Here's your probable next Supreme Court Justice, making a complete fool of herself by being patently unable to answer the simplest of questions about the Interstate Commerce Clause, in this example as it applies to making Americans eat whatever the Imperial Federal Government tells them to:
"It would be wrong for courts to strike down laws that they think are senseless just because they're senseless."
That wasn't the question, ma'am. Nice try, though.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Criminals broke a law? Color us amazed
Canadian law enforcement officials are just flabbergasted to discover that criminals in the Great White North have been forging the onerous government licenses required to purchase so much as one round of .22 ammunition:
"Cpl. Julie Macfarlane-Smith of the RCMP's commercial crimes section said she's never seen forged firearms licences before.
'It's quite a process to receive (a legal) one,' she said, 'and to think it's a matter of changing a face and the accompanying data (on a licence) so someone can say, 'this is who I am and I'm here to buy a firearm or some ammunition,' it's seriously a concern.'"
Wow, the "authorities" made it as difficult as possible for someone to legally obtain ammunition, and criminals simply broke the law and short-circuited the process? What a complete surprise.
It will be interesting (and infuriating, no doubt) to see how the law-abiding population up there will be made to pay for this latest development, even though it was no fault of theirs.
"Cpl. Julie Macfarlane-Smith of the RCMP's commercial crimes section said she's never seen forged firearms licences before.
'It's quite a process to receive (a legal) one,' she said, 'and to think it's a matter of changing a face and the accompanying data (on a licence) so someone can say, 'this is who I am and I'm here to buy a firearm or some ammunition,' it's seriously a concern.'"
Wow, the "authorities" made it as difficult as possible for someone to legally obtain ammunition, and criminals simply broke the law and short-circuited the process? What a complete surprise.
It will be interesting (and infuriating, no doubt) to see how the law-abiding population up there will be made to pay for this latest development, even though it was no fault of theirs.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...
... is sadly another tied contest:
1. New York City Housing Officer David London took it upon himself in July 2008 to beat Walter Harvin, an Iraqi war veteran who happened to be visiting his mother at her public housing complex, nearly to death with his official baton (including delivering blows while Harvin was already handcuffed) solely because the victim, who apparently suffers from PTSD, refused to show London any ID.
"Officer" London then filed an official report that, strangely enough, didn't quite jibe with security cam footage of the incident:
London was then charged with "second-degree assault, filing false records, falsifying business records and making a false written statement."
"Officer London said he thought Mr. Harvin was about to punch him, and he continued to strike Mr. Harvin while he was on the ground because he continued to thrash around and yell threats."
If someone was striking us with a baton while we were lying handcuffed on the ground, we'd be yelling threats as well.
Sadly, London on Monday was acquitted of all charges in Manhattan State Supreme Court, apparently mostly due to the fact that Harvin has disappeared as a result of his mental illness and his family and prosecutors can't seem to locate him.
The bully officer still faces departmental sanctions over his disgraceful actions, according to the story; it seems the police brass there know what kind of a thug cop they have on their hands.
2. "A veteran NYPD detective was arrested in Albany for stalking an 11-year-old girl on her way to school and asking her three times if she wanted to make money, police said."
We're starting to think there's something's in that city's police station water coolers.
"The handcuffed cop never once said he was an NYPD detective. It was not until law enforcement officials analyzed his fingerprints that they learned what [Deodhram] Singh does for a living."
Boy, if "Officer" Singh didn't even try to play the "flash your badge to get out of trouble" game, he must have really known his goose was cooked.
"The sergeant asked [Francisco] Olvera for identification. When Olvera went inside his home to grab his ID, Sgt. Alderete followed him inside. Believing the officer didn't have a right to enter his home without permission, Olvera picked up his cellphone and took a photo of the officer. At that point, the lawsuit states, Alderete accused Olvera of 'illegal photography' and arrested him."
Do we even have to mention the news that Olvera was acquitted of the bogus charges against him and is now suing the Sealy PD?
We didn't think so.
4. This one's almost too weird and sickening to believe, but there is apparently some legitimate evidence to support the victim's accusations:
"Three additional police officers have been named today in the lawsuit involving the alleged anal-cavity search of a Middletown [Connecticut] man.
Sgt. Richard Davis, Officer Daniel Schreiner, Officer Jason Tetrault and Officer Lee Buller [along with Michael Lukanik and Acting Chief Patrick McMahon] are accused of allegedly discriminating against and unnecessarily probing the rectum of 32-year-old Alexander Cotto on Jan. 12."
During a traffic stop for a broken headlight. Cotto was given several tickets for traffic violations and sent on his way, although allegedly with a very sore rear end.
The victim did indeed seek medical attention right after the incident, which would seemingly back up his claim of abuse at the hands of the officers, no pun intended:
"Immediately following the incident, Cotto was admitted to the emergency room at Middlesex Hospital complaining of “rectal bleeding” and being “jabbed” in the rectum, said Emanuel Cicchiello, attorney with Cicchiello & Cicchiello, the law firm representing Cotto."
We're speechless about this one, and that doesn't happen very often.
1. New York City Housing Officer David London took it upon himself in July 2008 to beat Walter Harvin, an Iraqi war veteran who happened to be visiting his mother at her public housing complex, nearly to death with his official baton (including delivering blows while Harvin was already handcuffed) solely because the victim, who apparently suffers from PTSD, refused to show London any ID.
"Officer" London then filed an official report that, strangely enough, didn't quite jibe with security cam footage of the incident:
London was then charged with "second-degree assault, filing false records, falsifying business records and making a false written statement."
"Officer London said he thought Mr. Harvin was about to punch him, and he continued to strike Mr. Harvin while he was on the ground because he continued to thrash around and yell threats."
If someone was striking us with a baton while we were lying handcuffed on the ground, we'd be yelling threats as well.
Sadly, London on Monday was acquitted of all charges in Manhattan State Supreme Court, apparently mostly due to the fact that Harvin has disappeared as a result of his mental illness and his family and prosecutors can't seem to locate him.
The bully officer still faces departmental sanctions over his disgraceful actions, according to the story; it seems the police brass there know what kind of a thug cop they have on their hands.
2. "A veteran NYPD detective was arrested in Albany for stalking an 11-year-old girl on her way to school and asking her three times if she wanted to make money, police said."
We're starting to think there's something's in that city's police station water coolers.
"The handcuffed cop never once said he was an NYPD detective. It was not until law enforcement officials analyzed his fingerprints that they learned what [Deodhram] Singh does for a living."
Boy, if "Officer" Singh didn't even try to play the "flash your badge to get out of trouble" game, he must have really known his goose was cooked.
"The sergeant asked [Francisco] Olvera for identification. When Olvera went inside his home to grab his ID, Sgt. Alderete followed him inside. Believing the officer didn't have a right to enter his home without permission, Olvera picked up his cellphone and took a photo of the officer. At that point, the lawsuit states, Alderete accused Olvera of 'illegal photography' and arrested him."
Do we even have to mention the news that Olvera was acquitted of the bogus charges against him and is now suing the Sealy PD?
We didn't think so.
4. This one's almost too weird and sickening to believe, but there is apparently some legitimate evidence to support the victim's accusations:
"Three additional police officers have been named today in the lawsuit involving the alleged anal-cavity search of a Middletown [Connecticut] man.
Sgt. Richard Davis, Officer Daniel Schreiner, Officer Jason Tetrault and Officer Lee Buller [along with Michael Lukanik and Acting Chief Patrick McMahon] are accused of allegedly discriminating against and unnecessarily probing the rectum of 32-year-old Alexander Cotto on Jan. 12."
During a traffic stop for a broken headlight. Cotto was given several tickets for traffic violations and sent on his way, although allegedly with a very sore rear end.
The victim did indeed seek medical attention right after the incident, which would seemingly back up his claim of abuse at the hands of the officers, no pun intended:
"Immediately following the incident, Cotto was admitted to the emergency room at Middlesex Hospital complaining of “rectal bleeding” and being “jabbed” in the rectum, said Emanuel Cicchiello, attorney with Cicchiello & Cicchiello, the law firm representing Cotto."
We're speechless about this one, and that doesn't happen very often.
What a shocker
"The government can ban books because we won't really ever enforce that law. Really. Pinky Swear."
- Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama's "modest, impartial" (in her words before the Senate yesterday) nominee for the Supreme Court, pleading a case that she lost 9-0.
Kagan has never served as a judge and has spent the vast majority of her career in ivory-towered academia. Nothing wrong with that per se, but how does such an undistinguished legal background qualify her for the highest court in the country? Harriet Myers, George W. Bush's aborted nominee, was just as much of a disaster and Bush rightly got roasted for attempting to put her on the bench. Why should Kagan, then, get a free pass?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Good afternoon, Mr. President
Well, maybe not, but in any event someone in the West Wing seems to have developed a keen interest in the founder of this blog.
We're truly honored to be so targeted, as this search almost certainly means that at some level, however minor, we're irritating the snot out of the Obama administration
You're certainly free to stick around for awhile, whoever you are. Don't be afraid to weigh in with your opinions - we won't bite.
Big news day
1. The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the Second Amendment does indeed apply to state and local governments as well as the Federal Leviathan, as expected. King Emperor Mayor-for-Life Richard Daley of Chicago, as that city's thirty-some year complete ban on handgun possession by law-abiding citizens prompted the lawsuit, must be throwing quite the juvenile tantrum right about now.
The biggest non-surprise here was that four justices (we haven't yet read any of the news articles, but let us hazard a guess - the retiring socialist, the ex-ACLU counsel, the Wise Latina and the other guy in that clique) somehow feel that the Amendment ranked Second in the Bill of Rights (after only free speech) shouldn't restrain the actions of local governments. Do they feel the same about the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, for example, or is the "ickiness" factor of firearms overriding their sensibilities on this one subject?
Much more analysis later on this one.
UPDATE: Right on cue, here comes Daley's petulant whining:
"Daley said the city would have in place a new ordinance aimed at making it difficult to purchase and own a gun in Chicago." (emphasis ours)
Nothing like having the so-called "leader" of a major American city openly plotting to place as many obstacles as possible in the way of allowing his constituents to enjoy the free exercise of their inalienable rights, particularly given the fact that Justice Alito notes in the McDonald decision that Chicago is just about ready to call out the National Guard to attempt to get a handle on the out-of-control crime in that burg. God forbid the martinets there let a law-abiding retiree (McDonald, the plaintiff in the case) keep a handgun in his home for self-protection, though. That would be the end of world, according to Daley's way of thinking.
In other news, since protesters and journalists who use First Amendment protections are a constant thorn in Boss Daley's side, he is expected to soon have in place "a new ordinance aimed at making it difficult to demonstrate against his administration, or for news organizations to cover those protests".
What an utter jerk.
2. Senator Robert Byrd, D-WVa, has passed away at the age of 92. Segregationalists and West Virginians who were the recipients of Federal largesse out of all proportion to their population and tax contributions will no doubt mourn the hardest.
