Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
From Wednesday's Pravda
Author, Stanislav Mishin - Russian blogger who knows his history:
Article - link.
U/T: Drudge
UPDATE 5.30: Added Stanislav's link and some more text from the article.
Stanislav Mishin's Blog: Mat Rodina. Check it out! His perspective, from Russia looking into the US, brings clarity that is rare among conservative writers and bloggers in the US.
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system...
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Then their faith in God was destroyed...
---
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system...
---
Then their faith in God was destroyed...
---
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.
Article - link.
U/T: Drudge
UPDATE 5.30: Added Stanislav's link and some more text from the article.
Stanislav Mishin's Blog: Mat Rodina. Check it out! His perspective, from Russia looking into the US, brings clarity that is rare among conservative writers and bloggers in the US.
Karl's Weekend Reading
First, a simplified analysis tool for reviewing Obama's policies, then two articles on the Sotomayor nomination:
Bret Stephens at the WSJ writes, Obama and the Underpants Gnomes. In reference to a South Park episode where gnomes steal underwear, stockpile it with plans to resell it. The Gnomes follow a three-phase process: 1) steal underwear, 2) ??, 3) profit. Bret compares this incomplete model that relies on blind faith to several Obama initiatives:
Closing Guantanamo -
Middle East Peace -
North Korea Nukes -
Energy Policy -
Deficit -
Detroit -
Kimberley Strassel makes a 'compelling' case for looking beyond Sonia Sotomayer for an example of an American that overcomes significant obstacles on their way to the highest court in the land in her WSJ article, The Sotomayor Rules:
Charles Krauthammer, Townhall, Sotomayor: Criticize, then Confirm:
Cartoons from American Thinker.
Bret Stephens at the WSJ writes, Obama and the Underpants Gnomes. In reference to a South Park episode where gnomes steal underwear, stockpile it with plans to resell it. The Gnomes follow a three-phase process: 1) steal underwear, 2) ??, 3) profit. Bret compares this incomplete model that relies on blind faith to several Obama initiatives:
Closing Guantanamo -
Phase One: Order Guantanamo closed. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Close Gitmo!
Middle East Peace -
Phase One: Talk to Iran, Syria, whoever. Phase Two: ? Phase Three: Peace!
North Korea Nukes -
Phase One: Propose a "structure." . . .
Energy Policy -
Phase One: Inaugurate the era of "green" energy. Phase Two: Overturn the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Phase Three: Carbon neutrality!
Deficit -
Phase One: Approve $3.5 trillion in government stimulus, and then await the mythical Keynesian multiplier.
Detroit -
Phase One: Set a national mileage standard for passenger cars of 39 miles per gallon and force auto makers to make the kind of cars that drove them to bankruptcy in the first place.
Kimberley Strassel makes a 'compelling' case for looking beyond Sonia Sotomayer for an example of an American that overcomes significant obstacles on their way to the highest court in the land in her WSJ article, The Sotomayor Rules:
[Obama says] it is Judge Sotomayor's biography that uniquely qualifies her to sit on the nation's highest bench -- that gives her the "empathy" to rule wisely. Judge Sotomayor agrees: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn't lived that life," she said in 2001.
If so, perhaps we can expect her to join in opinions with the wise and richly experienced Clarence Thomas. That would be the same Justice Thomas who lost his father, and was raised by his mother in a rural Georgia town, in a shack without running water, until he was sent to his grandfather. The same Justice Thomas who had to work every day after school, though he was not allowed to study at the Savannah Public Library because he was black. The same Justice Thomas who became the first in his family to go to college and receive a law degree from Yale.
By the president's measure, the nation couldn't find a more empathetic referee than Justice Thomas.
If so, perhaps we can expect her to join in opinions with the wise and richly experienced Clarence Thomas. That would be the same Justice Thomas who lost his father, and was raised by his mother in a rural Georgia town, in a shack without running water, until he was sent to his grandfather. The same Justice Thomas who had to work every day after school, though he was not allowed to study at the Savannah Public Library because he was black. The same Justice Thomas who became the first in his family to go to college and receive a law degree from Yale.
