Obama Goes Toe-To-Toe With Stephanopoulos On "Tax Increases"

Cartoon round up

More below the fold.  Click to enlarge:

 

The Economy is still in trouble

Some excellent discussion on  the state of the economy. 

• Consumer Spending in U.S. Stalls as Hiring Weakens: Economy
• "Consistent With a Weakening Growth Backdrop," And Other Euphemisms For "The Economy Is Contracting

Just imagine the economy after four more years under Obama.

Time to focus on the long run

Good advice from a blogger.  The bottom line is:

While the analysis is worthwhile, I hope this weekend sees a shift away from fretting about Roberts and a renewed focus on getting the Court of Public Opinion arranged for the November opinion, which stands even more crucial.

Hillary Clinton supports Mitt Romney

So to speak.....

MurderGate Round Up

Headlines and discussion centering on the Department of Justice "gun walking" program, that allowed Mexican cartels to buy weapons used to murder many people, include Border Patrol agent Brian Terry:

• Issa Puts Wiretaps Detailing Official Knowledge of Gunwalking Tactics Into Congressional Record
• E-mails reveal retaliation, cover-up at ATF, DoJ following Fast & Furious exposure
• House holds Holder in contempt over ‘Fast and Furious’ documents
• Justice Department shields Holder from prosecution after contempt vote
• Justice Department: Don’t look at us to prosecute Holder

Scott Ott at PJ News

He's worth the 3 minutes and 12 seconds it takes to listen to him.....

ObamaTax News Round Up

• Obama's "Crowning Achievement" Is... A Tax

• So the WH is really going to run with this “It’s not a tax!” thing, huh?

• New RNC ad: ObamaCare is a tax

• Obama Surrogate: ObamaTax is Not a Tax

• Liberals: Oh No You Can't Use Reconciliation To Undo ObamaTax; Republican Senators: Oh Yes We Will

Cartoon Round Up

More below the fold.  And click to enlarge, as always.....

 

Elections matter

Krauthammer is generally a savvy guy, but this is just nonsense.  Money quote from the article:

If there was any victory for conservatives yesterday, it wasn’t in the Roberts opinion, which will almost certainly get ignored when the next “crisis” resolution ends up in the Supreme Court docket.  It was the reminder that elections matter.  The only cure for ObamaCare is a defeat for Barack Obama and Democrats in November.

I can see November from my house.

Stay classy, Obama

And for only $30.

Stop The Delusion

For those of you who think Roberts did conservatives some kind of favor, by allegedly cutting off future abuses of the commerce clause, Professor William Jacobson, a professor at Cornell Law School, encourages you to think again.

One good piece of news today

Holder is formally in contempt over Fast & Furious.  Most Democrat members of the House did what Democrats do best: they ran away.  100 Democrat representatives walked out of the House, and refused to vote

The House on Thursday cited Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for contempt of Congress in a vote weighted with political significance — though it does little to break the stalemate over his decision to withhold documents over the Justice Department’s actions in a botched gun-walking operation.

The House voted 255-67 to hold him in criminal contempt in a vote that amounted to a political spanking for Mr. Holder and President Obama, underscored by the 17 Democrats who joined the GOP. 

Alas, this won't leverage much out of the Administration.  But it does highlight the problem, and forces the media to cover a scandal that they've ignored for far too long.

Golf Courses of the Obama Administration

According to legend, Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned. As far as I know, the fiddle didn't exist that far back. But it's certain that we can say something similar about Obama and golfing.

Old, but true

Too bad people didn't listen.

Nine People Voted

Save the albino squirrels!

Truth in 3,000 words

Or just three pictures.  The rest are below the fold.

Principles, not programs

First Principles

......we are engaged in a great Cold Civil War. But the decision American voters will make in November is far more than merely an ideological clash about what the Constitution meant or means. For that supposes that both sides are playing by the same rules, and have a shared interest in the outcome. That presumes that both sides accept the foundational idea of the American experiment, and that the argument is over how best to adhere to it.

That is false.

For some, this is a difficult notion to grasp. To them, politics is politics, the same game being played by the same rules that go back a couple of centuries. The idea that one party — and you know which one I mean — is actively working against its own country as it was founded seems unbelievable.

But that is true.

An excellent read on how important the 2012 elections are, and why we must not be distracted by the left.

Link thanks to Mary.

Bringing nations together, Obama style

The Bear at the Door
Russian nuclear bombers test U.S. air defenses in arctic war games during chilly Obama-Putin summit

Russian strategic nuclear bombers threatened U.S. airspace near Alaska earlier this month and F-15 jets responded by intercepting the aircraft taking part in large-scale arctic war games, according to defense officials.

The Russian war games began the same day President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a frosty summit meeting in Mexico June 18.

U.S. officials said the arctic exercises over the Russian Far East and Pacific appeared to be a further sign of Russia’s hardening posture toward the United States.

