Will Obama Give Credit Where Credit is Due? Doubtful.

The nice thing about being on vacation, or in this case, a mini vacation, I saw the following exchange between Gretchen Carlson and Robert Gibbs as it happened.  In my rush to get things done before I return to work tomorrow, I forgot about until I came across this video at Common Cents:



Until Obama gives his big speech tonight we will not know if he gives credit where credit is do and admits that back in 2007 he, Obama, was wrong about the war in Iraq and President Bush was absolutely right.  My guess-not a chance in Hell.

Obama is a complete narcissist.  He blames everyone else for anything that goes wrong and takes credit for everything that goes right, whether he had a hand in it or not.  Problem is, videos like the one above, and so many more, document Obama's previous positions for all time.  Obama should show Bush a kindness but it really doesn't matter if he doesn't.  In the end, history will judge the two men and their presidencies.  I suspect, Bush will come out wy ahead in the long run. 

Another Crist Flip Flop? Does a Bear ....?

Today's Charlie "Aw, Hell. Even I don't know what I believe" Crist "walk back" is courtesy of CNN:

HENRY: Another big issue, same-sex marriage. Many conservatives like Marco Rubio support a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. But this week, the former Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman came out and said he's gay and he called on conservatives to kind of move to the political center and be more tolerant on this issue. You have previously said in your gubernatorial campaign, you supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Now that you're trying to occupy the political center, are you still in favor of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage?

CRIST: I feel the same way, yes, because I feel that marriage is a sacred institution, if you will. But I do believe in tolerance. I'm a live and let live kind of guy, and while I feel that way about marriage, I think if partners want to have the opportunity to live together, I don't have a problem with that.

And I think that's where most of America is. So I think that you know, you have to speak from the heart about these issues. They are very personal. They have a significant impact on an awful lot of people and the less the government is telling people what to do, the better off we're all going to be. But when it comes to marriage, I think it is a sacred institution. I believe it is between a man and woman, but partners living together, I don't have a problem with.

HENRY: But governor, doesn't it sounds like you having it both ways by saying live and let live, but I also support a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. If it's live and let live, why would you ban same-sex marriage?

CRIST: Well, everything is in a matter of degree, Ed, and when it becomes to the institution of marriage, I believe that it is between a man and a woman, it's just how I feel.

Yeah, that's what he said but of course it isn't what he meant to say.  Cause, you know, he, um, said that yesterday, which you know, isn't today.  Note to Charlie Crist:  write your stories down so they'll be easier to remember.  Also, I realize that after all those years of pretending to be a Republican it might be easy to forget who you are pandering to now but buddy, you are really falling down on the job.  Make your mind up on something.

Rallying with Rick Scott to take back Florida

Today has been a good day!  I arrived at the Rick Scott rally at about 12:45 this afternoon.  While waiting for Scott to take the stage I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Mike Prendergast, candidate for the US House here in Florida's 11th district. I have video of Mike here and here. 

People will tell you that Kathy Castor has a lock on the 11th district.  Nonsense.  Castor has been wrong on every issue and as a result, our unemployment in the 11th is hovering around 12 percent. 


I took some videos while at the event.  Forgive the shakiness-it was hot and crowded and I was hoping against hope that I wasn't going to embarrass myself by passing out in front of everyone. 

First up, Pam Bondi, our candidate for Florida Attorney General.  Pam is a home town girl and a home town favorite.  Pam has been endorsed by Sarah Palin.  Look to Bondi to be a standout voice for Conservatism for years to come.

Of course the man that everyone had come to see is Rick Scott, the next governor of Florida and he did not disappoint.  Scott is articulate, experienced and really, one heck of a decent guy.  Florida is facing a myriad of challenges thanks to the Obama agenda and Charlie Crist's following that agenda all the way down the path to record deficits and unemployment.  Scott is definitely the man to turn it all around.

This is no time to increase spending

Are you one of those unpatriotic ninnies who erroneously believes that you can't spend your way out of a hole?  Shame on you!  You are the reason that Barry's "Summer of Recovery" has (unexpectedly) turned into a "Summer of Bust".  Robert J. Samuelson explains:

Why is the recovery faltering? There are many explanations: a depressed housing market; weaker-than-expected exports; cautious corporations. But consumers, representing 70 percent of the economy's $14.5 trillion of spending, are the crux of the matter.

