vitter, Harry Reid, and RICO

The Dead Pelican is reporting that Sen. David Vitter is requesting a RICO investigation of ACORN. He has written a letter to Eric Holder in which he says, "Now that both chambers of Congress have agreed to cut off funding for ACORN, the Justice Department should use all of the current legal tools at its disposal - like the RICO Act - to ensure that the taxpayer dollars that ACORN receives are being used properly."

On Tuesday Harry Reid dismissed Vitter's calls for a congressional investigation, basically saying that Congress had better things to do, like health care reform. This is an incredibly irresponsible response from Reid, but why should we be surprised?

The Hill had Reid's rebuke of Vitter. Reid said "As the U.S. Attorney firings and DOJ hiring scandals remind us, we should be very careful about any activities that could be viewed as politicizing investigations and law enforcement decisions," Reid said. "Toward that end, it is unfortunate that in your letter you thought it relevant to note reports claiming ACORN's ties to 'liberal research and training institutes.'" "The recent history cited above demonstrates it is very harmful to conduct any investigation... based on the political leanings of a group," he added.
Right. As long as it suits your own political side, that is. Investigating the CIA isn't political at all, right? Reopening a four year old, closed investigation wouldn't have any political meaning behind it at all, right? Got it.

You can read Vitter's letter at The Dead Pelican. I'm off to check out Reid's latest polling numbers.

ACORN Files a Lawsuit

I'm trying to figure out the benefit for ACORN in this lawsuit they've filed. Via Politico: The complaint: "The video and audio footage was taken without the knowledge of Williams and/or Thompson and in violation of Maryland's Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code §§ 10-402(a) and 10-410, which requires two party consent to all electronic surveillance. Violation of the law is a felony, and entitles parties whose rights were violated to sue."

ACORN has admitted the guilt of the employees involved, fired them, and says they're retraining and cleaning up their act (right-o), all but admitting that the Giles and O'Keefe findings are accurate. How can filing a lawsuit at this point help them?

Allahpundit points out the obvious - maybe too obvious for ACORN - in that this only serves to keep the scandal in the spotlight: "In one fell swoop, the lawsuit (a) gives Fox a reason to keep covering the story, (b) presents a thorny legal issue that’ll attract media to the scandal who might not otherwise have touched it, and (c) makes ACORN look like they’re trying to punish people who exposed taxpayer-funded corruption. Which, of course, they are."

I mean, they've even lost Barney Frank; how low can they go?

Seems to me that a lawsuit of this nature will open ACORN up to even MORE investigation and not just by undercover filmmakers this time. So what's in it for them? Publicity? It can't be good, so I'm saying no, there. Financial gain? Is a jury really going to award ACORN big bucks on this one? Doubtful.

I'm guessing they drop the suit after they make their point. Whatever that is.

Follow the story on Memeorandum.

Obama Announces American Weakness at UN

Oh my. Right there at the top of Memeorandum is the text of Obama's UN speech. Should I read it? Will it enrage me? Is it another apology speech? Augh!

I've been away from the computer and blog for some 36 hours - an eternity in the news loop. I had to work at school 13 hours yesterday - got home around 8. Today? No planning period - giving a PLAN test instead. So it's been a busy day. No time to click over to Hot Air or Memeorandum during the day! And holy crap, I pulled up in my driveway this afternoon to find that my neighbor is getting a new roof. We have a double driveway between our houses which means MY driveway is somewhere under pallets of shingles, nails, and roof debris. How long before I get a flat?

What did Obama say? I guess I better go look.

Hmph. I only got to sentence two before I had a gripe. I'm wondering what exactly he means when he says he is "determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad"? Because I don't think those protesting for freedom and for a fair election in Iran think he acted "boldly...on behalf of justice" abroad. I'm not sure General McChrystal is prepared to say that's what Obama is doing either. But, I'll keep going...

Well, well. Cue the Kumbaya Chorus: "I have outlined a comprehensive agenda to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons." Naive dolt. Does Iran know about this? Did they get that memo?

Later in the speech he says "if the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards; if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people; if they are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both East Asia and the Middle East -- then they must be held accountable." I'm not sure what he means by "accountable" other than sanctions and we all know how well sanctions work. Like, not at all?

