Good Excuse For Some Angelina Photos ::: Angelina Jolie Hates Obama

Whoever writes at this site is quite funny.

For some reason one of the big stories today is a list of all the fancy Hollywood people who will be going to President Obamas first state dinner tonight. Suffice to say Angelina Jolie will not be one of those kissing the ring.

“She hates him,” a source close to Jolie tells Us Weekly.
”She’s into education and rehabilitation and thinks Obama is all about welfare and handouts. She thinks Obama is really a socialist in disguise,” adds the source.
But don’t expect to see her rally against Democrats on Fox News like her staunch Republican father, Jon Voight.
“Angie isn’t Republican, but she thinks Obama is all smoke and mirrors,” the source says.

I knew it. I knew Angelina was awesome. What happened to this country? We used to be awesome. Now it’s all rules, rules, rules. Stop. No. Don’t do that. Don’t watch this. You can’t say that. Don’t go over there. Just leave me the fuck alone. This is all gonna change once I build my underwater kingdom. From under the sea my plan will unfold and they’ll get a glimpse of my power. Now who’s giving the orders!

Bonus pic:

Source: angelina jolie hates obama - What Would Tyler Durden Do

As for me...

Glenn Beck Takes on Climategate/Lack of Reporting

I totally agree with Beck here... too much money and control is at stake for this to be ignored. Shame on the lamestream media... they really suck beyond all sucking at this point.

Video courtesy of Eyeblast.tv/NewsBusters.




Glenn Beck Cites NewsBusters to Bash TV's ClimateGate Boycott | NewsBusters.org

Counsel, They Name Is Weasel ::: Ugh... 9/11 Lawyer Fenstermaker on O'Reilly

9/11 Terrorist/Suspect Attorney Scott Fenstermaker on O'Reilly, 11/23/09.

(Personal note... interview would be a heckuva lot better if O'Reilly would shut up and really let this, uh, individual speak. His "propaganda" mention seems to be directed at the US side, not Al Qaeda [although Bill doesn't seem to catch it]. Lovely.)




What a sick joke.
YouTube - Bill O'Reilly Interviews Suspect Terrorist Attorney Scott Fenstermaker

300 Invited To Obama State Dinner (Great graphic)

Posted here by FReeper ClearCase_guy : Not invited to State Dinner: Republican lawmakers (RINO McCain not invited to schmooze with Obama)

Must-See Video ::: Asian Woman At Palin Signing... Nobody's Fool

This video of the first person in line at Sarah Palin's Going Rogue book signing in Roanoke, Virginia is an absolute must-see.

Heart-rending.

She appears at 2:12. And I'm not sure where she is originally from, but she certainly seems to know of what she speaks.




"Do you know how hard to have a country like this? And you are ruining it."

Devastating.

She's my hero of the week, at least.

Click Flick: A Rogue trip - Patrick Gavin and Anne Schroeder Mullins

Out Of The Park ::: Alaskan Fisherman talks about Sarah Palin

This is awesome.

Just a regular guy... talkin'...

By Dewie Whetsell, Alaskan Fisherman
As posted in comments on Greta’s article referencing the MOVEON ad about Sarah Palin

by Dewey Whetsell

The last 45 of my 66 years I’ve spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here’s the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets it…It’s not about persona, style, rhetoric, it’s about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I’m about to mention here.

1- Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governor’s office away from a fellow Republican and tough SOB, Frank Murkowski, she tore into the Republican’s “Corrupt Bastards Club” (CBC) and sent them packing. Many of them are now residing in State housing and wearing orange jump suits. The Democrats reacted by skipping around the yard, throwing confetti and singing “la la la la” (well, you know how they are). Name another governor in this country that has ever done anything similar. But while you’re thinking, I’ll continue.

2- Now with the CBC gone, there were fewer Alaskan politicians to protect the huge, giant oil companies here. So, she constructed and enacted a new system of splitting the oil profits called “ACES”. Exxon (the biggest corporation in the world) protested and Sarah told them “don’t let the door hit you in the stern on your way out.” They stayed, and Alaska residents went from being merely wealthy to being filthy rich. Of course the other huge international oil companies meekly fell in line. Again, give me the name of any other governor in the country that has done anything similar.

3- The other thing she did when she walked into the governor’s office is she got the list of State requests for federal funding for projects, known as “pork”. She went through the list, took 85% of them and placed them in the “when-hell-freezes-over” stack. She let locals know that if we need something built, we’ll pay for it ourselves. Maybe she figured she could use the money she got from selling the previous governor’s jet because it was extravagant. Maybe she could use the money she saved by dismissing the governor’s cook (remarking that she could cook for her own family), giving back the State vehicle issued to her, maintaining that she already had a car, and dismissing her State provided security force (never mentioning—I imagine—that she’s packing heat herself). I’m still waiting to hear the names of those other governors.

4- Now, even with her much-ridiculed “gosh and golly” mannerism, she also managed to put together a totally new approach to getting a natural gas pipeline built which will be the biggest private construction project in the history of North America. No one else could do it although they tried. If that doesn’t impress you, then you’re trying too hard to be unimpressed while watching her do things like this while baking up a batch of brownies with her other hand.

5- For 30 years, Exxon held a lease to do exploratory drilling at a place called Point Thompson. They made excuses the entire time why they couldn’t start drilling. In truth they were holding it like an investment. No governor for 30 years could make them get started. This summer, she told them she was revoking their lease and kicking them out. They protested and threatened court action. She shrugged and reminded them that she knew the way to the court house. Alaska won again.

6- President Obama wants the nation to be on 25% renewable resources for electricity by 2025. Sarah went to the legislature and submitted her plan for Alaska to be at 50% renewables by 2025. We are already at 25%. I can give you more specifics about things done, as opposed to style and persona . Everybody wants to be cool, sound cool, look cool. But that’s just a cover-up. I’m still waiting to hear from liberals the names of other governors who can match what mine has done in two and a half years. I won’t be holding my breath.

By the way, she was content to to return to AK after the national election and go to work, but the haters wouldn’t let her. Now these adolescent screechers are obviously not scuba divers. And no one ever told them what happens when you continually jab and pester a barracuda. Without warning, it will spin around and tear your face off. Shoulda known better.

Alaskan Fisherman talks about Sarah Palin

OMG Andrea Mithchell Looks So Mean! (Photo w/Sarah Palin)

LOL ::: President seeks $500,000 for ads to rebut Palin

Read the whole piece... this guy doesn't agree with Palin, but this is really embarrassing for Obama. (That's two in one day. Maroon.)

