Everybody and Nobody is in Charge

“There’s oil in the Sound and there was no skimming,” Carron said. “No coordinated effort.”

Pat, at And So it Goes in Shreveport:

Admiral Allen was asked about the lack of skimmers by Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald. His response?

The discussions we are having with the Navy and other folks right now is the availability of skimmers that are on standby because they might be needed for a spill someplace else and how we might go about assessing the availability of those resources. So I would separate out the resources that the Navy had that they've already given to us and the discussions we're having across the entire country where we have equipment that's out there as a requirement—legal requirement to cover spill response of those areas and how we might free those up, and that's a work in progress inside the administration right now.

Got that? We've got skimmers on standby but can't use them because they might be needed somewhere else. Her next question was whether or not the Jones Act has been waived. Allen's response:

Oh, there are a lot of foreign vessels operating offshore, Carol. The Jones Act—we have had no request for Jones Act waivers. If the vessels are operating outside state waters, which is three miles and beyond, they don't require a waiver. All that we require is an Affirmation of Reciprocity, so if there ever was a spill in those countries and we want to send skimming equipment, that we would be allowed to do that, as well, and that hasn't become an issue yet, either.

Allen should check his mail more often. One request was made on June 17. John Cornyn sent a request on June 22. On June 18, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison filed a bill requesting waiver of the Jones Act. Florida Senator LeMieux and Rep. Jeff Miller requested a waiver two weeks ago.

Allen's excuse that foreign vessels are working the spill three miles and more offshore is lame. A waiver of the Jones Act would get foreign skimmers near the shore where they could protect the fragile coast.

There are unconfirmed reports of tar balls being sighted in the Tampa Bay.  For me, that isn't too close to home-it is home.  A couple of days ago I asked whether our president is incompetent or evil.  "Evil" won out hands down with the general consensus being that "nobody can be this incompetent."  Currently there are protesters spread out across the Gulf states.  Instead of protesting BP they should be protesting an administration who is intentionally allow our Gulf Coasts to be destroyed in order to advance their "green" agenda.

Pat is correct when she says that Thad Allen needs to go.  Let me add that he should take a certain big earred jackass with him.

Read the rest of Pat's post.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Mike Huckabee said Sunday he's the strongest Republican to take on President Obama in 2012.

I am sure that Huckabee is a good man but, no, a thousand times no!

No Tea Party Protesters Here

The Left just loves to talk about how those those scarier Tea Partiers are "prone" to violence.  We haven't seen any evidence of Tea Parties turning violent but still, it is a recurring theme from the Left.  I think our friends on the Left could profit from a piece of advice:  Matthew 7:4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?
Protesters at the G8/G20 summit in Toronto:



Mark Steyn writing in The Corner:

I may have to revise my old line about the British police being "the most monumentally useless in the developed world". For the G20 summit, the Toronto coppers ordered up a ton of new body armor, weaponry, gas masks, etc - and then stood around in their state-of-the-art riot gear watching as a bunch of middle-class "anarchists" trashed the city. Streetcars were left abandoned, and even police cruisers were seized, vandalized and burned. But hey, it's the taxpayers who pay for 'em, right? And I'm sure they'll have replacements ready when Constable Plod needs to drive over to Tim Hortons for his mid-morning Boston Creme.

Steyn finished with:

Any city that stands aside to photograph itself burning - deserves to.

No argument here.

Momma Always Said

"Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer."

Apparently, Joe Biden could have benefited from my Momma's advice while in campaigning with Russ Feingold (D-WI) in Wisconsin yesterday.  Biden ordered a frozen custard at Kopp's Frozen Custard in Glenndale and while mugging for the cameras asked the owner how much he owed him.  The owner replied, "Nothing, just lower our taxes." 

That was not the answer the VP wanted.  Biden responded,  “Say something nice instead of being a smartass all the time.”  Personally, I think Biden is lucky the owner didn't answer with a hearty, "Bite me, Bozo."

Gateway Pundit has the video.

Best PSA Ever!

Many thanks to Donald at American Power for sharing this video:



Jan Brewer is turning out to be one tough cookie.  Good thing.  Barack Obama is refusing to honor his oath of office and if it weren't for people like Brewer who stand up for our citizens living in the border states the entire area would be renamed Pequeno Mexico.

Check out the picture at American Power.

Incompetence or By Design

Yesterday morning I called Obama the most incompetent president ever.  I was quickly informed that I was not only wrong but short sighted.  The premise is that Obama's strategy for transforming our country is to benefit from crisis by intentionally making the crisis worse and thus selling far Left solutions as the only viable means of escape from the crisis, aka the Cloward-Piven strategy.  Obama's actions in the Gulf oil spill crisis-allowing shore saving boom to sit in warehouses, refusing to lift the Jones Act, stopping the dredging, on and on, are either examples of grouse incompetence OR a means to force the passage of a comprehensive energy and environmental package that will fundamentally transform our country while concentrating even more power in to the hands of Washington even if it means that the Gulf states are ruined in the process.  So, which is it?  Is Obama incompetent or is he evil?  Have your say:

The Unshocking has Happenned

Is anyone surprised that McCrystal is out and Petraeus is in?  As Prof. Jacobson pointed out at Legal Insurrection, the most damning "McCrystal" quotes from the Rolling Stone article that started this whole ball rolling were not actually quotes from Gen. McCrystal but from the general's aids.  Obama could have kept McCrystal on but Obama wanted to appear strong-no easy task our effete and quibbling Commander in Chief.

But then an odd thing happenned...

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Not that I would ever accuse the honorable MoveOn.Org of hypocrisy or anything, but it strikes me odd that they would pick today to scrub their “General Betray Us” page from their website. After all, the only change is that Obama has handpicked Gen. Petraeus to take over where his handpicked Gen. McCrystal is leaving off (letting go?). If the Lefties disapproved of Gen. Petraeus yesterday, and they certainly did, shouldn’t the same still hold true today? Weasel Zippers has the screen shots and this via Drudge:

WASHINGTON (Friday, September 21, 2007) — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a measure condemning MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad it ran last week attacking Gen. David Petraeus. The move came as President Bush accused Democrats of cowering to the liberal political action group.

. . . Partisans also took the opportunity to slam Clinton and Obama for not voting on the amendment.

“Senators Clinton and Obama need to decide whether they’re running for America, or running for MoveOn.org. If Clinton and Obama cannot bring themselves to take a stand against a vicious attack on the man leading our forces in Iraq, why should American voters believe they are capable of demonstrating the leadership we need in a commander in chief?” said Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan.

All this might lead some to believe the folks at MoveOn.Org are being a might, um, inconsistent. If it “Betray Us” under Bush then wouldn’t it follow that it would be “Betray Us” under Obama? Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to jump to any wrong conclusions about MoveOn’s motives, principals, scruples, integrity or honor but…

Read the rest.
 