Overall, I think the speech is not so much anti-Americanism as what he has displayed in speeches abroad, although there is some of that, as it is a display of submission and weakness. When he says "For the most powerful weapon in our arsenal is the hope of human beings -- the belief that the future belongs to those who would build and not destroy; the confidence that conflicts can end and a new day can begin." For my part, I'd rather be armed with serious hardware weaponry when they come after me rather than the "hope" that they'll leave me alone. Call me paranoid, but I think it's pretty clear that the terrorists aren't impressed with his hope, change, love, and pretty words. By the way, gun sales are way up in the U.S.; same for ammunition.

I think all in all, after reading the whole speech, that he does nothing to appease our allies whom he has alienated to an alarming degree in just nine months. He does more to appease those that hate us and want to destroy us. He completely disavowed the moral superiority of America that we have held dear for so long, that we have fought for so long, and that is at the root of who we are. He makes us no more relative, important or superior in the total world scheme of things than Iran or any other tiny little country.

He did Israel no favors in the speech either. And according to the NYT text, he got an applause when he said he made sure we quit torturing people. It doesn't seem like he's as committed to upholding our national security as he is in trying to be sure that the world "likes" us.

Overall, I'd call the speech incredibly weak and naive. It's an embarrassing day if you ask me. Depressing.

Busy

Light blogging today. It's Homecoming week and I have to be at school until 8:30 tonight helping and working on decorations. I didn't have time yesterday to read any news, blogs, or emails and today looks to be more of the same. Read some of the good folks on the sidebar and I'll catch up to you later!

Obama: Military Strategist

Jennifer Rubin at Commentary puts it best on this one:

Obama, with his years of military service, decades-long foreign-policy experience, and spotless record in opposing the surge in Iraq, is “skeptical” of the military’s troop recommendations on Afghanistan. Oh wait. Hmm. Once again, it seems that resoluteness and willingness to spend what it takes to defeat America’s enemies don’t come easily to the president.

The Politico article to which she refers quotes Obama as saying “Until I'm satisfied that we've got the right strategy I'm not gonna be sending some young man or woman over there — beyond what we already have. I'm not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan or saving face or, in some way – you know, sending a message that America is here for the duration.”

There is some debate this morning as to the request for those troops. There have been reports that Obama has asked Gen. McChrystal to hold off asking for those troops for a few weeks; the next question would be "why?" Is it because Team Obama wants to finish the health care debate first? For his part, Obama denies that rumor.

Of course he does.

Obama lamented yesterday the "strategy that had gone awry" in Afghanistan and the loss of "focus." In his great military strategist wisdom, he suggests that our "overarching strategy" should be to capture and kill bin Laden. Why didn't anyone else think of that?!

(H/T: Memeorandum)

Lying or Inept, or Both?

Obama playing dumb on ACORN is beyond belief:

STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the funding for ACORN?

OBAMA: You know, if — frankly, it’s not really something I’ve followed closely. I didn’t even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Both the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off.

OBAMA: You know, what I know is, is that what I saw on that video was certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you’re not committing to — to cut off the federal funding?

OBAMA: George, this is not the biggest issue facing the country. It’s not something I’m paying a lot of attention to.

I'm getting his point that ACORN "is not the biggest issue facing the country" right now; his domestic agenda is much more on his mind. Afghanistan is pretty important. So is Iraq. I get that ACORN isn't at the top of his list, but pretending that he hasn't followed the story is lame.

As Michelle Malkin points out, Obama and ACORN are inextricably linked and I'd bet my very last dollar he knows what's going on. He's savvy enough in the art of self-preservation that he'd be keeping an eye on the story.

He was okay as long as he stuck with the "not something I've followed closely" line. But when he claimed he didn't know ACORN is getting a lot of federal money, he lied. Did he not read the Porkulus bill? Oh, wait! Nobody did! D'oh! Did he not know ACORN was in line for a census gig? If all that is the case and he is in fact accurate in his colossal ignorance of ACORN, he's far too clueless to be in this position.

So, he's either lying, or inept. Or both.

(H/T: Hot Air)

Full Metal Jacket Saturday - The Rain Edition

Today is the Rain Edition of the FMJRA because, well, we haven't seen the sun here in well over a week. Not a peep of it. Nothing but heavy, gray, leaking clouds for days on end. The whole world is starting to grow a green fungus. The ground, even the concrete, squishes when you walk. Nobody goes anywhere without an umbrella. A lawnmower hasn't been fired up around here in two weeks. The weatherman is saying that the rain might move on out to the east later today, and we shall be hopeful for that, but how often is he right, really?