It isn't that Americans aren't behaving as anticipated. They may actually be outperforming. "Consumers are deleveraging (reducing debt) . . . and rebuilding saving faster than expected," writes economist Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley. In 2007, the personal savings rate (the share of after-tax income devoted to saving) was 2 percent. Now it's about 6 percent. Temporarily, this hurts buying. Declines in consumer spending in 2008 and 2009 were the first back-to-back annual drops since the 1930s. Since World War II, annual consumption spending had fallen only twice (1974 and 1980).

No job or worried about losing your job?  Buck up!  Don't put money in the bank for a rainy day.  Spend it. 

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't our national spending spree the reason we are in this mess now?  People bought the government line that everyone deserved to own a home, whether they could afford it or not and whether or not their credit history indicated that they would pay for the home even if they could afford it.  As more and more people bought houses the prices went up and riskier loan schemes became necessary to put people in to homes.  Once the ball started rolling it didn't stop until it went right off the cliff and it was straight down from there.

When will people feel secure enough to start spending?  My parent, children of the Great Depression, were never spenders though they could easily afford to be.  It wouldn't surprise me if the young people of today, having watched their parents lose their jobs, then their homes and cars, end up being much more fiscally conservative than the people of my generation.  In any case, it is unrealistic to expect people to spend on random goods and services when they are not sure where the next meal is coming from.

Any talk of increased consumer spending is premature when unemployment is sitting at ten percent.  First, get the government out of the marketplace and off the backs of employers and the jobs will come.  Spending will follow, though hopefully never at the levels that spurred this crisis to begin with.

Cross posted at Pundit & Pundette

Sunday Silliness

H/T  Don Surber

Dan Riehl has a caption contest going.  My favorite:  Here let me crouch down while you toss it over the top of the gate

Glenn Beck, Mom and Dad, and "The Media"

I came across this video from Reason TV at Instapundit.  Just an aside, earlier I was at my parent's house and they were all upset by the rally coverage, or lack thereof, in the St. Pete Times (I quit reading the Tampa Tribune about two years ago, my parents cancelled their subscription to the Trib about a year ago).  I told Mom and Dad that I had quit worrying about "the media".  That deal is sealed and frankly, there are just too many alternatives these days to lose sleep over the biases of any particular outlet.  "The media" will eventually adapt or it will die.  Either way, it doesn't affect my life.  I'm old enough, and my parents are certainly old enough, to remember when journalism was an honorable profession and when journalists, whether in print or television, were respected and trusted.  That journalists decided to flush their integrity down the toilet and become agenda pushers instead makes my parents angry.  For my part, I'm angry that my parents feel let down by so many of the institutions they once cherished.  More of my ramblings after the video:



I thought that Gillespie did a fairly good job here though I doubt that Beck rallies are "his thing".  He mentioned that some in the crowd were a bit "inarticulate" in expressing why they were at the rally or what changes they might want to see.  Hey, we're not all English majors and having a microphone and camera in one's face can throw anyone off their game.  Still, he met the "fair and balanced" criteria.  I think the message is that freedom is achieved through self-reliance and that our strength as individuals and our belief that we, each of us, has the ability to succeed comes from a higher power.  And that higher power is not Uncle Sam.

Read the rest of Instapundit's roundup.

Mike Prendergast, Part II

Part one can be found here.



I'd like to make one point. At the beginning of the video a comment is made by the Tampa Tribune that Mike Prendergast seem to echo the Republican talking points and that he could just as easily be running in Iowa.  That is exactly true.  The Republican, or at least Conservative, beliefs in a strong defense and fiscal responsibility are as important to the people in Tampa as they are to the people of Des Moines or Memphis or wherever.  Conservative values don't benefit one geographic location and not another.  Is the Trib referring to Castor's ability to bring home the pork?  If so, who has that pork benefited?  Sure hasn't helped with unemployment that is standing at 12% in the Bay area. 

2010 Democratic Campaign Slogans

Via the comments at Don Surber, Drake says:

On the bright side, that provides no shortage of Democrat campaign themes for 2010:

“Stop Acting So Ignorant; We’re Really Getting Fed Up With You.”