The Obama administration made no protest of the bomber intrusions, according to the officials, in line with its conciliatory “reset” policy of seeking warmer ties with Moscow.

About 30 strategic nuclear bombers and support aircraft took part in the war games that continued through June 25. The aircraft included Tu-95MS Bear H and Tu-160 Blackjack nuclear-capable bombers, along with Il-76 refueling tankers, A-50 airborne warning and control aircraft, and Su-27 and MiG-31 jet fighters. Some 200 troops also took part in the Russian Strategic Aviation forces exercise.

A spokesman for the joint U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense command in Colorado Springs, which monitors air defense intrusions, had no immediate comment. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.

Read the rest here.

Another example of why Big Government is not a good idea

Confrontation With TSA Agent Leaves Grandpa's Ashes On Floor

Representative Issa challenges Obama on Fast & Furious

Issa to Obama: Either you’re involved in Fast and Furious or your executive privilege claim is unjustified

In a letter obtained by The Daily Caller, House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa pressed President Barack Obama directly on his assertion of executive privilege over documents related to Operation Fast and Furious.

“[Y]our privilege assertion means one of two things,” Issa wrote to the president in a letter dated June 25. “Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it, including the false February 4, 2011 letter provided by the attorney general to the committee, or, you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation.”

Read the rest is here.

Who says politics isn't funny?

Jimmy Carter Accuses U.S. of 'Widespread Abuse of Human Rights'

Voter fraud?

Two reports, of a similar nature, from different parts of the country, speculate about the potential for voter fraud.  The same organization, Voter Participation Center, is involved.  In both cases, people received what appeared to be voter registration documents, but in fact were not. 

The documents were cleverly produced, and clearly imply that they are official voter registration forms, requesting significant personal information.  But the supplied returned envelope is addressed such that it goes to the VPC, not to voter registration.  The relevant reports, with scanned images of the mailings, are at:

• Is this Voter Fraud in the Making?
• Fake Voter Registration In Mail

This is apparently not illegal, but it is highly unethical, and certainly intrusive.  Be aware of any such requests, and check with your registrar if in doubt.  If nothing else, you should protect your personal information.

Obama's hypocrisy, part 34,512

Obama blames GOP for playing 'politics' on immigration

President Barack Obama on Friday bashed Republicans for blocking immigration reform and took a victory lap here before a national conference of Hispanic politicians.

One week after announcing he would stop deporting many young undocumented immigrants, Obama said that change is just the beginning of his work on immigration and called on Congress to find a permanent, bipartisan solution to fix the broken immigration system.

There's more at the link, but it's Obama who is playing politics on illegal immigration.  Legal immigration is available to all who want it. 

Urban sprawl an urban myth

Quit worrying about “urban sprawl” (and start worrying about federal stewardship)

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More at the link.  Point this out to the next person who thinks Agenda 21 is a "good idea".

'Nuff Said

Failure+20

We discuss "Agenda 21" quite a bit here. We've also brought up "Rio+20", which is a mega-conference designed to celebrate the original signing of the Agenda 21 accords, and look forward for the next 20 years.

And it appears to have been a flop. There's a collection of great links at the link that are great reading, especially if you need some good news.  A sample:

The “failure” of Rio+20 is a cause for celebration, even if you can’t afford the champagne and foie gras that ecocrats served themselves as their hopes for “Sustainia” retreated into the policy fog. A mostly “B” list of government leaders (No Barack Obama. No David Cameron. No Stephen Harper. No Angela Merkel) was set to adopt a pablum-filled 283-point “vision” on Friday that was finalized before they arrived.

“[N]othing less than a disaster for the planet,” declared Nnimmo Bassey, Nigerian poet and chair of Friends of the Earth International. “[A]n epic failure,” claimed Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International executive director. ‘[A] colossal waste of time,” chimed in Jim Leape, international director-general of World Wildlife Fund.

Agenda 21 is by no means dead, of course.  But it's clear that it's influence is not what it used to be, and we need to keep pushing it back.

Update and bumped:  Some other items from the flop known as "Rio+20"

• Climate alarmism "virtually dead"
• "Sustainable Development" is the new "Agenda 21"

A "Ramen noodle filled retirement"

 The Social Security trust fund will start going bankrupt in 2013

The 2012 Social Security Trustees Report—the authoritative source on the program’s finances—states that the program’s “trust fund assets” will “continue to grow” through 2020, a claim that has been repeated by numerous sources as varied as US News & World Report, the AFL-CIO, and the American Academy of Actuaries. However, as revealed by data buried deeper in the 252-page Trustees Report, this assertion disregards the effects of inflation, which are projected to overrun any expected trust fund gains and contribute to an accelerating decline that will start in 2013.

The article and the links are worth the time to read. 

"Preach it, Governor!"

