Reading The American Spectator today, Norman Podhoertz in the Wall Street Journal and Nile Gardiner of the UK Telegraph, reminded me of Evan Thomas (grandson of that loser but perennial socialist presidential candidate, Norman Thomas) declaring to Chris “tingly leg” Matthews in 2009 that “Obama is sorta god.”
(As an aside, Chris really should have this tingly leg thing checked out. It could be neuropathy caused by undiagnosed diabetes or something and maybe shove himself away from those jelly doughnuts, just in case it is. A weekly workout in the MSNBC gym wouldn’t hurt him, either. His god-dess Michelle will be the first to tell him, and the rest of us, that obesity is the number 1 cause of diabetes.)
But I digress and that’s a whole other blog.
Those were the days, weren’t they? Obama on the cover of every “news” magazine in the grocery store checkout line with the celestial halo around him, head upturned and nose in the air; the frown of determination and decisiveness across his face.
Under the spell of the messiah on Rolling Stone
Yes, Evan, he really was above us – on a ledge of your making. And every journalist in the nation, nay world, was all too quick and willing to acquiesce to their new found god Obama. His was the soaring rhetoric that was going to heal the world:
In the American Spectator, George Neumayr relates that “Obama loomed even larger than Lincoln. He was a “Lightworker,” as San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford put it in 2008, “that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment.” [A bizarre earthly experiment? Does anyone really talk like this? Maybe if you were in a 70’s consciousness raising group, or something…]
Now that the Lightworker has fallen to earth and the glorious new way of being on the planet turns out to be a lowered credit rating, some of his prominent supporters have fallen silent or resentful. Heady Lincoln comparisons have given way to Carter comparisons, sotto voce: “We are watching him turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes,” an anonymous Democratic Senator said to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.
Yep, well it’s a long, hard fall when you’re up “above the world” looking down. It’s an even harder fall when you start to believe all the mythology about yourself.
The new Emperial president.
There is a disturbing let them eat cake mentality projected by the Obama White House … No US presidency in modern times has been more elitist or out of touch than the present one, which exudes the kind of condescending left-wing snobbery that is normally the preserve of an ivory tower common room. President Obama looks increasingly aloof and out of sync with the American people, three quarters of whom now believe the country is heading down the wrong track – including a staggering 58 percent of Democrats, according to Rasmussen.Nile Gardiner/UK Telegraph
Norman Podhoretz says that his “own answer to the question, “What Happened to Obama?” is that nothing happened to him. He is still the same anti-American leftist he was before becoming our president, and it is this rather than inexperience or incompetence or weakness or stupidity that accounts for the richly deserved failure both at home and abroad of the policies stemming from that reprehensible cast of mind.”
Last week, on Hannity’s radio show he discussed a recent column by Jeffery Lord/The American Spectator, called American Tipping Point. In it, Lord discusses Malcolm Gladwell’s book Tipping Point and makes comparisons to America’s tipping points at different times in our history and the rise of conservatism and the Tea Party.
Lord says that: Thanks to the Tea Party movement, Conservatism is on the verge of a major victory that dwarfs the technical and actual realities of whatever the details of the resulting deficit deal passed last night. Yes, there is a long, long way to go. But the idea that America doesn’t, in fact, have to be governed for eternity as a debtor nation with a mammoth, out-of-control, ever-expanding government is winning the day. It is tipping the balance with increasing decisiveness against an idea that has become so much a part of conventional wisdom that even some conservatives, startlingly including, inexplicably, the Wall Street Journal, have displayed the wobblies at the thought of confronting the Leviathan. The WSJ’s attacks yesterday against Jim DeMint, Michele Bachmann and Sean Hannity, saying “sooner or later the GOP had to give up the hostage” — follows another editorial in which the paper railed against Tea Party members as “hobbits.” The paper, sounding like cranky British Tories in 1775 Boston rather than the bold, forward-looking paper that championed the much-derided ideas of Ronald Reagan, wildly bought into the liberal notion that the Tea Party from Hobbitville is somehow holding the government hostage, instead of the other way around. In fact Big Government liberalism has spent decades holding and trying to hold the average American hostage to all manner of outrageous tax rates, taxes and regulations on everything from capital gains to sex (in Harry Reid’s Nevada) to soda, SUVs and poker.
Lord chronicles the rise of conservatism from Senator Robert Taft’s strident opposition to FDR’s mega New Deal in the 30’s, through William F. Buckley to the great Ronald Reagan to Mark Levin’s landmark best seller and Tea Party bible, Liberty and Tyranny and how all these little, or sometimes large events, are causing a tipping point in American history. He says that conservatism is spreading almost like a virus: in Gladwell’s vocabulary, “connectors” — “people with a particular and rare set of social gifts” who have the ability to “spread” an idea like an epidemic, a Tipping Point is in the works. Henry Regnery, for example, published and made a star of Buckley, who befriended Reagan who inspired Limbaugh, who was befriended by Buckley and placed on the cover of National Review, with Limbaugh in turn aiding Hannity and Levin and Levin’s book inspiring the Tea Party etc., etc.