Update via Instapundit:

So Obama has done what he does best: vote “present”, and punt. But in this case, he’s punted to someone who actually knows what they are doing. We may not agree with Petraeus’s exact personnel choices (of which I assume there will be many, not just the second-in-command I note), but I feel certain he’ll make them for better reasons and with better rationale than Obama.

No doubt.

Update II

Stacy McCain summarizes Obama's remarks:

Blahblahblah “Pock-ee-stahn” blahblahblah “grateful for sacrifice” blahblahblah . .

Update III

Stacy McCain and Ed Morrisey are currently tied at ten updates a piece! Should either of them decide to update and link me they would break the tie and I predict that person would go on to victory.

The Difference Between a Momentary Thing and a Star

While reading a post by Stacy McCain, which I'll return to in short order, I was reminded of Jodie Foster.  Remember her?  At the age of fourteen she appeared in Taxi Driver and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.  She promptly became involved in drugs and sex scandals and ultimately disappeared off the map.  No, wait-that didn't happen.  Jodie Foster graduated as valedictorian of her high school and went on to graduate magna cum laude with a degree in literature from Yale University.  She has been nominated for four academy awards, taking home the Oscar twice.  At the age of forty-seven, she is a beautiful, intelligent woman and a highly respected actress, director and producer.  The only scandal that has touched her life was not of her making-obsessed fan John Hinkley, Jr. shot President Reagan in an attempt to garner her attention.  Contrast Jodie Foster to today's crop of child stars turned well, embarrassments.

The subject of Stacy's post is Miley Cyrus, the child star who is rapidly becoming a run of the mill teenage mess.  Reuters and Perez Hilton have deservedly earned Stacy's ire by publishing a picture of the seventeen year old Cyrus dressed scantily and flashing her "lady bits".  Stacy writes:

Three suggestions:

1.  The photo editor at Reuters who approved this image for distribution needs to be fired;

2.  Miley Cyrus needs to be advised against traveling down this ex-Disney Princess road to Britney/Lindsay burnout; and   

3.  Someone at the Justice Department’s Innocent Images Task Force should make a friendly phone call to Reuters, and a slightly less friendly call to Perez Hilton, just to let them know that they’re in the danger zone.
 

Excellent advice.  I would add:  if you want to taken seriously, act in a serious manner.  We are told that Cyrus is trying to "transition to adulthood."  Fair enough.  Someone who cares about Cyrus and her future (hello, Mom, Dad, are you there?) should guide her and perhaps point out that respected and successful stars don't show up in magazines with their privates exposed or celebrate at their wrap party by giving their producer a lap dance.  Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan may act that way but Jodie Foster and Meryl Streep most certainly do not.  Someone should also tell her to get an education.  (Streep has an undergraduate degree from Vassar, attended Dartmouth, and has a graduate degree from Yale)  An education will broaden her experiences, make her a more interesting person and introduce her a better class of people than she currently hanging out with.
 
Cyrus needs to make some hard decisions.  First and foremost she needs to decide what kind of adult she wants to "transition" to.  Right now she appears to be transitioning towards the kind of adult we call a "flash in the pan".

Palate Cleanser

It isn't even 7:30 a.m. but after my previous rant I need a pick me up.  Fortunately, Uncommon Knowledge has come to my rescue.  Peter Robinson is always a delight and he is joined in this episode by Mark Steyn (bonus points!) and Rob Long.  For those of you like me who are sick to death of Barack Obama this clip will bring back memories of what a true leader was like.

Ronald Reagan, Chapter 1.

Can This Administration Get Any More Corrupt-UPDATED

Sadly, I'm sure the answer is "yes".

While millions of Americans are out of work this administration is hard at work ensuring that illegal immigrants are being treated fairly in the workplace:



So the Obama administration is aiding and abetting in the breaking of our laws.  Is it just my imagination or did Barack Obama place his hand on the Bible and take an oath to uphold the laws the of the United States of America?  Obama has violated his oath and he has broken our laws.  That makes Obama just as big a criminal as the people who breach our borders.

UPDATE:  The rant continues

It is fairly obvious that Obama believes that our immigration laws are unjust.  I think our drug laws in general, and our marijuana laws in particular, are unjust laws.  I think that far more people have been harmed by the enforcement of our drugs laws than society has benefited.  What I think doesn't matter.  Over the course of our history we have had bad and unjust laws.  We no longer have those laws not because people simply broke the laws that they didn't like but because like any civil society we have a process for changing laws as society's view of those laws has changed.  If Obama is unhappy with our immigration laws then let him undertake the legal processes to change them.  He doesn't want to do that because at this time the political winds are blowing in the opposite direction.  So he just ignores them.

Instead of upholding our laws, as he took an oath to do, Obama is sending the message to illegals that he wants their vote so he is willing to ignore the laws on the books.  He will look the other way while they stream across the borders, and in turn, they will support his re-election and the election of Democrats across the board.  Illegals get jobs and driver's licenses and bank accounts-does anyone believe that they don't get voter registration cards?  Or that they don't use them?  Or that they don't use them to elect the party that made it all possible?

With citizenship comes responsibility.  Does it also come with privileges?  Shouldn't citizens be first in line for any jobs available in this country?  Shouldn't citizens expect that the country's leadership play by the same rules and abide by the same laws  as the citizenry?  How can we ask our servicemen and women to risk their lives for us when their Commander in Chief is in violation of his oath of office?  What right does a person who refuses to enforce our laws have to command our troops? 

I know it is a terrible thing to say, and I don't like saying it, but Barack Obama is not fit for command.

Dad

On February 9, 1958 he stood in a room at the Methodist Children's Home in Detroit and a social worker put a screaming "bundle of joy" in his arms.  He turned and said, "we have a daughter" as tears streamed down his face.  At that moment, and a great testament to his ability to exhibit unending patience, I became Daddy's little girl.  I was a difficult child and a worse teenager but he met each challenge with love, patience and a sense of humor.  Years later, he repeated the process when my husband left. 

Dad took to being Grandpa like a fish to water.  While I worked, he was the one who rode the bikes with them to and from school.  He got them to their music lessons and listened while they practiced (nothing requires patience like listening to a budding violinist play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over again).  He taught them how to fish and he put up the basketball goal and taught them how to play.  When inline skating became the big thing, there he was. 

This morning I awoke to a phone call from my son saying that he was trying to reach his Grandparents and that they were not answering the phone.  That has been the story of the last ten years-a phone call and a dash to the car.  Ten years of strokes, heart attacks, cancer and phone calls.  Ten years of doctor's saying that "this is it."  Everything has changed and nothing has.  He gets frustrated when we don't understand what he is saying but the moment passes and the sense of humor is back.  He can't ride a bike anymore but you can see the love burst out of him when he sees his great grandchildren enter the room. To this day, he still gives my Mom a look that makes me blush.  And I am still Daddy's little girl.