Bobby Jindal: Obama is running against Bush, and it’s only about eight years too late for that

“Over half a million more Americans are unemployed than the day the President took office,” he said. “You look at median income, it’s actually gone down under this President. You look median family worth, two decade low. You look at home owners with mortgages, 30 percent of them are underwater. So, you look at any objective economic indicators we are not better off than we were four years. And I think if the voters go in the booth asking themselves that one question — Am I better off than four years ago? — I think Mitt Romney wins this election going away.” He also dismissed Obama’s immigration policy as mere “pandering” that ultimately treats “the symptoms, not the root cause of the problems.” …

There's a great video at the link, which can't be embedded here.  Enjoy.

Yet another reason to defund the EPA

EPA fines oil refiners for failing to use nonexistent biofuel

Question: Do you fill your car’s tank with gasoline that is part cellulosic ethanol, an environment-friendly distillate of wood chips, corn cobs, and switch grass? Let me answer for you: No, you don’t. You couldn’t if you wanted to. Petroleum products blended with cellulosic ethanol aren’t commercially available, because the technology for mass-producing cellulosic ethanol hasn’t been perfected. None of which has stopped the Environmental Protection Agency  from imposing hefty yearly fines on oil refiners. According to the The New York Times, in 2011 automotive fuel producers were assessed $6.8 million in penalties. That amount is expected to climb dramatically this year. Guess who ends up footing the bill for the difference?

Do read the whole thing, and remember this when someone says that the EPA protects the environment.

Blaming Bush, Part 19,471

Operation WIDE RECEIVER compared to Operation  FAST & FURIOUS.

(Click to enlarge)

Brought to you because the Democrats keep on trying to blame Bush for Obama's "MurderGate".

This is not a joke

This would be a massive face palm moment for anyone with even a modicum of a sense of shame:

 

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More details here, thanks to Weasel Zippers.  Or, if you have a strong stomach, go to the source. 

As one blogger put it:

Because nothing says “wedding present” like a donation to Obama’s reelection campaign

Stay classy, Obama.

First Amendment under attack by the left

There has been a trend by the left to silence its opponents, especially conservative voices, and it's  growing.  Including using government as a means.  This column by Curt Levey at Fox News  is a good summary of the situation, and why you should be aware of it:  it's a direct assault on the First Amendment by the left, and their allies in government.  Here's a sample:

Some people dismiss the threat from outside organizations as beyond the scope of the First Amendment, which applies to actions by government. Indeed, some unsavory intimidation tactics – such as shouting down speakers or strong-arming companies to drop their sponsorship of conservative broadcasters – actually enjoy First Amendment protection. However, the Constitution affords no protection to criminal acts, which the left is increasingly turning to to silence conservatives.

Most importantly from a constitutional perspective, groups on the left are increasingly enlisting the coercive power of government in their intimidation and harassment campaigns. When they do, they threaten the First Amendment’s guarantee that government shall not abridge the freedom of speech.

Read the whole thing, and pass it on. 

Don't believe the liberal media.

And here's why......

MSNBC's Selectively Edited Romney Video, Andrea Mitchell's Non-Apology Illustrate Network's Dishonesty

Barack Obama’s adoring cheerleaders at NBC are back in the editing room distorting the truth, and, not surprisingly, Andrea Mitchell has the gall to make no apologies for it.

First it was their vile attempt to make George Zimmerman sound like a racist to gin up racial conflict, and now they’ve set their sights on Mitt Romney who they’re desperately trying to paint as an out-of-touch, silver spoon Republican wowed by Wawa sandwiches....

Read the whole thing. 

Standing up for our Freedom Of Religion

Americans are not standing still when it comes to the attacks on religious freedom by the Obama Administration:

First, a video released by The Catholic Association, but applies to all who cherish the Bill of Rights:

 

Next, the Liberty Counsel: 

Take Back America: Silence is NOT an Option!

 

 Big Government leftists and organizations like the ACLU want pastors and church leaders to believe they're on the wrong side of the law when they speak truth about our culture. These leaders are often misinformed and feel paralyzed because they think that speaking about certain issues has political consequences and will somehow jeopardize their tax-exempt status.

THIS IS DUE TO A SYSTEMATIC DISSEMINATION OF LIES!

PASTORS DON'T LEAVE THEIR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT THE CHURCH DOOR!

And finally:  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announces "Fortnight For Freedom".

Great news: there may be another recession soon

CNN: Moody’s downgrade of 15 banks a sign of a new recession

Global markets dropped sharply overnight, but the real test will be what happens today.  CNN analyst Christine Romans notes that markets have basically remained calm and that stocks in some of the banks rose, as investors had months to prepare for the Moody’s review of the banks, which started in February.  In the long run, though, the lower rating will force banks to pay higher costs for lending and borrowing, which will make both more difficult while these largest banks try to strengthen their asset positions.

But that’s only a secondary worry, as Romans explains.  The ratings change and the weak position of the banks reflect a weakening global economy that looks just about ready to tip over into another recession......