Sarah Palin waves to crowd during book signing appearance in Michigan
AP photo

Another e-mail from info@barackobama.com hit my inbox yesterday. The subject: Sarah Palin.

It begins: "Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn."

The mail goes on to say "It's dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term "Death Panels" -- and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists."

"Whatever lie comes next will be widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform."

"So we're setting a big goal: $500,000 in the next week to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies.....We need to be prepared. And we're counting on you help. Can you chip in $5?"

So it has come to this: a sitting president soliciting donations for counter-attack ads on a former VP nominee hockey mom that most of the mainstream media rediculed in the last election. If her claims are so outrageous, why bother spending the money to respond? Maybe because a lot of people are listening to her, and many of them might just agree with what she is saying.

I don't think it helps the conservative cause to exaggerate the health care bill's possible impact (there are enough awful things in the bill right there in black and white)....the Obama e-mail states that Palin claimed on Rush Limbaugh that Americans "could face jail time as punishment" if they didn't buy health insurance. This is technically true, but only because punishment for tax evasion could include jail time; and one would have to not only fail to buy insurance but also fail to pay the 2.5% income tax in lieu that the bill requires, and have a judge or jury hand down a jail sentence.

But in any case, hyping the bill's possible impact with extreme statements just gives the bill's supporters ammunition: when the wilder claims are shot down all of the conservative's arguments become suspect.

My advice: don't listen to either Obama, Pelosi, Reid or Palin. Question everything they say because both sides have a lot invested in the outcome and they both want to be "right." After all, both Obama and Palin are running for president.

President seeks $500,000 for ads to rebut Palin

Wow... The WH Found A Whole 8 Pages Of "Goodness"... Out of 2,704 ::: Speaking of Page Numbers...

Head-shakingly embarrassing.

Since some opponents of reform seem too obsessed with the length of the Senate health insurance reform bill to even bother looking at what's in it for American families, we thought we'd make it a little easier for them to find some key of provisions they're working so hard to kill:

• On page 78 you’ll learn that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ends discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
• On page 17, it makes preventive care completely free, with no cost-sharing. (This might be of particular interest to those who have chosen to seize on concerns about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on mammograms to spread baseless myths and advance their own political agenda.)
• Flipping back to page 16, you’ll find that insurance companies are prohibited from dropping your coverage or watering it down when you get sick and need it most.
• Also on page 16, you might notice that it puts an end to lifetime caps on coverage.
• Page 18 is where the bill extends family coverage eligibility for young Americans through the age of 26.
• On page 83 it requires insurance companies to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full – that means they can’t refuse to renew your coverage just because you get sick.
• Page 307 is home to tax credits for small businesses to help them afford insurance for their employees.
• And folks looking to scare our senior citizens about what reform means for them might be interested to check out page 923 and learn that it provides a 50% discount on drugs for seniors in the so-called donut hole.

They wrote that, I am sure, with a straight face.

We'll just forget about tax-payer funded abortions, fines and jailtimes, additional bureaucracies, and, oh... the trashing of the Constitution.

Speaking of Page Numbers... | The White House

A Photo Of My Dream Ballot

Sarah Palin on the Dennis Miller Show (Audio)

Part 1



Part 2

Call-In Show ::: Hey cr(AP) Fact Check This 11/20/09 - Unspun with AnnaZ / Blog Talk Radio

Where to begin, where to begin...

11 fact checkers for Sarah Palin's book... and Al Gore still runs around free from any truth-testing.
Topix ::: GoreBull warming : Scandal, Thy Name Is Palin : California Screaming ...and your calls!


Live at 3pmE/2pmTX/NoonP

Call-in number: 1-347-327-9710


Missed it live? Listen here, or download for free from iTunes.








Call-In Show Hey crAP Fact Check This 11/20/2009 - Unspun with AnnaZ on Blog Talk Radio

Obama Takes The Bowing Down A Little Too Far (Cartoon)

=)

Obama Bowing Again?

The New Anthem For The Right ::: "Speaking Of Hell" by Atticus Cage

I have no idea how to embed this player so you have to click the link below to listen, but it's just a super-catchy, hilarious yet poignant, kickass jumpstart of a song. (And the singer's a dear friend as well, which is nice.)

Enjoy!
"Speaking Of Hell" by Atticus Cage - Amaze.fm

(Also available for purchase on iTunes.)

Why I Still Love Sarah Palin

I really take, and have taken, a load of flak and ridicule for my admiration and support of Governor Sarah Heath Palin. But, so far, I haven't been shaken in my faith that she is one of the best people we have in politics today. Let me explain my position.

Although I will reference Obama aplenty below, please note that I believe that the biggest threat to the Republic and the liberty of its citizens is the heretofore-known-as "mainstream" media. Obama wouldn't be president without them, and we probably wouldn't need this conversation about Palin without them either. 

Here goes:

1) "She's stupid." Having never had a really "feminist" moment in my life (except for one argument with a male friend over women in the military), I find this "stupid" label to be one of the more sexist attacks against the Governor, although there are other examples.

When somehow it seemed that the presidential election was between Obama and Palin, Barack's brains and intellect were lauded as so much loftier than hers and he so much more prepared and competent for the presidency. Boy, have we learned our lesson.

If being able to read fine words with a genteel accent is what makes the grade, then sure... he was the "brains" of the operation. But a little over a year after the election and it has become quite plain that little backs up the hype of the introduction.

President Obama is not as smart as he and his acolytes think he is, and anyone at his age that still hews to the failed ideologies of the left is an idiot, or just a very angry person. Neither quality befits a national leader. Surrounding himself with kooks and cons and commies and the arrogance that only the left can muster over their fellow man and, well... give me someone who doesn't believe they are so smart that they are convinced that they can run every facet of the private individual's life.

Does it take a genius to understand the delineation between the public and private sectors of life? Apparently not.

I'll take a "moron" over that kind of imperiousness any day of the week, and continue to purchase and utilize the light bulbs of my preference, or the car that best suits my needs, or keep my home at the temperature that makes me most comfortable. Thanks.


2) "She has no experience." It seems that the only experience that counts for the leftist media is some kind of lawyerly blood-sucking... Edwards, Obama, the Clintons, etc. They support those who like to target and take down business as opposed to create business. Obama, the alleged brilliant constitutional scholar still can't seem to understand the difference between a state and federal law or jurisdiction, at the time had never run a business, and now is running the nation into the ground.

Palin on the other hand has run a business, a town, and a state. She has brokered major deals involving major players. She knows where the reach of fedgov ends.

Maybe now that she's written an autobiography she'll be  considered fit for the presidency. Or for a Grammy for the audio version... oh, yeah... except that she doesn't speak with the cool genteel accent.