No emergency this morning-they were at Home Depot.  Someday there won't be any more emergencies.  He is a good man and he has earned that day.  I will miss him.

Happy Father's Day to you all.

Tell the FCC to Stay the Away from the Internet

The government is here and they are ready to help.  The big question is, "Who asked ya?"

The FCC wants to "regulate" the Internet.  Why?  As Reason's Nick Gillespie points out in the video below, the Internet is functioning quite well on its own.  The FCC is engaged in a power grab.  The Internet is far from broken and even if it were, is there any government agency that could be trusted to fix it?



H/T Moe Lane

Alan Simpson Explains Social Security

Watching the following video, I am reminded of a conversation that I had with my son just two weeks ago.  We got in to a talk about Social Security and he was arguing that the program is a good thing.  In utter frustration I said to him that when designed the program was set up so that people would pay in to it their entire lives and then die before they ever got a penny out.  I went on to tell him that he needed to get over the myopic idea that massive bureaucracies are set up by people who fart moonbeams.  They are con men and social security, medicare, ObamaCare, you name it, are scams.  The government doesn't create these programs because they care about people.  They are set up because governments care about money, power and creating dependency.  Our Founding Fathers knew that if given absolute power the ruling class, government, would revert to its basest instincts.  That is why they set up a system of checks and balnces-so we could keep them in check. 



H/T  Breitbart.tv

Terrorism is Fun!

The Three Tenors Terrors like you've never seen them.  Everybody sing along.



H/T Don Surber

You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling

The reviews are in on Obama’s speech and reading the various reactions I can almost imagine the president sitting alone and dejected in the Oval office listening to the Everly Brothers sing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”. Yep, it appears to be gone, gone, gone.

Janet Daley writing in the Telegraph:

The BBC reports of Barack Obama’s speech last night are about as derisive as it would be possible to be about someone you were describing only a few months ago as the incarnation of Hope and Optimism. Yes indeed, the romance is over. The British media have decided that it was all a cruel deception: Obama is just one more ranting populist president who will do anything to divert attention from his own failure to get a grip. And this is not just about BP and the fate of all those pension funds.

Nor is it simply the demonising of Big Oil – which makes the US president sound as if he were recruiting his speech writers direct from the student union – that has evoked the UK media’s collective sneer. What has been much commented upon – especially by those fastidiously liberal BBC correspondents – is Obama’s pointedly bellicose language: the US is apparently engaged in a “battle” to be waged in very personal, anthropomorphic terms “against an oil spill that is assaulting” its coast. Considering how relentlessly the Bush “war on terror” was ridiculed, how long will it take before the Obama “war on an oil slick” is labelled as absurd? Given the tone of this morning’s coverage, perhaps not very long at all.

If you think that was a little rough get a load of Matthews & Company. It is as if Chrissy just realized that was’t a “tingle” running up his leg but rather a tinkle running down it:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Well when all else fails, at least Obama still has The Huffington Post on his side. Oops! Not any more:

President Barack Obama took to the Oval Office to address a nation worried to death over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a location used so much more often by Saturday Night Live than by actual presidents that my brain actually released a small dollop of dopamine in anticipation of comedic parody. And then, over the next seventeen minutes, nothing much happened to challenge my brain's autonomic preconceptions.

I am really not entirely sure what the point to this Oval Office address was! Were you looking for something that resembled a fully-realized action plan, describing a detailed approach to containment and clean up? Or perhaps a definitive statement, severing the command and control that BP has largely enjoyed, in favor of a structured, centralized federal response? Maybe you were looking for a roadmap-slash-timetable for putting America on a path to a clean energy future? Well, this speech was none of those things.

I mean, don't get me wrong. Obama really, really wants to stop the oil spill. And he really, really wants to hold BP accountable for the damage they've done. And he really, really wants the Gulf Coast to come through this hardship and he really, really wants to wean us from our dependency on foreign oil, and oil in general. But "really, really wants" is not a plan, and only the bitterest and most brain-dead of political opponents would have presumed, going into tonight, that Obama had not yet properly sentimentalized his opinions on any of those matters.

Remember, this is from people who like Obama.  Obama BFF Janeane Garofalo even went so far as to say, “No, I didn’t feel that it was a strong speech, and I felt that the prayer thing he did was pandering and anti-intellectual and just sort of a waste of time.”  (Video at Weasel Zippers) 

Poor Obama, he can't make anybody happy.  On one level that is okay-the presidency isn't supposed to be a popularity contest.  But it isn't his action, but lack of action that makes him unpopular.  A little executive experience would go a long way right now.  Unforunately, that is above Obama's paygrade.

The LEAST Surprising Headline of the Day

The honor goes to Politico for Democrats flirt with backing Charlie Crist.  On the Democrat side of the ballot, the candidates stink.  Kendrick Meek is completely ho hum and he's been tied to a criminal fraud case.  Their other possibility, Jeff Greene, is just plain skeezy.  Yes, I know, for Democrats skeeziness is a feature, not a bug, but still. 

Ed Morrissey posits at Hot Air that the Dems throwing their lot in with Crist doesn't make sense.  Morrissey presents a thorough, logical and convincing argument against a Dem/Crist hookup.  Thing is, and trust me, I am holding my breath as I type this, Morrissey is wrong.

Crist has gone from being a Republican in name only to a Democrat in everything but name.  He has tossed every conservative principal he ever pretended to hold and replaced those principals with the Democratic party platform talking points.  Is he repugnant?  Sure, but when did that ever bother the Democrats?  (See:  Kennedy, Ted; Kennedy, Patrick; Frank, Barney-and so forth and so on ad nauseum) 

The assumption is that Crist and Rubio will split the Republican vote and hand the Senate seat to the Democratic challenger.  But Crist is actively ceding the Republican vote to Rubio, hoping to capture the Indy vote and split the Democrat vote with whomever while keeping the prize for himself. 

My guess is that Democrats would rather that Crist were their candidate.  Their problem is that they can not actively give Meek the heave ho.  It just wouldn't look good.  Greene strikes me as a novelty candidate, at best.  I hate to say it but Crist looks good for the Dems.

Punched in the Stomach

I've mentioned before that my daughter and grandchildren are in Arizona.  I worry about their safety everyday and when I see reports like this from Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit I feel like I have been punched in the stomach:



The quote that really got me:

FOX News reporter: Would you like to see some of the president’s outrage about the oil spill and some of the butt-kicking that he’s talked about doing applied there on the border as well?

