A Brief Word About The Death of Senator Robert Byrd

Normally when someone important passes I do a Rest In Peace post. However given Byrd’s Klan past, I just cannot bring myself to actually post such a title.

The media also seems to be having some difficulty with Byrd’s Klan history.

Newsbusters: When Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond died, the MSM was quick to stress his segregationist past. The New York Times ran the headline “Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100,” leaving readers to imagine the South Carolinian had remained an advocate of segregation.  The very first line of USA Today’s story described Thurmond as “the nation’s most prominent segregationist.”

Strange how the MSM can suddenly become reticent about mentioning someone’s segregationist past when the late politician in question is a Democrat.  On Morning Joe today, Mark Halperin and Mike Barnicle used elliptical language worthy of a State Department dispatch to avoid mentioning that Byrd had been a member and leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

In the opening paragraph of this blog item, the NY Times’ headline on the death of Strom Thurmond was noted: “Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100“.

The Grey Lady’s headline today?   Robert Byrd, Respected Voice of the Senate, Dies at 92

I am certain that there are more than a few Democrats who are now breathing a sigh of relief now that Byrd is gone. Robert Byrd was living proof and a constant reminder of the Democrats true history regarding segregation and the Civil Rights struggle. Now that he is gone, Democrats can now press on with their revisionist history safe in the knowledge that there will be no one in the media to correct them.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Via: Newsbusters

Video: Jan Brewer to Obama “Warning Signs Are Not Enough”

If Obama thought he was going to punk Arizona Governor Jan Brewer by merely holding a photo-op with her instead of doing his job, then he was sadly mistaken. Governor Brewer is made of much sterner stuff than Obama. 

Check out the video below, she ridicules Obama’s useless efforts to feign like he is doing something about border security. Just like in her puppet video, Brewer mocks and ridicules the administration. Score another shot for Brewer.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Right Scoop

Priorities, Priorities! Obama: Where da golfin’ at?

Carol at No Sheeples Here has the perfect graphic for this story, so I shamelessly pinched it. 

National Post: When U.S. President Barack Obama stepped off his helicopter in Huntsville on Friday, the first thing he said was, “You’ve got a lot of golf courses here, don’t you?” Industry Minister Tony Clement told the National Post in an exclusive interview.

“I told him, ‘We would really recommend and love it if you could come back here with Michelle and the kids at some point — we think you’d really love it here,’” Minister Clement said on the sidewalk of Huntsville’s Main Street, in his home riding. “I think I’ve planted a seed in the President’s mind.” [MORE]

It is nice to know with an economy still on the brink, jobs vanishing faster than a magic act and the Gulf coast line drowning in oil, Obama has his priorities set: Golf first, America later.

How many more days of this national nightmare do we have left?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: National Post

Graphic h/t: No Sheeples Here

Video: Business Owner to Joe Biden, “Lower Our Taxes”

Reality is a bitch. You can try to ignore it, try to duck it and even try to avoid it, but sooner or later reality will have its way. This administration loves to go around pretending that the stimulus has worked and that they “saved” or created jobs. That is all well and good, but don’t expect real people to buy into the BS.  Notice, old Gaffe-O-Matic Joe did not have an immediate answer for the business owner. But later he told the guy: “Say something nice instead of being a smarta$$ all the time.”

To that I say Bite me Joe Biden, bite me!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Gateway Pundit

UPDATED: David Weigel just another fake, phony and fraud conservative

David Weigel is the Washington Post’s latest pet conservative. Cut from the same cloth as David Brooks, Weigel’s job is to offer "conservative commentary" and to offer cover to the Washington Post so that they can pretend they are “fair and balanced”. Read any of Weigel’s columns and you get the feeling it was written by some liberal pretending to be impartial.

If Weigel’s opinions weren’t enough to tip you off that he is a sham conservative, his now exposed emails to very liberal JournoList will. FishbowlDC got their hands on some of those emails and published them.

•"This would be a vastly better world to live in if Matt Drudge decided to handle his emotional problems more responsibly, and set himself on fire."

•"Follow-up to one hell of a day: Apparently, the Washington Examinerthought it would be fun to write up an item about my dancing at the wedding of Megan McArdle and Peter Suderman. Said item included the name and job of my girlfriend, who was not even there -- nor in DC at all."

•"I'd politely encourage everyone to think twice about rewarding theExaminer with any traffic or links for a while. I know the temptation is high to follow up hot hot Byron York scoops, but please resist it."

