Highly Pertinent But Sensitive Question

Is it racist to note that our country is becoming a watermelon republic?

Obamacare Repeal Chimera and a Practical Alternative

If a candidate for election to any public office is seeking support on the basis of a pledge to repeal Obamacare, write him or her off. Any such candidate is a lying, out of touch with reality, or given to spending time on useless endeavors such as tilting at windmills.

Repeal of the health care monstrosity that Obama and his cohorts enacted by resorting to the most unsavory tactics possible in our political system would be wonderful . . . but reality has to be faced.

It ain't gonna happen. 

It can't. At least not until after Obama is out of office. In the first place, even if Republicans win control of the House of Reprehensibles and pass repeal legislation, no such measure would make it out of the U.S. Skanksty, where it is impossible for the GOP to gain the 60 seats necessary to send such legislation to the president. Even if that were miraculously to be achieved, is there anybody out there who seriously believes Obama would not veto any such legislation, or that both of the dismal bodies of congress conceivably would override his veto?

Therefore, repeal is out until at least 2013. That, however, does not mean that all is lost until then. There is a practical alternative if serious Obamacare opponents win control of both the House and the Sty in November or even just the House -- the body that originates  appropriation bills.

All the House would have to do to stop Obamacare for all practical purposes would be to steadfastly refuse to appropriate the funds it or the myriad bureaucratic bodies necessary for its operation. Just defund it.

And if a stalwart House majority has the gumption to do that it also could look at other counterproductive and useless federal programs and organizations to do away with -- not by legally eliminating them but by drying up the flow of funds necessary to keep them from withering away to practical extinction. The Department of Education and the Department of Energy immediately leap to mind.

In the meantime, view with suspicion political candidates who fuel fantasies. Many are mere opportunists, committed to nothing but their own careers, who are seeking to advance by riding the currently widespread and justified voter anger over a government that more and more resembles an overgrown third world regime.

State and Local Public Debt Addicts Running Amok

Largely overshadowed by the alarming levels that the federal deficit and debt have reached, state and local public debts in the U.S. have without much notice risen to record and unsustainable levels. Such debts, incurred to finance dubious and even foolish spending, now have reached 22% of the nation's gross domestic product, according to this report. This is up from 15% just 10 years ago. With  the ongoing feckless spending spree unchecked by oblivious taxpaying voters who eventually will be stuck with the tab, the report notes that the state and local debt is on track to reach 24% of GDP in just two more years. What has been and is going on is, as the report shows,  truly scandalous, and,  has the potential for ending in another nationwide economic catastrophe.

Californians (and Everybody Else) Need to Boycott California Over Its Legal Requirement for Racial Discrimination

California Penal Code Section 834b:

"834b. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.

"(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the following:

"(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status.

"(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or leave the United States.

"(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal status and provide any additional information that may be requested by any other public entity.

"(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city, county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly prohibited."

Others' Comments on Obama's Disengagement

" . . . during the last seven weeks of spewing oil and rampant unemployment, he [Obama] has frolicked and danced through three major White House music parties," according to John Gibson writing in the New York Post.  He noted that at the White House through it all "the Gatsby-like parties roll on as if happy days were here again."

And then there is James Taranto explaining the American Nero in The Wall Street Journal by pointing out that "[i]f the president is acting like an emperor, he surely has been encouraged to do so by the obeisance of media figures like Newsweek's Evan Thomas, who a year ago when his magazine was still in business, described Obama as 'sort of God.'" Mr. Taranto said that description "raises an age-old question: Can God make a rock so big he can't lift it, and when is he going to use it to plug the damn hole?"  Perhaps, Mr. Taranto concluded, "Evan Thomas was right, Obama is God, and he's just working in mysterious ways."

Spewing Hubris Before Displaying Incompetence to Check Spread of Oil Over All of the Gulf's Troubled Waters

Byron York in Washington Examiner on June 6: 

It's not mentioned much now, but in the late summer of 2008, a major hurricane, Gustav, was in the Gulf of Mexico and headed toward New Orleans, threatening a replay of the disastrous Katrina experience. On September 1, 2008, Barack Obama, fresh from his Roman-colonnade speech on the final night of the Democratic convention in Denver, talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about Gustav and the Gulf. The question: As president, could he handle an emergency like that? Obama pointed to the size of his campaign and its multi-million dollar budget as evidence of his executive abilities. "Our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear over the last couple of years," Obama said. That executive ability, he added, "indicates the degree to which we can provide the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect."

That of course was then . . . when he was campaigning. Performance, or its absence, is now. Detached lethargy from the get go, followed by photo ops, and then name calling, finger pointing at, and blaming others.  He claims credit for everything that works well, like the sun rising and setting on schedule, but when something doesn't go swimmingly the buck never seems to stop with the guy who reads the teleprompter and talks so smoothly.

