Video: Glenn Beck Reads Impassioned Letter From Enraged Citizen

Glenn Beck reads a open letter to our nation’s leadership from a woman in Arizona:

Part one

Part two:

I think she speaks for millions of us.

Transcript here.

Despite Obama’s Caution, Iran Government Accuses US Of Intolerable “Meddling”

After Obama made clear that he did not want to be seen as “meddling” in Iranian affairs…

Iran accuses US of meddling

Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of “intolerable” meddling in its internal affairs, alleging for the first time that Washington has fueled a bitter postelection dispute. Opposition supporters marched in huge numbers through Tehran’s streets for a third straight day to protest the outcome of the balloting.

The Iranian government summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents U.S. interests in Iran, to complain about American interference, state-run Press TV reported.

The English-language channel said the government called Western interference “intolerable.”

Tipster Jackstraw, says: I guess we can dispense with the Obama excuse that he didn’t want to be seen as “meddling” in the Iranian electoral process now. Everyone does understand that we are dealing with a regime that denies the Holocaust and says the hidden Imam is right around the corner, right?

“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.” – MLK

MORE:

Pamela Geller makes an excellent point over at Atlas Shrugs:

The President of United States does not want to “meddle” in Iranian affairs but has no compunction telling the Jews where they can or can’t live, telling the Jews they can’t have babies and telling the Jews they can’t build on their land.

Her take is unforgiving…

But he can’t meddle in these outrageous crimes against humanity But Obama is big and tough when he bullies the Jews. If you are not going to meddle then be consistent, anti-semite. And keep your nose out of the Jewish tent.
Obama is not ashamed to do the mullah’s bidding. Shameful.

Jackstraw also sends this article from the BBC about the election earlier this year in Iraq:

For the Iraqi people, it has been a real eye-opener.

They learned, for the first time, that they could hold those they elected to account, and change them if they failed to meet expectations.

“People are really happy,” said one Baghdad resident after the election was over.

“They think this is how elections should be. The message is that those who are elected and don’t deliver, will be removed, peacefully.”

Read this article and tell me that what has been going on in Iraq, a country that is most visible to Iran and one where Iran has sought to impose it’s will, has not deeply affected the electoral process in Iraq.

UPDATE:

Iranian who leaked election results may have been assassinated

How To Counter ABC’s Health Care Propaganda On June 24

As everyone should know by now, on June 24, State run ABC (AKA the All Barack Channel) intends to air a special for ObamaCare in which opposing voices will be exempt.

Rush is making some suggestions on his show right now on how to counter the ObamaCare propaganda extravaganza. A couple of his ideas: For a movie channel – play The Manchurian Candidate all night long. For Fox News – Nothing but opposition to ObamaCare all night long on all the shows.

I have a suggestion for the blogs… an anti-ObamaCare Blogburst: Nothing but posts opposing ObamaCare, all night long.

If you don’t have time to write a post, this video will suffice:

Let’s see which side gets the most exposure

MORE:

Obama needs this assist from the All Barack Channel. Momentum seems to going in the anti-ObamaCare direction:

See Patterico’s Pontifications for the more on that score:

The wheels of the Congressional clown car started coming off when Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad admitted not only that the Left’s beloved “public plan” option doesn’t have the votes, but also that trying to railroad Obamacare through as part of the budget reconciliation process was not a viable option. The AMA opposition to any “strong” public plan was also a big red flag.

STILL MORE:

Free speech rally:

KMBC, 6455 Winchester Ave, Kansas City, MO

When:     Wednesday, June 24th

Time:       4:30 – 6:00 pm

Bring your signs for Freedom of Speech, Free Independent Press, & for a Free Market Health Care System.

Our Health Care needs reform but it is not in CRISIS!

I will have more information in the next few days.  You can also check our website … www.Kansas912.com.

Check your own state’s 912 project, or tea party websites for possible protests in your own area…or start your own. Let’s make ABC aware that we are seriously displeased.

Flight 93 Memorial Blogburst #64: Iranian Election Edition

False AP report: Obama did NOT say that Iran must respect voters’ choice

Obama’s comments were mushy, yes, but at least he said the most important thing, according to AP:

He said it’s up to Iran to determine its own leaders but that the country must respect voters’ choice.

Why then have reputable people continued to pass harsh judgment? And why would AP paraphrase what would have been Obama’s key statement?

Turns out Obama said no such thing. What he actually said is that the VOICES of the Iranian people should be heard and respected, not their votes:

And particularly to the youth of Iran, I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.

This is consistent with the rest of Obama’s remarks. He never said a word about respecting votes. Obama did mention “the democratic process,” but far from saying anything about this process having to meet any standards of integrity, he instead implied strongly that he will accept whatever result the “process” followed by the Mullahs produces:

I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be; that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, which sometimes the United States can be a handy political football…

Democracy means that Iranian sovereignty lies with the Iranian people and that a regime that rigs an election is NOT sovereign. Yet Obama is explicit that he will continue to treat the mullahs as the Iranian sovereign no matter how they judge the election. He even goes so far as to suggest that the only reason he is bothering to comment on the competing claim to sovereignty at all is because it would be unseemly for him not to:

We will continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue between our two countries, and we’ll see where it takes us. But even as we do so, I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we’ve seen on the television over the last few days.