Read the whole thing, and then be sure to ask the Democratic party and President Obama how the private sector is doing.

You think?

Is President Obama A Pathological Liar?

The Obama Record: The most frightening aspect of this president may not be his radical ideology but his rank dishonesty in selling that ideology. Now he's been caught lying about family racism.

In "Dreams from My Father," his 1995 memoir, Obama used the story of his paternal grandfather's imprisonment and torture at the hands of British colonists in Kenya as an example of white cruelty. He claimed Hussein Onyango Obama was unjustly detained for six months before being released a crippled, lice-ridden "old man."

In fact, none of it is true, according to Washington Post editor and biographer David Maraniss, who traveled to Kenya to investigate the tale. His grandfather was not detained or beaten by his "white rulers," as Obama, writing as a 34-year-old lawyer, claimed.

This is only the latest example of a growing body of fabrications, embellishments and outright lies told by this president, who has a real and possibly pathological problem with the truth.

Stacked up, his whoppers would make even Bill Clinton blush. Here's a sampling....

 Read the rest, and pass this on.

Fast & Furious round up

Fast & Furious in 5 minutes, hammer-on-the-nail edition:

 

Foreign media doing the job the American media won't do edition:  The Fast and Furious scandal is turning into President Obama's Watergate.

Comedians doing the job the American media won't do edition:  Bad news: Jon Stewart not exactly buying the executive-privilege claim.

Bloggers doing the job the American media won't do edition:  Obama's MurderGate: Fast and Furious Investigation to Continue Regardless of Contempt Vote.

And, finally, cartoonists doing the job the American media won't do edition:

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Farewell, 1LT Fazzari

From Martha:

As many of you know, Walla Walla lost its first resident in the war in Afghanistan.  1st Lt. Mathew Fazzari, son of Greg and Susan Fazzari, was killed in the line of duty on June 6th.  His body will be returned to Walla Walla tomorrow morning.  As I understand it, the family will receive Lt. Fazzari's remains at the airport and then proceed to the funeral home via Isaacs and Main Street between 11:15 & 11:30 a.m.  Many citizens plan to stand along the route, holding flags, to pay their respects to our fallen warrior.  If you are able, please join the citizens of Walla Walla anywhere along the route tomorrow to show our respect and patriotism to the family of Mat Fazzari.

Here is the list of the other services planned for 1st Lt. Fazzari:

Thursday - Rosary at 7 p.m.,  Assumption Catholic Church

Friday, Funeral Mass, 11 a.m. at the church, graveside services to follow
at Mountain View Cemetery

 Saturday, Community Celebration of Life, 11 a.m., Cordiner Hall

Thank you and spread the word.

 Update:  A video of his return home.

A question

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: “If radical Mormons had initiated acts of terrorism in Manhattan, do you think their religion would be held up for mockery each night on Broadway?”

Thanks to Instapundit for the link.

Pass the salt, please

The Lame Stream Media is caught lying.  Again.  

They'll do anything to get Obama re-elected, it seems. 

Securitygate

The Scandal of Our Age

What I call “Securitygate” — the release of the most intricate details about the cyber war against Iran, the revelations about a Yemeni double-agent, disclosures about covert operations in and against Pakistan, intimate details about the Osama bin Laden raid and the trove of information taken from his compound, and the Predator drone assassination list and the president’s methodology in selecting targets — is far more serious than either prior scandal. David Sanger and others claim that all this was sort of in the public domain anyway; well, “sort of” covers a lot of ground. We sort of knew about the cyber war against Iran, but not to the detail that Sanger provides and not through the direct agency of the Obama administration itself.

Here is the crux of the scandal: Obama is formulating a new policy of avoiding overt unpopular engagements, while waging an unprecedented covert war across the world. He’s afraid that the American people do not fully appreciate these once-secret efforts and might in 2012 look only at his mishaps in Afghanistan or his public confusion over Islamic terror. Ergo, feed information to a Sanger or Ignatius so that they can skillfully inform us, albeit with a bit of dramatic “shock” and “surprise,” just how tough, brutal, and deadly Barack Obama really is.

Yet these disclosures will endanger our national security, especially in the case of a soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. They will probably get people killed or tortured, and they will weaken America’s ability for years to work covertly with allies. Our state-to-state relations will be altered, and perhaps even the techniques and technology of our cyber and special operations wars dispersed into the wrong hands. There is nothing in the recent “exclusive” writings of David Sanger or David Ignatius that was necessary for the American people to know at this stage, unless one thinks that we had a right to the full story of the Doolittle Raid in 1942, or that Americans by July 1944 needed an insider account of the date and planning of D-Day, or that we should have been apprised about what was really going on in New Mexico in 1944.

Here is why Securitygate is a national outrage and goes to the heart of a free and civil society.