Jefferson's Wisdom

Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges, and Governors, shall all become wolves.

. . . Thomas Jefferson

   Letter to Edward Carrington

1787

2008 Update of The Sting . . . and Guess Who Got Stung

George Carlin Said It Best About Martha Stewart

" Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars.  O.J.  Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around. Osama Bin Laden too. But they take the ONE woman in America willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard, and they haul her off to jail."

Dennis Prager Q & A at University of Denver

Hope and Change in the Middle East

Nothing Surprising About Abundance or Distribution of Ignorance

Anyone who has watched the long standing tolerance that Americans have exhibited for the pervasive mismanagement of the country's finances will not be surprised by this confirmation that our citizens by and large are ignorant of the most basic economic realities.

Equally unsurprising is the finding that those who identified themselves as being progressive or very liberal were the most economically ignorant. Self identified liberals ranked a bit less ignorant of the dismal science's simplest fundamentals. Moderates ranked a bit better, with greater knowledge being exhibited by conservatives,  and very conservatives and libertarians ranking as the least ignorant of basic economic facts.

Running on Empty Administration Exposing Itself

Obama is taking time out from his usual frivolous pursuits to respond to the mounting anger over his administration's  inability to do anything about the spreading Gulf of Mexico environmental catastrophe to try to dazzle the public by (i) making more photo opportunity trips there, and (ii) engaging in angry but phony and empty rhetoric against those to whom it is trying to divert the criticism he is receiving for his failures to take any effective action to deal with the situation.

Never before in my long lifetime has the nation had a president so in love with himself, his words, and the trappings of office, and so devoid of any interest in, or qualifications or abilities for doing anything worthwhile for the country and its people.

Dim Bulbs Get a Glimmer . . . and Getting Angry

Governmental regulations long have been viewed with skepticism by conservatives and, especially libertarians but with favor by liberals/progressives. Now, however, as is made clear in this editorial, the latter group are awaking to a reality that the skeptics long have recognized: Government regulators (as is spelled out in this report) always end up as captives of those they were supposed to regulate, working with and for them rather than for the public.

Exotic But Unaffordable and Dangerous

America wanted and got something new and different, something almost exotic, when it elected Obama to the presidency. As is often the case when something new is tried, the novelty wears thin and gives way to the realization that, instead of being exotic, the previously unfamiliar thing is strange and, over the long haul, undesirable.

Thus, back on May 31, the first in your not so humble blogger's list of recommended readings was an essay by an Illinois professor that pointed out that Americans were becoming alienated from the alien they have placed in the White House. Now the always clear headed Dorothy Rabinowitz, in this Wall Street Journal piece, spells out in even greater detail just how far removed and remote Mr. Obama is from ordinary Americans and their shared experiences and views.

The inescapable fact is that America today is paying a very high price for, and exposing itself to great risks as a result of having an unAmerican president. That does not necessarily mean that the President is antiAmerican. But  that is a possibility that has to be considered, and considered carefully, in light of the policies being implemented by Mr. Obama, and the characters  with whom he has associated throughout his life and has been and is appointing to positions of power, especially those not requiring senate confirmation,

What Does This Portend for Us Today?

No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of  foreign Invaders.

. . . Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775

Democrats Taking a Duck

Democrat office holders are getting hard to find. That's because they are avoiding participation in town hall meetings and other open and uncontrolled contacts with their constituents. As this report shows, even though it attempts to put a favorable spin on the effort, even the New York Times has noticed how the Democrats are ducking the voters.

Creating Dangerous Global Chaos

Stiff arming America's friends and trying to cozy up to its enemies as the Obama administration is doing is creating chaos around the world, as is made clear by this perceptive analysis. If this is correct, as I believe it is, we in the not far distant future will pay dearly in blood for our folly.

Financial Flash

Although the dollar is up (against other currencies, as described in the Currency Juggle post that appears below), the price of an ounce of gold this morning has risen by more than $20 to a bit more than $1,240. Hmmmm.

Turkish Cheekiness

"The Turkish ambassador to the United States has a long op-ed in the Washington Post asking for Israel to apologize to Turkey for the Gaza flotilla incident, and urging the U.S. to pressure Israel to act accordingly . . . .

"If anyone might be offering apologies, it should be Ambassador Tan, or at least an explanation for why a ship left a Turkish port headed for a planned confrontation. A ship, it should be added, staffed in large part by the Insani Yardim Vakfi organization, which according to American and European intelligence chiefs is a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda—an apparent conclusion that formerly a Turkish government used to share when it periodically raided the IHH's compounds.