•"It's all very amusing to me. Two hundred screaming Ron Paul fanatics couldn't get their man into the Fox News New Hampshire GOP debate, but Fox News is pumping around the clock to get Paultard Tea Party people on TV."

Weigel has now issued an apology for the emails claiming he was just having a really bad day or something. Keep the apology Dave! We all know what is going on here. 

Basically, Weigel pretends to be conservative so that he can have a big and cushy job with the MSM. His formula is to study enough of the right so that he doesn't sound like your typical knee jerk liberal. He then goes about supporting the left by finding some way to pan the right. We get the M.O., it’s tired, it’s trifflin’ and oh so transparent. So can we all just stop pretending that Weigel is a conservative or has conservatism’s best interest at heart?

UPDATE: Weigel Resigns 

Fishbowl DC: FIRST ON FBDC: FishbowlDC has confirmed that WaPo conservative-beat blogger Dave Weigel has resigned after a slew of his anti-conservative comments and emails surfaced on FishbowlDC and Daily Caller over the last two days.

A spokesperson for the Post said the paper will not offer additional comments but confirmed that the writer's resignation was accepted.

I guess WaPo will be putting up a classified ad for another “conservative” to take his place. Here is a thought for you WaPo, rather than signing up another sham conservative, how about hiring a real one for a change? Think about it, just a single unapologetic pro conservative column would probably generate more traffic than any of the predictable pieces Weigel could have thrown together.

I hear this guy is available and he can write his ass off too!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Fishbowl DC

Via: Right Now 
Via: Fishbowl DC
Via: The Other McCain

Video: Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA): 'Finance bill will help good Americans, not minorities or defective people'

 

"We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately.  But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people -- and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about -- these are average, good American people,” Kanjorski states. 

So far Rep. Paul Kanjorski’s comment has not been noticed by the MSM (surprise, surprise). Even if it does get noticed, the media will simply follow The Four Phases of Forgotten Racial Comments. Needless to say, many of my brothers and sisters on the left will find all kinds of “nuance” and “understanding” to excuse Kanjorski’s statement.  

This is how racist statements are handled on the left, the comments are explained away and then immediately forgotten, never to be dwelled upon again. That is how it went for Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Harry Reid, Dan Rather and Bill Maher. Kanjorski will be no different.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Washington Times

An Executive Order for Amnesty?

It looks like the Obama administration is looking to do another end run around Congress, this time to give illegal aliens amnesty. I sure the executive order will contain some little loophole that allows the illegals to vote too.

Eight senators led by Chuck Greassly (R-Iowa) have written a letter to Obama asking for clarification on the rumored plan to use executive orders to effect amnesty.

Here is a copy of the letter: 

Dear President Obama:

We understand that there’s a push for your Administration to develop a plan to unilaterally extend either deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States. We understand that the Administration may include aliens who have willfully overstayed their visas or filed for benefits knowing that they will not be eligible for a status for years to come. We understand that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. Deferred action and parole were not intended to be used to confer a status or offer protection to large groups of illegal aliens, even if the agency claims that they look at each case on a “case-by-case” basis.

While we agree our immigration laws need to be fixed, we are deeply concerned about the potential expansion of deferred action or parole for a large illegal alien population. While deferred action and parole are Executive Branch authorities, they should not be used to circumvent Congress’ constitutional authority to legislate immigration policy, particularly as it relates to the illegal population in the United States.

The Administration would be wise to abandon any plans for deferred action or parole for the illegal population. Such a move would further erode the American public’s confidence in the federal government and its commitment to securing the borders and enforcing the laws already on the books.

We would appreciate receiving a commitment that the Administration has no plans to use either authority to change the current position of a large group of illegal aliens already in the United States, and ask that you respond to us about this matter as soon as possible.

The letter is signed by Sens. Grassley, Hatch (R-Utah), Vitter (R-La.), Bunning (R-Ky.), Chambliss (R-Ga.), Isakson (R-Ga.), Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Cochran (R-Miss.).

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Numbers USA

Feds Stop Sand Berm Dredging

Unbelievable! It is like no one is running the show at the feds. 

WDSU-TV: NEW ORLEANS -- The federal government is shutting down the dredging that was being done to create protective sand berms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The berms are meant to protect the Louisiana coastline from oil. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department has concerns about where the dredging is being done. 

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who was one of the most vocal advocates of the dredging plan, has sent a letter to President Barack Obama, pleading for the work to continue.