Failure is as failure does

Ace of Spades HQ:

"1980 All Over Again: As With Jimmy Carter, Media Returns to Narrative That Presiding Over Modern America is Impossible "

Which is an interesting read, but as I recall the 1980 election (the second Presidential election I voted in, a pleasure as I helped boot Carter from the White House), this was an excuse for the many many failures of Jimmy Carter.  All of which were due to his incompetence and flawed policies.

And so it is for Obama -- they are already writing the excuses for his many times many failures.

No more healing of the planet, it seems

Obama is more and more toxic every day.   To members of his own party:  W.Va. Democrats distance themselves from Obama by skipping national convention

Obama's war on coal and the US consumer

This news is a couple weeks old, but highly relevant:

Obama’s war on coal hits your electric bill

Last week PJM Interconnection, the company that operates the electric grid for 13 states (Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) held its 2015 capacity auction. These are the first real, market prices that take Obama’s most recent anti-coal regulations into account, and they prove that he is keeping his 2008 campaign promise to make electricity prices “necessarily skyrocket.”

The market-clearing price for new 2015 capacity – almost all natural gas – was $136 per megawatt. That’s eight times higher than the price for 2012, which was just $16 per megawatt. In the mid-Atlantic area covering New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and DC the new price is $167 per megawatt. For the northern Ohio territory served by FirstEnergy, the price is a shocking $357 per megawatt.

More here.

Obama's Albatross

Holder's Just-Us Department under Fire

Whether he resigns or is removed or spends the rest of this year responding to Congressional  inquiries, Attorney general Holder has treated the Department of Justice as a partisan arm of the Obama Administration.   Now and for the foreseeable future he is just another Albatross around Obama's neck.

A great article on AG Holder's shenanigans in office at American Thinker.  Well worth the read, and passing it on to your friends and family.  This is the man selected by Obama....and supported by him as well. 


Yet another reason for Obama to go.

Socialsts deeply disappointed

Many people believe Obama to be a socialist who is turning American into a socialist nation, and for that, they want him out of the White House. 

But guess what:  there are a large number of socialists (who call themselves "liberals" or "progressives") who want him out of the White House. 

Why, you ask?  Because, according to one of his former professors, "He has failed to advance the progressive cause in the United States."

Note that this is a former teacher of Obama.  While it's ironic and humorous that Obama disappoints the man, it's telling that Obama had openly socialist teachers in college.  Because Obama was never a socialist.  If you listen to the White House.

Obama must go in 2012.

Open mouth, change foot

 List of those who don’t believe president has constitutional authority to suspend deportations includes… Obama?

Others are also of the opinion that President Obama doesn’t have the constitutional authority for such a move, including… President Obama:

Here’s a transcript of that clip, which is from a 2011 Univision town hall:

“With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order — that’s just not the case. Because there are laws on the books, that Congress has passed — and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know we’ve got three branches of government. Congress passes the laws. The Executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement the laws, and then the Judiciary has to interpret the laws. There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system, that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president.”

 Go here for the whole story

Fiction, not fact

The by line from "The Real Story of Barrack Obama":

A new biography finally challenges Obama's famous memoir. And the truth might not be quite as interesting as the president, and his enemies, have imagined. 

Still, as the author puts it:  "The book belongs in the category of 'literature and memoir', not 'history and autobiography'..."

Obama faked his "autobiography".  Imagine that. 

Unwise AND Unconstitutional

Obama is bypassing immigration laws, and implementing his own DREAM act by executive fiat, a move that many, on both sides of the aisle, consider unwise, if not unconstitutional.  Here's one example:

Washington Post wonders: What will hundreds of thousands of job permits do to the economy?

The Beginning And The End Of The Welfare State

 

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The Unoriginal President

Obama has no new ideas -- even his speeches are cut&paste from old ones.  Including the same sentences.  The RNC pulled together a great ad on this: 

 

The President has replaced his teleprompter with a digital recorder.  No wonder he keeps on trying to blame the Bush Administration for his own mistakes.

Thanks to Hot Air.

Brother, can you spare $1,325?

And they haven't even met yet!!  Rio conferees mull $1,325 'green tax' on U.S. families

Maybe this is the sort of transparency that Obama keeps on telling us he wants.  

Thanks to Mary for the link.

First Amendment Still Under Attack By Obama Administration

Senator Mitch McConnell isn't my favorite senator, but he is a zealous defender of the First Amendment, and he gave a speech at the American Enterprises Institute where he slammed the Obama Administration for it's efforts to suppress free speech. 

From Breitbart News, Senator McConnell says this:

McConnell is incensed over the administration’s use of government and nongovernmental resources to target its political enemies. “They’ve used the IRS, the FEC, the FCC, the SEC, their allies in the Obama campaign to go after people who disagree with them. The Obama campaign has rifled through the divorce records of a major donor to an opposing super PAC. The government itself is intimidating donors. Appointees at the IRS and other agencies are pursuing similar efforts to ferret out who is contributing to outside groups critical of the administration so that they can scare them off the playing field and shut them up.”