"But on a larger point, the sanctimonious tone of Tan's piece is depressing. Turkey currently quite illegally and against world opinion sponsors the occupation of Cyprus. Nicosia is a far more divided city than Jerusalem. The Turkish government has killed far more Turkish Kurds than the Israeli government has Palestinians; it has zero tolerance for foreign human rights organizations that have wished to investigate the treatment of Kurds in Turkish prisons."

. . . Historian Victor Davis Hanson 

writing at PajamasMedia.com

 June 5

One Can Only Hope

One can only hope that there is an especially hot corner of hell to dispatch the teachers union and political skanks who team up like this to deprive children from families with limited incomes of decent educational opportunities.

Media Reminder: An Eye Opening Jolt

The leftist bias of the nation's former mainstream media has long been and is so common, relentless, and pervasive that it is understood, accepted, and shrugged off as normal and routine by everyone who retains any critical thinking capabilities. 

It therefore brought me up short when during the past week, in the course of reading an opinion piece on an altogether different subject in The Wall Street Journal, I ran across this almost casual side observation illustrating the depth of our traditional media's one-sided corruption:

In news reporting, it's not unusual to encounter constructions such this AP dispatch from the presidential campaign about Sarah Palin: "She has worshipped at a nondenominational Bible church since 2002, opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest and supports classroom discussions about creationism"

That's fair as far as it goes. Just once, however, wouldn't it be interesting to see a leading newspaper write something like "Nancy Pelosi, who opposes any restrictions on abortion, even in cases where a pregnant minor is taken across state lines without a parent's permission or where the fetus is halfway out the mother"?

Topsyturvy World

Don't know what it says about a world in which we elect to powerful governmental offices mostly phonies who sooner or later fill us with fear, loathing, shame, and disgust, while we find admirable and inspirational characters in our athletic arenas.

For example, in case you missed it, go back and read about the integrity exhibited throughout his recently ended 99-year life by basketball coach John Wooden. Or take the time to read this piece by Peggy Noonan about the gracious civility exhibited by everybody involved in a historic incident and a recent one on professional baseball diamonds.

We would do well to have a true draft from a pool of such exemplary characters for all public offices. That certainly would be better than how we're doing now with having to choose from among candidates that our corrupt political parties offer us -- a system that serves only to prove the old adage that scum rises to the top of every rain barrel.

The Currency Juggle: A Game Played With Falling Knives

The dollar, according to media reports, is gaining strength.

If that is true, how come the price of an ounce of gold has risen past $1,220 -- up a bit more than $12 in the past day, more than $44 in the past 30 days, and more than $239 in the past year?

The press reports about the dollar are based on its rise against the Euro and most, though not all other currencies. The economic mess that Europe is in and that the U.S. is just approaching is behind the plunge in the Euro's value.

The dollar clearly is not strengthening again gold or anything tangible.

What we very well may be seeing is an increasingly widespread and accelerating loss of faith and trust in all paper currencies, fiat money with nothing behind it except -- and this is a knee slapper -- the full faith and credit of the issuing government.

The hard but increasingly obvious fact is that neither the American nor any European government is faithful to anything or anyone. None of them -- except perhaps the  Swiss and the Austrians -- is worthy of credit and they all are totally lacking in credibility as well as competence.  The international monetary system has become a juggling act performed with knives. All the knives are falling. Some are just sharper and falling faster than others.

Truth In Advertising

 

 It appears that someone put out some money and had this billboard made on I-10 just north of Tucson. The really odd thing is, it is all true!  All they have to do is make it to Los Angeles. This is outstanding marketing for L. A. and should go down as one of best sales techniques ever!  Click on image to enlarge it for better view. Hell, if I were headed north, I would not hesitate to make that left turn.

Help From On High ? ? ? ?

Though not particularly religious, I do see, or at least suspect, that the same hand of Divine Providence that guided the nation's founding fathers, is behind the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher.

The unchecked catastrophe is putting on display for all to see the unsuitability of Obama and the rest of his Chicago crowd to run the nation's business. Their inability to cope with the situation demonstrates that except for their rhetorical skills they are totally unqualified and unfit for the offices they hold. Furthermore, as the spew continues, the President goes about his political fund raising, state dinners, White House galas, golf games, etc., business as usual, thus demonstrating that, notwithstanding his words, he and his cohorts are oblivious to the ongoing disaster.

If the country cannot see this, or is willing to put up with it, it will prove H. L. Mencken was right when he said that in a democracy "people get the government  they deserve" and added that "they deserve to get it good and hard."

Ideal Way To Plug Oil Leak in the Gulf