By the president's measure, the nation couldn't find a more empathetic referee than Justice Thomas.
Charles Krauthammer, Townhall, Sotomayor: Criticize, then Confirm:
He [Frank Ricci of Ricci v. DeStefano] placed sixth on the lieutenant's exam, which qualified him for promotion. Except that the exams were thrown out by the city, and all promotions denied, because no blacks had scored high enough to be promoted.
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Sotomayor was a member of the three-member circuit court panel that upheld the dismissal of his case, thus denying Ricci his promotion.
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Since the 2008 election, people have been asking what conservatism stands for. Well, if nothing else, it stands unequivocally against justice as empathy -- and unequivocally for the principle of blind justice.
Empathy is a vital virtue to be exercised in private life -- through charity, respect and lovingkindness -- and in the legislative life of a society where the consequences of any law matter greatly, which is why income taxes are progressive and safety nets built for the poor and disadvantaged.
---
When the hearings begin, Republicans should call Frank Ricci as their first witness. Democrats want justice rooted in empathy? Let Ricci tell his story and let the American people judge whether his promotion should have been denied because of his skin color in a procedure Sotomayor joined in calling "facially race-neutral."
---
Sotomayor was a member of the three-member circuit court panel that upheld the dismissal of his case, thus denying Ricci his promotion.
---
Since the 2008 election, people have been asking what conservatism stands for. Well, if nothing else, it stands unequivocally against justice as empathy -- and unequivocally for the principle of blind justice.
Empathy is a vital virtue to be exercised in private life -- through charity, respect and lovingkindness -- and in the legislative life of a society where the consequences of any law matter greatly, which is why income taxes are progressive and safety nets built for the poor and disadvantaged.
---
When the hearings begin, Republicans should call Frank Ricci as their first witness. Democrats want justice rooted in empathy? Let Ricci tell his story and let the American people judge whether his promotion should have been denied because of his skin color in a procedure Sotomayor joined in calling "facially race-neutral."
Cartoons from American Thinker.
DealerGate
More evidence comes in every day that the Chrysler dealerships chosen for closing were chosen based on their owners' political donations. The silent majority of the right is still slumbering, but the legal ramifications of these targeted closings can derail Obama's preferred bankruptcy outcome. We'll see.
Doug Ross, one of the most talented bloggers on our blogroll, has been leading this story with fantastic research and analysis. Others are contributing too - and Doug links to them in his posts.
Here is a sample of Doug's analysis in the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit. The dealership in the center that will remain open is owned by RLJ, the others owned by non-Obama supporters:
To date only one dealership whose owner contributed to Obama has shown up on the cut list. The owner gave $200 to the Obama campaign. Obviously not enough...
Here are Doug's posts so far:
May 25: RED ALERT: Did anti-Obama campaign contributions dictate which Chrysler dealers were shuttered?
May 27: Dealergate: Stats demonstrate that Chrysler Dealers likely shuttered on a partisan basis
May 28: Closing Chrysler's Dealerships: The Reader's Digest Version
Uncle Joe would be proud.
UPDATE 8:30pm: Doug's post from today: Dealergate: 40 Democrat-friendly Dealerships Become 42 After The Dust Settles; Their Competition Gutted As Well
UPDATE 6.1: More posts from May 31 that show it isn't just Obama supporters that are keeping their dealerships:
RED ALERT: Dealergate -- Quantitative Analysis Indicates Clinton Donors Rewarded By Selective Closings
Dealergate: Zero Hedge understated 'The Clinton Effect'
Doug Ross, one of the most talented bloggers on our blogroll, has been leading this story with fantastic research and analysis. Others are contributing too - and Doug links to them in his posts.
Here is a sample of Doug's analysis in the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit. The dealership in the center that will remain open is owned by RLJ, the others owned by non-Obama supporters:
RLJ's owners "are Steve Landers (long-time car dealer, 4th-generation dealer), Thomas "Mack" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Clinton), and Robert Johnson (founder of Black Entertainment Television and co-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats)... McLarty campaigned for Obama in 2008, and Johnson has given countless amounts of money to Democrats over the years."