The only operative concerns that he mentions are for: “free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent.” When he talks about the “democratic process” going forward, all he urges is that the process be peaceful and that dissent be allowed. He says nothing about the process being honest:

…there appears to be a sense on the part of people who were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now feel betrayed. And I think it’s important that, moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views.

It is no accident that Obama ended with the statement that AP paraphrased so egregiously (equating his call for bloodless suppression with a demand for legitimate elections). This was his theme throughout. He views the honesty of Iran’s democratic process as something to be judged by the mullahs, who he clearly accepts to be the sovereign power, regardless of the merits of competing claims.

AP covers its tracks, just like they did with the Flight 93 memorial

AP’s fraudulent report about Obama demanding respect for voters’ choice was the primary print report on Obama’s comments. Now that it has already misled millions of people, AP has covered its tracks by filing an update that overwrites the errant statement. This is what AP does when it gets caught putting out misinformation. To avoid issuing a correction, they flush the misleading story down the memory hole by using the same url for a completely different story. (Google only finds AP’s original article still posted at Fox News.)

AP did the same thing last year after it was taken to task for failing to check the most basic facts in a story about the controversy over possible Islamic symbolism in the Flight 93 memorial. Ramesh Santanam reported a number of conflicting factual assertions, like the 44 blocks:

Opponents also claim there is a plan to have 44 glass blocks, for the 40 victims and four hijackers, in the design.

“That’s an absolute, unequivocal fabrication that is being portrayed as fact,” said Edward Felt’s brother, Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93. “It’s misleading and helps drive the conspiracy theory.”

When it was pointed out that Santanam could have found the four extra blocks just by opening up the design drawings and counting, AP quickly filed a completely different story (about fundraising for the memorial), under the same url.

It’s not that there is anything inherently wrong with AP using subject feeds that automatically update with their latest offering. It is that AP is systematically using this system to dodge corrections. This is actually their official policy:

For corrections on live, online stories, we overwrite the previous version. We send separate corrective stories online as warranted.

Except AP virtually never issue corrective stories, for the simple reason that AP has no established correction procedure. They just do the overwrite thing and say “too bad.”

Well this time the overwrite thing is not good enough.

Demand a corrective story about AP’s false paraphrase of Obama’s words

Associated Press obviously understands the importance of Obama saying that Iran must respect voters’ choice or they wouldn’t have bothered to pretend that he said it when he didn’t. They don’t just fail to mention Obama’s glaring omission on this crucial point, but actually tell the public via false paraphrase that he did say what he glaringly omitted. This cannot stand. Faced with our new president’s key statement on a historic crisis, AP reports a photo negative of what Obama actually said.

There may be no established procedure for AP corrections, but anyone can still send a pre-written email to AP CEO Tom Curley, Editor Kathleen Carroll, the reporters who worked on the story (the egregious Jennifer Loven, along with Anne Gearan and Robert Burns), plus a smattering of other AP editors and bureaucrats. Who knows. There may even be a limit to how disingenuous some of these people are willing to be.

To join our blogbursts, just send your blog’s url.

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The Latest On The AmeriCorps Scandal

Naturally, Glenn Beck is all over the story.

Byron York, who has been working on this story, and the fired Inspector General, Gerald Walpin appeared on his show, yesterday:

Beck takes a looks at the chain of command on today’s show, with Byron York, once again:

Some blogs that reacted to the story, today:

Yid With Lid:

Because he was investigating the president’s friends, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was fired.

Ironically it was the President who, along with Senator Sen. Claire McCaskill, sponsored the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires the president to give Congress 30 days’ notice, plus an explanation of cause, before firing an inspector general.

Ace:

Huh: Key Democratic Ally Claire McCaskill Admits Obama “Didn’t Follow Law” on Firing AmericaCorps IG

Actually, she says he failed to follow proper procedure, which is a nice way of saying “did not follow the law,” which in turn is a nice way of saying “broke the law.”

Gateway Pundit:

Weird? Lib McCaskill Questions Obama Over Firing of Inspector General …Update: White House Smears Walpin

Michelle Malkin took a look at Americorp’s  grant winners of millions of stimulus dollars.

The Corporation for National and Community Service’s announcement today of the winners of the 2009 grant competition brings the number of AmeriCorps members who should be in place by the fall to almost 88,000, corporation officials said.

The largest grant among new and recompete grantees recommended by state commissions – a total of $41.6 million in grants – is $4.66 million to the Washington State Employment Security Department for the Washington Service Corps. The largest total for a single program brand was $6.9 million that went to City Year locations in Boston ($1.76 million), Chicago (@1.1 million), Cleveland ($598,000), Louisiana ($738,000), Philadelphia ($2.3 million) and San Antonio ($403,200).

