Video: Coulter Says Liberals are Like Children Constantly Betrayed by Reality

This is why I love Ann Coulter:

Coulter made one noteworthy omission when she was naming moderate libs (backstabbing cowards) who were bailing on Obama ….but I think that was perhaps out of  deference  for the Mrs.

MORE:

Coulter: Alvin Greene: The Most Qualified Democrat I’ve Ever Seen

On It…From Day One!

From First Things:

Sixteen barges sat stationary today, although they were sucking up thousands of gallons of BP’s oil as recently as Tuesday. Workers in hazmat suits and gas masks pumped the oil out of the Louisiana waters and into steel tanks. It was a homegrown idea that seemed to be effective at collecting the thick gunk.

“These barges work. You’ve seen them work. You’ve seen them suck oil out of the water,” said Jindal.

So why stop now?

But the Coast Guard ordered the stoppage because of reasons that Jindal found frustrating. The Coast Guard needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges.

I’m glad they got their priorities straight.

H/T : EddieBear the Magnificent

“Chocolate City” Shows Its Class

Hey!  New Orleans!  What are you gonna do with that BP swag sent to you to help with the hit to your tourism???

Give the finger to the home country of the entity writing the check, of course!

From the UK Daily Mail:

Tourism chiefs in New Orleans are set to launch a cheeky ‘anti-British’ advertising campaign to lure tourists – paid for with $5million of oil giant BP.

The campaign comes as the gulf oil spill threatens to damage New Orleans’ fragile tourism industry, which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina five years ago.

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau came up with the idea. According to blogofneworleans.com, NOCV bureau president Steve Perry said: ‘You can’t just say we’re open, come.

Stay classy, NOLA!

How Much Disrespect Is Too Much?

And now to an interesting little controversy in my own backyard.

First, the video:

And then the story.  From the Seattle Times:

In Monday’s incident, Officer Ian P. Walsh grabbed the arm of a 19-year-old woman who tried to walk away from him after he stopped her for jaywalking on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South near Rainier Avenue South. A pedestrian overpass was nearby. As he was trying to handcuff the woman, the 17-year-old girl intervened, grabbing and pushing Walsh, who responded by punching her in the face.

And this isn’t the first incident of its kind in Seattle lately.

Auditors who oversee complaints against Seattle police officers have repeatedly expressed concerns about jaywalking stops and minor street confrontations that escalate into physical altercations, and they say better training is needed.

Diaz said that although police officers hold a dangerous job and need citizens to act civilly, the department needs to take the “extra step” of maintaining good relations with the community. Police say they ticket jaywalkers because a number of people in Seattle have been injured and killed dashing out into traffic in areas where drivers can’t see them.

Because if you say “Please”, criminals and their associates will be happy to submit to authority.  Of course, with a crowd like that, if someone had grabbed Officer Walsh’s gun and decided to ventilate him, they would be perfectly justified in doing so, because he didn’t take the “extra step” of “maintaining good relations with the community”.

Of course, this is also feeding a complaint that a blind man could see coming from 100 miles away…

Leaders of Seattle’s African-American community called Walsh’s punch an overreaction, while also criticizing the 17-year-old’s behavior. Both the girl and woman are black, while Walsh is white.

Maybe they need to think a little harder about the 17-year-old’s behavior.  It seems to me that the “Static Rule” was in play here.  Perhaps it was because I went to school with and worked with the sons of the police officers back in the mid-Michigan community where I grew up, and therefore I was familiar with what they did before the became police officers that would make me think long and hard about interfering with a police officer who is clearly trying to subdue and cuff a suspect.  Police have a tougher job than most, and they really shouldn’t have to deal with attitudes from teens that they are trying to arrest. And it is the little things that are blowing up into these confrontations in Seattle right now.

In a 2006 report, Pflaumer [Seattle P.D. Civilian Auditor 2003-2009] wrote that she found it “distressing to see how many of the excessive force complaints begin with minor street confrontations: Over jay walking, possible impounding of a car, or even, in one case, refusal to show an officer a ‘receptacle’ for disposing of dog waste.”

Pflaumer noted that citizens “often do not show officers respect or attention” when confronted over minor offenses.

“When they verbally challenge or disregard orders given, it often leads officers to respond more harshly than warranted,” she wrote.

The solution?  “De-escalation training”, and a lot of second-guessing by people who weren’t present.

Last year, a new auditor, Michael Spearman, who had served as a King County Superior Court judge, cited similar concerns. “What stood out most often was the number of instances in which citizen/officer contact escalated from innocuous to the use of force situation,” he wrote in a report.

Spearman, who left the job after being appointed in March to the state Court of Appeals, noted that on many occasions, the initial contact stemmed from a jaywalking allegation that escalated when the citizen failed to comply with an officer’s order to stop.

In some cases, Spearman wrote, the failure to stop resulted from inattention or bad judgment and, in other instances, from a belief — right or wrong — that the officer was motivated by racial bias. He also urged the Police Department to intensify the training of officers in de-escalation techniques to minimize the use of force.

“Certainly, when an officer observes a jaywalking or other minor infraction, there is some obligation to make an effort to either cite the offender or in some way encourage compliance with the law,” Spearman wrote. “However, whether the use of force in this situation is a best practice is questionable.”

I like Judge Spearman.  While I have never tried a case before him, I have attended CLEs at which he lectured, and he has consistently demonstrated the demeanor and the character that I expect a judge to exhibit.  However, I think he gets this wrong.

In a crowd like the one in the video above, the officer already has to have his senses heightened that much more than normal, because he has to be watching not just the suspect, but the other people all around him.  It would be easy for this to go badly, and the 17-year-old could have just as easily been an aggressive male, or someone determined to grab the officer’s sidearm.  We charge these officers with enforcing the law.  That means the little ones as well as the big ones.  The 19-year-old may have thought it silly to be stopped for jaywalking, but it isn’t just about her.  There is a reason that there was a pedestrian overpass in the background, and it wasn’t so someone could get killed and cause significant property damage by crossing the street illegally there.  It makes a tough job that much tougher.  When the officer is in that situation, he or she needs to be able to deal with interference in a direct manner that sends a clear message and discourages other bystander participation. 