“2010: Isn’t It Time To Listen To Your Betters?”

“The Choice is Yours: Either Shut Up Or We’ll Shut You Up.”

“Vote Democrat, You Homophobic Muslim-Hating Racists.”

Hats off to Drake.  I've got some of my own:

The possibilities are endless!

He was for it before he was against it which was after he was in favor of it but before...

Good grief, Charlie Crist!  Do you believe in anything? 

Or as Pundette says, "Does Charlie Crist have to work at being a consummate weasel or is it just a gift?"

At issue, this time, is a statement that Charlie "I can flip, I can flop" Crist made during an interview with Scott Harris on the Agenda:

When asked how Crist would have voted on the healthcare bill if in the Senate at the time, Crist responded by saying, "I would have voted for it. But I think it can be done better, I really do."

So that is where Crist stands today, as opposed as to where he stood yesterday or where he might stand tomorrow.  Actually, his position changed before the end of the same day:

"Apparently, based on an interview this afternoon, there may be some confusion regarding my position on health care," Crist said. "If I misspoke, I want to be abundantly clear: the health care bill was too big, too expensive, and expanded the role of government far too much. Had I been in the United States Senate at the time, I would have voted against the bill because of unacceptable provisions like the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.

Of course his opponents, Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek, are having a field day:

Marco Rubio's campaign sent a press release saying, "In less than 30 days, Crist has gone from voting against the bill to voting for it to now being against it again."

Kendrick Meek's campaign released a similar e-mail, saying, "Obviously, the governor is having a crisis of memory."

Now guys, be nice.  Charlie is just being Charlie.  Whoever that is today.

What Charlie Should Have Done UPDATED

The short answer is that Charlie should have done the exact opposite of what he has done.  He should have run for second term as governor.  Then he should have ran against Bill Nelson for the Senate in the next go around.  Too late for that now.  Right about now Charlie is right in between the proverbial rock and hard place.  Exhibit A:
Oopsie!  What's a Oompa Loompa to do? 

Crist nightmare? Rubio agrees to seven debates

Soon after Charlie Crist agreed to participate in an Oct. 24 debate presented by CNN and the St. Petersburg Times, Marco Rubio upped the ante by agreeing to that debate - and six more. The first would be on NBC's Meet the Press Sept. 5.

Charlie Crist is almost always good on TV, but this poses a real problem for him. In a three-person debate, it would be Rubio and Meek each taking turns hitting Crist and pressing him on flip-flops and inconsistencies. It's hard to stay above the fray when you're the main target.

But skipping most of the debates is equally problematic. If Meek agrees to these debates and the networks agree to televise them with or without all three candidates, Crist would be letting Meek raise his profile as the Democratic alternative to Rubio.

Charlie has burned his bridges with the Right.  He has to have the Left to have any chance of winning.  But how does he win the Left without turning off the Middle?  Conundrum time.

This is the kind of problem a politician has when he has no actual principals to stand on.

UPDATE:

Intrigue in the Vineyard!  Did Charlie meet Barry?  What did they talk about?  Will Barry string Charlie along or throw Kendrick under the bus?  Have you ever seen a finer looking couple?

If This is an Example of the Kind of People Who Support the Ground Zero Then There is Even More Reason to Oppose It

When I saw this video at Don Surber's I almost stopped watching because I was so disgusted by the way the filthy mouthed "progressive" spoke to the Holocaust survivor.  I am glad I kept watching because seeing the old man raise his voice in song brought tears to my eyes.  God bless you, sir.

I Guess it is a Question of Priorities

Something just isn’t adding up. First, from the Washington Examiner:

Almost half of the nation’s 20 largest unions have pension funds that federal law classifies as “endangered” or in “critical” condition due to being underfunded, an Examiner review of federal actuarial reports shows.

Pensions with less than 80 percent of the assets needed to cover present and projected liabilities are considered “endangered,” while those that fall below a 65 percent threshold are classified as “critical” under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Unions are required to file 5500 forms that record the financial health of their retirement plans, show that union pension funds have lost their financial footing over the past several years.