3) "Change." Yeah, sure... McCain wouldn't have changed too much in Washington, but the specter, the target, was Sarah.  However, if the change we were promised was bringing Chicago-style thug tactics to D.C. and trading in a pro-American perspective for a three-ring circus of anti-American, ally-dissing, freedom short-shrifting genuflection... well... you can keep it. Sure, McCain wasn't even in my top three choices for president,  but I am certain that he never would have approached this level of bad.

Sarah Palin was an example of the real change people were looking for, a real outsider... but the powers that be on both sides of the aisle weren't interested. Too many deals being made, too many backs being rubbed, too many winks... and an incorruptible public servant on the way in? Wasn't going to happen. Decades of complacent compromising has tainted far too many in our house of lords... and that is how the majority of them see themselves.

No, the change we actually really need has once again been delayed.



I could go on and on, and will probably revisit this theme in a few days, as I have much more to write on the subject. Am I saying that I want Sarah Palin as our president? Maybe... maybe not. But I can no longer abide with the rabid, destructive media assault on this woman, this individual who has faced and continues to face a mouth-foaming hatred the likes of which I have never seen.

Would she make an excellent US president, who's to say... but without question she would be a whole heckuvalot better than the disaster we're dealing with now.

Here's The Video ::: Sarah Palin on Oprah : November 16, 2009

Got an email this a.m. from Amazon that my copy of Going Rogue is on its way. Yay!

Interview is in 3 parts, courtesy of popmodal.com








PopModal The Conservative Alternative to YouTube - Sarah Palin on Oprah November 16 2009 p1 of 3

Zing! ::: Rogue's Eleven / Mark Steyn / NRO

Fact-check this. lol

Rogue's Eleven [Mark Steyn]

If you wonder why American newspapering is dying, consider this sign-off:

AP writers Matt Apuzzo, Sharon Theimer, Tom Raum, Rita Beamish, Beth Fouhy, H. Josef Hebert, Justin D. Pritchard, Garance Burke, Dan Joling and Lewis Shaine contributed to this report.

Wow. That's ten "AP writers" plus Calvin Woodward, the AP writer whose twinkling pen honed the above contributions into the turgid sludge of the actual report. That's 11 writers for a 695-word report. What on? Obamacare? The Iranian nuke program? The upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?

No, the Associated Press assigned 11 writers to "fact-check" Sarah Palin's new book, and in return the 11 fact-checkers triumphantly unearthed six errors. That's 1.8333333 writers for each error. What earth-shattering misstatements did they uncover for this impressive investment? Stand well back:

PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking "only" for reasonably priced rooms and not "often" going for the "high-end, robe-and-slippers" hotels.

THE FACTS: Although she usually opted for less-pricey hotels while governor, Palin and daughter Bristol stayed five days and four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House luxury hotel (robes and slippers come standard)...

That looks like AP paid 1.8333333 fact-checkers to agree with Mrs Palin: She says she didn't "often" go for "high-end" hotels; they say she "usually opted for less-pricey hotels". That's gonna make one must-see edition of "Point/Counterpoint".

Or is AP arguing "four nights" counts as "often"? Is that the point? AP assigned 11 reporters to demonstrate that four is a large number?

Over at Powerline, John Hinderaker and his vast team of researchers (17 Minneapolis-area Somali jihadists, 29 Acorn-accredited child-sex slaves, and 43 unemployed Columbia School of Journalism graduates) fact-check AP's fact-checkers.

Coming next:

PALIN: How many AP fact-checkers does it take to change a lightbulb?

FACT: Palin has gone seriously "rogue" in her facts here. AP fact-checkers are prevented per union regulations from changing lightbulbs.

AP writers Matt Apuzzo, Sharon Theimer, Tom Raum, Rita Beamish, Beth Fouhy, H. Josef Hebert, Justin D. Pritchard, Garance Burke, Dan Joling and Lewis Shaine contributed to this joke. We'll be here all week.

=)

Rogue's Eleven - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Just Great ::: 'Iran rejected nuclear deal, Obama postponing announcement'/ Jerusalem Post

I can't keep up with the bad news these days.

Iran has completely rejected a UN-brokered nuclear deal, but US President Barack Obama has postponed the official announcement on Teheran's refusal due to internal political reasons, Israel Radio quoted a senior western official as saying Saturday.

The deal would see most of the Islamic Republic's uranium shipped to Russia and France for further processing.

The official reportedly told journalists in Paris that Iran has also refused to resume nuclear talks with the six world powers.

Why would they need to meet? Ahmonajihad already has his answer... Bambi says he can live with a nuclear Iran (even as he himself seeks to disarm the US.)

'Iran rejected nuclear deal, Obama postponing announcement' | Headlines News | Jerusalem Post

Did Michelle Obama Join The WBA? ::: Another Boob Belt Disaster

AlfonZo Rachel! today on Unspun with AnnaZ / Blog Talk Radio

Rays of Light from Zo Nation

Special guest today is the super-entertaining AlfonZo Rachel. We'll discuss his insights, videos, music, and new book, Paper, Ink, & What I Think.

His site is machosauceproductions.com

Live at 3pmE/2pmTX/NoonP

Archives available here and on iTunes.

Awesome! ::: Congressman Mike Rogers' opening statement on Health Care reform

Telling it like it is.




YouTube link: Congressman Mike Rogers' opening statement on Health Care reform in Washington D.C.

Worst Michelle Obama Boob-Belt Choice... EVAH!

Is that a tire? Seriously.





Reuters. Larger: 610x.jpg (JPEG Image, 610x502 pixels)

Terrifyingly Brutal ::: [Murdered] Arkansas Anchorwoman's Face Shattered 'Like an Egg' During Attack

This is just one of those few cases that I cannot let go of. Truly tragic.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — One blow ruined her smile and others crushed the middle of her face, but the attack on television personality Anne Pressly didn't end until after her jaw was forced to the back of her head and cut off blood flow to her brain, a medical examiner said Tuesday.

Prosecutors rested their capital murder case against Curtis Lavelle Vance, 29, after testimony from the state's deputy medical examiner, who spoke about Pressly's final moments of consciousness.

Vance, of Marianna, has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Defense lawyers questioned crime scene technicians about where they did — and did not — find blood, and asked Police Chief Stuart Thomas whether officers explored multiple theories. He said they had.

DNA specialists initially questioned by prosecutors were recalled to the stand to discuss genetic evidence gathered at the scene that didn't have a match.

Vance's legal team said it may call two additional witnesses Wednesday, then expects to rest. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza scheduled a court session Wednesday despite the rest of the courthouse being closed for Veterans Day, and jurors could begin deliberations by the end of the day.