Other grants to state commissions that topped $1 million went to: Bay Area Community Resources/ BAYAC Americorps, $1.36 million; the Minnesota Literary Council for the Minnesota Reading Corps, $1.8 million; the Montana Conservation Corps, $1.5 million; and New York’s Harlem’s Children’s Zone for its Peacemaker Program, $1.35 million.

City Year’s Boston headquarters received the largest new national direct grant: $3.1 million of the total $19.7 million awarded in that category. Other $1 million plus grants went to: Public Allies’ Wisconsin headquarters, $2.7 million; Habitat for Humanity, $2.96 million; Massachusetts’ Jumpstart for Young Children, $1.96 million; and Washington. D.C.-based National Association for Public Interest Law for its Equal Justice Works, $1.16 million.

Public Allies is the Americorps-funded non-profit tied to both Barack and Michelle Obama.

Does “Public Allies” ring a bell? It should. Remember the IBD piece from last September,  Michelle’s Bootcamp For Radicals?:

Barack Obama was a founding member of the board of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife became executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in 1993. Obama plans to use the nonprofit group, which he features on his campaign Web site, as the model for a national service corps. He calls his Orwellian program, “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”

Big Brother had nothing on the Obamas. They plan to herd American youth into government-funded reeducation camps where they’ll be brainwashed into thinking America is a racist, oppressive place in need of “social change.”

The pitch Public Allies makes on its Web site doesn’t seem all that radical. It promises to place young adults (18-30) in paid one-year “community leadership” positions with nonprofit or government agencies. They’ll also be required to attend weekly training workshops and three retreats.

In exchange, they’ll get a monthly stipend of up to $1,800, plus paid health and child care. They also get a post-service education award of $4,725 that can be used to pay off past student loans or fund future education.

But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about “social change” through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul “The Red” Alinsky.

“Our alumni are more than twice as likely as 18-34 year olds to . . . engage in protest activities,” Public Allies boasts in a document found with its tax filings. It has already deployed an army of 2,200 community organizers like Obama to agitate for “justice” and “equality” in his hometown of Chicago and other U.S. cities, including Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Washington. “I get to practice being an activist,” and get paid for it, gushed Cincinnati recruit Amy Vincent.

Keep reading….the prescient conclusion:

The gall of it: The Obamas want to create a boot camp for radicals who hate the military — and stick American taxpayers with the bill.

And now they have a hand picked crony overseeing all allegations of fraud, stolen and misspent money.

UPDATE: (June 17):

The American Spectator with more:

AmeriCorps and ACORN Go Way Back

Eric Cantor Decries Democrat Abuse of Power

Melissa Tweets on Twitter linked to this intriguing post  from Eric Cantor’s website:

In a completely unprecedented fashion, House Democrats have used their power as the majority party to shut out floor amendments from the minority party on spending legislation.

Right at the beginning of the debate, House Democrats decided to go to the Rules Committee, to report out a Structured Rule and shut the House GOP out of the process.

This is an unprecedented abuse of power by the House Democrats.  Every American – every American of either political party or of no party at all – ought to be deeply concerned over this action.

There are no other details…that’s the entire post. Is he talking about the war funding bill?

House passes war-funding bill, despite reservations

A divided House of Representatives Tuesday approved by 226 to 202 a $105.9 billion emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and help curb flu outbreaks.

But many lawmakers in both parties were uneasy.

Many Democrats wanted President Barack Obama to provide a clearer strategy for Afghanistan. Republicans protested aid to the International Monetary Fund. Members of both parties were skittish about the lack of an explicit ban on releasing terrorist detainee photos.

Democratic leaders – with some heavy lobbying from the White House – won, though, reminding colleagues about the inclusion of some sweeteners such as a “cash for clunkers” auto sales program, funds to help provide air service in rural areas and housing aid for victims of 2005′s hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Video: Rep. Mike Pence’s Statement On Iran Election

Congressman Mike Pence took to the floor to introduce  a resolution supporting the dissidents in Iran.

If the POTUS won’t express the unqualified support of our nation for the dissidents on the streets in Tehran, this Congress must.

Complete text:

“I come to this floor at an extraordinary moment on the global stage.

“According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, the official news agency of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supposedly won the election over his primary opponent on 12 June, 2009. But from the very moment that that election result was announced, the international community and the international press called it into question. The basis for that, even before the extraordinary demonstrations had begun to take place, was the fact that these were paper ballots.  But the official government results of the election were announced literally within hours of the polls being closed. Various media outlets around the world questioned the authenticity of the results.

“Mr. Mousavi, the defeated candidate, has launched a legal appeal against the election results. On the day of the election, mobile phone communications were interrupted. Western media has reported, ‘heavy electronic jamming, disturbing broadcasts.’ News websites were reportedly blocked by Iranian authorities and the Iranian government has allegedly arrested opposition political figures and journalists. The Iranian government has outlawed any protest following two days of extraordinary unrest.  The BBC recently reported that recent rallies in the streets of Tehran were the biggest demonstrations in the Islamic Republic’s 30-year history.