The residents there should indeed be sad - the gravy train has come to a screeching halt for them. West Virginians can comfort themselves, however, by fondly gazing upon the hundreds of make-work structures and buildings narcissistically named after Byrd as well as offices (including a Coast Guard facility in a landlocked state that has no "coast") mysteriously relocated to the outer sticks to appreciate how lucky they were to have the wily old Klansman around for so many decades.
The biggest non-surprise here was that four justices (we haven't yet read any of the news articles, but let us hazard a guess - the retiring socialist, the ex-ACLU counsel, the Wise Latina and the other guy in that clique) somehow feel that the Amendment ranked Second in the Bill of Rights (after only free speech) shouldn't restrain the actions of local governments. Do they feel the same about the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, for example, or is the "ickiness" factor of firearms overriding their sensibilities on this one subject?
Much more analysis later on this one.
UPDATE: Right on cue, here comes Daley's petulant whining:
"Daley said the city would have in place a new ordinance aimed at making it difficult to purchase and own a gun in Chicago." (emphasis ours)
Nothing like having the so-called "leader" of a major American city openly plotting to place as many obstacles as possible in the way of allowing his constituents to enjoy the free exercise of their inalienable rights, particularly given the fact that Justice Alito notes in the McDonald decision that Chicago is just about ready to call out the National Guard to attempt to get a handle on the out-of-control crime in that burg. God forbid the martinets there let a law-abiding retiree (McDonald, the plaintiff in the case) keep a handgun in his home for self-protection, though. That would be the end of world, according to Daley's way of thinking.
In other news, since protesters and journalists who use First Amendment protections are a constant thorn in Boss Daley's side, he is expected to soon have in place "a new ordinance aimed at making it difficult to demonstrate against his administration, or for news organizations to cover those protests".
What an utter jerk.
2. Senator Robert Byrd, D-WVa, has passed away at the age of 92. Segregationalists and West Virginians who were the recipients of Federal largesse out of all proportion to their population and tax contributions will no doubt mourn the hardest.
The residents there should indeed be sad - the gravy train has come to a screeching halt for them. West Virginians can comfort themselves, however, by fondly gazing upon the hundreds of make-work structures and buildings narcissistically named after Byrd as well as offices (including a Coast Guard facility in a landlocked state that has no "coast") mysteriously relocated to the outer sticks to appreciate how lucky they were to have the wily old Klansman around for so many decades.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Today's "Justice" Department
Former career Justice Department voting rights attorney J. Christopher Adams lays out in the Washington Times exactly why he resigned over Eric "Neutral, leaning towards favorable" Holder's continued mishandling of the New Black Panther voter intimidation case from Election Day 2008:
"Most disturbing, the dismissal [of all charges against the racist thugs who didn't even bother to show up for their court hearings] is part of a creeping lawlessness infusing our government institutions. Citizens would be shocked to learn about the open and pervasive hostility within the Justice Department to bringing civil rights cases against nonwhite defendants on behalf of white victims. Equal enforcement of justice is not a priority of this administration. Open contempt is voiced for these types of cases.
Some of my co-workers argued that the law should not be used against black wrongdoers because of the long history of slavery and segregation. Less charitable individuals called it "payback time." Incredibly, after the case was dismissed, instructions were given that no more cases against racial minorities like the Black Panther case would be brought by the Voting Section." (emphasis ours)
Just more of the Hope and Change that everyone on the left wanted so badly, despite their having no earthly clue about the incompetent and biased backgrounds of those whom they were putting in charge of our country. Remember this?
Almost seems nostalgic at this point, doesn't it?
We wonder what those idealistic saps think about their Dear Leader now?
"Most disturbing, the dismissal [of all charges against the racist thugs who didn't even bother to show up for their court hearings] is part of a creeping lawlessness infusing our government institutions. Citizens would be shocked to learn about the open and pervasive hostility within the Justice Department to bringing civil rights cases against nonwhite defendants on behalf of white victims. Equal enforcement of justice is not a priority of this administration. Open contempt is voiced for these types of cases.
Some of my co-workers argued that the law should not be used against black wrongdoers because of the long history of slavery and segregation. Less charitable individuals called it "payback time." Incredibly, after the case was dismissed, instructions were given that no more cases against racial minorities like the Black Panther case would be brought by the Voting Section." (emphasis ours)
Just more of the Hope and Change that everyone on the left wanted so badly, despite their having no earthly clue about the incompetent and biased backgrounds of those whom they were putting in charge of our country. Remember this?
Almost seems nostalgic at this point, doesn't it?
We wonder what those idealistic saps think about their Dear Leader now?
Now they get around to asking the questions
One of the Washington Post's most reliably liberal columnists, Richard Cohen, finally gets around to asking the questions he and his biased colleagues in the mainstream media should have been asking as far back as 2007, when Dear Leader first announced his exploratory committee for President after "serving" in the Senate for a minuscule 143 legislative days.
"This, of course, is the Obama enigma: Who is this guy? What are his core beliefs?
Gee thanks, Richard. How timely of you and your fellow learned scribes to finally getting around to discussing the philosophical positions of the empty suit you so passionately championed as the savior of America.
Mark Steyn has an answer for the clueless columnist:
"To return to Cohen's question: "Who is this guy? What are his core beliefs?" Well, he's a guy who was wafted ever upward – from the Harvard Law Review to state legislator to United States senator – without ever lingering long enough to accomplish anything. "Who is this guy?" Well, when a guy becomes a credible presidential candidate by his mid-40s with no accomplishments other than a couple of memoirs, he evidently has an extraordinary talent for self-promotion, if nothing else. "What are his core beliefs?" It would seem likely that his core belief is in himself. It's the "nothing else" that the likes of Cohen are belatedly noticing."
Spot on, Mark. It's absolutely incredible that wretches like Cohen are only now coming to terms with the incompetence and narcissism they deliberately helped set loose on our country.
"This, of course, is the Obama enigma: Who is this guy? What are his core beliefs?
Gee thanks, Richard. How timely of you and your fellow learned scribes to finally getting around to discussing the philosophical positions of the empty suit you so passionately championed as the savior of America.
Mark Steyn has an answer for the clueless columnist:
"To return to Cohen's question: "Who is this guy? What are his core beliefs?" Well, he's a guy who was wafted ever upward – from the Harvard Law Review to state legislator to United States senator – without ever lingering long enough to accomplish anything. "Who is this guy?" Well, when a guy becomes a credible presidential candidate by his mid-40s with no accomplishments other than a couple of memoirs, he evidently has an extraordinary talent for self-promotion, if nothing else. "What are his core beliefs?" It would seem likely that his core belief is in himself. It's the "nothing else" that the likes of Cohen are belatedly noticing."
Spot on, Mark. It's absolutely incredible that wretches like Cohen are only now coming to terms with the incompetence and narcissism they deliberately helped set loose on our country.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Infuriating ICE idiocy
Columnist Debbie Schlussel details the insidious changes that John Morton (Dear Leader's head lackey over at ICE) is making to that agency apparently on direct orders from the Boss, including completely discarding the policy of holding for deportation illegal immigrants caught committing other crimes, even violent ones, until they are actually CONVICTED of those charges, not just arrested. One of the long-suffering professional, service-oriented career agents in Obama's power base of Chicago emailed Schlussel the details of a recent unwelcome visit by Morton and his butt-smooching lackeys:
"Morton showed up with his posse to visit our sanctuary city. They appeared at the Chicago DRO [Detention and Removal Operations] Office inquiring about the Secure Community initiative. One ass-kissing ICE lawyer who was part of Morton’s entourage told the agents they were “NOT” to lodge ICE detainers on [arrest and detain] illegal aliens despite the crime UNTIL they were actually convicted.
Can you imagine this? An illegal alien commits a rape, and instead of placing an ICE hold on this alien, while commencing the deportation process, this illegal alien is allowed out and released on bond posted. Do you think he’ll ever come back and show for his appearance? Ha! He will NEVER be seen again.
The agents were shocked. They–ICE chief Morton’s people–stated this is coming directly from Obama. Do you think they showed up in Chicago for nothing…his home town? The agents were all too shocked and scared of reprisal. So no one said a thing. There were many people present who witnessed the whole thing. They–the agents–felt intimidated by the Moron and his staff and were worried for their careers if they asked questions. But they were “instructed’ not to detain/lodge ICE detainers on illegal aliens, regardless of the violent and serious nature of the crime until they are convicted. This is ridiculous."
This completely idiotic (but not surprising, given the President's enthusiastic support of amnesty for illegals by any means necessary) change in policy means people like Joaquin Bravo Flores, an already deported five times illegal alien from Mexico who recently "was caught in his south Minneapolis home with a semi-automatic pistol, dozens of rounds of ammunition, several pounds of marijuana and other illicit drugs", will be released back into the community to await trial should he manage to come up with whatever bail is set in his case, a definite possibility if he is a member of a drug gang with access to lots of cash.
If this execrable and exceedingly dangerous to law-abiding citizens new development is allowed to remain in place unchallenged, the rule of law in this country will basically cease to exist and we will be in complete agreement with the street ICE agent, who sadly opined to Schlussel that "We have lost America".
"Morton showed up with his posse to visit our sanctuary city. They appeared at the Chicago DRO [Detention and Removal Operations] Office inquiring about the Secure Community initiative. One ass-kissing ICE lawyer who was part of Morton’s entourage told the agents they were “NOT” to lodge ICE detainers on [arrest and detain] illegal aliens despite the crime UNTIL they were actually convicted.
Can you imagine this? An illegal alien commits a rape, and instead of placing an ICE hold on this alien, while commencing the deportation process, this illegal alien is allowed out and released on bond posted. Do you think he’ll ever come back and show for his appearance? Ha! He will NEVER be seen again.
The agents were shocked. They–ICE chief Morton’s people–stated this is coming directly from Obama. Do you think they showed up in Chicago for nothing…his home town? The agents were all too shocked and scared of reprisal. So no one said a thing. There were many people present who witnessed the whole thing. They–the agents–felt intimidated by the Moron and his staff and were worried for their careers if they asked questions. But they were “instructed’ not to detain/lodge ICE detainers on illegal aliens, regardless of the violent and serious nature of the crime until they are convicted. This is ridiculous."
This completely idiotic (but not surprising, given the President's enthusiastic support of amnesty for illegals by any means necessary) change in policy means people like Joaquin Bravo Flores, an already deported five times illegal alien from Mexico who recently "was caught in his south Minneapolis home with a semi-automatic pistol, dozens of rounds of ammunition, several pounds of marijuana and other illicit drugs", will be released back into the community to await trial should he manage to come up with whatever bail is set in his case, a definite possibility if he is a member of a drug gang with access to lots of cash.
If this execrable and exceedingly dangerous to law-abiding citizens new development is allowed to remain in place unchallenged, the rule of law in this country will basically cease to exist and we will be in complete agreement with the street ICE agent, who sadly opined to Schlussel that "We have lost America".
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fascinating
Who knew that the Portland, Oregon Police Department will apparently give high-profile people such as Al Gore the courtesy of filling out a super-secret "Confidential Special Report" instead of the regular ol' public paperwork the average peasant there would receive should they be accused of committing sexual assault against a masseuse?
The incident is alleged to have happened in a high-end hotel there in 2006, and if true would go a long way towards explaining the announced explosion of Gore's long and purportedly happy marriage.