Reading Lord, once again gave me hope. And reminded me that in Beck’s words, we are not alone. Most of America is conservative to some degree. Most of Americans want to be or remain at least, middle class and we see that vanishing under Obama’s ideology. Most of America finds communism (call it socialism or European socialism but it’s still a form of communism) to be antithetical to the fundamentals of our beliefs and our founding. And most of America will fight it.
I hope they don’t think for a minute that we will forget being called racists, nazis, homophobes, Hobbits and terrorists. We will not. The real revolution will occur on November 6th, 2012 – bloodless, gunless and in a voting booth. They are being fore warned and to disregard the tipping point signs will be at their own peril.
It’s a must-read by Lord and I hope you will take the time to read it.
[Conservatives] see American Exceptionalism not as an empty cry for nationalism, but instead, the blessings of God that keep our nation strong, independent, and free. We see the American story as one of tenacity and triumph, not as one inherently flawed and in need of rewriting. We recognize the times we have stumbled but are assured that it is not due to weakness of our foundation, but instead, the imperfection of mankind.
Most importantly, conservatives see America as exceptional because of our shared belief in the dignity and creativity of the individual. We know that it is innately human to work, to risk, and to dream. We understand that these virtues, coupled with the conditions American Exceptionalism provides, allow us to enjoy the economic and social mobility that other countries envy. Liberals lament that such success wasn’t guaranteed. Herman Cain/The American Spectator
I am endlessly amazed at how backwards we humans get things in our lives. Just let me give you two very basic examples, one of which is a crime against humanity.
I keep reading in the New York Times that Mayor Bloomberg, a billionaire health nut, is on a campaign against having too much salt in foods in New York City restaurants. His belief is that New Yorkers and visitors shorten their life spans by eating too much salt and therefore raising their blood pressure in a dangerous way. If he took control over the salt content in New York restaurants, he could save a few dozen lives per year, he believes.
But, wait a moment. I also read in the New York Times that New York City is one of the abortion capitals of the nation, with a much higher rate of abortion than most other parts of the nation. And Mayor Bloomberg is a great fan of “…a woman’s right to choose…” to abort her baby.
As I calculate it in a rough way, New York City has about 8 million persons living there, or about (very roughly) 3 per cent of the nation’s population. And New York has a much higher abortion rate than the rest of the nation. So it is possible that New Yorkers have about 50,000 abortions per year, or maybe a lot more.
That is 50,000 killings of totally innocent children every year. Does Mayor Bloomberg think that his anti-salt campaign means much compared with that number? If he wants to save lives, why doesn’t he throw his tiny weight and his huge purse behind right to life? That’s a truly life-saving act.
Isn’t there some noise out there that this idiot Bloomberg is thinking of a presidential run in ’12? He wouldn’t stand a chance so he needs to forget that idea. Lord knows that he has nothing of importance in New York to worry about so he’s down here in Arizona investigating us!
And some more good stuff I read this morning:
Daniel Halper writes in today’s Weekly Standard that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is refusing to expand his investigative committee to include neo-Nazi and other extremist organizations in America because he believes that al Qaeda presents the clearest and most dangerous threat to national security. According to King: “Pursuant to our mandate, the Committee will continue to examine the threat of Islamic radicalization, and I will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States.”
samiam60 has a great blog including Robin of Berkeley (from American Thinker) on why so many liberals hate Sarah Palin.
Bob Mack has a touching blog from last night about the poor – no pathetic – medical care our vets are receiving.
Victor Davis Hanson at Pajamas Media writes on the consequences of the Egpytian chaos : “I think unfortunately we may go the 1940s “we can work with Mao”/1970s “no inordinate fear of communism”/2000s “jihad can mean a personal struggle” route, where liberals believe that totalitarian nationalists somehow admire the American Revolution and our lack of a colonial heritage, and, as closet moderates, wish to work with us. That translates into a backdoor courtship with the Muslim Brotherhood…”
I can hardly wait to hear what Rush and Levin have to say on Monday! And if Madcow, the DeadHeadEd and Matthews aren’t quaking in their boots, they’re just ignorant.
If Olbermann and other liberals are somehow successful in expunging Palin from public life as a result of this horrific tragedy, it will embolden them to dismiss the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, the whole Tea Party Movement and anybody else they deem to be undesirable. But if liberals succeed in ridding themselves of the riff-raff and still cannot bring about hope and change, then who will be left to blame? Liberals get no satisfaction in taking responsibility for their own actions. Aaron Goldstein/ The American Spectator
As an old year closes and a new one beckons, here’s the question before us all, a question that challenges us each annum. Do we boldly paddle ahead, no matter how small and unstable our vessel seems, into whatever awaits beyond the year’s final edge? Or do we desperately hold on or, worse, cower before the unknown? Do we rest on laurels or, instead, try to accomplish more, do more good, and brave (as a verb) new worlds?