“The protest, according to news reports, became violent and, according to media reports, pro-government forces attacked demonstrators in the last 24 hours, causing at least one fatality. We are witnessing a Tiananmen in Tehran, and the United States of America must stand in the gap on behalf of those brave Iranian citizens who are standing for free and fair elections, democracy and basic rights.

“Freedom in fact may be flowering in Iran as hundreds of thousands rally for democracy and free elections. While I appreciate President Obama’s comments yesterday at the White House that he was, ‘troubled by the violence,’ and his belief that the voices of the Iranian people should, be ‘heard and respected,’ it seems by my lights that this administration has yet to express the unqualified support of the American people for those who are courageously taking to the streets for free elections and for democracy in Iran.

“Let me say from my heart, the American cause is freedom and in this cause the American people will not be silent, here or abroad. If the President of the United States won’t express the unqualified support of our nation for the dissidents in the streets of Tehran, this Congress must.

“Today I’m introducing a resolution that will do just that. It will express its concern regarding the reported irregularities of the presidential election of 12 June, 2009. It will condemn the violence against demonstrators by pro-government militia in Tehran in the wake of the elections.  It will affirm our belief in the universality of individual rights and the importance of democratic and fair elections. And lastly, and most importantly, it will express the support of the American people for all Iranian citizens who struggle for freedom, civil liberties and the protection of the rule of law.

“Believe it or not in my small town of Columbus, IN, I grew up next door to a Hungarian immigrant who fled Hungary in the wake of the Soviet repression of the Hungarian revolution in 1956. I sat often with Julius Perr, now passed away, and heard of the way the Hungarian people, inspired by our calls for freedom, stood up for their own freedom. And as Brett Stephens recounts in today’s Wall Street Journal we stood by idly. We didn’t want to interfere. And the Soviet tanks rolled.

“We cannot stand idly by, speak of Iran’s sovereignty, speak of her own right to choose her own leadership at a time when hundreds of thousands of Iranians are risking their lives to stand up for free elections and democracy.

“Ronald Reagan said, ‘No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.’  All of us desire a fresh start with Iran and it seems from news reports and the extraordinary images coming from the streets of Iran that millions of Iranians long for a new start in their government.  There is a reformist movement afoot in Iran.

“Today I’ll introduce a resolution.  I urge all my colleagues in both parties to join me in expressing their support for these brave and courageous men and women.”

Att. Sheriff Joe: Here’s What Some Of Us Thought Of The Stimulus Back In February

In trying to explain why the jobless rate was getting worse, instead of better,  as predicted by the Obama administration before the stimulus package was passed, our esteemed Vice President, Joe Biden explained: “everyone guessed wrong” .

Nothing could be further from the truth. Last February, I had to start a new category for my blog – “Teaparty”, because they were springing up all over the country in response to the outrageous spending by the Obama administration. We knew, as every sane person knew, that the massive expansion of government that was in the Stimulus and Omni spending bills, would not stimulate private business.

Here are some hardy Kansas Citians who came out during a friggin’ snow storm, last Feb 28, to express their disapproval, only to be labeled, right wing extremists, later by Janet Napolitano’s DHS.

We knew, Sheriff Joe. We tried to tell you.

Now we all have to live with this:                                                                  And this:

And perhaps soon, something like this:

This Won’t End Well…

Pics from protests in Iran via The Goldfarb on Twitter:

Smoke billows from a burning car as supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi attack a local base of the Islamic Basij militia. AFP PHOTO/STR. AFP. WAR.

Protesters attack a building of pro-government militia near a rally supporting leading opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in Tehran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi).

The protesters can expect no help, or encouragement from the Obama administration…

But Robert Gibbs did issue this  forceful statement: “We continue to be heartened by the enthusiasm of young people in Iran.”

Some quick links:

The UK Telegraph: The Iranian election: Barack Obama’s cowardly silence

Obama’s deafening silence over the Iranian election is a disgrace. According to The New York Times, the president “did not even convene any high-level White House meetings or conference calls on Sunday”. That’s not the mark of a leader but a clear display of weakness. It’s a sad day when the greatest power in the world withholds criticism of a brutal, tyrannical and illegitimate regime for fear of upsetting its rulers.

Hot Air: Good news: State Department refuses to condemn Iranian crackdown

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that the United States is concerned about allegations of ballot fraud.

Kelly described the U.S. government as “deeply troubled” by the events in Iran, which is a stronger expression of concern than over the weekend when Vice President Biden cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.

When pressed by a reporter, Kelly declined to condemn the Iranian security forces for their crackdown on street protesters. And he said the U.S. knows too little about the conduct of the election to say for sure whether there was fraud.

See Hot Air link for examples of the crackdown.

More must-see pix from the uprising, here.

Gateway Pundit: Iranian Opposition Leader Defies Ban– Leads Massive Protest in Tehran (Video) …Update: Gunfire at Rally- At Least 1 Dead …Update: 15 Dead

Here’s a website with all the Iranians on Twitter during the clashes.