Yes, it's the National Enquirer, but they've been batting 1.000 against sleazy ex-politicians the last few years (to the point of being a recent Pulitzer nominee), so we'll let them run out the string and see what develops in this story.
"Portland police spokeswoman Detective Mary Wheat said this morning she's receiving inquires "from all over the world" regarding the matter, and said police supervisors are about to meet this morning to discuss what material, if any, is available."
We imagine that it's not good news for Mr. Gore that that particular meeting was held.
The outcome of this investigation should be interesting, not for the gleaning of any sad tidbits about Gore's personal life but to seemingly provide a perfect example of how celebrities and politicians continually (and wrongly) get special treatment from the people who are sworn to uphold the law fairly and equally.
The incident is alleged to have happened in a high-end hotel there in 2006, and if true would go a long way towards explaining the announced explosion of Gore's long and purportedly happy marriage.
Yes, it's the National Enquirer, but they've been batting 1.000 against sleazy ex-politicians the last few years (to the point of being a recent Pulitzer nominee), so we'll let them run out the string and see what develops in this story.
"Portland police spokeswoman Detective Mary Wheat said this morning she's receiving inquires "from all over the world" regarding the matter, and said police supervisors are about to meet this morning to discuss what material, if any, is available."
We imagine that it's not good news for Mr. Gore that that particular meeting was held.
The outcome of this investigation should be interesting, not for the gleaning of any sad tidbits about Gore's personal life but to seemingly provide a perfect example of how celebrities and politicians continually (and wrongly) get special treatment from the people who are sworn to uphold the law fairly and equally.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
He's said it before, so why not again?
Arizona Senator John Kyl emphatically states President Obama told him in a private Oval Office meeting that "If we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform".
Kyl understood the President's words to mean "they're holding it [border security] hostage".
Obama's minions say the President never made any such statement, even though Obama and Kyl were the only people present in the room.
Again - whom to believe, short of breaking out Maury Povich's lie detector expert?
Well, considering that Dear Leader made pretty much the exact same statement on a Chicago radio station in 2004,
we're (still) tending to believe Senator Kyl's version of events.
Kyl understood the President's words to mean "they're holding it [border security] hostage".
Obama's minions say the President never made any such statement, even though Obama and Kyl were the only people present in the room.
Again - whom to believe, short of breaking out Maury Povich's lie detector expert?
Well, considering that Dear Leader made pretty much the exact same statement on a Chicago radio station in 2004,
we're (still) tending to believe Senator Kyl's version of events.
Abusing one's authority has consequences
In a followup to a story on which we commented yesterday, Officer James Daves of the Chattanooga, Tennessee Police Department has been placed on paid administrative leave by that agency. This action was an apparent face-saving move to attempt to counter the massive amount of negative publicity generated by Daves's stupid decision to place a man under felony arrest solely for safely running a couple of red lights in order to get his newlywed wife, who was in the middle of suffering a stroke, to the local hospital in the quickest way possible.
"The most damning claim in the story happened when Jesse was told by Daves to turn himself into the Hamilton County Jail, where he would be charged with a felony. Jesse claims that when he asked what felony he would be charged with, Daves said 'I’ll think of something you sh– head.'"
We guess "Officer" Daves should have thought a little harder, especially before embarking on his thuggish course of action. Well, it seems he'll have quite a bit of time to think in the coming days, as he contemplates the fact that he just may have thrown away his career by deciding to play bully.
"In Daves’ written report, he claims that Jesse scraped his arm with his fingernail after the officer grabbed his arm, as well as claiming that Jesse placed his wife in an ER room 'with no permission of the hospital staff'."
Oh, please.
"The most damning claim in the story happened when Jesse was told by Daves to turn himself into the Hamilton County Jail, where he would be charged with a felony. Jesse claims that when he asked what felony he would be charged with, Daves said 'I’ll think of something you sh– head.'"
We guess "Officer" Daves should have thought a little harder, especially before embarking on his thuggish course of action. Well, it seems he'll have quite a bit of time to think in the coming days, as he contemplates the fact that he just may have thrown away his career by deciding to play bully.
"In Daves’ written report, he claims that Jesse scraped his arm with his fingernail after the officer grabbed his arm, as well as claiming that Jesse placed his wife in an ER room 'with no permission of the hospital staff'."
Oh, please.
Slapped down
Federal Judge Martin L.C. Feldman has issued an injunction stopping the Obama Administration's unilateral moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf (which would have seriously negatively affected innocent oil companies as well as further devastated the local economy), effectively reminding Dear Leader that the rule of law indeed exists and that he and his minions can't literally just make things up as they go along:
"'Much to the government's discomfort and this Court's uneasiness, the summary also states that 'the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.' As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading,' Judge Feldman said in his 22-page ruling." (Emphasis ours)
The judge is being too kind - it was an outright falsehood, just like the opinions of experts in such diverse areas as health care, the economy and foreign policy were twisted beyond all recognition to appear to support Obama's positions on those subjects as well, even though they did no such thing. How's that "transparency" thing working out, Mr. President?
This outright ban on drilling was comparable to taking all the semis off the highway because one company had a rollover accident. Obama had no authority to implement such a ban on his own, as he has now found out.
He apparently still hasn't learned anything, though - he plans to appeal the decision, wasting even more of our taxpayer dollars in the process.
And the train keeps rolling along.
"'Much to the government's discomfort and this Court's uneasiness, the summary also states that 'the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.' As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading,' Judge Feldman said in his 22-page ruling." (Emphasis ours)
The judge is being too kind - it was an outright falsehood, just like the opinions of experts in such diverse areas as health care, the economy and foreign policy were twisted beyond all recognition to appear to support Obama's positions on those subjects as well, even though they did no such thing. How's that "transparency" thing working out, Mr. President?
This outright ban on drilling was comparable to taking all the semis off the highway because one company had a rollover accident. Obama had no authority to implement such a ban on his own, as he has now found out.
He apparently still hasn't learned anything, though - he plans to appeal the decision, wasting even more of our taxpayer dollars in the process.
And the train keeps rolling along.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Obama slips up and tells the truth for once
Arizona Senator John Kyl publicly says that Dear Leader personally told him that the border isn't being secured because the "Democrats don't want to do it", presumably for political reasons:
The White House is denying the President ever said that.
Whom do you believe? We know whose story we're buying, and it's not Obama's version.
The White House is denying the President ever said that.
Whom do you believe? We know whose story we're buying, and it's not Obama's version.
She's wrong, as many of Obama's minions so often are
Dear Leader's Labor Secretary further promulgates a falsehood:
Sorry, ma'am. That sentiment sounds good in theory, but people who are in the country illegally don't have a right to work, much less be paid a "fair wage" for their efforts.
Harsh but true, unfortunately, and the only way to stop such exploitation of hard-working but illegal people by scummy employers is to reduce or eliminate the number of individuals upon which they can prey.
Your tax dollars paid for this message, by the way.
Sorry, ma'am. That sentiment sounds good in theory, but people who are in the country illegally don't have a right to work, much less be paid a "fair wage" for their efforts.
Harsh but true, unfortunately, and the only way to stop such exploitation of hard-working but illegal people by scummy employers is to reduce or eliminate the number of individuals upon which they can prey.
Your tax dollars paid for this message, by the way.
From the Department of Glaringly Obvious Headlines
"Obama's thuggery is useless in fighting spill"
Michael Barone describes in great detail exactly why this is the case.
"Thuggery is unattractive. Ineffective thuggery even more so. Which may be one reason so many Americans have been reacting negatively to the response of Barack Obama and his administration to BP's Gulf oil spill."
Michael Barone describes in great detail exactly why this is the case.
"Thuggery is unattractive. Ineffective thuggery even more so. Which may be one reason so many Americans have been reacting negatively to the response of Barack Obama and his administration to BP's Gulf oil spill."
The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...
... are too numerous to single out just one example, so here's an assortment from the many that have unfortunately crossed our computer screen in the last day or so:
1. New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran (and all credit must go to Halloran for pursuing this) spied Traffic Officer Daniel Chu recklessly speeding down a road in Queens while running stop signs, complete with flashing emergency lights, while also gabbing away on his cell phone. Halloran followed Chu to see what the all-fired traffic emergency could possibly be. He soon found out after he saw Chu dart into a Dunkin' Donuts in order to pick up a coffee drink. Peeved, Halloran took a picture of Chu exiting the treat emporium. That's when Chu really lost control:
"Chu apparently didn't like being caught on candid camera, so he whipped out his ticket book and handed the councilman a $165 ticket for what Halloran says are trumped-up charges.
"He says, 'you're going to take pictures of me? Well, I'm going to write you a summons,'" Halloran said."
It's probably not a good idea to cite one of your bosses for an imaginary crime. Chu is now under investigation not only for this incident but also for many previous alleged abuses of power, one witnessed by a former cop:
"It turns out that Officer Chu has something of a history in the neighborhood. Former NYPD cop Tim Dillon told CBS 2 he was a pallbearer at Gleason's Funeral Home when Chu showed up.
'The family was getting ready to transfer the body from the funeral home to the church,' Dillon said. 'The traffic agent felt that they were all double-parked. There was a confrontation – he started yelling and screaming at the family members.'"
Sounds like a truly dedicated public servant.
The article points out that a simple peasant nabbed for committing all the traffic violations Chu was witnessed committing at one time would most likely rack up enough points to immediately lose their license. So why does Chu still possess one, as well as a job?
2. In contrast to the previous story, Jesse Wright of Chattanooga, Tennessee really did have a good reason to run some stop signals, albeit carefully and in the middle of the night. Wright was driving his wife of four days to the hospital while she was in the middle of suffering a stroke:
"On the way to the hospital, Aline [the wife] says Jesse treated two red lights like stop signs. He would stop and then proceed if no traffic was coming. After Jesse ran the second stop light one block from Erlanger, the officer turned on the cruiser's blue lights and followed the couple into the emergency room parking lot."
The cop, who conveniently hasn't been named to date, then confronted Mr. Wright as he was carrying his bride into the emergency room about running the lights. Things rapidly got all surreal after that:
"Dolson has been suspended without pay for most of this year, but not for the Carey case. APD said it was other, unrelated infractions that led to the disciplinary action."
What was that citation for, anyway - being too old for the park but too young to hang out at the mall? What about the parents of the so-called "legal" tykes? Aren't they running afoul of the exact same ordinance should they decide to go down the slide with their offspring?
5. "A Dallas police officer is on administrative leave after authorities said she fired off her gun while off-duty in a squad car with at least one on-duty officer."
It's a good thing the Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center types are fighting so hard to make the argument that law-enforcement officers are the only ones "professional" enough to carry firearms in public. The simpleton peasants would probably end up wearing theirs while going on a drinking bender and end up discharging it in the back of a squad car while protesting the latest of multiple attempts by on and off-duty officers to drive her safely home.
Here's the richest part of this story:
"Commanders were called to the scene, but did not arrest [Kelly] Beemer at the time, saying she was too drunk to be interviewed. It wasn't until they viewed the tape that they decided to arrest and charge Beemer."
