Lashing Out Beats Accountability

Conservatives understand that liberals often demonize their opponents rather than debate the merits of the issues because the tactic works. But you have to wonder whether another reason they lash out is that they are…

Quotes of the day

“The Tea Partiers also say they want to empower ordinary folk against the privileged few. [...] Read the rest »

Miss Me Yet?

The big story out of Minnesota these days is a billboard on Interstate Highway 35 in or near Wyoming, which is a little north of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Highway 35 is the main North-South artery in this area, going north to Duluth and south to Des Moines. It was the Highway 35 W bridge across the Mississippi which collapsed, you may recall, a couple of years ago.

Here is the billboard:

NPR confirms that the billboard is real and not “an internet trick.” Beyond that, NPR seems baffled:

At first glance, it would seem to be from some person or group who isn’t thrilled by President Barack Obama’s performance so far — unless it’s a more ironic message from those who didn’t think too much of Bush and want to remind voters about him.

Actually, that question and the accompanying photo have been common among some Republicans for a while now. There is no reason to believe the billboard is intended as an “ironic message.” It will be interesting to find out who paid for the billboard; if it’s someone local, in all likelihood we know him. In any event, the sentiment is one that is more widely shared by Americans every day.

Newest target of tea partiers: Er, Ron Paul

I’m officially confused. I thought the tea party was all about small government. [...] Read the rest »

Amazing: At 3 a.m., “Red Eye” beating CNN primetime in key demo

Proof of Red Eye’s strength or CNN’s weakness? [...] Read the rest »

Charles Taylor: Pat Robertson Was My Man in Washington

Testifying at his war crimes trial in the Hague last week, former Liberian President Charles Taylor said (paraphrasing), “Pat Robertson was my man in Washington.”

The revelations came in the midst of a U.N.-backed trial of Taylor at The Hague on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone’s 1990s civil war. Taylor is accused of directing a Sierra Leone rebel group, the United Revolutionary Front (RUF), in a campaign aimed at securing access to the country’s diamond mines. The rebel movement stands accused of committing mass atrocities in the late 1990s in the West African country, including the mutilation of thousands of civilians.

The international prosecutors contend that Taylor offered concessions to Western individuals in exchange for lobbying work aimed at enhancing his image in the United States. The prosecution maintains that Taylor also spent $2.6 million on lobbying firms and public relations outfits in the hopes of influencing the policies of former President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Under cross-examination, Taylor said that Robertson had volunteered to make Liberia’s case before U.S. administration officials, and had spoken directly to President Bush about Taylor. He also confirmed that Robertson’s company, Freedom Gold Limited, signed an agreement to exploit gold in southeastern Liberia, but that it never generated any profit.

“Mr. Taylor, indeed at one point you said that you can count on Pat Robertson to get Washington on your side,” he was asked by the lead prosecution counsel, Col. Brenda Hollis, a former U.S. Air Force officer. Taylor replied: “I don’t recall the exact words, but something to that effect.”

A spokesman for Robertson, Chris Roslan, confirmed that Robertson was awarded a gold exploration concession by the Liberian government during the 1990s. But he said that there was “no quid pro quo” to provide the government with anything in return. Roslan said the company, Freedom Gold, is no longer in operation and has never found any gold.

ObaMarx

No, not that Marx. Obama is actually channeling Groucho, as noted by Jihad Kitty and Granny Jan.

The last man nearly ruined this place
He didn’t know what to do with it
If you think this country’s bad off now,
Just wait ’til I get through with it

Graucho Marx B. Hussein Obama

Jack Murtha, RIP

I won’t speak ill of the departed, and therefore have nothing at all to say about Jack Murtha. Philip Klein, however, notes a potentially important point: if the Republican wins the special election to succeed Murtha in May, the Democrats’ government medicine bill could have trouble passing the House. Let’s hope so.

Via Hot Air.