To date only one dealership whose owner contributed to Obama has shown up on the cut list. The owner gave $200 to the Obama campaign. Obviously not enough...
Here are Doug's posts so far:
May 25: RED ALERT: Did anti-Obama campaign contributions dictate which Chrysler dealers were shuttered?
May 27: Dealergate: Stats demonstrate that Chrysler Dealers likely shuttered on a partisan basis
May 28: Closing Chrysler's Dealerships: The Reader's Digest Version
Uncle Joe would be proud.
UPDATE 8:30pm: Doug's post from today: Dealergate: 40 Democrat-friendly Dealerships Become 42 After The Dust Settles; Their Competition Gutted As Well
UPDATE 6.1: More posts from May 31 that show it isn't just Obama supporters that are keeping their dealerships:
RED ALERT: Dealergate -- Quantitative Analysis Indicates Clinton Donors Rewarded By Selective Closings
Dealergate: Zero Hedge understated 'The Clinton Effect'
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday Afternoon Cigar
Rain Delay. The sprinkles started just before we could light our Romeo Y Julieta. Standing by...
Sonia Sotomayer
Record:
Ricci v. DeStefano - Reverse Racism case where Sotomayor and two other judges ruled against white firefighters who were denied promotion despite exam scores that placed them at the top. In review at the Supreme Court.
Riverkeeper v. EPA - Supreme Court overruled her 2007 decision stating the EPA could not use cost-benefit analysis to determine technology upgrades.
Merrill Lynch v. Dabit - Supreme Court overruled her 2006 decision "that a state class-action lawsuit was not pre-empted by federal law".
Qualifications:
Empathy
Latina
"Elections have consequences", so says Rush Limbaugh. We concur. Let Obama nominate who he wants. But also let the opposition expose this nominee as an anti-constitutionalist who will legislate from the bench. Let's have a nomination process to learn more about Sonia Sotomayer. We'll see if our fellow Americans pay attention.
WSJ: The 'Empathy' Nominee:
In making Sonia Sotomayor his first nominee for the Supreme Court yesterday, President Obama appears to have found the ideal match for his view that personal experience and cultural identity are the better part of judicial wisdom.
This isn't a jurisprudence that the Founders would recognize, but it is the creative view that has dominated the law schools since the 1970s and from which both the President and Judge Sotomayor emerged.
This isn't a jurisprudence that the Founders would recognize, but it is the creative view that has dominated the law schools since the 1970s and from which both the President and Judge Sotomayor emerged.
A View Over the Wall
Evan Ramstad writes in the WSJ on Friday, May 22, Gulags, Nukes and Water Slide: Citizen Spies Lift North Korea's Veil. A great piece about George Mason University's doctoral candidate Curtis Melvin's work with Google Earth to map the concentration camps and other landmarks in North Korea using Google Earth.
Melvin and others have mapped Gulags, mass-burial sites, compounds of the elites and other sites with the Google Earth tool. Many of the sites include secret sites that were found after hours of staring at the satellite images, following roads or power lines to remote locations where they then find a guard tower. Fascinating. Imagine if this had been available during the Cold War.
Below is a screenshot of concentration camp Kwan Li So 16. Notice the nuclear testing site just outside the camp's perimeter to the West.
Download the file from North Korea Economy Watch - here.
Melvin and others have mapped Gulags, mass-burial sites, compounds of the elites and other sites with the Google Earth tool. Many of the sites include secret sites that were found after hours of staring at the satellite images, following roads or power lines to remote locations where they then find a guard tower. Fascinating. Imagine if this had been available during the Cold War.
Below is a screenshot of concentration camp Kwan Li So 16. Notice the nuclear testing site just outside the camp's perimeter to the West.
Download the file from North Korea Economy Watch - here.
"Mob Rule"
"Mob Rule". The term used in a recent discussion with a gay California gentleman in his assessment of the 52% vote November in favor of Proposition 8. He was comforted by the fact that the California Supreme Court was near its decision to reverse the will of the voters and make gay marriage legal. Oops.