Nungesser said the government has asked crews to move the dredging site two more miles farther off the coastline.

"Once again, our government resource agencies, which are intended to protect us, are now leaving us vulnerable to the destruction of our coastline and marshes by the impending oil," Nungesser wrote to Obama. "Furthermore, with the threat of hurricanes or tropical storms, we are being put at an increased risk for devastation to our area from the intrusion of oil.

Nungesser has asked for the dredging to continue for the next seven days, the amount of time it would take to move the dredging operations two miles and out resume work. [MORE] 

This almost seems like some sort of cruel joke. Louisiana goes though all this grief to get the berms built and now that it is well underway some pencil pusher wants it moved because of wildlife concerns? It should be pretty damn obvious that if the coastline is not protected from the oil spill, it won’t make a bit of difference what the environmental impact of the berms are.

This is exactly the kind of thing Obama should be involved in. The fed’s role in this disaster should be that of facilitator and guardian. Obama should be out there cutting though all sorts of red tape so that the clean up and protection efforts can proceed rapidly. His other role should be to safeguard the nation against possible abuses from BP. In both instances he is failing miserably. 

  

Click over to And So it Goes in Shreveport for more.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: WDSU-TV

Video h/t: And So it Goes in Shreveport

Nikki Haley and Tim Scott win GOP nominations in South Carolina

The Fix: South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley cruised to the Republican nomination for governor tonight, a victory that makes her not just the frontrunner for the office this fall but a likely national GOP star.

Haley crushed Rep. Gresham Barrett in the runoff race, an expected result given that she took 49 percent of the June 8 primary vote -- narrowly missing the chance to win the nomination outright. The Associated Press called the runoff race for Haley at 8 p.m. eastern time.

"This is a story about determination, and a story about a movement," said Haley in her victory speech tonight. "This was the best grassroots, underdog campaign we have ever seen."

Haley also credited former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who endorsed her candidacy, for giving the campaign a "boost we needed when we needed it."

State Rep. Tim Scott (R) also claimed victory in the 1st district runoff; Scott's likely victory positions him to be the first black Republican in Congress since Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts' retirement in 2002. 

I am pleased as punch to see that Nikki Haley has not only won but also crushed her opponent big time. Good for her, after having the entire book of dirty tricks thrown at her it is good to see that voters saw through the deception.

I would also like to point out those South Carolina voters nominated two minorities over their white opponents. I only mention this because we all know how the left loves to paint all southern conservatives as foaming at the mouth racists.  You would have thought this narrative would have died after Bobby Jindal was elected, but old leftwing narratives die hard.

Sarah Palin endorsed both Haley and Scott. These two wins puts Palin’s endorsements at 9 wins and 3 loses.  Not bad Sarah!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Fix

Via: The Hill

New Orleans judge blocks Obama’s moratorium on offshore drilling

Bloomberg: Obama temporarily halted all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet on May 27 to give a presidential commission time to study improvements in the safety of offshore operations. More than a dozen Louisiana offshore service and supply companies sued U.S. regulators to lift the ban. The U.S. said it will appeal the decision.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman yesterday granted a preliminary injunction, halting the moratorium. He also “immediately prohibited” the U.S. from enforcing the ban. Government lawyers told Feldman the ban was based on findings in a U.S. report following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast in April.

“The court is unable to divine or fathom a relationship between the findings and the immense scope of the moratorium,” Feldman said in his 22-page decision. “The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger.”

Separate Order

“The court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the agency, but the agency must ‘cogently explain why it has exercised its discretion in a given manner,’” Feldman said, citing a previous ruling. “It has not done so.”

Feldman in a separate order yesterday “immediately prohibited” the U.S. from enforcing the drilling moratorium, finding the offshore companies would otherwise incur “irreparable harm.”

Ouch! Judge Feldman was none too kind to the administration. I think Feldman’s comments come with a tiny kick of disapproval for how Obama has handled the oil spill.

Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar isn’t giving up, he is seeking to impose an new moratorium. 

Associated Press: WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he will issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater drilling after a federal judge struck down the existing one.

Salazar said in a statement Tuesday evening that the new order will contain additional information making clear why the six-month drilling pause was necessary in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. The judge in New Orleans who struck down the moratorium earlier in the day complained there wasn't enough justification for it.

Salazar pointed to indications of inadequate safety precautions by industry on deepwater wells. He said he would issue a new order in the coming days showing that a moratorium is needed.