Eight of the largest unions have underfunded plans, according to the most recent 5500 reports, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Laborers International Union of Northern America, the International Association of Machinists, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the National Plumbers Union.

The average union pension has resources to cover only 62 percent of what is owed to participants, according to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). Less than one in every 160 workers is covered by a union pension with required assets.

A combination of factors led up to the woeful state that union pensions are in, not the least of which are fraud and mismanagement. The funds are in such a sorry state that there is talk that taxpayers will once again be asked to empty their pockets in order to bailout yet another Democratic voting block. Now the rest of us, when faced with a shortage of funds, cut back on non-essential spending. Wouldn’t it make sense for the unions to do the same thing rather than expecting others to bail them out? Which brings me to this from The Wall Street Journal:

The leaders of the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union have agreed to coordinate spending millions of dollars in the midterm elections to support pro-union candidates, most of them Democrats.

The two labor organizations say they have a combined $88 million or more to deploy in this year's election cycle. It's not clear how much of that money they will pool together.

The renewed alliance between the two big labor groups comes as Democrats are battling to retain control of both houses of Congress. The AFL-CIO and SEIU plan to target elections in 26 states, all but five of which they consider battleground territory, including California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Most of the unions' cash will be spent on behalf of Democrats, despite dissatisfaction among some union leaders and their members with the results of two years of Democratic control in Washington. While labor officials say unions haven't received everything they've wanted from the administration, they blame Republicans and some Democrats for blocking legislative progress.

It would appear that the unions have plenty of money when it comes to purchasing congressman but they are broke when comes to paying members who have dedicated a life time of service (and dues). What am I missing here?

Let's Get to Work!

The votes are in and congratulations go to Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi, and Mike Prendergast.  I would be totally remiss if I didn't give a shout out to Stacy and Smitty at The Other McCain, whose primary coverage was phenomenal as usual. 

I have been a Rubio supporter since before he announced as a candidate for the US Senate and I am more than ready to get this show on the road.  Here is Rubio's first commercial of the season:



Next up is Mike Prendergast.  The House race here in Florida's 11th district is important.  We can either send Kathy Castor back to the House where she will continue to vote with total disregard to the wishes and best interests of her countrymen or we can send Col. Mike Prendergrast, a true conservative who has dedicated his entire adult life to the service of this country:

Colonel Prendergast is a native of Tampa and a graduate of Clearwater Central Catholic High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1978 and earned a commission through Officer Candidate School. With more than 31 years of service, he retired in 2009 as U.S. Central Command's Provost Marshal, a military position similar to a civilian Commissioner of Public Safety and International Chief of Police. Colonel Prendergast served with distinction in various important command and staff assignments throughout the United States and abroad, to include combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, and humanitarian missions in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Cameroon, and Zaire. Prendergast also served as a Senior Policy Advisor for Defense, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Bob Graham.

Prendergast has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Special Honors and a dual major in Political Science and Sociology from Jacksonville State University; a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Psychology from the University of New York; a Bachelor of Social Science degree from Campbell University; a Master of Arts degree with a major in International Relations and a Certificate in African Studies from the University of Florida; a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in Public Management from Troy State University; and a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College with a major in Public Diplomacy and a concentration in Campaign and Strategic Crisis Planning.

This Part One of an interview with Prendergast.  Note that Prendergast unequivocally states that the oath of office demands loyalty to the Constitution, not to any particular political party.  I'll have Part Two tomorrow night.

Primary Day in Florida!

I hit the polls at 7:00 am this morning and now there is nothing to do but wait for the polls to close and the results to come in.  Already there is some very good news via Hot Air:

Florida goes to the polls today to choose their nominees for the general election in statewide and federal offices, and the two men who have nothing to do today are the most affected. According to a new survey from PPP, Kendrick Meek should easily win his primary over billionaire self-funder Jeff Greene, who more or less imploded over the last several weeks. With Meek in the race, both Democrats and Republicans come home to their parties — which is good news for Marco Rubio and a big problem for Charlie Crist:

Democrats will get their stronger candidate if Kendrick Meek wins the Florida Senate primary tonight as expected- but the biggest winner coming out of the primary may be Marco Rubio. PPP finds he would begin the general election in the lead at 40%, followed by Charlie Crist at 32%, and Meek at 17%. If Jeff Greene were somehow able to pull off the upset tonight it would be much closer with Rubio at 37%, Crist at 36%, and Greene at only 13%.