In a state where we just recently buried 4 officers killed at the same time in my community earlier this year, you wouldn’t think that this would be such a difficult concept to grasp.

Deja-Vu? Obama’s Student Loan Files Hacked between 2007 and 2009.

Last month it was reported that nine Iowa City-area Vangent employees had been accused of illegally accessing  Obama’s student loan records at some point in July 26, 2007, and March 13, 2009:

Eileen Cassidy Rivera of the Arlington, Va.-based Vangent said the nine workers, not the company, were the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, and that Vangent cooperated fully with the investigation.

Vangent officials, she added, do not believe the violation of company security policies was politically motivated.

Why not? The nine face charges of exceeding computer access to a POTUS candidate’s  student loan files….and that’s thought not to be politically motivated?

Do we know the political affiliations of these nine snoopy snoopers?

Eastern Iowa News took the time to look that information up:

Those charged are Andrew J. Lage, 54, Patrick E. Roan, 51, Sandra Teague, 54, and Mercedes Costoyas, 53, all of Iowa City; Gary Grenell, 58, and Lisa Torney, 49, both of Coralville; Anna Anne C. Rhodes, 32, of Ainsworth Iowa City; Julie L. Kline, 38, of West Branch; and John P. Phommivong, 29, of North Liberty.
Grenell and his wife are now missionaries in Tanzania, his neighbor, Linda Fisher, said on Thursday.
Voting records show that four of those indicted are registered as Democrats, two are registered as Republicans and three are not registered to vote in Johnson County. The two registered as Republicans are Torney and Grenell. Those registered as Democrats are Phommivong, Roan, Lage and Kline.

Hmmm.

Yesterday, a woman pleaded guilty in a Davenport federal court  to accessing  Obama’s student loan records without permission.

Mercedes Costoyas, 53, of Iowa City, is one of nine people charged with exceeding authorized computer access.

The indictments were filed last month in U.S. District Court, Davenport. Each person faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, if convicted.

By pleading guilty, Costoyas still faces up to a year in prison. But her attorney, Christopher Hagenow, and prosecutor Joel Barrows said she likely faces zero to six months jail time.

She also faces deportation, according to discussion during the plea hearing, but Judge James Gritzner said “that issue is for another court on another day.”

Authorities did not specify a country.

Hmmm.

Where does the deja-vu come in? There was a similar story during the ’08 election year: State Dept. workers illicitly check Obama’s passport [Updated]

Spokesman Sean McCormack said the department itself detected the instances of “imprudent curiosity,” which occurred separately on Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. He would not release the names of those who were fired and disciplined.

“We believe this was out of imprudent curiosity, so we are taking steps to reassure ourselves that that is, in fact, the case,” McCormack said.

Fast forward to Jan 2009, when Ken Timmerman reported:

Obama’s top terrorism and intelligence adviser, John O. Brennan, heads a firm that was cited in March for breaching sensitive files in the State Department’s passport office, according to a State Department Inspector General’s report released this past July.

The security breach, first reported by the Washington Times and later confirmed by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, involved a contract employee of Brennan’s firm, The Analysis Corp., which has earned millions of dollars providing intelligence-related consulting services to federal agencies and private companies.

During a State Department briefing on March 21, 2008, McCormack confirmed that the contractor had accessed the passport files of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and John McCain, and that the inspector general had launched an investigation.

Sources who tracked the investigation tell Newsmax that the main target of the breach was the Obama passport file, and that the contractor accessed the file in order to “cauterize” the records of potentially embarrassing information.

Flash forward to Feb, 2010, Atlas Shrugs;

You will also recall that the key witness in the presidential Passport tampering case mas murdered. Shot in the head, in his car, in front of his church.

Chief of firm involved in breach is Obama adviser.

No, I did not recall that.

Much speculation has been made about what national passport Obama used when he traveled to Pakistan in 1981.

So Obama confessed to this trip two weeks after his passport was tampered with.

Pakistan was in turmoil in 1981 and ruled of martial law. Millions of Afghan refugees were living in Pakistan, while the Afghan Mujahedeen operated from bases inside Pakistan in their war with the Soviets. One of the leaders that based his operation in Quetta, Pakistan was Usama Bin Laden (The Sheik).

Pakistan was on the banned travel list for US Citizens at the time and all non-Muslim visitors were not welcome unless sponsored by their embassy for official business. (more here)

Key witness in passport fraud case fatally shot Washington TimesApril 2008

A key witness in a federal probe into passport information stolen from the State Department was fatally shot in front of a District church, the Metropolitan Police Department said yesterday.

Lt. Quarles Harris Jr., 24, who had been cooperating with a federal investigators, was found late Thursday night slumped dead inside a car, in front of the Judah House Praise Baptist Church in Northeast, said Cmdr. Michael Anzallo, head of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Cmdr. Anzallo said a police officer was patrolling the neighborhood when gunshots were heard, then Lt. Harris was found dead inside the vehicle, which investigators would describe only as a blue car.

Emergency medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

City police said they do not know whether his death was a direct result of his cooperation with federal investigators.

“We don’t have any information right now that connects his murder to that case,” Cmdr. Anzallo said.

Police say a “shot spotter” device helped an officer locate Lt. Harris.

A State Department spokeswoman yesterday declined to comment, saying the investigation into the passport fraud is ongoing.

The Washington Times reported April 5 that contractors for the State Department had improperly accessed passport information for presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, which resulted in a series of firings that reached into the agency’s top ranks.