The White House also is appealing the judge's ruling 

Hopefully that will fail too. As Gateway Pundit points out, the administration wasn’t honest in imposing the first one.

What I never understood about the moratorium is how the administration could so easily dismiss the “systemic risk” the moratorium could create. You will recall at the beginning of this administration, they feared the systemic risk collapsed companies could cause to the economy was of such a concern that they had to take over car companies, insurance companies and banks. Yet systemic risk isn’t even considered for something so vital to an industrialized nation as energy production. Is it that they do not understand the vital role oil plays in our economy or is it that the moratorium serves their needs to bring about Cap and Trade?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Bloomberg

Via: Associated Press

Via: Gateway Pundit 

What to do about General Stanley McChrystal?

By now you should have already read the Rolling Stones profile on General Stanley McChrystal.  It is every bit as bad as imagined. What should be noted is what Will Jacobson at Legal Insurrection points out; McChrystal is not directly quoted making any of the damning remarks. Most importantly, McChrystal is not directly quoted making the Obama remark.

Legal Insurrection [Will’s emphasis]: According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.

Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better.

"It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."

Even though McChrystal is not directly quoted, he should not be let off the hook. The remarks in the article undermine the president and the war. By allowing Rolling Stone such access and allowing his staff to feel free to publicly voice such remarks calls McChrystal’s judgment and command skills into serious question.

So what should Obama do about McChrystal? McChrystal has offered his resignation; if I were Obama I accept it immediately. This incident comes at the worst time. Because of the spill in the gulf, people are starting for the first time to question the competence of this president and his administration. The remarks about Obama and members of the administration feed into the dysfunctional and incompetent narrative. Also letting McChrystal stay after this incident feeds into the stereotype that Democrats are weak when it comes to the military.

Politically speaking, changing generals now could allow Obama to make changes with Afghanistan without looking like he changed his mind. McChrystal’s surge isn’t working yet and the deadline Obama set for withdrawal was always a mistake. By appointing a new general Obama could get a new strategy, remove the foolish deadline and use the new general as an excuse for the changes.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Rolling Stones Magazine

Via: Legal Insurrection

Via: UK Telegraph

JD Hayworth hawked “free money” seminars in 2007 infomercial

Arizona Republic: Republican Senate challenger J.D. Hayworth appeared in a 2007 television infomercial in which he helped convince viewers that they could rake in big bucks by attending seminars that would teach them how to apply for federal grants that they wouldn't have to pay back.

National Grants Conferences, the Florida-based company that hosted the classes and produced the informercial, has faced criticism from multiple state attorneys general and Better Business Bureaus.

Hayworth, a former Arizona congressman who is running against incumbent Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the Aug. 24 GOP primary, made the infomercial after losing his U.S. House seat in the 2006 election. References to his TV appearance on behalf of National Grants Conferences appear in his Wikipedia entry, on the Internet Movie Database and other places on the Web. But the footage was unavailable. Highlights of Hayworth's appearance are now posted on YouTube.com at this link.

The infomercial promotes seminars that ostensibly instruct attendees how to get the "free money grants." Tucson TV station KVOA did an investigation of National Grants Conferences that you can watch here. The TV station's investigative team found that the workshops cost from $999 to $1,200 and federal government grants really aren't even available to individuals.

"A grant expert tells us that the information they’re trying to sell you is available for free – on the Internet or here, at the Pima County Public Library," KVOA's Tom McNamara said in the 2009 report. "No. 2, a simple Internet search inputting just the company’s name reveals hundreds of complaints from people all across the country about National Grants Conferences. And No. 3, some Better Business Bureaus nationwide rate the company an ‘F.' Separately, the attorney general in Vermont sued the company and forced them to tone down their advertising and the claims they were making." 

Oh-oh, shades of Matthew Lesko! I have only seen JD Hayworth on TV about three times. Each time I found a something about him a little off putting. I always chalked it up to him not being quite ready for the big stage. After watching this video, I see I was wrong. It wasn’t that he wasn’t quite ready; it is that he has the cheesy factor!

Oh well, look at it on the bright side. This blast from the past allows Arizona voters to boil their choice down to a simple question; how badly do they want to rid themselves of John McCain?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Arizona Republic

Via: Left Coast Rebel

Video h/t: Talking Points Memo

General McChrystal apologizes for soon to be released Rolling Stones profile

Fox News: "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened," McChrystal said in a statement.

"Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard," he said. 

"I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome."