Drunkenly discharging her gun in the back of a cruiser while fighting the probably-too-nice attempt (since two other officers have been placed on administrative duty over this incident) to get her home wasn't enough to slap the cuffs on her? They had to actually wait to look at a tape? Talk about defying credulity.
How many average citizens who acted like such a dangerous fool would get the same courtesy? Not too many at all, we bet. Fortunately for Dallas residents, it appears that Ms. Beemer's police career is at an end.
6. Finally, an update to a story that our friend Carlos Miller is watching closely, the case of the Maryland motorcycle rider who was hit with felony charges, not for doing a wheelie on his motorcycle but for taping his interaction with an abusive off-duty State Patrol officer at the ensuing subsequent traffic stop with a helmet-cam and posting it online:
"A week later, on March 10, [Anthony] Graber posted his video of the encounter on YouTube. What followed wasn't a furor over the police officer's behavior but over Graber's use of a camera to capture the entire episode.
On April 8, Graber was awakened by six officers raiding his parents' home in Abingdon, Md., where he lived with his wife and two young children. He learned later that prosecutors had obtained a grand jury indictment alleging he had violated state wiretap laws by recording the trooper without his consent."
On Interstate 95. Not much of an expectation of privacy there. Except if one is an out-of-control off-duty cop (Trooper Joseph David Uhler, for those keeping score) in Maryland, apparently. Thank God we no longer live in the abusive Nanny-state of our birth.
Carlos is doing yeoman work covering this one, so head on over to his place for updated coverage.
1. New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran (and all credit must go to Halloran for pursuing this) spied Traffic Officer Daniel Chu recklessly speeding down a road in Queens while running stop signs, complete with flashing emergency lights, while also gabbing away on his cell phone. Halloran followed Chu to see what the all-fired traffic emergency could possibly be. He soon found out after he saw Chu dart into a Dunkin' Donuts in order to pick up a coffee drink. Peeved, Halloran took a picture of Chu exiting the treat emporium. That's when Chu really lost control:
"Chu apparently didn't like being caught on candid camera, so he whipped out his ticket book and handed the councilman a $165 ticket for what Halloran says are trumped-up charges.
"He says, 'you're going to take pictures of me? Well, I'm going to write you a summons,'" Halloran said."
It's probably not a good idea to cite one of your bosses for an imaginary crime. Chu is now under investigation not only for this incident but also for many previous alleged abuses of power, one witnessed by a former cop:
"It turns out that Officer Chu has something of a history in the neighborhood. Former NYPD cop Tim Dillon told CBS 2 he was a pallbearer at Gleason's Funeral Home when Chu showed up.
'The family was getting ready to transfer the body from the funeral home to the church,' Dillon said. 'The traffic agent felt that they were all double-parked. There was a confrontation – he started yelling and screaming at the family members.'"
Sounds like a truly dedicated public servant.
The article points out that a simple peasant nabbed for committing all the traffic violations Chu was witnessed committing at one time would most likely rack up enough points to immediately lose their license. So why does Chu still possess one, as well as a job?
2. In contrast to the previous story, Jesse Wright of Chattanooga, Tennessee really did have a good reason to run some stop signals, albeit carefully and in the middle of the night. Wright was driving his wife of four days to the hospital while she was in the middle of suffering a stroke:
"On the way to the hospital, Aline [the wife] says Jesse treated two red lights like stop signs. He would stop and then proceed if no traffic was coming. After Jesse ran the second stop light one block from Erlanger, the officer turned on the cruiser's blue lights and followed the couple into the emergency room parking lot."
The cop, who conveniently hasn't been named to date, then confronted Mr. Wright as he was carrying his bride into the emergency room about running the lights. Things rapidly got all surreal after that:
"Aline tells Channel 3 Eyewitness News that once the couple was placed in a hospital room, the officer attempted to enter their room to arrest Jesse for evading the police.
Erlanger medical personnel then turned the officer away, informing him that since Aline could not speak Jesse was needed to answer questions for the doctors.
Thursday morning Erlanger security informed the couple that a warrant for Jesse's arrest had been issued, and suggested he turn himself in. Aline says Jesse went to the Hamilton County Jail to turn himself in that evening. According to Aline, jail employees told Jesse that they had no record of a warrant for him and told him he was free to go.
Jesse returned to his ailing wife's bedside at Erlanger Medical Center.
'I thought it was over,' said Aline.
'But apparently it wasn't. I was awakened abruptly by people coming in the room.'
On Friday morning the police were back at the hospital. This time Jesse surrendered to Erlanger Security who arrested him on behalf of the Chattanooga Police Department."
Mr Wright now faces a bevy of charges, including felony evading arrest, merely for saving his wife's life and then trying to turn himself in once he learned that he was in trouble, however wrongly, for doing so.
"Lt. Kim Noorbergen says the officer was just 'doing his job'."
If the officer's job description involves being an officious jerk who abuses his authority while ignoring a life-threatening emergency (which obviously justified the necessary breaking of a few traffic laws) and who then proceeds to make an even bigger jackass of themselves then yes, we suppose that Lt. Noorbergen is quite correct on that point.
3. The Atlanta, Georgia City Council is preparing to pay the not-insignificant sum of $20,000 to resident Minnie Carey, who was arrested for disorderly conduct by Officer Brandy Dolson simply because she had the temerity to ask just why he was ordering her and her friends to stop having a conversation on a public sidewalk:
"Around 4 p.m. on March 26, 2009, Carey and her friends were on the sidewalk in front of the Boulevard Lotto convenience store, just a few blocks from downtown Atlanta. They had been talking a few minutes about funeral plans for a woman they all knew when Dolson and his partner pulled up. Dolson told the women to 'move it.'
Three women started walking away but Carey didn’t, asking 'why' instead.
Dolson’s answer to Carey was 'because I said so,' according to records.
'I’m a citizen and I’m a taxpayer and I have a right to be here. I’m merely trying to find out about a sister’s funeral,' Carey responded.
That's when Carey was handcuffed, put in the back of the patrol car and eventually taken to jail on a city ordinance violation charge."
Ms. Carey sounds like our kind of woman. Fortunately for her, the charge was dismissed when "Officer" Dolson failed to show up in court. Actually, Dolson hasn't been showing up for much of anything lately:
"Dolson has been suspended without pay for most of this year, but not for the Carey case. APD said it was other, unrelated infractions that led to the disciplinary action."
Dolson sounds like a fine, upstanding professional, doesn't he? At least Atlanta residents aren't having to pay this buffoon's salary while the ultimate disposition of his job winds its way through the police bureaucracy, as normally occurs in these types of cases.
4. Cleveland, Ohio seems to be dealing with the serious problem of kids being too old to play in public playgrounds:
"Police received a complaint about kids on the Madison Park playground that were too old to be there at 2:37 p.m. June 10. Officers cited a boy for being too old on the playground."
How sad it must be for a child there to be able to play away in a public park, and then in some bizarre Logan's Run-style scenario summarily be deemed too old for that exact same park just one day later on his or her birthday.
How sad it must be for a child there to be able to play away in a public park, and then in some bizarre Logan's Run-style scenario summarily be deemed too old for that exact same park just one day later on his or her birthday.
What was that citation for, anyway - being too old for the park but too young to hang out at the mall? What about the parents of the so-called "legal" tykes? Aren't they running afoul of the exact same ordinance should they decide to go down the slide with their offspring?
5. "A Dallas police officer is on administrative leave after authorities said she fired off her gun while off-duty in a squad car with at least one on-duty officer."
It's a good thing the Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center types are fighting so hard to make the argument that law-enforcement officers are the only ones "professional" enough to carry firearms in public. The simpleton peasants would probably end up wearing theirs while going on a drinking bender and end up discharging it in the back of a squad car while protesting the latest of multiple attempts by on and off-duty officers to drive her safely home.
Here's the richest part of this story:
"Commanders were called to the scene, but did not arrest [Kelly] Beemer at the time, saying she was too drunk to be interviewed. It wasn't until they viewed the tape that they decided to arrest and charge Beemer."
Drunkenly discharging her gun in the back of a cruiser while fighting the probably-too-nice attempt (since two other officers have been placed on administrative duty over this incident) to get her home wasn't enough to slap the cuffs on her? They had to actually wait to look at a tape? Talk about defying credulity.
How many average citizens who acted like such a dangerous fool would get the same courtesy? Not too many at all, we bet. Fortunately for Dallas residents, it appears that Ms. Beemer's police career is at an end.
6. Finally, an update to a story that our friend Carlos Miller is watching closely, the case of the Maryland motorcycle rider who was hit with felony charges, not for doing a wheelie on his motorcycle but for taping his interaction with an abusive off-duty State Patrol officer at the ensuing subsequent traffic stop with a helmet-cam and posting it online:
"A week later, on March 10, [Anthony] Graber posted his video of the encounter on YouTube. What followed wasn't a furor over the police officer's behavior but over Graber's use of a camera to capture the entire episode.
On April 8, Graber was awakened by six officers raiding his parents' home in Abingdon, Md., where he lived with his wife and two young children. He learned later that prosecutors had obtained a grand jury indictment alleging he had violated state wiretap laws by recording the trooper without his consent."
On Interstate 95. Not much of an expectation of privacy there. Except if one is an out-of-control off-duty cop (Trooper Joseph David Uhler, for those keeping score) in Maryland, apparently. Thank God we no longer live in the abusive Nanny-state of our birth.
(Uhler, from Photography is Not a Crime. Yep, we'd call that "out-of-control", all right)
Carlos is doing yeoman work covering this one, so head on over to his place for updated coverage.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
A ridiculous judge picks this case as a poster child for prosecutorial overreach?
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock is outraged, just outraged that federal prosecutors managed to convict Lorraine Henderson on a felony charge related to her knowingly hiring an illegal alien to be her cleaning lady, and is publicly mulling in open court whether or not to unilaterally acquit the woman despite her being found guilty of the crime.
A felony-level indictment would seem to be a bit much to hang on a person for saving a bit of coin on their housecleaning, that is until one finds out just what Ms. Henderson did for a living:
"Henderson is suspended from her job with U.S. Customs and Border Protection keeping illegals from entering the country through Logan International Airport. She now works at a pet store."
Hopefully she's not in charge of "creatively" importing exotic animals.
"'It was hapless hypocrisy and she shouldn’t have done it,' Woodlock said. 'She was wrong, but a felony? It couldn’t even be a misdemeanor? A person’s life has been crushed as a result of prosecutorial discretion.'"
Yes, a felony, Your Honor. Her life is hardly "crushed", you know. It's not like she's even facing any jail time, for Pete's sake:
"Prosecutors recommended Henderson be sentenced to 36 months’ probation, eight months of it under home confinement or at a halfway house."
We think that minimal penalty, along with the stain of a felony conviction, is a perfectly appropriate sanction, given Ms. Henderson's willful dereliction of duty and blatant hypocrisy while in charge of Homeland Security at Logan, which is where two of the hijacked planes on 9/11 took off.
Judge Woodlock apparently doesn't see the importance of holding government officials accountable for their actions, especially when those actions fly directly in the face of the very laws they're supposed to be enforcing on the peasants, supposedly for our "security".