One agency employee, who was not identified in documents filed in U.S. District Court, was implicated in a credit-card fraud scheme after Lt. Harris told federal authorities he obtained “passport information from a co-conspirator who works for the U.S. Department of State.”

I just thought I’d mention it.

Asking the Right Question

I guess the editorial board at the Washington Examiner wasn’t swayed by Captain B.S. last night either:

Devastating hurricanes like Katrina are unpreventable natural events. But man-made catastrophes created by Big Government’s bureaucratic incompetence, regulatory inefficiency and political infighting don’t have to occur. How much more damage has to be inflicted on the people, economy and environment of Louisiana before Washington gets the message?

I guess they won’t be receiving invites to all the cool parties anymore.

The President Thinks We’re Stupid…

…in fact, he’s counting on it.

That can be the only explanation for a speech that didn’t fail to disappoint this evening.  Maybe his regular teleprompter was on vacation. Or maybe yet more talk about action simply fails to satisfy.  Or maybe linguistic slight of hand isn’t convincing on this subject when his advisors forget to tell him to take off his golf glove.  It’s so hard to say.

“Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al-Qaida wherever it exists.”

 Of course the recession is nothing compared to the economic effect of insane borrowing to create more government jobs, and the incalculable damage that will be wrought by the burdens of Health Care “Reform”, and Cap and Tax.  And I haven’t figured out why its ok for you to play golf while those brave men and women fight, and even come home in boxes, but not when your predecessor did it.  Why is that, Mr. President?

“And tonight, I’ve returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we’re waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.”

You can try to ascribe a motive to it, but it remains a natural phenomenon.

“On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.

Because there’s never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That’s why, just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge, a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation’s secretary of energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice.”

A plug for the expertocracy.  Lovely.  Are we naming names so they can be tossed under the bus later, or am I supposed to be reassured that a physicist turned politician is trying to determine how to stop a leaking oil well a mile beneath the sea?

As a result of these efforts, we’ve directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. And in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90 percent of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that’s expected to stop the leak completely.

Which I’m sure BP resisted right up until The Government™ stepped in and told it to do something that might help mitigate a public relations nightmare for them.  Of course, this does nothing to explain why you turned down offers of help from other governments who made sincere offers to mobilize their own specialized resources designed to do just that days and weeks ago.  And why is BP drilling a relief well, anyway?  Is there something that you have likely been told that would make your tough talk seem all the more foolish and staged?

“Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.”

Made much worse than it had to be, not just by Federal inaction, which was considerable, but also by a failure to approve state mitigation and prevention efforts in a timely fashion.  Never has “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help” sounded so much like a cruel joke.

But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.

Make no mistake.  I knew this speech would be good for at least one “make no mistake”, your now infamous preface to saying something insincere or condescending.  As for making BP, there is that whole dealio with, um, you know…the law, which already makes BP’s obligations in this matter perfectly clear, with or without general tough talk from you.  And as for the rest, why start now?  Over 60 days, Mr. President.  That’s a lot of golf and fund raising.

“Tonight, I’d like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we’re doing to clean up the oil, what we’re doing to help our neighbors in the gulf, and what we’re doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.”

If you’re doing what you can, then we should resign ourselves to black beaches and dead marine life for the foreseeable future.  And preventing any further offshore drilling isn’t an answer either.

“First, the clean-up.

From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental clean-up effort in our nation’s history, an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and clean up the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the gulf. And I’ve authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, they’re ready to help clean the beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims, and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible.

Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already been removed from the water through burning, skimming, and other collection methods. Over 5.5 million feet of boom has been laid across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We’ve approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to try to stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we’re working with Alabama, Mississippi and Florida to implement creative approaches to their unique coastlines.”

Why did the approvals take so long?  The EPA is an executive agency.  You could have cut a lot of red tape with one of those executive orders you’re so fond of.

“As the clean-up continues, we will offer whatever additional resources and assistance our coastal states may need.

Now, a mobilization of this speed and magnitude will never be perfect, and new challenges will always arise. I saw and heard evidence of that during this trip. So if something isn’t working, we want to hear about it. If there are problems in the operation, we will fix them.

But we have to recognize that, despite our best efforts, oil has already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done.”

You didn’t really think that looking over BP’s shoulder and screaming “plug the hole” while the stain grew unabated was really going to prevent damage to the coastline, did you?

“That’s why the second thing we’re focused on is the recovery and restoration of the Gulf Coast.

You know, for generations, men and women who call this region home have made their living from the water. That living is now in jeopardy. I’ve talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don’t know how they’re going to support their families this year. I’ve seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers, even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected.”

At least you didn’t whine about doing it in the rain this time.  I guess the focus group analysis that said “wussy” stung a bit.

“I’ve talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists might start coming back. The sadness and the anger they feel is not just about the money they’ve lost; it’s about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost.”

No thanks to you and your merry band of incompetents.

“I refuse to let that happen. Tomorrow, I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company’s recklessness.”

I don’t recall any details that support the claim of recklessness.

“And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party.”

Law, meet non-practicing lawyer.  Non-practicing lawyer, meet law.  I know, you read about these kinds of things in law school, and therefore must think them to be quite extraordinary, but it really isn’t a new concept, Mr. President.

“Beyond compensating the people of the gulf in the short term, it’s also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region. The oil spill represents just the latest blow to a place that’s already suffered multiple economic disasters and decades of environmental degradation that has led to disappearing wetlands and habitats.

And the region still hasn’t recovered from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That’s why we must make a commitment to the Gulf Coast that goes beyond responding to the crisis of the moment.”

Aaaaannnnddd the implied dig at your predecessor.  Brilliant. 

“I make that commitment tonight.

Earlier, I asked Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, who’s also a former governor of Mississippi and a son of the Gulf Coast, to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible. The plan will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists, and other gulf residents. And BP will pay for the impact this spill has had on the region.”