Sheriff Paul Babeu: Even with that, you say one thing and then you’re out at a fundraiser in California and you don’t go to the funeral of the people who died in the explosion. You know its one thing to say something slick on television in a ten second soundbite but we need action. And, it’s shameful that we as the most powerful nation on earth can win wars and liberate countries throughout history yet we can’t even secure our own border.

My parents have told me how much they worried about my safety when I lived in Turkey, but that was a foreign country.  My safety was never really in question back then but my daughter's safety and the safety of my grandchildren is in question and they are living in this country.  That is wrong.

I Blew the Live Blogging

The comments were coming so fast and furious over at Potluck that my poor little netbook went catatonic on me.  I'm going to let things slow down over there and then go back and try again.

The long and short of the big speech is that BP ran amok so we need another layer of bureaucracy to regulate, regulate, regulate.  Same old shtick, different day.  Obama's moratorium is going to make the situation in the gulf region worse and yes, we should develop alternative energy but we haven't yet so it makes absolutely no sense to throw the baby out with the bath water.  And while Obama admits that Cap and Trade is going to be expensive he says "we can't afford" to not act.  What a crock.  I know, let's pass Cap & Tax so we can all find out what is in the bill and how it will drive our entire economy in to the dumpster. 

I didn't hear anything new or impressive tonight.  Obama wants to take advantage of a crisis and expand government even further.  It is par for his course. 

Join the Fun(?)!

We'll be live blogging Obama's tirade speech tonight at Potluck.  Prof. Jacobson has a nifty tirade speech related poll going at Legal Insurrection.  Barry himself shows up in the comments at Surber's to give a preview of tonight's tirade speech.

Join us at Potluck and remember the rules of the game:  down a shot every time Obama blames Bush/Republicans/Conservatives/Teaba**ers.  Oh wait, that sounds like a prescription for alcohol poisoning.  Better stick to beer.

So, He's a Fraud AND a Cheat. Why am I Not Surprised?

After forty years of marriage Al and Tipper Gore announced a couple weeks ago that they had "grown apart" and had decided to go their separate ways.  Funny how often that happens when it is revealed that the husband is a skank jumper.  It shouldn't surprise anyone that Gore, con man to the world, would act as faithlessly in his personal life as he has in his public life.  Turns out, that Gore has been doing the horizontal hoochie with none other than Laurie David, ex-wife of Larry David and producer of Gore's Oscar winning infomercial An Inconvenient Truth:

Al Gore's split from wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage was a shock to everyone who thought theirs was the ideal marriage. Now Star can exclusively reveal that the former Vice President was having an affair with Larry David's ex-wife — for the past two years!

In the June 28 issue of Star, on sale Wednesday, we report that Al and Tipper's breakup didn't come as much of a surprise to one Hollywood player — Laurie David. Star has learned that Al has been having an affair with Laurie, who divorced Seinfeld creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David in 2007 amidst reports she was cheating with the caretaker of their Martha's Vineyard summer home.

The caretaker?  Oh, la, la-that is one classy lady.  Still, why would she trade down to Al, unless...never mind.  It is my understanding that affairs require copious amounts of nakedness.  Think about it:  Al/nakedness.  As they say, there just isn't that much alcohol in the world.

Scary Situation Way Too Close to Home

A man and a woman have been arrested trying to enter MacDill AFB illegally.  The latest report from TBO.com says that they tried to enter the Bayshore gate using fake IDs.  Inside the vehicle they were driving were three "military style" rifles, hand guns, ammunition and military uniforms and gear.  The man is said to be an AWOL soldier, though apparently not from MacDill.  No information has been released on the woman except that she, like the man, is a US citizen.  Other than that, no names, no descriptions, nothing.  Understandably, it makes those of us who live in the area nervous.

MacDill is the home of Central Command and Special Operations Command.  As such, we locals have seen this area as a likely target since 9/11.  The base is insisting that this incidence is not terrorism related but obviously people don't try to enter a base with fake IDs and a cache of high powered weapons unless they intend to do harm. 

More information would be greatly appreciated.

As the Worm Turns

The "worm" of course, is the ever fluid Charlie Crist.

Once upon a time, Charlie, knowing that Cuban American voters in Florida are conservative and active, not only backed the sanctions in place against Cuba, he strengthened them.  But now that Crist has tossed the Republican party he is also tossing "values" that he claimed to hold dearly as little as two months ago.  With Cuban Americans clearly in Marco Rubio's corner, Crist has decided to side with pro-Castro voters (donors).  Ed  Morrissey at Hot Air on Crist's latest flip flop:

If Crist had no qualms about reversing himself on abortion a week ago, then the Cuba issue won’t keep him awake at night, either. Both involve the basic dignity and sanctity of life, and whether it gets treated as the sacred center from which springs liberty and freedom, or as a commodity that exists at the pleasure of another — in Cuba’s case, the state. Both also represent core values to people on either side of the debate.

For Crist, though, the only core value seems to be Charlie Crist. When he needed the Cuban-Americans, he courted them with paeans to the embargo laws that went even further. When Crist decided he needed to reinvent himself, the issues of Cuba and the embargo were secondary at best to his own ambition. He needs the money from people not already committed to Rubio, and so he’s off to his fundraiser with the very people he opposed on his 2008 bill.

One wonders if Charlie has any principals.  If so, they are readily apparent.

A New Cash Crop is Found in Afghanistan

Jules Crittenden:

One Trillion More Reasons

… not to screw it up in Afghanistan. NYT: US Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan. Not exactly a huge surprise. That place always looked a lot nothing but minerals in all the breathtakingly beautiful shots of godforsakenness. OK, minerals and dust. Minerals, dust, mud and opium, with some tree-y parts.*

“The Saudi Arabia of lithium.” Haven’t read the extended commentary yet but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume certain parties are already suggesting this is what it is all about. Blood for cell phones. In fact, like the oil under Iraq, it just underscores the pressing need to do it and do it right. Now the risk is not just a rogue state hosting global jihad, but a wealthy rogue state hosting global jihad with ky UN Security Council backers.

How long will it be before the "progressive" line becomes that the evil cabal of Bush/Cheney/Rove/Hitler invaded Afghanistan in order to take the country's vast wealth in minerals for Haliburton?  I can almost imagine the middle age hippies out in the streets with their signs: 

No War For

Oil Lithium!

Obama is Singing the "I Need Mo' Money" Blues Again

From Don Surber:

From the Associated Press: “On Saturday night, the White House released a letter Obama sent to congressional leaders of both parties asking for nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments to fend off ‘massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters’ and to prevent a possible double-dip recession.”

Why are the teachers, police officers and firefighters going to be the first ones to be laid off?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the government at all levels had 23,370,000 employees on the payroll in May — up by 742,000 from May 2009. Private sector employment saw a net loss of 699,000 in that period.