Well we do, and in this case the U.S. Attorneys are doing the exact right thing. America won't be able to get a handle on the illegal immigration situation until we get a handle on the demand side of the equation as well, and this is as good a way as any to begin sanctioning employers who willfully ignore the law, especially people who can't say they didn't know there would be sanctions for doing so.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Judge. Why are you so upset about this situation, anyway? Who do you use for your cleaning services?
A felony-level indictment would seem to be a bit much to hang on a person for saving a bit of coin on their housecleaning, that is until one finds out just what Ms. Henderson did for a living:
"Henderson is suspended from her job with U.S. Customs and Border Protection keeping illegals from entering the country through Logan International Airport. She now works at a pet store."
Hopefully she's not in charge of "creatively" importing exotic animals.
"'It was hapless hypocrisy and she shouldn’t have done it,' Woodlock said. 'She was wrong, but a felony? It couldn’t even be a misdemeanor? A person’s life has been crushed as a result of prosecutorial discretion.'"
Yes, a felony, Your Honor. Her life is hardly "crushed", you know. It's not like she's even facing any jail time, for Pete's sake:
"Prosecutors recommended Henderson be sentenced to 36 months’ probation, eight months of it under home confinement or at a halfway house."
We think that minimal penalty, along with the stain of a felony conviction, is a perfectly appropriate sanction, given Ms. Henderson's willful dereliction of duty and blatant hypocrisy while in charge of Homeland Security at Logan, which is where two of the hijacked planes on 9/11 took off.
Judge Woodlock apparently doesn't see the importance of holding government officials accountable for their actions, especially when those actions fly directly in the face of the very laws they're supposed to be enforcing on the peasants, supposedly for our "security".
Well we do, and in this case the U.S. Attorneys are doing the exact right thing. America won't be able to get a handle on the illegal immigration situation until we get a handle on the demand side of the equation as well, and this is as good a way as any to begin sanctioning employers who willfully ignore the law, especially people who can't say they didn't know there would be sanctions for doing so.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Judge. Why are you so upset about this situation, anyway? Who do you use for your cleaning services?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Southern Arizona is officially out of control
Two loyal readers have independently called our attention to this story, which reports that the state of Arizona has been forced to post signs like this at a popular hiking and off-roading area south of Interstate 8 between Casa Grande and Gila Bend:
This area is approximately 80 miles and three counties away from the Mexican border. But we don't have an illegal immigration problem in Arizona, nosirree. Just ask Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau, who is the local law-enforcement administrator of the county in which this area is located:
Based on his long track record of not bothering to keep promises to his own base, much less prominent members of the opposition party, we would counsel Governor Brewer to not hold her breath waiting for that followup contact. The severe oxygen deprivation could be injurious to her health as well as possibly turn her into a liberal.
We remind law-abiding Arizona residents that they enjoy the right to carry defensive firearms in case they are confronted with the fear of death or great bodily harm, especially when recreating while out of efficient law-enforcement response time or even cell-phone coverage. Please be careful out there.
(“Danger Public Warning, travel not recommended active human and drug smuggling area, visitors may encounter armed criminals and smuggling vehicles traveling at high rates of speed. Stay away from trash, clothing, backpacks and abandoned vehicles. If you see suspicious activity, do not confront (underlined) move away and call 911. The BLM encourages visitors to use public lands north of Interstate 8.”)
This area is approximately 80 miles and three counties away from the Mexican border. But we don't have an illegal immigration problem in Arizona, nosirree. Just ask Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeau, who is the local law-enforcement administrator of the county in which this area is located:
"Mexican drug cartels appear to control large areas of Southern Arizona, according to the Pinal County Sheriff.
According to Borderland Beat, the Pinal County Sheriff says, 'We do not have control of this area.'"
Meanwhile, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is still waiting for President Obama to respond to her about this crisis, even though Dear Leader solemnly promised during their June 3 White House meeting to get back in touch with her "within two weeks" on the issue:
Based on his long track record of not bothering to keep promises to his own base, much less prominent members of the opposition party, we would counsel Governor Brewer to not hold her breath waiting for that followup contact. The severe oxygen deprivation could be injurious to her health as well as possibly turn her into a liberal.
We remind law-abiding Arizona residents that they enjoy the right to carry defensive firearms in case they are confronted with the fear of death or great bodily harm, especially when recreating while out of efficient law-enforcement response time or even cell-phone coverage. Please be careful out there.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A former Obama supporter in the media turns on his shining hero
Jon Stewart, formerly one of Dear Leader's biggest champions in the media, finally cuts loose and wickedly skewers President Obama for hypocritically breaking so many of his campaign promises, pointing out that circumstances sure seem to have changed now that he's the one with all the power :
Barry O's in huge trouble if hack ideologues like Stewart are done shilling for him.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Respect My Authoritah | ||||
| ||||
Barry O's in huge trouble if hack ideologues like Stewart are done shilling for him.
A note we imagine gets composed every single morning
MEMO
To: B.H. Obama
From: G.W. Bush
Subject: How's it going?
Barack,
How's it going, buddy? I guess you're finding out right about now how lonely and difficult occupying the Big Chair is, huh? I'll bet it must have looked so easy when you were constantly carping from the sidelines about what a poor job I was doing. Well at least I am a genuine and open person who could relate to the people I led. That "cool, cerebral" persona you affect and the teleprompter you cart around everywhere, even to high-school graduations, only make you look like a total phony. The American people aren't stupid, you know. They can spot a faker desperately feigning competence a mile away. Dick and I weren't perfect, but at least we came to the job with plenty of executive experience. I can't imagine attempting to do the job without any such background at all, as you're no doubt discovering.
I'll admit I made my share of mistakes - I let a Republican Congress spend us farther down the road to bankruptcy without a single veto to put them in check, and I never should have advocated for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Jeez, even I knew to back off when a vast majority of the voters rose up against that last one, though, unlike you and that massive health care Ponzi scheme you crammed down everyone's throat. Good luck defending that one in 2012, especially once the true ramifications of that socialist bill become apparent in the next year or two.
Isn't it funny how an environmental disaster that you had no control over can affect your approval rating so much? I mean, I certainly had some incompetent individuals under me, but your people take the cake. Sitting around for more than a month before deciding to do something about the Gulf oil spill probably wasn't the smartest decision you ever made, to say the least. We at least tried to do something about the aftereffects of Katrina in a timely manner. Imagine if I had taken the amount of time you've wasted dithering around during that catastrophe. I would have been completely crucified - kind of like what's happening to you right now. How does it feel?
While we're on the subject of competence, how are underlings such as Eric "Neutral, leaning towards favorable" Holder, Janet Napolitano, Hilda Solis and Ken Salazar working out for you? It must be frustrating (and more than a little frightening) to know that Hillary freakin' Clinton is doing by far the best job in your administration to date. You will be quite fortunate if she doesn't pull a Ted Kennedy circa 1980 and offer you a serious primary challenge in the next election. My party may not even have to worry about you in 2012 if you keep up your incompetent stumbling.
Well, I'll let you get back to work, as I'm sure you've got a full schedule of damage control to go through. One last hint, though. The CVS down the street at 1275 Pennsylvania Avenue sells Just for Men products. You should maybe send your bobo and chief jock-carrier Reggie Love down there to pick some up for you. The gray is beginning to dominate, if you get my drift.
Best,
W.
To: B.H. Obama
From: G.W. Bush
Subject: How's it going?
Barack,
How's it going, buddy? I guess you're finding out right about now how lonely and difficult occupying the Big Chair is, huh? I'll bet it must have looked so easy when you were constantly carping from the sidelines about what a poor job I was doing. Well at least I am a genuine and open person who could relate to the people I led. That "cool, cerebral" persona you affect and the teleprompter you cart around everywhere, even to high-school graduations, only make you look like a total phony. The American people aren't stupid, you know. They can spot a faker desperately feigning competence a mile away. Dick and I weren't perfect, but at least we came to the job with plenty of executive experience. I can't imagine attempting to do the job without any such background at all, as you're no doubt discovering.
I'll admit I made my share of mistakes - I let a Republican Congress spend us farther down the road to bankruptcy without a single veto to put them in check, and I never should have advocated for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Jeez, even I knew to back off when a vast majority of the voters rose up against that last one, though, unlike you and that massive health care Ponzi scheme you crammed down everyone's throat. Good luck defending that one in 2012, especially once the true ramifications of that socialist bill become apparent in the next year or two.
Isn't it funny how an environmental disaster that you had no control over can affect your approval rating so much? I mean, I certainly had some incompetent individuals under me, but your people take the cake. Sitting around for more than a month before deciding to do something about the Gulf oil spill probably wasn't the smartest decision you ever made, to say the least. We at least tried to do something about the aftereffects of Katrina in a timely manner. Imagine if I had taken the amount of time you've wasted dithering around during that catastrophe. I would have been completely crucified - kind of like what's happening to you right now. How does it feel?
While we're on the subject of competence, how are underlings such as Eric "Neutral, leaning towards favorable" Holder, Janet Napolitano, Hilda Solis and Ken Salazar working out for you? It must be frustrating (and more than a little frightening) to know that Hillary freakin' Clinton is doing by far the best job in your administration to date. You will be quite fortunate if she doesn't pull a Ted Kennedy circa 1980 and offer you a serious primary challenge in the next election. My party may not even have to worry about you in 2012 if you keep up your incompetent stumbling.
Well, I'll let you get back to work, as I'm sure you've got a full schedule of damage control to go through. One last hint, though. The CVS down the street at 1275 Pennsylvania Avenue sells Just for Men products. You should maybe send your bobo and chief jock-carrier Reggie Love down there to pick some up for you. The gray is beginning to dominate, if you get my drift.
Best,
W.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
If you have to announce to the world that you're in charge, you're not in charge
"President Barack Obama prepared to address the nation Tuesday with an "I'm in charge" message"
Sure you are, sir, sure you are.
Keep on believing that fantasy while you desperately attempt to salvage your foundering administration. It'll at least make you feel better.
After all, the appearance of competence and caring, and not the actual results (or lack of) themselves, is what's most important to you and your cronies, right?
Sure you are, sir, sure you are.
Keep on believing that fantasy while you desperately attempt to salvage your foundering administration. It'll at least make you feel better.
After all, the appearance of competence and caring, and not the actual results (or lack of) themselves, is what's most important to you and your cronies, right?
Let's have that argument
Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic (with whom we often, but not always, respectfully disagree) has a blog post discussing upcoming state legislation designed to deny U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. She references a number of quotes from the politicians who helped craft the 14th Amendment which illustrate their obvious intention for it to apply to immigrants (with no mention of illegal ones, of course).
Our response to her, via Facebook:
"Good. Methinks the Congress that passed the 14th Amendment (and the states that ratified it) never intended our borders to be some sort of finish line that as soon as someone drags themselves over one illegally and gives birth, the child is automatically granted full citizenship (as well as a free "anchor baby" argument for letting the parents stay).