On to the soggy links.

Jimmie Bise has some great stuff up this week, but my favorite was his post about Michelle's trip to the farmer's market. I had seen mention of that here and there but couldn't make myself read about it. I'm glad I read about it at Jimmie's place! He's also got a comment or two about Bertha Lewis.

The sad thing about Doug's People of Wal Mart post is that any single one of us could have done this one. All you need is a camera and a Wal Mart. There are truly alternate life forms there. I've seen all of these people, and worse, at my Wal Mart.

Reaganite Republican Resistance has a great post on Obama's shelving of the missile shield. Wyblog comments as well.

Pundette, despite her headline, is NOT feeling particularly empowered by Michelle's speech on women and health care. She's got some facts to back up her position, something the media didn't bother to do.

Althouse wasn't impressed with Michelle's speech, either.

Everyone was having fun with Obama and the light saber picture this week, including Fishersville Mike, Pundette, and Critical Narrative who saw this moment coming ages ago!

Carol at No Sheeples Here! has a nice summary of the meltdown of Little Green Footballs and his attacks on Stacy McCain and the rest of the blogosphere. I've been on the sidelines in this particular episode because I never read Little Green Footballs in the first place and don't have any idea who Charles Johnson is or what he does. The first I heard of the "war" was at William Jacobson's place, when he spoke up in defense of Stacy. When I saw the vile, nasty things that Johnson posted about McCain, and the South, I was offended and was glad I never read Johnson's blog. Never have and never will. Here is Robert Stacy McCain on the matter.

Caught Him With a Corndog is supporting McCain in the LGF/TOM episode!

Donald Douglas has the full page ad from Fox News - I like it! Liberty Belle, in a related post, comments on the sad state of the media and, frankly, doesn't see much hope.

Our education system is going to hell and Troglopundit is right on it, as is The Daley Gator!

Carolyn Tackett is not happy with her Representative, and is letting her know it!

Left Coast Rebel weighs in on the amnesty angle to health care, as does Ruby Slippers.

Monique Stuart visited The White House blog, and it was in Spanish. She's not impressed.

And finally, I'm asking any of you who feel so inclined to say a prayer for my friend Sandy and her family. They're in some dark, tough days right now. Prayer helps!

I'm going to spend the rest of my day trying to stay dry and hoping for some sun. I'm still sort of under the weather (so to speak) and will lounge about and rest some. Steve and I are going out for steaks tonight and that'll probably make me all better. Nothing like a big, rare prime rib to get me back on my feet!

Jindal Bans State Contracts with ACORN

From WAFB in Baton Rouge:

Gov. Bobby Jindal has banned state offices from entering into contracts with ACORN, the community organizing group that is accused of wrongdoing. Jindal administration officials acknowledged they didn't know of any planned spending for the group.

The only contracts that could be found with ACORN or its affiliates expired two years ago.

But a spokeswoman for the governor says Jindal wants his cabinet secretaries and all state departments, boards, commissions and agencies to scour its contracts and subcontracts to ensure no such funding exists - or was planned.

Better late than never.

Louisiana does have an ACORN investigation going on. Big Government has more on that. I wrote about it here, in August.

So, tell me again, why did those 75 nitwits (I can still say that, right?) in the House vote to keep funding ACORN?

Here Comes Immigration Reform

Obamacare for illegals?

Speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute on Wednesday, Obama said, "Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken. That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else. If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."

Ah well, who didn't see that one coming?

He calls it "comprehensive immigration reform" and I call it amnesty.

He calls them "12 million undocumented people living and working in this country" and I call them illegals.

It's all a matter of semantics, I guess. Perspective.

When is a Lie NOT a Lie?

My mother always told me there's no such thing as a "little white lie," that a lie is a lie. An intentional deception is a lie. There are lies you tell to keep from hurting people's feelings ("Do I look fat in this?") but it's still a lie.

Charles Krauthammer looks today at Obama's "lies." Charles says that Obama doesn't really lie, he just" implies, he misdirects, he misleads." Still a lie. I usually agree with Krauthammer on things, and on this point, I guess technically we agree, but I'm for calling a lie just that - a lie. No niceties of terminology for me on this one.

Krauthammer looks at three good examples from one of Obama's many speeches on health care, and at this point, who can tell them apart?, and ends up pointing to the same old misdirections (LIES!) that we've all seen and that, in fact, Joe Wilson also saw:

(1) “I will not sign (a plan),” he solemnly pledged, “if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future. Period.” (2) And then there’s the famous contretemps about health insurance for illegal immigrants. (3) Obama said he would largely solve the insoluble cost problem of Obamacare by eliminating “hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud” from Medicare.