For our part, conservatives made significant strides this year, but the civic waves are not yet sweet enough for the lasting health of this, our nation. Like Reepicheep, we conservatives have been conditioned, in this case by Ronald Reagan rather than a dryad, to believe we have a rendezvous with destiny. Nor should we forget that we serve not just a nation, but the One who created all nations and endowed us with the liberty to choose. We are at this year’s tail end. Unhand the tail, and reach for the next great task before us.Quin Hillyar/The American Spectator
Enjoy your weekend. This is 2 day a respite from the real work ahead and unlike TheOne, I don’t see too many vacations or golf outings in the coming years for us. The communist progressives (or as they now want to be called – the NoLabels) have gotten their entire body – not just a foot or 2 – in the door and they will not give up until they own the whole house. . . and senate, Supreme Court, every Department of __ fill in the blank and every regulatory agency that controls our lives.
(Of course we all know that for these next 2 years at least, they can’t own THE House.)
Conservatives have to resolve this weekend that in the coming year we make more calls, send more emails, blog more and post more, carry signs if need be and make more noise while we hold the Congress’ feet to the fire. Many of them still need to be reminded that their jobs are dependent on the will of The People; that Congress is a right-to-work place and they hold their jobs only at the pleasure and will of The People. If it takes more than an election cycle or 3, in the end, they can and will be fired if they fail to uphold the Constitution. They are on notice.
Every single one of us have to redouble our efforts this year. TheOne and his OtherOne (aka Michelle) cannot be allowed another term of White House cocktail parties, in-house concerts and globe jetting vacations at our expense.
We made great strides in ’10 and we can’t let up now.
We have huge battles ahead with immigration, unemployment, unions busting state and federal budgets, internet censorship, EPA, FDA and Department of Ag regulations, energy concerns . . .
Roll up your sleeves on Monday morning and do not forget:
We are the patriots. We are the in the right, on the right and the Right-eous.
Peasants in the Belarus region of the Soviet Union
This is an excellent read by Jeffery Lord of The American Spectator about the CEO of NPR and her interesting history in the Soviet Union, when it was still a soviet union. Apparently, Vivian has enough experience with Soviet style journalism to justify how and why she fired Juan Williams.
According to Mr. Lord, Vivian was a “fixer” in the old Soviet Union: someone who could not just speak the Russian language, but was able to navigate around the society and the country and “make things happen” for her American guests.
Judging by her recent purge of Juan Williams, Vivian learned how to silence an opinion she finds disagreeable, too.
This is a story that will be ignored by the msm because it will require a little digging and the need to ask some hard questions. But I can promise that when David Limbaugh writes his second volume of “Crimes Against Liberty” it will be heavily covered.
In a nutshell, 3 Catholic hospitals are for sale and will be closing in VP Biden’s hometown – Scranton, PA – all because of ObamaCare. The CEO of these hospitals was apparently strong armed by Obama operatives, behind the scenes, to walk back his original statement that ObamaCare “absolutely” was a major cause for these closures and sales.
Arm twisting by this regime is not a new thing:
As listed by the Wall Street Journal, those unintended consequences [of the passage of ObamaCare] included 2011 premium increases shooting up as high as 9%; “multibillion-dollar corporate writedowns by Verizon, AT&T, Caterpillar and others”; the disruption of insurance markets, a show-down with McDonald’s, the imposition of price controls on premiums, insurers withdrawing from Medicare Advantage.
In what appears to have become a pattern, the response from the Obama Administration has been repeatedly swift and harsh — compared by one critic as an episode straight out of the Sopranos, the famous HBO mobster series.
Henry Waxman, at first demanded that there be a congressional hearing in an attempt to intimidate these big businesses. But then he was informed that “hey, they were actually abiding by the law” when they informed their employees and insured of what was in store for them thanks to the new health care bill. Pigface Waxman had to back off and crawl back under his rock.
In Scranton “a town that is heavily Catholic, the realization that three hospitals that did not perform abortions could be sold to owners who would allow the procedure is infuriating.”
The abortion allowance in ObamaCare is tantamount to why these closures are happening. You will read this story and the flimsy change of heart by Joe Sestak (the one hold out on the ObamaCare vote because of his so-called pro-life position) will become clear. Sestak and other Catholics, including Sister Carol, have sold out to the Obama administration.
If you haven’t heard this yet – it’s been all over facebook since last night – here’s your chance to hear Mark shred celebrity attorney whore, Gloria Allred.
If Jerry Brown wins this election, and the citizens of California blow this chance, they deserve everything that happens in that state. And Allred will have single handedly done it.
“Brace yourselves, because the war with Muslims has just begun,” 31-year-old Faisal Shahzad told a federal judge. “Consider me the first droplet of the blood that will follow.”
Stop Sharia in America
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Obamas Wisdom and Terror in the Street
"We can absorb a terrorist attack. We'll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever...we absorbed it and we are stronger."
Diary of a Mad Conservative 