Gee, we're constantly being told by liberals that the Constitution is a "living, breathing document" subject to change over time, so why can't the 14th Amendment be re-interpreted to mean as such today? Or is that kind of treatment only reserved for odious amendments (such as the Second) that offend the sensibilities of the learned elite?"
Roberts also cites Supreme Court cases which include one which deals with resident aliens (and so has no bearing on this argument) and another in INS v. Rios-Pineda, in which the Supreme Court "unanimously agreed that a baby born to an illegal immigrant was a citizen."
Fair enough. Does Ms. Roberts also believe, then, that the likes of the Dred Scott decision and Plessy v. Ferguson were perfectly OK as well? After all, the learned and wise Court ruled that those racist and dehumanizing policies were just dandy and quite legal to boot.
Roberts obviously doesn't. Therefore, she has to admit that the Supreme Court does indeed get it wrong on occasion and periodically needs a new case to come before it in order to repair a prior error.
Arizona's proposed citizenship ban provides a perfect opportunity for that process to happen. We can't wait for the intellectual battle to begin.
Our response to her, via Facebook:
"Good. Methinks the Congress that passed the 14th Amendment (and the states that ratified it) never intended our borders to be some sort of finish line that as soon as someone drags themselves over one illegally and gives birth, the child is automatically granted full citizenship (as well as a free "anchor baby" argument for letting the parents stay).
Gee, we're constantly being told by liberals that the Constitution is a "living, breathing document" subject to change over time, so why can't the 14th Amendment be re-interpreted to mean as such today? Or is that kind of treatment only reserved for odious amendments (such as the Second) that offend the sensibilities of the learned elite?"
Roberts also cites Supreme Court cases which include one which deals with resident aliens (and so has no bearing on this argument) and another in INS v. Rios-Pineda, in which the Supreme Court "unanimously agreed that a baby born to an illegal immigrant was a citizen."
Fair enough. Does Ms. Roberts also believe, then, that the likes of the Dred Scott decision and Plessy v. Ferguson were perfectly OK as well? After all, the learned and wise Court ruled that those racist and dehumanizing policies were just dandy and quite legal to boot.
Roberts obviously doesn't. Therefore, she has to admit that the Supreme Court does indeed get it wrong on occasion and periodically needs a new case to come before it in order to repair a prior error.
Arizona's proposed citizenship ban provides a perfect opportunity for that process to happen. We can't wait for the intellectual battle to begin.
A few current and former politicians attempt to play the race card (and fail miserably)
USA Today has a craptacular front-page article in today's print edition on how (mostly liberal Democrat) black candidates across the country are struggling to win state and local public office despite their perception that President Obama's win in 2008 was supposed to magically make such elections a relative shoo-in for them (we don't know why that would be the case, especially lately, as Dear Leader's approval rating is plummeting by the hour).
"'It's tremendously disappointing,' says former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder, the first African American elected to lead a state. 'We're going to end up with maybe one governor, maybe with no senator, losing chairmanships if we do lose the House. ... We will have been set back.'"
Who's "we", sir, and why are you keeping score like it's some sort of sporting contest? That sounds awfully jingoistic on your part, especially the part about losing House chairmanships, which uniformly applies to whomever occupies those jobs should the majority change hands (besides, corrupt louts such as Charlie Rangel and William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson seem to be quite adept at losing their powerful committee positions and chairmanships just fine all on their own due to their law-breaking and blatant abuses of power).
Can anyone imagine a former governor who also happened to be a conservative white male make a bitter reference as to how "we" aren't getting enough of a piece of the pie? The political fallout would rightly be enormous. Yet Wilder gets to spout this racist nonsense without challenge. Well, not here he doesn't.
Would you simply prefer, Mr. Wilder, to announce what percentage of each position would be acceptable to you, since you seem to be so certain that minority candidates can't win on their own merits despite thousands of examples to the contrary all across the country? It appears that you wish there to be some sort of quota system. Well, that's not going to happen. We don't seem to remember King carving out an exception for minority liberals when he spoke about judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
Notice how Wilder doesn't bother to note the successes of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Judge Janice Rogers Brown, former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Republican Party chairman Michael Steele or any other black conservative in a position of power and influence, even down to the likes of Paradise Valley, Arizona Mayor Vernon Parker. They aren't on the Democratic reservation, you see, so they naturally don't count.
The poster boy for this sad new phenomenon, according to the story, is Florida Democratic (naturally) Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is now floundering in his run for U.S. Senator of that state. Since he's not getting his expected "Obama bounce" simply because of his looks, Mr. Meek is sadly going to have to campaign on his own personal merits, which include being involved in a high-profile corruption scandal:
"[His opponent] is referring to federal funding Meek sought for a developer, now awaiting trial on fraud charges, who put Meek's mother on his payroll. Meek succeeded his mother, Carrie, in Congress in 2003."
Hm, using one's political power to influence real-estate deals to benefit themselves or their families, which is precisely what Obama is accused of being involved in up in Chi-Town five or six years ago when the President himself was but a U.S. Senator. No wonder Meek is so upset. Why can't he get a complete pass as well?
For some time after its founding USA Today was derided as a "McPaper" and only in recent years has it managed to shake that reputation. Running lead stories such as this one isn't going to help advance that effort.
"'It's tremendously disappointing,' says former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder, the first African American elected to lead a state. 'We're going to end up with maybe one governor, maybe with no senator, losing chairmanships if we do lose the House. ... We will have been set back.'"
Who's "we", sir, and why are you keeping score like it's some sort of sporting contest? That sounds awfully jingoistic on your part, especially the part about losing House chairmanships, which uniformly applies to whomever occupies those jobs should the majority change hands (besides, corrupt louts such as Charlie Rangel and William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson seem to be quite adept at losing their powerful committee positions and chairmanships just fine all on their own due to their law-breaking and blatant abuses of power).
Can anyone imagine a former governor who also happened to be a conservative white male make a bitter reference as to how "we" aren't getting enough of a piece of the pie? The political fallout would rightly be enormous. Yet Wilder gets to spout this racist nonsense without challenge. Well, not here he doesn't.
Would you simply prefer, Mr. Wilder, to announce what percentage of each position would be acceptable to you, since you seem to be so certain that minority candidates can't win on their own merits despite thousands of examples to the contrary all across the country? It appears that you wish there to be some sort of quota system. Well, that's not going to happen. We don't seem to remember King carving out an exception for minority liberals when he spoke about judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
Notice how Wilder doesn't bother to note the successes of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Judge Janice Rogers Brown, former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Republican Party chairman Michael Steele or any other black conservative in a position of power and influence, even down to the likes of Paradise Valley, Arizona Mayor Vernon Parker. They aren't on the Democratic reservation, you see, so they naturally don't count.
The poster boy for this sad new phenomenon, according to the story, is Florida Democratic (naturally) Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is now floundering in his run for U.S. Senator of that state. Since he's not getting his expected "Obama bounce" simply because of his looks, Mr. Meek is sadly going to have to campaign on his own personal merits, which include being involved in a high-profile corruption scandal:
"[His opponent] is referring to federal funding Meek sought for a developer, now awaiting trial on fraud charges, who put Meek's mother on his payroll. Meek succeeded his mother, Carrie, in Congress in 2003."
Hm, using one's political power to influence real-estate deals to benefit themselves or their families, which is precisely what Obama is accused of being involved in up in Chi-Town five or six years ago when the President himself was but a U.S. Senator. No wonder Meek is so upset. Why can't he get a complete pass as well?
For some time after its founding USA Today was derided as a "McPaper" and only in recent years has it managed to shake that reputation. Running lead stories such as this one isn't going to help advance that effort.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Criminal assault caught on tape
Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) assaults a teenage boy on a public sidewalk solely because the student had the temerity to ask the pathetic bully if he happens to "support the President's "agenda".
If the roles had been reversed the boy would be sitting in a jail cell right now waiting to be arraigned by a Federal magistrate for assaulting a member of Congress. Why isn't the same happening to this thug?
Via Andre Campos, Can't-Keep-My-Hands-To-Myself Etheridge's phone number is 919-821-9055 or 202-225-4531. Perhaps he would enjoy hearing from everyone who believes him to be a sorry excuse for an elected official.
If the roles had been reversed the boy would be sitting in a jail cell right now waiting to be arraigned by a Federal magistrate for assaulting a member of Congress. Why isn't the same happening to this thug?
Via Andre Campos, Can't-Keep-My-Hands-To-Myself Etheridge's phone number is 919-821-9055 or 202-225-4531. Perhaps he would enjoy hearing from everyone who believes him to be a sorry excuse for an elected official.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Unclear on the concept
We note with amusement (and more than a little disgust) the irony of a website that apparently wishes to turn a profit by selling clothing, accessories and other tchotchkes commemorating a brutal, homicidal thug who fervently believed that the state should own all means of production (and, naturally, all profits).
Bonus - "eco-friendly" apparel, for the discriminating and sensitive guerrilla to wear whilst gunning down the simpleton proles who refuse to quickly embrace the sweetly seductive embrace of Communism.
"Make the ultimate revolutionary fashion statement"
Unbelievable. What's next - Khmer Rouge Cola? Genocide is such thirsty work, you know.
Bonus - "eco-friendly" apparel, for the discriminating and sensitive guerrilla to wear whilst gunning down the simpleton proles who refuse to quickly embrace the sweetly seductive embrace of Communism.
"Make the ultimate revolutionary fashion statement"
Unbelievable. What's next - Khmer Rouge Cola? Genocide is such thirsty work, you know.
Hasn't there been enough spending already?
Dear Leader is now begging for 50 billion more dollars in "emergency" spending on top of his already breathtakingly profligate (as well as record-setting) wallet-opening that's now left our national debt at 13 trillion dollars or so, and increasing at an average rate of over 4 billion dollars every single day (your part is approximately $42,300, by the way. Better start saving your loose change to pay the Chinese when they come to collect what's owed them).
What the heck, right? It's all just Monopoly money at this point anyway.
"[President Obama said] the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters"
Since when did it become the Federal government's responsibility to fund state and local government positions regardless of whether or not any or all of those bureaucracies had been fiscally responsible? We must have been absent from school the day that (nonexistent) part of the Constitution was taught.
Fortunately for the average American peasant, even members of the President's own party are starting to see the folly of spending ourselves into oblivion as well as starting to get nervous about their increasingly precarious job status, and they are finally beginning to resist Obama's pleas to leave the money spigot wide open:
"'I think there is spending fatigue,' House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said recently. 'It's tough in both houses to get votes.'"
Hoyer knows what we do - that each vote for yet more spending without any corresponding cuts elsewhere in the bloated budget means there'll be plenty of votes in November, just not for Democrat candidates.
We're starting to think that no amount of money is ever going to be enough for the President, and that he's bound and determined to spend us into bankruptcy so that he'll be "reluctantly forced" to remake our society in one that more reflects his ideology. This is a man, you'll recall, who considered his brief stint of actually producing something useful by working at a private for-profit company as being a "spy behind enemy lines" so those core beliefs, despite his careful dancing around the substance of it, in fact can safely and accurately be labeled as Socialist.
November simply can't get here fast enough for us. This sham of a leader has to be reined in before he completely destroys what's left of our economy.