Dr. Stephen Erickson said an examination of Pressly's body after her death revealed that her face shattered "like an egg" during the attack. "I could feel crunchiness" while examining Pressly's face, he said. A photo he used showed her nose pushed to one side.

Erickson said some type of object likely was used during the attack — the butt of a pistol or perhaps some type of club.

Pressly, the co-host of a morning TV show who had a bit part in the President Bush biopic "W," was hit so hard that a tooth — root intact — flew to her bedroom floor. Another blow crushed bones in the middle of her face. Another shoved her jaw backward, leaving her brain starved for blood.

Injuries like Pressly's require a "high degree" of force — and end with a high degree of mortality, Erickson said.

Pressly, 26, was attacked early Oct. 20, 2008, at her home in Little Rock. Her mother, unable to reach Pressly by telephone, found her daughter shortly before she was due on KATV's "Daybreak" program.

CT scans taken after the attack showed that her swollen brain gradually died. By Oct. 25, 2008, the day Pressly died, her brain was so swollen that no blood could enter.

Erickson said it was possible that Pressly felt pain even after the attack — even if she couldn't have responded to anyone.

The examiner also said Pressly's left forearm had an abrasion, consistent with being held tightly, and that her left hand was swollen, blue and broken in five places.

Erickson said Pressly had injuries consistent with being raped. Defense lawyer Katherine Street, however, questioned whether they could have been caused by a medical examination. Erickson said it was possible, but said it appeared they were inflicted about the time of the attack.

On a tape played for jurors Monday, Vance told a police detective that he beat Pressly with a piece of wood that he found in her backyard — but never explained why. "I lose control, she lose control," Vance said in the February interview.

Police witnesses said DNA evidence linked Vance to Pressly's death and to a Marianna rape case in which he has pleaded not guilty.

The defense has said police duped Vance into confessing and giving officers a DNA sample to compare with evidence in the case.

AP/KATV

May she rest in peace, and may her poor mother find peace as well.

Source: Arkansas Anchorwoman's Face Shattered 'Like an Egg' During Attack - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

I Despise This Woman ::: Video: Pelosi Dodges Health Care Bill Jail Time Question

She's (one of) the worst.




YouTube link: YouTube - Does House Speaker Nanci Pelosi Dodge Tough Question on Health Care??? You decide.

Another PC Smackdown ::: Tribe stops school from dropping nickname

Onion... take the day off. Again.

BISMARCK, N.D. - A judge has temporarily blocked higher education officials from changing the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname.

The president of North Dakota’s Board of Higher Education, Richie Smith, said Tuesday that the order could delay the university’s efforts to join the Summit League and re-establish its football rivalry with North Dakota State University.

Smith says he’ll talk with the state attorney general about challenging the order, which was issued Monday.

The dispute has its origins in the NCAA’s August 2005 declaration that the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian head logo should be abolished.

The judge’s ruling came after a lawsuit was filed by eight Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who support the nickname.

Source: Tribe stops school from dropping nickname - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com

So It *Is* State-Run ::: US officials: We punished Netanyahu with media blackout

I love how we treat our allies. With friends like us...

Senior US diplomatic sources have confirmed that the media blackout and shroud of secrecy surrounding Monday's meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama was the result of strained relations between the two leaders.

Speaking to Israel's Army Radio on Wednesday morning, one unnamed US diplomat said the Obama Administration had become unhappy with what is viewed as Netanyahu's efforts to manipulate its policies during press briefings, and imposed the media blackout on Monday's meeting as a means of bringing the Israeli leader back in line.

The official also accused Netanyahu of indirectly pressuring Obama via Jewish-American lobby groups.

A day earlier, another US official told the Wall Street Journal that Obama and his staff had been severely disappointed with what Netanyahu said or didn't say during his meeting with the president.

"We had an idea that he might bring something out to push the [peace] process forward," the official said. "But he's kept it in his pocket."

That dissatisfaction came just a little more than a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton openly praised Netanyahu for implementing "unprecedented" and even unnecessary concessions for the sake of restarting peace talks with the Palestinians.

It would seem Israeli gestures have a shelf-life of only about one week in Washington these days.

Source: israel today > Todays News

LOL ::: Paris Hilton threatens to sue billboard firm for using her face to advertise

No comment necessary.

From the Daily Mail UK: Paris Hilton threatens to sue billboard firm for using her face to advertise 'vacant' space | Mail Online

My Hero Of The Week: Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) ::: Video: If ObamaCare is so good …

Hat tip to Ed Morrissey at hotair.com for this absolute jewel.

Greg Hengler picks his favorite moment from the House debate on Saturday as the moment that Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) asked the question that could easily have been asked twenty years ago today at the Berlin Wall. If the ObamaCare proposal is so good, why do you have to imprison people who don’t want to participate?

We’ve heard from the best and the brightest all afternoon, and not a one of them have answered why it is that you have to criminalize people to coax them into a plan that’s so fabulous. It makes no sense. … The other side, with all due respect, with all the adjectives and all the flourishing speech, have failed to answer that question.

More analysis here: Hot Air >> Blog Archive >> Video: If ObamaCare is so good …

PC Smackdown ::: Ralph Peters/NYPost: Deadly denial

Our current policies are moronic.

As President Obama belatedly appears at Fort Hood today, will he dare to speak the word "terror?"

He won't use the word "Islamist." If he mentions Islam at all, it'll be to sing its praises yet again.

We've already learned that Islamist terrorist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan attended the Northern Virginia mosque of Imam Anwar al-Aulaqi, a fiery al Qaeda supporter who later fled the United States. We know that Hasan's peers, subordinates and patients repeatedly raised red flags that his superiors suppressed. We know he was a player on Islamist-extremist Web sites. The FBI's uncovering one extremist link after another.

But to call this an act of terrorism, the White House would need an autographed photo of Osama bin Laden helping Hasan buy weapons in downtown Killeen, Texas. Even that might not suffice.

Islamist terrorists don't all have al Qaeda union cards in their wallets. Terrorism's increasingly the domain of entrepreneurs and independent contractors. Under Muslim jurisprudence, jihad's an individual responsibility. Hasan was a self-appointed jihadi.

Yet we're told he was just having a bad day.

Our politically correct Army plays along. Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey won't utter the word "terrorism." The Forces Command Public Affairs Office guidance for officers never mentions "Islam" or "terror," leaving you unsure whether there was a traffic accident down at Fort Hood, or maybe an outbreak of swine flu.