Which is what the law requires.

“The third part of our response plan is the steps we’re taking to ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again.

A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe, that the proper technology would be in place and the necessary precautions would be taken.

That obviously was not the case in the Deepwater Horizon rig, and I want to know why. The American people deserve to know why. The families I met with last week who lost their loved ones in the explosion, these families deserve to know why.”

Nothing is absolutely safe, Mr. President, and only fool believes otherwise.  As for what was and was not the case, I suggest that you consider the declaration without facts you made after the arrest of your buddy Skip Gates.  Your certainty in the lack of facts there left you with egg on your face, and since the Deepwater Horizon had only recently received a government award for its operations, it sounds a lot like you throwing a bunch of dead oil workers under your famous death bus.

“And so I’ve established a national commission to understand the causes of this disaster and offer recommendations on what additional safety and environmental standards we need to put in place. Already I’ve issued a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling.”

Because gasoline isn’t expensive enough.  We know.  We heard you the first time.

“I know this creates difficulty for the people who work on these rigs, but for the sake of their safety and for the sake of the entire region, we need to know the facts before we allow deep-water drilling to continue.”

Because there is no disaster, no harm that can’t be made worse by government determined to pass inane tax bills masquerading as energy bills, and who would gleefully use an accident to make that a reality.

“And while I urge the commission to complete its work as quickly as possible, I expect them to do that work thoroughly and impartially.”

Because if the hatchetjob is too quick, people might ask questions.

“Now, one place we’ve already begun to take action is at the agency in charge of regulating drilling and issuing permits, known as the Minerals Management Service.

Over the last decade, this agency has become emblematic of a failed philosophy that views all regulation with hostility, a philosophy that says corporations should be allowed to play by their own rules and police themselves.”

After all, there is no aspect of life that cannot be made more costly and burdensome with regulation.

“At this agency, industry insiders were put in charge of industry oversight. Oil companies showered regulators with gifts and favors and were essentially allowed to conduct their own safety inspections and write their own regulations.”

Probably because prize-winning physicists know so much more about about the oil business, and can therefore craft regulations that achieve their stated goal while imposing the lease onerous burdens and costs on an industry that affects every aspect of daily life.

“And when Ken Salazar became my secretary of the interior, one of his very first acts was to clean up the worst of the corruption at this agency. But it’s now clear that the problem there ran much deeper and the pace of reform was just too slow.

And so Secretary Salazar and I are bringing in new leadership at the agency: Michael Bromwich, who was a tough federal prosecutor and inspector general. And his charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry’s watchdog, not its partner.”

Yay!!!!  Another Harvard Lawyer!!!  Whatever did we do without Harvard Lawyers to tell us how we’ve been doing it wrong?

“So one of the lessons we’ve learned from this spill is that we need better regulations, better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson is that, no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk.”

More than it should, actually.  but that’s what happens when The Government™ won’t let us drill closer to shore, or in much of our on land oil reserves.

“After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves. And that’s part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean: because we’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.”

No, we aren’t, as the USGS and MMS data show.  Seeing as they are part of your “team”, you really shouldn’t be saying things that are so easily proved wrong.

“For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires.”

And for decades, or technology has improved, allowing us to access more and more previously unrecoverable oil.

“Time and again, the path forward has been blocked, not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.”

The only path that is being blocked is the path that says The Government™ gets to spend millions in taxpayer dollars developing “green” technologies of its choosing, once again deciding who will win and who will lose in an industry, and using the power of the public purse to make it so.  What is astonishing is that you really don’t expect us to see this for the incredible opportunity for graft and corruption that it is.

“The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean-energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.”

Of course, the Chinese are also buying hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, and the fact that they are clearly jockeying for blue water supremacy in the Pacific shouldn’t be cause for concern.  I’m sure our military aircraft will be powered by solar panels in the future.

“We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”

I agree.  Inexpensive, domestically controlled and produced energy will be vital to our future.  And we have those resources, but have been prevented for decades by conservationists and environmental wackjobs from making use of the incredible bounty that we sit atop.

“This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time. But over the last year- and-a-half, we’ve already taken unprecedented action to jump-start the clean-energy industry.”

The transition from fossil fuels will take as long as it takes us to get to $7 a gallon gasoline.  Then the blackouts and prohibitive energy costs, and higher food prices can combine to winnow away the most vulnerable of us.  I’ll miss Granny, and the poor folks down the street, but the savings to Medicare and Medicaid should be tremendous!

And there’s the “unprecedented”.  I dare you to step in front of a microphone and NOT use this word when you are applying it to yourself or your administration, Mr. President.  If you could do that even just once, that would be unprecedented.

“As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean-energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.

Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs, but only if we accelerate that transition, only if we seize the moment, and only if we rally together and act as one nation: workers and entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens, the public and private sectors.”

The public sector makes a dandy leech.  Not such a good innovator or wealth creator.

“You know, when I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill, a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America’s businesses.”

Demonstrating once again that there is a difficult gulf between the government declaring something, and it actually being reality.

“Now, there are costs associated with this transition, and there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy, because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.”

Because making the most of our resources at the same time, rather than clinging to silly notions that solar panels alone will save us is just crazy.

“So I’m happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party, as long as they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings, like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development, and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development.”

How dare we be “addicted” to our cars, air travel, shipping goods and food to stores where we can buy them, rather than having to grow them ourselves, and having heat and air conditioning.  How silly of us.

“All of these approaches have merit and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet.”

Yes, because fair hearings are important.  Unless I don’t want to hear it.  I won, you know.

And inaction is not acceptable.  I couldn’t stay in the Oval Office and do my job.  I heard about the spill, and I decided that inaction wouldn’t be good.  You’d be surprised how much better I felt after sinking some tough putts.