A video of that speech has been posted at the Ace Of Spades HQ, but it can't be embedded here.   Go here to view it (note -- it's an hour long).  But AoSHQ summarized the speech this way:

I would imagine the thought has crossed a lot of liberal minds, "Hold on there. I was never against freedom of speech. Being a Democrat was never about curtailing basic freedoms." Well, if you're a liberal, watch it. Mitch McConnell is neither a conservative firebrand nor a bitter partisan. This is not a polemic; it's more of a simple recitation of fact.

Pass this on to your friends and family.  They need to understand that the November elections are important.

There aren't enough lifeboats in the entire world

"EU Titanic" -- a great metaphor.  And a warning to America, if we will but heed it.  Debt can't be solved with more debt.

 

Thanks to Smitty at The Other McCain.

Choices

 

(Click to enlarge)

Thanks, Mark!

Way to go, Chamber of Commerce

Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, speaking at their Jobs summit on Wednesday, June 13th, 2012.

“America’s Byzantine tax code” 

 Thanks to Hot Air.

Water Rights and Wells for Rural Homes

If you own or plan to build a rural home, or want to buy, sell or divide land where domestic wells and water rights are used, this workshop is for you.  

The workshop will be held on June 21, 2012, from 7-9 PM, at the Water Center, 500 Tausick Way, in Walla Walla.

Time to vote them all out

'Nuff said:

 

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"Tax exempt" organizations are supposed to be non-partisan

The tax-exempt status provided by law through the IRS can be and is abused, more often than one might realize. Here's a classic example of why our tax laws need a massive overhaul:

Tax-exempt Media Matters ramps up support for Obama during election year

July 4th!

We will be manning a booth at the July 4th fair, in Walla Walla.  If you are interested in helping (although the list may be full already), contact us  at w2teaparty -at- gmail.com (use "@" in lieu of "- at -")

And if you aren't manning the booth, stop on by any way!

The Threat of Islam

Sharam Hadian is an immigrant from Iran and 2012 CANDIDATE FOR WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNOR.  He is speaking out about the truth of Islam and how it effects us in America.  The war is not overseas.  The fight is here at home.  Islam is not a religion, it is a Constitution, and they will NOT submit to any other constitution.  

That is not what the founders meant by freedom of religion.  They do not have the freedom to take over our country. Come see how, why, and where this IS happening. 

This will be held on June 24th, 2012, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, at the Columbia County Rural Library District 111 S. 3rd Street, in Dayton.

June meeting

Walla Walla Tea Party Patriots Monthly Meeting

  Tuesday, June 12, 2012 @ 6:30 pm

 Walla Walla Regional Airport Conference Room

Meet the candidates for Superior Court:- Richard Wernette and Scott Wolfram. 

We must elect officials at all levels of government who are fiscally responsible, truly believe in constitutionally-limited government and firmly support free enterprise. Spread the word and see you Tuesday.

Obama's millstone: his Keynesian economic policies

David Axelrod demonstrated on CNN today just how badly Team Obama misunderstands the difference between public sector and private sector economics. 

Given their socialist nature, that's not a surprise.  The teaching point for us is that the Obama Administration won't learn from their mistakes.....and that we need to learn from theirs AND ours.  Not only to win the November elections, but to rebuild America after 4 years of a socialist President and his keynesian economic policies.

Update:  Right on cue, Mark posted this on the Facebook page:

 

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Oh, wait

Why would anyone be skeptical?  It's not as if the Obama Administration doesn't have a history of lying and stonewalling......

GOP leaders skeptical about US attorneys' freedom in leaks probe

Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement that two U.S. attorneys have been assigned to lead a criminal investigation into possible, unauthorized leaks of classified information is being met with skepticism by GOP lawmakers questioning whether the attorneys will be able to act independently of the Obama administration.

"I have no doubt that these U.S. attorneys are excellent prosecutors," GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "However, they would still be operating under the Obama administration's Department of Justice. The better solution is to appoint an outside counsel to impartially investigate what will likely lead to a White House inquiry."

More here.

When Obama loses the Washington Post.....

Washington Post:  ‘Uhhh,’ the president’s ‘uhhh’ press conference was ‘uhhh’ terrible

Big Brother Is Watching You

George Orwell is likely spinning in his grave.

Labor Department backs off plan forcing reporters to use government-issued computers

The Labor Department has backed off a plan to force news agencies to use government-issued computers and other equipment to report on jobless reports and other key economic data, following a GOP-led House hearing this week, according to several published reports.

Agency officials have said they want reporters who analyze, then write about economic reports inside their so-called “lock up” room to use U.S. computers, software and Internet lines so the government can further protect against such potential security breaches as hacking.

But the plan also resulted in cries about potential free-speech violations and the government now having computer access to news agencies.

More here.  This is yet more reason not to trust Big Government, especially with the dismal economic news coming in the run up to the November elections.  "Security" is offered as the excuse to restrict access to data that doesn't favor the Federal government.......or the Obama Administration.