While the private sector was bleeding jobs the government used taxpayer money to pad its payroll.  Now Obama is scaremongering-give me more money or there will be no firemen to show up when your house catches fire.  There is a much simpler solution, last in/first out.  Sorry new hires, we can't afford you. 

Let's Get Physical

When asked if he supports the Obama agenda Congressman Bob Etheridge from North Carolina's 2nd District decided to take a page from the Alan Grayson playbook and got physical.  Video from Hot Air:



I believe that is called "assault".  And they say us bitterclingers are violent.
The rest of the story.

More Coincidence?

At Protein Wisdom Darlene Click reports several disturbing coincidences:

And the timing is suspect — not only does PayPal’s boot of Geller come soon after press coverage of her involvement in the NYC “Leaving Islam?” bus ads but two other websites she has ties to, FDI and SIOA – Stop Islamicization of America received similar letters from PayPal.

Add to this YouTube’s yanking of the We Con the World music parody after 3 million views and MSM coverage and it looks like a coordinated effort by “moderate” jihadists against any criticism of the ideology, Islamism.

It could be a coincidence except for this from Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs:

Anybody know what happened to our Facebook page? It's empty. Blank. I need help on this. Any volunteers to get to the bottom of it?

That many "coincidences" equals a pattern.  There is a word for what is happening here:  censorship.  No one here needs me to tell them that censorship is un-American and inconsistent with not only our values but our First Amendment.  Someone is trying to prevent Pamela Geller from expressing her opinion.  This is no small matter.  This central to our way of life.  Think of it this way-first they came for Atlas Shrugs...

When the Government Holds the Purse Strings the Public Pays the Piper

The government doesn't have to "nationalize" an institution, ala Rosie O'Donnell's BP rant, to take ownership of it.  They can accomplish the goal of central government control through regulation and subsidies.  In either case, the public pays.  Regulations result in higher costs, paid by you and me.  Subsidies are paid for from our taxes.  But far worse than monetary consequences, when government controls the purse strings, they control the product. 

What would the real consequences of government control be if the product was information?  Consider this from The Daily Caller's post The Neomarxist who is helping to influence Obama’s media policy:

"I certainly think Free Press is making headway with the FTC,” said Adam Theirer, president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation. “They’ve been filing extensive comments with the FTC and they’ve gotten face-time at the FTC workshops. And if you look at the 47-page discussion document that the FTC just released, many of those ideas were borrowed directly from McChesney or Free Press.”

Those ideas, many of them culled from McChesney’s book The Death and Life of American Journalism (co-written with the Nation’s John Nichols), include:

The establishment of a “‘journalism’ division of AmeriCorps” to “ensure that young people who love journalism will stay in the field”

Providing “a tax credit to news organizations for every journalist they employ”

“Establishing citizenship news vouchers”

“Increasing postal subsidies for newspapers and periodicals”

A tax on news aggregators, or even a policy to make news aggregation sites, like the Drudge Report, illegal

The allocation of roughly $35 billion in public news subsidies

A five percent tax on consumer electronics

A ISP cell phone tax

A revision of the tax code to allow for more nonprofit media

Through regulation the Obama FTC is trying to force "bad" news sources out of the market and through subsidies allow "good" news sources to flourish.  I'll leave it to you to decide what is "good" and "bad".  It is a clever ploy.  Americans hold the First Amendment and a free press sacrosanct.  We would never stand for an actual nationalization of our press.  But the government can control the press by regulating who can participate in the process, what the process will be and reward through subsidies those who produce a satisfactory product. 

A press that is beholden to the federal government for its survival dances to the government's tune.  Ultimately, the public and the Republic pays.

Read the rest.

Friday Funny

WARNING!  The following video is NOT PETA approved.

He's So Stupid His Own Mother Won't Promote Him

Prince Charles, once again showing why the Queen is wise to skip him over, got on one of his "Islam will save the world" kicks the other day.  Via Don Surber:

Is Prince Charles as stupid as he sounds?

He said that we should “follow the Islamic way to save the world.”

Via the London Daily Mail, the heir to the throne: “The inconvenient truth is that we share this planet with the rest of creation for a very good reason — and that is, we cannot exist on our own without the intricately balanced web of life around us. Islam has always taught this and to ignore that lesson is to default on our contract with creation.”

The simple answer to Don's question is yes, he really is that stupid.  How stupid is he?  Consider this from Mark's Mailbox:

Dear old Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, would be under a pile of rocks, stoned for adultery if Islam and Sharia law were observed too closely in the UK. Prince Charles, be careful what you wish for...

Well, I sure Charles doesn't wish that for himself.  No, rules and such are for the rest of us.

If You Must

So our esteemed leader isn't just some buttoned down college professor-he's an ass kicker!  While some complained that threatening to kick ass was undignified, my first thoughts were that Obama sounded silly and unconvincing.  Even girlie.  I thought he sounded like someone pretending to be a tough guy and doing a very poor job of it.  But if he must, here is a good place to start:



H/T Instapundit

Call to Action!

Stacy McCain and URGENT call to action:  Florida Threatened By Disgusting Toxic Brown Slime

Stacy is talking about the latest poll results showing Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio neck to neck in the Florida Senatorial race.  With Crist's involvement in the Jim Greer scandal and serious questions about Crist's role in the bilking of the Republican Party of Florida, Floridians have even more reason to distrust Crist.  Scandal, corruption and elastic principles don't typically recommend a candidate for higher office and Crist is eyeball deep in ooze.

Small quibble with Stacy's description of Crist-I think of him as more dirty orange than brown.  Everything about he screams "fake", including the tan.

Read the rest. 






Stand with Marco Rubio!

Your Daily Dose of Chris Christie

Courtesy of Stephen Kruiser:

Christie speaks in Washington DC, calling Newark schools 'absolutely disgraceful'

Mr. Pot, Meet Mr. Kettle

Oh, Willy. 

Our former Skirt Chaser and Serial Sexual Harasser in Chief sent out  fundraising letter that in part said:

"DSCC funds go towards efforts to unseat far-right Republican senators like admitted sinner David Vitter..." the flyer says, referring to the Louisiana senator who admitted patronizing a prostitution service when he was in the House.

Well I guess if you need an expert on the subject of sinning, Willy is your go to guy.














Image from Snark and Boobs

How To Know That You Have Hit Rock Bottom

I'd say a pretty clear sign is when you are compared unfavorably to Arlen Specter.  A comment from Hot Air:  Crist makes Specter seem honorable.  Ouch.

The comment was in reaction to Ed Morrissey's post Crist scrubs campaign site of pro-life support.  In a foregone era (a month ago) when Crist was touting his "conservative" cred, he called himself "staunchly pro-life."  Now Crist is running around the state telling everyone how much fun he is having and how free he feels.  Apparently, in an effort to garner votes from Democrats, Crist feels free to throw unborn children under the bus:

What does a man whose only political principle is his own survival do when attempting to distance himself from his former political party? If you answered “go pro-choice,” then you get the Florida kewpie doll. Charlie Crist has scrubbed his campaign website of its former support for the pro-life cause, but not quickly enough to keep Marco Rubio and Life News from noticing it:

In the latest development in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida, Governor Charlie Crist is coming under fire for removing the pro-life section of his campaign website. This comes on the day the legislature sent him a bill that would allow women to see an ultrasound of their baby before an abortion.

Crist has already hinted he will veto the legislation, which also allows Florida to opt out of some of the abortion funding under the new national health care law President Barack Obama signed.

That he would potentially veto a pro-life bill will broad support from voters is another indication of his strategy to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent.

Knowing he may veto the bill, the campaign of pro-life Republican candidate Marco Rubio informed LifeNews.com today that Crist’s campaign scrubbed his web site of a section touting Crist as a supposedly pro-life candidate.

"Pro-life, "pro-abortion"-what the diff?  Charlie has a campaign to run and he isn't going to let a few innocent lives stand between him and the prize.  So Charlie is running as an Independent with a Democratic platform and he is switch hitting, as he always has.  When Charlie dropped the pro-life line he picked up the pro card check agenda:
 

Florida, like many other states, is hurting in a very challenging economic time. The state’s unemployment rate is 12 percent, and foreclosures have hit Florida hard. People are looking for work and trying to make ends meet. Small businesses — the backbone of Florida’s economy — are struggling to keep the lights on and doors open, not to mention meet payroll each week. While the reasonable expectation isn’t that government would create jobs, citizens and employers do believe that elected officials and those seeking public office should refuse to support policies that will result in additional job loss and increased unemployment.

Unfortunately, something as simple as saying no to job-killing legislation can become complicated when politics gets in the way. This appears to be the case for Florida’s governor and Senate candidate, Charlie Crist.

Recently, as Mr. Crist addressed the AFL-CIO, headlines emerged in Florida papers reading, “Crist: Open Ear About Employee Free Choice Act.”

Crist stated he would be “open” to a bill that would put 600,000 jobs at risk? The notion is disturbing, to say the least.

EFCA presents a number of problems for workers and small businesses in Florida and across the United States. Removing secret ballot elections and exposing workers to union boss intimidation with a card check system, EFCA would be a threat to worker rights. Yet, Big Labor bosses continue to promote it because they know that the Employee “Forced” Choice Act would make it much easier to force workers into unions where they are required to pay dues, which would fatten union coffers.

I guess Charlie's new campaign slogan should be:  I'm not unprincipaled, I'm "flexible."

Forgive Him Lord, He Knows Not of What He Speaks

The "he" in this case is Bill Maher, who never allows reason or knowledge to interfere with his rants.  While going off on religion (of course) he had this exchange with panelists S.E. Cupp, a fellow atheist, and Newark mayor Cory Booker, a devout Baptist:

MAHER: [Religion] causes most wars: The Crusades, the inquisition, 9/11, honor Killings…

CUPP: No that’s factually not true.

BOOKER: Humans…humans cause war.

CUPP: Religion doesn’t kill people…people kill people.

BOOKER: We’ve been known to start wars over everything from natural resources to land, to religion—

CUPP: Colonialism, tribalism.

BOOKER: —we start wars.

MAHER: The justification for most of that is religion.

CUPP: No it’s not.

MAHER: Of course it is…What gets normal people to think it’s okay to kill other people is religion…very little else….

CUPP: Or colonialism, or land power grabs, or nativism…

MAHER: Mostly religion. Ethnic cleansing, honor rape…

CUPP: Hitler, Pol Pot Mao, Stalin, not in the name of religion.

MAHER: Were state religions. [Puzzled looks from panel] Of course they were.

CUPP: Communism is a state religion?

MAHER: Absolutely. You never heard that?

CUPP: I think we’re talking about different things.

MAHER: We’re not. We’re just talking different labels.

Applying Maher's definition is there anything that can't be labeled "religion"? 

I'm told that once upon a time Maher was actually funny.  Now he just appears angry and very, very small.  I assume that no one ever told Maher that being the loudest and most obnoxious person in the room does not make one factually correct.

Maher gets a well deserved takedown at Newsbusters.

Yet Another Reason to Stand with Marco Rubio

Via Babalu, Marco Rubio makes clear that he stands with Israel:

I guess it Isn't Hypocrisy When the Left Does It

Guess what super duper environmentalist Ashton Kutcher drives.  Hint:  it's not a plug in.

Only 20?

You know that mid-afternoon slump, there's three more hours left in the workday and you've just flat run out of steam.  Just when I wanted to slump over face first atop that great big pile of crap work on my desk-steam!  Plenty of it!  Of course,  I'm talking about Hot Men 2010: The Hottest Conservative Men.  And that they are.

One small quibble-only twenty?  Clearly, not enough.  After Nice Deb linked the post at Potluck my co-bloggers and commenters quickly came up with several fine specimens candidates:   Stacy McCain, Marco Rubio, Charles Krauthammer, but still more are missing.  Where are Gary Sinise, Paul Ryan, Stephen Hayes, Andy Garcia and naturally the hottest conservative male that has ever or will ever exist-Mark Steyn?  Ladies, I ask you, is there anyone finer?

No, there is not.

Always Happy to Help Our Neighbors

Gleefully swiped from Sir Paco:

Congratulations, Stacy!

Congratulations to Stacy McCain (and his faithful sidekick, Smitty) for hitting the four million hit mark.  Stacy's success is in no small part due to moving and insightful pieces like The Holy Church of St. Pancake The International Solidarity Movement and the Rachel Corrie Death Cult.  If you haven't read it yet get over there right now and while you're there give Stacy and Smitty a hearty, "well done."

Mickey Kaus: Is There Anything Not to Love About This Guy?

Via Backyard Conservative:

Mickey Kaus announces three bribes he’ll accept from Obama to drop out

Turns out the three bribes Kaus is willing to take are:

--Head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to push for an actual physical fence on the Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants and to end the "anointed incumbent...Boxer's obsessive talk of amnesty, sorry, 'a path to citizenship'" that actually acts as a powerful lure for even more illegal immigrants.

--Second, Kaus kindly offers, Obama could put him on the National Labor Relations Board so he could thwart "Big Labor's attempt to add to their dwindling memberships by avoiding secret ballots in union organizing drives."

--Finally, Kaus offered to accept an administration job offer to the Department of Education to write "a scathing report" on California teachers' unions and their deleterious impact on the state.

As they say, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.  I also won't hold my breath while waiting for the people of California to actually act in their own best self interest and kick Barbara Boxer to the curb.  In any case, Kaus is doing a wonderful job of highlighting the problems that California faces and proposing changes that aren't the same old tax and spend "solutions" that have all but driven California in to the ocean.