“You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon.”

No, it wasn’t.  Instead, they rolled up the sleeves, sharpened their pencils, got their slide rules clicking, and brought the P-51 Mustang from the drawing board to flight in less than a year.  We cranked out Liberty Ships and yards of ammunition, and we did it without bitching, whining, blaming other people, or doubting ourselves.  It wasn’t easy, but it was never impossible.  But it also wasn’t done by saying “Screw Petroleum.  I want a ray gun.” either.  But thanks for reminding us of the American Exceptionalism that you have been so eager to talk down at every opportunity.

“And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom.”

Just conventional politicians. Like taxes and stupidity, they too, will always be with us.

“Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny, our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like, even if we don’t yet precisely know how we’re going to get there, we know we’ll get there.”

I don’t want the same future you want for my children.  I don’t want them to settle for second best, a fading star in a world that hates and despises us.

“It’s a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the gulf right now.

Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region’s fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It’s called “The Blessing of the Fleet,” and today it’s a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea, some for weeks at a time.

The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago, at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced.

And still, they came and they prayed.

For as a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, “The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always,” a blessing that’s granted “even in the midst of the storm.”"

Of course, hearing from the President who still hasn’t chosen a church more than a year into his presidency, but considered God a partner in the effort to ram through health care reform brings a grin to my face.

“The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face. This nation has known hard times before, and we will surely know them again. What sees us through — what has always seen us through — is our strength, our resilience, and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it.”

No, the biggest crisis we face is your continuing presidency.  But it is evidence that prayers are answered.  Jimmy Carter can sleep better knowing that he is no longer the worst President in recent memory.

“Tonight, we pray for that courage, we pray for the people of the gulf, and we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day.”

I pray that someone in your administration can actually step up, and start doing what you should have been doing all along.

“Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.”

If only I could believe that you meant it.

Tuesday News Links

I’m still working on my garage sale, so I don’t have time for any serious blogging, but here are some interesting headlines.

In their never-ending quest to render the United States the moral equivalent to the most despotic sh–holes on earth, the Obama Administration Adds US to List of Nations That Traffic in Slavery.

Secretary of State Clinton included the U.S. for the first time on the State Department’s list of nations “trafficking in persons” for forced labor ranging from farm workers to pole dancers and prostitutes.

“There are Americans, unfortunately, who are held in slavery,” Clinton said in releasing the annual report on nations who promote or permit the international trade in human beings for profit.

This of course marks the first time ever we’ve ever been on the list.

I’ve been sitting on this (too good to check) report for a few days…I may as well throw it out there, but consider this just a rumor at this point, and it may never go beyond the rumor stage: World Tribune: White House rejected Israeli intel, blocked use of anti-riot gear against flotilla:

“The White House demanded that Israel exercise extreme caution and restraint in any scenario,” a diplomatic source said.

In the end, Netanyahu approved a plan for the Israel Navy to board Marmara with commandos armed with paintball guns, Middle East Newsline reported. The commandos were quickly overpowered by Turkish fighters until the Israeli commander ordered live fire, which killed nine passengers, eight of them Turks.

The Obama administration demands were relayed through Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, the sources said. They said Barak, who has sought advanced weapons from Washington, persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree that the Israel Navy would not use anti-riot equipment, including tear gas, to stop the flotilla.

The sources said the Israeli intelligence community had informed the White House that the flotilla contained scores of Turks trained in weapons and hand-to-hand combat. They said the Turkish-flagged ship Marmara was believed to have contained weapons and components ordered by the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Obama, whose aides were said to have been in contact with the flotilla, did not condemn the Israeli naval interception. But within hours of the bloody clash, the president withdrew his invitation to Netanyahu to come to the White House.

Why else would the Israelis have resorted to using paint-guns? Had the the Israeli soldiers used the anti-riot equipment, like teargas and rubber bullets, like they normally would have, those deaths would likely not have happened.

What’s up with this? “Heavily-armed” duo detained at MacDill AFB; Update: AWOL serviceman with “fraudulent” ID

The military says that they have “no indication” of terrorism, but that’s perhaps still up for debate as details emerge.

Has the ethnicity of the serviceman emerged yet? Do we have another Nidal Malik Hasan on our hands?

Weasel Zippers: Lieberman: Obama Views on Islam Are Wrong, We Are at War With Islamists…

The Blog Professor: Bill would modify Michigan abortion ultrasound law because abortion providers are using outdated equipment showing grainy images to hide the truth of abortion

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer have co-written a new book on the Obama Presidency:

Co-bloggers, if you have any links to add, go ahead and update, thanks.

Congressman Etherige and The Democrats’ Secret Plan To Hold Congress

Okay, my turn.

Everyone else in the rightwing blogosphere has had fun taking swipes at the Democrat Hot-head known as Congressman Bob (The Slugger) Etheridge of North Carolina. Can I get a few swings in, too? (I’ve been busy getting ready for my garage sale later this week-oy!)

You’ve probably already seen this, but watch, again:

And there you have it. A free campaign ad for his Republican opponent, Renee Ellmers, who happens to be an attractive, conservative nurse. Drew at AoSHQ has already written the ad, but the thing practically writes itself.

As for the Dems secret plan to hold Congress? According to Newsweak:

The first part of the scheme involves the man at the top, whom readers might remember as the (somewhat successful) manager of Obama’s improbable 2008 campaign: Mr. David Plouffe. A boyish, buzzcut logistical whiz, Plouffe departed Obamaland after the election in order to write books, give speeches, and make money. But after Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown in January’s Massachusetts Senate special election, Obama asked Plouffe—who was always to supposed to assist with the 2010 midterm effort—to take on an expanded role. Since then, he’s been communicating “daily” with the DNC about campaign strategy. Plouffe isn’t on the DNC’s payroll, nor does he work at the White House. He doesn’t answer to anyone but Obama. As such, he’s the only person on the Democratic side with the power to “make the gears move more efficiently,” as Marc Ambinder has put it—to sharpen the message, to tweak the field operation, to decide where best to deploy the president. All from 35,000 feet.