More good coverage at Atlas Shrugs: IRAN BLOWBACK

CNN: Hatred, chaos and savage beatings in Tehran

Hot Air: 66% Say Obama Not Being Tough Enough On Iran

Worth a read:

The Election that Wasn’t By: Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com

FrontPage Interview’s guest today is Roozbeh Farahanipour, an Iranian journalist, democracy activist, former political prisoner in Iran and head of Marze Por Gohar Party (MPG), an Iranian opposition party seeking the establishment of an secular republic in Iran. He was a student leader in the 1999 uprising, just one year after creating MPG.

Raw video from today:

Weasel Zippers: Twitter Reschedules Planned Downtime so Iranian Protesters Can Continue to Use Service During Crisis…..

Ace of Spades HQ: Obama Finally Speaks: “I am deeply troubed by the violence I’ve been seeing on television;” “It’s up to the Iranian people to determine their leaders.”
Update: Full Statement Added

The Washington Times:Revolutionary Guards Arrested in Iran

According to the Cyrus News Agency, Tuesday morning 16 senior members of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were arrested. “These commanders have been in contact with members of the Iranian army to join the people’s movement,” CNA reports. “Three of the commanders are veterans of Iran-Iraq war. They have been moved to an undisclosed location in East Tehran.” This report has not been confirmed by other sources. If true, it shows that the regime is losing the loyalty of some members of its control appartus, which is necessary if the opposition has any chance of achieving fundamental change.

MORE (June 16):

Gateway Pundit:

President Panty Waist: “It Would Not Be Helpful if the US Was Seen by the World as Meddling” …Update: Sarkozy Denounces Iran Vote Fraud

and

George Bush Stood With Democracy Activists– Obama Stands With Dictators

Obama has made it clear that he intends to continue to seek dialogue with Iran despite the irregularities in the election, but now even liberal Slate thinks Obama should disengage with Iran:

It’s time for President Obama to rethink his policy of “engagement” with Iran.

Given the near-certainty that Iran’s election was fixed and the documented fact that protesters are being brutalized, there is no way that Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could go to Tehran and shake hands with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, much less to expect that any talks would be worthwhile.

Some helpful ideas for Obama:

Powerline: A word from Ronald Reagan

Dr. Zero, The Green Room: What The President Should Have Said To The Iranian People

An alternate viewpoint:

Innocent Bystanders: Muslihoon Sez: Obama’s Right About Iran

If Obama, or any official of the US administration, were to come out in support of the protestors, it will be exceedingly easy for Mahmoud Ahmadi-nezhad and Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseyni Khaamene’i (the theocrat of Iran) to dismiss the entire “enghelaab” (revolution) as a foreign “saazesh” (plot, plan). As an external attempt to destabilize the Irani state, the current government would delegitimize the “enghelaab” and authorize the state apparatus to use excessive force against the protesters, reformists, and other leaders (because, see, then it wouldn’t be a revolution but rather a riot plotted by the Great Satan to overthrow the government).

Discuss.

No, “Everyone” Did Not Guess Wrong

Geoff ‘s now famous chart

Geoff, from Uncommon Misconceptions comments on Joe Biden’s most recent brain fart over at Innocent Bystanders:

Joe Tries to Spin, But Ends Up Twisting in the Wind

Vice President Joe Biden says “everyone guessed wrong” on the impact of the economic stimulus.

Really. Let’s look back about 4 months and try to remember who was guessing what:

Obama reminds GOP in stimulus meeting: “I won” (Hot Air): 1/23/09

House passes stimulus plan, but with no Republican votes (McClatchy): 1/28/09

Pence Opposes Democrat Stimulus Bill: “It Won’t Work”: 1/28/09

Economists say stimulus won’t work (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): 1/29/09

Analysis: Stimulus Won’t Jump-start Economy (AP): 2/13/2009

Sen. Cornyn: Stimulus Won’t Work (Fox): 2/13/09

Republican Governors Step Up Attacks on Obama Economic Policies (Bloomberg): 2/23/09

And among the highlights to the opposition to the bill, we had 200 economists taking out an ad in the New York Times saying it wouldn’t work, all GOP representatives voting against the bill, and all but 3 GOP senators voting against the bill. [And as Joey Buzz points out in the comments, I'd forgotten to mention the Tea Paries, which involved hundreds of thousands of American citizens of all political affiliations.]

I’ve already posted this video from last February once, but I’m doing it again because it cannot be stressed  enough how smug and sure of themselves The  Obama Team and his sycophants in the media were, in selling Porkulus to the American people in the face of mass opposition:

Wrong

Everyone did not think massive spending was the way to go:

We knew.

A plurality of Americans now say, cancel the stimulus.

It’s important to keep all of this in mind, because now he’s trying to sell his disastrous ObamaCare program, under the same pretense that he sold the stimulus – there is a (health care) crisis that needs to be acted upon immediately.