PPP’s last poll of the race in mid-July found Crist in the lead at 35% to 29% for Rubio and 17% for Meek. Two major developments have shifted the race in Rubio’s direction though. The first is that Democrats are now going for Meek 39-38 where before they were going for Crist 44-35. As Democrats have gotten to know Meek over the course of the primary campaign they’ve generally decided they like him and that’s cut into Crist’s support for the general election.

The other big difference is that many Republican voters have moved off the fence and they’ve almost universally moved into the Rubio column. Where Rubio had a 54-23 lead with GOP voters in July, it’s now increased to 69-20. Many Republicans were up in the air between Crist and Rubio previously but whatever they’ve seen over the last month has moved them more firmly into the Rubio column.

As I've said before, Crist will pick some, but by no means anything approaching the majority of the Independent vote.  He and Meek will split the Dem vote while Marco takes the Republican and Independent vote and ultimately the Senate seat.  Crist badly misjudged the Florida electorate and moved way too far left.  There is simply no graceful way for him to move back to the center now.

In the House race in this district, Kathy Castor is considered "safe".  Really?  Whomever comes out on top tonight between Mike Prendergast and Eddie Adams, Jr., we will have a candidate who is more than capable of unseating the ninth most liberal member in the House of Representatives.

Only 20 percent of the population self identifies as "liberal" which puts Castor way outside of the mainstream.  In the coming days I will be providing a closer look at Castor's record and it will become clear that on issue after issue, Castor has voted contrary to the constituency.

Lastly, after tonight Jeff Greene will no longer be spamming my inbox.  That my friends, is a very good thing.

Close But No Cigar

Timothy P. Carney got his title all wrong in his Washington Examiners post.  He wrote The Republican divide: K Street vs. Tea Partiers.  It should have been titled The You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours Club vs. The Newbies.  Carney writes:

Bob Dole, once the standard-bearer of the Republican Party, parlayed his political clout into personal wealth, and now he’s putting that wealth to work against a conservative Republican Senate candidate in a general election. Dole, now a lobbyist at Alston Bird, contributed $1,000 on Aug. 11 to the independent Senate campaign of Charlie Crist, who left the GOP in April.

Dole’s may be an extreme case — because he’s actually backing a non-Republican — but it epitomizes the fundamental split within the Republican Party.

Ya think, really?

The Old Boy's Club, AKA the You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours Club is nothing new.  It isn't Republican or Democrat, it is simply business as usual.  Its the whole reason that Stacy McCain started Not One Red Cent.

The Tea Party, if anything, is a revolt against the political establishment and the political class which for too long has taken the electorate for granted.  The idea that the voters will sit back and pull the (R) lever or the (D) lever while their hard earned tax dollars get swooshed down the political drain only to pop out of the sewer to fill some career politician's pockets are gone.  The voters want some bang for their buck and putting The Hon. Sen. Joe "High and Mighty" Blow's name on a building will no longer cut it.

The pendulum has swung too far.  Career politicians may be looking for the quick buck but we, the people, are looking at the long term health of the Nation.  For us it is no longer about "what is in it for me" but "how is this going to effect my children and grandchildren?" 

It isn't about K Street vs. Tea Partiers.  It is about who cares about the short vs. those who care about the long term.  Two words:  term limits.

Frank Rich is a Big Fat Liar

Frank Rich, knowing that he doesn't have a leg to stand on, stoops to doozie telling (emphasis added):

So virulent is the Islamophobic hysteria of the neocon and Fox News right —abetted by the useful idiocy of the Anti-Defamation League, Harry Reid and other cowed Democrats — that it has also rendered Gen. David Petraeus’s last-ditch counterinsurgency strategy for fighting the war inoperative. How do you win Muslim hearts and minds in Kandahar when you are calling Muslims every filthy name in the book in New York?