Plouffe’s main goal, though, is to focus on turning out the 15 million people who voted for the first time in 2008—an effort that Democrats believe could wind up affecting the outcome of many of this year’s 70-odd contested races. After the 2008 election, the Obama field operation, Obama for America, was renamed Organizing for America and folded into the DNC. All of its electoral assets—the 13 million–name e-mail list, the hundreds of thousands of volunteers and “community organizers,” the precision Internet tools—came along with it. Now Plouffe & Co. plan to bring those resources to bear on getting 2008’s newbies back to the polls.

So there you go, Plouffe and Obama’s 13 million mailing list of people who are already getting sick of hearing from him. Oh, and that back-loaded stimulus dealie that doesn’t seem to be working out for them.

That’s all supposed to make people forget about the last 18+ months of hellish leftism, thuggery (see above), corruption and incompetence?

Good luck with that, Dems.

Why can I not shake the feeling that they’ve got another ace in the hole.

About Obama’s $50 Billion Bailout Request…

I’m confused.

The Washington Post reports:

President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year’s huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy’s free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. “We must take these emergency measures,” he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party. …

With the letter, however, Obama makes a direct and unequivocal case for additional “targeted investments,” including state aid and several less-expensive initiatives aimed at assisting small businesses. He specifically calls for passage of the measure that is before the Senate, which would extend unemployment benefits and offer states additional aid, increasing deficits by nearly $80 billion over the next decade.

Obama asks lawmakers to be patient on the deficit, noting that a special commission is at work on a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan.

You know what would be a great start in any deficit reduction plan? Stop spending so much damn money,  cut waste, um…. get rid of the Czars...the 400 million for Hamas-run Gaza…I can think of entire agencies I would eliminate…How about government employees ride coach? -(that would save 13 billion a year, alone.) How about fewer White House parties and galas? How about Michelle goes without one or two or three of her staffers...Too obvious? We need a deficit commission that can’t even get halfway to its goal without running its own deficits?

Ed Morrissey noted:

The state and local grants in Porkulus acted as a federal bailout package for state bureaucrats, who otherwise may have lost their jobs as state and local governments cut spending in order to balance budgets.  The White House sold this as rescues of teachers and first responders, but as a series of local newspapers reported, those jobs were never in jeopardy.  The money that got added to those budget items got transferred elsewhere to save less politically sensitive bureaucrats elsewhere, while the Obama administration claimed to have saved millions of jobs through these bailout transfers.

Now, The New Yorker reported back in April that most of the Porkulus dough hadn’t even gone out, yet…it’s been timed to be the Dems’  “ace in the hole” this November:

last year’s stimulus bill was back-loaded, which means that close to five hundred billion dollars in stimulus money is still to be spent.

That backloading of the bill was good economics: with the Federal Reserve doing less to pump up the economy, an extra half-trillion dollars in fiscal stimulus will help pick up the slack. It was also good politics, since much of that money will be flooding into the economy during the key second and third quarters.

Never mind, that that makes the President, Vice President, Pelosi, and Reid brazen liars for promising immediate relief for the unemployed. Too bad for the unemployed that they had to wait until the 2010 elections, apparently, to get any relief – believe it or not, The New Yorker thought that was “smart economics”, and “smart politics”…

Here’s Biden explaining in Feb, how the stimulus bill was going to work its magic creating make-work jobs “in the second half”:

So we’ve got a half trillion that was supposedly backloaded until the second and third quarters of this year for porkulus projects, yet, unemployment continues to go up, and Obama is now asking for 50 billion more, supposedly for “teachers,  police and firefighters,”  or more accurately for Big Labor — the SEIU, AFSCME, and the NEA, and we’re supposed to be okay with that ?

What is wrong with this picture?

UPDATE:

Hans Bader has more at The Examiner: Obama wants taxpayers to cough up $50 billion more to bail out state government employees and unions

Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package was deliberately crafted to focus on propping up pink-collar government employment at the expense of private-sector blue-collar jobs, where unemployment is concentrated.  The stimulus package is using taxpayer subsidies to replace U.S. jobs with foreign green jobs. It also destroyed jobs in America’s export sector.

The private sector bailouts have been bad enough.  An oversight panel found that the bailout of insurance giant AIG had “poisonous” consequences.

But bailouts of governmental and quasi-governmental entities will end up being far more costly.  The Obama administration lifted a $400 billion limit on bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the corrupt, government-sponsored mortgage giants that even Obama administration officials admit were at the “core” of “what went wrong” in the financial crisis.

Senate Democrats recently blocked any reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  (Obama received $125,000 in contributions from these mortgage giants as a senator.)

At the direction of the Obama administration, Freddie Mac ran up more than $30 billion in losses to bail out mortgage borrowers, some of whom have high incomes.  Federal regulators sought to make Freddie Mac hide the resulting losses from the SEC and the public.  The Obama administration showered the mortgage giants’ executives with $42 million in compensation.

Read more at the link.

Video: Fear Not! Al Tira Israel A Tribute To The Israeli Forces

Fear not Israel, Fear not! A Cub of Lion You are and if the Lion will Roar who would not fear?!

Via Uncoverage.net. who asks the question: Will Israel Bomb Iran this Summer?

SEE ALSO:

Jennifer Rubin, Contentions: Israelis Rally Around Bibi

A recent poll shows that clear majorities of Israelis support Netanyahu (53%), and are dissatisfied with Obama (71%):

None of this should come as a shock. Only a neophyte — or a narcissist — would believe that by savaging the Jewish state, increasing the sense that America will not stand with the Jewish state, snubbing its prime minister, and threatening the nation that endured the Goldstone Report with another international kangaroo court  could he induce the Israeli people to side with an American president over their own government. It’s something political hacks and bullies — from Chicago, maybe — would come up with, not anyone who knows Israel, its internal politics, and the Middle East more generally.