An Inspirational Moment

With much thanks to Don Surber, an incredibly inspirational video:



Please pass this along.  We can use a pick me up as well as a reminder of why we all love this country so much.

He Said/She Said, Florida Style

As I wrote yesterday, Crist knew all along that Jim Greer was illegally skimming money from Republican Party of Florida.  Heck, Charlie signed off on the deal.  So what is a beleaguered and ineffective governor to do?  Deny:

Crist says the entire Greer incident is "surprising" and "unfortunate" He says he didn't even know about the shell corporation Greer was using to funnel cash into his own pocket "until after Greer resigned in January." Crist's explanation for not knowing the specifics? He's too busy running the state. He can't be bothered with the little stuff.

When did ignorance become an excuse?

Actually, ever the opportunist, Crist attempts to take credit for Greer's current legal troubles by explaining "I'm the one actually who empanelled the state-wide grand jury that came down with this decision."

Greer's attorney contradicts Crist's ignorance excuse, explaining that Crist signed off on the diversion of GOP funds:

Chase said Greer and Crist discussed the fundraising deal at least three times last year: at the golf tournament in February, over the summer; and in the fall at the Fisher Island home of the governor's wife.

The governor knew about Victory Strategies from the very beginning," Chase said. "They all worked on it together. … They saw it as a way to save money."

"… They saw it as a way to save make money."  Fixed.

Jim Greer is to Charlie Crist what Rahm Emanuel is to Barack Obama.  Charlie Crist and Jim Greer are literally "thick as thieves".  They used each other to advance their mutual goals and now they are paying the price for all those corners they tried to cut while screwing the state as well as the state Republican party.  Charlie is a self-absorbed, ego maniac (remind you of anyone?) who, rather than living in the here and now, is always working on the next goal.  He's not the kind of guy to handle the details so he turned that job over to Greer.  Bad choice.

I'll Second That

Dr. Helen:

I just read that Rush Limbaugh got married to his long time girlfriend Kathryn Rogers. I hope he has some kids, we need more like him.

I'll second that.  Congratulations to both of them. 

Has President Obama Really "Lost the Left"

Writing in the Telegraph, Toby Harnden posits that Obama loses the Left: suddenly, it's cool to bash Barack.  Harnden states that with the exception of Paul McCartney, who infamously puppy dogged Obama with big wet kisses while showing his ignorance (and ass) about President George W. Bush, the Left is now openly criticizing Obama:

Well, at least he's still got Sir Paul McCartney. At the White House last week, the 67-year-old crooner was gushing in much the same manner as his own groupies did at Shea Stadium in 1965. "I'm a big fan, he's a great guy," McCartney told American critics of President Barack Obama. "So lay off him, he's doing great."

Later, McCartney serenaded the First Lady with a rendition of Michelle and, receiving a prize from the Library of Congress, took a cheap shot at President George W Bush that was as unfunny as it was unoriginal. “After the last eight years, it’s great to have a president who knows what a library is.” Bush. Doesn’t read books. Stupid. Geddit?

The problem for the President is that even if the former Beatle does speak for billions, the overwhelming majority of those are overseas. Polls show that around 10 per cent of those who voted for Obama in 2008 now disapprove of his performance and the heavy turnout of young people and black voters among the 69 million who back him will not be repeated again.

McCartney's cute little slam at President Bush backfired.  As several people pointed out, President Bush holds a Harvard MBA and Mrs. Bush holds a Master's degree in Library Science, whereas, McCartney sings well.

The point is, the Left is beginning to openly grumble about The Anointed One but will they, when the rubber hits the road, walk away from him?  No.  No way.  Not even if all of bloody Hell freezes over.  The Left would rather stick with a president who has shown himself to be totally incompetent than admit that their Leftist ideology is a non-starter.  So the Left sticks with "it is the messaging, not the messenger" tripe while the United States sinks. 

Harnden is correct that Obama has lost millions of voters, but they were in the center, not on the left.  Large numbers of voters who fell for Obama's bait and switch now realize that they helped elect a Jimmy Carter level national disaster.  Those voters won't be back but the grumblers on the Left will eventually zip their lips and march like lemmings off the Obama cliff again.  Sadly, stupid really is as stupid does.

Photo of Obama looking like a dejected seven year old courtesy of Don Surber.

H/T Memeorandum

What Charlie Knew: EVERYTHING

From RedState:

Jim Greer has apparently decided that he has no intention of going down by alone and probably figures that Charlie Crist will adapt to life in the prison laundry room much easier than he will.

Gov. Charlie Crist personally signed off on his former Republican party chairman’s confidential fundraising role with the state party – according to Jim Greer’s attorney, whose allegation contradicts the governor’s statement that he “didn’t know anything” about the deal now part of a criminal investigation.

[...]

But Greer’s attorney, Damon Chase, said Saturday that the deal giving them a 10 percent cut of party donations was legal. What’s more, Chase said Crist’s former right-hand man, now U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, first proposed the idea that they earn a fundraising commission to save the party money and replace the $30,000-a-month contract with fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke.

“You guys work hard. You deserve it,” Chase said Greer was told by the governor as they played pool in February 2009 at a Palm Beach golf tournament.

So now we have the sitting governor and a sitting senator from Florida in danger of being indicted for theft, fraud, and money laundering. In addition, we have the spectacle of the national Democrat party apparently tossing their own candidate, Representative Kendrick Meek, an African American from a prominent Florida political family, under the bus in order to support the newly “independent” Charlie Crist.

I'm going to need more popcorn. 

Obama Knew the Scope of the Oil Spill Disaster All Along

Moe Lane:

So, seeing as it’s been clear all along to the White House that we had an ecological disaster on our hands: why did the President not act in a timely fashion to try to keep the oil off of the beaches in the five Gulf of Mexico states?

Questioned asked and answered.

H/T to Instapundit who adds:

Nonsense. If that cynical analysis were correct, we’d have seen Obama ignoring the Nashville flood, Kentucky ice storms, etc.

Sounds about right to me.

I Miss Tony Snow

There has been a lot said about Helen Thomas the last couple of days.  She was featured in the PJTV segment I linked yesterday.  Is anyone really surprised that by Helen Thomas's words on Israel?  Helen is a long standing member of the "Blame Israel First" club.  Yes, she should be fired but what of all the other journalists who would report the total destruction of Israel with a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes? 

Allhapundit has posted a video of Tony Snow taking Helen Thomas to task.  It isn't so much that Snow hands Thomas her severed head, although that is certainly fun, but I was struck by the contrast between Snow, who preformed his job with intelligence, humor and dignity, and the current White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, who is Snow's polar opposite and a total buffoon.  For your Saturday night viewing pleasure, here is Tony Snow.  I miss him.

