Talking Turkey About Voter I.D. Laws

Attorney General Eric Holder has never met a voter i.d. law that he likes. Despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court approved showing photo identification in order to vote in 2006, Holder has consistently gone to court seeking injunctions against such laws, even ones patterned on the laws that were upheld. Sorry, but I'm not buying any altruistic motive.

The Democrats simply want to engage in voter fraud and photo i.d. requirements are a significant deterrent to their plans. We all show photo i.d. all the time - cashing checks, using credit cards, boarding airplanes, etc. and it is fatuous in the extreme to suggest that somehow voting should not require the same degree of security. Holder apparently thinks he took an oath not to uphold the laws of the United States and our Constitution. By hook or by crook, as the saying goes and it is clear where Mr. Holder and his defenders fall on this continuum.

Gitmo Works

A week ago a tour bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria blew up killing 5 passengers and wounding dozens more. The story of who did it isn't getting much play in the U.S., perhaps because it was a Gitmo inmate that the U.S. released at the behest of the Swedish government in 2004. Mehdi Ghezali also tried sneaking into Afghanistan in 2009 to fight with the bad guys. Ghezali was blown up in the explosion, although there is evidence to believe that this was unintentional. Pity. There is no doubt that Club Gitmo is a fine place to warehouse such specimens regardless of what the squalling chorus of Lefties says. Forever.

www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/07/19/anti-Israel-bomber-Bulgaria-released-Gitmo

Protecting Bank Customers

The former head of Citibank, Sandy Weil, now says break up the mega banks and safeguard depositors' money. Technically, he is advocating bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act, as I proposed in my May 29, 2012 blog. This is a good thing. The investment banking function would be split off from the retail banking function, which would safeguard customer deposits. His voice carries even more weight because Weil was one of the chief backers of doing away with Glass-Steagall in the 1990s. Are you listening Congress?

finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/mega-bank-creator-sandy-weill-reverses-course-says-153653712.html

Rock Control Needed

(Tip o' the hat to Bill Brooks)

The Tragedy in Denver

First, our prayers and sympathy go out to the families who lost loved ones in the Aurora, CO theater rampage. It is a despicable act of evil that has no excuse. 


That being said, the calls for gun control are already circulating from people like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others to "prevent" future tragedies. They are misguided, at best. Heroin is illegal and yet people still buy it. It is illegal for minors to have alcohol, yet somehow they manage to obtain it pretty much at will. The same is true of a lot of other "illegal" things. To think that outlawing guns will do anything to stop a serious killer is laughable - it will only prevent law-abiding citizens from shooting back to protect themselves and others. 


In 2002 a disgruntled former student showed up on the campus of Appalachian School of Law and started shooting. Two students went to their cars and retrieved their pistols and confronted him. The shooter dropped his weapon and remained frozen until police arrived.  Three people died but countless others were saved by the timely actions of their armed fellow students. One can only wonder what the result would have been last night if several people at the Colorado theater were lawfully carrying and took action against the shooter. 


We live in a world that increasingly can go suddenly and violently out of control. In many cases like Aurora, CO last night, the police simply cannot get there fast enough to prevent a heavy loss of life. No one else is going to protect you or your loved ones. You had best think now what your responsibility is under such circumstances because the odds are you will not have time to do so if the worst actually happens. 

The Gringos are Coming!

GM is sending $420M south of the border down Mexico way to build a plant that will produce a new compact car and a new line of pickups. The Federal government is by far the biggest shareholder in GM. Well I'll be - the U.S. economy is doing so well that we have to export jobs to Mexico. Obama's got it covered. Pass me another Corona, please.

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120719-717327.html

His Chicago Roots are Showing

Right now the polls aren't looking so good for President Obama. What to do? Why go back to your Chicago roots of course! Last week Team Obama tried to tar Romney as a felon. Right. Boy Scout Mitt - he who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, curses with a resounding "Gee whiz!" now and then, a gangster? Right. I wonder when the the guys with the tommy guns will drop by Mitt's place and make him an offer he can't refuse. Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town!

It Has Nothing to Do With You!

"There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back," he began, defending his policy of higher tax rates on high earners. "They know they didn't -- look, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

Thus spoketh President Obama.

Michael Barone digests the essence of President Obama's statement perfectly:

"In other words, Steve Jobs didn't make Apple happen. It was the work of a teacher union member -- er, great teacher -- and the government agencies that paved I-280 and El Camino Real that made Apple happen."

Really? Forward. 

Character Counts

 Fair is fair. With all the hoorah over Romney and Bain Capital, I think it's time that we take a detailed look at President Obama's background:

"I mean, this is a guy who admitted to cocaine use, had a sweetheart deal with his house in Chicago, and was associated and worked with Rod Blagojevich to get Valerie Jarrett appointed to the Senate..."