Meanwhile, the media try to turn Hasan into a victim. A sickening (and amateurish) Washington Post article portrayed him as a poor, impoverished minority living in a $320-a-month rathole apartment and driving a down-market car -- as if the squalor made him a terrorist.

Squalor he chose to live in, by the way: As a major drawing added professional pay for his medical credentials, plus his benefits, Hasan made a six-figure income. And he was single, without college loans or medical bills. Has anybody asked where the money went? I'll bet a chunk of it disappeared in cash donations to hard-core Islamist causes. Will a single journalist track the missing bucks?

It gets worse: On Sunday evening, a ranking officer in Hasan's medical chain of command raced to cover her butt. Asked why the killer was promoted to major after receiving career-killer performance reviews at Walter Reed, the officer claimed that Hasan faced the same promotion board requirements as everyone else.

Liar, liar, uniform on fire: A dirty big secret in our Army has been that officers' promotion boards have quotas for minorities. We don't call them quotas, of course. But if a board doesn't hit the floor numbers, its results are held up until the list has been corrected. It's almost impossible for the Army's politically correct promotion system to pass over a Muslim physician.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, one of the few lawmakers willing to whisper the word "terrorism," needs to call the officers who sat on Hasan's promotion board before the Senate, put them under oath, then ask if Hasan made major because of minority-quota requirements.

This corrupt (and now deadly) affirmative-action system does a severe disservice to the bulk of minority officers, who make the grade on quality and professionalism. It leaves other officers wondering if the new guy who just showed up in the unit is a "real" officer or an affirmative-action baby.

Ditto for our government's unwillingness to take on Muslim extremists on US soil. Blathering about freedom of religion, we foster hate speech. By protecting the fanatics, we betray the peaceful majority of our Muslim citizens, leaving them afraid to speak out, since the feds shield the fanatics in charge of their mosques and communities.

Let's be clear: Maj. Hasan's terrorism should not result in a witch hunt against Muslim service members. But soldiers who happen to be Muslims must be subject to the same level of scrutiny and discipline as those of other faiths.

Just as we'd expect the Army to get rid of a disruptive white supremacist, we need to cashier anyone who espouses violent Islamist extremism -- as Maj. Hasan did, again and again.

We won't. Because Islamist terrorism doesn't exist. Just ignore the dead and ask our president.

Well... he didn't pull any punches, did he?

Source: Deadly denial

Yeah... Uh, Cuba Rocks. ::: Blogger Seized From Streets of Havana, Beaten, Released

I posted a story about this brave lady earlier: She'd Never Wear a Che T-Shirt ::: Cuban blogger the voice of youth-oriented counterculture

These Hollywood morons that continually praise the rot that is Castro's police state make me ill... how can they justify the following type of behavior:

Was it something she spelled?

Trail-blazing Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez says she was headed to a peaceable march against violence with friends in Havana Friday when she and fellow writer Orlando Luis Pardo were confronted by three men in plainclothes presumed to be state security, forced into a car, and assaulted.

"No blood," she reported to El Nuevo Herald. "But black and blues, punches, pulled hairs, blows to the head, kidneys, knee and chest...[after being] thrown head-first inside, they applied judo or karate holds to us and the punches . . . kept raining down."

Sánchez says she and Pardo were driven around for about 20 minutes before being "violently thrown on the street" near where they were first accosted. Their friends reported being taken to a police station in a second car, where they were questioned and released.

The group was en route to an event its organizers, local musicians, termed "a peaceful performance-march -- neither a protest nor a political demand." A previous gathering had included group theatre but was uneventful.

Since she began signing her name to blog posts she composes in Cuba and e-mails to friends in other countries for publication, Sánchez has received critical acclaim and several awards for her social commentary and missives about every day life on the island from the government to food to baseball. Though awarded Spain's Ortega y Gasset Journalism Award and Columbia University's Maria Moors Cabot Prize, she has been denied permission to leave Cuba to accept. In 2008, Sánchez, a philologist by training, was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

Sánchez said the motivation behind the "professional violence" was "evidently" to keep her from participating in the anti-violence march. "Anything else would be pure speculation.''

Source: Blogger Seized From Streets of Havana, Beaten, Released | NBC Miami

Special Unspun with AnnaZ today ::: And Tear Down The Wall They Did ::: 11/9/09 3pmE

Please join me for a special 20-year commemorative look at the fall of the Berlin Wall, the triumph of liberty, and the "change" we'd better believe we're in.



Live at 3pmE/2pmTX/NoonP, archived afterward here, and also available on iTunes as a podcast.

Call-in number: (347) 327-9710





Unspun with AnnaZ
Independent Radio for the Independent Spirit

Don't Tread On Me (Image)

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

It doesn't say that "we hope that all things work together for good to those who love God".

It doesn't say that "we would like to believe that all things work together for good to those who love God".

It doesn't say "wouldn't it be awesome if all things work together for good to those who love God"?

It says "we know".

And that is the definition of faith.

Take heart.

LOL Of The Night

The following pic was posted at FR in response to the story that Obama will be attending the Fort Hood memorial.... (unlike Bush's discreet visit, this makes sure the cameras are there to capture the "concern").






Obama to attend memorial for Fort Hood victims

Wow... He Really Is "Baghdad" Robert Gibbs ::: White House Is Unaware Of Comparisons To ABC’s ‘V’

No, I still don't miss Scott McClellan, but holy moly... you can tell from the transcript right at the get-go that Gibbs is l-y-i-n-g. Where's Joe Wilson when you need him?

Many in the media, including Mediaite, have noted the allegories of the villains in ABC’s series remake of the V miniseries and the Obama administration, or more accurately, the views of the administration’s harshest opponents. The show’s debut drew 14 million viewers, the most of any new series this season. I thought this was significant enough to ask for the White House’s reaction. Not everyone agreed.

Here’s a transcript of the conversation, while the video is embedded below:

Tommy Christopher: Robert, I have one question and one clarification. First, the new TV series on ABC, “V,” a lot of people are talking about how this show draws very strong –

MR. GIBBS: I got to tell you — I’m going to start with this: I don’t want to give anybody the impression I have time to watch anything other than what most of you all do each night. So I can’t even tell you what that is or what it’s about. If that makes me fairly un-cool, I tend to watch more “SpongeBob” than “V.”

Tommy Christopher: There have been a lot of news stories about this –

MR. GIBBS: Makes me a hit with one six-year-old, and that really is all that counts.

Tommy Christopher: You haven’t seen the news stories about how this show compares your administration to the alien invaders? (Laughter.)
Seriously, really, you haven’t heard about it?