Funniest Video of the Day

I love my PJTV and after a long day at work this Kruiser Control is just what I needed.  The video would be better if a) I wasn't still at the office and b) my employer didn't have a crazy rule against alcohol at work.  Anyway, enjoy, and if you have access to beer toss one back for me.

H/T  Instapundit

Hmmm. I Wonder Who They're Talking About?

So far he's been called a douchbag, classless and pablum puke.  Personally, I think he's a witless twit.

Stand With Israel

Marco Rubio makes the case that we should stand with our friend and ally Israel.  His statement reads in part:

For the entirety of its existence, Israel has been targeted for annihilation by its enemies and we must never do anything to undermine its right to protect its people. As enemies such as Iran develop nuclear weapons that pose an existential threat to Israel, America has a responsibility to continue serving as its strongest and most steadfast ally.

Israel is a valued American ally and our closest and most reliable friend in the Middle East. Israel is neither the problem nor the obstacle to peace, and it should not be treated as one. By strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance, we also strengthen the moderate, pro-U.S. elements in the Arab world. If the U.S. shows itself to be an unreliable ally to Israel, moderate Arab states will take note that they cannot trust the U.S. to be a reliable friend for them either. This is unacceptable for the future of U.S. security, Israel’s existence and the prospects for a lasting peace in the Middle East.

Since January 20th of 2009 we have been awful quick to throw our traditional friends under the bus while we've been darn slow to back what could have been valuable new friends-think the demonstrators in Iran and our deplorable actions (inaction?) in Honduras.  The message we've sent has been loud and clear:  you can't count on us.  We appear weak and fickle to both friend and enemy alike.  Let's not blow it with Israel.  The consequences are simply to grave.

Marco's statement in its entirety.

Also see the post from Backyard Conservative at Potluck.

Smitty at the Other McCain has the words to We Con the World.  Let's all sing along!

Former Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer Arrested-Best Buddy, Charlie Crist, "Disappointed" UPDATED

From Daniel Foster at The Corner:

Federal authorities today arrested Jim Greer, a close Charlie Crist ally and the governor's hand-picked choice to run the Florida Republican Party. No word yet on charges.

As it turns out, Greer is looking at six felonies for fraud, an attempt to defraud and money laundering.  Bail has been set at $105,000.  Well, birds of a feather and all that-this doesn't look good for Good Time Charlie.

Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport has all the details.

UPDATE:

Via TBO.Com:

The affidavit gives this account:

Johnson rose from Greer's travel aide to head of the party's Orlando office, to deputy executive director and finally, to executive director, a position that Greer said would include fundraising. Johnson told investigators that Greer told him they would take 10 percent of all major donor money raised and split it and that he would have lawyers set up a company for them "for tax purposes."

Johnson said he was told "not to disclose Mr. Greer's involvement to anyone, to take steps to hide the truth about Mr. Greer's involvement from RPOF and, if questioned, to deny Mr. Greer's interest in the company."

Under the papers drawn up, Johnson was listed as president/secretary/treasurer owning 40 percent of Victory Strategies, while Greer, who was not an officer of the company, owned 60 percent.

The financial arrangement, the affidavit says, was never submitted for approval by the RPOF attorney.

Johnson signed an agreement with the RPOF to provide fundraising services through Victory Strategies. Subpoenaed bank records show the only sources of money to Victory Strategies was from Greer and the RPOF, and the only two benefactors of the money were Greer and Johnson.

An FDLE review of Greer's personal bank records showed that he "appeared to be suffering from financial problems in 2009," with bank accounts overdrawn by $25,392 in July and $3,794 in August. His accounts in the rest of 2009 were overdrawn by an average of $10,000. The affidavit says that Greer pleaded for financial help from a Republican donor, who sent him $3,000 a month over 18 months.  (emphasis added)

According to the affidavit, the Republican party was a constant and apparently trusting source of money for Greer throughout 2009, through invoices from Victory Strategies to the RPOF. Once the party wrote a check to Victory Strategies, that company in turn wrote a check to Greer. In all, the affidavit says, the party paid more than $199,254 to Victory Strategies. Greer took more than $125,161 from his interest in Victory Strategies. Johnson was paid $65,093.

At the same time this was going on, the affidavit says, "Mr. Greer was facing additional public and RPOF scrutiny related to party spending. In what was purported by Mr. Greer to be a show of fiscal responsibility, Mr. Greer stood before the media and RPOF officials and cut up an American Express card." The card, however, was not Greer's, but that of a staff member, Johnson told investigators.

When asked earlier today if he felt responsible for Greer's actions, Charlie Crist, Greer's #1 cheerleader, said, "I do not feel complicit."  "Complicit" means that a person has knowledge of a crime but does not report it.  But according to TPM Greer allegedly tried to strong-arm a professional fundraiser for the state GOP into giving him a percent of her earnings -- and when she refused, he cut off her access to his close ally Gov. Charlie Crist.  What are the chances that Charlie was not aware of that?

More Attacks on Our First Amendment

Well here we go:

Over thirty organizations want the Federal Communications Commission to open up a probe on "hate speech" and "misinformation" in media. "Hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television programs masquerading as 'news'," they wrote to the FCC earlier this month.

I’ve got some hate speech for you-kiss my ass.

The First Amendment is quite clear:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

And who do these thirty some organizations think should judge what is hateful and what is not? Keith Olbermann, good/Glenn Beck, bad? Yeah. The problem with determining what is “hate speech” is that there are too many variables. Ear/eye of the beholder and all that. That is why our Founders didn’t throw a bunch of qualifiers in to the First Amendment.

You have every right to annoy, offend and cause me hurt feelings and I can do the same to you. Grownups have a way of working these things out-mainly, if you don’t like it ignore or refute it or, if the mood strikes, one up it, but don’t act like a poor little child whose sensitivities must be protected by the all powerful State.

It is important to remember that people who want to restrict speech are perfectly fine allowing some hate speech filter through-in the interest of cultural diversity, sensitivity, blah, blah, blah. Controlling the message is merely one means of controlling the messenger and it is the tool of tyrants.

Oliver and Jennifer Call it Quits

Boy, did I just show my age or what?  For the younger among us, Oliver and Jennifer were the fated couple in Erich Segal's Love Story.  Al Gore once claimed that the characters were based on him and Tipper, which is one way of saying that Tipper was beneath the Gore family standards.  But in any case, the Gore's have announced that after forty years of marriage they are going their separate ways.  I am not one of those people that believes a marriage ending is always a bad thing. Last week an acquaintance of mine told me that she was ending her marriage of twenty-seven years.  It was twenty-seven years of Hell for her and my reaction was a hearty "good for you."   Forty years of Al's hot air would have to be a kind of Hell on earth.  Good luck to Tipper.