So what is General Stanley McChrystal apologizing for? McChrystal allowed Rolling Stone Magazine several weeks of interviews with himself and his tight circle of aides. The result is far from flattering for the administration. McChrystal’s aides mock Joe Biden and Richard Holbrooke, describes McChrystal as “disappointed in his first Oval Office meeting with an unprepared President Barack Obama” and betrayed by  Karl Eikenberry.

An article out this week in “Rolling Stone” magazine depicts Gen. Stanley McChrystal as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration and unable to convince even some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the war…

McChrystal himself is described by an aide as “disappointed” in his first Oval Office meeting with an unprepared President Barack Obama. The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama called McChrystal on the carpet last fall for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops…

If Eikenberry had the same doubts [about McChrystal's strategy], McChrystal said he never expressed them until a leaked internal document threw a wild card into the debate over whether to add more troops last November. In the document, Eikenberry said Afghan President Hamid Karzai was not a reliable partner for the counterinsurgency strategy McChrystal was hired to execute.

McChrystal said he felt “betrayed” and accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.

“Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books,” McChrystal told the magazine. “Now, if we fail, they can say ‘I told you so.” 

There is even more. Apparently, troops under McChrystal’s command conveyed skepticism over McChrystal’s tactics. 

"Rolling Stone" interviewed troops frustrated by McChrystal's strict rules for combat that are intended to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

At one outpost, a soldier McChrystal had met earlier was killed in a house that the local U.S. commander had repeatedly asked to destroy. The request was denied, apparently out of concern that razing the house would anger locals whose allegiance the U.S. is trying to win.

"Does that make any (expletive) sense?" Pfc. Jared Pautsch asks. "We should just drop a (expletive) bomb on this place. You sit and ask yourself, 'What are we doing here?"' 

McChrystal’s apology comes after direct phone calls from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the White House and the Joint Chief of Staff. Needless to say the Rolling Stones story is going to be the talk of the town for about a week. It could not come at a worse time when people are starting to question the competence of this administration.

I am even questioning the competence of McChrystal now. Why on earth would he allow such access for an interview? One would have to imagine that military men would automatically be very cautious about giving unfettered access to anyone in the press (i.e. loose lips …). Needless to say that such infighting between McChrystal and the administration does not bode well for success in Afghanistan.

Make sure to read the entire Fox News article it is quite enlightening.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Fox News

Via: The Atlantic

Peter Orszag to leave administration in July

Where as Rahm Emanuel’s departure remains to be seen,

White House budget director Peter Orszag exit is certain. 

New York Times: Peter R. Orszag will leave his job as the White House budget director in July, according to someone familiar with his plans, making him perhaps the first official to leave the Obama Cabinet and removing a major player from President Obama’s economic team.[…]

While the president recently urged Mr. Orszag to remain, the calendar for drafting the next budget weighed in favor of Mr. Orszag leaving sooner. So did Mr. Orszag’s personal calendar: He is getting married in September.[…]

For all of his recent attention to deficit reduction, Mr. Orszag’s first job for Mr. Obama, even before they officially took office in January 2009, was to be an architect for greatly adding to a deficit then projected at $1.3 trillion for the fiscal year. He helped put together the $787 billion two-year stimulus package.

A longtime scholar of health policy economics, Mr. Orszag also helped devise and sell the president’s signature initiative overhauling the health insurance system. He privately has told associates that having worked on two budgets, a stimulus plan and the health care law, it is time to leave while he is ahead. 

That is some resume, budget busting budgets, the failed stimulus and the national nightmare of ObamaCare. Now that the damage is done, Peter is fleeing the scene of the crime before the chickens come home to roost.

Politico list Orzag’s possible replacements: 

Presidential advisers say two possible successors as director of the Office of Management and Budget each served as chief economic adviser to President Bill Clinton: Laura D’Andrea Tyson of the University of California at Berkeley, named by Obama as a member of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board; and Gene Sperling, now a counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. 

Tyson would provide the economic team with an effective spokesperson on television. And she’d add gender diversity at the top of the administration, especially if Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, becomes president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, as expected. Obama has nominated the current president, Janet Yellen, as the Fed’s vice chair. 

An outsider is unlikely to get the job, the officials said. One possibility would be Robert Greenstein, director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Jack Lew, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, was also mentioned, but held the job under Clinton, and so is considered unlikely to want to go back. 

Hopefully one of these new Clinton retreads will inject some much-needed fiscal reality into the White House. I know that is doubtful, but one can always hope.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Via: Politico