Q He couldn’t admit it if he had. (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: Because there’s a chip in the back of my head that requires me — (laughter) — I don’t mean to — I honestly — I got to tell you, I spend — I watch a little football on Saturday, a little football on Sunday, and a lot of news every other time.

Q Get a life. (Laughter.)

Q (Inaudible).

MR. GIBBS: Pardon me?

Tommy Christopher: Fourteen million people watch it, and the show –

MR. GIBBS: And clearly, me not being one of them. Again, I –

[Cross-talk.] (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: Hold on. I’m not entirely sure who I’d check on since I don’t watch the show.

Tommy Christopher: Well, check with the President, see if he has a reaction –

MR. GIBBS: I will assume that the President watches –

Tommy Christopher:– comparing him to a space alien.

MR. GIBBS: What’s the — which would probably, like, be one of the least worst things he’s been called today.

Tommy Christopher: One clarification from yesterday on the meeting with Clemente, it sounded to me like you were saying that Clemente requested the meeting. Can you –

MR. GIBBS: We both wanted to get together.

April.

Is “V” on — what network?

Jake Tapper: ABC.

MR. GIBBS: Okay. Can I get a little briefing after this from the –

Jake Tapper: We’ll send you a tape before the end of the day.

MR. GIBBS: Excellent.

Tommy Christopher: It’s serious.

Missing from the transcript are cracks from the peanut gallery about Spongebob Squarepants.

I sort of expected Gibbs to bust my chops a little since, on the surface, it seems a little bit silly. I wasn’t prepared to be heckled by the bulk of the White House press corps.

But if you look a little more deeply at it, this could be a disturbing development. Although ABC and the show’s star downplay the comparisons, those comparisons are nonetheless being made. The aliens come to Earth promising hope and change, notably in the form of truly universal health care. There are protesters who insist that the aliens are not who they say they are. The alien leader assuages the public, via an in-the-tank media, by saying “Embracing change is never easy.”

[snip]

More here: White House Is Unaware Of Comparisons To ABC’s Hit Show ‘V’ (UPDATE) | TV | Mediaite

And Of Course Obama Is MIA ::: With pride, sadness USS New York comes 'to life'

Bambi was quick to remind us that he's Commander in Chief just two days ago. But whatever.

Shortly after noon Saturday, a command rang out at Pier 86 in Manhattan: "Bring the ship to life."

With that, crew members in dress blues ran to stand at attention at the rails, radar antennas on the America's newest warship began to turn, black smoke poured from three funnels, sirens rang and the horn blared. And the USS New York - docked across the water at Pier 88 - became part of the active U.S. Navy fleet.

It was a ceremony evoking emotion, pride and patriotism and full of references to Sept. 11 - hardly surprising given that the 684-foot amphibious assault vessel's bow incorporates 7.5 tons of the steel skeletons of the World Trade Center towers.

It was also a ceremony full of dignitaries, from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Gov. David Paterson to keynote speaker Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said "This ship carries memories of Sept. 11 and the lives cut short." She called the vessel "a symbol of our unshakable resolve."

The ceremony began at 11 a.m. sharp with the ship's executive officer, Cmdr. Erich Schmidt, stating that "today our ship is complete."

The ship's chaplain, the Rev. Laura Bender of Lake Ronkonkoma, one of about 10 Long Islanders in the crew of 359, asked for a moment of silence "for those whose lives were changed" by Sept. 11. She said of the ship "she is not only the Navy's newest ship, she is a symbol of the strength and resolve of our nation."

Paterson recalled that it was at the same spot on the pier adjacent to the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum seven years ago that then Navy Secretary Gordon England, now a deputy Defense secretary, announced that the ship would be named for the Empire State.

"This is a great day for everyone who believes in freedom and justice," Paterson said. Referring to the roughly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, the governor said "their spirit is embodied in this new ship."

With Twin Towers steel in the bow, Paterson said, "it is not just named for New York. It is New York."

He said as the ship travels the world, "we're sending a message that Americans are not cowered by evil."

Current Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said "today we witness the birth of another memorial to liberty." He praised the ship's inaugural crew - known as 'plank owners' in navy jargon - as people whose "legacy will live on" and others serve aboard over the ship's estimated 40-year life span.

"The murderers of 9/11 thought they would bring us down," Mabus said. "The New York is a visible demonstration of our resilience as a people. The New York is America's ship."

[snip]

Since we've been on the topic... can you imagine the speech Bush would have made there? Guess this was another situation where Obama wouldn't have had the opportunity to focus on himself but instead on that weird word... uh, "liberty".

With pride, sadness USS New York comes 'to life'

Good Grief... Are These People For Real? ::: Media 'Cringe' That Mass Killer a Muslim Since It 'Inflames' Right Wing

Headshakingly ridiculous.

Newsweek's Evan Thomas regretted the Fort Hood mass murderer, Major Nidal Hasan, is a Muslim because of how that reality will be abused by conservatives. On this weekend's Inside Washington, Thomas, now Editor at Large with Newsweek after stints as Assistant Managing Editor and Washington bureau chief, rued:

I cringe that he's a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames all the fears. I think he's probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him, it will get the right wing going and it just -- I mean these things are tragic, but that makes it much worse.

NPR's Nina Totenberg soon chimed in with agreement: “It really is tragic that he was a Muslim.”

Whose side are they on anyway?! Dear Lord.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2009/11/07/cringe-mass-killer-muslim-it-inflames-right-wing-makes-it-much-worse

Send This To D.C. ::: 70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

I'm going to throw up over this health care thing.

They are, through this upcoming vote, attempting to change the entire nature of our nation.

They really must be stopped.

The American Society of Medical Doctors (ASMD) today released a nationwide, nonpartisan poll* of physicians showing that:

• 70 percent of specialty doctors oppose current Congressional and White House proposals for health-care reform;
• 66 percent believe that a government-run health insurance plan would restrict doctors' ability to give the best advice and offer the best care possible to their patients; and
• More than 60 percent would not accept new patients with government insurance (including 27% who would not accept any patients on the new government plan).

Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient's family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion."

"I hope this research will serve as a wake-up call to policy makers," Bonati said. "Doctors are against the creation of government-run health insurance and many of us will not accept new patients with that type of coverage."

ASMD spokeswoman, Holly Pitt Young, noted that, "When it comes to our health, we listen to our doctors. Now it's time for Congress to do the same." Pitt Young also highlighted the political orientation of the poll's participants. "More than 60 percent of the doctors in this poll described themselves as moderate, somewhat liberal or very liberal. When a group like that agrees with conservatives, it seems that something awfully important is being said."