The president says health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is an economic imperative.

“If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy and get our federal budget under control, then we have to address the crushing cost of health care this year, in this administration,” said President Obama.

He says the goal must be to bring down medical expenses, while improving the quality of care for everyone.

How’s that for audacity? Obama is using the budget crisis caused by his stimulus as the reason we need to have a health care bill, this year.

Megan McArdle says Obama intends to do this through slight of hand:

Obama’s health care plans are very, very expensive, and they mean higher taxes for everyone, not just that elusive klatch of greedy fools who are not in the 95% of working families now allegedly slated for stable or lower taxes.  Otherwise, how could Obama hope to pay for it?

I think we found out today:  magic!

Of course. Are the American people starting to wise up, yet? They’d better hurry. ObamaCare has to be massively opposed.

Bottom line: Obama’s Stimulus bill was an epic failure. His health care bill will be, too, if it passes.

Who Does Ahmadinejad Remind You Of?

YAWNNNN:

CBS takes the opportunity to engage in some BDS inspired Bush bashing:

Via Gateway Pundit: CBS: “Meet Iran’s George W. Bush”

CBS republishes vile New Republic article–
Meet Iran’s George W. Bush

This  story is from June 8th, and does a fair job introducing readers to the candidates. But the dopey  comparison of  Ahmadinejad to George W. Bush is a weak,  cheap shot.

Oh hey!

What do you know? Another idiotic comparison, this time  from Excitable Andy writing in the once proud periodical, Atlantic monthly:

Graphic swiped from AoSHQ

Via RS McCain: Karl Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Rove?

Do the publishers of The Atlantic Monthly have no shame at all?

Ahmadinejad’s bag of tricks is eerily like that of Karl Rove – the constant use of fear, the exploitation of religion, the demonization of liberals, the deployment of Potemkin symbolism like Sarah Palin . . .

Good lord, he even found a way to involve Sarah Palin in his  deranged delusion, but it took some doing. Sarah Palin  as Potemkin symbolism? Yeah, ooooookay.

And then there’s this imbecility, caught by  William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

Ahmadinejad Stole The Election, Just Like Bush

But this post at Crooks and Liars caught my eye:

“Isn’t rioting in the streets the appropriate reaction when your country is taken over through election fraud? What’s the alternative, to reward theft? We’ve already seen what that did here!”

You know? Since the left is getting its kicks comparing Ahmadinejad to Bushies…can we conservatives play that game, too?  I bet I can name somebody Ahmadinejad reminds me of,  if I think about it for a minute.
Let’s see….skinny, narcissistic, ‘on the outs’ with Israel, dyes hair, will say and do anything to win, ruining the economy…anyone have any ideas?

Post Election Unrest In Iran

Yesterday The Guardian predicted that Ahmadinnerjacket would lose if the election wasn’t rigged.

In the absence of reliable independent opinion polls, experts predicted yesterday that Mir Hossein Mousavi, the moderate “green” candidate, would probably beat the controversial incumbent so long as the result was not rigged.

Well, it appears that it was indeed rigged.

Here’s some raw video, (via MK Hammer on Twitter) of a protest from earlier today in Tehran:

Hot Air is reporting 50-100 dead from police brutality during the protests, today:

The regime shut down text messaging across the country yesterday too to hamper organization of the protests they knew would follow the results. Even so, the Beeb says street violence today is the worst Tehran has seen in 10 years, replete with Iranian cops beating women with nightsticks

Hot Air is also reporting that despite the illegitimacy of the Ahmadinejad regime, the White House says it’s full speed ahead on “dialogue.”

The New York Times blog also has excellent coverage of events, today in Iran, and more video.

See Michael Totten as well, who is continuously updating this weekend.

More Links:

MichelleMalkin: Winds Of Change: The Uprising In Iran

Best and most up-to-date coverage: Follow Twitter hashtag #iranelection.

Here’s an Iran Feeds aggregator.

Gateway Pundit: Regime Unleashed– Gunshots & Beatingsbush bashing: In Tehran (Video)

Obama’s Dishonest Debate

It’s time to be brutally honest about Obama. The fact of the matter is…he doesn’t always tell the truth.

In fact,  he lies. I don’t mean he sometimes get things wrong, or changes his mind when facts change, although he does those things, too. I mean he out and out LIES.

He beguiles, bullshits, concocts, invents, deceives, deludes, dissembles, dupes, fabricates, falsifies, fibs, fudges, invents, misleads, misrepresents, misspeaks, misstates, perverts, prevaricates, and puts us on.

But mostly, he lies. (And thus ends our little foray into the internet thesaurus).

You see, according to  Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, there is no need to be truthful when you are fighting for social justice.

Obama lies to help him get to the next step of his grand scheme of remaking America into a European style Socialist state, and so far it’s been working out pretty well for him. The lies are written into the speeches…he reads them off the teleprompter with a  voice of sincere conviction, and voila!  the masses swoon.