What the heck, right? It's all just Monopoly money at this point anyway.
"[President Obama said] the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters"
Since when did it become the Federal government's responsibility to fund state and local government positions regardless of whether or not any or all of those bureaucracies had been fiscally responsible? We must have been absent from school the day that (nonexistent) part of the Constitution was taught.
Fortunately for the average American peasant, even members of the President's own party are starting to see the folly of spending ourselves into oblivion as well as starting to get nervous about their increasingly precarious job status, and they are finally beginning to resist Obama's pleas to leave the money spigot wide open:
"'I think there is spending fatigue,' House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said recently. 'It's tough in both houses to get votes.'"
Hoyer knows what we do - that each vote for yet more spending without any corresponding cuts elsewhere in the bloated budget means there'll be plenty of votes in November, just not for Democrat candidates.
We're starting to think that no amount of money is ever going to be enough for the President, and that he's bound and determined to spend us into bankruptcy so that he'll be "reluctantly forced" to remake our society in one that more reflects his ideology. This is a man, you'll recall, who considered his brief stint of actually producing something useful by working at a private for-profit company as being a "spy behind enemy lines" so those core beliefs, despite his careful dancing around the substance of it, in fact can safely and accurately be labeled as Socialist.
November simply can't get here fast enough for us. This sham of a leader has to be reined in before he completely destroys what's left of our economy.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wise words from a couple of wise men
"In political rhetoric, "comprehensive immigration reform" means amnesty up front and promises of border control later - promises that have not been kept in the past and are unlikely to be kept in the future. Anyone who is serious, as distinguished from political, knows that you have to control your own borders before you can have an immigration policy that means anything in practice."
- Dr. Thomas Sowell
"Probably, the overwhelming majority of Mexican illegal immigrants are hardworking, honest and otherwise law-abiding members of the communities in which they reside. It would surely be a heart-wrenching scenario for such a person to be stopped for a driving infraction, have his illegal immigrant status discovered and face deportation proceedings. Regardless of the hardship suffered, being in the U.S. without authorization is a crime.
When crimes are committed, what should be done? Some people recommend amnesia, which turns out to be the root word for amnesty. But surely they don't propose it as a general response to crime where criminals confess their crime, pay some fine and apply to have their crimes overlooked. Amnesty supporters probably wish amnesty to apply to only illegal immigrants. That being the case, one wonders whether they wish it to apply to illegals past, present and future, regardless of race, ethnicity or country of origin.
Various estimates put the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. between 10 and 20 million. One argument says we can't round up and deport all those people. That argument differs little from one that says since we can't catch every burglar, we should grant burglars amnesty. Catching and imprisoning some burglars sends a message to would-be burglars that there might be a price to pay. Similarly, imprisoning some illegal immigrants and then deporting them after their sentences were served would send a signal to others who are here illegally or who are contemplating illegal entry that there's a price to pay."
- Dr. Walter Williams
We agree with the sentiments of these two learned men - secure the border first, then we'll discuss cleaning up the mess with which we're already stuck. The ol' switcheroo of "amnesty first, nothing second" was pulled once on the American people back in 1986; they won't allow it to be done to them a second time.
- Dr. Thomas Sowell
"Probably, the overwhelming majority of Mexican illegal immigrants are hardworking, honest and otherwise law-abiding members of the communities in which they reside. It would surely be a heart-wrenching scenario for such a person to be stopped for a driving infraction, have his illegal immigrant status discovered and face deportation proceedings. Regardless of the hardship suffered, being in the U.S. without authorization is a crime.
When crimes are committed, what should be done? Some people recommend amnesia, which turns out to be the root word for amnesty. But surely they don't propose it as a general response to crime where criminals confess their crime, pay some fine and apply to have their crimes overlooked. Amnesty supporters probably wish amnesty to apply to only illegal immigrants. That being the case, one wonders whether they wish it to apply to illegals past, present and future, regardless of race, ethnicity or country of origin.
Various estimates put the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. between 10 and 20 million. One argument says we can't round up and deport all those people. That argument differs little from one that says since we can't catch every burglar, we should grant burglars amnesty. Catching and imprisoning some burglars sends a message to would-be burglars that there might be a price to pay. Similarly, imprisoning some illegal immigrants and then deporting them after their sentences were served would send a signal to others who are here illegally or who are contemplating illegal entry that there's a price to pay."
- Dr. Walter Williams
We agree with the sentiments of these two learned men - secure the border first, then we'll discuss cleaning up the mess with which we're already stuck. The ol' switcheroo of "amnesty first, nothing second" was pulled once on the American people back in 1986; they won't allow it to be done to them a second time.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
The natural endpoint of any scam
If you're an American who currently:
has varicose veins, cataracts or a hernia;
suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome;
is overweight and happens to require a joint replacement;
has a gallbladder issue or who simply needs antibiotics or a prostate cancer test;
well then you'd better start to worry right about now as the martinets who run England, the quasi-Socialist Nanny state that provided the model for our country's shiny new, supposedly "cost-saving and treatment-preserving" scheme, has shown us the future of health care in our country by announcing that they're going to be forced to reduce or even impose a "blanket ban" on treatments for the above conditions in a futile effort to save some 28.75 billion U.S. dollars over the next four years from their utterly bankrupt National Health Service budget:
"Patients could find it harder to get into hospital under plans from the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence, which advises on drugs and procedures to be funded.
Chief executive Andrew Dillon said a review of clinical guidelines will be finished by the end of the year, which will include 'evidence of overuse' of treatments to 'see what the prospects (for savings) might be'."
But don't worry - you'll still be able to keep your doctor: he or she just won't be permitted to treat you for the above-mentioned ailments. You'll most likely just be given some symptomatic care and told to suck it up until your miserable proletarian life ends.
Rationing is quite obviously the only means of containing the out-of-control costs associated with providing "free" health care to everyone in a country, and that is exactly what is now beginning to happen to the British peasants as their benefits Ponzi scheme starts to collapse around their ears. We'll be next.
Still feeling good about your Obamacare?
has varicose veins, cataracts or a hernia;
suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome;
is overweight and happens to require a joint replacement;
has a gallbladder issue or who simply needs antibiotics or a prostate cancer test;
well then you'd better start to worry right about now as the martinets who run England, the quasi-Socialist Nanny state that provided the model for our country's shiny new, supposedly "cost-saving and treatment-preserving" scheme, has shown us the future of health care in our country by announcing that they're going to be forced to reduce or even impose a "blanket ban" on treatments for the above conditions in a futile effort to save some 28.75 billion U.S. dollars over the next four years from their utterly bankrupt National Health Service budget:
"Patients could find it harder to get into hospital under plans from the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence, which advises on drugs and procedures to be funded.
Chief executive Andrew Dillon said a review of clinical guidelines will be finished by the end of the year, which will include 'evidence of overuse' of treatments to 'see what the prospects (for savings) might be'."
But don't worry - you'll still be able to keep your doctor: he or she just won't be permitted to treat you for the above-mentioned ailments. You'll most likely just be given some symptomatic care and told to suck it up until your miserable proletarian life ends.
Rationing is quite obviously the only means of containing the out-of-control costs associated with providing "free" health care to everyone in a country, and that is exactly what is now beginning to happen to the British peasants as their benefits Ponzi scheme starts to collapse around their ears. We'll be next.
Still feeling good about your Obamacare?
The way the police are supposed to conduct themselves
The residents of Conyers, Georgia have good reason to be proud of their police chief, Gene Wilson.
Wilson was recently caught by a local news crew parking in a handicapped space while getting his breakfast from a local Chik-Fil-A (they serve breakfast?). Instead of cynically arguing that he was on official business (he wasn't) or pointing out that he was only there for a few minutes (he was), the chief simply publicly apologized in the local newspaper and ordered another cop to write him a ticket, which comes with a hefty $280 fine.
One would cynically suspect that the administrator was merely putting on an act after being caught red-handed by the "Action News Team", except for the fact that he apparently has a prior history of doing the right thing,
"This was not the first time the chief turned himself in. He also received a ticket for running a red light while working in Sandy Springs."
so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt in this incident.
Because of Chief Wilson's actions, people who live in Conyers no longer can have any complaints about getting a citation for being similarly lazy, as he has shown that no one there is above the law.
Good show, sir.
Wilson was recently caught by a local news crew parking in a handicapped space while getting his breakfast from a local Chik-Fil-A (they serve breakfast?). Instead of cynically arguing that he was on official business (he wasn't) or pointing out that he was only there for a few minutes (he was), the chief simply publicly apologized in the local newspaper and ordered another cop to write him a ticket, which comes with a hefty $280 fine.
One would cynically suspect that the administrator was merely putting on an act after being caught red-handed by the "Action News Team", except for the fact that he apparently has a prior history of doing the right thing,
"This was not the first time the chief turned himself in. He also received a ticket for running a red light while working in Sandy Springs."
so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt in this incident.
Because of Chief Wilson's actions, people who live in Conyers no longer can have any complaints about getting a citation for being similarly lazy, as he has shown that no one there is above the law.
Good show, sir.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Turning it back on the apologists
An anonymous commenter to an article detailing Rep. Linda Sanchez's (D-CA Illegal Aliens) efforts to distance herself from her knee-jerk assertion the other day (which was hypocritically racist in its own right) that "white supremacist groups were behind the Arizona law, which takes effect July 29", saying her words are being "misconstrued":
I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.
We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. Into Mexico, and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.
...We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws.
I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way over?
Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:
1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.
4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.
5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.
7. Please plan to feed my grand kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico, but, I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. Flag from my house top, put U S. Flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.
13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.
14. I want to receive free food stamps.
15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.
16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.
17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $4,500 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.
I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. From Mexico. I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.
Thank you so much for your kind help. You're the man!!"
Unfortunately for Ms. Sanchez, the repugnant words she denies uttering were plainly captured on tape. Click here to listen to them yourself.
The above commenter is quite correct - her stated position sounds quite ludicrous when the situation is reversed, doesn't it?
The bitter old crone is sent packing
Helen Thomas, the vile gargoylish darling of the White House Press Corps who recently suggested that all Israeli Jews "get the hell out" of the country in which they've fought at least 3 wars to avoid annihilation from unprovoked attacks by Muslims, has retired (no doubt one step ahead of being canned) from her position with Hearst, effective immediately. Her book partner has also announced that he is dropping all plans to ever work with her again.
Thomas's named front-row chair in the White House Briefing Room (given simply for her length of service, not for any particularly outstanding journalism) should be left forever empty as a stark reminder of just who the racists in this country really are (hint: the ivory-towered liberals who control academia and the mainstream media).
Good riddance. We have no doubt, though, that her hate-filled mug will surface on another media outlet in short order.
Probably on Al-Jazeera.
Thomas's named front-row chair in the White House Briefing Room (given simply for her length of service, not for any particularly outstanding journalism) should be left forever empty as a stark reminder of just who the racists in this country really are (hint: the ivory-towered liberals who control academia and the mainstream media).
Good riddance. We have no doubt, though, that her hate-filled mug will surface on another media outlet in short order.
Probably on Al-Jazeera.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
A snapshot of life
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Scottsdale, Arizona
3:09 p.m.