Without Murtha, Dems now one vote short of passing ObamaCare in House

A nice catch by Philip Klein that completely eluded me earlier. [...] Read the rest »

24 – 10pm til 11pm open thread

43 minutes til we can satisfy our respective Jack Bauer fixes for the week …

Buy an Audi or Else

Despite the annual hype, yesterday’s Super Bowl ads were mostly lame yet again. But at least this one offered a precautionary glimpse of our near future:

It’s reassuring to know that if we drive the car we’re told to drive, the authorities won’t arrest us for existing — just yet.

On tips from Shayne and Jimbo.

The “Green Police” ad

If you’re like me, you got a bit of a kick out of watching the Audi “Green Police” ad during the Super Bowl last night. Here it is again for those of you who didn’t see it:

Reading some of the reactions to it today, though, I see that some people were freaked out about the ad, looking at it as a possible sign of things to come right here in the US. While I can certainly see where that concern comes from, considering the current administation’s ultra liberal agenda on all things “green,” at the same time I can’t help but think this ad did more harm than good to the “Green” movement. The cops arresting private citizens for non-issues like a too-warm hot tub and things of that nature just go to show how ridiculous the whole idea of “green punishment” actually is and I think there would be a major outcry here if anything like that ever happened here and was widely reported by the MSM (big IF there). On the flip side, though, is the issue of another type of “Green Police” punishment – the kind that will hit you right in the wallet:

The ad works for me far better as a warning of an overreaching government dictating choices — like incandescent lightbulbs, paper vs plastic in the grocery store, and choice of cars. Audi may convince some people to look into its clean-diesel offerings, but the ad itself is likely to elicit more concern over the direction of regulatory efforts, especially at the EPA, which declared carbon dioxide a dangerous pollutant last year and has started the effort to regulate manufacturing as a way to get around the legislative hurdles to cap-and-trade bills in Congress.

If the government really does intend on creating regulation over these kinds of choices, a “green police” will not be far behind, although not in the humorous style presented here. It will instead insert itself in home purchases, car choices, energy rationing, and in the use of private property. Government will pick the winners and losers rather than a free people making their own choices, and they will use the power of government to ensure that those winners prevail for the purposes of a governing elite.

Your thoughts?

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To see the other ads that ran during the SB, click here.

President Obama defends his policies on captured terrorists by saying that they are almost identical to President Bush’s

With the Obama Administration, sometimes the material just writes itself! From The Wall Street Journal:

Bush Was Right, Says Obama

‘We’re not handling any of these cases any different from the Bush administration.’

This weekend, Americans were treated to something new: Barack Obama defending his war policies by suggesting they merely continue his predecessor’s practices. The defense is illuminating, not least for its implicit recognition that George W. Bush has more credibility on fighting terrorists than does the sitting president.

Mr. Obama’s explanation came in an interview with Katie Couric just before the Super Bowl. Ms. Couric asked about trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York. After listing some of the difficulties, the president offered a startling defense for civilian trials:

“I think that the most important thing for the public to understand,” he told Ms. Couric, “is we’re not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11.” Mr. Obama went on to add that “190 folks”—folks presumably just like the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks—had been tried and convicted in civilian court during Mr. Bush’s tenure.

Leave aside, for just a moment, the substance. Far more arresting is that Mr. Obama now defends himself by invoking a man he has spent the past year blaming for al Qaeda’s growth. You know—all those Niebuhrian speeches about how America had gone “off course,” “shown arrogance and been dismissive,” and “made decisions based on fear rather than foresight,” thus handing al Qaeda a valuable recruiting tool.

More at the link.

Maybe the difference is that Senator Obama didn’t have any actual responsibility for the security of this nation, while President Bush did. Now that Senator Obama is President Obama, and he now does have that responsibility, he’s changing his tune.

Scarborough: Did Chris Wallace roll his eyes at Palin?

Via Breitbart. [...] Read the rest »

House GOP to Obama: We’ll meet with you about ObamaCare — if you agree to start over

No more reconciliation, no more backroom deals, no more dictating terms. [...] Read the rest »

Monday Evening Music: Chris Thile and Mike Marshall, ‘Fisher’s Hornpipe’

Insanely great mandolin shredding by Chris Thile and Mike Marshall, playing “Fisher’s Hornpipe” from the album Into the Cauldron. (And here’s the iTunes Store link.)

[Video]