I’ve known this about him for quite awhile. That’s why I find it nearly impossible to sit through an entire Obama speech, or press conference. I don’t believe half the stuff he says, and I don’t think he believes it either. I refuse to take part in the charade.

Most people, though, want to give Obama  the benefit of the doubt, because they’ve staked so much hope and good will on him.  So even though they don’t necessarily like where he taking us, and they’re becoming increasingly dubious about his spending habits, they still take him at his word when he makes a speech about his next sweeping policy change, like ObamaCare. He seems so earnest and well intentioned…

But folks…the man is a liar:

Obama has been selling his health care plan on the principle that everyone will have a choice, but he knows that his plan will lead to a universal single payer/nationalized plan, where everyone won’t have a choice. That is the ultimate goal.

Hats off to Verum Serum for doing such a great job finding the old videos and patching them in with the new.

Please spread this video far and wide. Because they are trying to sell a bill of goods that will forever change our once strong, proud,  and independent country into a weak, dependent,  Socialist state, and most agree that there’ll be no turning back. They are depending on the decent, trusting nature of the American people to do it.

Hat tip: Hot Air

UPDATE:

Obama was asked about his inconsistent positions on the single payer plan on the Today’s show in January ’08. He squirmed uncomfortably, had trouble hearing the question, and bolloxed his answer, giving the lamest explanation imaginable:

“What I said during the debate was that a single payer system was one that I would support if we were starting from scratch…”

Um, no, at the debate, he said that he had never supported a single payer system. It seems like he was having trouble keeping his lies straight, and his trouble hearing the clips made it all the more difficult for him to navigate through the lies.

“What I have said consistently is…if we didn’t have a legacy of employer based health care…then it might make more sense to set up a single payer system…I’ve always said that…I’ve said that during the course of this campaign, but what I’ve also said is that we’ve got to build on the system that we’ve already got…yadayada yada…” (segues into boilerplate).

See? He wasn’t being inconsistent…he was merely being taken out of context. What happened was, he  was consistently going around the country saying, “Gee, you know what, if there was no such thing as employer based health care…single payer would be really awesome…but since we have….employer based health care…. I guess we won’t be going for that single payer dealie, no sir!  Just thought I’d mention it and all, anyway…”

Makes total sense.

RELATED:

Obama doesn’t want us to know that nationalizing banks, car companies, the health care industry, etc. is Socialism, (whatever Hugo might say). It’s his and a few others’ dirty little secret…

(Why this Dem Rep,  Sherman keeps blurting it out on the news, I can’t figure. He’s off the reservation):

Hat tip: Naked Emporer News

UPDATE:

Yuval Levin and William Kristol at The Weekly Standard say we can beat this thing:

Dare to Defeat ObamaCare

RELATED:

Doug Ross has a good overview of a speech given recently by Charles Krauthammer to the Center for the American Experiment. Here are  some points he made that jive with points made here:

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he’s on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can’t be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to ‘level the playing field’ with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, & NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn’t care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.

7. He’s now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not ‘come due’ until after he’s reelected in 2012. He’d like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

I came to that last conclusion over a year ago.

It’s time for Republicans to take the gloves off, and call him out on the lies.

MORE from Newt Gingrich last Monday at the 2009 House/Senate GOP Fundraising Dinner

The great difference between Reagan’s rhetorical skills and President Obama’s rhetorical skills are that Reagan used his rhetorical skills to shine light on truths and fundamental facts. Obama uses his rhetorical skills to hide from fundamental facts.

If you want a single case, read the Cheney speech and the Obama speech on the same day. There is a fundamental mistake, which tells you a great deal about this administration. Cheney had a fairly simple message – the reason we have Guantanamo is that we have people at Guantanamo that are dangerous. They are called terrorists. We call them terrorists because they want to kill us. It is good not to have them anywhere near us because it makes it harder for them to kill us. Now the average American could hear that simple declared sentence and say to themselves, “Okay, there’s the terrorists are okay gang and there’s the terrorists stay in Guantanamo gang. Uhh, okay, I got it. I’m with the terrorists stay in Guantanamo gang.” Now the President who had an impossible position was once said of Lincoln and Douglass that Lincoln was the best lawyer in Illinois with the good case and Douglass was the best lawyer in Illinois with the bad case. And I’m beginning to think that President Obama is in the Douglass tradition. Because the President, who is a remarkably wonderful orator said, “We are here at a deeply meaningful moment in which we are going to in a deeply fundamental and meaningful way engage is discussing a problem that is so complex and difficult that only myself can present it to you in such a way that you will fully appreciate the meaningfulness of this moment we have here together.” And the average American said “Got it. He doesn’t understand what’s going on.” And they are currently losing this debate by about 3 to 1 and it will get worse if they stick to it, because it is nonsense.

Kind of like his “a single payer system was one that I would support if we were starting from scratch…” argument.

Total. nonsensical. BS.

Call him out on the lies, Republicans. Don’t be aftraid to call it what it is. The public needs to know.