A small strip mall near the center of Old Town Scottsdale (click to embiggen):
All of the stores are out of business, with the landlord offering "newly reduced rents" for the empty spaces. The sole exception is the local psychic, who is still open and seems to be doing a brisk business.
It certainly appears that this seer "knew" the bad economy was coming and planned accordingly. Either that or all of the displaced shop owners are lining up to get some advice as to their next move.
Scottsdale, Arizona
3:09 p.m.
A small strip mall near the center of Old Town Scottsdale (click to embiggen):
All of the stores are out of business, with the landlord offering "newly reduced rents" for the empty spaces. The sole exception is the local psychic, who is still open and seems to be doing a brisk business.
It certainly appears that this seer "knew" the bad economy was coming and planned accordingly. Either that or all of the displaced shop owners are lining up to get some advice as to their next move.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
No class
"After the last eight years, it's great to have a president who knows what a library is."
"Sir" Paul McCartney, demeaning himself at our White House by taking a cheap shot at one of our former Presidents, all while the drug-addled ex-Beatle was ostensibly being "honored" at a non-political event.
Way to prove you're worthy of that knighthood, jerk.
We suppose one can take the ill-mannered hippie out of the Liverpool slums, but...
"Sir" Paul McCartney, demeaning himself at our White House by taking a cheap shot at one of our former Presidents, all while the drug-addled ex-Beatle was ostensibly being "honored" at a non-political event.
Way to prove you're worthy of that knighthood, jerk.
We suppose one can take the ill-mannered hippie out of the Liverpool slums, but...
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Look around you, for Pete's sake
The city councils of Tacoma and Seattle, Washington are daring to condemn Arizona's new law designed to combat illegal immigration, one of them (Seattle) even going so far as to institute an official boycott and travel ban by city workers. The towns' burghers are taking this nosy position into another state's business even as the entire state of Washington is, oddly enough, in the midst of a huge spike in serious crimes being committed by the very individuals that those clueless liberals up in the Pacific Northwest fervently claim simply aren't a problem once they arrive in this country:
"Currently, over half of the individuals on the Washington State Patrol's Most Wanted List are suspected illegal immigrants... There are about 50,000 felony warrants currently issued in Washington State and according to a source in the U.S. Marshall's office between 30-40 percent are believed to be illegal immigrants."
We're going to enjoy seeing those political ostriches attempt to justify their sanctimonious lecturing of the residents of another state to their own constituents should this current wave of felonies continue at this pace.
UPDATE: Links added, edited for content and clarity.
UPDATE: Links added, edited for content and clarity.
Unclear on the concept
13 workers at a Pei Wei restaurant (an Asian-themed quick-service chain) in Chandler, Arizona skipped work last Saturday to attend the big rally protesting this state's new immigration law, leaving their employer high and dry on a key business day.
13 workers got canned the very next day, including one with ten years of service:
"'I can understand it because that’s their business and we were supposed to work, but come on, they have to understand us too,' said former Pei Wei employee Elizabeth Serafin"
Oh, we think your former bosses understood you and your comrades' work ethic just fine, which is why they are now your former bosses.
Ironically, these sorts of entry-level jobs are the very positions in which large numbers of illegal immigrants were previously squeezing out legal workers such as (presumably) Ms. Serafin.
Good luck explaining your publicly-declared decision at your next job interview, ma'am.
13 workers got canned the very next day, including one with ten years of service:
"'I can understand it because that’s their business and we were supposed to work, but come on, they have to understand us too,' said former Pei Wei employee Elizabeth Serafin"
Oh, we think your former bosses understood you and your comrades' work ethic just fine, which is why they are now your former bosses.
Ironically, these sorts of entry-level jobs are the very positions in which large numbers of illegal immigrants were previously squeezing out legal workers such as (presumably) Ms. Serafin.
Good luck explaining your publicly-declared decision at your next job interview, ma'am.
The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...
... this one's Keystone Kop-worthy on many levels, but we'll give this week's JBT award to the on-duty officers who responded to the following incident based on their unprofessional attitude towards someone who was a mere former member of their little brotherhood.
A Census worker (who himself ironically is a former New Jersey police officer) is arrested in Puna, Hawaii on a misdemeanor trespassing charge for attempting to give a Census form to an off-duty police officer at the cop's home on the Big Island:
"I handed [the responding officers] the Census and expected them to hand them to this guy and say, 'That's it,'" Haas said. 'They walked over and talked to him for a minute or two, then walked back to me ... and then stuffed it into my chest, and said, 'He doesn't have to enter your Census. He doesn't have to enter any Census. He doesn't have to fill out any of your forms or answer any of your questions. And if I were you, I'd get into my car and get the hell outta here, right now.'
'I turned to him and said, 'Or what?' And he said, 'I'll lock you up.'' And I turned back and said, 'So make your case.' They threw the cuffs on me, took me down to Keaau Police Station and I waited there until my daughter bailed me out.' Haas' bail was $25."
One the one hand, the off-duty officer has private property rights and (theoretically) the ability to order any person off his lawn whenever he wishes. On the other, the Federal government also has the Constitutionally-mandated duty to conduct a Census (although certainly not anywhere near their current level of intrusive probing). Who wins? Well, we're going to eventually find out:
"The U.S. Attorney's office filed papers Thursday in federal court in Honolulu to take the case of 57-year-old Russell Haas out of 3rd District Court. That will pit the feds against local prosecutors.
'I'm looking to have it kept in state court,' county Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Bridges said Friday."
It appears that even more of our precious tax money is now going to be wasted over this jurisdictional turf war. Outstanding.
The two points we're taking away from this incident -
1. Does anyone honestly think that the Census worker would have been the one hauled off to the pokey if the other party to this dispute had turned out to be anyone other than a brother officer?
2. If multiple police officers somehow believe for whatever reason that they have no obligation to complete their Census form, why should anyone else feel compelled to do so?
A Census worker (who himself ironically is a former New Jersey police officer) is arrested in Puna, Hawaii on a misdemeanor trespassing charge for attempting to give a Census form to an off-duty police officer at the cop's home on the Big Island:
"I handed [the responding officers] the Census and expected them to hand them to this guy and say, 'That's it,'" Haas said. 'They walked over and talked to him for a minute or two, then walked back to me ... and then stuffed it into my chest, and said, 'He doesn't have to enter your Census. He doesn't have to enter any Census. He doesn't have to fill out any of your forms or answer any of your questions. And if I were you, I'd get into my car and get the hell outta here, right now.'
'I turned to him and said, 'Or what?' And he said, 'I'll lock you up.'' And I turned back and said, 'So make your case.' They threw the cuffs on me, took me down to Keaau Police Station and I waited there until my daughter bailed me out.' Haas' bail was $25."
One the one hand, the off-duty officer has private property rights and (theoretically) the ability to order any person off his lawn whenever he wishes. On the other, the Federal government also has the Constitutionally-mandated duty to conduct a Census (although certainly not anywhere near their current level of intrusive probing). Who wins? Well, we're going to eventually find out:
"The U.S. Attorney's office filed papers Thursday in federal court in Honolulu to take the case of 57-year-old Russell Haas out of 3rd District Court. That will pit the feds against local prosecutors.
'I'm looking to have it kept in state court,' county Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Bridges said Friday."
It appears that even more of our precious tax money is now going to be wasted over this jurisdictional turf war. Outstanding.
The two points we're taking away from this incident -
1. Does anyone honestly think that the Census worker would have been the one hauled off to the pokey if the other party to this dispute had turned out to be anyone other than a brother officer?
2. If multiple police officers somehow believe for whatever reason that they have no obligation to complete their Census form, why should anyone else feel compelled to do so?
Breathtaking stupidity from some of the only ones "professional" enough to carry firearms in public
A hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada decides to conduct a drill to test its security procedures in the event of an attack by an armed crazy person.
Sounds perfectly reasonable and prudent so far.
Then they had to go and get all idiotic about it:
"An off-duty cop pretending to be a terrorist stormed into a hospital intensive care unit brandishing a handgun, which he pointed at nurses while herding them down a corridor and into a room.
There, after harrowing moments, he explained that the whole caper was a training exercise."
Did we forget to mention that the genius hospital administrators didn't bother to inform their hapless (and now emotionally scarred) employees before embarking on this boondoggle?
"The staff was supposed to have been told in advance of the exercise, but there was a 'disconnect,' [hospital spokesbuffoon Andy] North said. That won’t happen again, he said."
One would certainly hope not. Especially after the expected onslaught of lawsuits that are surely forthcoming.
The "disconnect" appears to be between the ears of the heads of both the hospital as well as the local police department. On what kind of an incompetent force does a cop (as well as his bosses, since they appear to have signed off on this little exercise) think it's showing perfectly good judgment to decide to traumatize innocent people in this fashion?
Nevada is a "shall-issue" state. What if a staff person or visitor who happened to be lawfully carrying a firearm had seen this farce unfolding and had unwittingly (and properly) taken out the "actor"? That Samaritan would no doubt now be facing charges of murdering a police officer, even though he or she certainly had a perfectly reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm to themselves and a number of other people at the time.
One wonders if that cop's handgun was loaded at the time of his "performance". If so, he is guilty of both aggravated assault and the issuance of terroristic threats, and should be prosecuted accordingly.
See, this is why police officers are the only ones "professional" enough to carry guns in public. Your average yokel peasant would probably decide to pull some kind of stupid, brainless stunt to test the reactions of....
Oh. Never mind.
Sounds perfectly reasonable and prudent so far.
Then they had to go and get all idiotic about it:
"An off-duty cop pretending to be a terrorist stormed into a hospital intensive care unit brandishing a handgun, which he pointed at nurses while herding them down a corridor and into a room.
There, after harrowing moments, he explained that the whole caper was a training exercise."
Did we forget to mention that the genius hospital administrators didn't bother to inform their hapless (and now emotionally scarred) employees before embarking on this boondoggle?
"The staff was supposed to have been told in advance of the exercise, but there was a 'disconnect,' [hospital spokesbuffoon Andy] North said. That won’t happen again, he said."
One would certainly hope not. Especially after the expected onslaught of lawsuits that are surely forthcoming.
The "disconnect" appears to be between the ears of the heads of both the hospital as well as the local police department. On what kind of an incompetent force does a cop (as well as his bosses, since they appear to have signed off on this little exercise) think it's showing perfectly good judgment to decide to traumatize innocent people in this fashion?
Nevada is a "shall-issue" state. What if a staff person or visitor who happened to be lawfully carrying a firearm had seen this farce unfolding and had unwittingly (and properly) taken out the "actor"? That Samaritan would no doubt now be facing charges of murdering a police officer, even though he or she certainly had a perfectly reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm to themselves and a number of other people at the time.
One wonders if that cop's handgun was loaded at the time of his "performance". If so, he is guilty of both aggravated assault and the issuance of terroristic threats, and should be prosecuted accordingly.
See, this is why police officers are the only ones "professional" enough to carry guns in public. Your average yokel peasant would probably decide to pull some kind of stupid, brainless stunt to test the reactions of....
Oh. Never mind.
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