Krauthammmer goes into explanation as to why these are all (lies) - he doesn't call it that - and ends with the observation that "Slickness wasn’t fatal to 'Slick Willie' Clinton because he possessed a winning, near-irresistible charm. Obama’s persona is more cool, distant, imperial. The charming scoundrel can get away with endless deception; the righteous redeemer cannot."

On that much, Krauthammer and I agree. Read the whole thing here.

Blehhhhhhhhhh

Blehhhh. I've been under the weather for the past couple of days. Nothing major, but I'm fighting something off. It's been raining here for seven solid days. A slow, drippy rain. Grey. When I got home yesterday, around 5, I went to bed with a book and the dogs. Felt like blehhhhhhhhh. I got through school today with the help of lots of aspirin and now I've got a pot of chicken soup going.

It's a simple recipe, really, and I don't know why anybody would ever open a can for chicken soup, except that it's faster. Seriously, do they even put chicken in Campbells Chicken Soup? My sister sent this recipe to me.

All you do is boil a chicken. Debone it. Return the meat to the stock. (If you want to be finicky, do this the day ahead, put the stock in the fridge, and skim the grease off the top the next day, then proceed.) Add a chopped onion, some chopped celery, some chopped carrots, and LOTS of fresh ground pepper and TONS of freshly chopped garlic. Salt to taste. Some folks like to add rice, or noodles, or mushrooms, and that's all fine. The magic of this soup lies in the garlic and the pepper. Will cure almost anything. I usually add a little barley rather than rice or noodles. And I usually chop some green onions up on the top when serving.

So.

I'm making soup and will hopefully return to the living tomorrow. Luckily I have lots of really good books to keep me occupied. (My brain is too blehhhhhhhhh for proper blogging.)

Cancelling Missile Defense

In his continuing effort to make America safer....

oh wait. Wrong guy. Try again...

The Wall Street Journal has this item for you today: "The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, according to people familiar with the matter, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe. The U.S. will base its decision on a determination that Iran's long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental U.S. and major European capitals, according to current and former U.S. officials."

This is major capitulation to bullying by Russia and as Weekly Standard points out, we won't get anything for it. Michael Goldfarb, in fact, digs out this nugget from an April 2009 speech by Obama:

“So let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles. As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven. If the Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for security, and the driving force for missile defense construction in Europe will be removed.”

What changed? This certainly will anger and disillusion our European allies even further. It's yet another move to pacify the bullies and dictators of the world while pushing our allies away. And again, we're getting nothing for it. So what's the point? Why?

And what of Israel? This ought to make them feel warm and fuzzy. Nice 'n safe.

You can follow the fallout through the day here, at Memeorandum.

Just Kidding!

Via Memeorandum, ACORN says they were just kidding, not serious at all, when Tresa Kaelke told Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe about killing her husband and her previous escort service.

Astute cookie that she is, Kaelke recognized Hannah and James right off as "actors."

California ACORN head organizer Amy Schur said the video is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened.

"In this video, there are two actors who come into our office and who were messing with us. And our employee was messing with them," Schur said.

She said that the complete and unedited video needs to be released to the public.

It has. It's here.

Rules of Conduct

Via Glenn Thrush, how to insult the President:

Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:

• refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
• refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
• refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
• refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”

Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:

• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

Who decided "nitwit" is okay but "hypocrite" is not?

What about lame-brain? Jerk? Intentionally misleading? And we can't talk about "alleged sexual misconduct"?

We're legislating words now? Seriously, though, where was the outrage when Dems were treating Bush badly in HIS speeches to Congress? Granted, nobody shouted "liar" from the floor, and I'm not excusing Wilson's conduct, but the faux outrage is nauseating.

Murder, Sex, Prostitution, Tax Evasion - You Too Could Work for ACORN

These ACORN videos keep getting weirder and weirder. Even though Tresa Kaelke is a bonafide nutcase, she is consistent with the other videos in her assistance and support of the underage prostitution thing.



Nutcase.

And the mainstream media is all over this, right? Because everyone loves a story with sex, prostitutes, tax evasion, murder...what's next? What? You mean the mainstream media isn't covering this? Golly gee.

Why the heck not?