Tangentially related, via Yid With Lid:

Jews ‘Very Concerned’ About Obama, Leader of Jewish Organizations Says
By: Ronald Kessler
President Obama’s strongest supporters among Jewish leaders are deeply troubled by his recent Middle East initiatives, and some are questioning what he really believes, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview.

He told you he was pro Israel before the election, didn’t he? What did Charles Krauthammer say? Oh yeah:

Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

You realllly should have paid more attention to Obama’s background before you voted for him, guys.

Sarah Palin Administers Tongue Lashing On Today Show.

Yesterday, Keefy predicted a trainwreck on the Today Show  with the Sarah Palin and Matt Lauer interview, which aired this morning.  Well, there was no trainwreck  but there was a victim: David Letterman, who received an intense tongue lashing from Palin.

Gateway Pundit thinks the ‘Cuda attack was devastating, and has video.

Hot Air also has the video. Captain Ed thinks that all of the Palin attacks hurt her more than her attackers because it takes her off message and diminishes her. I think he makes a good point. But I think the attacks need to be answered, too.

And I also think that David Letterman has been diminished, as well; profoundly so. Don Surber has more to say about that:

I think David Letterman should realize that this thing is not going away.

Nor should it.

That non-apology apology of his may have amused his mama when he broke the cookie jar in Indianapolis. But he is 62 and real men apologize when they inadvertently ridicule a 14-year-old girl.

His excuse is an eye-roller: He meant her older sister, all of 18, getting knocked up. Oh that explains everything.

His bungling of this incident comes from thinking he is savvy, she is just a hick, and everyone in America hates her.

But when the National Organization for Women dumps on a liberal, he has problems.

Big time.

Letterman is entering Don Imus territory. Broadcast careers can end suddenly.

I agree, when hell froze over, and NOW came out to defend her, it became obvious that he had so seriously crossed a line that even some libs (who are the arbiters of these things, ya know) can’t defend him. You can’t tell me that this little episode hasn’t damaged his credibility and reputation, not so much with his loyal fans,  (like the buffoons in his audience)who  think the jokes are uproariously funny, but the rest of us, who just want to be entertained without being treated to insulting, abusive humor.

Still More Thug Politics: Obama Fires AmeriCorps IG Who Identified Millions In Misspent Money

I said this would be a recurring theme, yesterday, didn’t I?

The only sin of this AmeriCorps Inspector General seems to be that he was able to identify massive wasteful spending by a non profit headed by the Mayor of Sacramento, who, it turns out, happens to be a big Obama supporter, and crony.

Imagine that.

This AP story was linked by Instapundit on Twitter earlier this morning.

President Barack Obama says he has lost confidence in the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs and has told Congress he is removing him from the position.

Obama’s move follows an investigation by IG Gerald Walpin of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star, into the misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group that Johnson headed.

Walpin was criticized by the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of Johnson and St. HOPE Academy, a nonprofit group that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National Community Service. The corporation runs the AmeriCorps program.

Sen. Charles Grassley is trying to get answers:

Grassley had written Obama a letter pointing to a law requiring that Congress be given the reasons an IG is fired. He cited a Senate report saying the requirement is designed to ensure that inspectors general are not removed for political reasons.

Grassley said Walpin had identified millions of dollars in AmeriCorps funds that were wasted or misspent and “it appears he has been doing a good job.”

Check out these two paragraphs later in the story and see if it makes sense to you:

The U.S. attorney’s office reached a settlement in the matter. Brown cited press accounts that said Johnson and the nonprofit would repay half of nearly $850,000 in grants it received.

Kevin Hiestand, chairman of the board of St. HOPE Academy, said in a statement it was “about time” Walpin was removed. “Mr. Walpin’s allegations were meritless and clearly motivated by matters beyond an honest assessment of our program.”

The non profit was forced to repay half of the $850,000 in grants received, but Walpin’s allegations were meritless? Wha?

Now Michelle Malkin is running with the story. She says the AP story only scratched the surface. Guess who else is involved?:

President Obama is hoping you won’t notice his abrupt change of inspectors general over at Americorps, the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “community service” boondoggle (which Republicans helped expand as part of the $6 billion GIVE/SERVE Act in March despite its wasteful track record. Thanks, Republicans).

With intervention from Michelle Obama, the Americorps inspector general was given the boot and replaced — for doing his job too well, it seems, and uncovering squandering of funds by favored contributors, educational institutions, and left-wing groups.

Read her entire report. You’ll be emotionally exhausted by the end.

More from Ed Morrissey:

“Will Congress stand up to the executive branch and protect the Inspectors General? Or will they roll over and allow Obama to accrue even more power to protect his buddies and to allow corruption to run rampant?”

I’m going to resist the temptation to snark.  I agree with Francis R. Porretto, it’s time to pray.

MORE:

Slublog at AoSHQ calls this scandal, All The President’s Men, The Sequel:

Obama did what? Oh, well…run the story in D-20,
right under the classifieds.

MORE:

Be sure to read Ed’s last update, the one about the RAT hiding in the stimulus bill.