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Late, but still relevant

I didn't catch this a few days ago:

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Security leaks being investigated

Obama finally opens an investigation into the major security leaks from his Administration.....after he's asked a to-the-point question about the matter at a press conference.  A question that "offended" President Obama because the "notion that my White House would purposely leak sensitive information is offensive". 

 Offended......or frightened? He doesn't get many hard questions from his friends in the media.  And if these leaks do come from his Administration because he wants to improve his chances for re-election, Obama will take a major hit in his campaign.

In any case, Attorney General Holder has appointed investigative prosecutors to look into the leaks. 

Oh, and below the fold, some advice for President Obama......

Politics pushing education deciscions

Gerald Molen won a best picture Oscar for co-producing Schindler’s List with Steven Spielberg and has produced such Hollywood blockbusters as the first two Jurassic Park films and Twister. He’s a former U.S. Marine and is a sought-after motivational speaker.

And he was turned away from a speaking engagement to graduating high school students because he's a "right-wing conservative". The school has since apologized, but it should never have happened in the first place.  

Well done, SF Tea Partiers!

Obama’s first post-Wisconsin fundraiser “memejacked” by S.F. Tea Party

President Obama sprinted through San Francisco on June 6 to attend yet two more high-end fundraisers. And I dogged him every step of the way.

Although Obama studiously avoided mentioning the Wisconsin election results during either of his speeches in S.F., Tea Party protesters rubbed his face in his party’s painful defeat yesterday, as we shall soon see.

Protesters — from both the right and the left — vastly outnumbered supporters wherever Obama went in the city. But at my first stop, most of the accidental rubberneckers had no idea which celebrity was responsible for the annoying street closures. “What’s all this for? Some politician?” asked a passing San Franciscan as Obama’s motorcade approached. “President Obama’s showing up,” I replied. “Oh. Again?” he shrugged as he walked away.

Obama has been to the Bay Area to withdraw cash so many times this campaign season that everyone seems to have lost count.

Interestingly, the Occupy Wall Street movement was nowhere in sight and seems to have completely faded from the political landscape, even though both fundraisers were in buildings that Occupy actually vandalized in earlier times.

Let’s follow Obama on his visit to the ATM known as San Francisco.

Obama's McCain moment

At a press conference today, President Obama stated that, in regards to the economy, "The private sector is doing just fine."

Hmmmmm......."Say, just how “fine” is the private sector doing, anyway?"

Even if we assign the entirety of the recession to George Bush, as Obama argues, job growth in the private sector in this recovery amounts to only 86,300 jobs per month — not even enough to keep up with population growth, which requires roughly 125,000-150,000  new jobs per month to just tread water.  Obama’s spurious claim of 4.267 million jobs in 27 months as being net for his economic policies still amounts to just 158,000 per month, barely the status quo … at the bottom of the trough.

That’s not “fine” at all.  In fact, it’s pretty darned lousy, and the precipitous drop in civilian population participation rates make that clear.  

 The entire article is worth the read, so please do so.  But it's clear that Obama's statement that "The private sector is doing just fine" is, at best, an assertion.  At worst, it's a lie.

As for the headline......as Jim Geraghty at National Review notes: 

The Obama campaign asked, “How can McCain fix our economy if he doesn’t know it’s broken?” That question sure sounds relevant to the president today.

UPDATE I: Oops!   Obama walks back his "The private sector is doing just fine" statement.  If you want to know why, ask Instapundit.  Or Ed Driscoll.

UPDATE II: This is at the Instapundit link, but it deserves dedicated bandwidth.  Senator Corker goes at Obama "hammer-and-tongs".  Pass it on.

UPDATE III:  And now, over to Standard & Poor, who awards Obama one smack to the back of the head for his "Joe Biden moment":  Obama says private sector 'doing fine,' then Standard & Poor keeps downgrade, negative outlook.

Nancy Pelosi, Queen of Hypocrisy

Here's an update on the lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services by 43 Catholic institutions and dioceses across the nation.  Through it, we learn that Representative Nancy Pelosi (who championed Obamacare) makes this mind numbingly stupid statement:

“Those people have a right to sue, but I don’t think they’re speaking ex cathedra for the Catholic Church. " 

As Ed Morrissey points out, "The problem in this case is that Barack Obama, Kathleen Sebelius, and Nancy Pelosi are trying to dictate ex cathedra their definition of religious expression — in order to curtail it.  The Constitution doesn’t allow them to do that, and the bishops are making that point plain."

More here.

More on Fast & Furious

First: 

Issa to Holder on F&F: “You are not a good witness”

Earlier this week, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa revealed that he had acquired new evidence supporting his claim that senior DOJ officials were well aware of the gunwalking occuring as part of the (not-”botched”) operation known as Fast & Furious. This morning, the House Judiciary Committee brought Attorney General Eric Holder in to testify regarding the new evidence.