*The poll was conducted on August 7th, 2009, by WRS Opinion Research on behalf of the ASMD. Detailed results can be found at www.theasmd.org.

Dr. Bonati is the founder of The Bonati Institute and creator of the patented Bonati Procedure for laser spinal surgery. He lives and practices medicine in Hudson, Florida.

Source (h/t FR): 70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

New York Times Doesn't Know How Pathetically Cliche It Is + More Brilliance from Mark Steyn

I read snippets from Steyn's latest on the show yesterday, and it really must be read in its entirety... but here's the opening:

Thirteen dead and 31 wounded would be a bad day for the US military in Afghanistan, and a great victory for the Taliban. When it happens in Texas, in the heart of the biggest military base in the nation, at a processing center for soldiers either returning from or deploying to combat overseas, it is not merely a “tragedy” (as too many people called it) but a glimpse of a potentially fatal flaw at the heart of what we have called, since 9/11, the “war on terror”. Brave soldiers trained to hunt down and kill America’s enemy abroad were killed in the safety and security of home by, in essence, the same enemy – a man who believes in and supports everything the enemy does.

And he’s a US Army major.

And his superior officers and other authorities knew about his beliefs but seemed to think it was just a bit of harmless multicultural diversity – as if believing that “the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor” (ie, his fellow American soldiers) and writing Internet paeans to the “noble” “heroism” of suicide bombers and, indeed, objectively supporting the other side in an active war is to be regarded as just some kind of alternative lifestyle that adds to the general vibrancy of the base.

And then here's the opening line to a New York Times article:

Leaders of the vibrant Muslim community here expressed outrage on Friday at the shooting rampage being laid to one of their members, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who had become a regular attendee of prayers at the local mosque.

Hysterical.

More stupid stuff there, BTW...

“When a white guy shoots up a post office, they call that going postal,” said Victor Benjamin II, 30, a former member of the Army. “But when a Muslim does it, they call it jihad.

Hey, Victor... I promise you that the next time a white guy shoots up a place after praising Jesus I will call it a crusade... okay? Thanks.


MARK STEYN: MULTICULTURAL ILLUSIONS KILL - NO STRATEGY TO DEFEND AGAINST IDEOLOGY | The Dakota Beacon

NYT: Muslims at Fort Voice Outrage and Ask Questions

I Really Hope He Doesn't Golf ::: Obama snubs Ft. Hood to relax at Camp David

Ouch.

Dan Riehl checks the President's schedule and learns that Obama's not going to Fort Hood, but rather to Camp David for the weekend. In an update, Dan notes that his predecessor is more sensitive to the situation.

Fox Reports GWB and Laura spent a few hours at Fort Hood, no photo ops. Now that's a CIC.

Are you kidding me? Camp frickin' David? What, does he have a tee time close by? For heaven's sakes, he's the CIC. And he's taking the weekend off? This guy simply doesn't care. Unbelievable via Fox.

11:25AM THE PRESIDENT addresses the House Democratic Caucus - Cannon House Office Building

2:30PM THE PRESIDENT makes a statement to the press on Health Care - Rose Garden

2:45PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The White House en route Camp David - South Lawn

That Dancing with the Indians conference must have really worn the poor guy out so much he can't spare time to comfort the survivors of the jihadi Major's massacre.

Ouch.

Saw this pic today...

Ouch.

American Thinker Blog: Obama snubs Ft. Hood to relax at Camp David

From the Telegraph UK ::: Bloodless President Barack Obama makes Americans wistful for George W Bush

Good piece.

During the election campaign, Barack Obama's cool detachment was a winning quality, the "No Drama Obama" a welcome contrast with the "Mr Angry" John McCain, never mind the hot-headed "I'm the decider" President George W Bush.

A year into his presidency, however, Mr Obama seems a curiously bloodless president. If he experiences passion, he seldom shows it. It is often anyone's guess as to whether an event or issue truly moves him.

He has spent more than two months considering a troop increase but do we know how he really feels about the Afghan war?

In a sign that the Obama honeymoon truly is over, I began to hear this week the first stirrings of a wistfulness about Mr Bush. "I never thought I'd hear myself say it," one Democrat told me. "But Obama makes you feel that at least with Bush you knew where he was on something."

When Mr Bush's Republicans were defeated in the 2006 mid-term elections, it was the President himself who stepped up and declared that his party had received "a thumpin'". The Democratic defeats on Tuesday were not on anything like the same scale but Mr Obama acted as if nothing at all had happened.

Mr Obama had campaigned for Jon Corzine, New Jersey's Democratic governor, five times, twice just last Sunday. But when Mr Corzine lost by four points in a state Mr Obama won by 15 last year - a 19-point swing to Republicans - White House aides just shrugged.

In Virginia, which Mr Obama won by six points last year, prompting Democrats to declare an historic political realignment in the state, the Democratic candidate went down by 17 points in the biggest landslide since 1961 - a 23-point swing to the Grand Old Party.

It took Senator Mark Warner of Virginia to admit that his party "got walloped". For three days, Mr Obama maintained a studied silence about the results while his aides blamed them on local factors that had nothing to do with the President. And to think that it was Mr Bush who was always accused of being "in denial".

More serious perhaps was Mr Obama's strange disconnectedness over the Fort Hood massacre of 13 soldiers by an Army major and devout Muslim who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had praised suicide bombing and shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire.

Maybe Mr Obama had been reading the American press, much of which somehow contrived to present the atrocity as a result of combat stress due to soldiers going on repeated war deployments (though Major Nadal Hasan had not been on any) and therefore, no doubt, Mr Bush's fault.

When the television networks cut to the President, viewers listened to him spend more than two surreal minutes talking to a gathering of Native Americans about their "extraordinary" and "extremely productive" conference, pausing to give a cheery "shout out" to a man named Dr Joe Medicine Crow. Only then did he briefly and mechanically address what had happened in Texas.

On Friday, when most of the basic facts were available, Mr Obama tried again. It was scarcely any better. He began by offering "an update on the tragedy that took place" - as if it was an earthquake and not a terrorist attack from an enemy within - and ended with a promise for more "updates in the coming days and weeks".

Completely missing was the eloquence that Mr Obama employs when talking about himself. Absent too was any sense that the President empathised with the families and comrades of those murdered.

It was a reminder that for the past 16 years Americans have had two Presidents who would often extemporise and express emotion. President Bill Clinton could certainly "feel your pain" while Mr Bush sometimes struggled to hold back tears. Mr Obama is more like President George Bush Snr, who famously communicated his concern for people by blurting out: "Message - I care."