Who here objects to this union?
Apparently 6 of the 7 extremely liberal justices.
Another example of how factions within the Democratic party get screwed by their own. And a respite in the endless attack against the traditional family and values that made this country great.
We'll watch the protests to see which side of this issue, if any, behaves like a "mob".
We'll also encourage California gays to consider moving to one of the gay-friendly states like Howard Dean's Vermont or Susan Collin's Maine.
Couple picture from ZombieTime (with regrets & apology).
Justice picture from Drudge.
UPDATE 5.29:
Zombie attended a gay march on Tuesday in San Francisco. No mob here... Click here to see his report and pictures.
Who here objects to this union?
Apparently 6 of the 7 extremely liberal justices.
Another example of how factions within the Democratic party get screwed by their own. And a respite in the endless attack against the traditional family and values that made this country great.
We'll watch the protests to see which side of this issue, if any, behaves like a "mob".
We'll also encourage California gays to consider moving to one of the gay-friendly states like Howard Dean's Vermont or Susan Collin's Maine.
Couple picture from ZombieTime (with regrets & apology).
Justice picture from Drudge.
UPDATE 5.29:
Zombie attended a gay march on Tuesday in San Francisco. No mob here... Click here to see his report and pictures.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
NK Nuke Test - Our $0.02
Good for North Korea.
They have been part of the nuclear club since the Clinton years. It is their right to test their arsenal and make improvements. If only leaders in the US (both parties) shared the same values of testing the nation's ultimate deterrent.
Further, we are lucky that Obama is president as North Korea is ratcheting-up the rhetoric along with missile and nuke tests. His administration's combined incompetence and impotence in foreign affairs creates the unintended, yet ideal, environment for a North Korean collapse. Obama will not do a thing. Not by choice, but because he committed to a lower priority for N. Korea long before he took office. He must have at least one smart advisor who has made the case that nearly any effort applied to N. Korea is wasted. The only options that would work are not possible when a Democrat is in the White House.
We'll now watch the UN write another letter strenuously opposed at the nuke test, and Obama explain how he is 'deeply troubled' at the recent events. Then, if we're lucky, that will be it. Why? Reason #3.
Gordon G. Chang writes in the WSJ today, North Korea Advertises Its Nukes. He reviews the four accepted motivations for the nuke and missile tests, plus adds a new, very serious, fifth reason. We add our assessments:
1) International recognition as a nuclear state. Success.
2) Destabilize the S. Korean government. Fail. The test bolsters the South's new hardline opinions.
3) Get more foreign aid. Pending. Will Obama rush to the table and offer more aid? We suspect not.
4) Improve image among starving population. Unknown. We think they'd prefer freedom to nuke tests, but we're biased.
5) Advertise N. Korea arms to Iran, Syria, etc. Success.
2) Destabilize the S. Korean government. Fail. The test bolsters the South's new hardline opinions.
3) Get more foreign aid. Pending. Will Obama rush to the table and offer more aid? We suspect not.
4) Improve image among starving population. Unknown. We think they'd prefer freedom to nuke tests, but we're biased.
5) Advertise N. Korea arms to Iran, Syria, etc. Success.
We'll add three more:
6) Show fellow thug-nation-states that the International community is all talk. Success, again.
7) Show fellow thug-nation-states that N. Korea is their de-facto leader. Success.
8) Re-establish Kim's position as the leader of N. Korea. Unknown.
It has been rumored that there is a power struggle within Kim's regime. His recent stroke is one aspect, as are the roles of his two sons in the succession plans. This dissension isn't among factions that include pro-west efforts, but are instead thug-power-plays to determine who runs the concentration camps after Kim's death.
These tests show the desperation at the top levels of the North Korean regime. The US's new lack of interest led to these tests, will lead to more desperate rhetoric and actions in the near future, and will hasten the demise of the communist prison-nation.
The only important question: Will a North Korean collapse include a mushroom cloud over Seoul?