Jeez, is that what’s been going on, here?

Ed Morrissey, Hot Air:Boehner: Obama has “coddled our enemies and pushed our friends aside”

You know who else thinks the Gaza blockade should stay in place? Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — and Egypt.

You can watch Steny Hoyer “debate” Boehner by entirely agreeing with him, at Hot Air.

Closing quote from Ed:

If everyone agrees that the naval blockade should remain in place, and everyone saw the violent reaction aboard the Mave Marmara when Israel enforced it, then what’s the problem? Why isn’t the Obama administration telling Turkey and other Hamas apologists to pound sand? Obama has managed to brilliantly position himself slightly to the extreme side of the Palestinian Authority. This must be what Obama meant by “smart power.”

And another thing…

Should I mention this report from Israel Today? I’m not sure how reliable Israel Today is, and the report hasn’t been verified by an independent source like  MEMRI, but…..Doug Ross has all the particulars if you’re interested – take with grain of salt, until corroborated, okay?:

Report: Egyptian Foreign Minister Says Obama Told Him To Be Patient; He Will Show The Muslim World How To Deal With Israel

The thing is…it  sounds like something he would actually say….

Remember this infamous example of Obama hubris: Obama: ‘the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’

Berry recounted meetings with White House officials, reminiscent of some during the Clinton days, where he and others urged them not to force Blue Dogs “off into that swamp” of supporting bills that would be unpopular with voters back home.

“I’ve been doing that with this White House, and they just don’t seem to give it any credibility at all,” Berry said. “They just kept telling us how good it was going to be. The president himself, when that was brought up in one group, said, ‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.

Atlas Shrugs, (as you can imagine!) is all over the story, too: “I am a Muslim,” Obama Tells Egyptian Foreign Minister Gheit Islamic Coup on the White House

Linked by Michelle Malkin, Buzzworthy, thanks!

Your Sunday Hymn: Lead Me Guide Me

The King did a nice version of the old-time gospel hymn, Lead Me, Guide Me:

I love this version, too with the clear soprano vocal stylings of Dr. Velma Willis. Her voice took me by surprise, at first:

Eager To Shirk Responsibility, Obama Latches On To “IF” Arguments

“And IF I had done something to prevent it, some people might have said bad things about me, so the whole mess is really the Republicans’ and Tea Partiers’ fault!”

It sure is tough to be a leader when you obviously have no clue how to lead, at least that seems to be the case for the current occupant of the Oval Office.  Despite claiming that the federal government was on the Deepwater Horizon leak “FROM DAY ONE” [repeat ad nauseum, interspersed with carefully practiced looks of concern, morphing over a progression of days to looks of increasing irritation and peevishness as the crisis magnified by little in the way of federal cleanup efforts became harder and harder to pin on the recklessness and greed of BIG OIL alone], there is little doubt that the plans that the feds were required to have pursuant to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) were not being acted upon, unless the plan was to have a lot of federal officials looking over the polluter’s shoulders, wringing their hands, and holding pressers where they appear before the cameras and indignantly claim that they were on the scene FROM DAY ONE! whenever any one got close to asking why the stain in the Gulf was growing,  but no one was gathering the oil up.

And now, squirming in the hot seat, and fresh off an exceedingly silly statement about trying to determine who’s ass to kick, the President has happened on a brilliant deflection strategy:  It is the Republican’s fault!  And those damn tea partiers are hypocrites, too!

From the Politico:

“I think it’s fair to say, if six months ago, before this spill had happened, I had gone up to Congress and I had said we need to crack down a lot harder on oil companies and we need to spend more money on technology to respond in case of a catastrophic spill, there are folks up there, who will not be named, who would have said this is classic, big-government overregulation and wasteful spending.”

I know, he didn’t actually name the Republicans, but it doesn’t really matter, as the Democrats only denounce defense spending as classic, big-government overregulation and wasteful spending.  I have to admit, it is a unique strategy.  “If I had done something to prevent this (putting aside the nasty fact that government doesn’t know how to fix it, so my faith in their prevention of it in an ongoing operation is next to nothing), then those nasty old Republicans would have shut me down.”  This is why having a President who is a parent to young children is so entertaining.  Those of us with children of our own recognize the excuse, and wonder about the role reversal.  Maybe he needs a few more minutes of daily nappy time.  Perhaps Rahmbo should get on that.

The childishness of this thinking is exceeded only by ludicrousness of the concept that a GOP that lacked the numbers to prevent Spendulous and ObamaReidPelosiCare could somehow do more than scold the President IF he had done something to prevent the growing ecological mess.  This argument simply underscores both the President’s inability to lead on the things that are rather than the things he wants to be, and the contempt he has for the average American when he says such things and expects to be taken seriously.

He wasn’t done with this contempt, however.  The small man in the really big chair had another bit of Chicago Leadership to share in the interview:

“Some of the same folks who have been hollering and saying ‘do something’ are the same folks who, just two or three months ago, were suggesting that government needs to stop doing so much,” Obama said. “Some of the same people who are saying the president needs to show leadership and solve this problem are some of the same folks who, just a few months ago, were saying this guy is trying to engineer a takeover of our society through the federal government that is going to restrict our freedoms.”

Again, this of course sells short the ability of the public to understand that the leases are on federal land, and that there is already a body of federal law regarding clean up of these type of these accidents.  Regulation of drilling is different from claiming GM and Chrysler are too big to fail, buying them without money while screwing secured creditors, and then giving them to the unions, or deciding that a group of people in Washington D.C. are better able to determine and administer the health care needs of Farmer Jones and his family in the apple groves of eastern Washington State.