The White House argues that Mr Obama was not on the ballot last week and there is therefore no need to fret. The problem with this complacency is that voters were angry about the state of the economy, which Mr Obama can't keep blaming on his predecessor. With unemployment now above 10 per cent, Mr Obama needs to show Americans that he can relate to what they're going through, and take responsibility.

It could do him good to show he has a bit of fire in his belly. Perhaps he might make a decision or two based on gut instinct and deep conviction. In other words, maybe he should try being a bit more like Mr Bush.

Source: Bloodless President Barack Obama makes Americans wistful for George W Bush - Telegraph

Praised Allah and Started Firing ::: Fort Hood Shooter Shot the Wounded Again

Wow... so even if a person invokes their deity before shooting we're supposed to believe that religion had nothing to do with it. Got it.

Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre described today how Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly gunned down unarmed soldiers, and then shot them again as they lay wounded on the floor.

Soldier Keara Bono survived the onslaught at Fort Hood after Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly gunned down unarmed soldiers, and then shot them again as they lay wounded on the floor.

(ABC News/AP Photo)

Investigators believe more than 100 shots were fired from Hasan's gun in a matter of minutes. He was described as calm and methodical in his attack, pausing only to reload. Soldier Keara Bono survived the onslaught although she was wounded slightly in the back and grazed in the head.

Bono told "Good Morning America" today that she initially thought the scene of Hasan standing up, praising Allah and starting to fire was a drill. She didn't believe it was real even when she felt her own blood, she said.

"Then I looked to my left and right and I saw people that were bleeding," she said. That's when Bono realized that Hasan's rampage wasn't a drill.

"I started crawling, I called 911 with my phone to my side... and I turned back and looked at him. He was about two body lengths away from me, longways, shooting people on the ground still. So I was just waiting to get shot in the back," she said.

[snip]

What a nightmare.

Read the rest here: Fort Hood Shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan Shot the Wounded Again - ABC News

Pure Class ::: George W. Bush Visits Fort Hood, Wounded Soldiers - cbs11tv.com

I cannot express how much I still wish that, despite all the faults, this man was still our President. (And I have a feeling that our military agrees.)

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) ― Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.

The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."

What? No cameras? Shocking. (Not.)

George W. Bush Visits Fort Hood, Wounded Soldiers - cbs11tv.com

Eye-Rolling Alert ::: At mosque attended by suspect, anger and mourning

I don't call this paper the Austin UnAmerican Statement for nothin'.

It's a barf-fest:

KILLEEN — Sgt. Fahad Kamal attended prayer services at the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen on Friday just as he has frequently since arriving at Fort Hood seven months ago.

This day, though, the 26-year-old medic, who served in Afghanistan from January 2007 to April 2008, wore his uniform. This day, the devout Muslim from Houston was seeking to strike a far different image than that of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is accused of shooting 43 people at Fort Hood on Thursday.

Kamal said he had come to the mosque from a gloomy base, where "soldiers aren't really talking about the shootings because we're trying to move on."

He said his first reaction to the news of shootings was "angry embarrassment," and his concerns echoed those of others in the Central Texas Muslim community, who arrived at services in a somber mood.

"I hope people don't make themselves believe that religion has anything to do with what happened," Kamal said.

Kamal is one of about 40 members of Killeen's close-knit Muslim community. When he arrived to pray at the one-story red brick mosque just off Texas 195 on Fort Hood Street, he and dozens of others quietly dodged a crowd of reporters on the otherwise calm stretch of road.

The 40-minute prayer service included a moment of silence and a passionate condemnation of the shootings from Dr. Manzoor Farooqi, president of the mosque, who called the action a "shameless attack."

Farooqi, who has led the mosque for 12 years, said that he knew Hasan from Ramadan observances but that he had not known him very well.

"When I saw him on television, I thought, 'I can't believe he'd do such a stupid thing,' to be frank," Farooqi said.

"The shootings are devastating and tragic," said Danquah Osman, who is treasurer of the mosque and a liaison between the mosque and Fort Hood. Osman, who has lived in Killeen since 1976, said he served in the Army as a first sergeant for 22 years.

"We're supposed to care for each other in the military," Osman said. "Those victims could have been my sons."

Abdulkarim Hulwe, 45, a retired Army veteran who said he talked to Hasan frequently, said Hasan struck him as a devout but quiet Muslim who tended to go to work early and sometimes prayed at the mosque before work. He said he last saw Hasan at 6:15 a.m. Thursday.

"He just appeared to be an outstanding soldier. He ... always seemed to be on his best behavior," Hulwe said.

As Austin Imam Islam Mossaad said Thursday, when news of the shooting spread, Muslims in Central Texas all hoped that the gunman did not share their faith. But when members of Killeen's Islamic community learned that Hasan had been among them for prayers at Ramadan a couple of months ago, they said it deepened their anxiety that his actions could have a lasting effect on their peace-loving community.

"Islam promotes peace and equality, and violence has nothing to do with that," Kamal said. "I hope that people won't start stereotyping, since that's what people tend to do."

Note that they themselves stereotyped... they were hoping the killer wouldn't turn out to be a Muslim. Why would they even have that thought?

Editor's Note: We have disabled commenting on this story because of repeated abuse of our commenting policy related to the Ft. Hood shooting.

More like... we have disabled commenting because we're tired of having our pansy-ass article ridiculed.

At mosque attended by suspect, anger and mourning

3pmE: Call-In Show: Political Correctness Will. Kill. Us. All- Today on Unspun with AnnaZ /Blog Talk Radio

Discussions today will cover the Fort Hood carnage as well as other aspects of US reactions to homegrown and worldwide jihad. Plus, the Tea Party Express rolls into Austin as the fight for America's meaning continues.

Live today at 3pmE/2pmTX/NoonP

Call-in Number: (347) 327-9710

Also available afterward on iTunes as a podcast and at Blog Talk Radio


Unspun with AnnaZ
Independent Radio for the Independent Spirit.

Call-In Show Political Correctness Will. Kill. Us. All 11/6/2009 - Unspun with AnnaZ on Blog Talk Radio

Get Well Soon, Glenn... And Have A Chuckle While You Do ::: Jon Stewart: The 11/3 Project

Trust me, the blackboard makes this little lampooning worth the watch.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 11/3 Project
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Video: The 11/3 Project | The Daily Show | Comedy Central

Yikes ::: Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting

Watching this live yesterday on FNC was really quite bizarre. Obama reminded me of a newscaster, switching tone to match the "segment".

*sigh*

President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation cled for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and, inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur.

Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before. That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.

Did the president's team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on -- and the initial words coming out of their president's mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.

[snip]

From NBC, of all places: Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting | NBC Chicago