Hmm - where shall we start? I am definitely looking forward to this. 

And We Wonder Why the Economy Has Tanked?

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that food stamps and unemployment insurance are the two "most stimulative" things you can do for the economy.

If It Looks Like a Duck, and It Walks Like a ...

Rep. Allen West recently got a lot of push back when he said that there were a number of communists in Congress. Precision in the use of words is important (although not to the Left) but here is an interesting article about socialists in Congress and lo and behold among them is Oregon's own Peter DeFazio from Eugene. Originally he was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has since morphed into the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and which also lists Nancy Pelosi among its members. What do they believe? Let's take a look at the official DSA song list listed on its former website:


“The Internationale,” the worldwide anthem of Communism and socialism.


“Red Revolution” sung to the tune of “Red Robin,” with these lyrics: “When the Red Revolution brings its solution along, along, there’ll be no more lootin’ when we start shootin’ that Wall Street throng. …”

“Are You Sleeping, Bourgeoisie?” Lyrics included: “Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Bourgeoisie, Bourgeoisie. And when the revolution comes, We’ll kill you all with knives and guns, Bourgeoisie, Bourgeoisie.” (Ed. note - Any guesses as to why gun control is so important to these people?)

Definitely Cole Porter quality, wouldn't you agree? 

And what is their agenda? Not one that comports with the beliefs of the Founders of this country:

"The DSA is a political action committee and bills itself as the heir to the defunct Socialist Party of America. Its chief organizing objective is to work within the Democratic Party as the primary, but not sole, method of achieving public ownership of private property and the means of production.

“Stress our Democratic Party strategy and electoral work,” explains an internal organizing document obtained by WND. “The Democratic Party is something the public understands, and association with it takes the edge off. Stressing our Democratic Party work will establish some distance from the radical subculture and help integrate you to the milieu of the young liberals.”

If you have ever wondered what happened to the Democratic Party of Harry Truman and JFK, now you know. These are wolves in sheep's clothing and they do not like the United States as it has historically existed and are steadily working to bring about its demise. What will replace it? Many of these "comrades" think Fidel has done a marvelous job in Cuba. Consider that for a while.

www.wnd.com/2012/07/socialist-in-congress-proposes-so-called-robin-hood-tax/

Occupy Christianity

Born and bred as Episcopalians, my wife and I left the church in 1990 or so for more orthodox climes when we could no longer abide the direction that the Episcopal Church was headed. This Wall Street Journal article indicates that things certainly have not gotten better since we hit the eject button. The piece focuses on the church's general convention now underway and some of the goings-on:

"General Convention is also notable for its sheer ostentation and carnival atmosphere. For seven straight nights, lavish cocktail parties spilled into pricey steakhouses, where bishops could use their diocesan funds to order bottles of the finest wines.

During the day, legislators in the lower chamber, the House of Deputies, and the upper chamber, the House of Bishops, discussed such weighty topics as whether to develop funeral rites for dogs and cats, and whether to ratify resolutions condemning genetically modified foods. Both were approved by a vote, along with a resolution to "dismantle the effects of the doctrine of discovery," in effect an apology to Native Americans for exposing them to Christianity."

All that and a Presiding Bishop who sees herself as the current incarnation of Henry VIII. Sigh. I will let God sort it out - it is His church. Pardon me, though, if I move away from the impact zone.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303919504577520950409252574.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion

Say What?

"When Obama was sworn into office in January 2009, he had already developed an activist vision of his foreign policy destiny. He would refurbish the United States' image abroad..."

www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137516/martin-indyk-kenneth-lieberthal-and-michael-e-ohanlon/scoring-obamas-foreign-policy

"Two eminent Canadians are engaged in a war of words with the American ambassador over relations between the Harper government and the Obama administration.
Mr. Burney, who was Canadian ambassador to the United States, and Prof. Hampson, a distinguished political scientist, caused a storm within the cloistered world of Canada-U.S. watchers with their article in Foreign Affairs describing relations between the Democratic administration and the Conservative government as at “the lowest point in decades.”

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/its-time-to-stop-worrying-about-what-the-americans-think-of-us/article4402023/

Seriously dude - you've managed to get the Canadians p.o.'d? The Canadians?

Happy Birthday America!

Those Who Forget ...

... history are doomed to repeat it. George Santayana. Indeed. A German magazine reports that half of German teenagers are unsure if Hitler was a dictator. Does it bother anybody else that Germany is in the process of a de facto economic takeover of Europe and the generation that will be taking over the reins of power not too far down the line is this confused about Herr Hitler?  Well, American teenagers probably don't know either, so ...

www.thelocal.de/society/20120627-43407.html