[........]

When asked about whether his senior officials in the Justice Department had simply read the wiretap applications, Holder responded by saying his top officials did not read the affidavits and the details of what was in the Fast and Furious wiretaps while trying to talk his way around the questions asked.

“Mr. Attorney General, you are not a good witness. Good witnesses answer the question,” Issa said. …

Read the whole thing, and watch the video clips, to get a better feel on just how much stonewalling the House Committee is getting from the Obama Administration.

Next:  How can you tell when Holder is lying?

Answer: His lips move.

Holder Claims Emails Using Words ‘Fast and Furious’ Don’t Refer to Operation Fast and Furious

Attorney General Eric Holder claimed during congressional testimony today that internal Justice Department emails that use the phrase “Fast and Furious” do not refer to the controversial gun-walking operation Fast and Furious.

Under questioning from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who read excerpts of the emails at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Justice Department oversight, Holder claimed that the phrase “Fast and Furious” did not refer to Fast and Furious but instead referred to another gun-walking operation known as “Wide Receiver.”

However, the emails refer to both programs -- "Fast and Furious" and the "Tucson case," from where Wide Receiver was launched -- and reveal Justice Department officials discussing how to handle media scrutiny when both operations become public.

 More details at CNS News.

Mis-information on the Wisconsin recall spending

If any of your "non conservative" friends or acquaintances complain about political contributions in the wake of the Wisconsin recall election earlier this week, point out that President Zero openly endorses campaign contributions.  As in, he's had 28 star-studded fund raisers.....so far.

And for direct figures on the Wisconsin recall fiasco, it looks like the final spending tally could be as little as 1.5 to 1, GOP to DNC. 

And as the left is whining about the "uneven spending", it's only fair to point out that there wouldn't have been any spending if they hadn't started the recall election  in the first place.  This recall election was punitive because Big Labor didn't like the laws passed by the State, not because of any corruption on the part of those officials.  Which is why we have recall elections in the first place.

Confirmed: Obama member of a socialist party

Well, well, well.....Obama was indeed a member of a socialist party back in the 1990s.

Obama Caught Lying Again: He Was Member of 'New Party,' Says Kurtz

Barack Obama was, in fact, a member of the socialist New Party in the 1990s and sought its endorsement for the Illinois senate--contrary to the misrepresentations of Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, and in spite of the efforts of Politico's Ben Smith to quash the story. Stanley Kurtz, author of Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism (2010), has released new "smoking gun" evidence at National Review Online. It is evidence that the mainstream media can no longer ignore--and Obama can no longer deny.

More here.

Comparing apples to apples

Women Are Paid Less Than Men Not Because of Discrimination.

Thanks to Jeremy!

The news of our demise has been greatly exaggerated....

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Thanks to Jeremy!

David and Goliath

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Thanks to Jeremy!

A Correction

Last night, I noted that all 4 of the contested Senate seats in the Wisconsin recall had been won by the incumbent Republicans. Not true -- one seat went to the Democrats, giving them a 17-16 majority in the State Senate.

However......

"...the Wisconsin Senate will be out of session until 2013. In November, 16 of the 33 seats will be up for grabs, and thanks to the redistricting that will be in place for the first time in that election, Republicans are supposed to pick up at least two seats. The unions spent millions of dollars and over a year’s worth of effort to get a temporary one-seat majority in a chamber that will never meet in session. And that’s assuming that their lone win from last night holds up in a recount. Congratulations, Big Labor!"

No duh!

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Thanks to Frank.  Source: 2nd Amendment on Facebook

Political Spin To No Avail

An excellent recap of why the Wisconsin recall is a major disaster for Obama.

Ignore the spin: Wisconsin was a disaster for Democrats and President Obama 

If you pause and listen carefully, you might be able to hear the despair coming from Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, and David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist and communications director, as the meaning of Wisconsin’s recall election becomes clear.

In the final hours before Governor Scott Walker’s victory, with the writing on the wall, President Obama and his campaign could only muster a tweet and a last-minute video for challenger Tom Barrett. But do not let that tepid support fool you: Democrats and their union allies spent an astronomical amount on a judicial election, four state legislative recalls and the recall of Governor Walker, only to lose.

The spin has already begun.....

The full story is here, but this has been a bad week for Obama.  And it isn't over yet....

Follow the Wisconsin Recall Election

If you want a current update on the Wisconsin Recall Election, try out the Ace Of Spades Decision Desk -- they're trying to outperform the Lame Stream Media.  Refresh the page for updates.

Live blogging is available as well --- but be warned, the Morons and Moronettes have a spicy sense of humor at times......

UPDATE: Walker wins!  Barrett concedes!  

UPDATE II:  Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch (GOP) also survives recall vote.  

Also, 4 State (Republican) senators on recall carrying majority of votes in their districts.

UPDATE III:  "Did you know that Democracy as we know it died tonight?"