I have been a parent for ten years now, and while my kids didn’t ask for the job of being my children, I wouldn’t accept an “It isn’t my fault because if I had done something to prevent it, you might have said unkind things about me.”  What in the name of great honkin’ Chuthuilu makes the President, a man who eagerly sought the responsibility to lead, think I would accept it from him?

Grow up, Mr. President.  SanFranNan’s declaration to the contrary, we’re in the second year of your enlightened adminstration.  Blaming other people for federal inaction while you are at fundraisers and on the links isn’t going to wash anymore.  You own this.  You asked for the responsibility; the criticism is the flip side of that shiny, shiny coin.

This is why after a year of this:

Fewer and fewer of us have any respect, let alone trust, for him.

Please Fight to Save Mosab Yousef

You may remember Yousef from some favorable publicity he got from various news outlets a couple of years ago:

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.

Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.

The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian.

• Click here to view video of Mosab Hassan Yousef speaking out.

I remember being somewhat moved by his story.

Now, this heroic young man has been scheduled  by the Obama administration for deportation back to the West Bank, a sure death sentence.

I’m joining Carol from No Sheeples Here and Little Miss Attila in a mini blogburst to bring attention to his desperate cause:

For years, this man risked everything to stop terrorism and save innocent lives, but the United States Department of Homeland Security is considering deporting him.

In 2007, Mr. Yousef came to the United States, where he converted to Christianity from Islam and applied for political asylum. The request was denied in February 2009, Mr. Yousef says, on grounds that he was potentially “a danger to the security of the United States” and had “engaged in terrorist activity.” His case has automatically proceeded to the deportation stage, and on June 30, 2010 at 8 a.m. he will appear before Judge Rico Bartolomei in Homeland Security Immigration Court in San Diego.

Mr. Yousef is a native of the West Bank, which is where he would presumably return if he is deported and where Hamas would immediately seek to kill him. Under the Convention Against Torture, the U.S. has an international treaty obligation not to return people to countries where their lives would be at risk. That concern stopped the return to China of the Uighers at Guantanamo, and rightly so. It would dishonor the U.S. to deport a convert in the war on terror because our immigration bureaucracy is too obtuse to make even life and death distinctions.

His case is not that complicated, as the WSJ noted in its oped, today:

Homeland Security is well aware of the author’s history, and in fact is using it against him. According to Mr. Yousef, a letter from Homeland Security attorney Kerri Calcador cites passages in “Son of Hamas” as evidence of his connection to terrorist leaders and suggests that the work he did for Hamas while spying for Israel provided aid to terrorists. “At a bare minimum, evidence of the respondent’s transport of Hamas members to safe houses . . . indicates that the respondent provided material support to a [Tier I] terrorist organization,” the U.S. lawyer wrote.

But unless Ms. Calcador knows more than she’s saying, this is bizarre. As a spy for Israel, Mr. Yousef had to make his colleagues believe he was a loyal member of Hamas. He used that trust to gain information that he provided to Israeli intelligence, which used it to prevent terror attacks and save lives. One of Mr. Yousef’s handlers at Shin Bet confirmed his book’s account to the Israeli daily Haaretz, and his father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, has disowned him from the Israeli prison he has occupied since 2005. (See our Weekend Interview with the younger Yousef, “They Need to Be Liberated From Their God,” March 6, 2010.)

Surely, as soon as the Dept of Homeland Security discovers all the pertinent facts of this case, they will turn their decision around? If they don’t they will have blood of this innocent man on their hands.

See Help Keep Mosab Yousef in the United States for more information.

Joining the Burst:

Darlene Click, Protein Wisdom

Darlene goes there:

I would like to think this is just usual government stupidity. The alternative — the Obama Admin using Mosab’s body as a gesture to Hamas — is to contemplate the Obama Administration’s slipping from incompetence into malice.

I’ve been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt…but yeah, the idea that this is the result of anti-Israel malice on the part of the Obama administration, had occurred to me, too.

Pundit and Pundette: Who is Mosab Yousef?

Israel Matsav: US to deport Mosab Hassan Yousef?

Atlas Shrugs: Deporting ‘Son of Hamas’: A Death Sentence

Bob Belvedere: HELP SAVE MOSAB YOUSEF FROM CERTAIN DEATH

The Lonely Conservative: Mosab Yousef Faces Death Sentence if US Deports Him

Maggie’s Notebook: Mosab Yousef Conversion from Islam to Christianity Video

Charles Krauthammer On Obama’s Failed Iran Strategy

Captain Kick-its strategy with the belligerent state of Iran has been to assume the posture of what Osama Bin Laden once famously called, “a weak horse.” Obviously, it has been ineffective, and has only increased the Islamic world’s contempt for the United States.

Charles Krauthammer’s column in the Washington Post is worth reading in full:

From the beginning, the Obama strategy toward Iran and other rogue states had been to offer goodwill and concessions on the premise that this would lead to one of two outcomes: (a) the other side changes policy, or (b) if not, the world isolates the offending state and rallies around us — now that we have demonstrated last-mile good intentions.

Hence, nearly a year and a half of peace overtures, negotiation, concessions, two New Year’s messages to the Iranian people, a bit of groveling about U.S. involvement in the 1953 coup and a disgraceful silence when the regime’s very stability was threatened by peaceful demonstrators.

Iran’s response? Defiance, contempt and an acceleration of its nuclear program.

And the world’s response? Did it rally behind us? The Russians and Chinese bargained furiously and successfully to hollow out the sanctions resolution. Turkey is openly choosing sides with the region’s “strong horse” — Iran and its clients (Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas) — as it watches the United States flailingly try to placate Syria and appease Iran while it pressures Israel, neglects Lebanon and draws down its power in the region.

To say nothing of Brazil. Et tu, Lula?

Read it all.

Hat tip: Cold Fury