I know every filthy name in the book and I'm not aware of any of the finer ones, much less the lesser ones, being tossed about during "The Mosque" debate.  Who is Rich referring to?  He links both the ADL and Harry Reid, but no filthy names there. Fox News, perhaps?  After all, they did make Rich's headline, How Fox Betrayed Petraeus.  Anyone aware of Fox going potty mouth lately?  Rich doesn't cite any examples so I think it is safe to assume that there aren't any.  Aside from the glorious richness of Mr. Rich pretending to give a rat's ass about Gen. Petraeus, the entire op-ed is one big joke.

Mr. Rich is perfectly welcome to express his opinion in whatever medium is sufficiently lame to have him.  But there is a difference between expressing an opinion and lying.  Mr. Rich is a big, fat liar.  He is simply too blinded by the rainbows he imagines emanate from The Holy Unicorn's arse and therefore, he has rendered his gilded opinions useless. 

Speaking of filthy names, I've thought of several related to Rich while writing this.  I'll save them for another post.

Cross posted at Potluck

Progressives are Stuck on Anger

Writing at Ricochet, Rob Long puts an interesting spin on the liberal media's current Obama "problem":

The Liberal Media is Angry! Next Step: Bargaining

The famous Kubler-Ross stages of grief are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

I'm a people person. I care about others. So as the hapless, amateur-hour Obama administration lurches from one self-inflicted mess to another, what I really want to know is this: how's the press doing? You know, in the mental health department? How are all of those fawning, lickspittle toadies handling the collapse of their Chosen One?

Good news! They're following the textbook. For the past year, it's been a symphony of denial. But this summer, they slipped into anger.

Why is Obama such an unpopular president? It's your fault. You're too extreme. You have extreme views. Also: you're crazy. You think Obama is a Muslim. Oh, and you're a racist

The problem is that anger is the progressives' natural state.  This is why I don't bother trying to reason with them.  They view any disagreement as a personal attack.  I can't imagine a progressive ever reaching acceptance.
 
Many progressives never accepted that George W. Bush was the legitimate POTUS.  And I recently overheard a conversation between two progressives who were angry that the current administration still hadn't arrested GWB, locked him up and thrown away the key.  Acceptance simply is not these people's forte. 
 
Conservatives, or at least Republicans, are poised for a big victory in November.  Don't expect that victory to nudge progressives towards the "bargaining" stage.  I suspect they will skip straight to a short depression stage and then regress back to a prolonged stage of anger and denial.  I am also pretty darned sure that it will be a cold day in Hell before progressives accept that the majority of their countrymen reject their vision.
 
The good news is that progressives tend not to breed.  Eventually, we will be free of them.

Read the of Long's piece.

Cross posted at Potluck

She's Back!

Welcome back, dear Pundette!  You have been sorely missed. 

Many thanks to Pundette for allowing me to post on her blog during her absence.  It was an honor.

Take the "Hard Hat Pledge"

Imagine that your employment had been spotty, or non-existent, for months.  Chances are if you work in the construction industry you have been sitting on the sidelines for a very long time now.  So along comes a major building project that will take many, many months to complete and suddenly the possibility of working 10s and 12s (overtime) after scraping by could be a reality.  Would you turn that job, and fat paycheck, down?  If the "project" is the Ground Zero Mosque, you just might.

A growing number of New York construction workers are vowing not to work on the mosque planned near Ground Zero.

“It’s a very touchy thing because they want to do this on sacred ground,” said Dave Kaiser, 38, a blaster who is working to rebuild the World Trade Center site.

“I wouldn’t work there, especially after I found out about what the imam said about U.S. policy being responsible for 9/11,” Kaiser said.

The grass-roots movement is gaining momentum on the Internet. One construction worker created the “Hard Hat Pledge” on his blog and asked others to vow not to work on the project if it stays on Park Place.

“Thousands of people are signing up from all over the country,” said creator Andy Sullivan, a construction worker from Brooklyn. “People who sell glass, steel, lumber, insurance. They are all refusing to do work if they build there.”

“Hopefully, this will be a tool to get them to move it,” he said. “I got a problem with this ostentatious building looming over Ground Zero.”

It is easy to take stand when it doesn't cost anything but the men and women who take this pledge do so at great personal expense.  I am proud of each and every one of them.

More at Potluck.

I'm Proud to be an Extremist

Who knew that agreeing with the majority of your fellow citizens makes one an extremist?  The NRSC has a video on this phenomenon: